Maybe I put too much of a sports element on all phases of radio, TV, and overall electronic media coverage of sports. Or, maybe some members of the electronic media put too little of a sports and competition element into their jobs. Whichever it is, I find myself shocked and dismayed after reading an article in Broadcasting & Cable about how TV stations are reacting to ESPN adding more local web sites in the near future.
The local site for Chicago and the local ESPN Radio station there has attracted a large following within a short period of time, leading to the network planning similar local sites for New York, L.A. and Dallas. That is called competition for the sports audience, and in a sense, competition is what ESPN is all about. If there wasn’t enough interest in the competition that pro and college sports bring us, we wouldn’t have ESPN or anything like it today.
My reaction is because the story actually goes on to quote a Dallas TV executive about how much of a challenge this will be for local TV sports because ESPN is doing this. Say what? This is not a rant against the person quoted, but if this is how management and sales are representing themselves these days, is it any wonder that “local” TV and radio are in so much trouble?
Quotes like the ones in that article are an insult to those who came before on local TV and radio stations. Why not carry it a step further and tell advertisers to place their buys online with ESPN? This is like the coach telling his team that the other team is going to win today’s game, so why bother to get out there and play the game. The article also includes information about the local ESPN sites knowing to hit local high school coverage.
Personally, I don’t care about high school sports and that was the case even when I was a high school student. But I know that many others do, and it deserves some level of coverage by the sports media. Yet now many local TV stations are cutting back on sports coverage during their local news, and this trend keeps getting worse. Same on the radio side, where the gradual elimination of local programming is also carrying over to sports, especially on the high school side.
This all serves to remind me of a personal experience which remains one of the ideas I am most proud of more than 30 years later. In the late 70’s I was handling play-by-play of high school (and some college) football and basketball games in Lexington KY. Late in a high school basketball season, a situation was coming up where 2 of the city’s “big” high schools were battling for first place, and each had a game in town against local schools, scheduled for the same night at the same time but across town. At a station meeting the week before, the other play-by-play voice said we should do one particular game. I responded that “We have 2 sets of remote broadcast gear and phone lines in both schools, and we should do BOTH games, with one of us at each game.” At the time, others in the room looked at me like I was nuts. (Not the first time, and probably not the last time that will happen.)
Finally, after days of practically arguing with colleagues, they agreed to send us each to one of the games. I immediately called the coach at the school I was going to and explained that we were going to cover both games, asking if he could delay the start of his game about 10 minutes. He agreed.
Along came game night, and the station publicized that both games would be covered. We shared the pre-game show, and the other game started as scheduled. We all monitored off the air. I sat at my game keeping score and statistics, and every few minutes the other guy threw it over to me for an update and a minute or so of play-by-play. His game got to half time, and he threw it to me for the remaining few minutes of “my” first half. It ended and it was back to him with the 2nd half underway. Then we went back and forth. His game ended, and he threw it to me for the conclusion of my game. From my listening to the other game off the air, I was feeding the school’s P A announcer score updates from the other game, and he was plugging the station every time.
The combined broadcast was a total success. People called the station the next day to thank us. Two of the local TV stations, which only had 1 camera crew to cover both games, thanked us for providing them with accounts of both games before their newscasts so that they could match up the results with their highlights. There was the example of a local radio station serving its community to the max.
Now, 30+ years later, I read in a major publication quotes from executives expressing concern about a media company out-doing them. What did they think was going to happen?
I have been saying it for months. The local TV stations cutting back or eliminating local sports coverage are going to suffer for it. There are plenty of “casual” sports fans, especially at the high school and college level, who prefer a 3 minute recap over the half hour or hour SportsCenter type of shows that air most every night. But if those fans now are “forced” to tune to ESPN, Fox Sports, Comcast, or whatever regional sports network for expanded coverage, they may not come back to the local TV stations for the rest of the news.
In addition, I have pointed out how the HD channels could be used for broadcasts and re-broadcasts of high school and local college games. Family members of the players will keep tuning in to hear their son, nephew, cousin, etc., score the key basket or the big touchdown run for replay after replay. And local sponsors will pay a few bucks to be heard during those games.
While the actual station carries on with regular programming. This could be an outlet for additional community service, sports coverage, and local ad dollars.
Instead, the executives who make the decisions for radio and TV stations regarding this sort of local sports coverage continue to cut back, eliminate, and/or not move forward in this direction.
Even worse, they are rolling over when a form of competition threatens to do what they won’t.
Just one TV station being afraid of a web site should be cause for alarm. The problem is, the station is punting.
It is just like with radio stations and music programming. If the radio stations had kept doing what they did 10, 20, 30 years ago and maintained their playlists while adding in new releases, avoided non-local programming, and not clustered an overload of commercials, millions of consumers might not have moved on to MP3 players, satellite radio, online music channels, and all of the other "distractions" - many of which cost more than turning on the FM Radio every month.
Now, when it comes to sports coverage, it doesn't stop at reduced coverage of the local on the field competition. The stations are afraid to compete with the media themselves.
Meanwhile, Westwood One Radio has revealed its announcing teams for its NFL Radio packages for the coming season. Monday Night Football will again be called by Marv Albert with WFAN New York morning man Boomer Esiason. Dave Sims and James Lofton will call Sunday Night broadcasts, while Ian Eagle and Randy Cross will handle the Thursday night games. Sunday afternoon games will be called by the first team of Howard David and Dan Reeves, while Kevin Kugler and Mark Malone will handle whichever afternoon game David does not call. Overflow (such as the opening Monday night doubleheader) and "extra" playoff games will be handled by Kevin Harlan and Warren Moon.
The NFL on radio continues to grow in Mexico for the upcoming season. Mexico City's XHM 88.9 will air Spanish language broadcasts of all Pittsburgh Steelers games. Not exactly within the Steelers' marketing territory, but it will be done. Actually, this is not a first. Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals broadcasts are also heard in Mexico.
Major League Baseball Network, which is coming off an excellent job of covering its first Hall of Fame Induction this past Sunday, continues to beef up the quality of its live telecasts over the next two weeks. This Thursday (7/30) it will be the Yankees at White Sox, in a MLB Network originated telecast with Bob Costas, while on Saturday (8/1) they will carry Houston at St. Louis. Next Thursday (8/6)it will be the Yankees vs. the Red Sox (also with Bob Costas) and on Saturday (8/8) it will be the Chicago Cubs at Colorado. As of this writing, each of these games is important for both teams involved. The only disappointment is that the Thursday originated telecasts are blacked out in the local team markets. I continue to feel that there should be an outcry over this, since we (the fans) pay a lot of money for cable or satellite TV and should have every available choice. If the local telecasts are good enough, most would watch them anyway. Let us decide.
ATLANTA: My contention that TV and radio rights will soon reduce to more realistic price points continues with the Braves losing their multi-million dollar deal with WGST, where estimates are the station lost millions from their 5-year deal which finishes up at the end of the current Braves season.
A new 5-year deal has been announced, for considerably less money, bringing the Braves games to WCNN 680 The Fan along with WNNX-FM 100.5. The Fan is gearing up for extended Braves related programming throughout its broadcast day in season, along with pre and post-game programming.
The Braves Radio Network of nearly 150 stations throughout the region will remain in tact.
HOUSTON: Sean Pendergast has signed a new 2-year agreement to remain on KGOW 1560. The station is also planning to add Tim Brando's syndicated show to begin the week of August 17th.
On the TV side, KTBU-TV has picked up the SEC Network football package through ESPN for the upcoming season. Dave Neal and Andre Ware are expected to be the announcing team for the 11 AM local time telecasts.
BOSTON: Lou Merloni is staying with with WEEI as a part of The Big Show with Glen Ordway. What makes this news is that new rival WBZ-FM reportedly made a significant offer in an attempt to pry Merloni away. Look for him to see an increase in his role with the station and WEEI.com. He is also expected to continue his TV work for Comcast SportsNet.
SAN DIEGO: The baseball season is as much a disaster for sports radio as it has been for the Padres. XX Sports had its lowest ratings ever during the baseball season for the month of June. Yet, it did not lose out to the sports radio competition, beating XTRA 1360 and ESPN 800 by at least a full ratings point for the month. Ouch.
WASHINGTON D.C.: WTEM 980 began its newest show this past Monday (7/27) when Kevin Sheehan and Washington Times columnist Thom Loverro began "Sports Fix" during the Noon to 2 PM weekday slot.
LUBBOCK: Double T 104.3 is changing call letters to KTTU and has indeed gone to all sports with an emphasis on Texas Tech University sports. The sports station became official this past Monday (7/27). In an interesting twist to debut, the station borrowed a chapter from stations which have converted to a different music format and played hundreds or even thousands of songs in a row to introduce the format.
KTTU came on the air with a "guarantee" of a 15 game undefeated "season" for Texas Tech by replaying broadcasts of the "top 15 Texas Tech games of the decade, each of which ended in victory. To its credit, the station plans to add local programming in morning and afternoon drive plus 11 AM to 1 PM, with ESPN Radio shows occupying the remaining available time. In addition to TT sports, the station carries Rangers baseball and will also air Cowboys football broadcasts in addition to non-conflicting ESPN Radio game broadcasts.
This is good to see on all counts. An emphasis on local programming throughout the day, a ton of local, regional, and national play-by-play, and a unique feature of local interest to debut the station.
Showing posts with label broadcasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broadcasting. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Remembering Merle Harmon
Sorry to hear about the passing of Merle Harmon at the age of 82 a few days back. Merle may have been the best example ever of the "you know and enjoy the voice but you don't know the name" derby. I have a hunch that way too many sports fans reacted to news of his death by saying "Who?". They should have known and recalled his contributions to sports broadcasting right away.
In addition to his work on NBC and other networks calling a variety of sports, Merle Harmon made a local impact as one of the first primary voices of the Milwaukee Brewers. He was their in the early days when the Brewers were a new American League franchise, having moved from being the Seattle Pilots for a matter of months.
Harmon was actually the lead radio announcer for the Brewers for several years. This was back when only a small package of games were televised at all, and radio was everything to the baseball fan. His number two announcer was the legendary Bob Uecker, including the years that "Ueck" was making appearances on Johnny Carson and doing color on ABC-TV Monday Night Baseball and even some of their playoff and World Series coverage.
The sounds of "Merle and Bob with ya from Milwaukee" would go across much of the midwest via WTMJ Radio. The pair got along great and it showed on the air. For a couple of years, they would actually do a joke or a quick comedy routine at the start of the broadcast, and that is something I never heard anyplace else. Even their goofy routines such as "wearing this heavy jacket to keep insulated from the heat on the field" could bring a chuckle to the serious baseball fan.
