WestwoodOne

Westwood One, owned and operated by Cumulus Media, is an American mass media company headquartered in New York, New York, specializing in radio syndication and audio content. As the radio network and national brand of Cumulus, Westwood One distributes hundreds of programs to radio stations and partners across the United States.

The company was, at various times, managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation and Viacom. It was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group and then sold to Dial Global in 2011. In September 2013, Dial Global rebranded under the name Westwood One and announced a merger agreement with Cumulus Media; the transaction was closed on December 12, 2013. Westwood One now includes the combined network of Westwood One and Cumulus Media Networks, the former radio network of Cumulus.

The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978 before merging with Dial Global in 2011.

Westwood One delivers content and services to thousands of radio stations and digital partners across the U.S., including music and entertainment; talk; and sports programming, including coverage of the NFL on Westwood One Sports.

NFL on Westwood One Sports

The NFL on Westwood One Sports is the branding for Cumulus Broadcasting subsidiary Westwood One's radio coverage of the National Football League. The broadcast previously was branded with the CBS Radio and (for one season) Dial Global marques; CBS Radio was the original Westwood One's parent company and Dial Global purchased the company in 2011. Dial Global has since reverted its name to Westwood One after merging with Cumulus Media Networks.

Westwood One's package includes the Sunday Night Football game, the Monday Night Football game, the Thanksgiving Day games, Thursday Night Football (beginning in 2006), any late-season Friday and Saturday night games, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, the season-opening NFL Kickoff Game, all playoff games, the Super Bowl, and the Pro Bowl. These games are distributed throughout the United States and (through TSN Radio) Canada.

History of NFL games on Westwood One's predecessors

While major networks such as Westwood One, CBS, NBC, and Mutual held exclusive rights to most national broadcasts of the NFL throughout the league's history, Dial Global's predecessor, Jones Radio Networks, had carried several years' worth of Sunday afternoon games nationwide. Beginning in 2002, Jones carried game broadcasts from the Sports USA Radio Network. After Dial Global's massive acquisition spree of other networks began in 2008, Jones came under the Dial Global banner and Sports USA ended its relationship with the network. In 2009, Dial Global instead switched to Compass Media Networks for its Sunday afternoon NFL coverage.