Radio’s first sports station goes FM.

Briefing by Inside Radio

For months the stated top priority for CBS Radio was to find a New York FM to simulcast its sports powerhouse WFAN (660) making the question when, not if, it would join the growing ranks of FM sports stations. In a $75 million deal — one of radio’s biggest sales so far in 2012 — CBS has fulfilled that mission as it buys modern rock WRXP (101.9) from Merlin Media.

• Sports AMs don’t always score with FM move

The move by CBS Radio’s WFAN, New York follows a similar effort by ESPN Radio rival WEPN-FM (98.7) in April. Both are the latest in a long string of FM migrations for the sports format. While simulcasts may help station ratings overall, Arbitron says the impact of moving play-by-play from AM to FM may not be all that sizable.