White Sox, WGN Radio Agree To Broadcast Partnership

CHICAGO, IL – For decades, WGN Radio was affiliated with Chicago's other baseball team. But beginning in 2018, the Chicago White Sox will have all 162 regular season games broadcast on the radio via WGN Radio AM 720. The team announced the partnership, the first exclusive deal between the White Sox and WGN Radio, in a statement to media on Wednesday.

“What an honor it is to join the White Sox family,” said Todd Manley, WGN Radio station manager and vice president of content. “Summer starts TODAY on WGN Radio.”

The team's partnership with WGN Radio will complement the longtime partnership they have had with WGN-TV, which has aired some White Sox games for several years. Wednesday's announcement included details of a multiyear agreement for WGN Radio to become to team's flagship radio station.

While the White Sox' WGN Radio partnership is new, the radio broadcast team will have the same feel it has for the past decade. Play-by-play voice Ed Farmer will be joined by color analyst Darrin Jackson in the booth for the 10th consecutive year.

“It’s a fantastic win for White Sox fans,” said Brooks Boyer, White Sox senior vice president of sales and marketing. “We are thrilled to team up with an iconic media organization in Chicago, delivering the hustle and passion of White Sox games to WGN Radio listeners throughout the city and Midwest.”

In addition to live game and spring training broadcasts, the agreement includes pre- and post-game programming, as well as a weekly year-round show that features team news, highlights and interviews with players and coaches, according to the White Sox.

The deal between the White Sox and WGN Radio means that Chicago's two baseball team will have effectively traded radio stations over a four-year span. The White Sox' former radio home is 670 The Score, which now airs Cubs games. The Cubs' games were broadcast over the radio on WGN until 2014.

It all starts on Friday, Feb. 23 with the first White Sox game of the 2018 Cactus League season. The first regular season game of the partnership will be aired on March 29 when the White Sox open the season on the road in Kansas City.

Patch file photo / Tim Moran