Paul Finebaum leaves WJOX

Paul Finebaum's contract with WJOX expires, 'The JOX Roundtable' moves to fill his afternoon time slot

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 Sports-talk radio host Paul Finebaum's contract with WJOX-FM expired Monday, and the mid-day show "The JOX Roundtable" will move into his afternoon slot beginning today, AL.com has learned.

 

It remains unclear when and where Finebaum will go, and he he has repeatedly declined to comment on his situation.

 

"The JOX Roundtable," with Ryan Brown, Jim Dunaway and Lance Taylor, previously aired weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It now will air from 2 to 6 p.m.

 

The Cox Media Group, which owns rival station ESPN 97.3 The Zone, has been publicly courting Finebaum since that station came on the air in August 2011.

While the immediate assumption is that Finebaum is headed for The Zone, the fact that ESPN and CBSSports are both courting him is significant. The Zone is part of the ESPN radio network, so it's conceivable that he could originate the show from that station and syndicate it through the World Wide Leader.

He has some time to figure it out--industry scuttlebutt is that while his contract has expired, he is still bound by a three-month "no compete" clause that will keep Finebaum off of the airwaves until May.