Buffalo Bills Radio Network


The Buffalo Bills Radio Network is a broadcast radio network based in Buffalo, New York. Its primary programming is broadcasts of Buffalo Bills home and away games to a network of 26 stations in upstate New York, the Northwestern and Northern Tiers of Pennsylvania, and the state of Wyoming, having previously also had affiliates in Southern Ontario.
Previously, the broadcasts originated from WBEN through much of the team's history except for a period from 1971 to 1977 when WKBW was team flagship. WGR briefly carried games in the early 1990s. From 1998 through 2011, the Bills were flagshipped at WGRF, as well as other stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting. When Cumulus Media purchased Citadel in late 2011, it dropped Bills games from all of its stations at the end of the season. Cumulus never fully paid off the money Citadel owed for Bills games, instead eventually seeking to nullify the debt in January 2018 when the company went into bankruptcy. Entercom Communications and Galaxy Communications picked up the rights, restoring broadcasts to WGR for the 2012 season.
During the time of the Bills Toronto Series, the station was carried on CJCL in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. CHML in Hamilton also briefly carried games in the late 2010s but dropped them after re-securing the rights to the team it had carried for much of its history, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. As of 2022, the Bills have no Canadian affiliates, though WGR is audible through much of Southern Ontario.
The station added an affiliate in Wyoming in 2021, KGAB in Laramie County, Wyoming, mainly to allow Wyoming Cowboys football fans to follow Bills starting quarterback and Wyoming alumnus Josh Allen. KGAB dropped Bills games for the 2023 season. As of 2024, the Bills radio network lists two Wyoming affiliates.
Chris Brown, formerly a Buffalo Destroyers play-by-play announcer who had most recently been studio host for the Bills' shows on MSG Western New York, is currently serving as play-by-play announcer, with former Bills offensive lineman Eric Wood as color commentator and WGR employee Sal Capaccio as sideline reporter.
The network is an autonomous organization from the team, and is unique in that it, and not the team itself, was the main sponsor of the Bills' cheerleaders, the Buffalo Jills, until that squad was disbanded due to legal disputes.
Van Miller was the voice of the Buffalo Bills from the team's inception until 2003, with the exception of 1972 to 1978, when WKBW controlled radio rights and Miller's TV employer, WBEN-TV, would not permit him to appear on WKBW broadcasts. Miller was succeeded by John Murphy, his longtime color commentator, when he retired from the booth after the 2003 season. Murphy suffered a stroke in January 2023 and formally relinquished play-by-play duties in May 2024.
The Bills announced in July 2024 that the interim tag will be removed for Brown and he will become the primary play-by-play announcer of the Buffalo Bills.

Stations

CityCall signFrequency
Buffalo, New York ''WGR550 AM
Rochester, New YorkWCMF-FM96.5 FM
Rochester, New YorkWROC950 AM
Dunkirk, New YorkWDOE1410 AM
Jamestown, New YorkWWSE93.3 FM
Olean, New YorkWPIG95.7 FM
Bradford, PennsylvaniaWBRR100.1 FM
Wellsville, New YorkWQRW93.5 FM
Bath, New YorkWVIN-FM98.3 FM
Elmira-Corning, New YorkWNGZ1490 AM
Geneva, New YorkWGVA1240 AM
Newark, New YorkWACK1420 AM
Cortland, New YorkWIII99.9 FM
Auburn, New YorkWAUB1590 AM
Syracuse, New YorkWKLL100.9 FM
Oswego, New YorkWKLL106.5 FM
Utica-Rome, New YorkWKLL94.9 FM
Binghamton, New York/Susquehanna, PennsylvaniaWVIP100.5 FM
Oneonta, New YorkWZOZ103.1 FM
Johnstown, New YorkWIZR930 AM
Amsterdam, New YorkWCSS1490 AM
Albany, New YorkWTMM-FM104.5 FM
Ogdensburg, New YorkWQTK92.7 FM
Watertown, New YorkWOTT94.1 FM
Cody, WyomingKODI1400 AM
Gillette, WyomingKDDV101.5 FM

Former affiliates

Play-by-play

  • Van Miller
  • Al Meltzer and Rick Azar
  • John Murphy
  • '''Chris Brown'''

    Color analysts

  • Ralph Hubbell and Dick Rifenburg
  • Ed Rutkowski
  • Don Gilbert
  • Stan Barron and Jefferson Kaye
  • John Murphy
  • Greg Brown
  • Alex Van Pelt
  • Mark Kelso
  • Steve Tasker
  • '''Eric Wood'''

    Sideline reporters

  • Jeff Burris
  • Paul Peck
  • Rich Gaenzler
  • Joe Buscaglia
  • Sal Capaccio

    Studio hosts

  • Rich Gaenzler
  • Brent Axe
  • Howard Simon
  • Sal Capaccio
  • Jeremy White
  • Nate Geary
  • Joe DiBiase

    Engineers

  • Greg Harvey
  • Todd Broady
  • Todd Large