Harmon was their when the Brewers finally started getting up to speed, as the likes of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor came up from the minor leagues and joined the Brewers. In later years, Harmon moved on to Houston, continued his work for NBC, and opened up a series of souvenir stores. These days, fans can buy official team merchandise from several chain stores, but the stores bearing Harmon's name were among the first to open up this marketplace.
Thanks for the memories, Merle!
In addition to his work on NBC and other networks calling a variety of sports, Merle Harmon made a local impact as one of the first primary voices of the Milwaukee Brewers. He was their in the early days when the Brewers were a new American League franchise, having moved from being the Seattle Pilots for a matter of months.
Harmon was actually the lead radio announcer for the Brewers for several years. This was back when only a small package of games were televised at all, and radio was everything to the baseball fan. His number two announcer was the legendary Bob Uecker, including the years that "Ueck" was making appearances on Johnny Carson and doing color on ABC-TV Monday Night Baseball and even some of their playoff and World Series coverage.
The sounds of "Merle and Bob with ya from Milwaukee" would go across much of the midwest via WTMJ Radio. The pair got along great and it showed on the air. For a couple of years, they would actually do a joke or a quick comedy routine at the start of the broadcast, and that is something I never heard anyplace else. Even their goofy routines such as "wearing this heavy jacket to keep insulated from the heat on the field" could bring a chuckle to the serious baseball fan.
Harmon was their when the Brewers finally started getting up to speed, as the likes of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor came up from the minor leagues and joined the Brewers. In later years, Harmon moved on to Houston, continued his work for NBC, and opened up a series of souvenir stores. These days, fans can buy official team merchandise from several chain stores, but the stores bearing Harmon's name were among the first to open up this marketplace.
Thanks for the memories, Merle!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sports Media Report - Oct. 30th update
A championship level gesture by the Phillies broadcast crew on Wednesday night. Harry Kalas would not normally describe the ninth inning of a Phillies game, but this was certainly not a "normal" game. Back in 1980 when the Phillies won their only previous World Series title, the local broadcasts were not allowed even on radio. This week it was pre-determined that Kalas would step in for the 9th inning of a potential Phillies clincher, and that's exactly what happened.
And thanks to FOX-TV for including the replay of Harry's call before they signed off of their post-game coverage.
It's hard to believe that some might be watching this coming Sunday's (Nov. 2) Colts vs. Patriots game on NBC-TV to see a brand new commercial rather than the matchup. But it could happen. MasterCard will debut its newest spot featuring Colts QB Peyton Manning. After securing rooms at hotels in what could be termed "rival" cities, hotel employees say things to Manning such as "Don't choke on it" when a fruit basket is delivered. Manning appears unphased. Hopefully the game itself will be the talk of the town on Monday, even if the hype is nowhere near what led into what I call "last year's game of the century" matchup.
The new NBA season is underway with a nice jump shot of its own. TNT has already reported a 14% increase in households over last year's opening night doubleheader.
Back on the NFL side, Westwood One has added two more voices to its upcoming radio coverage. Packers' voice Wayne Larrivee will fill in on a couple of Monday Night Football broadcasts, while Hub Arkush has been added as sideline reporter for the upcoming Thursday night series of games. Arkush serves as NFL analyst for Chicago's WSCR The Score after a prior stint on Chicago Bears broadcasts (where he once partnered with Larrivee).
CHICAGO - No word yet from Darin Jackson, who is expected to announce within the next week whether or not he will accept a move from the White Sox TV booth to the radio side. The delay could be (or could have been) Jackson waiting to be certain that Bob Brenly did not get the Milwaukee Brewers manager position. I have to believe Jackson would have applied for that position and tried to jump across town. Jackson, now that he is separated from Ken "Horrible-son" Harrelson (as many White Sox fans refer to him), actually could contribute a lot to a telecast as he showed a few years back on assignments from FOX-TV. Mercifully, a White Sox official has commented that if Jackson does not move to radio that the team will seek another voice to handle at least two innings of play-by-play. Hopefully no more of one voice covering all nine innings, such as Ed Farmer did throughout the past season with Steve Stone as his analyst.
PHILLY: Congrats to Howard Eskin of WIP 610 for winning the March of Dimes Achievement Award In Radio Lifetime Award. He will be honored next week (Nov. 6th) at the Philadelphia Hilton, as will be Phillies voice Chris Wheeler.
SEATTLE - Three cheers for Tyrone Willingham this past Monday night. Not because he was told he will be let go as Head Coach hours earlier, but because he showed up and did his weekly radio show. Not only that, but the show is broadcast live from a restaurant with supporters in the audience. Although for this show Willingham did not take questions from fans as he has previously, you have to give him a ton of credit for honoring his commitment under those circumstances.
St. LOUIS - WMVN 101.1 has added another sports update anchor to its upcoming all-sports lineup to begin at the start of 2009. It's a familiar voice in the market, as Chris Gardner will make the switch from soon-to-be rival KFNS.
PHOENIX - Diamondback's TV voice Daron Sutton is expanding his presence in the market, having been added as play-by-play voice for University of Arizona basketball on Fox Sports Arizona starting next month. FSN is only scheduled to carry six games for this season, allowing Sutton to continue handling Wisconsin-Milwaukee basketball telecasts in Milwaukee. Sutton has also handled some SEC hoops in past seasons.
MIAMI - The local sports talk ratings wars remain close through the recently released summer book. WAXY 790 finished 8th overall cmpared with WQAM at 12th. Yet, WQAM with Joe Rose finished ahead of 790's Sid Rosenberg in the morning during the hours the two are head-to-head. Some wonder whether 790 carrying the Marlins broadcasts had a positive or negative impact based on the Marlins' disappointing season, while WQAM's Dolphins show from 7:00 to 8:00 PM showed a significant increase.
SAN FRANCISCO - If you plan on watching Warriors telecasts on Comcast SportsNet you'll need to wait until game time. The team and the Network continue their feud, and once again the fans lose out. As of now, no pre or post-game shows are scheduled. Usually, the cable telecasts are the ones that feature the expanded coverage, such as with Comcasts coverage of the Bulls in Chicago and Celtics in Boston. Those regional networks include half hour pregame shows and follow games with extended post-game coverage including coaches press conferences.
KANSAS CITY - As of this week, there are now two fewer voices on KCSP 610 AM than just two weeks ago. Marty Wall, who had been co-hosting afternoons with Neal Jones, has been let go. This comes less than a week after Rhonda Moss was also a "cutback" victim. Jones continues to host afternoons, but no future plans for the show, in terms of solo or co-host, have been disclosed.
LOWELL - UMass fans now have a weekly 90 minute sports radio show each Thursday night from 6:30 to 8:00. "River Hawk Radio" is co-hosted by hockey voice Bob Ellis and UMass Athletic Media Relations Director Chris O'Donnell on WCAP 980. Those beyond the signal range can also hear the show as it streams on www.980wcap.com.
RALEIGH - 99.9 FM The Fan will be adding "Mike & Mike" and Colin Cowherd's morning shows starting the first week in January. While the station claims that the local programming will remain, The Fan also plans to increase play-by-play coverage with ESPN's NBA and MLB radio broadcasts.
And thanks to FOX-TV for including the replay of Harry's call before they signed off of their post-game coverage.
It's hard to believe that some might be watching this coming Sunday's (Nov. 2) Colts vs. Patriots game on NBC-TV to see a brand new commercial rather than the matchup. But it could happen. MasterCard will debut its newest spot featuring Colts QB Peyton Manning. After securing rooms at hotels in what could be termed "rival" cities, hotel employees say things to Manning such as "Don't choke on it" when a fruit basket is delivered. Manning appears unphased. Hopefully the game itself will be the talk of the town on Monday, even if the hype is nowhere near what led into what I call "last year's game of the century" matchup.
The new NBA season is underway with a nice jump shot of its own. TNT has already reported a 14% increase in households over last year's opening night doubleheader.
Back on the NFL side, Westwood One has added two more voices to its upcoming radio coverage. Packers' voice Wayne Larrivee will fill in on a couple of Monday Night Football broadcasts, while Hub Arkush has been added as sideline reporter for the upcoming Thursday night series of games. Arkush serves as NFL analyst for Chicago's WSCR The Score after a prior stint on Chicago Bears broadcasts (where he once partnered with Larrivee).
CHICAGO - No word yet from Darin Jackson, who is expected to announce within the next week whether or not he will accept a move from the White Sox TV booth to the radio side. The delay could be (or could have been) Jackson waiting to be certain that Bob Brenly did not get the Milwaukee Brewers manager position. I have to believe Jackson would have applied for that position and tried to jump across town. Jackson, now that he is separated from Ken "Horrible-son" Harrelson (as many White Sox fans refer to him), actually could contribute a lot to a telecast as he showed a few years back on assignments from FOX-TV. Mercifully, a White Sox official has commented that if Jackson does not move to radio that the team will seek another voice to handle at least two innings of play-by-play. Hopefully no more of one voice covering all nine innings, such as Ed Farmer did throughout the past season with Steve Stone as his analyst.
PHILLY: Congrats to Howard Eskin of WIP 610 for winning the March of Dimes Achievement Award In Radio Lifetime Award. He will be honored next week (Nov. 6th) at the Philadelphia Hilton, as will be Phillies voice Chris Wheeler.
SEATTLE - Three cheers for Tyrone Willingham this past Monday night. Not because he was told he will be let go as Head Coach hours earlier, but because he showed up and did his weekly radio show. Not only that, but the show is broadcast live from a restaurant with supporters in the audience. Although for this show Willingham did not take questions from fans as he has previously, you have to give him a ton of credit for honoring his commitment under those circumstances.
St. LOUIS - WMVN 101.1 has added another sports update anchor to its upcoming all-sports lineup to begin at the start of 2009. It's a familiar voice in the market, as Chris Gardner will make the switch from soon-to-be rival KFNS.
PHOENIX - Diamondback's TV voice Daron Sutton is expanding his presence in the market, having been added as play-by-play voice for University of Arizona basketball on Fox Sports Arizona starting next month. FSN is only scheduled to carry six games for this season, allowing Sutton to continue handling Wisconsin-Milwaukee basketball telecasts in Milwaukee. Sutton has also handled some SEC hoops in past seasons.
MIAMI - The local sports talk ratings wars remain close through the recently released summer book. WAXY 790 finished 8th overall cmpared with WQAM at 12th. Yet, WQAM with Joe Rose finished ahead of 790's Sid Rosenberg in the morning during the hours the two are head-to-head. Some wonder whether 790 carrying the Marlins broadcasts had a positive or negative impact based on the Marlins' disappointing season, while WQAM's Dolphins show from 7:00 to 8:00 PM showed a significant increase.
SAN FRANCISCO - If you plan on watching Warriors telecasts on Comcast SportsNet you'll need to wait until game time. The team and the Network continue their feud, and once again the fans lose out. As of now, no pre or post-game shows are scheduled. Usually, the cable telecasts are the ones that feature the expanded coverage, such as with Comcasts coverage of the Bulls in Chicago and Celtics in Boston. Those regional networks include half hour pregame shows and follow games with extended post-game coverage including coaches press conferences.
