WGR

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WGR Sports Radio 550
City of license	Buffalo
Broadcast area	Western New York
Branding	"WGR Sports Radio 550"
Slogan	Western New York's Sports Leader
First air date	May 22, 1922
Frequency	550 (kHz)
Format	Sports radio
Power	5,000
Class	watts
Callsign meaning	W George Rand
Affiliations	ESPN Radio Westwood One Buffalo Sabres New York Yankees
Owner	Entercom Communications
Website	WGR550.com

WGR, or WGR Sports Radio 550, is an all sports radio station in Buffalo, New York that broadcasts on 550 AM. It is the flagship station of the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bandits, and is currently the only full-time sports talk station in the city of Buffalo.

Contents 1 History 2 Broadcast Signal 3 Criticisms 4 Hosts and Programs 5 Contributors and Regular Guests 6 20/20 Sports Anchors 7 Live Sports Coverage 8 External links

[edit] History

The history of one of Buffalo’s earliest radio stations has its roots at sea. On April 1, 1921 the sailing vessel, "The Governor," sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The ship’s assigned radio call letters were WGR. Due to maritime superstition, the call sign was never reissued and reverted back to a pool of available call signs for new radio stations.

That same year, the Federal Telephone & Telegraph Company (FTTC), headquartered in a sprawling manufacturing complex in North Buffalo, began marketing its first, completely assembled radio sets. To fill a radio void in the city, and to stimulate sales of their new "high-tech" products, the FTTC applied for a commercial radio license from the Department of Commerce. On May 22, 1922, the WGR broadcast commenced, beginning more than 75 years of continuous service to Western New York and Southern Ontario. Published reports say that the first programs on WGR were: a clergyman’s lecture; a concert from Victor’s Furniture Store showroom; and a presentation on the advantages of a college education by Dr. Julian Park, from the University at Buffalo.

The selection of WGR as the call sign for the station was twofold. "GR" were the initials of George Rand, the founder of the station. WGR also stands for World's Greatest Radio, which was used as a slogan.

WGR is the oldest radio station in Buffalo, NY that is still in operation. For many years, WGR was owned by Taft Broadcasting. During its days as a full service radio station, its roster of personalities included "Buffalo Bob" Smith, later famous for TV's Howdy Doody children's show, and popular national TV and nightclub comedian Foster Brooks. The station's longtime music format combining Adult Top 40 hits and rock oldies gradually evolved to news/talk during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1987, Taft sold the station to Rich Communications. WGR was then sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1997 before being purchased by Entercom Communications in 1999. In 2000, WGR became an all-sports talk radio station.

From 2001 to 2004, WGR competed with upstart radio station WNSA. The two stations battled for listeners and the rights to broadcast sporting events. Several teams' broadcasts bounced between the two stations, such as the Bandits, New York Yankees, and Buffalo Destroyers. When WNSA went up for sale, Entercom bought it out, regaining the Yankees rights and acquiring, for the first time in decades, the radio rights to the Buffalo Sabres. Two of WGR's current drive time hosts, Howard Simon and Mike Schopp, came from WNSA.

In 2006, the Sabres and WGR renewed their broadcast agreement through 2012.

[edit] Broadcast Signal

WGR's broadcast signal broadcasts at a power of 5,000 watts. During the day, the nondirectional signal, assisted by the Great Lakes, can stretch from Cleveland, Ohio to Watertown, New York. At night, the signal is shifted to a directional north-to-south pattern aimed toward Toronto, Ontario.

In 2006, WGR resumed streaming its programming on the Internet after a four-year hiatus.

[edit] Criticisms

WGR has been occasionally criticized for their disproportionate coverage of hockey, while dedicating an extremely small amount of time to college basketball and the NBA. This is despite the fact that basketball is undeniably more popular on a national scale. WGR maintains that it is giving the local listeners what they want to hear, as the NHL garners some of its biggest television ratings in the Buffalo market. But critics say that since the station talks very seldom about basketball, they've alienated many fans of the sport (and would-be listeners).

Some have even said that the station's radio personalities only mention basketball when there is something negative to talk about. It should be noted that Buffalo has an NHL team (to which WGR owns the rights), but no NBA team, since losing the Buffalo Braves in 1978.

It is noteworthy, however, that the Buffalo Braves did not relocate as a result of a lack of fan interest, and that there are still many avid fans of professional and college basketball in Western New York.

In 2006, WGR began giving even more coverage to the NHL by carrying broadcasts of out-of-market NHL games through Westwood One. And in 2007, the station began more extensive coverage of NASCAR, while maintaining their scanty basketball coverage.

Another area of criticism leveled against WGR comes from fans of the Buffalo Bills. WGR was for years the radio home of the Bills, but starting in the late 1990s, the Bills switched their affiliation from WGR to WGRF 96.9 FM. With the transference of Sabres rights from the defunct WNSA to WGR, some fans of the Bills have claimed that WGR gives inordinate coverage of the Sabres, to the detriment of covering the Bills.

A valid argument is that the Sabres have been extremely successful since 2005, while the Bills have been mediocre at best since their last playoff appearance following the 1999 season. However, some Bills fans feel that WGR can be over-the-top in its support of the Sabres, while the NFL team receives the brunt of the hosts' regular backlash.

[edit] Hosts and Programs

• Howard Simon, morning drive
• Jeremy White, morning drive
• Colin Cowherd, syndicated sports talk host on ESPN Radio
• Jim Rome, syndicated sports talk host
• Mike Schopp and Chris "Bulldog" Parker, afternoon drive
• Brad Riter, evenings, and Buffalo Sabres pre- and postgame host
• ESPN Radio, overnight

[edit] Contributors and Regular Guests

• Hub Arkush, Pro Football Weekly columnist
• John Clayton, ESPN football reporter
• Chuck Dickerson (a.k.a. "The Coach"), Former Buffalo Bills assistant coach
• Lee Evans, Buffalo Bills wide receiver
• Mike Florio, of ProFootballTalk.com
• Paul Gaustad, Buffalo Sabres forward
• Paul Hamilton, WGR Buffalo Sabres beat reporter
• Rick Jeanneret, Buffalo Sabres play-by-play announcer
• Jim Kelly, Hall-of famer, former Buffalo Bills quarterback
• Peter King, Sports Illustrated and NBC football columnist/analyst
• Marv Levy, Hall-of-famer, former Buffalo Bills head coach and current general manager
• Mike Robitaille, Former Buffalo Sabre and current MSG hockey analyst
• Jerry Sullivan, Buffalo News columnist

[edit] 20/20 Sports Anchors

• Greg Bauch
• Dave Buchanan
• Kevin Carroll
• Dan Cave
• Corey Griswold
• Dan Hager
• Nick Mendola
• Jeff Morrison
• Jeremy Noeson
• Jeremy White

[edit] Live Sports Coverage

• Buffalo Sabres flagship station; play-by-play with Rick Jeanneret and Jim Lorentz
• New York Yankees affiliate; play-by-play with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman
• University at Buffalo football; play-by-play with Howard Simon and Brian Koziol
• Buffalo Bandits lacrosse play-by play with John Gurtler (usually delegated to WWKB)
• Sunday Night Baseball play-by-play on ESPN Radio
• Sunday and Monday night NFL play-by-play on Westwood One
• NASCAR play-by-play

[edit] External links

• WGR 550 official Web site
• WGR Jock History (billdulmage.com)
• Rock Radio Scrapbook page including recordings of Frank Benny and Shane on WGR, April 28, 1980
• Portions of information came from the Buffalo Broadcast Pioneers Web site.