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102-524: The longtime flagship of the network is 1070/ WFNI (formerly WIBC , currently broadcasting on WIBC-HD3 and its FM translators) in Indianapolis . Mark Jaynes is the current anchor and chief announcer for the network, a role he assumed beginning in 2016 . Davey Hamilton is the Driver Analyst. The most notable personality from the network is hall of fame broadcaster Sid Collins , who was

204-461: A clear view of turn one, and the separate turn one announcer (which was left vacant multiple times in the past several years) had to be brought back. In 2021, the radio crew moved to a brand new radio booth that was constructed inside the media center. Technical support for the network is still based out of a control room on the 9th floor of the Pagoda. The broadcast traditionally opens and closes with

306-713: A digital subchannel, while KAZA-TV alongside KHTV-CD, KPOM-CD, and KSFV-CD in Los Angeles carries MeTV, MeTV Plus, Catchy Comedy, Story Television, and Heroes & Icons, while WJLP and WZME in New York City carry MeTV and MeTV Plus, with KAXT-CD and KTLN-TV in San Francisco carries Catchy Comedy and Heroes & Icons. Heartland, Retro TV and Rev'n are all based in Chattanooga, Tennessee , the home base of WOOT-LD and common owner Get After It Media . NEWSnet

408-420: A driver who failed to qualify for the race. Fred Agabashian held the seat for several years. Speedway historian Donald Davidson has appeared on the broadcast every year from 1964 to 2019. In 1964, he was a guest interviewed in the booth during the race, and starting in 1965 he joined the crew in an official capacity. Other former analysts include Chris Economaki and Dave "The King" Wilson . During its heyday,

510-528: A flagship station, as Clay Travis is based in Nashville. WWRL in New York City was an affiliate of the now-defunct Air America Radio and carries some of its programs (along with those from other distributors) but is separately owned and operated and does not produce any programs for the network. Originally, Air America Radio leased WLIB (also in New York City) as its flagship station; the station

612-472: A flagship station, as some originate from a dedicated radio or television studio . The term derives from the naval custom where the commanding officer of a group of naval ships would fly a distinguishing flag . In common parlance, " flagship " is now used to mean the most important or leading member of a group, hence its various uses in broadcasting. The term flagship station is primarily used in TV and radio in

714-697: A fully owned broadcast building in Metro Manila, thus giving the Manila station equal flagship. In the United States, the term "flagship station" may also be used in the broadcasting industry to refer to a station which is co-located with the headquarters of its station group and considered the company's most important station (such a station may or may not be affiliated with one of the major networks). For example, WDIV-TV in Detroit, affiliated with NBC,

816-415: A local cable broadcaster to distribute preseason and team programming. An anti-siphoning policy is also used by the league in order for local stations to bid for all games not on broadcast television for over-the-air distribution when local teams play. Most of the league's teams partner with a local station or regional network of stations, which distributes team programming and weekly analysis shows featuring

918-481: A market, the IMS Radio affiliate retains the contractual right of first refusal . As of 2017, the broadcast is carried on over 350 terrestrial radio affiliates , shortwave ( AFN and World Harvest Radio ), satellite radio ( SiriusXM ), online streaming , and podcast . Official releases of historical radio broadcasts have also been available for purchase. For INDYCAR races, the streaming of radio broadcasts

1020-486: A rendition of the song called "The 500", originally recorded by the Singing Hoosiers and Jazz Ensemble of Indiana University , (lyrics written by Joe Jordan). Several versions of the song have been used over the years including a disco version during the 1980s, and an up-tempo marching band version used briefly for 1992 and 1993. Since 1995, an instrumental version has been featured. The original 1961 recording

1122-445: A roving reporter was assigned to the south turns (turns 1 and 2), and another was assigned to the north turns (turns 3 and 4). A vantage point on the backstretch was also manned. By 1957, the crew was expanded with a reporter assigned to each of the four turns, as well as the backstretch, for a total of five remote locations. In the pit area, the crew expanded to three men, one each covering the north pits, center pits, and south pits. With

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1224-719: A secondary system to the main CTV network, maintains its eastern flagship in Barrie (which is on the northwestern fringe of the Toronto market) and West Coast flagship in Victoria (which is on the southwestern fringe of the Vancouver market). CIII-DT-41 had always been considered the flagship station of Global in Toronto despite being a technical satellite station of CIII-DT, which is licensed to Paris, Ontario . However, since July 2009,

1326-417: A separate radio interview, This allowed the radio audience to hear the first words spoken by the winner, increasing the spontaneity, and prevented the driver from having to repeat an entire interview for a second audience. Jenkins enthusiastically served as chief announcer for nine years, but characterized the job as "complex" as well as physically and mentally "exhausting." One of Jenkins lasting contributions