KANSAS CITY - As of this week, there are now two fewer voices on KCSP 610 AM than just two weeks ago. Marty Wall, who had been co-hosting afternoons with Neal Jones, has been let go. This comes less than a week after Rhonda Moss was also a "cutback" victim. Jones continues to host afternoons, but no future plans for the show, in terms of solo or co-host, have been disclosed.
LOWELL - UMass fans now have a weekly 90 minute sports radio show each Thursday night from 6:30 to 8:00. "River Hawk Radio" is co-hosted by hockey voice Bob Ellis and UMass Athletic Media Relations Director Chris O'Donnell on WCAP 980. Those beyond the signal range can also hear the show as it streams on www.980wcap.com.
RALEIGH - 99.9 FM The Fan will be adding "Mike & Mike" and Colin Cowherd's morning shows starting the first week in January. While the station claims that the local programming will remain, The Fan also plans to increase play-by-play coverage with ESPN's NBA and MLB radio broadcasts.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sports Media Report - Sept. 30 update
If TBS wants to better brand their baseball coverage in year 2 of their post-season package, they have overlooked one aspect of their coverage. With playoff pairings not determined until the last minute, the first concern of many baseball fans on the Monday morning before the post-season starts is the schedule of the games. Fans want to know what days and times for whichever Division Series games they are most interested in.
Yet, through Monday and into Tuesday afternoon, there doesn't seem to be any schedule on the TBS site. Not even an easy-to-find link to the info about their coverage. While it is true they have a "MLB page" with news and features, they don't have their schedule of telecasts. I had to go elsewhere to get it. Not everybody has the patience I do. As of now not one pitch has been thrown in any of the Division Series, and I see absolutely no reason to return to the TBS.com web site.
Let that be a note to sports radio stations. Have the scheduling information available on your web site as soon as possible. It's a reason to keep fans coming back.
For those still struggling with the TBS schedule, they will have all of the Division Series games. Chip Caray and Buck Martinez handle the Red Sox vs. Angels; Dick Stockton, Ron Darling, and Tony Gwynn will call the Dodgers vs. Cubs; Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia get the Brewers' announcer Brian Anderson along with Joe Simpson plus John Smoltz; while the Tampa series will be called by Don Orsillo and Harold Reynolds. Orsillo is one of the Red Sox TV voices during the season. Go figure. Philadelphia gets the Brewers' announcer while the Red Sox announcer does a different series.
NEW YORK: This off-season will be interesting for the Mets. Not only because of their failure to make the playoffs at the last minute again. Because this past Sunday's finale may have been the team's final broadcast on 66 WFAN. No new deal has been announced. Could be the station and the team calling each other's bluff. WFAN awaits the results of Mike without the Mad Dog during the fall ratings. The Mets would either face a lesser signal (such as ESPN 1050 and its reduced signal at night) or being on a station without a sports identity to support the broadcasts.
If that is the case, my thinking is the Mets could be the ones that lose this gamble. They should not overlook that the Yankees broadcasts are now carried on WCBS 880, which is a sister station to WFAN. CBS Radio in Chicago switched its Chicago Bears NFL broadcasts a few years back to WBBM 780 AM. If the Yankees radio contract with WCBS includes the option for another station upon approval, this could be a move to replace the Mets with the Yankees on WFAN. Stay tuned.
SAN FRANCISCO - A well deserved honor this Wednesday (Oct. 1) for Don Klein, the sports voice of KCBS for nearly 30 years. The 84 year young Klein is among those being inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. NFL fans remember Klein's radio call of "The Catch" by Dwight Clark during his six seasons of 49ers play-by-play. Don also called Stanford football for 25 seasons.
Also honored will be Bob Fouts, also a former voice of the 49ers. If only his last name is familiar, you will be interested to know that he is the father of Hall of Fame QB Dan Fouts.
The third of the major honorees is being inducted years too late. Russ Hodges, who passed away more than 30 years ago, will be honored for his play-by-play of the San Francisco Giants from 1958 through 1970. Long time baseball fans know of Hodges, if not by name. The 1951 playoff call "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" was Hodges while calling the N.Y. Giants. Another honoree is Roy Storey, who pioneered hockey broadcasts in the Bay Area calling Charlie Finley's NHL Oakland Seals once upon a time.
SAN DIEGO - While the Padres are likely to make some on the field changes for 2009, the team has already announced their radio broadcast team will remain as is. Ageless Jerry Coleman will again be joined by Ted Leitner for the 30th year, with Leitner signing a two year deal with a club option for a third. Andy Masur will remain on board for his third season with the crew.
OKLAHOMA CITY - The new NBA Thunder have a TV deal in place just as training camp opens. Fox Sports Net Oklahoma has been formed and will air 65 Thunder games this season to begin a multi-year contract. The Network also plans live pre and post-game shows along with a weekly magazine style program. However, nothing yet about an over-the-air TV deal, although only a few games would be available for this season.
From a marketing point of view, this is a high risk. The Thunder appear to be banking (literally) on how quickly their season tickets sold out and the high demand for single game tickets, figuring they don't need the additional marketing that over-the-air TV brings. If the team disappoints and the novelty wears off after a couple of seasons, the team will not have done all it could to develop an additional fan base.
In the past, much of Oklahoma was getting Dallas Mavericks local telecasts. Those will continue to be available in Oklahoma beyond a 75 mile radius of Oklahoma City when there are no Thunder telecasts.
SALT LAKE - Speaking of future NBA marketing concerns, the Utah Jazz will only show 14 regular season telecasts on over-the-air TV (plus any regional or national games carried on ABC-TV). What makes this so odd is that KJZZ Channel 14 is also owned by Larry Miller, and this same TV station showed, count 'em, 40 games last season. FSN Utah has increased to 60 telecasts for the coming season.
RALEIGH - WDNC 620 The Bull adds Bomani Jones weekdays from 10 AM to 1 PM after being a part-time host for two years. Jones is known primarily for his writing skills, such as for ESPN.com and the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. This will be a test to see if he can adapt to live radio.
CHEYENNE - He will forever be the "Voice of the Wyoming Cowboys" even after his passing last Saturday (Sept. 27). Larry Birleffi called Wyoming games for more than 50 years, including football and basketball. He was seen nationally on several occasions years ago on segments for ABC-TV Wide World of Sports. Locally, he was part owner of KFBC Radio Cheyenne and wrote a column for the Wyoming Tribune for 37 of those years. His passing comes months after his 90th birthday.
Yet, through Monday and into Tuesday afternoon, there doesn't seem to be any schedule on the TBS site. Not even an easy-to-find link to the info about their coverage. While it is true they have a "MLB page" with news and features, they don't have their schedule of telecasts. I had to go elsewhere to get it. Not everybody has the patience I do. As of now not one pitch has been thrown in any of the Division Series, and I see absolutely no reason to return to the TBS.com web site.
Let that be a note to sports radio stations. Have the scheduling information available on your web site as soon as possible. It's a reason to keep fans coming back.
For those still struggling with the TBS schedule, they will have all of the Division Series games. Chip Caray and Buck Martinez handle the Red Sox vs. Angels; Dick Stockton, Ron Darling, and Tony Gwynn will call the Dodgers vs. Cubs; Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia get the Brewers' announcer Brian Anderson along with Joe Simpson plus John Smoltz; while the Tampa series will be called by Don Orsillo and Harold Reynolds. Orsillo is one of the Red Sox TV voices during the season. Go figure. Philadelphia gets the Brewers' announcer while the Red Sox announcer does a different series.
NEW YORK: This off-season will be interesting for the Mets. Not only because of their failure to make the playoffs at the last minute again. Because this past Sunday's finale may have been the team's final broadcast on 66 WFAN. No new deal has been announced. Could be the station and the team calling each other's bluff. WFAN awaits the results of Mike without the Mad Dog during the fall ratings. The Mets would either face a lesser signal (such as ESPN 1050 and its reduced signal at night) or being on a station without a sports identity to support the broadcasts.
If that is the case, my thinking is the Mets could be the ones that lose this gamble. They should not overlook that the Yankees broadcasts are now carried on WCBS 880, which is a sister station to WFAN. CBS Radio in Chicago switched its Chicago Bears NFL broadcasts a few years back to WBBM 780 AM. If the Yankees radio contract with WCBS includes the option for another station upon approval, this could be a move to replace the Mets with the Yankees on WFAN. Stay tuned.
SAN FRANCISCO - A well deserved honor this Wednesday (Oct. 1) for Don Klein, the sports voice of KCBS for nearly 30 years. The 84 year young Klein is among those being inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. NFL fans remember Klein's radio call of "The Catch" by Dwight Clark during his six seasons of 49ers play-by-play. Don also called Stanford football for 25 seasons.
Also honored will be Bob Fouts, also a former voice of the 49ers. If only his last name is familiar, you will be interested to know that he is the father of Hall of Fame QB Dan Fouts.
The third of the major honorees is being inducted years too late. Russ Hodges, who passed away more than 30 years ago, will be honored for his play-by-play of the San Francisco Giants from 1958 through 1970. Long time baseball fans know of Hodges, if not by name. The 1951 playoff call "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" was Hodges while calling the N.Y. Giants. Another honoree is Roy Storey, who pioneered hockey broadcasts in the Bay Area calling Charlie Finley's NHL Oakland Seals once upon a time.
SAN DIEGO - While the Padres are likely to make some on the field changes for 2009, the team has already announced their radio broadcast team will remain as is. Ageless Jerry Coleman will again be joined by Ted Leitner for the 30th year, with Leitner signing a two year deal with a club option for a third. Andy Masur will remain on board for his third season with the crew.
OKLAHOMA CITY - The new NBA Thunder have a TV deal in place just as training camp opens. Fox Sports Net Oklahoma has been formed and will air 65 Thunder games this season to begin a multi-year contract. The Network also plans live pre and post-game shows along with a weekly magazine style program. However, nothing yet about an over-the-air TV deal, although only a few games would be available for this season.
From a marketing point of view, this is a high risk. The Thunder appear to be banking (literally) on how quickly their season tickets sold out and the high demand for single game tickets, figuring they don't need the additional marketing that over-the-air TV brings. If the team disappoints and the novelty wears off after a couple of seasons, the team will not have done all it could to develop an additional fan base.
In the past, much of Oklahoma was getting Dallas Mavericks local telecasts. Those will continue to be available in Oklahoma beyond a 75 mile radius of Oklahoma City when there are no Thunder telecasts.
SALT LAKE - Speaking of future NBA marketing concerns, the Utah Jazz will only show 14 regular season telecasts on over-the-air TV (plus any regional or national games carried on ABC-TV). What makes this so odd is that KJZZ Channel 14 is also owned by Larry Miller, and this same TV station showed, count 'em, 40 games last season. FSN Utah has increased to 60 telecasts for the coming season.
