97.1 accuses Lions of censorship demands; team denies

So it wasn't just about the money? Or was it?

When the Detroit Lions stink — which can be often — the WXYT-FM (97.1) personalities never hesitate to talk about it.

And that might have cost WXYT its 12-year status as the team's flagship station — the Lions today announced a new five-year broadcast partnership with WJR-AM (760) — according to CBS Detroit senior vice president and market manager Debbie Kenyon

Kenyon said in a released statement that control of Lions content was the sticking point in negotiations.

"CBS Radio and the Detroit Lions are parting ways," Kenyon said. "97.1 The Ticket has served as the flagship station for the Lions for more than a decade. CBS Radio says it has been negotiating with the Lions a long time.

"It is sad to say goodbye, but in the end it came down to the integrity of CBS — the refusal to be censored in talking about the team and making honest assessments on the air about this team."

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Elizabeth Parkinson, Lions senior vice president of marketing and partnerships, denied the charge.

"It simply isn't true," Parkinson said. "This was a business decision for the Detroit Lions. We fully understand and respect the separation between editorial and business.

"You don't have to look any further than the fact that, over the last dozen or so years, we've negotiated this broadcast deal with CBS multiple times."

If there are complaints about content with any media outlet, Parkinson said they're handled by the Lions' PR and media team. And they play no role in negotiations.

"At the end of the day, we're a football team, and there's going to be wins and there's going to be losses," Parkinson said. "And there's going to be things that are said when you lose that you'd rather not be said.

"But it's a part of the business, and we all have very thick skins. It's when it's inaccurate or untrue that it needs to be addressed, and those are the times that we address it. But because someone has an opinion or a certain approach, as long as it's accurate and fair, then it's not going to be addressed.

"Do I wish that it was all happy talk? Absolutely. But it's just not the reality of professional sports."

Well, a little happy talk is what we got when the Lions announced the new deal this morning on WJR, which, unlike 97.1, doesn't have daylong sports programming that can roast the team.

"Nothing is official until it's on 'The Paul W. Smith Show,'" new Lions president Rod Wood said on "The Paul W. Smith Show."

Lions coach Jim Caldwell was on the show for a little morning chatter, too.

"Most people probably think that I'm really excited about the fact that we won a game at Lambeau," Caldwell kidded. "But I'm more excited about the fact that I get a chance to be on 'The Paul W. Smith Show.'"

Wow.

Contact Steve Schrader: sschrader@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @schradz.