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Paul Finebaum worked at WJOX 94.5 FM for six years until his contract expired in January.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Birmingham sports-talk radio station ESPN 97.3 The Zone is going off the air less than two years after the station launched in August 2011, clearing the way for Paul Finebaum's new ESPN radio show to return to WJOX 94.5 FM, AL.com learned today.

The Zone's last day on the air will be Friday, according to multiple Birmingham radio sources. The station is expected to announce the news it to its staff Wednesday morning.

"We have been evaluating the sports format in light of multiple factors, including Finebaum's placement," David DuBose, the executive vice president and chief operating officer for Summit Media, which owns The Zone, said in an email to AL.com. this afternoon. "After nearly two years, it became clear the market did not support two competing sports stations.

"Therefore, we have determined we should focus on other format opportunities," DuBose added.

Summit, a new media company, recently purchased The Zone and several other stations in Birmingham and other cities from the Cox Media Group, for whom DuBose previously worked as the Birmingham market manager.

The demise of The Zone all but assures that Finebaum's show will return to WJOX, although ESPN has yet to announce that.

Finebaum worked for six years at WJOX before his contract with station owner Cumulus Media expired in January.

The Zone had lobbied heavily for nearly two years to get Finebaum on the station, both before and after he agreed to his new, five-year deal with ESPN last month.

Efforts to reach Finebaum and officials with WJOX and ESPN have been unsuccessful today.

Finebaum's new ESPN show will originate out of Charlotte and will be carried on stations around the Southeast beginning around the first week of August. In Birmingham, it is expected to air weekdays in its regular 2 to 6 p.m. time slot.

Pat Smith, who has been with Finebaum for a number of years as the director of "The Paul Finebaum Radio Network," will be joining him in a similar capacity on the new show.

[Finebaum: 'Hope the first five callers are Robert, Legend, Tammy, Jim from Tuscaloosa and I-Man.']



The fall of The Zone and the return of Finebaum's show to WJOX ends a roller-coaster ride for both stations.

In 2011, Finebaum filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit with former WJOX owner Citadel Broadcasting, claiming he was coerced into signing an unfavorable amendment to his contract after Citadel filed for bankruptcy in late 2009. The lawsuit was settled last summer, and Finebaum remained with WJOX through the end of his contract.

Meanwhile, DuBose had been unabashedly courting Finebaum for nearly two years since The Zone came on the air, including counting down the days until Finebaum became a free agent in spots that aired on the station this past fall.

As recently as last month, when Finebaum's deal with ESPN was announced, DuBose reiterated that he fully expected the show to air on The Zone, which is an ESPN affiliate.

"The show will be airing in Birmingham," DuBose told AL.com at the time. "Yes, we are the ESPN affiliate, and even though this will be a separate product from the main ESPN programming, we have just talked to the ESPN folks and our intention is to carry the show here in Birmingham."

The next day, DuBose appeared on The Zone's "The Smashmouth Radio Network" and again said he expected Finebaum's show to air on his station.

The Zone has shuffled its morning and afternoon lineups numerous times since the station came on the air, especially in the past few months.

Finebaum's new ESPN show will air primarily in the Southeast at first, Justin Connolly, senior vice president of programming for ESPN, previously told the Wall Street Journal.

AL.com will list the other Alabama stations that will be carrying his show as soon as they are made available.

UPDATED at 4:01 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 to add comments from David DuBose of Summit Media.