RALEIGH - WDNC 620 The Bull adds Bomani Jones weekdays from 10 AM to 1 PM after being a part-time host for two years. Jones is known primarily for his writing skills, such as for ESPN.com and the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. This will be a test to see if he can adapt to live radio.
CHEYENNE - He will forever be the "Voice of the Wyoming Cowboys" even after his passing last Saturday (Sept. 27). Larry Birleffi called Wyoming games for more than 50 years, including football and basketball. He was seen nationally on several occasions years ago on segments for ABC-TV Wide World of Sports. Locally, he was part owner of KFBC Radio Cheyenne and wrote a column for the Wyoming Tribune for 37 of those years. His passing comes months after his 90th birthday.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sports Media Update - September 19th
Every baseball fan either loves or dislikes the Yankees. Yet, either way, there will be a touch of sadness this Sunday when the final game is played at the "real" Yankee Stadium.
One good thing about it is how much ESPN is stepping up to the plate with extensive national coverage, above and beyond televising the game itself on Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN promises more than 7 hours of content, including specials such as ESPN2 televising the extended pre-game ceremonies live at 7 PM ET on Sunday, one hour before the game telecast on ESPN.
Then, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra are among the special guests in the broadcast booth. (I will try and restrain from going ballistic over ESPN announcing that Billy Crystal will also be among the guests, since in all honesty Crystal had nothing to do with true Yankees or baseball history.) ESPNews will televise the post-game ceremonies as well. Great move.
Meanwhile, TBS announced its broadcaster roster for its Division Series and ALCS coverage. The play-by-play voices will be Chip Caray (who has handled the TBS American League East - oooops, I mean Sunday Baseball telecasts all season), Dick Stockton, Red Sox play-by-play man Don Orsillo and Brewers announcer Brian Anderson. Analysts will include Ron Darling and Buck Martinez who have shared the Sunday duties this season, along with Tony Gwynn and Joe Simpson. Harold Reynolds will also participate in the TBS telecasts, along with Cal Ripken and Dennis Eckersley. Current Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson has also been hired as a studio contributor.
Again this season, in the event of a game running over into the start of the next game, the playoff game which is starting will start on TNT and switch over to TBS when its then current game is completed.
As much as I oppose pay-per-view of sports events, especially college games, I'm sure I'll be complaining about it for years to come if Nebraska fans continue their collective pace. The University of Nebraska Athletic Department reports an estimated 50,000 pay-per-view buys just for the Huskers' opener against Western Michigan. At $29.95 a pop. The Department makes approximately $300,000 from that telecast alone. The school could literally generate more revenue when they do pay-per-view than when one of the networks picks up their games, which is more likely as the season progresses.
Personally, I am not against these games being televised. As a consumer paying an exhorbitant amount to a cable company each month for channels I don't want, I think I should be provided with these games at little or no additional cost.
While Nebraska fans are forking up the big bucks, Missouri fans caught a financial break last Saturday (Sept. 13). They didn't have to pay their $29.95 to watch the Missouri vs. Nevada game after all. FSN Midwest added this game to their regular schedule while maintaining the scheduled 11:35 AM kickoff. Wish there was a better reason, as it was due to Hurricane Ike and the originally scheduled Baylor vs. Washington State game having been moved up.
The week before, an unknown number of fans reportedly got a blank screen until late first quarter after paying Charter Communications their $29.95 to watch the Missouri vs. Southeast Missouri State telecast. The game was all but decided by the time they got the feed. Gee, thanks.
CHICAGO - Congrats to Steve Stone, who will move from the White Sox radio booth this season over to the TV booth starting next spring on a multi-year contract. At least Stone has already been quoted as saying he will not get involved with the annoying "Put it on the board - yes" homerun call of Ken Harrelson, which Darrin Jackson has been doing.
Despite the White Sox having their best season since 2005, White Sox TV ratings have been down again this year. One needs only to listen to one to figure out why. It will be interesting to see if people with put up with Harrelson to hear the excellent analysis by Stone.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Congrats to former Chicagoan and Northwestern University grad Brian Davis on being named as the TV play-by-play voice of the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder. Davis was FSN Northwest studio host of Seattle SuperSonics telecasts last season, and will be joined by analyst Grant Long. The relocated franchise plans to televise every regular season game it can (all except national TV or blackout restrictions). That is provided the Thunder completes negotiation for its TV arrangements. Still no local station yet, although the word is that FSN Southwest will handle the cable telecasts.
KYAL 97.1 FM and its 100,000 watt signal will air the games on radio. As of now radio voice Matt Pinto, who came with the team from Seattle, is slated to call the games solo. Could be another instance where a team's telecasts have several people on the air while radio has one person, even though the audience can see what is happening on the TV but gets only one viewpoint over the radio. Go figure.
WASHINGTON D.C. - Speaking of NBA play-by-play, the new Baltimore-Washington Fox Sports 1370 AM has officially acquired the play-by-play of the Wizards.
INDIANAPOLIS - WFNI 1070 "The Fan" will soon be able to offer its listeners an insight into Indiana Hoosiers basketball that no other station can offer. And expand their local programming middays. Dan Dakich, who served as the interim coach of the Hoosiers replacing Kelvin Sampson last season and was not rehired, begins as host of the 10 AM to 1 PM slot on October 6th. Dakich had a successful trial run on the station with Pacers voice Mark Boyle and then agreed to become the midday host. The station will drop ESPN's Colin Cowherd.
TRENTON - Sports Talk WBUD 1260 is out at home. The station was sold to Domestic Church Media Foundation, which began an all religious format this week (on Sept. 15th).
ALBANY - WMRZ 98.1 FM now has a weekly show focused on athletics at Albany State University. The "ASU Coaches' Corner" is hoted by Fred Suttles. This is a nice idea. So what's wrong with this picture? The time. This show airs on Thursdays. At 12:50 PM. I must have missed the data showing that students, fans, and alumni are available to listen once a week during lunch hour.
BOISE - Boise State basketball broadcasts have added Abe Jackson as analyst starting for the coming season. The games will air in Boise on KIDO, as well as on 580kido.com.
Meanwhile, 30+ year sportscaster Tony Bruno offers up a new syndicated late night sports show starting on Sept. 29th. The show is scheduled to air from 10 PM to 1 AM ET and will originate from a west coast location as offered via Content Factory. This could work well if the sports station that air tape delayed programming late night pick up Bruno to have fresh and live discussion and recaps of the night's games.
One good thing about it is how much ESPN is stepping up to the plate with extensive national coverage, above and beyond televising the game itself on Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN promises more than 7 hours of content, including specials such as ESPN2 televising the extended pre-game ceremonies live at 7 PM ET on Sunday, one hour before the game telecast on ESPN.
Then, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra are among the special guests in the broadcast booth. (I will try and restrain from going ballistic over ESPN announcing that Billy Crystal will also be among the guests, since in all honesty Crystal had nothing to do with true Yankees or baseball history.) ESPNews will televise the post-game ceremonies as well. Great move.
Meanwhile, TBS announced its broadcaster roster for its Division Series and ALCS coverage. The play-by-play voices will be Chip Caray (who has handled the TBS American League East - oooops, I mean Sunday Baseball telecasts all season), Dick Stockton, Red Sox play-by-play man Don Orsillo and Brewers announcer Brian Anderson. Analysts will include Ron Darling and Buck Martinez who have shared the Sunday duties this season, along with Tony Gwynn and Joe Simpson. Harold Reynolds will also participate in the TBS telecasts, along with Cal Ripken and Dennis Eckersley. Current Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson has also been hired as a studio contributor.
Again this season, in the event of a game running over into the start of the next game, the playoff game which is starting will start on TNT and switch over to TBS when its then current game is completed.
As much as I oppose pay-per-view of sports events, especially college games, I'm sure I'll be complaining about it for years to come if Nebraska fans continue their collective pace. The University of Nebraska Athletic Department reports an estimated 50,000 pay-per-view buys just for the Huskers' opener against Western Michigan. At $29.95 a pop. The Department makes approximately $300,000 from that telecast alone. The school could literally generate more revenue when they do pay-per-view than when one of the networks picks up their games, which is more likely as the season progresses.
Personally, I am not against these games being televised. As a consumer paying an exhorbitant amount to a cable company each month for channels I don't want, I think I should be provided with these games at little or no additional cost.
While Nebraska fans are forking up the big bucks, Missouri fans caught a financial break last Saturday (Sept. 13). They didn't have to pay their $29.95 to watch the Missouri vs. Nevada game after all. FSN Midwest added this game to their regular schedule while maintaining the scheduled 11:35 AM kickoff. Wish there was a better reason, as it was due to Hurricane Ike and the originally scheduled Baylor vs. Washington State game having been moved up.
The week before, an unknown number of fans reportedly got a blank screen until late first quarter after paying Charter Communications their $29.95 to watch the Missouri vs. Southeast Missouri State telecast. The game was all but decided by the time they got the feed. Gee, thanks.
CHICAGO - Congrats to Steve Stone, who will move from the White Sox radio booth this season over to the TV booth starting next spring on a multi-year contract. At least Stone has already been quoted as saying he will not get involved with the annoying "Put it on the board - yes" homerun call of Ken Harrelson, which Darrin Jackson has been doing.
Despite the White Sox having their best season since 2005, White Sox TV ratings have been down again this year. One needs only to listen to one to figure out why. It will be interesting to see if people with put up with Harrelson to hear the excellent analysis by Stone.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Congrats to former Chicagoan and Northwestern University grad Brian Davis on being named as the TV play-by-play voice of the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder. Davis was FSN Northwest studio host of Seattle SuperSonics telecasts last season, and will be joined by analyst Grant Long. The relocated franchise plans to televise every regular season game it can (all except national TV or blackout restrictions). That is provided the Thunder completes negotiation for its TV arrangements. Still no local station yet, although the word is that FSN Southwest will handle the cable telecasts.
KYAL 97.1 FM and its 100,000 watt signal will air the games on radio. As of now radio voice Matt Pinto, who came with the team from Seattle, is slated to call the games solo. Could be another instance where a team's telecasts have several people on the air while radio has one person, even though the audience can see what is happening on the TV but gets only one viewpoint over the radio. Go figure.
WASHINGTON D.C. - Speaking of NBA play-by-play, the new Baltimore-Washington Fox Sports 1370 AM has officially acquired the play-by-play of the Wizards.
INDIANAPOLIS - WFNI 1070 "The Fan" will soon be able to offer its listeners an insight into Indiana Hoosiers basketball that no other station can offer. And expand their local programming middays. Dan Dakich, who served as the interim coach of the Hoosiers replacing Kelvin Sampson last season and was not rehired, begins as host of the 10 AM to 1 PM slot on October 6th. Dakich had a successful trial run on the station with Pacers voice Mark Boyle and then agreed to become the midday host. The station will drop ESPN's Colin Cowherd.