1428-454: A similar model: flagship stations WOR in New York City (which it acquired in 2012) and KFI in Los Angeles are both operated mostly separately from its syndication wing, Premiere Networks (Premiere does produce some limited programming, including The Jesus Christ Show , The Tech Guy and Handel on the Law , through KFI). Premiere's The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show uses WLAC as

1530-404: A sporting event, with Collins old-time radio style setting the tone. Particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, there was limited play-by-play commentary, largely because during this period, it was not unusual for long stretches of the race to see little or no action. Turn reporters typically did not "call" the race live, in-part due to the limitations of the equipment. Rather, when incidents occurred on

1632-858: A team's head coach , with those stations allowed to market as a team's 'official station', often tied into preseason and often pay-television games (which are syndicated to primary market stations under the league's anti-siphoning policy). In a lesser arrangement, Major League Baseball teams often name a local broadcast station their official weather forecasting partner and allow them to market as such. Canadian network flagship locations vary by language. Most English-language networks eastern flagships are located in Toronto , French-language eastern flagships are located in Montreal , and West Coast flagships (regardless of language) are located in Vancouver . CTV 2 , being

1734-527: A turn reporter or analyst, is considered by most as the first true Voice . For the opening quarter-century of the Network's official independent existence, from 1952 to 1976, Collins served as the chief announcer, and ultimately as the template for all who have successively followed. One of Collins' most notable moments in broadcasting came during the 1964 race . After a fiery crash on the main stretch, Collins delivered an impromptu eulogy for Eddie Sachs , who

1836-819: Is based in Cadillac, Michigan . True Crime Network and Quest are all based in Atlanta, Georgia . Comet, Charge!, TBD, and The Nest are all based in Baltimore, Maryland . Circle is based in Nashville, Tennessee . The Dallas station for TBN is listed as the network is based in Fort Worth . While the Virginia-based Public Broadcasting Service in the United States does not have an official "flagship" television station, WNET in

1938-957: Is flagshipped at KZOY in Sioux Falls, South Dakota , with much of its programming voicetracked from WGWE in Little Valley, New York . Former flagship stations for now-defunct networks in American radio's "Big Four" era of the 1940s–1980s were: In Canada, current CBC / Radio-Canada flagships are CBLA-FM (99.1) in Toronto , which broadcasts in English, and CBF-FM (95.1) in Montréal , which broadcasts in French. Both are former AM clear channel operations which have moved to FM. Former flagship stations for now-defunct networks were: While CJBC remains on-air on its original frequency, it

2040-572: Is flagshipped at WSM-FM in the same city. MeTV FM , a classic oldies / soft rock network, is flagshipped at WRME-LD in Chicago , the home base of its owner, television broadcaster Weigel Broadcasting . The Satellite Music Network networks were flagshipped at a cluster of stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex during their existence; KMEO , for example, served as the flagship for Unforgettable Favorites . CloudCast

2142-494: Is listed for NBC because its parent company Comcast is headquartered here. Meanwhile, Miami stations are also listed for Univision, Telemundo and UniMás (formerly TeleFutura) due to their operations being major production bases for those networks. The Miami area station for Ion Television is also listed due to their parent company being based out of West Palm Beach ; however none of the Ion stations listed originate programming for

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2244-726: Is located in a suburb of that city. However, Cox owns WFXT in Boston, which is larger than Atlanta. The same can be said for TEGNA who lists three of its properties as its flagship stations ( WXIA-TV in Atlanta, WUSA in Washington, D.C., and KUSA in Denver) , but also owns WFAA in Dallas , which is larger than Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Denver in terms of Media market . Likewise, prior to merging with Gannett in 2013, WFAA served as

2346-542: Is nominally flagshipped at WFAN (although that station does not produce programming for the network). ESPN Radio has no true flagship station, as it operates out of ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut ; Windsor Locks -licensed WUCS (owned by iHeartMedia) serves as its de facto flagship, serving ESPN's home market of Hartford . Nash FM , a country music network, is nominally flagshipped at WKDF in Nashville, Tennessee ; its classic-leaning counterpart Nash Icon

2448-552: Is now an owned-and-operated station of the French-language Radio-Canada network. The CKO network's Toronto frequency was re-issued to CBL (as CBLA-FM 99.1) but the namesake CKO (AM) flagship in Montréal is silent; the frequency remains vacant. For syndicated radio programs, it refers to the originating station from which a program is fed by satellite or other means to stations nationwide, although

2550-412: Is often played briefly during a cold open segment, followed by the updated version and the official opening credits sequence. In 2014, when Paul Page made his return as anchor, he chose to feature his signature " Delta Force " intro instead of "The 500" song. "The 500" song returned in 2015. In the early years of the network through 1958, the broadcast typically came on-air fifteen minutes prior to

