A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal,[1] sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and callers.
[2] By the early 1960s, sports talk content, ranging from individual commentary to roundtable discussions, began appearing in major US markets, initially tied to play-by-play broadcasts but gradually developing unique styles and characters.
[3] Nonetheless, the interactive format spread in the 1960s with Bill Mazer, launching the first successful show in March 1964 at WNBC (AM) in New York.
Following The success of the WIP and WFAN in the early 1990s, with hit programs such as Mike and the Mad Dog, drove other stations in United States to try the all-sports talk format.
ESPN Radio, for instance, insisted that its affiliates carry Mike and Mike in the Morning during morning drive time to provide as much national clearance as possible; in contrast, it carries less prominent programming in the afternoon drive to accommodate local sports talk, as well as in the evening (for its first two decades, rolling score updates aired under the banner of GameNight) to allow stations to break away for local sporting events.
Somewhat unusually for radio, the late-night and overnight hosts have more prominence on a sports talk network, due to a near-complete lack of local preemption.
In August 2019, SportsMap (then SB Nation Radio) and Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) launched the BetR Network with affiliates in Las Vegas and Atlantic City at launch,[9][10] while Philadelphia's WDAS flipped to a sports format featuring local programs involving sports betting.
[9] Broadcaster Audacy began to deploy its BetQL Network to more of its stations in June 2021 (using the on-air brand The Bet), alongside an expansion of their daily schedule.