Former Detroit sports columnist Rob Parker is set to change the city’s radio lineup with the impending debut of a unique AM station. Sports Rap Radio 1270 (WXYT-AM) will boast the nation’s first all-Black host lineup with a mid-May launch in mind.
WXYT’s goal is to provide a platform for young, up-and-coming talents and former athletes with Detroit connections. Parker told The Detroit News that Sports Rap Radio plans to offer local programming from 7a to 7p, with his own nationally syndicated show, The Odd Couple with Chris Broussard, in the evening slot.
The station also plans to feature hip-hop music and provide a space for Black-hosted podcasts, aiming to extend its reach to major Black markets nationwide.
He will lease the station from Audacy, which currently runs betting-oriented sports talk format The Bet Detroit on the signal. The station will continue to include betting content from the BetQL network and serve as an alternative broadcast venue for local sports events. Sports Rap Radio will manage its own sales team.
Audacy Detroit Market Manager Debbie Kenyon said, “I think these guys are going to knock it out of the park. No one’s thought of us. That’s just crazy to me.”
Parker emphasized that Sports Rap Radio does not intend to compete with Audacy’s existing sports talk station in the market, 97.1 The Ticket (WXYT-FM), but rather to offer an alternative, highlighting the possibility of coexistence in the market. He added, “It’s going to be young people getting opportunities and former athletes, from Detroit or with Detroit ties. This is a Detroit radio station. I want to make that clear.”
