I don't talk about rumors, usually, but this one involves some pretty big changes in Birmingham radio. If true, it would be a pretty major media story. There's talk that venerable* sports host Paul Finebaum is ready to jump ship off Citadel's WJOX (due to the upcoming merger with Cumulus?)
That part's confirmed. And as noted in that story, we can expect to see "97.3 The Zone" on Tuesday, August 30th when Cox blows up "The Buck" WNCB for their own FM sports station. Although unspoken, it appears that Finebaum plans on landing with Cox, with the sports format pretty much being tailored around his syndicated afternoon show.
Getting into even wilder territory, speculation is that once Finebaum gets settled in at his new digs, Cox will flip-flop The Zone with 106.9 The Eagle, giving Finebaum and friends 100 kW to go toe to toe with JOX. The Eagle's classic hits format will be shuffled to the weaker signal, which almost certainly spells the death of the format in the ratings (see: CHR, oldies and "new" country). Lending some credence to this far fetched idea? Listed on the Atlanta Falcons' website as an affiliate for Birmingham is "WZNN" on 106.9 in Birmingham.
* - “venerable” means “a Jerry Springer-like circus” right?
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