You will soon be able to hear two local Atlanta radio stations on SiriusXM.
The national satellite/internet radio service announced it has struck a deal to add broadcaster Audacy’s 42 news, talk, and sports stations to its content lineup. Included in this group is sports/talk station WZGC 92.9 The Game, and urban news/talk station 1380 WAOK. In addition to The Game, Atlanta SiriusXM subscribers can also hear sports stations in other markets like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston. 
Both companies confirm The Game and other sports-oriented Audacy stations nationwide will be available on the SiriusXM app and vehicles with the latest generation SiriusXM radios starting September 1st. WAOK and other news and talk stations will be available later this year.
The deal strengthens the radio service’s local sports offerings just in time for the rapidly approaching college and pro football season. SiriusXM is already known for having a vast catalog of sports content, bolstered by deals with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and other sports leagues. The addition of local news and talk stations will also strengthen and localize its news offerings as well.
“SiriusXM is the essential audio home for sports fans, offering access to every team and game alongside an unmatched lineup of national sports talk, expert analysis, and the biggest voices in sports,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer, in a statement. “We also recognize the unique role local personalities play in connecting fans with their teams every day. By adding Audacy’s extensive lineup of sports stations, we’re making those trusted hometown voices available to fans wherever they are across North
America. Together, we’re delivering an even more complete audio experience – bringing live games, premier national sports talk, and hometown conversations together in one place.”
Audacy will now have access to SiriusXM’s total subscriber base of 33 million listeners.
“Audacy’s sports brands are deeply connected to the cities, teams, and fan communities they serve, and being able to extend our reach nationally through SiriusXM is a natural fit, ” adds Kelli Turner, CEO and President, Audacy Inc, the parent company of WZGC and WAOK. “We look forward to working together with SiriusXM to bring our outstanding talent and content to sports fans and news and talk listeners wherever they are, providing our audiences with more ways to stay connected to the conversations that matter most to them.”
There is no word on whether SiriusXM will strike similar content deals with other radio broadcasters, or if this deal will eventually expand to include Audacy’s music-oriented stations (ie, WVEE, WSTR)
WZGC listeners in the metro area should have no problems receiving the FM signal or listening to the station on the Audacy app, but the inclusion on SiriusXM gives out-of-market sports fans another option to hear live sports and sports talk. The payoff is even better for WAOK listeners because it provides another cleaner, less noisy way to listen to this station. WAOK’s AM signal is powered to 25,000 watts in daytime, reaching most of metro Atlanta, but gets reduced at sundown to 4200 watts, reaching mostly downtown and southwest Atlanta, making it hard for those outside of the perimeter to hear the station after dark.
Earlier this year, SiriusXM was reportedly trying to merge with another radio broadcaster, iHeartMedia. That deal is currently on hold, with no word on when or even if the talks will resume.
Image credit: SiriusXM