TRENTON - Sports Talk WBUD 1260 is out at home. The station was sold to Domestic Church Media Foundation, which began an all religious format this week (on Sept. 15th).
ALBANY - WMRZ 98.1 FM now has a weekly show focused on athletics at Albany State University. The "ASU Coaches' Corner" is hoted by Fred Suttles. This is a nice idea. So what's wrong with this picture? The time. This show airs on Thursdays. At 12:50 PM. I must have missed the data showing that students, fans, and alumni are available to listen once a week during lunch hour.
BOISE - Boise State basketball broadcasts have added Abe Jackson as analyst starting for the coming season. The games will air in Boise on KIDO, as well as on 580kido.com.
Meanwhile, 30+ year sportscaster Tony Bruno offers up a new syndicated late night sports show starting on Sept. 29th. The show is scheduled to air from 10 PM to 1 AM ET and will originate from a west coast location as offered via Content Factory. This could work well if the sports station that air tape delayed programming late night pick up Bruno to have fresh and live discussion and recaps of the night's games.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Sports Media Report - Sept. 3 Update
As a sports fan who has been fortunate enough to be in the business for more than 30 years, I have come to realize how much the broadcast or telecast is a part of my sports enjoyment and memories.
Two things brought it to my attention within the past couple of weeks. The first is when a radio personality asked me what I thought would be my favorite radio aircheck of all-time. (I wrote about it for my RadioRecordings.com column since it was a top 40 aircheck.) The other is when I saw about NYC's WFAN doing their Labor Day weekend replays of last season's Giants playoff broadcasts vs. both the Cowboys and Packers leading into their Super Bowl victory.
Some radio stations have replayed key games of teams they carry play-by-play for. Before ESPN Classic jumped the shark and started including poker, low rank boxing, and tiddly winks (whatever) instead of NFL, NBA, and MLB telecasts from the past, they were on to a great concept.
It got me thinking about how much certain sports happenings have memories tied to the announcer(s). I can give you certain quotes and you can tell me the event and who said it. That's how much the broadcasts mean.
"There's a new homerun champion of all-time, and it's Henry Aaron!"
"Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"
"The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!"
"I don't believe what I just saw!"
That is all I need to say. We often remember the moment in sports by how we first heard or saw it via TV or radio.
What is your favorite sports broadcast moment? Not a game or a play, but broadcast moment? E-mail me with it.
Meanwhile, I must give credit to New York Jets fan and season ticket holder Howard Freeman. Maybe not for spending $30,000 on a PSL (personal seat license) for the "right" to purchase Jets season tickets. Rather, for looking into selling his own personal 'naming rights' for his seats, before being told by the Jets themselves that he couldn't do it.
Besides generating well over $30,000 worth of publicity (Freeman is a sports marketer) by getting his story picked up by Associated Press, Freeman helped to show how outrageous this 'naming rights' sponsorship concept is getting.
What does this have to do with a radio/TV sports column? I think there is a tie-in here. The Jets refuse to have Freeman put a sponsor logo on "his" season seats as another way to promote them, since the money would not go to the Jets. While I can understand the team's point on that, I have to pose a question to radio and TV stations, especially those which carry play-by-play.
Why do sports broadcasts have to mention the stadium naming rights? If the Jets' response to Freeman has merit, then shouldn't radio and TV stations say "from downtown Detroit" instead of Ford Field? From "Comiskey Park" in Chicago instead of U.S. Cellular Field? From "Joe Robbie Stadium" near Miami? The list goes on. The Jets refused a paying customer because they sell the advertising for the stadium. Fair enough. In that case, since radio and TV stations and networks sell the advertising for the broadcasts, they should refuse to acknowledge the naming rights!
Time for the NFL season and plenty of broadcasts and telecasts starting this week. Former Steelers, Jets, and Chargers QB Mark Malone has just been added to Westwood One Radio's roster of NFL analysts for its radio broadcasts. Here is the Westwood One Radio September schedule of NFL games it will carry:
Week 1
09/04/08 - Washington Redskins @ N.Y. Giants, 6:30 PM ET09/07/08 - Kansas City Chiefs @ New England Patriots, 12:30 PM ET09/07/08 - Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns, 3:45 PM ET09/07/08 - Chicago Bears @ Indianapolis Colts, 7:30 PM ET09/08/08 - Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers, 6:30 PM ET09/08/08 - Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders, 9:30 PM ET
Week 2
09/14/08 - New Orleans Saints @ Washington Redskins, 12:30 PM ET09/14/08 - San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos, 3:45 PM ET09/14/08 - Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns, 7:30 PM ET09/15/08 - Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys, 8:00 PM ET
Week 3
09/21/08 - Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans, 12:30 PM ET09/21/08 - Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts, 3:45 PM ET09/21/08 - Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers, 7:30 PM ET09/22/08 - N.Y. Jets @ San Diego Chargers, 8:00 PM ET
Week 4
09/28/08 - San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints. 12:30 PM ET09/28/08 - Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys, 3:45 PM ET09/28/08 - Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears, 7:30 PM ET09/29/08 - Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:00 PM ET
BALTIMORE: The new Ravens season combined with the start of college football make the timing better for a new all-sports station in Baltimore. Starting next Monday (Sept. 8), 50,000 watt 1370 WVIE will "vie" for the sports audience, becoming one of the few big scale sports stations affiliated with Fox Sports Radio. Former WBAL host Jerry Coleman (not the San Diego Padres' voice) has been brought in as Sports Director. The station replaces news/talk WLG, and will have Coleman anchoring its 3 to 6 PM afternoon drive, following the Jim Rome show. However, WVIE has no local play-by-play. Its 1370 dial position may be helped by its proximity to ESPN 1300.
Coincidentally, WNST radio has hired former Ravens coach Brian Billick, also an analyst for FOX-TV, to host a Wednesday night local talk show. However, Billick's show will start out airing only on the first Wednesday of each month. Frankly, this does not seem a worthwhile hire. Fans are not likely to tune into WNST every Wednesday "just in case" Billick's show is on, especially when he will be on FOX-TV every week. WNST will either have to use additional promotional dollars (or trade time) to promote the weeks that Billick is on, or take a hit by paying him and not promoting is occasional appearances.
MILWAUKEE - WSSP 1250 AM is doing some rearranging of its local daytime lineup starting next week. Afternoons from 2 to 6 PM will feature "The Big Show" with the new lineup of Gary Ellerson, Steve 'Sparky' Fifer, and Josh Vernier. Mike Clemens is no longer with the station.
Sports 540 AM continues to go all out with its local lineup. The station has also been bolstered by the Brewers' excellent season to date. Even though it does not carry the play-by-play, its one hour post-game show roughly following Brewers night games is picking up steam.
Afternoon host Steve "Homer" True begins his Friday Football picks this Friday (Sept. 5th) at 3:50 PM local time. "Slim Jim" joins Homer again this year, starting this season with a 73-48 career mark.
ORLANDO - We are still a few weeks away from NBA camps opening, but Orlando Magic fans are still facing being shut out of 35 Magic telecasts for the upcoming season. Bright House Cable and FSN Florida have not moved on the issue of the Magic package being placed on basic cable or on a tier that would cost subscribers who want the games an additional $1.99 per month. No other NBA team is part of any additional cost package. Now the Orlando Sentinel reports that the team is frustrated about this. But not frustrated enough to buy the air time so that 850,000+ subscribers can see almost half of their games at no extra cost.
DENVER: 1510 AM Mile High Sports Radio still has yet to announce its plan for conflicting broadcasts it carries. Already looking at several overlaps with its Nuggest and Avalanche broadcasts, along with University of Denver basketball coming later, Saturdays now feature Mountain West football.
Yet, there was an announcement from Mile High Sports Radio yesterday. They are adding Air Force Academy football and basketball for this season and next, plus a weekly coaches show.
As challenging as this may become for fans partial to one of those teams, I love this. Live programming with local interest is so much better than caller after caller complaining about the Rockies' pitching.
KANSAS CITY: While the Royals sink into last place in the American League Central, they appear to be having some impact on KCSP 610 AM during its first season of its Royals contract. Roger Twibell's morning show tripled its share of men 25-54 from the winter to the spring ratings period, closing the gap on market sports leader WHB.
Speaking of the Royals, condolances to play-by-play voice Denny Matthews, wrapping up his 40th season with the team, on the passing of his mother last Friday (Aug. 29).
ROCHESTER - WROC 950 has dumped Air America talk in favor of ESPN Sports as of Wednesday (Sept. 3). This makes a better fit for the Sabres broadcasts it begins to carry next month, along with some Bills talk shows (although WROC does not carry the Bills broadcasts).
For starters, WROC will carry Buffalo's WGR "Schopp & The Bulldog" afternoon drive show until or unless it adds any truly local programming. The station will also carry ESPN Radio play-by-play broadcasts.
Two things brought it to my attention within the past couple of weeks. The first is when a radio personality asked me what I thought would be my favorite radio aircheck of all-time. (I wrote about it for my RadioRecordings.com column since it was a top 40 aircheck.) The other is when I saw about NYC's WFAN doing their Labor Day weekend replays of last season's Giants playoff broadcasts vs. both the Cowboys and Packers leading into their Super Bowl victory.
Some radio stations have replayed key games of teams they carry play-by-play for. Before ESPN Classic jumped the shark and started including poker, low rank boxing, and tiddly winks (whatever) instead of NFL, NBA, and MLB telecasts from the past, they were on to a great concept.
It got me thinking about how much certain sports happenings have memories tied to the announcer(s). I can give you certain quotes and you can tell me the event and who said it. That's how much the broadcasts mean.
"There's a new homerun champion of all-time, and it's Henry Aaron!"
"Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"
"The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!"
"I don't believe what I just saw!"
That is all I need to say. We often remember the moment in sports by how we first heard or saw it via TV or radio.
What is your favorite sports broadcast moment? Not a game or a play, but broadcast moment? E-mail me with it.
Meanwhile, I must give credit to New York Jets fan and season ticket holder Howard Freeman. Maybe not for spending $30,000 on a PSL (personal seat license) for the "right" to purchase Jets season tickets. Rather, for looking into selling his own personal 'naming rights' for his seats, before being told by the Jets themselves that he couldn't do it.
Besides generating well over $30,000 worth of publicity (Freeman is a sports marketer) by getting his story picked up by Associated Press, Freeman helped to show how outrageous this 'naming rights' sponsorship concept is getting.
What does this have to do with a radio/TV sports column? I think there is a tie-in here. The Jets refuse to have Freeman put a sponsor logo on "his" season seats as another way to promote them, since the money would not go to the Jets. While I can understand the team's point on that, I have to pose a question to radio and TV stations, especially those which carry play-by-play.
