Kelowna Rockets drop AM 1150 in favour of 104.7 The Lizard

Photo: Contributed

Big changes are coming to the Kelowna radiowaves.

The Kelowna Rockets are moving their broadcast rights to a new station, leaving Bell Media's AM 1150 for Pattison Broadcasting's 104.7 The Lizard.

"The Kelowna Rockets have elected to end our long-time association, having not renewed a play-by-play agreement with Bell Media. I believe we at Bell Media made a very competitive offer in return for a new three-year agreement, but in the end, Rockets’ management is moving in a different direction," said Kelowna Bell Media general manager Ken Kilcullen in a statement to Castanet.

The move is a shock as the Rockets and AM 1150 have been broadcast partners for more than 20 years.

“We appreciate that this is a business decision, and we wish them good luck moving forward. We will have more about our sports programming on AM 1150 in the weeks ahead,” says Kilcullen.

The Rockets issued a tweet thanking Bell Media for almost 25 years of partnership.

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— Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets) July 6, 2022

“Bell Media has been an amazing partner and friend of the Kelowna Rockets. The decision to move was one that required much deliberation and thoughtful consideration,” says Gavin Hamilton, VP of business operations for the Kelowna Rockets.

The Kelowna Rockets 2022-2023 regular season will be the official debut of the Rockets broadcast featured on Pattison’s Station, 104.7 The Lizard.

“We are very excited to begin our new journey and partnership with Pattison and The Lizard,” added Hamilton.

The Rockets will open their season on September 24 at Prospera Place against the Portland Winterhawks.