broadcast over the radio for the next decade; regular broadcasts began in the mid-1930s, with Rosey Rowswell becoming the voice of the Pirates in 1936. Except for a few years on WWSW in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Pirates were on KDKA for 61 years. KDKA's 50,000-watt clear channel enabled Pirates fans across the eastern half of North America at night to hear the games. In 2007, the Pirates chose to end the longest relationship between a team and a radio station in American professional sports and moved to FM talk radio station WPGB. The Pirates cited the desire to reach more people in the 25–54 age bracket coveted by advertisers. The acquisition of the rights means that Clear Channel Communications holds the rights to every major sports team in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have long had a radio network that has extended across four states. Stations for the 2007 season included Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland radio broadcasters. On October 1, 2011, Clear Channel announced that they would not renew their deal with the Pirates, and the team shortly thereafter announced a deal to transfer back to CBS Radio via FM sports radio station KDKA-FM, which became official on October 12. On March 2, 2016, it was announced a new deal was reached for the Pirates to remain on KDKA-FM. As part of the deal, KDKA-AM has returned as essentially the AM flagship of the team, simulcasting all weekday afternoon games, select other broadcasts, and serving as the backup station for any games that KDKA-FM can't air due to conflicts with Pittsburgh Panthers football and men's basketball. Games are televised on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, the Pirates' cable television outlet since 1986, when it was known as KBL. During the 2016 season, the Pirates averaged a 7.22 rating and 83,000 viewers on primetime TV broadcasts. Apart from any Pirates games aired nationally on Fox, there has been no over-the-air coverage of the Pirates since 2002. Previously, KDKA-TV aired Pirates games for 38 years (1957–1994). Games also aired on WPXI (1995–1996) and on WPGH-TV and WCWB (1997–2002). Announcers Current The Pirates have no set broadcast team for radio or TV; instead, all announcers and analysts take turns working in both mediums over the course of a season. The longest-tenured broadcasters are play-by-play announcer Greg Brown and analyst Bob Walk, both of whom joined the broadcast booth in 1994. Former