Kansas City, Mo ? The Kansas City Royals awarded a four-year radio deal to Union Broadcasting Wednesday, giving Union a win over rival Entercom in the contentious Kansas City sports radio market.

Entercom, which operates seven stations in the Kansas City area, has held the Royals’ rights for six years. Stauffer/Morris Communications of Topeka, Kan., held the rights from 1975 through 1997.

“We want to thank Entercom for six great seasons, and next year we know Union Broadcasting will continue to increase the popularity of Royals baseball,” said Mark Gorris, the team’s senior vice president of business operations.

Union Broadcasting, which counts former Royals players Jeff Montgomery and Brian McRae among its owners, operates three stations in the Kansas City area. Susquehanna, which owns four stations in the area, also made a bid for broadcasting rights.

“We are ecstatic for the opportunity to work with the Kansas City Royals,” Union Broadcasting president Chad Boeger said in a statement announcing the deal. “This is a credit to our entire staff and the hard work they put into the process.”

Union’s flagship station, WHB-AM, bills itself as “America’s Largest All Sports Radio Station.”