As BSM reported in January, the St. Louis Blues will depart Entercom’s NewsRadio KMOX for Hubbard Broadcasting’s 101 ESPN next season.
One of the enticing motives for the Blues soon to be new partnership with 101 ESPN is they will no longer be preempted. KMOX, which has been the Blues flagship station since 2006 and throughout 43 of their 52 seasons in the NHL, also carries all St. Louis Cardinals games. When the Cardinals and Blues seasons overlap, the hockey team gets bumped to sister station KYKY 98.1.
The Blues are about to end their KMOX tenure on a high note, with their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1970. According to Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the only time the Blues contract states their broadcast should take priority over the Cards, is if they reach the Stanley Cup Finals. For the first time in their KMOX partnership, the Blues will send the Cardinals to pop music station Y98.
“I haven’t thought about it that way,” KMOX program director Steve Moore told The Post-Dispatch regarding the Blues preempting the Cardinals for their last games on the station. “I’m just excited we have the opportunity to broadcast the Stanley Cup Final.”
The Blues will preempt the Cardinals for a guaranteed two games and a maximum of four nights during the Stanley Cup Final. Their new partnership with Hubbard broadcasting begins next season, broadcasters Chris Kerber and Joey Vitale will also make the move to 101 ESPN.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
