One of the last vestiges of CBS Radio’s pre-Audacy days is going away this month. CBS Sports Radio network is rebranding to Infinity Sports Radio, starting April 15. The initiative stems from stipulations outlined in the Entercom/CBS Radio merger in 2017.
According to a memo distributed to affiliate stations and provided to Radio Ink, the rebrand will not affect the network’s distribution, on-air lineup, content, or format, insisting, “All that is changing is the NAME of the network.”
Network programming consists of Maggie & Perloff, Jim Rome, JRSportBrief, Reiter Than You, Zach Gelb, The Bart Winkler Show, and After Hours with Amy Lawrence.
CBS Sports Radio was initially launched in January 2013 through a collaboration between CBS Radio and Cumulus Media, eventually transitioning to full CBS ownership with Westwood One managing syndication distribution and ad sales. Audacy, inheriting the network through its acquisition of CBS Radio, was bound by an agreement necessitating a brand change by the end of 2020. This led to the removal of the CBS Eye logo from the network’s branding and marketing efforts in 2019.
The new Infinity Sports Radio is born out of a directive from distributor Westwood One, requiring all affiliated stations to transition branding across all media and sales materials by the specified date. The choice of Infinity is a reference to Infinity Broadcasting, which served as the operating title for CBS’ radio division in the early 2000s.
Audacy does have one remaining tie to the CBS Radio brand name – CBS News Radio and the company reached a multi-year affiliation agreement for 27 stations in January.
