​Congratulations to the Buffalo Bills, Good Karma Brands, and ESPN New York. With the announcement that ESPN New York will now be a Buffalo Bills Radio Network affiliate, I couldn’t be happier as a former sports radio programmer. For the first time, another NFL team is entering another NFL team’s home market. The walls of exclusivity have finally been broken. More importantly, a radio company has recognized that the listener should be the priority.It goes without question that sports media rights are the most valuable property in media today. They drive viewership and advertising revenue on television. For radio, they generate additional cume, strengthen branding, and create new advertising opportunities. Teams want to own as much real estate as they can, but controlling the conversation is even more important. They don’t just want to be heard on Sundays. They want fans talking about them throughout the week.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNow, there’s been a long-standing rule in the NFL when it comes to radio networks. According to Article X of the NFL bylaws, no NFL team was permitted to broadcast a game into the home territory of another team, specifically within a 75-mile radius of that team’s stadium. If you search the distance between Buffalo and New York City, though, the gap is more than 350 miles.The two markets aren’t exactly next-door neighbors, but the teams, in essence, are.It’s no secret that sports fandom is no longer as localized as it once was. For generations, people grew up, lived, and rarely left the markets they called home. Today, people are far more mobile, moving from one state to another for work, family, or new opportunities. With that comes greater demand for access to the teams fans still call their own. While people may leave their hometowns, their sports allegiances rarely leave them.While television continues to make fans jump through more hoops to watch their favorite teams, radio has an opportunity to become more accessible than ever.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat’s why you see New York Yankees radio affiliates in New Mexico. You see the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network partnering with Compass Media Networks to place affiliates in several other NFL markets. Want to listen to Lakers games in Hawaii? There’s a local radio option for that.People are more on the go than ever before, and the demand for access has never been greater. NFL football remains America’s most popular sport, with fan loyalty running deep and rarely changing.That’s why the Buffalo Bills, Good Karma Brands, and ESPN New York becoming partners is a change that has been needed for a long time.We talk all the time about how sports radio stations need to think outside the box. They need to find more ways to attract listeners to both the radio and their streaming platforms. Roughly nine million people live in New York City. Not all of them are Giants or Jets fans. They’re also not all part of Bills Mafia.Adverti