The Oakland Athletics, who have led a nomadic existence on the Bay Area airwaves, pulled the plug on radio Tuesday, announcing that games will be available only online.

The A’s could have returned to KTRB, the station they teamed with just before the start of last season after an ugly split with 95.7 The Game, but instead chose to expand their use of a streaming service called TuneIn. The team launched A’s Cast on the service last season

Though the method of delivery is different, the voices are not. Ken Korach will return for his 25th season in the broadcast booth alongside Vince Cotroneo. (The team will continue to carry Spanish-language broadcasts on KIQI AND KATD.)

“There’s going to be some frustration because it’s something new,” said Cotroneo, who will mark his 15th season with the A’s. “It involves an education, downloading, and an additional step in what they are accustomed to basically their entire lives. Hopefully, it’s not difficult to get the product.”

The A’s say they are betting on a more tech-savvy generation. They planned to pursue an all-digital approach last season before the KTRB deal emerged . KTRB was the team’s 12th radio home since its arrival in 1968, and the fifth since 2000.

“We’ve been looking to fans and the response to A’s Cast has been so positive,” A’s president Dave Kaval said. “We felt it was really important this year that we continued to amplify the partnership with TuneIn.

“The primary motivation for this endeavor is around fan development, marketing, and really understanding how that can acquire new fans… I think this is the direction of the future. We’ve always been an innovative organization.”

The A’s join the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the 2000 Montreal Expos as major professional teams to abandon radio, an institution synonymous with baseball’s culture.

“I grew up listening to Bill King,” said Ed Silveira, an A’s season ticket holder for 30 years. “Even if you were at the game, the guy painted a picture. You could close your eyes he painted the game so well,”

Jeremiah Pansarasa, a 40-year-old A’s fan from San Jose, added, “Baseball on the radio is timeless. Some of my favorite childhood memories are camping with Pops. Sitting around a bonfire listening to Bill King give us the best play-by-play in bay area sports history. “Holy Toledo” is part of my DNA and I would never have had that without Oakland A’s radio broadcasts.”

The A’s got some negative feedback from fans last season because KTRB features conservative on-air personalities. But the move was a surprise to station officials.

Mike Shields, the general manager of Salem Media Group, which owns the station, said the A’s gave notice last week that they would not be renewing their contract. Shields said the broadcast partnership was productive from his view and the station was planning for another season of broadcasting games.

“We certainly had hoped it would continue. We enjoyed the relationship quite a bit,” Shields said. “We did not know it was coming. But in this day and age, things change. We wish them the best.”

Shields didn’t close the door on a reunion — even this season, if the A’s so choose.

“We will continue to do everything possible to leave the door open,” Shields said. “You never know.”

The A’s breakup with 95.7 The Game didn’t end nearly as amicably. The A’s announced that move on Twitter with a video that portrayed the team packing up and leaving the flagship while the team’s anthem — “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang — played in the background.

One of the big questions A’s fans — especially non-techies — are asking is, “Now what?”

“The one bother for me is when I’m driving around. If there’s no game to listen to on the radio, i could stream audio through my phone to my car, but I could see how some would see that a hassle. I’ll figure out how to receive what I need,” Pansarasa said. “I’m old school, and there is certainly something nostalgic about tuning the dial to listen to the A’s on the way home from work, or while running around town on the weekend.”

Streams are free and can be accessed here.

All A’s Access members also get a MLB.TV subscription and fans can hear the games via the MLB Audio app.

Anyone wanting to listen to a game will need to download the TuneIn smart phone application. To listen in your car, you will need to connect a phone or other smart device via auxiliary cord, CarPlay, or another equivalent method.

That’s not going to work for Silveira. His 2004 Ford Wrangler can’t connect to a smart device.

“It’s just another hoop that the customer has to go through,” he said, “but the upside is that I won’t have to listen to KTRB when I get in my car in the morning.”

“I know it’s difficult, there’s going to be some pushback,” Cotroneo said. “We just have to be as patient as we can, and understanding as we can, and be in a position to ensure they can get the product in a manner that isn’t as difficult as they may think.”

A’s Cast will also act as the team’s all-around source for team-produced content, including podcasts and live shows. A’s Cast Live with Chris Townsend will stream before each weekday game. The Dave Forst Show, the Bob Melvin Show and The Build with Dave Kaval — a podcast detailing the progress on the new proposed ballpark — will be streamable, too, along with a number of other programs.

Adam Gerston, a 39-year-old A’s fan from Los Gatos said. “In the era of iPhones and Bluetooth, as long as I can easily stream games, then it really doesn’t matter to me.”

Fans on Twitter had similarly mixed reviews. Some are excited to embrace the new broadcasting methods, some are already accustomed to streaming, while others question how it might alienate fans who don’t have easy access to the necessary technology. Some were pleased to see the A’s move away from KTRB, others became nostalgic for radio.

I'm always happy just hopping in the car driving around when the A's are on the road hit my preset and the voices of summer are on the Radio. Now not having unlimited data on my phone and if 970 and 1140 don't come in well it will be tougher to pay attention to the Games. — Will MacNeil (@RFWill149) February 18, 2020

Smart. Radio is dying, and 95.7 was always more committed to the Giants anyway. — Zach Engberg (@nealberg96) February 18, 2020

Most of society has smartphones now so….not a big deal. I like it. — Fonz (@DontFollowFonz) February 18, 2020

I’m glad they’re off the last station and I hated the lack of respect they got on 95.7, but not having a radio home is disappointing, it’s pretty amateur hour to just be on tunein radio too (great platform but not appropriate for a major sports team) — Wizenard-dog (@dubzfan1) February 18, 2020

Oakland A’s games will still be broadcast over the radio outside of the Bay Area. Here’s a list of the stations:

KAHI 104.5 FM/950 AM Auburn

KATA 1340 AM Eureka

KBLF 1490 AM Red Bluff

KDAC 1230 AM Ft. Bragg

KESP 970 AM Modesto

KFPT 790 AM Fresno

KHTK 1140 AM Sacramento

KMYC 1410 AM Marysville

KNRO 1400 AM/103.9 FM Redding

KPOD 1240 AM/106.7 FM Crescent City

KRKC 1490 AM King City

KXBX 1270 AM Lakeport

Spanish

KIQI 1010 AM San Francisco

KATD 990 AM Pittsburg/Antioch