Pressing the mute button on the television and tuning into Bill Hillgrove and Tunch Ilkin on the radio has been a Steelers fan’s tradition even before the current broadcasters were on the air.

That, however, wasn’t the case during Sunday’s AFC Championship game between the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers, where local fans were surprised to hear the unfamiliar voices of Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason.

“My wife and I were very upset about it,” said Wayne Nosker, a Steelers season ticket holder since the 1970s and an occasional contributing writer to The Meadville Tribune. “That’s what we always do, we listen to (Hillgrove and Ilkin) and have the sound off on the television.

“I talked to several other people … and they were very upset that they couldn’t find it, too.”

Owned by Forever Broadcasting, local radio stations WHUZ (94.3 FM) and WUUZ (107.7) are part of the 48-station network that broadcasts Hillgrove, Ilkin and sideline analyst Craig Wolfley during the regular season and first two rounds of the NFL playoffs.

The stations, however, are not permitted to use the Steelers’ broadcast during the AFC Championship game and Super Bowl because the broadcasting rights are strictly owned by Westwood One Broadcasting, said Forever Broadcasting program director Rich Anton.

“Only the actual cities (whose teams are playing in the championship games) can still air their own broadcasts,” Anton said, noting the same scenario took place last season when the Steelers lost to the New England Patriots at Heinz Field in the AFC Championship.

Pittsburgh-based radio stations WDVE (102.5 FM) and WBGG (970 AM) are the only stations permitted to use the broadcast by Hillgrove, Ilkin and Wolfley in the AFC Championship game and Super Bowl.

“I think people prefer Hillgrove and Tunch because they’re the hometown boys,” said Anton, who said if he had a choice the stations would air the Steelers’ broadcast. “But if you can’t watch the game on television and it means not listening to the game, you’re still going to listen. You just miss the bias of our hometown announcers.”

True Steelers fanatics have two options if they can’t make it through the Super Bowl without Hillgrove and Ilkin in their living rooms. WDVE’s broadcast can be picked up on satellite radio or they can make the 40-minute drive south on Interstate 79 to Grove City, where WDVE can be heard.

Though Bill Hillgrove won’t be calling the play-by-play, the Super Bowl will still be broadcasted on WHUZ and WUUZ. Pregame will begin at 4 p.m., Feb. 5. Kickoff is set for 6:25.

Ed Topoleski can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at etopoleski@meadvilletribune.com.