Section A, story 35 min read
Chicago is a radio sports town. Fans listen in the car, at work, on the porch and sometimes with the TV sound turned down and the radio call on instead. The catch is that the teams are spread across three different stations, and two of those stations live mainly on the AM band. Here is where each team’s games are heard, based on what the teams and stations themselves have announced, and how to get the clearest signal.
At a glance
| Team | Radio home | Where on the dial | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cubs | 670 The Score | 670 AM, 104.3 FM | Audacy, January 2026 |
| Bulls | 670 The Score | 670 AM, 104.3 FM | Audacy, January 2026 |
| White Sox | ESPN Chicago | 1000 AM, 100.3 FM HD2 | White Sox, 2025 season |
| Bears | ESPN Chicago | 1000 AM, 100.3 FM HD2 | Bears, 2026 season |
| Bears in Spanish | Latino Mix | 93.5 FM | Bears, 2026 season |
| Blackhawks | WGN Radio | 720 AM | Blackhawks, 2025-26 season |
Rights deals change from time to time, so the source and season are listed for each line. If a new season starts and a team moves, the team’s own website is the place to check first.
Cubs and Bulls: The Score
The Score, WSCR, is licensed to Audacy and broadcasts on 670 AM. In January 2026 Audacy announced the launch of 104.3 The Score, an FM simulcast that began on February 2 while the station continues on 670 AM. The announcement said the station’s flagship radio coverage of the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bulls would also air on FM. The FCC lists the FM station as WSCR-FM on 104.3, licensed to Chicago.
For listeners this is good news. AM signals suffer badly from electrical noise and from steel buildings, while FM is cleaner indoors and in cars. If you used to lose the Cubs under an overpass or inside an office, try 104.3 first.
Bears: ESPN Chicago, and Spanish on 93.5
The Bears’ own game pages for the 2026 season list the radio broadcast on ESPN Chicago, 1000 AM and 100.3 FM HD2, with Jeff Joniak on play-by-play, Tom Thayer as analyst and Jason McKie on the sideline. The Spanish-language broadcast is on Latino Mix 93.5 FM, with Omar Ramos calling the game. The FCC lists 93.5 FM as WVIV-FM, licensed to Lemont and held by Univision Radio Stations Group.
The same pages say the ESPN Chicago pregame show starts at 9 a.m. for a noon kickoff, and that the postgame show runs for two hours after each game. They list the NFL+ service for streaming the radio call.
White Sox: ESPN Chicago
In its broadcast announcement for the 2025 season, the White Sox named ESPN Chicago, AM 1000 and FM 100.3 HD2, as the team’s radio home, with every game also airing and streaming on the Chicago Sports Network, CHSN, on television. The FCC lists the AM station as WMVP, licensed to Chicago and held by Good Karma Broadcasting.
Blackhawks: WGN Radio
For the 2025-26 season, the Blackhawks announced that WGN Radio would broadcast all 82 regular-season games, with John Wiedeman on play-by-play alongside color analyst Troy Murray in what the team called their 20th season together, and Charlie Roumeliotis hosting the pre- and post-game shows. WGN is on 720 AM. On television, the team said 67 games would air locally on CHSN that season.
What HD2 means
Two teams list ESPN Chicago on 100.3 FM HD2. HD2 is an extra digital channel carried alongside an FM station’s main signal. An ordinary FM radio tuned to 100.3 will play the main station, not the HD2 channel. To hear it you need a radio that supports HD Radio, which many newer car stereos do. Look for an HD logo on the display or in the manual, tune to 100.3 and step through the HD channels.
Tip: No HD radio? Use the AM signal at 1000 in the car, and the station’s app or the team’s own app at home, where the stream is often clearer than AM indoors.
Getting a clear AM signal
- Turn the radio itself. AM radios use a directional antenna inside the case, so rotating the set can make a big difference.
- Move away from LED bulbs, dimmer switches, phone chargers and computers, all common sources of AM buzz.
- In a car, noise near power lines and under bridges is normal; it clears once you pass.
- At night, distant AM stations travel further, which can add interference on some frequencies.
The TV sound and radio sync problem
Many fans like the radio call with the TV picture. The trouble is that digital TV, streaming and even digital radio add small delays, so the radio may be a few seconds ahead of or behind the picture. An analog AM or FM radio tends to be the most immediate. If the delay bothers you, some streaming radio apps let you pause to line the call up with the picture; a plain radio cannot be delayed.
Streaming the radio call
Streaming the local radio broadcast is often restricted by league rules. The Bears’ pages point fans to NFL+ for the radio stream. Station apps may carry talk shows freely but black out live games for listeners outside the local area. If you are traveling, check the league’s own service before a game rather than during it.
Talk between the games
Both The Score and ESPN Chicago fill the hours between games with sports talk, and WGN Radio mixes Blackhawks coverage with its news and talk schedule. For a wider look at the dial, including the all-news and music stations, see Chicago Radio Stations by Frequency: FM and AM From Bottom to Top. For watching games without cable, see How to Watch Chicago Local News Without Cable.