Cardinals Might Move Back to KMOX

The team's radio arrangement has irritated fans since the summer of 2005, when the club abandoned the powerhouse signal of KMOX (1120 AM), the broadcast home for more than five decades, in favor of buying a controlling interest in weaker KTRS (550 AM) and moving the broadcasts there.

But there is an exit clause after this season, and sources say KMOX is pushing to get the Cardinals back. Another possibility is a partnership between KTRS and WXOS (101.1 FM), which has a strong signal that fills gaps left by KTRS. WXOS made a pitch for such an arrangement this season but was turned down.

Cardinals president Bill Dewitt III said that in addition to economics, factors being weighed include the reach of the signal plus "the history of relationships (with stations) that have been recent and in the past. All that filters into the mix.

"And one of the things that is the main driver is how fans react,'' he added. "That's something we try to keep the pulse of.''

More than two-thirds of participants in a survey in each of the past two years on the Post-Dispatch's website, STLtoday.com, voted for KMOX when asked to pick the station they want to broadcast the games.

The Cardinals' broadcast decisions are expected before the end of July.

Source: Dan Caesar