Atlanta sports radio station 790 the Zone drops local programming

Ever since the Steve Gleason incident on Mayhem in the AM, things haven’t gone well for one of Atlanta’s sports radio stations, 790 The Zone.

Those fired for the incident have found new homes with “king” in sports talk station and Atlanta Braves flagship 680 The Fan, and in the past few months, 790 has fallen further and further behind in the ratings to still relatively new 92.9 The Game. 92.9 The Game remains the lone 24/7 local sports talk station in the ATL, and Atlanta’s home for Atlanta Hawks basketball. Well, 790 has done something drastic to hope to regain some lost viewers, and make up some ratings.

On Tuesday morning, it was announced that 790 The Zone (WQXI) would immediately begin airing all national content, and since 790 is the ESPN Radio affiliate in Atlanta, the station will be all ESPN Radio all the time, beginning with Mike and Mike at 6 am and ending with the Freddie Coleman Show. In addition, their new programming will include national radio broadcasts of the NBA and MLB.

While the station will air exclusively ESPN Radio content, they will remain the flagship station of the Atlanta Falcons, and they will continue with their college football play by play coverage.

790 The Zone first went over the air in 1948 as a pop music station, and during the 1996 Olympics, WQXI simulcasted French radio news throughout the day. The Zone used to be the flagship home of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the long gone and forgotten Atlanta Thrashers, and the more gone and forgotten Georgia Force of the old Arena Football League.

In talking with friends about the move yesterday, the general consensus was that, actually, it was kind of smart. In a transplant city like Atlanta, there is certainly a need for national talk that will hit on their favorite team from back home, and will give them a break from the constant Braves/UGA/GT/college football talk that can be found on both 680 and 92.9.

How do you feel about 790’s move to all national all the time? Did you listen to The Zone? Will the move make you more interested in listening to the station? Let us know in the comments, on twitter (@ATLBeatBlog) or even hit me up on my personal twitter, @FletchTopper.