Detroit is set to get a revamped sports talk station when Audacy’s 1270 WXYT flips to Sports Rap Radio with an all-Black lineup of talent.
The Detroit News was first to report on the new look sports station. According to the report, Sports Rap Radio is headed by Rob Parker along with retired NBA player turned agent B.J. Armstrong, and former college athletes Dave Kenney and Maurice Ways. Currently, WXYT 1270 in Detroit airs sports betting content from Audacy’s The BETQL Network, as well as overflow programming from 97.1 The Ticket.
Parker is a longtime sports media staple in the city, having worked as a columnist for the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, a radio host on WDFN and a local TV personality throughout his more than three-decade-long career.
“It will be young people getting opportunities and former athletes, from Detroit or with ties to Detroit,” Parker said of the new lineup, adding that he intends to build a network of stations in the top 20-25 Black markets across the country.
Minorities have historically been underrepresented by sports radio stations. As recently as 2020, only 10-14% of the on-air talent on nearly 800 sports radio stations around the country were Hispanic or Black.
Parker hopes to launch the new Sports Rap Radio lineup in mid-May. The lineup will be local from 7am – 7pm with Fox Sports Radio’s The Odd Couple featuring Parker and Chris Broussard airing at its normal time of 7 – 10pm. For the overnight hours, Parker plans to air podcasts featuring Black hosts.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com