The New Orleans Saints' flagship radio stations are WWL AM 870 and WWL-FM 105.3. WWL 870 is a 50,000 watt clear channel station, the most powerful in New Orleans. [1] [2] The radio network has affiliates in numerous cities around Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.
Mike Hoss (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (color commentator), and Jeff Nowak (sideline reporter) form the broadcast team. Former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert hosts the post-game call-in show, "The Point After," and also performs pre-game and halftime commentary. [1]
Veteran sportscaster Al Wester served as the Saints' play-by-play announcer during its first four seasons (1967–1970). Longtime announcer Jim Henderson has led the broadcast team almost continuously since the mid-1980s, his tenure covering the franchise's periods of greatest success. Henderson announced his retirement following the 2017 season. [3] One week later, Wester died at age 93. [4]
Over the years, color commentators have included such notable former Saints players as quarterback Archie Manning, wide receiver Danny Abramowicz, and running backs Jim Taylor, Hokie Gajan, and Deuce McAllister.
| Seasons | Flagship station | Play-by-play | Color commentator | Sideline reporter | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967–1968 | WWL | Al Wester | Maury Magill | [5] [6] | |
| 1969–1970 | Jim Taylor | [5] [6] | |||
| 1971–1972 | Bill McColgan | [5] [6] | |||
| 1973–1975 | John Ferguson | Steve Stonebreaker | [5] [6] | ||
| 1976 | WGSO | Wayne Mack | Dick Butkus (Weeks 1–8); Archie Manning (Weeks 9–14) | [6] [7] | |
| 1977–1981 | Danny Abramowicz | [5] [6] | |||
| 1982–1984 | WWL | Larry Matson | Jim Henderson | [8] | |
| 1985 | Jim Henderson (Weeks 1–6); Jim Henderson & Archie Manning (Weeks 7–16) | [9] | |||
| 1986–1989 | Jim Henderson | Archie Manning | [10] [11] | ||
| 1990 | John Ferguson | [11] [12] | |||
| 1991 | Larry Matson | [13] | |||
| 1992 | WQUE | David Garrett | Jim Henderson & Archie Manning | [14] | |
| 1993 | David Garrett (Weeks 1–11); Jim Henderson (Weeks 12–18) | Jim Henderson & Archie Manning (Weeks 1–11); Archie Manning (Weeks 12–18) | [15] | ||
| 1994 | Jim Henderson | Archie Manning | [16] | ||
| 1995–1997 | WWL | [17] [18] | |||
| 1998–1999 | Stan Brock | Kenny Wilkerson | [19] | ||
| 2000–2007 | Hokie Gajan | [20] | |||
| 2008–2009 | Gus Kattengel | ||||
| 2010–2014 | Kristian Garic | ||||
| 2015 | Hokie Gajan (Weeks 1–13); Deuce McAllister (Weeks 14–17) | [21] | |||
| 2016–2017 | Deuce McAllister | [1] | |||
| 2018–2020 | Zach Strief | Steve Geller | [22] | ||
| 2021-2022 | Mike Hoss | [23] | |||
| 2023-present | Jeff Nowak | [24] |