2652-540: Is on INDYCAR's Web site. For NASCAR races, online streaming rights belong to PRN . The broadcast originates from the "Sid Collins Booth" on the fourth floor of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway media center, next to the main control tower at the Speedway, known as the Pagoda. From 1957 to 1998, the broadcast originated from the glass and steel Master Control Tower, which formerly stood where Pagoda

2754-407: Is owned collectively by the local PBS member stations. A station's importance to the system is built as much or more on the programming it produces for national distribution (a metric which places WNET as a strong third-place contender behind WGBH in Boston and WETA in Washington, D.C.) instead of local media market size. The jointly-owned KCET and KOCE are the primary and secondary PBS stations in

2856-411: Is seen the calls of CBS's KCBS (AM) being based in their original city of San Francisco instead of Los Angeles (the use of KCBS-TV in Los Angeles only dates back to 1984), while KNBR (which was subsequently sold to another party by NBC in 1987) was formerly known as KNBC before the network moved those calls to KRCA-TV in Los Angeles in 1962. ABC, CBS and NBC are headquartered in New York City, which

2958-483: Is the flagship station of Graham Media Group ; and WGN-TV in Chicago was the flagship station of Tribune Broadcasting until it was purchased by Nexstar Media Group in 2019. In essence, a flagship can be located in the market where the station's owner is headquartered, or in the largest market where that owner operates. For example, WSB-TV in Atlanta is the flagship of Cox Media Group , because Cox's headquarters

3060-556: Is the largest television market in the U.S., so their respective radio and television stations in that market are considered the overall network flagship stations. As programming schedules increased and modern technology improved transmission to affiliates, the networks set up operations centers in New York City (for the East Coast feed) and Los Angeles (for the West Coast feed). Los Angeles is the second largest television market in

3162-810: Is the radio flagship station of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, which feeds Orioles' games to 20 stations in Maryland and adjacent states. A flagship television station is the principal privately owned television station of a television network in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Australia and the Philippines. In the late 1920s, network owned-and-operated stations (or "O&O") for radio in New York City began producing live entertainment and news programs, fed by telephone lines to affiliates. These eventually were dubbed flagship stations. When television networks were formed in

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-475: Is today. Prior to that, a radio booth was situated inside or in front of the wooden pagoda that pre-dated the Master Control Tower. For the 1999 race, a temporary makeshift booth was utilized during construction of the new Pagoda. Since its inception, additional reporters have been stationed around the track, covering the vast circuit in the turns and in the pit area. In the 1940s and early 1950s,

3366-552: The CRTC has considered CIII-DT-41 "the originating station" of Global Ontario. The secondary French-language networks TVA and Noovo are not carried terrestrially in Western Canada, although they are usually available on pay television . Networks/systems with only one flagship station As of 2017, Mexico's national networks hold a nationwide virtual channel , thus all of the flagship stations mentioned below in most of

3468-663: The Indy Racing League . From 1997 to 2002, the network's name was briefly changed to the Indy Racing Radio Network to reflect the expanded content. In 2004, PRN began jointly producing the Brickyard 400 broadcast, and the broadcast streaming rights became part of PRN, not IMS. From 2000 to 2007, the network also carried the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix . In addition to live race coverage,

3570-756: The National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association . This trend is reversing in the 2020's. KJZZ (Utah Jazz) and KTVK (Phoenix Suns) are flagship stations in the NBA, as both teams have contracts with station groups (Sinclair in Utah and Gray in Phoenix). The National Football League has a different structure, as all games require over-the-air broadcast and the league and teams are generally loath to use only

3672-817: The United States , Canada , and the Philippines (though it is seldomly used), while the term key station ( キー局 , kī kyoku ) is primarily used in TV in Japan (and formerly in the United States). Lotteries Shows Networks Events A flagship radio station is the principal station from which a radio network 's programs are fed to affiliates . In the United States, traditional radio networks currently operate without flagship stations as defined in this article. Network operations and those of

3774-567: The IMS Radio Network, past and present. Flagship (broadcasting) In broadcasting , a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station ) is the broadcast station which originates a television network , or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalty to a network or station. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication , but generally not backhauls . Not all networks or shows have

3876-471: The Indianapolis 500. Television coverage on ABC at the time was a tape-delayed format, and for only a very brief time (1965–70) MCA aired a closed-circuit live telecast of the race. The radio broadcast was the primary coverage of the race for most fans in the U.S. and around the world, including many thousands at the track itself. The network experienced its heyday of popularity from the 1960s to

3978-453: The Los Angeles market respectively, while KLCS is a tertiary PBS station. In sports broadcasting, the flagship television station is the sports team's primary station in the team's home market that produces NFL preseason telecasts, along with in-season surrounding programming such as team, coach's, and pre-game/post-game shows and feeds them to affiliates. For example, WJBK in Detroit is

