Miami sports night in the national spotlight this past Wednesday (4/4) night surprised those who pay attention to the TV ratings. ESPN had the Marlins' season opener and debut regular season game in their new stadium starting an hour before ESPN2 had the highly anticipated matchup between the Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder, also shown from Miami.
Even with the shortened season coming off of the lockout, the Heat vs. Thunder telecast came in with a 67% increase in the ratings over last year and had a higher audience than the baseball telecast. In fact, the late "doubleheader" NBA telecast between the L.A. Lakers and Clippers, which aired on ESPN after the baseball telecast, also outdrew the baseball telecast.
In the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale market, the Heat telecast also outdrew the Marlins' opener by more than 2 to 1 in terms of total audience, including both the ESPN2 and Sun Network (local) telecasts. The folks at TNT and ESPN/ABC are certain to be keeping this in mind with the start of the NBA playoffs now less than 3 weeks away.
Fox Sports is looking at establishing a new prime time habit for sports fans, having scheduled the majority of Saturday nights with live prime-time sports telecasts, including baseball, NASCAR, and college football. This is in addition to the baseball telecasts almost every Saturday (all but 2 total) which will air during the afternoon prior to the prime-time sports event on those Saturdays when there is not a prime-time baseball telecast during the MLB season.
NASCAR events will air on the next two Saturday nights, with Fox airing its baseball telecast during the 1:00 PM time slot this Saturday to assure its regional telecasts are finished well in advance of the NASCAR telecast. Fox had to gain additional cooperation from Major League Baseball to gear up for eight prime-time telecasts this season, up from two last year. The prime-time baseball telecasts will also include the new and expanded pre-game show produced in conjunction with MLB Network.
College football season will have Fox Sports showing Pac-10 Conference games during the 12 week regular season, including the ability to select which game airs nationally. Fox Sports' regional networks will carry other Conference games, although these telecasts will often go head-to-head with ABC's nationally televised games in Saturday prime-time.
In addition, there will be a couple of Saturday night Ultimate Fighting Challenge telecasts. The concept of having one night out of the week to show live sports in prime-time on most Saturdays is not new, but a network (Fox) promoting it as aggressively as it appears they will is new. ABC-TV had sports in prime-time for at least half of the year back in the 1970's when they aired Monday Night Baseball during the summer weeks and then went into Monday Night Football from September into December.
NEW YORK: Baseball telecasts did prove popular in NYC, as SNY reports the Mets' season opening telecast vs. the Atlanta Braves set a ratings record which was established in 2002.
Michael Kay's afternoon show on local ESPN Radio has an interesting addition for once each week, as Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine has been signed on to appear only for the New York audience. We can certainly understand the move from Kay's and the station's point of view to want the rival manager on its airwaves as a draw to the audience of Yankees fans. However, it is tough to understand Valentine being so open and willing to address fans of "his" team's biggest rival on a regular basis.
It is not as though Valentine has no other media outlet, as he will also appear on a weekly basis on WEEI Boston's "The Big Show", which is perfectly understandable. If Valentine wanted to continue to have this much media exposure, he should have stayed with ESPN and done additional commentary on their various local stations. I'd say Red Sox fans have a right to be upset about the fact that their new manager is taking time away from his team to talk to the play-by-play voice of and fans of "his" team's biggest rival on a regular basis to supplement his income.
LOS ANGELES: KLAA 830's Roger Lodge is now getting plenty of air time when it comes to the Angels' new season. Although Lodge continues to co-host the station's morning show, he is also hosting the additional pre-game talk show which begins about 90 minutes before each Angels home game and usually airs from Gate 5 of The Big A. Lodge actually hosted the morning show live from outside the stadium on Opening Day (this past Friday 4/6) and later returned to the same location for his pre-game talk show. Word is that he had about 100 or so fans on hand with him by the time his morning segment ended.
CHICAGO: WSCR The Score 670's Dan McNeil returned to the station's midday show on Monday (4/9) after a 6-week absence due to what he termed "depression and substance abuse". Other station hosts and reporters filled in for McNeil during his time away, during which no specific reasons were given until his return.
St. LOUIS: With the Blues in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Cardinals' season in full swing, both KMOX Radio and Fox Sports Midwest will have some conflicts regarding which game to air live. In both instances, the Cardinals' management reportedly has agreed to be flexible, unlike several situations around the country where one team clearly has priority in the event of a conflict.
