Never Mind: CBS Radio/Las Vegas Stations Will Mention NHL's Golden Knights After All

Don't Mention It

The CBS RADIO cluster in LAS VEGAS has reversed course and will now allow its personalities to mention the city's new NHL expansion team, the VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS, after an internal email ordering employees to avoid any mention of the team in apparent retaliation for the team signing a rights deal with the rival LOTUS cluster became public in a report by CBS affiliate KLAS-TV sports anchor RON FUTRELL at his website.

The freeze-out edict, FUTRELL reported, was issued in an email from OM J.B. KING to all employees at the CBS RADIO cluster, telling them that "there are to be no further mentions of the LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS hockey team on any CBS/LV radio station or any of our social media platforms.  This includes, but not limited to, on sale ticket mentions, player/coaches interviews, plugging locals to sing national anthem, TV broadcast schedule, etc.  It is now the responsibility of the GOLDEN KNIGHTS’ chosen radio partner to accomplish their goals, not ours.  We are asking you to include ‘show’ pages, as well. We need to show a united front on this issue. If you have anything already planned around the team, please cancel. If you have any ‘best of’ bits around the team, please do not air and find another piece of content."

SVP/Market Manager TONY PERLONGO told FUTRELL, “We have a lot of other things to cover, the KNIGHTS don’t work into our coverage.... We have an amazing amount of content. We support their success in the marketplace, but that will depend on their partnership that they’ve already developed.”

But later WEDNESDAY, PERLONGO reversed course after the email spread across the Internet on several sports sites, telling the WASHINGTON POST in a statement, “With six radio stations in LAS VEGAS we have always prided ourselves on informing, educating and entertaining listeners and supporting the local communities we serve. However, we missed the mark in an internal email that instructed our stations to no longer report on certain aspects of the GOLDEN KNIGHTS, the city’s first and only major league sports team.  This was an error in judgement on our part and we deeply regret it. We will of course cover the team, first and foremost on SPORTS RADIO 1140 and on our music and news/talk stations as it makes sense for those formats and audiences. We apologize to the GOLDEN KNIGHTS, their fans and our listeners and look forward to rooting the team on when the puck drops in a few weeks.”

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