CBS Telecast of Bills Likely Shuffled Off From Buffalo

It is quite probably, as of press time, as the monster snow storm in the Buffalo area this week has many convinced that the NFL game scheduled for Buffalo on Sunday (11/23) will be moved to another city outside of New York (state) and also be pushed back to Monday night.

If that happens, it means that CBS would lose the telecast and that ESPN would gain the telecast. ESPN would then show the game only on a regional basis (throughout much of New York state as well as nearby New Jersey and Connecticut cable/satellite systems which are considered as NYC primary), while the scheduled Monday Night Football game would air as usual everywhere else on ESPN.

Moving an NFL game to another venue and from Sunday afternoon to Monday night has only happened once in recent memory, which was a couple years back when the Metrodome roof collapse forced the Vikings to scramble to get their next home game played.

If and when this Sunday's game gets moved from Buffalo, it would actually mark the second Bills telecast which CBS will have lost for its home market. The Bills' season opener in Chicago was flexed over to Fox in return for CBS taking the Chicago vs. Detroit game on Thanksgiving Day (next week). Now, CBS would lose this telecast because of the likely move to Monday Night, when ESPN takes it over.

It will also be interesting to see how Fox Sports would or would not react for the Buffalo and Syracuse markets if the Bills game moves to Monday. As of press time, the Fox schedule for both markets has the Arizona at Seattle 4 PM telecast scheduled as its only game of the day. This was planned based on the Bills vs. Jets being in the 1 PM time slot. Among the early regional games on Fox is Detroit at New England. In addition to being a battle of two contending teams, it is a rare chance for the local Fox affiliates to have a Patriots telecast.

CBS has the doubleheader game on Sunday (Miami vs. Denver), which would seem to make such a change by Fox to the earlier (and better game) telecast possible. And let's face it. That part of the country should produce astronomical ratings for football (and probably for all live sports) this weekend with so many people being snowed in.


DALLAS: Normally a radio broadcast of the University of North Texas hosting Florida International, especially late in the season with both teams having losing records, would not be noteworthy, but this Saturday (11/22) is an exception.

UNT play-by-play voice George Dunham (for the past 25 years) will be calling the final home game of the season, and thus the final home game of his son Blake Dunham, the team's long snapper. Dunham, who also appears as a host on KTCK 1310 The Ticket, has been able to call every moment of his son's college playing career, as well as travel with him to and from the games.

The team's regular season finale will be the following week, on the road at U-T San Antonio.


CHICAGO: The recent ratings increases for WSCR 670 The Score and WMVP ESPN 1000 appear to have caused WGWG 87.7 The Game to reconsider. After finishing in 38th place overall in the most recent ratings with a dismal .5 rating, the station will be gone as a sports talker before the end of the year. The "Kap & Haugh Show" with David Kaplan and David Haugh is, however, expected to continue as a TV only midday show, airing from 9 AM to Noon on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Congrats to David Schuster of WSCR The Score on being named the "Harry Caray Sportscaster of the Year" for 2014. His 36 years of covering sports in Chicago no doubt contributed to this honor. I first knew and worked with him in the early 80's in Chicago, and could tell even then that he held the knowledge, expertise, and patience to cover the day-in day-out practices, press conferences, and games.


CINCINNATI: The strong season for the Bengals has propelled their radio contract to another extension through the 2019-20 season as a "triple cast". WCKY ESPN 1530 and WEBN 102.7 will continue as flagship stations, with WLW 700 also airing every Bengals broadcast which does not conflict with its Cincinnati Reds coverage.

The stations also announced that Dan Hoard will return as play-by-play voice, with 2015 being his fifth season in that role. Even more significant is that Dave Lapham will be back as analyst, with the '15 season making it 30 years for him in that role. The team related programming and coverage will continue on WCKY as well.