Sports Byline USA is an international sportsradio network based in the United States. Sports Byline USA is also the name of the flagship program on the network. It was the first national sports talk show and was launched on October 24, 1988.[1] Sports Byline USA is located in San Francisco, California. Nationally, the network claims programming is heard on 200 satellite radio stations, was on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 122, and on CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks channel 2. The station is also available on several international stations and is the main sports programming of the American Forces Network which broadcasts on 500 radio stations in 177 countries. Sports Byline USA is no longer on Sirius XM 122 which is now CNBC, but its sister program, Sports Overnight America is on Sirius XM 203.[2]
Over 200 affiliate satellite radio stations in the USA[9]
Background
In 1988, when Willie Mays toured to promote his new book Say Hey: the Autobiography of Willie Mays,[10][11] Mays was Ron Barr's first guest for the first hour of the first broadcast of Sports Byline USA[12]
In 2020, there are over 35 talk show hosts on the 24/7 network, which still maintains its original concept: to [15] give sports fans across the nation[16][17] the chance to call in and talk to their favorite athletes. The network's hosts take listener calls on major issues in the sports world.[18]
Leadership
Sports Byline USA's staff includes Chairman/Host, Ron Barr, President Darren Peck[19] and its limited partnership group. Included in the group are 20-time Wimbledon Champion Billie Jean King, former NFL running back Darrin Nelson, super sports attorney Leigh Steinberg and other successful business professionals. Bill Walsh, the Hall of Fame and 3-time Super Bowl winning coach, was on the Sports Byline USA Partnership Advisory Board of Directors.
Spotlights
American Football Network
Sports Byline USA had signed on to be the radio distributor[20] of broadcasts of the All American Football League, with the games being produced by Touchdown Radio Productions. The AAFL suspended operations in March 2008, one month prior to its launch, and has yet to begin play as of 2011.
In January 2013, the U.S. Library of Congress acquired more than 4,000 recordings of interviews by Ron Barr broadcast between 1988 and 2003. The recordings are digitized[23] at the Library's Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia. The collection[24] includes a wide range of players, coaches, and more, including Bill Russell (baseball), John Wooden, George Steinbrenner[25] and Earl Lloyd the Alexandria, Virginia native who in 1950 became the first African-American to play in the National Basketball Association. The collection includes a large archive of audio interviews with Negro league baseball players[26]
Sports Byline: a US Post Office for Special Postal Cancellation
On April 23, 2019 Sail Sport Talk at Sports Byline became a post office for the USPS Building Bridges Special Postal Cancellation. SF Postmaster Abraham P. Cooper signs celebrity wall under Tom Slingsby's signature
Sail Sport Talk with Karen Lile is a Talk Show partnered with Sports Byline and placed inside Tittilating Sports[28] to engage mainstream sports fans with the international world of sailing.[29] It began April 4, 2019 and continues to the present.[30][31][32]
Tittlating Sports with Rick Tittle
Rick Tittle made the switch to radio with Sports Byline USA in 1999, beginning as a producer and production director, before starting his Titillating Sports show in 2003. Rick’s humorous and thoughtful approach to sports talk lends itself to all sports,[33] as Rick lets the callers drive the topics of the day. Rick Tittle's show, which live broadcasts 3 hours, five days a week, also features partnerships with other hosts, such as A.I. Expert Neil Sahota[34]
Programs and hosts
Sports Byline represents a diversity of sports in its 24/7 programming.
Major syndicated shows broadcast from Sports Byline USA[35]
On June 30, 2009, Sports Byline USA signed an advertising sales representation agreement with Focus 360 LLC. Focus 360's Chief Executive Officer, Phil Brown, said that the National Focus network and syndication division will sell Sports Byline USA to advertisers on a stand-alone basis as well as in conjunction with National Baseball Network, another major sports network represented by National Focus.
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