Redskins Will Get A Better Reception

36,000-Watt WBIG-FM to Air Games

The Washington Redskins struck a deal yesterday to air their games on WBIG (100.3 FM), in addition to three local radio stations owned by team owner Daniel Snyder, people involved in the agreement said.

WBIG, owned by Clear Channel Communications, is a station that plays classic pop and rock music from the 1970s and 1980s. It will become an affiliate in the Redskins' network of stations, carrying game broadcasts along with game-day programming.

The Redskins' flagship stations will remain the three local outlets owned by Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting. The stations, called Triple X ESPN Radio, broadcast in the Washington area at 92.7 and 94.3 FM, and at 730 AM.

The signing of WBIG as a Redskins affiliate may help solve a problem that plagued Red Zebra -- and many Redskins fans -- last season, the first year in which the games were on the Triple X stations. The stations have relatively weak signals, prompting complaints that the games were difficult to hear. The company has been searching for ways to boost its market coverage for months.

WBIG's 36,000-watt signal is one of the most powerful in the area, reaching well into Baltimore, Frederick, Fredericksburg and Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The station won't produce Redskins programming of its own, according to people familiar with the agreement who spoke on condition of anonymity because it hadn't officially been announced. WBIG will receive an undisclosed fee from the Redskins for carrying advertising and game broadcasts originated by Triple X.

The Redskins' broadcasts will feature play-by-play man Larry Michaels and color analysts Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff.

Snyder started Red Zebra in December 2005 after the expiration of the Redskins' broadcast deal with CBS Radio. Red Zebra has since controlled virtually all aspects of the team's broadcast.

Triple X is in a fierce battle for sports listeners with another Clear Channel-owned station, WTEM (980 AM). But Red Zebra was careful to avoid helping its competitor, sources said yesterday, and WTEM will have no part of the Redskins' broadcasts.

Red Zebra and Clear Channel are run by executives with intertwining connections. Red Zebra's new chief executive, Bruce Gilbert, was formerly general manager of ESPN Radio, which supplies syndicated programs to the Triple X stations. One of ESPN's radio and TV stars is "SportsCenter" host Dan Patrick.

Patrick, whose full name is Daniel Patrick Pugh, is the brother of Dave Pugh, who runs Clear Channel's local stations. Pugh last year replaced Bennett Zier, who left Clear Channel to start Red Zebra. Zier in turn was replaced by Gilbert in March.

Gilbert and Pugh struck the Redskins' agreement yesterday, according to sources.

In addition, Jeff Wyatt, who formerly oversaw programming for Clear Channel's local stations, including WBIG, now serves as Red Zebra's chief programming and marketing officer.

Red Zebra operates five radio stations. In addition to the Triple X stations in the Washington area, it also operates stations in the Richmond and Norfolk-Virginia Beach areas.