WBNS-FM is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 airing a sports radio

Sports radio

Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...

 format.

WBNS-FM features a combination of local programming and ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...

 programming, and is the flagship station for the Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...

 football and basketball radio networks. The station is also the flagship station for the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

, and carries other play-by-play broadcasts from teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...

.

History

The station debuted as WBNS-FM in 1957, and in 1970 began airing a music format. In 1979, an Easy Listening music format was adopted.

In 1991, the station became "Oldies B-97.1". In July, 2001, the station flipped to Modern AC as "The New 97.1", and ran commercial-free for several weeks.

Eventually, the station evolved with a Hot AC format as "97.1-More Music, More Variety." In August, 2005, the station adopted the Hot AC-friendly "Mix" name and became "Mix 97.1-80s, 90s, Now."

Conversion to sports format

On January 26, 2009, the station began a simulcast of AM sister station, 1460 The Fan WBNS

WBNS (AM)

WBNS — branded 1460 ESPN — is a radio station that broadcasts from Columbus, Ohio. The station, which originally went on the air as WCAH in 1922, currently broadcasts a sports talk format and carries ESPN talk programming. WBNS is also the flagship of the Ohio State Buckeyes radio network. It is...

, airing a sports format. The final song played under the "Mix 97.1" banner was Linkin Park's "Leave Out All The Rest".

The AM 1460 signal occasionally broadcasts alternative sports programming, such as network play-by-play of national sports events, under the on-air name "1460 ESPN Columbus". http://www.971thefan.com/live/content/programming/index.html

Local programming on WBNS includes "The Big Show" and "The Common Man and The Torg" with Mike Ricordati and Scott Torgerson. "The Kirk Herbstreit Show" airs Mondays at noon during football season.

External links