4080-518: The Mutual-style format, with live coverage at the start, the finish, and periodic updates during the race. Starting in 1953, after complaints from the other four stations in the area, the talent pool was extended to feature personalities from all five Indianapolis radio stations. The 1953 race was notable in that it expanded to feature the first live "flag-to-flag" coverage, and the affiliate count had already grown to 130 stations. During this time,

4182-509: The New York City area held an official primary role with PBS predecessor, National Educational Television (NET). There cannot be any owned-and-operated stations within the Public Broadcasting Service; individual PBS stations are typically owned by local non-profit groups (such as WPBS-TV ), universities (such as KPBS ) or state-level entities as part of a state network (such as KETA-TV and WGTV ). The system itself

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-463: The Speedway public address announcing team until the end of 2019, when he was diagnosed with brain cancer that would lead to his death during the week of the NASCAR-INDYCAR doubleheader . During the 2000s, with Mike King as anchor, several new personalities joined the crew. After King retired from the position, Page made a well-publicized return as chief announcer in 2014. When King arrived as

4386-650: The U.S., and traditional home to the motion picture industry and its pool of popular talent, one of the reasons the radio networks set up operations there in the 1930s and 1940s (just as the medium of television was starting to take off). This arrangement is reversed for the Fox Broadcasting Company . When Fox was launched in 1986, its network operations center was (and still is) based in Los Angeles. However, Fox's parent company, Fox Corporation (which spun off its broadcasting properties in July 2013 into

4488-504: The United States in the late 1940s and grew during the early 1950s, network-owned stations in New York City became the production centers for programs originating on the East Coast, feeding affiliates of ABC , CBS , and NBC in the eastern three-fourths of the country. Stations in Los Angeles similarly started producing programs on the West Coast, feeding affiliates in the Pacific Time Zone , Alaska and Hawaii . Consequently,

4590-641: The affiliation across most of the former WB affiliates they owned at the time. Nexstar Media Group then bought Tribune in 2019; however, it had to sell off WPIX to the E. W. Scripps Company to prevent breaching the required market ownership cap set by the FCC for each broadcaster. Two years after WPIX returned to Nexstar control through partner company Mission Broadcasting , the Irving, Texas-based media firm announced that it would buy 75% of CW's shares in August 2022. With

4692-413: The announcer in 1999, a trend returned to the broadcasts, not seen since the days of Sid Collins. King interviewed booth guests (celebrities, politicians, and sponsor representatives), whether live in-person, or pre-recorded. Paul Page has continued the practice. Starting in 2004, King also started having a radio reporter conduct a second radio-specific interview with the winner in victory lane, shortly after

4794-425: The booth in 1977, he swiftly changed the face of the network, and in his own words, "brought the broadcast into the present tense." He turned the coverage into a true live, play-by-play, sporting event broadcast, similar to what had been used by Motor Racing Network , which had covered some NASCAR, USAC, and Formula One races on the radio at the time. He "locked the doors" of the broadcast booth, effectively eliminating

4896-429: The broadcast continued to excel. Praised by members of his staff as always being well-prepared and in complete control of the broadcast, Jenkins' team was praised for their flawless call of the 1992 finish . One of the changes Jenkins made upon his arrival involved the coverage of the pre-race ceremonies. Previously, each segment of the pre-race ceremonies was formally introduced by one of the pit reporters. Jenkins ditched

4998-449: The broadcast crew was a Who's Who of notable radio talent from Indiana , both on-air and technical staff. Being named to the crew was considered a prestigious honor. From the inception of the network through the early 1990s, a "Statistician" position was used. The statistician kept track of the race scoring, and would come on air to recite the scoring serials and average speeds at regular intervals - typically every 10 laps. The position

5100-602: The broadcast has featured the famous phrase "Stay tuned for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Due to the increased number of affiliates at the time, the network needed a scripted "out-cue" to alert radio station engineers and producers when to manually insert local commercials. A young WIBC marketing staff member named Alice Greene (née Bunger) is credited with inventing the phrase, and chief announcer Sid Collins coined it on-air. It has been used ever since, with all of

5202-422: The broadcast originated from a broadcast booth on the ninth floor of the Pagoda. In 2019, NBC took over television rights of the Indianapolis 500. NBC elected to take over the broadcasting booth formerly occupied by the radio network on the 9th floor of the Pagoda. The radio network crew moved to the booth formerly utilized by ABC-TV on the second floor of the Pagoda. As a result, the chief announcer no longer had

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5304-546: The broadcast was typically simulcast on all of the major stations in Indianapolis, and the nationwide affiliate count continued to grow rapidly. In some years, affiliates would sign up as late as the morning of the race, anxious to carry the broadcast. By 1955 , the broadcast could be heard in all 48 states (there were only 48 states at the time). In 1961, it reached new states Alaska and Hawaii as well. Worldwide shortwave transmission through Armed Forces Radio started in 1953, and claimed to reach every country where English

