A new management team is about to take charge at WMVP AM-1000, the sports/talk flagship of ESPN Radio in Chicago.

In a surprise move Wednesday, ESPN Radio, a unit of Walt Disney Co., announced a long-term local marketing agreement with Good Karma Brands. Effective September 29, the Wisconsin-based company will lease the station and assume control of all operations at ESPN Radio Chicago.

Terms of the deal, including whether it provides for an option to buy the station, were not disclosed.

While the station will continue to be branded as ESPN 1000 (and licensed to ESPN Radio), it’s unclear how the move will affect the local talent roster.

The announcement said only that Good Karma would “expand its affiliate relationship” with ESPN Radio and that the station would “feature a lineup of local and national sports talk programming and ESPN Radio’s national play-by-play lineup,” including the NBA, MLB, NFL and college football.

It’s a good bet that the popular afternoon team of Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman will continue for the foreseeable future. But the fate of other local hosts, including David Kaplan, Carmen DeFalco, John “Jurko” Jurkovic and Jonathan Hood may be less certain.

Jim Pastor, vice president and general manager of ESPN 1000, announced he will retire at the end of the year. He told friends Wednesday he was “100 percent on board” with the move.


Good Karma Brands includes WTMJ, a news and sports station in Milwaukee, seven ESPN-affiliated radio stations, and two other radio stations in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.


In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, ESPN 1000 tied for 25th place overall with a 1.5 percent share and cumulative weekly audience of 418,900. Its main competitor, Entercom sports/talk WSCR 670-AM, tied for seventh place with a 3.8 share and weekly cume of 946,200.

Didn't Kap just get new paper?

In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, ESPN 1000 tied for 25th place overall with a 1.5 percent share and cumulative weekly audience of 418,900

I think that was just at NBCSportsChicago

Yeah, I have a feeling this opens the door for Kap to go to 670.

Well, this is potentially unfortunate. However, the more accomplished hosts that come over to 670 may spell the end of BIG RED on the station. One can hope at least.

With new baseball and basketball facilities and the Brewers being competitive most every year plus Giannis you'd think SE Wisconsin would be sports-crazy.

Yeah, I'm sure The Score is just going to jump all over the hosts from a station that does much worse in the ratings than they do to the point that Disney/ESPN was kind of like "Hey, we don't really want this, but we still like our name on the billboards, so why don't you kind of buy it from us and do everything with it but you can still call it ESPN 1000".

Kaplan would pull in a better rating than McKnight/Bernstein.

That's even worse.

Aren't his ratings pretty poor now though?

I thought Zaidman was going to take over for Hughes when he retires.

I thought Zaidman was going to take over for Hughes when he retires.

Well, this is potentially unfortunate. However, the more accomplished hosts that come over to 670 may spell the end of BIG RED on the station. One can hope at least.

Pat Hughes is pretty fucking weird too. He's into the Kennedy Assassination conspiracy theories, even goes to conventions too with other conspiracy theorists.

Where'd you come up with this? Or did you think it was worth a shot.

He's a Kennedy assassination buff, an avid reader of all types of historical literature, an easygoing personality and devoted family man....