TheNew York Mets Radio Network, referred to on air as theMets Radio 880 Network, is a radio network owned byAudacy, Inc. (previouslyCBS Radio) that broadcastsNew York Mets baseball games. It consists of two AM stations in the states of Florida and New York. A Spanish-language broadcast airs separately from the English-language network.
The network's English-language flagship isWHSQ, which is owned by Audacy but licensed toGood Karma Brands to operate as an affiliate ofESPN Radio. WHSQ inherited the radio broadcast rights to the Mets fromWCBS (AM), its predecessor, and is operating under a contract signed with Audacy predecessorEntercom that began in 2018 and is scheduled to run until 2025.[1] The Mets had previously aired their games onWFAN beginning in 1987, when the station signed on at 1050 AM a replacement forWHN; WHN had been the radio home of the Mets from 1983 on. The Mets would eventually move with WFAN down the dial to 660 AM in 1988 and would remain there for over two decades.
After WFAN signed on to be the flagship for theNew York Yankees beginning in 2013, the Mets moved their broadcasts to a new flagship,WOR.[2][3] The Mets were the first professional sports team in a decade to call the station home, after theNew Jersey Nets left for WFAN in 2004.[4]
Howie Rose serves asplay-by-play andcolor commentator on the broadcasts, alternating these roles with another broadcaster. For the period from 2012 to 2018, Rose's partner wasJosh Lewin.Wayne Randazzo, who had hosted pre- and post-game broadcasts, replaced Lewin in 2019.[5]Ed Coleman previously hosted the pre-game and post-game shows, which were calledMets Extra by WFAN, and served as a substitute broadcaster when necessary (usually for Lewin, who, in addition to his Mets duties, was the radio voice of theSan Diego Chargers and was forced to miss weekend games in September in order to fulfill those duties). However, in January 2014 it was announced that Coleman would not be part of the WOR broadcasts as he has been employed by WFAN since its inception. (Although WFAN personalities Chris Carlin and Marc Malusis have been heard on WOR through its broadcasts ofRutgers University sporting events, WOR does not produce Rutgers' games and is instead an affiliate of its radio network.) Coleman returned to the Mets' booth as pre-game host in 2019. In 2023, after Randazzo left to do television play-by-play for theLos Angeles Angels, his role was filled by Keith Raad.[6]
On April 1, 2019, Entercom announced that it had discontinued the Mets' radio network and would be carrying games only on WCBS for the 2019 season. The Mets cited the loss of some of its affiliates prior to the season (among themWROW in Albany) and the relative expense of satellite space for the discontinuation.[7] At least one station,WTLA in Syracuse (the city that houses the Mets'AAA affiliate), expressed objection to the cancellation, as that station had an affiliation deal that ran through 2020 and will not be honored.[8] WHSQ, a maximum-powerclear-channel station that can be received in most of theEastern United States at night, now exclusively airs all games.
On March 31, 2022, the Mets announced that the WCBS stream on theAudacy app would stream Mets games in full to make up for the radio network's shortfall throughout the Mets' home territory, and also be made available on the team's website under the same restriction. The team and Audacy will also produce and stream the team's Spanish-language broadcast, which will return to WEPN after a one-year interregnum onTelevisaUnivision'sWQBU-FM (a sale of that station to a religious broadcaster required a move in rights over the offseason).[9]
Good Karma Brands began operating WCBS asWHSQ on August 26, 2024, under alocal marketing agreement with Audacy, with the station carryingESPN Radio as a replacement forWEPN-FM. Good Karma holds no relationship to the Mets or its radio network, as Audacy remains the official rights holder, and is responsible for the advertising time during Mets broadcasts.[10][11] Likewise, the stream for Mets games remains on the Audacy app under the "Mets Radio" branding, withInfinity Sports Network programming streamed at all other times.
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