AUSTIN, Texas — Longhorn fans will soon have one less place to hear about their team.
The Horn, previously the official broadcast partner of the Texas Longhorns, will no longer air on 104.9 FM starting on Aug. 2. However, The Horn programming will continue to air 24/7 on AM 1260, 101.9 FM, hornFM.com and The Horn app.
The Horn said that the change will also include a reduction within its "incredibly talented and dedicated staff" and will bring changes to its weekday and weekend on-air lineups.
"Austin Radio Network is a locally owned & operated Radio & Media company. Current economic and market realities, combined with rising operating costs, have forced us to make extremely difficult decisions that we believe will allow for immediate stability," The Horn said in a blog post.
The Horn said on Aug. 2, its programming lineup will consist of live local sports shows, national sports talk and local and national play-by-play.
This latest announcement from The Horn comes shortly after Texas Sports announced that iHeartMedia Austin will become the new radio home for the Texas Longhorns. The Horn responded to the announcement on July 13, saying that it, KOKE FM and the Austin Radio Network were fortunate to be a partner of the University of Texas at Austin athletics since 2015 and that they "enjoyed a long run and were honored to carry the torch."
Austin Radio Network, also known as Genuine Austin Radio Broadcasting, also recently announced the cancelation of its annual KOKE-FM "KOKEFEST," which was scheduled for Aug. 4 and 5.
Back in May, KVUE reported that the radio group – which operates The Horn, KOKE FM (99.3) and The Bat (105.3) – couldn't run local programming for a full weekend because it was in a dispute over paying rent.
The radio network's managing partner, Jason Nassour, told KVUE the previous landlord and the radio group had an agreement where the group was supposed to be given tens of thousands of dollars to fix the place up in April 2020. During the pandemic, the new owner, OakPoint Real Estate, purchased the property. Nassour claimed the new landlord had been trying to collect the money back by increasing the rent, culminating in the landlord locking out radio show employees and shutting off power.
Nassour is currently facing evidence tampering charges, along with former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody, in connection with the death of Javier Ambler in 2019.