Los Angeles sports radio is about to get a whole lot louder.
Audacy has officially unveiled the launch lineup for “97.1 The Fan” KNX-FM Los Angeles, and make no mistake about it—this is not some half-built placeholder format quietly sliding onto the FM dial.
This is a full-scale attack on the nation’s second-largest market.
And Audacy appears fully committed to making noise immediately.
The company confirmed that 97.1 The Fan will officially roll out its weekday lineup beginning May 18, positioning the station as Los Angeles’ first full-time FM sports station. In a market overflowing with iconic franchises, celebrity athletes, nonstop headlines, championship expectations, and one of the most passionate fan bases anywhere in America, the opportunity is enormous.
So is the pressure.
But if this lineup proves anything, it’s that Audacy isn’t playing defense here.
They’re trying to build a brand.
Morning drive will feature “Derek & Decker” with former Los Angeles Lakers star Derek Fisher alongside sports personality Cody Decker. And honestly, that pairing alone tells you exactly what kind of station this is trying to become.
Fisher brings instant championship credibility in Los Angeles. Five NBA titles with the Lakers carry weight in this city forever. Add in his experience coaching both the New York Knicks and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, and you get somebody who understands the pressure, expectations, and emotional heartbeat of major-market sports culture.
Meanwhile, Cody Decker brings a completely different energy to the table—fast-paced, opinionated, modern, and unapologetically personality-driven. His previous work across SiriusXM, MLB Network, FS1, Bally Sports, and Stadium gives the show a strong digital-era edge that sports radio increasingly depends on.
That’s important because today’s sports stations can’t simply sound like traditional sports stations anymore.
They have to sound alive.
Middays will feature “Brock & Alex,” pairing former NFL safety Brock Vereen with television personality and sports reporter Alex Curry. Vereen brings analytical football credibility and national television experience through Fox Sports and Big Ten Network, while Curry’s deep Los Angeles sports ties and television background give the station another personality with strong market familiarity and mainstream visibility.
Then comes afternoons.
And this is where things get especially interesting.
“D-Mac & Reiter” will team Dodgers Nation personality Doug McKain with longtime national sports voice Bill Reiter. Reiter remains one of the more recognizable names in national sports talk circles thanks to his years with CBS Sports and Infinity Sports Network, while McKain’s digital-first success covering the Dodgers and Los Angeles sports culture represents exactly where modern sports media consumption continues heading.
That pairing feels intentional.
National credibility meets hyper-local fan obsession.
And in Los Angeles, that combination can absolutely work.
According to Audacy, the station will focus heavily on live and local programming while also expanding content across multiple platforms beyond traditional radio. That’s not surprising. Sports radio in 2026 is no longer confined to a transmitter and dashboard speaker. It lives simultaneously on streaming platforms, YouTube clips, podcasts, social media, apps, and digital video feeds.
The companies winning today understand that audiences no longer consume content one way.
They consume personalities everywhere.
That’s why this launch matters beyond Los Angeles itself.
For years, sports radio has remained one of terrestrial broadcasting’s strongest and most resilient formats. While music radio continues battling streaming disruption and shrinking attention spans, sports talk still creates appointment listening, emotional engagement, and loyal fan communities in ways few other formats can consistently replicate.
Especially in a city like Los Angeles.
This is a market where every game becomes content.
Every trade becomes debate.
Every coach becomes controversy.
Every championship becomes legacy.
And every losing streak becomes a five-alarm emergency.
That’s fertile ground for FM sports radio.
Audacy clearly knows it.
The company is betting heavily that personality-driven local content, combined with multiplatform distribution and major-market star power, can create something powerful enough to compete aggressively in one of America’s toughest radio battlegrounds.
And honestly?
They may be right.
Because when sports radio is done well, it becomes more than scores and highlights.
It becomes part of the culture itself.
Los Angeles is about to find out whether 97.1 The Fan can become exactly that.
On The Dial covers breaking radio industry news, including layoffs, programming changes, talent moves, and broadcast trends across the United States.