FINEBAUM’S BACK: the voice of the SEC returning to Alabama airwaves

A familiar voice is expected to return to Alabama radio airwaves Monday: Paul Finebaum.

Finebaum has been off the air since January when his contract with Cumulus Media expired. He went on to sign with ESPN in May, where he has made both TV and radio appearances, and even written for ESPN magazine. Finebaum will be part of the new SEC network, owned by ESPN.

ESPN reports the SEC Network will simulcast Finebaum’s afternoon show. Earlier this year ESPN and the Southeastern Conference announced the SEC network will broadcast 24/7 starting next August.

While the content of Finebaum’s show will reportedly be similar to what it has been in the past, the location of his broadcast booth is changing dramatically. Finebaum will now heard from Charlotte, N.C., where the SEC Network headquarters is located, rather than Cumulus’s Birmingham headquarters where he has been in recent years.

Finebaum’s show, starting monday, can be heard on WJOX in Birmingham, as well as ESPN 100.5

Finebaum return to WJOX is a big deal for all Cumulus-owned stations in Alabama, and it has set off a chain of events that is affecting political talk radio as well. ESPN’s radio programming has moved from 97.3 The Zone to 100.5, which was WAPI, one of Birmingham’s political talk radio stations. WAPI can now be heard on 1070 AM in the Birmingham market, and will not have an FM signal for the foreseeable future.

Expect more Alabama talk radio shakeups and announcements in the coming months, especially if Cumulus cannot reach an agreement with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to keep them on their stations.