Why do sports broadcasts have to mention the stadium naming rights? If the Jets' response to Freeman has merit, then shouldn't radio and TV stations say "from downtown Detroit" instead of Ford Field? From "Comiskey Park" in Chicago instead of U.S. Cellular Field? From "Joe Robbie Stadium" near Miami? The list goes on. The Jets refused a paying customer because they sell the advertising for the stadium. Fair enough. In that case, since radio and TV stations and networks sell the advertising for the broadcasts, they should refuse to acknowledge the naming rights!
Time for the NFL season and plenty of broadcasts and telecasts starting this week. Former Steelers, Jets, and Chargers QB Mark Malone has just been added to Westwood One Radio's roster of NFL analysts for its radio broadcasts. Here is the Westwood One Radio September schedule of NFL games it will carry:
Week 1
09/04/08 - Washington Redskins @ N.Y. Giants, 6:30 PM ET09/07/08 - Kansas City Chiefs @ New England Patriots, 12:30 PM ET09/07/08 - Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns, 3:45 PM ET09/07/08 - Chicago Bears @ Indianapolis Colts, 7:30 PM ET09/08/08 - Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers, 6:30 PM ET09/08/08 - Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders, 9:30 PM ET
Week 2
09/14/08 - New Orleans Saints @ Washington Redskins, 12:30 PM ET09/14/08 - San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos, 3:45 PM ET09/14/08 - Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns, 7:30 PM ET09/15/08 - Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys, 8:00 PM ET
Week 3
09/21/08 - Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans, 12:30 PM ET09/21/08 - Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts, 3:45 PM ET09/21/08 - Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers, 7:30 PM ET09/22/08 - N.Y. Jets @ San Diego Chargers, 8:00 PM ET
Week 4
09/28/08 - San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints. 12:30 PM ET09/28/08 - Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys, 3:45 PM ET09/28/08 - Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears, 7:30 PM ET09/29/08 - Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:00 PM ET
BALTIMORE: The new Ravens season combined with the start of college football make the timing better for a new all-sports station in Baltimore. Starting next Monday (Sept. 8), 50,000 watt 1370 WVIE will "vie" for the sports audience, becoming one of the few big scale sports stations affiliated with Fox Sports Radio. Former WBAL host Jerry Coleman (not the San Diego Padres' voice) has been brought in as Sports Director. The station replaces news/talk WLG, and will have Coleman anchoring its 3 to 6 PM afternoon drive, following the Jim Rome show. However, WVIE has no local play-by-play. Its 1370 dial position may be helped by its proximity to ESPN 1300.
Coincidentally, WNST radio has hired former Ravens coach Brian Billick, also an analyst for FOX-TV, to host a Wednesday night local talk show. However, Billick's show will start out airing only on the first Wednesday of each month. Frankly, this does not seem a worthwhile hire. Fans are not likely to tune into WNST every Wednesday "just in case" Billick's show is on, especially when he will be on FOX-TV every week. WNST will either have to use additional promotional dollars (or trade time) to promote the weeks that Billick is on, or take a hit by paying him and not promoting is occasional appearances.
MILWAUKEE - WSSP 1250 AM is doing some rearranging of its local daytime lineup starting next week. Afternoons from 2 to 6 PM will feature "The Big Show" with the new lineup of Gary Ellerson, Steve 'Sparky' Fifer, and Josh Vernier. Mike Clemens is no longer with the station.
Sports 540 AM continues to go all out with its local lineup. The station has also been bolstered by the Brewers' excellent season to date. Even though it does not carry the play-by-play, its one hour post-game show roughly following Brewers night games is picking up steam.
Afternoon host Steve "Homer" True begins his Friday Football picks this Friday (Sept. 5th) at 3:50 PM local time. "Slim Jim" joins Homer again this year, starting this season with a 73-48 career mark.
ORLANDO - We are still a few weeks away from NBA camps opening, but Orlando Magic fans are still facing being shut out of 35 Magic telecasts for the upcoming season. Bright House Cable and FSN Florida have not moved on the issue of the Magic package being placed on basic cable or on a tier that would cost subscribers who want the games an additional $1.99 per month. No other NBA team is part of any additional cost package. Now the Orlando Sentinel reports that the team is frustrated about this. But not frustrated enough to buy the air time so that 850,000+ subscribers can see almost half of their games at no extra cost.
DENVER: 1510 AM Mile High Sports Radio still has yet to announce its plan for conflicting broadcasts it carries. Already looking at several overlaps with its Nuggest and Avalanche broadcasts, along with University of Denver basketball coming later, Saturdays now feature Mountain West football.
Yet, there was an announcement from Mile High Sports Radio yesterday. They are adding Air Force Academy football and basketball for this season and next, plus a weekly coaches show.
As challenging as this may become for fans partial to one of those teams, I love this. Live programming with local interest is so much better than caller after caller complaining about the Rockies' pitching.
KANSAS CITY: While the Royals sink into last place in the American League Central, they appear to be having some impact on KCSP 610 AM during its first season of its Royals contract. Roger Twibell's morning show tripled its share of men 25-54 from the winter to the spring ratings period, closing the gap on market sports leader WHB.
Speaking of the Royals, condolances to play-by-play voice Denny Matthews, wrapping up his 40th season with the team, on the passing of his mother last Friday (Aug. 29).
ROCHESTER - WROC 950 has dumped Air America talk in favor of ESPN Sports as of Wednesday (Sept. 3). This makes a better fit for the Sabres broadcasts it begins to carry next month, along with some Bills talk shows (although WROC does not carry the Bills broadcasts).
For starters, WROC will carry Buffalo's WGR "Schopp & The Bulldog" afternoon drive show until or unless it adds any truly local programming. The station will also carry ESPN Radio play-by-play broadcasts.
Friday, June 27, 2008
KSWD "The Sound" radio in Los Angeles made technology news earlier this week with the unveiling of outdoor electronic billboards with digital display capabilities. This station is believed to be the first radio station to use this technology to display the title and artist of each song currently playing on the station, while the billboard itself is made to look like an MP3 player.
This is the same technology transmitted to newer radio receivers, especially in cars, which also provides the frequency and/or station identification. Even though KSWD is a music station, it brings up the question of how sports radio stations can also use this technology.
Within 24 hours, I thought of several uses, but not quite in the same way as the music stations will. For a music station, the primary purpose is to show the song currently playing. For a sports station, it is not always about what is currently on the air. It's not like they are going to flash "Steve from the west side thinks the Yankees will make the wild card" so that people will tune in.
The local pro and college teams final scores can be displayed into the next morning rush. This could be especially effective in the east and central time zones when the local teams play a late night game (such as west coast) and people commuting early wouldn't have stayed up to see the game. (Whether or not in-progress pro scores could be flashed is probably going to be a legal issue for stations which do not carry that team's play-by-play.)
But there is more. This is an opportunity for a sports station to flex its local muscles. They could transmit high school and small college scores, which are not always readily available. A solid credibility builder if you could be driving to work in the morning and see that "Sports Radio K555 - West Field 83 East Field 77" on a billboard the morning after a big high school basketball game. In large and most medium markets, fans are hard pressed to hear any high school basketbal or football scores on the radio, even on sports stations. As a result, this technology creates supplemental sports coverage not otherwise available, while promoting the image of the station. Other uses include upcoming schedules, such as "Cardinals vs. Braves tonight 7:05 PM on Sports Radio K555", "Bob & Bob preview tonights tournament game today at Noon", "Football preview tomorrow at 6:00", "Coach Smith Show taking your calls at 8:00 PM", and the list goes on.
In a way it bothers me that a music station is using this technology before a sports station is. Sports stations boast of "up to the minute scores and coverage", but for potentially hundreds of thousands of drivers in a given market, they can only read what song is playing 'right now'.
A nice scoop by Neil Best of Newsday for breaking the news that the NFL Network is about to name its new play-by-play voice to start this coming season. Even if a relative handful of homes will get NFL Network, the choice of Bob Papa, voice of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, is a solid one. Since NFL Network games never conflict with other games, Papa will not miss any of his Giants games. Papa replaces Bryant Gumbel, and is a welcome addition.
Now that the Big Ten TV Network has its deal with Comcast to provide significant coverage in most of the Big Ten states (although fans residing in Iowa disagree, while less than half of Ohio is still without), it will be interesting to see what the BTN announces next. The football schedule is expected by mid-July, with each of the 11 teams required to be shown in at least one non-conference and one Big Ten Conference matchup during the season. The BTN is reportedly looking into adding more hockey telecasts, but this is compounded by the fact that 6 of the schools do not have hockey among their sports offerings. The BTN carried the Big Ten Baseball tournament and the NCAA Regional Softball tournament (from the U. of Michigan) this past spring.
I think the BTN should be aggressive, especially after the millions of dollars they reportedly sought from cable operators which will in turn cost consumers more whether they want BTN or not. There should be cameras everywhere. Tennis, golf, lacrosse, swimming, gymnastics, and any other Big Ten competition. Several of the Big Ten schools have radio/TV programs and production courses and stations. Let the top students produce telecasts and have them shown on BTN. Make BTN a true showcase for the entire schools and all student-athletes, and less a money grabber for showing a few football and basketball games not selected by ESPN or one of the TV networks.
With the SEC possibly starting its own network, the decisions made by Comcast after one year of BTN on expanded basic (with their future ability to move BTN to a higher cost tier) will be closely watched. OK, I'm a sports fan, but I understand that those who are not are bitter about being forced to spend several dollars per month more to support sports telecasts they don't want.
Our best wishes to Pat Summerall on a speedy recovery. The 78 year old Summerall was hospitalized late last week and underwent emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding. Summerall has worked in 2008, having called the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl game from Dallas, which is near is current home. While I have said over the years that I find Summerall to be the most overrated and boring play-by-play voice ever on a network, I respect his accomplishments and hope for the best for him.
If Major League Baseball revealed its starting lineup for the upcoming All-Star Game at Yankees Stadium, and it was on TBS during its Sunday July 6th national telecast, would anyone hear it? We will find out, eventually.
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY: WOR 710 will again carry Rutgers University basketball and football next season. Starting this year, Chris Carlin will handle men's basketball play-by-play in addition to football which he has handled for the past 4 years. Carlin also continues as morning sports anchor, while hosting New York Giants pre and post-game shows on WFAN, and co-hosting the SNY Loud Mouths show.
LOS ANGELES - A 50-year broadcaster was honored by the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium this past Tuesday (June 24) night. Yet this time it wasn't Vin Scully. Jamie Jarrin, who came to the U.S. from Ecuador in 1955, was saluted in a special tribute for his many years of handling the Spanish broadcasts of Dodgers baseball.
