95.7 The GAME announced their agreement to be the Raiders flagship radio station in the Bay Area during the Raiders Official Draft Party at Buffalo Wild Wings last Thursday. On live radio and in front of a large group of fans, Greg Papa, the voice of the Raiders and a host on The GAME, broke the news.
"We're excited," said Papa. "I have a Monday through Friday job at 95.7, so I'm there anyway and it's just going to be great. I think the Raider fans have turned to 95.7 The Game anyway as the outlet of the East Bay and the Raiders. Now it's just a perfect fit. I know they've been working on it for several weeks and months and just to have it come down today is so exciting. I could not be happier that Raider football will be on 95.7."
"We are delighted to begin this exciting new relationship with 95.7 the GAME and we look forward to working with Compass Media to establish a broad affiliate network throughout California and beyond," said Oakland Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask. "We were thrilled to share this exciting news, during our Official Draft Party with Raider Nation."
Jason Barrett, program director at 95.7 The Game, is thrilled his station will be the host of Raiders football. "It's outstanding because, in my opinion running the radio station, football is the biggest attraction for sports radio listening," said Barrett. "Obviously the Raiders brand is iconic. There's a ton of passion for it, which is what we want. We want passionate fans to engage with the radio station. Greg Papa works for us, works for the Raiders, there's a lot of synergies there. Honestly, I don't think you can talk enough football when you're doing sports talk radio, from Week 1 of preseason and training camp to the end of the Super Bowl, it's what drives the format."
95.7 The GAME and the Raiders were excited to make the announcement at the Official Draft Party. "I wanted Greg involved in the announcement," said Barrett." I thought that was the right thing to do. We knew he was hosting with Rod [Woodson] who was going to be here. We knew we were going to have a room full of Raider fans. What better way to start off than to excite people and get them excited? Build the announcement buzz all day and ultimately it feels right."
The draft party crowd cheered loudly when the announcement was made by Papa. "They seemed to enjoy it," said Papa. "We talk a lot of Raiders on the station anyway, certainly more than any other station in town, so I think they turn to us anyway. It's just a natural fit to have the games on Sunday and all the shows throughout the week talking about it and all the programming that we'll have wall to wall, Sunday morning all the way to the postgame. So I think they're really excited. It's where the Raiders should be, there's no doubt."
Also hosting was Roxy Bernstein, who was excited about the fans' reaction and the passion at the Official Draft Party. "This is awesome; great turnout," said Bernstein. "So much excitement, not only for the fans here, but just from us. This is really a special day."
Oakland Raiders programming on 95.7 The GAME will include aggressive pre-game and post game shows complete with key interviews, locker room reaction and listener phone calls. Rounding out Raiders coverage on 95.7 The GAME will be weekly call-in shows with Head Coach Dennis Allen and other key Raiders players and personnel. Every Monday during the NFL season will be re-branded on the station as "Raiders Mondays."