On the radio side, if and when Cardinals and Blues conflicts occur, one will air as usual on KMOX 1120 while the other broadcast moves to KEZK 102.5. On the TV side, Fox Sports Midwest has indicated that conflicting telecasts, not handled by Channel 5 (the local NBC affiliate) will air on FSM Plus. FSM reports that Blues' telecast ratings were up about 14% over last season.
PHILADELPHIA: Sorry to learn of the passing of Steve Fredericks on Saturday at the age of 72. The long-time Philadelphia area sportscaster is probably best remembered for his stint on WIP-AM when he co-hosted afternoons with Mike Missanelli. Fredericks also held numerous local play-by-play assignments over his 44 years in the business, and had retired in 2004.
RAPID CITY: K-TALK 1340 has now officially become the local ESPN Radio affiliate after a 3 month abscence from the market when KRKI switched to Fox Sports Radio. In addition, K-TALK will continue to carry University of Nebraska football and select local high school broadcasts.St. GEORGE UT: Another market has gone to making sports radio into an AM-FM combo, now with 102.3 and 107.3 FM carrying the ESPN programming and extensive play-by-play. The stations will continue to carry Utah Jazz games, BYU, Dixie State College, and selected local high school games.
BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL IL: WZIM 99.5 has become "The Ticket" and is a Fox Sports Radio affiliate, dropping its music format last week in time for the opening of the baseball season. The station continues to carry Chicago Cubs baseball.
SCHEDULES: Finally, for those looking ahead to NFL Football, the networks have announced the bulk of their pre-season national TV schedules:
Sunday August 5 Hall of Fame Game: Arizona Cardinals - New Orleans Saints (NFL Network 8PM ET)
Week 1
Thursday August 9 Green Bay Packers - San Diego Chargers (ESPN 8PM)
Monday, August 13 Dallas Cowboys - Oakland Raiders (ESPN 8PM)
Week 2
Thursday August 16 Cincinnati Bengals - Atlanta Falcons (FOX 8PM)
Friday August 17 Detroit Lions - Baltimore Ravens (FOX 8PM)
Sunday August 19 Indianapolis Colts - Pittsburgh Steelers (NBC 8PM)
Monday August 20 Philadelphia Eagles - New England Patriots (ESPN 8PM)
Week 3
Thursday August 23 Arizona Cardinals - Tennessee Titans (ESPN 8PM)
Friday August 24 Chicago Bears - New York Giants (CBS 8PM)
Saturday August 25 Houston Texans - New Orleans Saints (CBS 8PM)
Sunday August 26 San Francisco 49ers - Denver Broncos (FOX 4PM)
Carolina Panthers - New York Jets (NBC 8PM)
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Showing posts with label miami. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miami. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
August 23 Update.....
Here we are getting ready for the barrage of sports on TV during the month of September, including the start of the NFL and college football seasons while the baseball races for the post-season will come to an end. But it's also time to look ahead to the October-November period. Although it's too early to tell, it's not a certainty that the NBA will have its scheduled season underway on time at the end of October, just as the World Series is coming to an end.
Yet, NBC and its family of networks are surging forward at high speed to have plenty of NHL action ready for an increasing viewing audience. It could be NBC wishing to show a more aggressive approach toward televising major sports, or it could be positioning for a weeknight audience that may not have a steady diet of NBA telecasts. It is probably a combination of the two.
Whatever the reason, NBC is very active in preparing to cover the upcoming hockey season and kick off its 10-year agreement with the NHL. Versus (which will be called NBC Sports Network starting Jan. 2) now plans 90 nights of "exclusive" NHL coverage, a significant over 54 nights from last season, along with expanded pre and post-game programming.
Even NBC itself is starting earlier than usual, planning an "original six" matchup for the Friday after Thanksgiving between Boston and Detroit during the afternoon. Versus will start the regular season with a doubleheader on opening night, Thursday Oct. 6th and show a total of 7 live games over the season's first 7 nights. NBC and (by then) NBC Sports Network alrady plan to televise 10 games during the final 7 days of the regular season to gear up for next spring's Stanley Cup playoffs. In a significant upgrade, NBC and NBC Sports Network will have telecasts of every Stanley Cup playoff game, even if on a regional basis, for the first two rounds of the post-season. Then, they will carry exclusive telecasts of the both Conference semi-finals and, as always, the Stanley Cup Finals.
