Out Foxed Again

Another week in the life for Fox Sports. Bloomberg reports that World Cup viewership, combining the Fox Sports and Telemundo (Spanish) coverage, is already down roughly 44% from the 2014 coverage. Although we will consider that the U.S. team is not a factor, as was the case in 2014, there is cause for concern as the World Cup unfolds.

Last weekend, Fox had the U.S. Open coverage, including their interview with the legendary Jack Nicklaus during Friday's Round 2 coverage. That would have gone better if they hadn't lost the audio during the interview, and were not able to recover it. This was after their portion of the Round shown on FS1 aired a sexually explicit exchange.

On Saturday (6/16), their U.S. Open coverage of Round 3 was the reason that Fox Sports delayed its prime time baseball games by one full hour. We don't know how many baseball fans tuned in at the time each of the other Saturday prime time telecasts began, saw the golf coverage, and had no idea there would be baseball later on. This is the same Fox Sports which does a series of prime time Saturday telecasts which don't begin until May in order to promote its All-Star game coverage.


SAN FRANCISCO: Although Gary Radnich has no intention of slowing down from his KNBR 680 gig, he announced that he is retiring from his long time sports anchor role at KRON-TV. He is expected to do his last sportscast sometime in August. What makes Radnich even more interesting is how he has done his TV reports so factual and without personality but goes on KNBR and shows one of the stronger personalities of all of the Bay Area sports talkers. He joined KNBR back in 1992.


HOUSTON: While the sports talk stations continue to collectively struggle for audiences, more lineup changes are being made. KBME 790. Sean Salisbury has been hired away to co-host afternoon drive starting on July 9th, which coincides with the start of NFL training camps. No co-host has been announced as of press time. Salisbury replaces Jason Braddock and (former Oiler) Sean Jones, who were both let go prior to their scheduled June 18th show after almost one year together.

KILT 610 has brought in Adam Clanton, formerly of KBME to work fill-in and weekend shifts. Clanton is remembered for being dropped last month by KBME after a disagreement with controversial morning host Josh Innes was picked up live on the air.
As it goes with Houston sports station ratings, we shall see if this makes any difference in the months to come.


RICHMOND: Sports anchor Jermaine Ferrell is moving but staying in house at the same time. He is shifting from WFXR-TV to sister WRIC-TV where he will become the weekend sports anchor. He will serve as a sports reporter for WRIC during the week.


PHILADELPHIA: Sorry to learn of the passing of Big Al Meltzer earlier in the week. Meltzer began on Philly TV in 1966 at WPHL Channel 17, later working at KYW-TV Channel 3 and NBC Channel 10. He retired from (then) Comcast SportsNet in 2003. He is especially remembered for his basketball coverage of the 76ers and the Big 5.