MIAMI (March 5, 2007) -
Cricket fans throughout North and South America will be able to keep abreast of the upcoming Cricket World Cup in the West Indies by listening to shortwave radio. Radio Miami International, also known as WRMI, will offer one-minute "World Cricket Today" reports twice daily for seven weeks, beginning Sunday, March 11 and continuing through the end of the 16-nation, 51-match tournament on April 28.
The World Cup is held every four years to determine the top one-day cricket team on the globe. The West Indies won the inaugural World Cup in 1975 in England. Australia has won the past two competitions, including the most recent event four years ago in South Africa. Canada will join the West Indies and Bermuda as the three Western Hemisphere sides among the 16 countries represented. This year's competition will be staged in nine different Caribbean nations. Cricket is played and watched by more people worldwide than baseball.
"World Cricket Today" will be beamed to Latin America and the Caribbean on WRMI's 9955 kHz frequency at 1230 UTC, and again to North America on 7385 kHz at 1530 UTC (in addition to live audio streaming on the station's website at www.wrmi.net). It will be hosted by Seattle native Bruce Baskin, a cricket enthusiast who has radio experience dating back 30 years. "This is a great opportunity to reach a lot of people throughout the continent," Baskin says. "WRMI will give cricket tremendous exposure in the United States and Canada, where the game has almost no media presence at all. Listening to cricket results on shortwave is a longtime tradition in many countries, but this will be a first-time effort in the United States."
WRMI, which first signed on in 1994, alternates its 50,000-watt signal between North and South America. The station is on the air 24 hours a day with an eclectic format including Spanish, religious and international news programming in addition to its "Viva Miami" show. WRMI general manager Jeff White doubles as president of the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters.
There are more than 60 million shortwave radios in circulation worldwide, and one factory in China reportedly produces 300,000 of them per month to meet the demand for more. It is not uncommon for a WRMI broadcast to be heard simultaneously on five continents.
(Source: Jeff White/WRMI)
The World Cup is held every four years to determine the top one-day cricket team on the globe. The West Indies won the inaugural World Cup in 1975 in England. Australia has won the past two competitions, including the most recent event four years ago in South Africa. Canada will join the West Indies and Bermuda as the three Western Hemisphere sides among the 16 countries represented. This year's competition will be staged in nine different Caribbean nations. Cricket is played and watched by more people worldwide than baseball.
"World Cricket Today" will be beamed to Latin America and the Caribbean on WRMI's 9955 kHz frequency at 1230 UTC, and again to North America on 7385 kHz at 1530 UTC (in addition to live audio streaming on the station's website at www.wrmi.net). It will be hosted by Seattle native Bruce Baskin, a cricket enthusiast who has radio experience dating back 30 years. "This is a great opportunity to reach a lot of people throughout the continent," Baskin says. "WRMI will give cricket tremendous exposure in the United States and Canada, where the game has almost no media presence at all. Listening to cricket results on shortwave is a longtime tradition in many countries, but this will be a first-time effort in the United States."
WRMI, which first signed on in 1994, alternates its 50,000-watt signal between North and South America. The station is on the air 24 hours a day with an eclectic format including Spanish, religious and international news programming in addition to its "Viva Miami" show. WRMI general manager Jeff White doubles as president of the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters.
There are more than 60 million shortwave radios in circulation worldwide, and one factory in China reportedly produces 300,000 of them per month to meet the demand for more. It is not uncommon for a WRMI broadcast to be heard simultaneously on five continents.
(Source: Jeff White/WRMI)