5406-423: The chief announcer in the pagoda had a clear view of the entire turn, was the reason for the change. The position was omitted in 2010, but was brought back for the 2011 race when the league utilized double-file restarts. It was eliminated again for 2012-2013. When Paul Page returned to the network in 2014, he reinstated the turn one post, and it remained through 2017. For 2018, it was vacant again. From 2000 to 2018,

5508-490: The chief announcers proudly reciting it during their respective tenures. In 1982, the phrase was briefly amended to "Stay tuned for the Greatest Spectacle in Sports," but that version was only used that year. When Bob Jenkins recited the phrase, he normally began it as "Now stay tuned...", and others used that variation on occasion. Since 2010, variations to the out-cue have been used in some broadcasts. Some years have featured

5610-605: The country are on the same channel on the rest of the stations in each network with some exceptions along the American, Guatemalan and Belizean border areas. Source: Notes The total number of stations is including the three stations listed in the table. Among the subkey stations, the four major networks are wide area stations.TXN network member stations (Osaka and Aichi) are prefectural area broadcasts. There are 13 independent stations in Japan. Note Sonshine's main headquarters are in Davao City, but also has

5712-416: The director of the network. He served in the position until his death in 1976. During his tenure as chief announcer, Sid Collins frequently referred to the outfit as the "Indianapolis Motor Speedway Network", omitting the word "Radio". In the 21st century, the announcers now commonly refer to it simply as the "IMS Radio Network". From 1952 to 1985, the IMS Radio Network was the only outlet for live coverage of

5814-472: The downtime of the broadcast. On other occasions, telegrams might be received from celebrities listening at home, and Collins would read some of them on-air for the listeners. Starting in 1971, Collins made an effort to curtail booth interviews, in order to improve the flow of the race, and to assuage listeners' complaints. Collins also had a popular custom of signing-off the broadcast by reciting poetry or other literary vignettes . When Paul Page entered

5916-483: The early 1980s. During the late seventies and early eighties, its affiliate count swelled to over 1,200 stations. Along with shortwave transmissions, and various foreign language translations, the network boasted at one time over 100 million listeners worldwide. In 1994, the network began broadcasting the Brickyard 400 as the only NASCAR races not carried by MRN or PRN , and in 1996 , began covering all events of

6018-402: The event from 1990 to 1998. Mike King elevated to the position in 1999, after serving four years as a pit reporter. At fifteen years, King served the second-longest tenure as Voice , until his resignation in 2013. King was replaced by veteran Paul Page, who returned to the role after a 27-year absence. Page's second stint lasted three years (2014-2016). At the 2016 race, Page called the start of

6120-578: The flagship station for Belo , as its headquarters were located in Dallas. KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh served as the flagship station for New York City-based Westinghouse Broadcasting for decades as its parent company was Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Corporation ; ironically, KDKA-TV lost its flagship status due to Westinghouse acquiring CBS, as opposed to another company acquiring Westinghouse. The same also can be said for Nexstar listed two of

6222-633: The flagship station of the Detroit Lions Television Network , which feeds Detroit Lions pre-season football games to six stations in Michigan. However, the "sports flagship television station" is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, with the growing popularity of cable- and satellite-exclusive regional sports networks such as Fox Sports Networks and NBC Sports Regional Networks , which hold exclusive broadcast rights to several teams in their market for Major League Baseball ,

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6324-538: The greater Indianapolis area, where the live television broadcast remains blacked out by WTHR (previously WRTV ) unless the race is sold out. Also, to provide contractual continuity for stations which mainly carry the entire NASCAR schedule, PRN affiliates that wish to carry the Big Machine 400 NASCAR Cup oval event and Shell 150 Xfinity road course event are required to also carry the Indianapolis 500. If there are two different PRN and IMS Radio affiliates in

6426-681: The lead announce, as part of a deal with the PRN . At the 2015 Indianapolis 500 , Doug Rice joined the crew as a pit reporter. Rice performed "double duty" , working the pits for the Indy 500, then flying to Charlotte Motor Speedway to call the Coca-Cola 600 later in the evening. IMS and PRN exchange talent when necessary for each other's races. For example, during the INDYCAR off-season, IMS crews have worked NASCAR races at Kentucky Speedway (when there

6528-479: The local owned-and-operated or affiliated stations in the same city are now separate and may come under different corporate entities. In the U.S., CBS News Radio produces programming for distribution by Skyview Networks, but local stations WCBS and WINS in New York City and KNX (and formerly KFWB ) in Los Angeles are operated separately from the network radio news operation, under a separate company with common shareholders, Audacy, Inc. iHeartMedia follows

6630-400: The mid-1980s, the radio booth was equipped with a television monitor which could pick up the ABC-TV raw satellite feed, which gave the announcers access to replays for the first time. The new improved style of broadcasting was well-received, and earned critical praise for the seamless around-the-track call of the 1982 finish . During the years Bob Jenkins anchored the network, the quality of

