That aside, the impact of ESPN Radio's move on local stations — away from the 101.7 FM frequency and back exclusively to 1340 and 1290 AM — doesn't appear to be too drastic. Listeners who had become accustomed to tuning into San Francisco Giants games, Butte College football on Saturdays and Chico State sports will simply have to find ESPN on the other two AM channels, while 101.7 FM will become KCKS or "Kiss FM," an adult contemporary music station.

The decision, brought on by Deer Creek Broadcasting's new majority owner Peak Media out of Fresno and Boise, Idaho, was based on Peak's experience in carrying its sports coverage on its news talk stations. For the past three years, 101.7 FM and 1340 AM have served as local ESPN Radio affiliates, but with an opportunity to take advantage of a better FM signal with the music station, sports will now shift strictly to the AM side.

"As our company reviewed format opportunities in the marketplace and things of that nature, how to grow our business and expand, we found an opening in the radio world of a 'hot' adult contemporary," said Deer Creek general manager Dino Corbin. "We felt that a better use for the FM frequency would be to fill this 'hot A.C.' format void."

In addition, KPAY 1290 will serve as the flagship station for Chico State athletics, with some pre-determined games featured on 1340. The Giants remain on 1340, with some Giants day games simulcast on KPAY. The station's popularity since it arrived locally had grown steadily; in the three years Deer Creek has aired ESPN on the FM frequency, ratings have nearly tripled, said station sports director Mike Baca, drawing ratings in the 3 and 4 range as compared to an average national rating of about 1.5.

"This station went from the typical sports talk radio format that didn't even show up on the rating books to one of the top-10 stations in the market," Baca said. "It was the most-listened to station during 7 p.m. and 12 a.m. This has nothing to do with people not listening to the station, it was just something that was out of our control."

Baca said the general reception he got from listeners of the FM station was an indication that the change could be jarring at first.

"I feel bad for the people that have come to depend on it 24/7, because I know a lot of people just left it on that station and never changed it," Baca said. "They found it fun to listen to, and I feel for those people. But we're doing what we can with what we've been dealt."

Even with the station's growing fandom, though, Deer Creek was without a station of the specific format it is implementing with 101.7 FM, a need Corbin said could be filled by moving the sports program off the FM frequency.

"Certainly ratings are a factor, and ESPN has grown, but it would have grown every year whether it was on 101.7 or not," Corbin said. "At the end of the day, in the format world, ESPN and sports talk radio is a niche format. It's a very targeted, select format, and you have to weigh how much resources you put toward niche formats. But people who listen to these formats are very dedicated, and they'll find it and tune in."

For listeners, the adjustments don't project to be life-altering. It's as simple as setting new presets for those who listen in their cars; for people with home FM receivers, it's just a matter of adjusting or adding an AM antenna. High school sports coverage will not air on KPAY 1290, Baca said, so Deer Creek may also try to implement more Internet broadcasts to accomodate them in addition to coverage on 1340.

"I'm hoping people stay with us," Baca said. "I'm a realist in understanding that it's going to be a tough change to pick up, but we're still doing the same job, still covering the same stuff. The only difference is it's not going to be on FM."