CHICAGO - While it is the end of an era with WSCR The Score not renewing 16 year host Mike North's contract this week, the speculation begins about what happens to both WSCR 670's morning show, and to North. Since North had often veered away from sports during the morning show, the rumored replacements from either midday or afternoon drive truly are all sports. If either team is named to replace North, either the team would have to adjust to not being 100% sports, or the station would have to become 100% sports. Given that Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio have beaten WSCR in some key demographics in the morning in Chicago in recent years, I'm thinking that WSCR sticks with sports. Mike North was quoted as saying he will be back on the air, but it likely won't be on WMVP (ESPN Chicago) which won't be moving Mike & Mike any time soon. But I can't see North bringing a sports audience to a non-sports station, and I don't see a Chicago sports station hiring North.
SAN ANTONIO - KGNB-AM is set to eliminate the sports talk but stick with the play-by-play. But in a market which hosts only 1 "big 4" pro sports team (the NBA Spurs) eliminating Sporting News Radio probably won't make a difference. The station will instead air country music, but will continue with a schedule of sports and news updates. The station will continue to air Astros baseball and Texans football, and will reportedly continue to air at least 3 of the local high school football broadcasts.
NEW ORLEANS - WODT 1280 has, as of Wednesday (June 25) morning, eliminated its syndicated sports programming as well. The station dropped its mix of ESPN and Fox Sports programming, and it is too early to tell if or who will pick them up in the New Orleans market. WODT had been doing sports since 2003, save for a few weeks following Hurricane Katrina. The station has switched to a gospel format, which may or may not stick since a sister station at 940 AM is presently gospel. 940 AM is not, however, expected to switch to sports.
VIRGINIA - The University of Virginia football and basketball broadcasts will have a new play-by-play voice starting in a few weeks. Dave Koehn was named last week to take over. The 32 year old Koehn comes over from his Vermont basetball and baseball duties to the ACC school. Our congrats to Dave!DES MOINES - KXNO 1460 has the return of afternoon Marty & Miller show on Thursday (June 26) afternoon following the suspension of co-host Marty Tirrell. The market veteran issued an on-air apology on Tuesday about deragatory comments about his visit to the U.S. Open. Tirrell is a sports talk pioneer in the Des Moines market, helping to bring the format local in the mid-90's.
DES MOINES - KXNO 1460 has the return of afternoon Marty & Miller show on Thursday (June 26) afternoon following the suspension of co-host Marty Tirrell. The market veteran issued an on-air apology on Tuesday about deragatory comments about his visit to the U.S. Open. Tirrell is a sports talk pioneer in the Des Moines market, helping to bring the format local in the mid-90's.
This is the same technology transmitted to newer radio receivers, especially in cars, which also provides the frequency and/or station identification. Even though KSWD is a music station, it brings up the question of how sports radio stations can also use this technology.
Within 24 hours, I thought of several uses, but not quite in the same way as the music stations will. For a music station, the primary purpose is to show the song currently playing. For a sports station, it is not always about what is currently on the air. It's not like they are going to flash "Steve from the west side thinks the Yankees will make the wild card" so that people will tune in.
The local pro and college teams final scores can be displayed into the next morning rush. This could be especially effective in the east and central time zones when the local teams play a late night game (such as west coast) and people commuting early wouldn't have stayed up to see the game. (Whether or not in-progress pro scores could be flashed is probably going to be a legal issue for stations which do not carry that team's play-by-play.)
But there is more. This is an opportunity for a sports station to flex its local muscles. They could transmit high school and small college scores, which are not always readily available. A solid credibility builder if you could be driving to work in the morning and see that "Sports Radio K555 - West Field 83 East Field 77" on a billboard the morning after a big high school basketball game. In large and most medium markets, fans are hard pressed to hear any high school basketbal or football scores on the radio, even on sports stations. As a result, this technology creates supplemental sports coverage not otherwise available, while promoting the image of the station. Other uses include upcoming schedules, such as "Cardinals vs. Braves tonight 7:05 PM on Sports Radio K555", "Bob & Bob preview tonights tournament game today at Noon", "Football preview tomorrow at 6:00", "Coach Smith Show taking your calls at 8:00 PM", and the list goes on.
In a way it bothers me that a music station is using this technology before a sports station is. Sports stations boast of "up to the minute scores and coverage", but for potentially hundreds of thousands of drivers in a given market, they can only read what song is playing 'right now'.
A nice scoop by Neil Best of Newsday for breaking the news that the NFL Network is about to name its new play-by-play voice to start this coming season. Even if a relative handful of homes will get NFL Network, the choice of Bob Papa, voice of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, is a solid one. Since NFL Network games never conflict with other games, Papa will not miss any of his Giants games. Papa replaces Bryant Gumbel, and is a welcome addition.
Now that the Big Ten TV Network has its deal with Comcast to provide significant coverage in most of the Big Ten states (although fans residing in Iowa disagree, while less than half of Ohio is still without), it will be interesting to see what the BTN announces next. The football schedule is expected by mid-July, with each of the 11 teams required to be shown in at least one non-conference and one Big Ten Conference matchup during the season. The BTN is reportedly looking into adding more hockey telecasts, but this is compounded by the fact that 6 of the schools do not have hockey among their sports offerings. The BTN carried the Big Ten Baseball tournament and the NCAA Regional Softball tournament (from the U. of Michigan) this past spring.
I think the BTN should be aggressive, especially after the millions of dollars they reportedly sought from cable operators which will in turn cost consumers more whether they want BTN or not. There should be cameras everywhere. Tennis, golf, lacrosse, swimming, gymnastics, and any other Big Ten competition. Several of the Big Ten schools have radio/TV programs and production courses and stations. Let the top students produce telecasts and have them shown on BTN. Make BTN a true showcase for the entire schools and all student-athletes, and less a money grabber for showing a few football and basketball games not selected by ESPN or one of the TV networks.
With the SEC possibly starting its own network, the decisions made by Comcast after one year of BTN on expanded basic (with their future ability to move BTN to a higher cost tier) will be closely watched. OK, I'm a sports fan, but I understand that those who are not are bitter about being forced to spend several dollars per month more to support sports telecasts they don't want.
Our best wishes to Pat Summerall on a speedy recovery. The 78 year old Summerall was hospitalized late last week and underwent emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding. Summerall has worked in 2008, having called the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl game from Dallas, which is near is current home. While I have said over the years that I find Summerall to be the most overrated and boring play-by-play voice ever on a network, I respect his accomplishments and hope for the best for him.
If Major League Baseball revealed its starting lineup for the upcoming All-Star Game at Yankees Stadium, and it was on TBS during its Sunday July 6th national telecast, would anyone hear it? We will find out, eventually.
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY: WOR 710 will again carry Rutgers University basketball and football next season. Starting this year, Chris Carlin will handle men's basketball play-by-play in addition to football which he has handled for the past 4 years. Carlin also continues as morning sports anchor, while hosting New York Giants pre and post-game shows on WFAN, and co-hosting the SNY Loud Mouths show.
LOS ANGELES - A 50-year broadcaster was honored by the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium this past Tuesday (June 24) night. Yet this time it wasn't Vin Scully. Jamie Jarrin, who came to the U.S. from Ecuador in 1955, was saluted in a special tribute for his many years of handling the Spanish broadcasts of Dodgers baseball.
CHICAGO - While it is the end of an era with WSCR The Score not renewing 16 year host Mike North's contract this week, the speculation begins about what happens to both WSCR 670's morning show, and to North. Since North had often veered away from sports during the morning show, the rumored replacements from either midday or afternoon drive truly are all sports. If either team is named to replace North, either the team would have to adjust to not being 100% sports, or the station would have to become 100% sports. Given that Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio have beaten WSCR in some key demographics in the morning in Chicago in recent years, I'm thinking that WSCR sticks with sports. Mike North was quoted as saying he will be back on the air, but it likely won't be on WMVP (ESPN Chicago) which won't be moving Mike & Mike any time soon. But I can't see North bringing a sports audience to a non-sports station, and I don't see a Chicago sports station hiring North.
SAN ANTONIO - KGNB-AM is set to eliminate the sports talk but stick with the play-by-play. But in a market which hosts only 1 "big 4" pro sports team (the NBA Spurs) eliminating Sporting News Radio probably won't make a difference. The station will instead air country music, but will continue with a schedule of sports and news updates. The station will continue to air Astros baseball and Texans football, and will reportedly continue to air at least 3 of the local high school football broadcasts.
NEW ORLEANS - WODT 1280 has, as of Wednesday (June 25) morning, eliminated its syndicated sports programming as well. The station dropped its mix of ESPN and Fox Sports programming, and it is too early to tell if or who will pick them up in the New Orleans market. WODT had been doing sports since 2003, save for a few weeks following Hurricane Katrina. The station has switched to a gospel format, which may or may not stick since a sister station at 940 AM is presently gospel. 940 AM is not, however, expected to switch to sports.
VIRGINIA - The University of Virginia football and basketball broadcasts will have a new play-by-play voice starting in a few weeks. Dave Koehn was named last week to take over. The 32 year old Koehn comes over from his Vermont basetball and baseball duties to the ACC school. Our congrats to Dave!DES MOINES - KXNO 1460 has the return of afternoon Marty & Miller show on Thursday (June 26) afternoon following the suspension of co-host Marty Tirrell. The market veteran issued an on-air apology on Tuesday about deragatory comments about his visit to the U.S. Open. Tirrell is a sports talk pioneer in the Des Moines market, helping to bring the format local in the mid-90's.
DES MOINES - KXNO 1460 has the return of afternoon Marty & Miller show on Thursday (June 26) afternoon following the suspension of co-host Marty Tirrell. The market veteran issued an on-air apology on Tuesday about deragatory comments about his visit to the U.S. Open. Tirrell is a sports talk pioneer in the Des Moines market, helping to bring the format local in the mid-90's.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
SPORTS MEDIA REPORT - June 5 update
Still another instance where the financial pages impact the sports fans who have no control. The Associated Press reported that Clear Channel has spent over $760,000 lobbying against the merger of XM and Sirius Satellite. XM's deal with Major League Baseball could end up at risk as XM reportedly is now seeking the next $120 million to put in escrow toward that contract.
Meanwhile, ESPN Radio launches the ESPN HD Radio Network this coming weekend (June 7/8), including offering "custom" sports content to radio stations which have HD broadcasts. While initial play-by-play content for this month includes only the UEFA Euro Cup soccer tournament, stations will be able to to offer scoreboards and other options.
