New sports choice makes radio debut
Another station is joining the sports radio landscape at noon today.
WPTK/AM 1200 in Cape Coral kicks off its programming through Fox Sports Radio with the Jim Rome Show from noon to 3 p.m. The station also will carry all 12 Florida State football games and six University of South Florida games.
“We think that there are a lot of sports enthusiasts in Southwest Florida, and we think we can do a great job,” said Wayne Simons, vice president and general manager of Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, which also owns WINK-TV. “We think Fox Sports Radio Network is pretty strong, and we think with our local connections we can put on a better product and we can market it better than the competition.”
WPTK-AM 1200 joins 770 ESPN Radio (formerly WWCN/AM Sports Radio770) of Fort Myers in the all-sports format. 770 went to all sports through ESPN Radio in 2001. A handful of other stations in Southwest Florida also broadcast some sports, but not on an around-the-clock basis.
In addition to Fox Sports Radio Network programming, WINK-TV sports director Clayton Ferraro and Florida Firecats media relations director Adam Mendelson will host “the Red Zone” from 3-7 p.m. weekdays. That show will go up against 770’s “Miller and Moulton in the Afternoon,” featuring former Everblades play-by-play man Mark Miller and former ABC-7 sports anchor David Moulton in the same time slot. Moulton also writes a Sunday sports column for the Naples Daily News.
The station currently broadcasts at 10,000 watts, but Simons said plans are to increase that to 50,000 watts sometime early next year. Simons added they also have a construction permit in Naples for AM-1460, and plan to simulcast AM-1200 programming in the next month or so.
“We’ll have a much better signal,” he said.
Simons said a Web site also is in the works.
Fox Sports Radio also broadcasts NFL games on Sundays. Simons said the station will continue to look for other sports programming and for feedback from its listeners.
Weekday programming schedule:
6 a.m.-9 a.m. — The First Team on Fox with Steve Czaban
9 a.m.-noon — Out of Bounds on Fox with Craig Shemon and James Washington, a member of two Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl winning team in the early 90s.
Noon-3 p.m. — The Jim Rome Show
3 p.m.-7 p.m. — The Red Zone with WINK-TV’s Clayton Ferraro and Adam Mendelson
7 p.m.-10 p.m. — Fox GameTime Live with Andrew Siciliano and Krystal Fernandez
10 p.m.-2 a.m. — Fox GameTime React with J.T. The Brick
2 a.m.-6 a.m. — The Third Shift on FOX Weekday Edition with Ben Maller
Greg Hardwig writes for the Naples Daily News. Contact him at gshardwig@naplesnews.com