After being associated with WOWO 1190 AM since 1952, the club has a new radio and streaming partnership.
The Fort Wayne Komets have a new radio broadcast home starting with the 2024-25 season.
The club announced Tuesday they have entered into an exclusive agreement with Adams Radio Group to broadcast all home and road games starting this season on 96.3 FM WXKE.
All game broadcasts will also be available to stream at komets.com and 963xke.com with play-by-play broadcaster Shane Albahrani.
The Komets are leaving their long-time broadcast home on WOWO 1190 AM, a partnership that began in 1952 with broadcaster Ernie Ashley. Bob Chase took over the role in 1954, calling his final game on May 15, 2016.
The team's broadcast moved to WBTU 93.3 FM for one season (1985-1986) before returning to WOWO the following year. The team moves from news/talk to a classic rock music format.
In making the move to WXKE, the Komets are looking to the future of the club’s brand and the ever-changing broadcast landscape, according to Komets president of business operations/co-owner Scott Sproat.
“We believe this is a necessary step to appeal to a younger and broader audience,” Sproat said in a statement. “WXKE offers more local programming than almost any other top-rated station within the marketplace. This allows for a much more aggressive plan to promote Komet Hockey above and beyond the actual game broadcasts. We took the decision very seriously, and ultimately, we decided that the online streaming audience is a far larger part of the picture in today’s broadcast environment than the terrestrial signal.”
While the decision was made in the best interest of the Komets, Sproat was quick to point out the club would never forget Bob Chase or its history and tradition.
Known as Rock 104 from 1976-2002, 2006-2014 and broadcasting at 103.9 FM, WXKE moved to 96.3 FM in the summer of 2014. The station is anchored by longtime personality Doc West, who is celebrating his 46th year behind the microphone in Fort Wayne.
The daily lineup also features three Fort Wayne natives; Jack Hammer is a Northrop high school graduate who began his broadcasting career in the Summit City in 1988. J.J. Fabini attended Northside High School and started at WXKE in 1992, while Jason Lee first opened a microphone on 96.3 FM in 2000 and also attended Northrop High School.
Albahrani is also a local personality. A Fort Wayne native who graduated from Northrop High School, he began his broadcasting career in 1994 at WFWI and has worked for the Komets since 1997. He started calling Komet road games in 2013 and took over full-time duties in 2016.
"This is a tremendous partnership between two of Fort Wayne's most iconic brands. With broadcasting partnerships shifting throughout sports, change is inevitable," Albahrani said. "To have a station with four live personalities, with strong ties to Fort Wayne, is a rarity in today's broadcasting landscape, so to be affiliated with a station that is committed to Fort Wayne as the Komets are, we are looking forward to this partnership.”
The first broadcast on WXKE will be Friday, October 18, starting at 7:45 p.m. when the Komets play at Iowa.