Morning sports-talk radio hosts Steve Czaban and Brian Butch will no longer be heard in the mornings on 97.3-FM The Game (WRNW), part of a round of cuts by iHeart Media.
The website RadioInsight also indicated that the layoffs include Tim Scott, the director of news and sports programming in Milwaukee and Madison, and evening co-host Matt Schneidman, who still covers the Packers for The Athletic. Scott had been with the company since 1998.
The changes also impact listeners to the broadcast on 1070-AM (WTSO) in Madison. The Milwaukee Business Journal confirmed the layoffs Oct. 8.
The site Barrett Media cited sources that The Game is in the process of moving away from sports and set to become a music station. It’s unclear what that would potentially mean for the Packers and Wisconsin Badgers broadcasts that currently air on the station.
Czaban was a popular figure in Milwaukee radio despite unique circumstances; he has remained based in Washington, D.C., since joining The Game in 2019. Before that, he had been a regular contributor to another wildly popular Milwaukee morning show, the “Bob and Brian” show on 102.9 FM, making appearances for two decades. At the time, Czaban also hosted an afternoon drive show at an ESPN affiliate in Washington, and he’s done nationally syndicated work for multiple high-profile outlets.
When 97.3 WRNW flipped from contemporary-hit radio to all-sports, Czaban became the morning-drive host shortly thereafter. In 2022, he signed an extension for the radio station that had landed broadcast rights to Green Bay Packers games in 2021.
Butch, who joined the program regularly in 2024, has his own following as a former University of Wisconsin basketball standout and alumnus of Appleton West High School. Butch has also served as a game analyst for college basketball games on the Big Ten Network and FOX Sports, in addition to Badgers men’s basketball radio broadcasts.
The moves come at a time of upheaval in Milwaukee radio. Rock station 102.1-FM (WLUM) recently changed formats after 19 years. Meanwhile, 1250-AM The Fan recently beefed up its sports talk lineup, including the addition of former Packers fullback John Kuhn, himself a recent casualty of layoffs at The Game. The Game also cut ties with longtime host Mike Heller in September.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Steve Czaban, Brian Butch, part of radio layoffs, have exited 97.3 The Game morning show
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
1 comment
Really! Fired a guy with no warning that just went through brain surgery with his son? Classy. Used to look forward to the morning show, moving on now, but will go where Czab and Butch go if they land on another station #Ihartless.