| Type | Radio network |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability |
|
| Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio |
| Owner | IMG College |
| Affiliations | |
| Affiliates | 62, including 2 flagships |
Official website | ohiostatebuckeyes |
TheOhio State Sports Network from Learfield is an Americanradio network consisting of 62 radio stations which carry coverage ofOhio State Buckeyesfootball andmen's basketball. Co-ownedWBNS (1460AM) andWBNS-FM (97.1FM), both licensed toColumbus, Ohio, serve as the network's 2flagship stations. The network also includes 60affiliates in the U.S. states ofOhio andWest Virginia: 33 AM stations, 22 of which extend their signals with low-power FMtranslators; 26 full-power FM stations; and one HD Radio digital subchannel which supplements its signal with a low-power FM translator.[1][2][3]Paul Keels has served asplay-by-play announcer for both football and men's basketball since 1998; former Ohio Stateoffensive guardJim Lachey currently serves ascolor analyst for football; and former Ohio Statepoint guard Ron Stokes currently serves as color analyst for men's basketball.[4][5][6]
This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(May 2015) |
In 2009,Ohio State announced it had sold its athletic program's media rights toIMG College and RadiOhio, Inc. (member of theDispatch Broadcasting Group and then-owner of longtime network flagships WBNS and WBNS-FM); the "lucrative multiyear deal" was reportedly worth $110 million, and scheduled to last through 2019. At the time of the announcement, athletic directorGene Smith said Ohio State athletics would be in a better position to confront thethen-ongoing economic downturn, referencing an unexpected $1.2 million deficit.[7][8]
On December 31, 2018, Learfield Communications, Inc., andIMG College merged and formed a new company, Learfield IMG College.
Besides gameday coverage, network programming includes:
| Callsign | Frequency | Band | City | State | Network status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBNS | 1460 | AM | Columbus | Ohio | Flagship |
| WBNS-FM | 97.1 | FM | Columbus | Ohio | Flagship |
| WAKR | 1590 | AM | Akron | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W228EL | 93.5 | FM | Akron | Ohio | WAKR relay |
| WMTR-FM | 96.1 | FM | Archbold | Ohio | Football Only |
| WREO-FM | 97.1 | FM | Ashtabula | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WATH | 970 | AM | Athens | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W247DR | 97.3 | FM | Athens | Ohio | WATH relay |
| WLYV | 1290 | AM | Bellaire | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WPKO-FM | 98.3 | FM | Bellefontaine | Ohio | Football Only |
| WBCO | 1540 | AM | Bucyrus | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W298CC | 107.5 | FM | Bucyrus | Ohio | WBCO relay |
| WQEL | 92.7 | FM | Bucyrus | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WILE-FM | 97.7 | FM | Cambridge | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WHBC | 1480 | AM | Canton | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WCSM | 1350 | AM | Celina | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W262DC | 100.3 | FM | Celina | Ohio | WCSM relay |
| WCSM-FM | 96.7 | FM | Celina | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WDJO | 1480 | AM | Cincinnati | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W237FL | 95.3 | FM | Cincinnati | Ohio | WDJO relay |
| W258CI | 99.5 | FM | Cincinnati | Ohio | WDJO relay |
| W300CI | 107.9 | FM | Cincinnati | Ohio | WDJO relay |
| W270DW | 101.9 | FM | Circleville | Ohio | WLOH relay |
| WKNR | 850 | AM | Cleveland | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WTNS-FM | 99.3 | FM | Coshocton | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WING | 1410 | AM | Dayton | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WGTZ | 92.9 | FM | Dayton | Ohio | Football Only |
| WJER | 1450 | AM | Dover–New Phila. | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W265DL | 100.9 | FM | Dover–New Phila. | Ohio | WJER relay |
| WFIN | 1330 | AM | Findlay | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W238CX | 95.5 | FM | Findlay | Ohio | WFIN relay |
