Cayuga Radio Group launches new sports-talk formatted radio station

DRYDEN — The Cayuga Radio Group today launched “98.7 The Buzzer,” a sports-talk formatted radio station that is an affiliate of CBS Sports Radio.

The radio-station operator is using FM translator W254BF in Ithaca as the signal for the new station, according to the website of All Access, an industry trade publication.

The translator was previously home to the Triple A (adult album alternative) format that moved to W244CZ as “96.7 The Vine” last fall, All Access said.

This is an “excellent” expansion of sports radio into the Ithaca market, Chet Osadchey, vice president and general manager, said in the company’s news release.

“We are particularly excited about The Jim Rome Show. For several years, we have received numerous requests to carry this show, and now we are able to fulfill that goal. Jim’s show is the most interactive, contemporary, and authentic in the sports-radio arena,” Osadchey contended.

The Buzzer will also served as an affiliate of Buffalo Bills’ radio network and take over broadcasting Cornell University men’s basketball games, contests that were previously available on 103.3 FM in Ithaca, according to the news release.

The sports-talk format “continues to grow in listenership around the country,” Osadchey said, noting that he expects Ithaca will be “no different.”

The Buzzer will compete with ESPN Ithaca (WPIE 1160 AM and 107.1 FM), which is operated by Taughannock Media, LLC and based in Lansing.

Saga Communications of New England LLC owns the Cayuga Radio Group, according to the Cayuga Radio Group website.

The parent company, Saga Communications, Inc. (NYSE: SGA), is headquartered in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., according to the Saga website.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com