The Oakland A's may have just gotten the next best thing to its failed attempts to buy a sports talk radio station.
The new flagship home of the Athletics announced Friday that it was switching from a country radio station to a sports radio station.
As of 10 a.m. Friday, 95.7 The Wolf (KBWF) became SportsRadio 95.7. The station will be the radio broadcast home of the Oakland A's and the San Jose Sharks.
“With eight professional sports teams, several outstanding college teams and some of the best fans in America, we believe that the Bay Area deserves a great FM sports talk station," said Entercom Market Manager and Vice President Dwight Walker, whose company manages the station.
SportsRadio 95.7 FM will offer local programming with local hosts talking spots when the A's and Sharks are not on its airwaves.
The move will not put the A's on par with the San Francisco Giants and its 50,000-watt flamethrower, KNBR but the move could help the team find a permanent radio dial.
A's fans have become accustomed to searching for their team on a new dial every year. In 2009 the team signed a 10 year contract with its previous home KTRB but that ended early when the station struggled with financial troubles.
The A's tried to purchase KTRB but the station's financial issues killed the deal. The team has signed a four year contract with 95.7 FM to broadcast all 162 regular season games.
The station's switch to a sports format should allow the A's to produce pre and post game shows, as well as roll out programming supporting the team the rest of the week.
