Black Bear Sports Network is the radio and television name forUniversity of Maine sports. The radio affiliates broadcastfootball, men's and women'sbasketball, men'sice hockey and selectbaseball andsoftball games. The current network formed in the summer of 2007 whenLearfield Sports took over the marketing for theMaine Black Bears. Previous to this the radio network was known asThe Sports Zone Black Bear Network and was heard onBangor, MaineESPN Radio affiliateWZON, at times includingWLOB andWEGP.
WABI-TV, Bangor'sCBS affiliate was the long-time television home for Black Bear sports, including most home football games and men's and women's basketball games (also carried onPortlandCW affiliateWPXT); WABI's relationship with UMaine, which dated to the station's founding in 1953 (outside of a period from 1989 through 1997 in which rivalWLBZ-TV held the rights) ended in 2013, after the station was unable to reach a renewal deal with Learfield Sports.[1] In July 2013, Learfield reached a deal to makeWVII-TV andWFVX-LD, Bangor'sABC andFox affiliates, the new flagship television stations for the Black Bear Sports Network. As part of the deal, Black Bear sports telecasts will also be seen onFox College Sports, and production will be handled by Pack Network (WABI had produced its telecasts in-house).[2] Select basketball games are carried onESPN Plus andAmerica East TV and picked up byNESN or carried locally on other Bangor-based television stations.
In 2013 new 5-year deals were announced, Blueberry Broadcasting'sWVOM-FM/WVOM/WVQM will be the flagship for men's ice hockey and football, Waterfront Communications'WGUY will be the flagship for basketball and baseball.
| Station | Frequency | City | Format | Sports carried | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WVOM-FM | 103.9 | Howland/Bangor | News/Talk | Ice Hockey (2007, 2013–) & Football (2007–08, 2013–) | |
| WVQM | 101.3 | Augusta | News/Talk | Ice Hockey (2013-) & Football (2013-) | |
| WLOB | 1310 | Portland | News/Talk | Football, Select Men's basketball | |
| WTOS | 910 | Bangor | Fox Sports Radio | Basketball (2011-2013) & Baseball (2012-2013), Overflow football and hockey (2014-) | Co-flagship with WAEI-FM from 2008-2011) |
| WGUY | 1230 | Veazie/Bangor | Oldies | Basketball,Baseball,Softball (2013-) | |
| WBAN | 1340 | News/Talk | Overflow basketball and baseball games (2013-) | ||
| WHZP | 1400 | News/Talk | Overflow basketball and baseball games (2013-) |
| Station | Frequency | City | Format | Sports carried | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBCQ-FM | 94.7 | Monticello | Classic Country | Hockey | Affiliated ended after 2012-2013 season |
| WGUY | 102.1 | Dexter | Oldies | Basketball (2007),Baseball/Softball (2008) | Later sold with sports moving toWAEI for 2008-2009 season |
| Fox Sports Maine | 97.5/1450/1280 | Madison/Rockland,Gardiner | Fox Sports Radio | Basketball, Baseball, Select hockey & football games. Affiliation ended at the end of the 2012-2013 academic year. | |
| WKSQ | 94.5 | Ellsworth | Hot AC | Football (2011-2012) & Hockey (2011-2013) | |
| WAEI-FM | 97.1 | Bangor | Sports Talk | Football (2009-2010), Hockey (2008-2011), Basketball (2008-2011), Baseball (2009–11) | Co-flagship with WAEI 910 |
| WVOM | 1450 | Rockland/Bangor | News/Talk | Basketball (until 2012-13 season), Baseball (until 2013 season), Ice Hockey (2013-2022) & Football (2013-2022) | Carried University of Maine sports when it was part of trimulcast ofFox Sports Maine |
Initial press release on movement of radio affiliates
UM Network adds WLOB[permanent dead link]
2010 Black Bear radio guideBlack Bear Sports Properties SecuresNew 5 Year Relationship with Blueberry Broadcasting & Waterfront Communications