Entercom will use an HD-2 FM channel in Chicago as it continues to feel its way in expanding radio programming about sports betting.
It announced launch of “The Bet 105.9 FM-HD2,” which will be part of its BetQL Audio Network and an affiliate of CBS Sports Radio.
Until now, that HD-2 channel carried a simulcast of its main station, WCFS(FM), which is branded as WBBM Newsradio.
Because it is a digital subchannel, the content will only be heard by listeners with HD Radio receivers in Chicago. HD Radio developer Xperi has said that receiver penetration continues to increase in major markets.
The company said The Bet format “will feature national sports talk and sports betting programming heard across Entercom’s robust portfolio of sports stations, as well as the BetQL Audio Network.”
Entercom recently made similar moves in Los Angeles, where the content is heard on an HD-3 channel, and Denver, where Entercom is using an AM station for the format.
[Related: “Entercom Tries Betting Radio in L.A., Denver”]
Rachel Williamson, regional president and market manager in Chicago, said in the announcement that since legalization in 2019, “sports betting has exploded in the state of Illinois and we’re delighted to enter the arena of this rapidly growing landscape to deliver insightful content to our listeners with the launch of this new station.
Programming includes “BetQL Daily” with Joe Ostrowski and Ross Tucker and “You Better You Bet” with Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley.
[Related: “Radio Gambles on Sports Betting”]
