Bears’ 2026 Radio Home Base Set: ESPN 1000 Returns as Flagship for All Preseason and Regular-Season Games

The Chicago Bears are set to keep ESPN 1000 as their radio flagship for the 2026 NFL season, a familiar touchstone for fans who track the team through AM 1000 and FM 100.3 HD2. According to the Bears’ 2026 radio network announcement, the station will once again carry the team’s preseason and regular-season broadcasts, maintaining the same core listening option that has become part of the franchise’s fall routine.

Radio coverage remains a practical option for fans who want live play-by-play during commutes, at work, or while away from a television. In a league where weekly storylines are tightly tied to timing, getting the game audio in real time can shape how supporters experience the season, especially when local markets rely on affiliates to reach listeners across the broadcast footprint.

The Bears’ update also emphasizes that listeners should be able to follow the team from “no matter where you live,” with broadcasts accessible through radio and streaming. That matters in 2026 because NFL fans increasingly expect a single, consistent way to hear games even when they travel, split time between cities, or live outside the immediate Chicago media circle.

For 2026 specifically, the Bears’ flagship arrangement indicates continuity at the top of the radio hierarchy. When the flagship stays in place, the radio network can focus on strengthening its distribution through affiliates rather than rebuilding the listening backbone from scratch.

Preseason radio coverage is also more than a novelty. It gives fans their first extended live look at the organization’s new player groupings, including training-camp additions and early rotations, before the regular season begins to define roles. Regular-season radio, meanwhile, is where the broadcast becomes a weekly habit and where listeners lean on familiar voices and a consistent broadcast workflow.

Still, not every detail about how far the affiliate list reaches, or which individual stations carry each broadcast, is contained in the most prominent summary. Readers who want station-by-station confirmation for their area are likely to need the full affiliate breakdown that accompanies the radio network release.

What to watch next is how quickly affiliates update their own local listings for 2026 and how the streaming options are presented for that season. If last year’s pattern holds, the key practical question for many listeners will be whether their preferred app or streaming path is presented the same way across all Bears broadcasts, preseason included.