Put those stories together, and it shows that the terrestial broadcast community is doing what it can to hurt satellite radio and wipe out the "competition". Right now, XM offers its subscribers every MLB broadcast, while Sirius has all NFL, NBA, and NHL broadcasts. Each offers various college and other sports such as NASCAR and Indy Racing. The 'over-the-air' broadcast community sees this as taking away sports listeners, especially if the merger enables more than 17 million subscribers to eventually have access to all of the big 4 pro sports league broadcasts.It appears to me that ESPN's move toward HD is to set the stage for the play-by-play of all pro and most college sports toward HD, instead of satellite. I have said for the past couple of years that HD Radio should go heavy into sports and live events and live news programming. HD obviously isn't cutting it with their "Album Tracks from 1978" channels, or whatever music that they used to play but no longer do in favor of repeating the same 500 songs all month.
For the sports fans, it looks like we will have these choices to hear any and every pro and major college game live as it happens anywhere in the country. That is a good thing. But I wish that instead of spending millions of dollars to fight "the competition", the radio owners would start spending that on quality programming and expanding their reach. If the radio owners had continued to offer a solid enough product, nobody would care about satellite radio in the first place.
Sports broadcasting requires a lot of skills and ability. Now it seems to be acting as a qualification for broadcasters, and athletes and coaches turned broadcasters, to speak at college and university commencements. Within the past month, we have had:
Joe Buck, Saint Louis University (May 17);
Joe Garagiola Sr., St. Leo University (May 3);
Tommy Lasorda, Argosy University/Southern California (May 16);
Dan Marino, University of Pittsburgh (April 27);
Cal Ripken Jr, (now of TBS) University of Delaware (May 31);
Vin Scully, Pepperdine University (April 26);
ABC/ESPN broadcaster Robin Roberts, Miami University (May 10);
Dick Vermeil, (NFL coach then CBS-TV) University of New Haven (May 24);
Is HBO's loss Showtime's gain? "Inside the NFL" after 31 seasons on HBO during and surrounding each NFL season, has been picked up by rival Showtime and will debut there Wednesday Sept. 10 at 9 PM ET/PT. The show is already expected to benefit by Showtime being a sister company to CBS and the CBS access to live NFL telecasts and video.
At first, I thought this would prove a waste of money for Showtime. When "Inside" started on HBO in the 70's, there was no ESPN or NFL Network and the show was unique by being able to show extended highlights and present analysis about each game. Recently, like "This Week In Baseball", it seemed passed over by all of the daily complete highlights and analysis available to cable viewers. Upon further review, I realize that if Showtime utilizes the CBS-TV resources, they could produce a show that would rival any on ESPN or Fox Sports, with the benefit of no commercials and extended highlights. The talent may or may not come from CBS Sports, with an announcement not expected until July.
How about CBS Sports and CBSSports.com adding a site devoted to fantasy sports? In-depth coverage to the point of including fantasy golf and auto racing information? Interesting that the announcement came a day after the Supreme Court refused to take a case in which Major League Baseball had argued that fantasy baseball providers should not be able to use the names or stats of MLB players without licensing agreements.
HOUSTON - KNTH 1070 announced it will carry the WNBA Houston Comets this season, including brief pre and post-game shows, except for 2 weekday games, even issuing a press release about it. Wait until they see the size of the audience for those games going up against a roster of sports talk shows on other Houston stations and some conflicts with Astros games elsewhere. So this is what AM Radio brings to sports fans while satellite offers every "major" pro sports broadcast every day?
Longtime Astros broadcaster Milo Hamilton will be presented with a University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Award at a special luncheon this Saturday (June 7). This Award for Achievement is given for significant accomplishments in business or professional life, and in this instance, celebrates Milo's 50+ years broadcasting Major League Baseball.
DALLAS: Best wishes to Tom Grieve, now a Texas Rangers TV analyst, who begins a medical leave on Sunday to undergo prostate cancer surgery. Former pitcher Steve Busby will leave his FSN Southwest studio role to fill in, handling the Rangers' radio with Eric Nadel, with Victor Rojas replacing Grieve on television with Josh Lewin.
MILWAUKEE: With the Brewers in contention this season, and with WAUK 540-AM doing its own Brewers post-game coverage (without having the broadcasts) longtime flagship WTMJ 620 has begun "Extra Innings", its own one hour post-game show to follow the night game broadcasts and the existing 30 minute post-game programming. WTMJ's Dan O'Donnell will host, along with occasional rotating co-hosts including FSN Wisconsin's Davey Nelson and Craig Coshun. This is the first season of WTMJ's newest contract with the Brewers.
SAN DIEGO: Nielsen Media Research reports that Padres telecast ratings for the first 50 telecasts are almost 30% below last season's ratings. Even though last year's ratings were the highest overall since 1999, the Pardres' disappointing start seems to be impacting more than just the standings.
Much maligned Lee Hamilton will not return as San Diego State's football color analyst, as his contract was not renewed. Ted Leitner will remain on the game broadcasts on KOGO, which start again on August 30th. The "Hacksaw" was also kept off the recent local NFL draft coverage, supposedly based on his previous criticism of the Chargers.
MINNEAPOLIS: The Timerwolves are coming off a disaster of a season, but will have their game broadcasts for next season back on KFAN, returning for a new 3-year deal. KFAN was the voice of the Wolves for the team's first 17 seasons and picks up again after a 2 year abscence. No confirmation on a play-by-play voice yet, but analyst Billy McKinney will continue in that role, as he has been signed for the 3 years of this new agreement.
Meanwhile, ESPN Radio launches the ESPN HD Radio Network this coming weekend (June 7/8), including offering "custom" sports content to radio stations which have HD broadcasts. While initial play-by-play content for this month includes only the UEFA Euro Cup soccer tournament, stations will be able to to offer scoreboards and other options.
Put those stories together, and it shows that the terrestial broadcast community is doing what it can to hurt satellite radio and wipe out the "competition". Right now, XM offers its subscribers every MLB broadcast, while Sirius has all NFL, NBA, and NHL broadcasts. Each offers various college and other sports such as NASCAR and Indy Racing. The 'over-the-air' broadcast community sees this as taking away sports listeners, especially if the merger enables more than 17 million subscribers to eventually have access to all of the big 4 pro sports league broadcasts.It appears to me that ESPN's move toward HD is to set the stage for the play-by-play of all pro and most college sports toward HD, instead of satellite. I have said for the past couple of years that HD Radio should go heavy into sports and live events and live news programming. HD obviously isn't cutting it with their "Album Tracks from 1978" channels, or whatever music that they used to play but no longer do in favor of repeating the same 500 songs all month.
For the sports fans, it looks like we will have these choices to hear any and every pro and major college game live as it happens anywhere in the country. That is a good thing. But I wish that instead of spending millions of dollars to fight "the competition", the radio owners would start spending that on quality programming and expanding their reach. If the radio owners had continued to offer a solid enough product, nobody would care about satellite radio in the first place.
Sports broadcasting requires a lot of skills and ability. Now it seems to be acting as a qualification for broadcasters, and athletes and coaches turned broadcasters, to speak at college and university commencements. Within the past month, we have had:
Joe Buck, Saint Louis University (May 17);
Joe Garagiola Sr., St. Leo University (May 3);
Tommy Lasorda, Argosy University/Southern California (May 16);
Dan Marino, University of Pittsburgh (April 27);
Cal Ripken Jr, (now of TBS) University of Delaware (May 31);
Vin Scully, Pepperdine University (April 26);
ABC/ESPN broadcaster Robin Roberts, Miami University (May 10);
Dick Vermeil, (NFL coach then CBS-TV) University of New Haven (May 24);
Is HBO's loss Showtime's gain? "Inside the NFL" after 31 seasons on HBO during and surrounding each NFL season, has been picked up by rival Showtime and will debut there Wednesday Sept. 10 at 9 PM ET/PT. The show is already expected to benefit by Showtime being a sister company to CBS and the CBS access to live NFL telecasts and video.
At first, I thought this would prove a waste of money for Showtime. When "Inside" started on HBO in the 70's, there was no ESPN or NFL Network and the show was unique by being able to show extended highlights and present analysis about each game. Recently, like "This Week In Baseball", it seemed passed over by all of the daily complete highlights and analysis available to cable viewers. Upon further review, I realize that if Showtime utilizes the CBS-TV resources, they could produce a show that would rival any on ESPN or Fox Sports, with the benefit of no commercials and extended highlights. The talent may or may not come from CBS Sports, with an announcement not expected until July.
How about CBS Sports and CBSSports.com adding a site devoted to fantasy sports? In-depth coverage to the point of including fantasy golf and auto racing information? Interesting that the announcement came a day after the Supreme Court refused to take a case in which Major League Baseball had argued that fantasy baseball providers should not be able to use the names or stats of MLB players without licensing agreements.
HOUSTON - KNTH 1070 announced it will carry the WNBA Houston Comets this season, including brief pre and post-game shows, except for 2 weekday games, even issuing a press release about it. Wait until they see the size of the audience for those games going up against a roster of sports talk shows on other Houston stations and some conflicts with Astros games elsewhere. So this is what AM Radio brings to sports fans while satellite offers every "major" pro sports broadcast every day?
Longtime Astros broadcaster Milo Hamilton will be presented with a University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Award at a special luncheon this Saturday (June 7). This Award for Achievement is given for significant accomplishments in business or professional life, and in this instance, celebrates Milo's 50+ years broadcasting Major League Baseball.
DALLAS: Best wishes to Tom Grieve, now a Texas Rangers TV analyst, who begins a medical leave on Sunday to undergo prostate cancer surgery. Former pitcher Steve Busby will leave his FSN Southwest studio role to fill in, handling the Rangers' radio with Eric Nadel, with Victor Rojas replacing Grieve on television with Josh Lewin.
MILWAUKEE: With the Brewers in contention this season, and with WAUK 540-AM doing its own Brewers post-game coverage (without having the broadcasts) longtime flagship WTMJ 620 has begun "Extra Innings", its own one hour post-game show to follow the night game broadcasts and the existing 30 minute post-game programming. WTMJ's Dan O'Donnell will host, along with occasional rotating co-hosts including FSN Wisconsin's Davey Nelson and Craig Coshun. This is the first season of WTMJ's newest contract with the Brewers.
SAN DIEGO: Nielsen Media Research reports that Padres telecast ratings for the first 50 telecasts are almost 30% below last season's ratings. Even though last year's ratings were the highest overall since 1999, the Pardres' disappointing start seems to be impacting more than just the standings.
Much maligned Lee Hamilton will not return as San Diego State's football color analyst, as his contract was not renewed. Ted Leitner will remain on the game broadcasts on KOGO, which start again on August 30th. The "Hacksaw" was also kept off the recent local NFL draft coverage, supposedly based on his previous criticism of the Chargers.
MINNEAPOLIS: The Timerwolves are coming off a disaster of a season, but will have their game broadcasts for next season back on KFAN, returning for a new 3-year deal. KFAN was the voice of the Wolves for the team's first 17 seasons and picks up again after a 2 year abscence. No confirmation on a play-by-play voice yet, but analyst Billy McKinney will continue in that role, as he has been signed for the 3 years of this new agreement.
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