“We are happy to extend our affiliation with Capital Broadcasting, who has provided a radio home for so much of our time in North Carolina,” Hurricane General Manager Don Waddell said Wednesday evening. 99.9 FM received a three-year extension to serve as the flagship station for the Hurricanes Radio Network.
WCMC first broadcasted in October of 2005 as “99.9 FM Genuine Country,” the station has served as the Hurricanes’ radio home since June 28th, 2007. “Capital Broadcasting Company has been a big fan of the Hurricanes from the beginning and I have wanted to do the radio broadcast since we put 99.9 Genuine Country on the air,” said Jim Goodman, President and CEO of Capital Broadcasting. In the next few months, WCMC changed its format a couple of times before settling on sports talk in October of the same year.
Long-time Hurricanes fans might remember how challenging it was to listen to their favorite hockey team play before the deal. In the franchise’s early years in North Carolina, they had to fight to be heard on the radio. Twenty-eight hours before the 1998-99 season started WPTF 98.5 FM and 680 AM terminated their broadcast agreement with the team. Hurricanes management scrambled to find a partner for their season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
WRBZ 850 AM (850 The Buzz) agreed to carry the game in the Raleigh market on delay. Another eight stations created a patchwork network for fans to listen to. An article in the February 24th, 1999, edition of Raleigh’s News and Observer explained how hard it could be to tune in to the post-game show on your way home. “First, listen to WSJS-600 in Greensboro until the signal fades out in Burlington; then switch to WMSL-1200, until that signal dies in Chapel Hill, and then pick up ‘The Buzz.'”
“One thing we’ll have to do from a fan’s perspective is cut down on the degree of confusion that can exist when people are trying to find our games,” said John Forslund, former Hurricanes television play-by-play man. Forslund also provided color commentary alongside Hurricanes radio play-by-play man Chuck Kaiton when games weren’t televised.
Even when the Hurricanes nail down a station to broadcast their games, most were played on delay. Kaition and Forslund could listen to the game start while driving home if they wanted to. Neither said they ever took advantage of the opportunity. One game in the early 2000s didn’t start until midnight. “I’m certainly not interested in listening to a 7 p.m. game at midnight,” said one Raleigh fan.
Yesterday’s agreement won’t make headlines. No one will devote a segment of their show to sharing the news. That’s a good thing. It shows hockey’s growth in our market. Twenty years ago you had to skip around to three or four stations to hear Chuck Kaiton calling a game live. In other cases, you could start listening as morning papers with game details were printed in downtown Raleigh. This agreement is another sign of the Hurricanes’ growth through their twenty-five years in Carolina.
Simulcasts of Bally Sports South’s broadcast will continue to be carried on 99.9 FM until 2026. Additional seasons of the station’s pregame and postgame shows are also part of the deal. “We’re really excited about continuing our long-standing relationship with the Carolina Hurricanes,” said Brian Grube, General Manager of Radio at Capital Broadcasting.
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