The NFL Atlanta Falcons have signed a four-year deal with Lincoln Financial Media to make “Sports Radio 790 The Zone” WQXI and hot AC “Star 94” WSTR its new radio flagship stations. The games had been heard on CBS Radio’s adult alternative “92.9 Dave FM” WZGC. Play-by-play announcer Wes Durham and color analyst and former Iowa State Cyclone Dave Archer will make the move as well.
As part of the agreement, both stations will simulcast all Falcons regular and pre-season games starting the fall 2011. While it may be unusual for a pop music station to air football play by play, program director Scott Lindy sees it as a good fit. “Falcons families are Star 94 families,” Lindy says. “Our 100,000 watt reach, combined with the Falcons’ huge popularity, makes this a great move for both brands."
The agreement marks a homecoming of sorts for the Falcons. The franchise's first season in 1966 was broadcast on WQXI and WKXI-FM – which is today WSTR. The relationship continued into the mid-1970s.
While CBS Radio lost the rights, its sister WGCL-TV remains the television home for the Falcons in Atlanta. “Lincoln Financial Media and CBS Atlanta are solid media companies who are committed to providing Falcons fans with the most innovative, complete, and comprehensive coverage both from a radio and television prospective,” team president Rich McKay says.