Sports Radio station 790 The Score is returning to RI airwaves
PROVIDENCE — Round-the-clock sports programming is returning to Rhode Island's airwaves.
In an announcement posted to YouTube on Wednesday, Cumulus Media said that "790 The Score" is coming back and will feature 24-7 sports programming, including national sports personality Jim Rome, local sports talk radio host Kevin McNamara, as well as game coverage of New York Yankees baseball, Boston Celtics basketball as well as Brown University football and basketball games.
A source with knowledge of the discussions told The Journal all-sports programming will begin no later than August, a transition from the station’s current right-wing talk radio lineup.
The Score's format broadcast in Rhode Island for 10 years before being discontinued in 2008, and featured hosts Andy Gresh, Scott Cordischi, Scott Zolak, John Crowe and more. It was founded in fall 1997 and chronicled an unprecedented period of success for the Red Sox — who reversed their 86-year World Series curse — and now six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots.
“Rhode Island sports fans were great to us,” Cordischi said Thursday. “They welcomed us with open arms. It was awesome.”
Cordischi is currently a social media specialist for Brown athletics and is the lead play-by-play radio voice for both football and basketball at the school. He served as director of football operations with the Bears under former coach Phil Estes before moving into a communications office role within the athletic department. Cordischi also co-hosts a Saturday morning sports talk show on WEEI’s local FM affiliate with ABC-6 sports director Nick Coit.
“I’m excited about that from a Brown athletics standpoint,” Cordischi said. “I have so many fond memories of The Score.”
The Score was eventually crowded out by what is a two-station scene in the Boston market. WEEI gained strength in the mid-1990s and emerged as the power during the afternoon drive. Programming director and host Glenn Ordway presided over "The Big Show," a rollicking assembly of personalities that rocketed up the ratings.
WEEI bolstered its lineup by paying appearance fees approaching six figures annually to its headlining weekly guests. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick had regular spots along with Red Sox manager Terry Francona and pitcher Curt Schilling. The Score couldn’t bring in such notable names and its ratings began to slide as a result.
“I’m a New England sports fan,” Cordischi said. “I want to hear from those guys.”
The Sports Hub has cut into that following significantly, overtaking WEEI after its July 2009 launch and never looking back. The station’s weekday afternoon show with co-hosts Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti crushes its competition in the key demographic of men ages 25-54. The Sports Hub also holds broadcast rights to the Patriots, Celtics and Bruins among other professional sports properties.
The sports industry as a whole has changed significantly since Cordischi was last on the air full time. The most considerable development involves legalized gambling — Sportsbook RI has a pair of locations in the state and cable giants like ESPN and Fox Sports 1 have made significant investments to gain a foothold in that arena. Advertising from online entities like FanDuel and DraftKings could offer The Score a steady revenue stream for both its local and national programming.
“They have money they want to spend to get clients, to get business,” Cordischi said. “I think this station will try to take advantage of that to be quite honest.”
McNamara was a longtime sportswriter and columnist at The Journal who has hosted a one-hour show on WPRO and its affiliates for nearly two years. He will be carried on The Score from 5-7 p.m. weeknights and broadcast simultaneously in his current 6-7 p.m. slot on WPRO. McNamara politely declined comment when reached Thursday.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Returning to Rhode Island airwaves: Sports radio station 790 The Score
