Two Tennessee icons - Erik Ainge and Copper Cellar Group of Restaurants - form partnership

Jan. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- Tennessee’s fastest growing sports entertainment company is cooking up something entirely new and different for sports fans in the Volunteer State. Tennessee Sports Radio and The Erik Ainge Show announced today the launch of a major marketing partnership with the Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants. Both companies are Knoxville-based.

In just one year, Tennessee Sports Radio and The Erik Ainge Show have grown to serve more than 16,000 daily radio listeners, 12,000 daily online streaming listeners, 30,000 cell phone app listeners, and 11,000 weekly podcast listeners across the nation. By merging traditional and digital media, Tennessee Sports Radio has an unparalleled reach in local sports entertainment, and digital media marketing plays a big role in the new partnership.

Beginning January 14, 2013, Tennessee Sports Radio and The Erik Ainge Show will broadcast from the “Calhoun’s Tennessee Sports Radio Studios” in Knoxville. The year-long comprehensive marketing partnership includes advertising, public appearances, online marketing and joint social media campaigns.

“This is a dream-team partnership,” said Erik Ainge, host of The Erik Ainge Show on Tennessee Sports Radio. “From the beginning, we have made it clear that Tennessee Sports Radio has raised the bar on sports entertainment – and our large and growing audience knows we have delivered. The Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants has been doing the same thing – raising the bar daily – with local dining since 1975 and it makes perfect sense for us to partner. Both companies are Tennessee icons.”

The Copper Cellar Group operates 17 locations in Knoxville, Nashville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Maryville and Lenoir City and includes the Copper Cellar, Calhoun’s, Chesapeake’s, Cherokee Grill Steakhouse and Smoky Mountain Brewery restaurants.

Bart Fricks, Chief Operating Officer for Copper Cellar Group, said, “We are excited to be a partner of The Erik Ainge Show on Tennessee Sports Radio.  Erik brings a fresh approach to sports radio, especially when you consider the fact he was the quarterback for the Vols. We are excited for his listeners to become part of the Copper Cellar Family.”

With his rapidly expanding national following, Ainge has become the go-to guy for all things related to Tennessee sports. A legendary University of Tennessee quarterback who later played for the NFL’s New York Jets, Ainge now has a devoted fan base who tune in to his daily four-hour show. His humorous, irreverent and always-accurate reporting has made Ainge’s show the fastest growing radio program in Tennessee.

For more information about Tennessee Sports Radio and The Erik Ainge Show, visit http://www.TNSportsRadio.com or download the free Tennessee Sports Radio app. Ainge can also be followed on Twitter (@ErikAinge3). More information about the Copper Cellar Group is at CopperCellar.com or by following @CopperCellar on Twitter.