| WFOB | 1430 | AM | Fostoria | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W289CP | 105.7 | FM | Fostoria | Ohio | WFOB relay |
| WMAN-FM | 98.3 | FM | Fredericktown | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WOHF | 92.1 | FM | Fremont | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WRAC | 103.1 | FM | Georgetown | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WVNU | 97.5 | FM | Greenfield | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WYRO | 98.7 | FM | Jackson | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WZWB | 1420 | AM | Kenova–Huntington | West Virginia | Affiliate |
| WKTN | 95.3 | FM | Kenton | Ohio | Football Only |
| WLOH | 1320 | AM | Lancaster | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W283BO | 104.5 | FM | Lancaster | Ohio | WLOH relay |
| WIMA | 1150 | AM | Lima | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W257EQ | 99.3 | FM | Logan | Ohio | WLOH relay |
| WMAN | 1400 | AM | Mansfield | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WMOA | 1490 | AM | Marietta | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W267CQ | 101.3 | FM | Marietta | Ohio | WMOA relay |
| WMRN | 1490 | AM | Marion | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WDLR | 1270 | AM | Marysville | Ohio | Football Only |
| W244DV | 96.7 | FM | Marysville | Ohio | WDLR relay |
| WJAW-FM | 100.9 | FM | McConnelsville | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WKLM | 95.3 | FM | Millersburg | Ohio | Football Only |
| WQIO-HD2* | 93.7-2 | FM | Mount Vernon | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W265DJ | 100.9 | FM | Mount Vernon | Ohio | WQIO-HD2 relay |
| WNDH | 103.1 | FM | Napoleon | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WXCR | 92.3 | FM | New Martinsville | West Virginia | Affiliate |
| WCLT | 1430 | AM | Newark | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W254CT | 98.7 | FM | Newark | Ohio | WCLT relay |
| WLKR-FM | 95.3 | FM | Norwalk | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WOBL | 1320 | AM | Oberlin | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W299CJ | 107.7 | FM | Oberlin | Ohio | WOBL relay |
| WKSD | 99.7 | FM | Paulding | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WPTW | 1570 | AM | Piqua | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W251BC | 98.1 | FM | Piqua | Ohio | WPTW relay |
| WNXT | 1260 | AM | Portsmouth | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W239CQ | 95.7 | FM | Portsmouth | Ohio | WNXT relay |
| WJEH-FM | 93.1 | FM | Racine | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WMOV | 1360 | AM | Ravenswood | West Virginia | Affiliate |
| W228DJ | 93.5 | FM | Ravenswood | West Virginia | WMOV relay |
| W295DM | 106.9 | FM | Point Pleasant | West Virginia | WMOV relay |
| WLEC | 1450 | AM | Sandusky | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W228EN | 93.5 | FM | Sandusky | Ohio | WLEC relay |
| WMVR-FM | 105.5 | FM | Sidney | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W275CT | 102.9 | FM | Somerset | Ohio | WLOH relay |
| WCDK | 106.3 | FM | Steubenville | Ohio | Football Only |
| WQQO-HD2* | 105.5-2 | FM | Sylvania | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W264AK | 100.7 | FM | Toledo | Ohio | WQQO-HD2 relay |
| WBTC | 1540 | AM | Uhrichsville | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W270CI | 101.9 | FM | Uhrichsville | Ohio | WBTC relay |
| WYNT | 95.9 | FM | Upper Sandusky | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WERT | 1220 | AM | Van Wert | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W282CF | 104.3 | FM | Van Wert | Ohio | WERT relay |
| WXIZ | 100.9 | FM | Waverly | Ohio | Football Only |
| W261DH | 100.1 | FM | Wheeling | West Virginia | WLYV relay |
| WNIO | 1390 | AM | Youngstown | Ohio | Affiliate |
| WHIZ | 1240 | AM | Zanesville | Ohio | Affiliate |
| W272EE | 102.3 | FM | Zanesville | Ohio | WHIZ relay |
Once money starts flowing from the university's $110 million deal with IMG College and RadiOhio, the athletic department will be better positioned to weather the economic downturn, OSU athletics director Gene Smith said. ... 'At the time we started the process five months ago, we were not in the position to know we'd have the $1.2 million (deficit),' Smith said.