WGN-AM 720 has hired former TV analyst Charlie Roumeliotis to host the radio station’s pregame, intermission and postgame shows for Chicago Blackhawks games.
The former NBC Sports Chicago reporter and NHL correspondent also will host a weekly “Blackhawks Live” show.
“Blackhawks fans have enjoyed Charlie’s hockey expertise for years and now they’ll get to hear him every time the Hawks play,” WGN Radio sports director Dave Eanet said in a statement.
NBC Sports Chicago will go dark when its contract with the Hawks, White Sox and Bulls expires at the end of this month and those teams launch a new regional network — Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) — on Oct. 1.
“I started at NBC Sports Chicago as an intern in 2013, so that’s the only company I’ve ever worked for,” Roumeliotis said. “It’s definitely going to be weird not being able to go to the studio anymore, but at the same time I’ve had time to prepare for what the next chapter looks like. So I’m pumped about my next move.”
Roumeliotis’ hiring represents the final piece of the puzzle for the Hawks TV and radio picture on CHSN and WGN-AM. Here’s how it breaks down:
- CHSN booth: Play-by-play announcer Rick Ball and color commentator Darren Pang
- CHSN studio: Host Pat Boyle and analysts Tony Granato and Caley Chelios
- WGN-AM booth: Play-by-play announcer John Wiedeman and color commentator Troy Murray
- WGN-AM studio: Roumeliotis
- Spanish radio (Latino Media Network, WRTO-AM 1200): Miguel Esparza and Jorge Moreno
CHSN announced Tuesday that it will air 69 regular-season games — broadcast on free HD channels 62.2 and 62.3 via an over-the-air antenna, as well as on DirecTV — beginning Oct. 1.
Three of the team’s six preseason games will air on CHSN, while the first exhibition will be streamed on Blackhawks.com.
Here’s the schedule:
- Sept. 25 vs. Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m. (Blackhawks.com, WGN-AM 720)
- Sept. 27 at Red Wings, 6 p.m. (WGN-AM 720)
- Sept. 28 at St. Louis Blues, 6 p.m. (WGN-AM 720)
- Oct. 1 at Minnesota Wild, 7 p.m. (CHSN, WGN-AM 720)
- Oct. 4 vs. Wild, 7:30 p.m. (CHSN, WGN-AM 720)
- Oct. 5 vs. Blues, 7 p.m. (CHSN, WGN-AM 720)
Updates to the TV schedule will post on CHSN.com.
Starting with the Oct. 1 preseason game in Minnesota, Roumeliotis will fill a role previously held by Joe Brand, whom the Pittsburgh Penguins tapped this summer to call play-by-play on their radio network.
Roumeliotis worked for NBC Sports Chicago for more than 10 years, the last five of which he served as one of the network’s team “insiders” who report on the team online and appear as a TV analyst.
Now, “I’ll basically be the Pat Boyle for radio,” Roumeliotis said, referring to CHSN’s Hawks studio host.
The hourlong “Blackhawks Live” will typically air Monday or Tuesday, depending on if the Hawks have a game that would preempt it.
“It’s a live show that will likely consist of at least one interview per show, whether that’s a player, somebody from the organization — like coaching staff, management — or it could be a beat writer,” Roumeliotis said. “It’ll basically be like a podcast feel to it, just touching on different subjects, what’s going on around the Blackhawks, hitting the top storylines that happened over the course of the week.”
Radio will be a new medium, at least on the professional level, for Roumeliotis, 32, a Shorewood native and Joliet Catholic graduate.
“My roots actually started in college when I was doing radio,” he said. “When I was a freshman in college, I stepped into the radio station (at Elmhurst University) and I was like, ‘Hey, can I have my own sports talk radio show?’ And they’re like, ‘Sure, pick a time slot.’
“It wasn’t until my junior year that I started writing. So in some ways, I’m getting back to my roots and I’m super excited about the new chapter with WGN.”
Meanwhile, Mike Folta announced Tuesday he’ll be leaving his role as play-by-play voice of the Rockford IceHogs for “another opportunity that will be made public in the coming days.”