6732-409: The mundane celebrity interviews, and gave the turn reporters a higher level of play-by-play responsibility. With the help of technicians, Page invented a custom switchboard to facilitate the turn and pit reporters. Page himself donned a headset that had instant communication between himself and the turn reporters, and without hesitation, would throw the call to the turn reporters as he saw appropriate. By

6834-441: The national Ion network (whose only original programming is the WNBA games in the summer as the network's schedule is completely automated ). Networks designated for digital subchannels are usually flagshipped at local stations in the home cities of their corporate headquarters. MeTV, MeTV Plus, Catchy Comedy, and Heroes & Icons are owned by Weigel Broadcasting in Chicago ; Weigel-owned WCIU carries each full network feed as

6936-420: The network provides reports at Indy 500 time trials, and a talk show titled "Indy Live" which features interviews and other race news. After the race went to live coverage on ABC-TV in 1986 , then to NBC in 2019 , the number of radio affiliates for the network steadily declined over the next two decades. However, the radio network's popularity remains strong, and maintains a cult following , particularly in

7038-429: The network's de facto East Coast and West Coast flagships, respectively, due to CBS owning half of The CW's controlling shares at the time. New York's affiliate WPIX and Los Angeles' affiliate KTLA did not have such status since the network's inception, as Tribune Media (who had a minority stake in The WB) opted not to have any controlling interest with The CW, by selling off its share of The WB; instead, to secure

7140-401: The networks' New York City stations became known as the "East Coast flagships" of their respective networks and the networks' Los Angeles stations became known as the "West Coast flagships". However, before the 1950s, San Francisco was also considered a West Coast flagship market for the networks, with much of the CBS and NBC network's West Coast news programming originating from that city. This

7242-458: The original "Voice of the 500" from 1952 to 1976. Other notable broadcasters over the network's history include Paul Page , Bob Jenkins , Lou Palmer , Jerry Baker , Bob Lamey , and dozens more. In addition, former Indy 500 drivers Fred Agabashian , Len Sutton , Johnny Rutherford , and numerous others have served as analysts. Coverage of the Indianapolis 500 on radio dates back to 1922. Two small stations, WOH and WLK, broadcast descriptions of

7344-414: The out-cue recited by some of the drivers in the starting field. In some years, historic renditions by the former chief announcers have been used. In 2017, a separate voice announcer was used. The play-by-play , or "Chief Announcer" of the race is known as The Voice of The 500 . Although Bill Slater anchored early broadcasts on Mutual , Sid Collins , who had served alongside Slater in previous years as

7446-428: The pit road was lengthened in 1974, a fourth pit reporter was added. Also in the 1970s, a wireless roving reporter was added with his duties primarily to cover the garage area and track hospital. In other selected years, a second roving reporter was part of the crew to conduct celebrity interviews, and report on the social scene at the track. Prior to the 1970s, there were not grandstands in all four corners. Most notably

7548-616: The purchase completion announced on October 3, 2022, both WPIX and KTLA formally became flagship stations for the first time. However, as part of the Nexstar agreement, Paramount was given a right with the transaction to disaffiliate all eight of their CW affiliates, which was exercised on May 5, 2023. By the time of the disaffiliations on September 1, Nexstar repatriated The CW affiliations onto their MyNetworkTV affiliates in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Tampa–St. Petersburg, announced

7650-407: The purchase of Detroit station WADL through affiliate company Mission Broadcasting, and signed long-term agreements with Hearst Television , Gray Television Sinclair Broadcast Group , and the E. W. Scripps Company . East Coast flagships are normally in the New York City designated market area (DMA), while the West Coast flagships are located in the Los Angeles area. WCAU in Philadelphia

7752-494: The race to a small number of households in the Indianapolis area. Starting in either 1924 or 1925, WFBM and WGN in Chicago carried the race, broadcasting periodic updates. In 1929, WKBF and WFBM carried a 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour full race broadcast. The first major coverage came in 1928 when NBC covered the final hour of the race live, with Graham McNamee as anchor. There was no radio coverage in 1932 , as Speedway officials decided to allow newspapers exclusive coverage of

7854-400: The race, then passed the duty on to Mark Jaynes. Some historians and traditionalists prefer not to bestow Collins' successors with the prestigious title of Voice of the 500 , arguing that Collins is the original and only true "Voice," and in fact coined the moniker for himself. There has been no consensus ever reached, and Page, Palmer, Jenkins, King, and Jaynes, all have been referred to over

7956-432: The race. NBC eventually returned, and continued until 1939, in some years also carrying live segments at the start. Charlie Lyons was their announcer for 1939. CBS also covered the race in the late 1930s, with Ted Husing anchoring the coverage in 1936. WIRE and WLW also reported from the race during the 1930s. From 1939 to 1950, Mutual Broadcasting System covered the Indianapolis 500 nationwide with live segments at

