Fans of the Ontario Hockey League’s Plymouth Whalers will be able to follow their team on the radio again.
Plymouth has signed an agreement with 88.1 FM WSDP, “The Escape,” as the team’s new radio home. The first broadcast on 88.1 FM is set for this Saturday, November 7 at 6:45 p.m. against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
After evaluating the first few broadcasts in November, the Whalers hope to reach a longer-term deal with 88.1 FM.
Long-time Plymouth voice Pete Krupsky provides the play-by-play, working with partner Sean Baligian on the home broadcasts.
“I’m very happy for our fans,” said Whalers coach-GM Mike Vellucci. “We’ve been looking to get back into radio at some point in time and working with 88.1 FM makes a lot of sense. Their signal can be heard all over the area.”
WSDP’s broadcast signal effectively reaches a primary target audience of over 100,000 people in Canton, Plymouth and Plymouth Township and can be heard throughout the Detroit-metropolitan area. The station also broadcasts online.
The Whalers have been broadcasting online over the last five years and will continue their partnership with INSINC.com, which has a league-wide agreement with the OHL for streaming content.
Schoolcraft College and the Schoolcraft College Sports Network telecasts most of the Whalers home games and will provide real-world experience on the broadcasts for Plymouth-Canton students interested in learning about the media business. In addition, the Whalers will offer assistance to students interested in finding out about marketing, broadcasting and public relations.
“Moving to 88.1 FM extends the partnership we already have with the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park,” said Denise Ronayne, Whalers director of sales and marketing. “We have players going to school there, so having the broadcasts on 88.1 FM is a natural fit for everyone.”
Nine Whalers attend high school at the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park.
“A team as well-loved in the area as the Plymouth Whalers only means good things for the radio station,” said 88.1 FM station manager Bill Keith. “I think the broadcasts will bring new people to the radio station as potential listeners. The broadcasts will allow us to promote the radio station to a new audience, which is always a good thing.
“I’m also excited about the educational opportunities for our students, whether they’re helping out behind the scene of the broadcasts, or assisting with the marketing of the Whalers. Any way we can explore those connections with the students is a win-win for everyone involved.”
The Whalers’ agreement on WSDP is not the first time 88.1 FM has ventured outside the Plymouth-Canton high school sports market. The radio station broadcast Detroit Compuware Ambassadors games at one point in the late 1990’s and early in this decade.
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