BERKELEY – Cal Athletics and its multimedia rights holder, Learfield’s Cal Bears Sports Properties, have renewed their agreement to air Golden Bear football and men’s basketball games on KGO Radio (AM 810) through the 2019-20 athletic seasons, extending one of the longest broadcast partnerships in sports.
Cal football fans have been able to follow the Golden Bears on KGO Radio since 1974 – making this coming fall the 44th consecutive season together – while Cal men’s basketball will be aired on AM 810 for the fifth straight year.
Joe Starkey will return for his 43rd season calling football play-by-play, and he will continue to be joined by Cal Hall of Famer Mike Pawlawski, who will serve as analyst, and Todd McKim on the sidelines. Each football game will begin with an hour-long pregame show followed by a 60-minute postgame program, hosted by longtime Bay Area voices Hal Ramey and Lee Grosscup.
A 50,000-watt station based in San Francisco, KGO, operated by Cumulus Media, can be heard from as far north as Redding, south to Fresno and to the coast in San Luis Obispo during the day. The signal also reaches into Canada, Colorado and Mexico at night. In addition, others stations on the statewide Cal football network for this season are KESP Radio (970 AM, Modesto), KAHI Radio (950 AM, Sacramento) and KLAA Radio (830 AM, Los Angeles).
“Most of our fans only know KGO as the radio home of the Golden Bears,” Director of Athletics Mike Williams said. “We are excited to extend our partnership and keep a familiar place on the radio for our listeners. As our flagship, KGO provides an extensive signal that encompasses much of our state, and we look forward to moving well into our fifth decade together as broadcast partners.”
“Cal Football is the longest-running partnership on KGO 810-AM. We are thrilled to once again extend both Football and Men’s Basketball to fans throughout Northern California,” said Justin Wittmayer, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Media-San Francisco.
ABOUT LEARFIELD
An industry leader for more than four decades, Learfield has a deep presence in the college athletics landscape nationwide. It manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for 120 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas, and supports athletic departments at all competitive levels as title sponsor of the prestigious Learfield Directors’ Cup. Learfield also provides its collegiate partners access to professional concessions and ticket sales; licensing and trademark consulting; digital and social platform expertise; and venue and technology systems through its affiliated companies.
ABOUT CUMULUS MEDIA
A leader in the radio broadcasting industry, Cumulus Media (NASDAQ:CMLS) combines high-quality local programming with iconic, nationally syndicated media, sports and entertainment brands to deliver premium content choices to the 245 million people reached each week through its 445 owned-and-operated stations broadcasting in 90 US media markets (including eight of the top 10), more than 8,200 broadcast radio stations affiliated with its Westwood One network and numerous digital channels. Together, the Cumulus/Westwood One platforms make Cumulus Media one of the few media companies that can provide advertisers with national reach and local impact. Cumulus/Westwood One is the exclusive radio broadcast partner to some of the largest brands in sports, entertainment, news, and talk, including the NFL, the NCAA, the Masters, the Olympics, the GRAMMYs, the Academy of Country Music Awards, the American Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, Westwood One News, and more. Additionally, it is the nation’s leading provider of country music and lifestyle content through its NASH brand, which serves country fans nationwide through radio programming, exclusive digital content, and live events. For more information, visit www.cumulus.com.