8058-499: The rain-shortened event. For 1951, Mutual substantially raised its advertising rates, and its primary sponsor, Perfect Circle Piston Rings, pulled its support. Mutual eventually decided to stop covering the event, and it appeared for a time that the 1951 race would not carried on radio. In early May of 1951 , Speedway president Wilbur Shaw consummated a last-minute deal for WIBC to cover the race, with Sid Collins as anchor. WIBC's format followed that of Mutual's, with live coverage at

8160-464: The reporters in turn two and turn three did not have grandstands to serve as a vantage point until later years. Without grandstands, reporters in those turns may be stationed trackside, in the infield, or perched on a photography platform, with usually limited views. After the 1984 race, the backstretch reporting location was eliminated. Due to the rising speeds of the race cars, the position was deemed unnecessary. Furthermore, due to an improved location,

8262-497: The separate 21st Century Fox , then that company spun off many of its film and cable assets to Disney in 2019), is headquartered in New York City, along with its news division . Fox-owned WNYW in New York City is considered the network's overall flagship, while sister station KTTV in Los Angeles is considered a second flagship station. In 2006, when The WB and UPN merged to form The CW , Philadelphia station WPSG and San Francisco station KBCW (now KPYX) were designated as

8364-438: The separate radio introductions, and for continuity purposes, began simulcasting the Speedway's public address system for the duration of the pre-race. Jenkins also brought in a separate pit producer, to coordinate the pit reporters, a practice that is done by television, primarily by broadcasters who have radio experience. Later, Jenkins also began simulcasting the winner's interview in victory lane from ABC-TV, rather than wait for

8466-483: The show may also originate elsewhere or from a home studio via an ISDN line. Some programs are simulcast on television, while others are simulcasted on XM Satellite Radio and / or Sirius Satellite Radio . Flagship stations of prominent syndicated radio programs currently include: In sports broadcasting, the flagship radio station is the sports team's primary station in the team's home market that produces game broadcasts and feeds them to affiliates. For example, WJZ-FM

8568-421: The start of the race. From 1959 to 1971, the pre-race coverage was expanded to thirty minutes, and would include some of the official pre-race ceremonies. From 1972 to 1982 the pre-race coverage was scheduled for 45 minutes, coming on-air at 10:15 a.m. local time. Beginning in 1983, the pre-race was expanded to one hour. In 2016, a special two-hour pre-race was aired, celebrating the 100th running. Since 1954,

8670-431: The start, the finish, and live periodic updates throughout the race. Bill Slater was brought in as the anchor. In the years prior to World War II, Mutual used the production services of WLW , and provided the signal to other Mutual stations across the country. In the years after World War II , Mutual utilized the services of WIBC to produce the broadcast and provide additional talent. In 1950, due to an illness, Slater

8772-558: The start, the finish, and periodic updates throughout the race. WIBC provided its coverage to approximately 25 other Mutual affiliates. After the success of WIBC's radio effort in 1951, the Speedway management became interested in taking the broadcasting duties in-house permanently. In 1952, the Speedway officially launched the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, utilizing on-air talent and technical support from WIBC. The format again followed

8874-423: The starting field traditionally comprising 33 cars, each pit reporter was assigned roughly eleven pit stalls from which to observe and report. The three-man pit reporting crew of Chuck Marlowe, (north), Luke Walton (center), and Lou Palmer (south) became a fixture of the broadcast for over twenty years. Other key fixtures in the turns included Jim Shelton (turn 4), Howdy Bell (turn 2), Mike Ahern, and Ron Carrell. When

8976-867: The stations as flagships, one cited was WYOU-TV in Scranton , which Perry Sook said it was the flagship , the other listed was KDAF-TV in Dallas, which became its flagship after its acquisition of Tribune Media in 2019, the latter partially is located in a suburb of that city and also owns and operates several stations larger than Dallas, such as WPIX-TV in New York , KTLA in Los Angeles , WGN-TV in Chicago and WPHL-TV in Philadelphia . Shortly after its acquisition of Young Broadcasting by Media General in 2013, WRIC-TV in Richmond become one of

9078-445: The television interview simulcast. After 2006, the simulcasted interview from the television broadcast was dropped entirely. Prior to 1956, two turn reporters were typically utilized. One reporter would cover the "South Turns" (turn 1 and turn 2) and one reporter would cover the "North Turns" (turn 3 and turn 4). Starting in 1957, once reporters would be assigned to each of the four turns. Selected technical and administrative staff for

9180-504: The track, the information would be relayed on cue cards to Collins, and the reporters would be called upon to summarize the details of what had happened. A unique individual, Collins was characterized by his contemporaries as a perfectionist and a proud person. The Collins era was also noted for its popular culture and social appeal. Booth interviews with celebrities , politicians , advertisers , promoters , retired drivers, and other famous personalities in attendance were used to fill

