Fire, WLS strike radio deal

The Fire will air their games on WLS-AM (890) as part of a two-year agreement that gives them their first local English radio broadcast, the SunTimes has learned. Fire president of business operations Dave Baldwin will announce the deal at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday on the station. The first broadcast will be Saturday when the Fire host the Red Bulls at 7:30 p.m.

Max Thoma and Dasan Robinson will call the games. Thoma is in his fourth year as the play-byplay voice of the South Bend Cubs, and Robinson, an Evanston native, played six seasons for the Fire (2006-11). He also has called games for Chicago House AC, which plays in the Midwest Premier League. Max Anderson, who calls Illinois amateur hockey, will call select games.

Of the remaining 26 games this season, 10 will air on 890-AM or another Cumulus Media station because of scheduling conflicts. The rest will be streamed on wlsam.com. For home games, fans watching on Apple TV+ will be able to listen to the home radio call instead of the national call.

The broadcasts will include 30-minute pregame and postgame shows. The agreement also includes a weekly one-minute spot on 890-AM to promote upcoming matches and to recap previous ones. Listeners of WLS-AM and -FM (94.7) and WKQX-FM (101.1) will hear about contests to win Fire tickets, merchandise and more.

The Fire add to the sports inventory at WLS-AM, which also carries University of Illinois football and basketball and NASCAR. The station is seeking to reach a younger audience, and the Fire need a local outlet. The team’s games were available on WGNTV before MLS moved all its games to Apple TV+ this season.

Fire games will continue to air on their longtime Spanish home, WRTO-AM (1200).