93.1 FM leaving ESPN; Koza show will move to morning slot

Sports Talk With Koza, a fixture in the afternoon on Lima radio station WWSR 93.1 FM since 2009, will move to a 6-9 a.m. time slot beginning Nov. 2 as part of several changes in the station’s programming.

That station will also switch to CBS Sports Radio programming and end its relationship with ESPN Radio in order to bring the Dan Patrick Show to listeners from 9 a.m. to noon and Fox Sports Radio’s Colin Cowherd Show from noon to 3 p.m.

WCIT 940 AM, which like 93.1 FM is owned by Childers Media Group, will continue to carry CBS Sports Radio 24 hours a day.

ESPN Radio programming first came to Lima on WCIT in 2004.

“We’ve had a great partnership with ESPN for more than a decade. We really felt, for our listeners and what our listeners are used to, we wanted to have the most quality content we could have. And we felt that was Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd,” Childers Media Group president Matt Childers said on Tuesday.

Cowherd left ESPN Radio for Fox Sports Radio in July. ESPN Radio has also lost several other high profile personalities, like Bill Simmons and Keith Olbermann recently, and Scott Van Pelt moved from ESPN Radio in the afternoons to television, where he is a co-anchor of Sports Center.

“We felt like we had a better option with Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd and Koza in the morning than with anything else,” Childers said. “People love Dan Patrick and people love and hate Colin Cowherd, but he is relevant.”

Koza called the switch “a major move for me and for my family.” He said the idea to try a morning show came to him one Sunday morning during church. “It’s exciting,” he said.

Childers said he negotiated with ESPN for three weeks but the network was unwilling to let him put together a hybrid schedule of its programming, Patrick and Cowherd’s show, local high school sports, college sports and Cleveland’s three professional teams — the Cavaliers, the Browns and the Indians.

“They want to protect their brand and we wanted to have Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd. And in their mind, that was non-negotiable,” he said.

By Jim Naveau

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Reach Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414 or on Twitter at @Lima_Naveau.

Jim Naveau
Jim Naveau has covered local and high school sports for The Lima News since 1978 and Ohio State football since 1992. His OSU coverage appears in more than 30 newspapers. Naveau, a Miami University graduate, also worked at the Greenville Advocate and the Piqua Daily Call. He has seen every boys state basketball tournament since 1977. Reach him at [email protected] or 567-242-0414.