Why popular sports radio show "Three and Out" will leave the airways in Savannah this week
Change is coming to the local sports airwaves this week as Shanks Broadcasting of Macon is in the process of purchasing Southern Media Interactive, which owns ESPN Coastal 104.3 FM.
That means Wednesday, Aug. 31, will be the final afternoon broadcast for "Three and Out," which has aired in the Coastal Empire for more than nine years. The show — featuring Kevin Thomas, B.J. Bennett and former University of Florida football star and NFL tight end Ben Troupe — has been the foundation of ESPN Coastal.
"Second Down," an afternoon show preceding "Three and Out" hosted by Christian Goeckel, also will be broadcast for the final time on Wednesday. Thomas and Goeckel have also broadcast Benedictine football games since the start of last season, and will continue to do that through the season, Thomas said. The "Danny Britt Show" featuring the Cadets football coach will continue, but it might end up being online instead of on-air, Thomas said.
P.J. Zucco will continue to work at the new station on the business side of things, and his NASCAR show "Green, White, Checkered" will continue to run on Sunday mornings. But his "High School First Look" show aired on Thursday night and focused on football will be discontinued, he said
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'The Bill Shanks Show' expected to take over slot
Shanks Broadcasting is known for "The Bill Shanks Show," a popular afternoon broadcast which is expected to take over the afternoon time slot. The show is focused on UGA football and professional sports in Atlanta.
"Our last show is going to be a week from today (on Aug. 31)," said Thomas, who has been working in the industry for 22 years, with the last nine at ESPN Coastal. "That's a lot more time than a lot of people get in this business. A lot of hosts never even get a chance to say goodbye on the air, so we're glad.
"It's just part of the radio business; things get bought and sold and owners are going to do what they see fit with their stations. But we've been together as colleagues and friends for a long time. I've been working with B.J. (Bennett) for 18 years now, and we joke that we sometimes see each other more than we see our own families.
"We have a small, tight-knit group and we've been together through marriages and starting families. I'm grateful for the relationships we have, because if you don't like someone you work with in this situation, it would make for long days."
'Three and Out' crew to start online show
The crew is set to start an online show at Southernpigskin.com, where Goeckel will be the content director.
"I have mixed feelings about this," said Goeckel, who started at ESPN Coastal as a production assistant and worked his way up to hosting his own show. "I'm not excited about losing what we had, but I'm not devastated by the news, either. I'm proud of what we've done in the last decade and excited about the future. We're taking our creative juices elsewhere with this same crew as we accelerate the process going from radio to digital."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah's "Three and Out" show going off air after ownership change
