Oregon Ducks athletics will soon be broadcast in Portland on a new radio home.



KFXX, also known as 1080 The Fan, acquired the rights to broadcast Ducks games in the metro area as part of Oregon's IMG Sports Network earlier this week.

In a statement sent to The Oregonian/OregonLive, which first reported the news, UO athletic director Rob Mullens said he was "proud to have Entercom Portland and 1080 The Fan as the official radio broadcast partner and the new home for the Ducks."

The switch takes effect for the 2018 football season and is part of a four-year deal that includes play-by-play broadcast rights for UO football, basketball and baseball, as well as pre- and post-game coverage and weekly shows.

The decision ends UO's affiliation with Portland's KXTG (750-AM, 102.9-FM), also known as The Game, and a longer history with its parent company, Alpha Media. Before KXTG aired Ducks games, they were broadcast on its sister station, KXL. And before KXL and KXTG were folded into one company upon Alpha's forming in 2009, KXL was UO's Portland affiliate under Rose City Radio.

"As the top radio destination for local sports fans, we are thrilled to welcome the Oregon Ducks to the Entercom Portland family," said Bill Ashenden, Entercom Portland's senior vice president and market manager said in a statement.

Multiple sources told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Entercom's offer was worth more than Alpha's.

In a statement Bob Proffitt, Alpha Media's CEO, called it "the end of an era."

"As sad as we are to see the Ducks leave KXTG, we absolutely wish them, the entire Oregon athletic department, and our friends at IMG the best," Proffitt said. "Being headquartered in Portland makes this decision full of mixed emotions but we are excited to continue to carry great programming on KXTG 102.9/750 The Game."

KXTG will continue to carry Ducks baseball games through the end of its 2018 season.

"1080 has wanted to get the Ducks a long time when I was there and they were finally able to do that," said Tim McNamara, who held top executive roles at Rose City Radio and Entercom Portland prior for more than a decade combined before joining Vision Media last year. "Like anything things change. It wasn't like KXL and Alpha didn't do a great job for the Ducks for a long, long time, too."

KFXX has a broader listening base, according to Nielsen share data, which measures the percentage of those listening to radio in a metro area who are listening to a particular radio station.

KFXX earned a 2.0 share in March, according to Nielsen's latest available data, and has been above a 2.0 share since January. KXTG scored a 1.4 share in March to tie its highest share of 2018. Overall, the stations were the metro region's 18th and 21st most popular in March, respectively, per Nielsen.

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif