ESPN Louisville

What ESPN Louisville does

ESPN Louisville (WHBE-AM) is a regional sports radio broadcaster based in Louisville, Kentucky, operating under parent company Union Broadcasting. Founded in 2009, the station transmits on ESPN 680 AM and 105.7 FM, and also operates the secondary FM property 93.9 The Ville. Its programming combines locally produced sports talk shows (The Deener Show, Rabaut & Co, The Take w/ Andy Sweeney, The Round Table) with ESPN national content, covering the Louisville Cardinals, Louisville City FC, Racing Louisville FC, Bellarmine Knights, the Cincinnati Reds, MLB, NBA Draft, Kentucky Wildcats, and horse racing from Churchill Downs.

The station's technology stack consists of conventional AM/FM broadcasting supplemented by digital distribution: a mobile application on iOS and Android, website streaming, podcast distribution through OMNY.fm, and a YouTube channel branded ESPN Louisville+. Underlying infrastructure includes SoCast as the website CMS and PayTrace for advertiser payment processing. The station holds official broadcast partnerships with Louisville Cardinals, Louisville City FC, Racing Louisville FC, and Churchill Downs for horse racing coverage, and is an ESPN Radio affiliate under brand licensing.

ESPN Louisville generates revenue primarily through advertising and sponsorship sales to local and regional businesses, with quote-based pricing and multi-year contracts. It sells through direct sales account executives and managers against an audience of sports fans and listeners in the Louisville metro and surrounding Kentuckiana region. Secondary revenue comes from podcast monetization, YouTube content, and digital ad integration. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; advertisers are directed to contact [email protected] for custom packages covering events, contests, digital content, smart devices, and social activation.

Name

ESPN Louisville

Legal name

Union Broadcasting

Website

https://espnlouisville.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ESPN Louisville is a regional sports radio broadcaster serving Louisville and the Kentuckiana market via ESPN 680 AM, 105.7 FM, and 93.9 The Ville. It generates advertising revenue by reaching local sports fans through live broadcasts, podcasts, a mobile app, and YouTube content.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPABACAF

Network-Affiliated Local Radio Stations (News/Talk/Sports Syndication Affiliates)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Local Broadcast Stations & Affiliates (TV & Radio)

SECONDARYMPABACAK

Local Sports Broadcast Stations (Regional Local Rights, High School/College)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Local Broadcast Stations & Affiliates (TV & Radio)

Keywords

• Sports radio broadcasting
• Local sports coverage
• Sports talk programming
• Radio advertising sales
• Sports podcast production

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising and Sponsorship: The station generates revenue primarily through selling advertising spots, sponsorships, and partnership packages to local and regional businesses. The advertising page references building brands with the ESPN Louisville portfolio of assets including events, contests, digital content, smart devices, and social activation.
2. Podcast and Digital Content Distribution: Distribution of podcasts and on-demand content through platforms like OMNY.fm and YouTube, monetizing through audience engagement and advertising integration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ESPN Louisville operates a regional sports radio station in Louisville, Kentucky (WHBE-AM / ESPN 680 AM, 105.7 FM, and 93.9 The Ville), delivering live local sports talk programming, game broadcasts, and podcasts covering Louisville Cardinals, Louisville City FC, Racing Louisville FC, Bellarmine Knights, horse racing, MLB, and national sports. The station monetizes its audience primarily through advertising and sponsorship sales to local and regional businesses via direct sales, on-air spots, events, contests, and digital content integrations.

Product overview

ESPN Louisville is a sports radio broadcasting company operating as a unified platform-plus-content portfolio. The core offering consists of live radio broadcasts on ESPN 680 AM and 105.7 FM frequencies (including the 93.9 The Ville sub-brand), supplemented by original talk show programs (The Deener Show, Rabaut & Co, The Take w/ Andy Sweeney, The Round Table w/ James Streble), a mobile app, podcast distribution, and premium YouTube content (ESPN Louisville+). All programming focuses on local Louisville sports teams (Cardinals, Louisville City FC, Racing Louisville FC, Bellarmine Knights) and broader sports coverage including MLB, NBA Draft, and Kentucky Wildcats.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ESPN 680 AM / 105.7 FM Radio Broadcast Live sports radio broadcast station on ESPN 680 AM and 105.7 FM frequencies covering Louisville Cardinals, Louisville City FC, Racing Louisville FC, Bellarmine Knights, MLB, NBA Draft, and Kentucky Wildcats. Targeted at Louisville and Kentuckiana-area sports fans.
• The Deener Show Weekday morning sports talk show (7AM-10AM) hosted by Drew Deener and Mark Blankenbaker, covering Louisville Cardinals Football and Basketball with local and national guests.
• Rabaut & Co Weekday midday sports talk show (10AM-12PM) hosted by Louie Rabaut, covering sports news and analysis.
• The Take w/ Andy Sweeney Weekday afternoon sports talk show (12PM-3PM) hosted by Andy Sweeney.
• The Round Table w/ James Streble Weekday afternoon sports talk show (3PM-6PM) hosted by James Streble covering Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana sports, including Kentucky Wildcat postgame shows for football and basketball.
• ESPN Louisville Podcasts On-demand podcast programming including The Deener Show, Rabaut & Co, The Take, Soccer City, Sunday Morning Hangover, Louisville Sports Live, Kentucky Racing Spotlight, and Inside Churchill Downs distributed through OMNY.fm and other podcast platforms.
• Inside Churchill Downs Podcast Horse racing talk podcast dedicated to Churchill Downs and Kentucky horse racing coverage, distributed through OMNY.fm.
• Advertising and Sponsorship Partnerships Quote-based advertising and sponsorship packages sold to local and regional businesses via [email protected], covering on-air spots, events, contests, digital content, smart devices, and social activation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 20 morning show in the country per Barrett Sports Media

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Louisville CardinalscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial broadcast partner providing comprehensive coverage of Louisville Cardinals football and basketball including press conferences, game analysis, and postgame shows.
• Louisville City FCcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial radio home for Louisville City FC soccer matches, providing live game coverage and team updates.
• Racing Louisville FCcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial broadcast partner for Racing Louisville FC women's soccer team.
• Churchill Downs / Horse RacingcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHome for horse racing talk including Inside Churchill Downs podcast and Kentucky Racing Spotlight coverage. Louie Rabaut co-hosts Horse Racing Happy Hour podcast.
• ESPN NetworkcoreTechnology or IntegrationLicensed ESPN affiliate providing access to ESPN branding, national content, and network affiliation for sports coverage.
• Union BroadcastingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParent company and broadcast group operating ESPN Louisville (WHBE-AM). Contact information references unionbroadcasting.com for EEO reports and corporate filings.
• UPSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for UPS Jobs text lines (502-437-9680 for ESPN 680 and 502-383-1939 for 93.9 The Ville) enabling job opportunity announcements on air.
• Bellarmine KnightsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoverage partner for Bellarmine Knights athletics including links to men's basketball coverage.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ESPN680
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ESPNLouisville/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/espnlouisville

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ESPN Louisville