Sports radio to debut in Bangor

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New York Yankees games on the air in Red Sox country? That is just one of many programming changes in the works for a local radio station.

WZON (620 AM), a Bangor radio station also known as Talk Radio, will begin shifting to more sports-oriented programming on Monday with the debut of former WLBZ-TV sportscaster Dale Duff’s live talk show.

Bangor authors Stephen and Tabitha King, Duff, and other new members of the WZON staff held a press conference at King’s Bangor office Friday to announce the new changes in the station’s format and personnel.

“I’ve been a sports mom for several years now, and I’ve noticed that there were many moments when radio could have had a real function,” said Tabitha King.

“I’m thinking of all the times I went to Bangor-Old Town basketball games where the auditoriums were full and there were people who couldn’t get in. That certainly encouraged me that this was one serious format consideration.”

Duff is the new programming manager and sports director. He joins new station manager Brent Slowikowski and sales director Linda Cummings.

Slowikowski was formerly known as Brent Stevens at Brewer country western station WQCB, where he was promotions and operations director. Cummings was vice president of sales at WWMJ and WDEA in Ellsworth.

Can sports radio work in a limited market such as Greater Bangor? Duff and Slowikowski think so.

“Sports radio has shown some strength across the country,” Slowikowski said. “A lot of the 70 or so stations with sports programming aren’t in major markets with pro teams. They focus a lot on local and college.”

“With me, it’s a gut feeling that the area needs more local sports coverage, and that’s why I joined the team,” said Duff.

Duff added that the chance to have more of a say in what gets covered and how also motivated his decision to leave WLBZ.

“It was a tough decision. I loved TV,” he said. “But this was a unique opportunity to have more of a say and have more freedom.”

Stephen King is certain that sports radio can work in this area.

“I left our summer place early to make the (Little League) playoff game in Belfast (between Bangor West and Waldo County) and got started a little late and was thinking how great it would be if I could catch that inning or two that I was gonna miss on the radio,” said King.

“There’s really no reason why that shouldn’t happen.”

The station is still officially owned by NEB Communications Inc., – owned by Nancy E. Boyd of Falmouth, Mass., – but a bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of the station to King’s The Zone Corporation in March.

The sale will not be completed however, until the Federal Communications Commission approves the transfer of the station’s broadcasting license to King’s company.

“The ownership is essentially the same as it was when this station went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in December,” said Gary Growe, the bankruptcy trustee for WZON appointed by the U.S. Trustees office.

“We expect that (the license transfer) ultimately will be a “We expect that (the license transfer) ultimately will be approved sometime in the next 30 to 90 days.”

Meanwhile, Duff will get things rolling with the introduction of a daily talk show from 6 to 10 a.m., broadcasts of New York Yankee games beginning on Tuesday, and sports updates every half hour.

Duff also plans to broadcast at least 75 high school games through the next year including baseball, soccer, football, softball, hockey, and basketball.

“That doesn’t include the tournament and the playoffs,” said Duff.

“And we’re not doing just Bangor or Brewer, but what we think are the most important games of the week … as well as reporters at other games,” Duff said.

Brewer Junior High Principal Rich Kimball, a veteran TV and radio announcer, and former Old Town football coach Jim Walsh will be the primary high school announcing team.

Duff will also do high school games in addition to University of Maine football and basketball games.

WZON will start the third year of a three-year contract to broadcast UMaine football and basketball games this fall and may add other colleges to the mix as well.

“We’ll be talking with Husson, Maine Maritime, and others,” Duff said. “We can do most anything in terms of being able to go where the big game is.”

The daily programming schedule is still in limbo. Duff said he has talked to representatives of various sports radio services such as ESPN Radio, and Slowikowski held out the possibility of broadcasting 24 hours.

“We haven’t committed to a 24-hour format, but we’re licensed to… so it’s a possibility,” Slowikowski said, adding that the station programming will be mostly sports, but not entirely.

Slowikowski said the station’s popular Rush Limbaugh and Larry King syndicated talk shows are being evaluated and will continue to run through their current contracts.

The “Leo in the Morning” show has been replaced by Duff’s “Sports Zone,” but V. Paul Reynolds will continue to do news updates.

“What community sports-oriented radio is supposed to be up to is mirroring the community itself,” King said. “We want to be a community radio station, not just a satellite downlink for syndicated, talking, guns-for-hire.”