DAYTON, Ohio -- WHIO-TV announced Tuesday that the station will air two preseason Cleveland Browns games in August. The telecasts mark the first time in decades that a Dayton television station will carry the Cleveland Browns.

WHIO-TV Vice President and General Manager Harry Delaney said the station was delighted to bring the Browns to the Dayton region. "Cleveland Browns fans are some of the league's most loyal and we are thrilled to bring these preseason games to the orange and brown faithful throughout the Miami Valley. We will look forward to a long relationship with the Browns organization and to many more years of preseason games on Channel 7."

The two games are the first and last games of this year's four-game preseason schedule. The station is hoping to add a third game to the television schedule and will annouce that date if and when the details are confirmed.

The announcement comes just prior to what local fans hope will be the Browns most successful season since their return to Cleveland. The legendary NFL franchise finished last season with a winning record of 10-6, the best regular season finish since 1994.

"This is great news," said Randy Dodson, President of the Browns Backers of Greater Dayton. "Dayton has a lot of Browns fans, and it hasn't always been easy to see all the games. We're thankful that Channel 7 was able to make it happen."

Channel 7 viewers can watch the Browns in the following games:

- August 7 (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) vs. NY Jets - August 28, (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) vs. Chicago

WHIO-TV Channel 7 is a Cox Television Station and CBS Affiliate. Cox Television includes 15 television stations, 3 national television sales representation firms, a television production company and a Washington D.C. news bureau. Cox Television is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., based in Atlanta.