9282-403: The turn three reporter was now able to see the entire backstretch from his vantage point. The backstretch was brought back briefly in 1989 and 1990 as a minor role for veteran announcer Howdy Bell. It was then eliminated permanently beginning in 1991. Starting in the 2010s, the once prestigious turn one location was sometimes left vacant. The faster pace of the broadcasts, as well as the fact that

9384-756: The two flagship stations of the Media General group prior to the 2017 acquisition by Nexstar, the other flagship was WFLA in Tampa Bay , which was always the television flagship of the group. The same can even be said for Scripps , which listed WCPO-TV in Cincinnati as the flagship, but also owned Ion Media , which is several times larger than Cincinnati themselves. Even the same can be said for Sinclair Broadcast Group, which listed WBFF-TV in Baltimore and WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. , listed as

9486-405: The years as either "Voice" or "Chief Announcer" whether formally or informally. In addition to the chief announcer, turn reporters, and pit reporters, there are several other analysts and personalities that are part of the crew. Since 1955, a "driver expert" has been part of the broadcast, serving as a color commentator . The position is typically held by a retired/inactive driver, or in some years

9588-614: Was a conflict with the Cup weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway ) and the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (where extra broadcasters are required). Each of the different anchors had a noticeably different respective broadcasting style, and the race coverage was heavily influenced by the chief announcer's direction. During the Sid Collins era, the broadcast resembled more of an entertainment -based broadcast than

9690-670: Was a fixture of the network for many years. During the network's heyday, it was a popular rite for many listeners at home to chart the scoring throughout the race. Similarly, fans listening at the track often relied heavily on radio reports to keep track of the leaders, as scoreboards at the track (the iconic pylon on the main stretch, and the two "carousel" scoreboards in the shortchutes), were not visible to all fans, and furthermore sometimes lagged far behind real time and were not always accurate, or showed incomplete information. The scoring and statistician positions quickly became outdated and obsolete when sophisticated electronic scoring equipment

9792-434: Was adopted in the early 1990s. In the 2000s, by which time all scoring was done by computers, and likewise available in real time online, through mobile devices, and abundantly visible on video boards and digital scoreboards around the facility, the position was permanently retired. From 1994 to 1999, Mike Joy anchored the Brickyard 400 broadcasts. Mike King took his place from 2000 to 2003. Since 2004, Doug Rice has been

9894-495: Was completely automated and produced no local programming. The network would later lease WZAA in Washington, D.C., as its lone self-operated station. Fox Sports Radio 's flagship station is KLAC in Los Angeles, with which it merged operations in 2009. SB Nation Radio is flagshipped at KGOW in Houston; one of its predecessors, Sporting News Radio , was previously flagshipped at WIDB (now WNTD ) in Chicago. CBS Sports Radio

9996-460: Was demanding, requiring close coordination with the USAC officials downstairs in race control. The radio network crew typically facilitated its own team of unofficial serial scorers to follow the progress of the race. That allowed the scoring reports to be announced on-air faster than the official scorekeepers could produce them from race control. The two-man scoring crew of Bill Fleetemeyer and Bill Lamb

10098-399: Was expected to miss the broadcast. Sid Collins , who had served as a turn reporter for two years, was tentatively named his replacement. Slater was able to make it to the race, so Collins joined Slater in the booth as co-anchor. Later in the day, Collins reported from victory lane. That year's race was cut short by rain, forcing Mutual to interrupt Queen for a Day to broadcast the finish of

10200-482: Was killed in the accident along with Dave MacDonald . The network received over 30,000 letters asking for a transcript of the on-air eulogy. Collins committed suicide on May 2, 1977, after being diagnosed with ALS . Paul Page , whom Collins mentored, took over as chief announcer from 1977 to 1987. Page left for ABC-TV in 1988. Lou Palmer , formerly a pit reporter, then served the shortest tenure to date as Voice , (1988–1989). Bob Jenkins replaced Palmer, and called

10302-633: Was spoken. In 1964, an affiliate in Rhode Island picked up the broadcast for the first time, meaning that a terrestrial affiliate originating from all 50 states were now part of the network (previously Rhode Island listeners could only hear the broadcast from a neighboring state). WJAR in Providence signed on to the 1964 race with 557 other affiliates for the historic milestone. Former Indy 500 driver Elmer George , husband of Mari Hulman George , and father of Tony George , would eventually become

10404-419: Was the addition of the live talk show "Indy Live" in 1990. The program was carried by many of the affiliates, and featured interviews with drivers, and allowed listeners to call in and ask questions. Jenkins left after 1998 to work the race on ABC-TV for the next five years. Jenkins made a brief return to the radio crew as a turn reporter in 2007–2008, and as a booth analyst in 2009–2011, before permanently joining

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