Chuck Swirsky and Bill Wennington (Photo: Chicago Bulls)
It’s official: Chicago Bulls broadcasts are moving to The Score.
Confirming a report here Tuesday, the Bulls have reached agreement with Entercom sports/talk WSCR AM 670 to become the team’s new radio flagship through 2021. The first game on The Score will air Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Bulls (along with the Chicago White Sox) are losing their current radio home on news/talk WLS AM 890 as owner Cumulus Media seeks to emerge from bankruptcy by nullifying unprofitable contracts.
Chicago Bulls
Terms of the Bulls deal, officially announced Wednesday on Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley’s morning show, were not disclosed. Insiders cite the decades-long relationship between team owner Jerry Reinsdorf and top executives of the station — Jimmy deCastro, senior vice president and market manager of Entercom Chicago, and Mitch Rosen, operations director of The Score — with finalizing the agreement in record time.
“We are honored and privileged to carry a franchise as historic as the Bulls in conjunction with the great Score brand,” Rosen said after the on-air announcement. “It's exciting for us to bring them together.”
Bulls games will continue to be announced by veteran play-by-play broadcaster Chuck Swirsky and color commentator Bill Wennington. Steve Kashul will continue as pregame, postgame and halftime show host.
Adding the Bulls will both enhance and complicate the lineup at The Score, which already carries DePaul and Illinois basketball as well as Chicago Cubs baseball. On occasions when Bulls broadcasts conflict with the Cubs, the Bulls are likely to air on WIND AM 560, the Salem Communications news/talk station, under a tentative deal between the two companies.
Still uncertain is the future of White Sox radio broadcasts. Identified as possible destinations were Tribune Broadcasting news/talk WGN AM 720 or ESPN sports/talk WMVP AM 1000. “The White Sox will announce a spring training radio broadcast schedule in the near future,” the team said in a statement.
Tuesday’s best comment: Ron Magers: Intent raises an issue that muddies the debate over purchasing Twitter followers. If purchased simply to inflate the number of followers that’s one thing. But if you can easily, and apparently cheaply, purchase a number of names who will see your posts and potentially become fans . . . that’s another. And how would that be different from corporate marketers purchasing email and other lists in an effort to attract customers.