Buffalo Bills Radio Network

The Buffalo Bills Radio Network is a broadcast radio network based in Buffalo, New York, the official radio broadcaster of the Buffalo Bills. Its primary programming is broadcasts of Bills home and away games to a network of approximately 20 stations in upstate New York, northwestern Pennsylvania and Toronto.

Previously, the broadcasts originated from WBEN through much of the team's history except for a period from 1971 to 1977 when WKBW was team flagship. WGR briefly carried games in the early 1990s.[1] From 1998 through 2011, the Bills were flagshipped at WGRF, as well as other stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting. When Cumulus Media purchased Citadel in late 2011, it dropped Bills games from all of its stations at the end of the season.[2] Entercom Communications and Galaxy Communications picked up the rights, restoring broadcasts to WGR for the 2012 season.[3][4]

John Murphy, formerly a sports anchor at WKBW-TV and WIVB-TV in Buffalo, is the current play-by-play announcer, with former Bills safety Mark Kelso as color commentator and WGR employee Joe Buscaglia as sideline reporter.

The network is an autonomous organization from the team, and is unique in that it, and not the team itself, was the main sponsor of the Bills' cheerleaders, the Buffalo Jills, until that squad was disbanded due to legal disputes.

Van Miller was the voice of the Buffalo Bills for its entire history until 2003, with the exception of seven years in the 1970s when WKBW controlled radio rights and Miller's TV employer, WBEN-TV, would not permit him to appear on WKBW broadcasts. He was succeeded by Murphy, his former color commentator, when he retired from the booth after the 2003 season.

Stations

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Map of radio affiliates.

New York

• WGR 550 Buffalo flagship station (synchronized with television when sold out)
• WKBW 1520 Buffalo (sold-out home games only, non-synchronized live broadcast)
• WSPQ 1330 Springville
• WCMF 96.5 Rochester
• WROC 950/95.7 Rochester
• WTKW 99.1 Syracuse/WTKV 105.5 Minetto
• K-Rock 94.9 effective at least from 2014 was WOUR 96.9 Utica
• WELM 1410 Elmira
• WNYY 1470 Ithaca/W249CD 97.7 Cayuga Heights
• WWSE 93.3 Jamestown
• WJTN 1240 Jamestown
• WPIG 95.7 Olean
• WDOE 1410 Dunkirk/W235BP 94.9 Dunkirk
• WACK 1420 Newark (Finger Lakes)
• WABH 1380 Bath
• WZKZ 101.9 Alfred
• WFLR 1570 Dundee
• WDNY 1400 Dansville

Pennsylvania

• WBRR 100.1 Bradford

Ontario

• CJCL 590 Toronto
• CKGL 570 Kitchener

Announcers

Play-by-play

• Van Miller (1960–1971, 1978–2003)
• Al Meltzer and Rick Azar (1972–1977)
• John Murphy (2004–present)

Color analysts

• Ralph Hubbell and Dick Rifenburg (1960–?)
• Ed Rutkowski (1973–1977, 1990)
• Don Gilbert (1978–79)
• Stan Barron and Jefferson Kaye (1978–1983)
• John Murphy (1984–1989, 1994–2003)
• Greg Brown (1991–1993)
• Alex Van Pelt (2004)
• Mark Kelso (2006–present)

Sideline reporters

• Jeff Burris (2006)
• Paul Peck (2005, 2007–2008)
• Rich Gaenzler (2009–11)
• Joe Buscaglia (2012–2014)
• Sal Capaccio (2014–present)

Studio hosts

• Rich Gaenzler (2004–2008)
• Brent Axe (2009–2011)
• Howard Simon (2004, 2012–present)
• Sal Capaccio (2012–present)

External links

• Official listing as of the 2010 season.