SportsMap Radio

Get ready for SportsMap radio: AM sports station moves to stronger signal on FM dial

SportsMap radio will launch on October 1.

Courtesy photo

Get ready for SportsMap radio. Gow Media announced on Thursday it will launch a new sports radio station, SportsMap 94.1 FM, on October 1. It will be the Houston-based multi-platform media company's second signal on the FM band. It also operates the popular sports station ESPN 97.5 FM.

“We are excited to add a second sports station to the FM band,” said Gow Media CEO David Gow. “Listenership has been migrating to the FM dial, and we have now secured a strong strategic position with both ESPN 97.5 FM and SportsMap 94.1 FM.”

As part of the launch, Gow will lease its 1560 AM frequency to another media company and move the lineup of 1560 AM to SportsMap 94.1 FM.

The lineup on SportsMap 94.1 FM will feature legendary sports talk host Charlie Pallilo, who joined Gow Media last month and is on the air weekdays from 11 am-1 pm. Other Houston-based hosts on the station include Nate Griffin, Patrick Creighton, Barry Warner, Sean Salisbury, Brian Barrett, and Robin Carlin.

SportsMap 94.1 FM will also air leading shows from Gow’s national sports radio network, SB Nation Radio. Gow is leasing the frequency from Houston-based Latino Broadcasting Corp., which broadcasts Spanish music programming and Astros games in Spanish on La Nueva 94.1.

Gow is also launching a new sports website, SportsMap.com, which shares the name of the new station. Look for details about the new website in the coming weeks. “We have more sports content creators in our building than anyone in the city, and we have a strong digital platform with CultureMap.com — launching SportsMap.com is a great next step for us,” said Gow.

Fred Faour, an afternoon drive show host on ESPN 97.5 and former Houston Chronicle sports editor, will assume the role of SportsMap.com editor-in-chief. “The combined promotional power of all our platforms will propel SportsMap.com to become the leading sports site in Houston," Gow said.

The imminent additions of SportsMap 94.1 FM and SportsMap.com are the latest in a series of significant moves by Gow Media this year, including the acquisition of CultureMap.com and the hiring of popular Houston writer Ken Hoffman as a columnist for CultureMap.com and a contributor on Gow sports radio stations.

During the week of August 25 through September 1, in which Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, CultureMap cracked the top 10 most popular media entities in social media engagement, according to Share Rocket, a social media ratings and audience solution company.

In recent months, Gow has also launched a new national TV show, The Sean Salisbury Show, on BeInSports TV Network, and a new content-sharing and cross-promotion partnership with ABC13 KTRK-TV in Houston.

“With a focus on sports and lifestyle content, we are building the leading multi-platform media company in Texas,” Gow said.

city-news-roundup

money woes

Houston has 2nd most financially distressed residents in America

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Houstonians are feeling the financial stress in 2026.

A new study has confirmed what many Houston residents are already feeling: Houston has one of the highest shares of people in financial distress in the nation.

Houston ranked No. 2 in WalletHub's just-released report, "Cities with the Most People in Financial Distress," which analyzed 100 of the largest U.S. cities across nine personal finance metrics: average credit scores and year-over-year changes; the share of residents with accounts in distress and year-over-year changes; the average number of accounts in distress; year-over-year change in bankruptcy filings from September 2024 to September 2025; and "debt" and "loans" search interest indexes.

For the purpose of this study, WalletHub defined "financial distress" as having a credit account in forbearance or with deferred payments.

Chicago, Illinois led the nation with the No. 1 most financially distressed residents, and Las Vegas, Nevada rounded out the top three.

According to the report's findings, Houston residents signaled a "strong need for borrowing" after having the highest search interest nationally for terms like "debt" and "loans." Houstonians also had the 10th highest increase in bankruptcy filings from September 2024 to September 2025.

"Houston has a high share of the population with accounts in distress compared to most other cities, at over 8 percent, and it also has a high number of accounts in distress per person," the report said.

Here's how WalletHub broke down the rest of Houston's overall ranking:

No. 32 – Credit score rank
No. 35 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
No. 39 – People with accounts in distress rank

High unemployment rates and inflation are major factors contributing to most Americans' financial woes, the report said, and rising property taxes can create an even bigger burden for homeowners and renters alike. Texas residents may feel a greater burden than residents elsewhere in the country after the Lone Star State was dubbed the No. 1 most most financially distressed state in America in 2025. And digging oneself out of the "downward spiral" isn't easy, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"You may get temporary relief from your lenders by not having to make payments, but all the while interest will keep building up, making the debt even harder to pay off," Lupo said.

Though no Texas city is feeling the financial squeeze as much as Houston, three more of the state's biggest cities also ranked among the top 10 most financially distressed places in America: Dallas (No. 4), San Antonio (No. 6) and Austin (No. 9). Fort Worth ranked 12th overall.

The top 10 most financially distressed cities in the nation are:

No. 1 – Chicago
No. 2 – Houston
No. 3 – Las Vegas
No. 4 – Dallas
No. 5 – Los Angeles
No. 6 – San Antonio
No. 7 – Atlanta
No. 8 – New York
No. 9 – Austin
No. 10 – Phoenix

finance wallethub houston

SportsMap Radio

Get ready for SportsMap radio: AM sports station moves to stronger signal on FM dial

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Houston has 2nd most financially distressed residents in America

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