NBC Sports Network will also have flex scheduling for its new Sunday Night NHL games. This is all in addition to an increased schedule of games picked up by NHL Network, bringing NHL action to many hockey fans just about every night during the season. If the NBA isn't ready, the NHL will be.
If and as the NBA season gets going, TNT and NBA-TV have added a new studio host for their telecasts. But he's a familiar face. Vince Cellini returns to Turner Sports and will host "GameTime" on NBA-TV during the season, working on nights Ernie Johnson doesn't. Cellini anchored sports on CNN in the late 80's back when CNN had regularly scheduled extended sportscasts.
MIAMI: The replacing of the late Jim Mandich on the Dolphins' radio team took all the way into the exhibition game season, but it's hard to question the choice. None other than Bob Griese will be the third man in the booth, joining Jimmy Cefalo and Joe Rose on WINZ 940. The team was able to talk Griese out of retirement, since Bob had left ABC/ESPN after 24 years as an analyst there. Of course, Griese stayed close to the Dolphins, using his Augusts to appear on Dolphins exhibition game telecasts for more than 20 years.
DETROIT: Local fans want to watch a winner, or in the case of this past Friday (8/19), two of them. The Tigers were playing the first game of their big weekend series vs. the Cleveland Indians at home, while the Lions happened to be playing in Cleveland at the same time. The Tigers game had a slightly higher rating for its Fox Sports Detroit telecast, made even more impressive when you realize that more than 40,000 attended the game in Detroit. (That would be at least one more ratings point if they could only watch on TV instead.) The Lions' win over Cleveland ran about an hour after the Tigers game ended, and the football ratings on WXYZ-TV increased more than 20% during that period.
Fox Sports Detroit is adding a weekly half-hour high school football score and highlights show, starting this coming Friday (8/26). Friday Football Overtime will air at Midnight late Friday and again at 11 AM each Saturday. FSD will also air the high school football state playoffs in October and November.
While Philadelphia adds an FM simulcast to its all-sports station there, Detroit is losing its version. The highly rated WXYT-FM The Ticket will lose its simulcast on 1270 AM after four years as of September 12th. The AM station will air syndicated (non-sports) talk shows, while 97.1 continues as is.
PITTSBURGH: Penguins telecasts will again have the announcing team of Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey calling at least 70 games on Root Sports. The pair was without a contract following last season and just signed what was announced as a multi-year deal.
LOS ANGELES: It's a long long way from his 25+ seasons of calling Dodgers games, but 72-year old Ross Porter has taken an assignment to call some high school football and basketball games for a streaming web site operated by IBN. Porter will do a "prep football game of the week" most Friday nights, along with some basketball games and other program features for the site.
MEMPHIS: ESPN 680 + 92.9 has added the Memphis Grizzlies play-by-play to its lineup starting, well, whenever the next season does. To beef up its Grizzlies coverage, play-by-play voice Eric Hasseltine now hosts the 2 to 4 PM sports talk show. The station also carries Tennessee Titans football.
SARASOTA: WTMY 1280 has changed to all sports and become The Sports Fanatic. At this point, its weekday local shows are Rich Spedaliere with "Spitz On Sports" from 6 to 9 AM and "The Sports Ministry" from 3 to 6 PM, with Fox Sports Radio filling up the remainder. It will also air Florida State football along with Riverview High School games.
Yet, NBC and its family of networks are surging forward at high speed to have plenty of NHL action ready for an increasing viewing audience. It could be NBC wishing to show a more aggressive approach toward televising major sports, or it could be positioning for a weeknight audience that may not have a steady diet of NBA telecasts. It is probably a combination of the two.
Whatever the reason, NBC is very active in preparing to cover the upcoming hockey season and kick off its 10-year agreement with the NHL. Versus (which will be called NBC Sports Network starting Jan. 2) now plans 90 nights of "exclusive" NHL coverage, a significant over 54 nights from last season, along with expanded pre and post-game programming.
Even NBC itself is starting earlier than usual, planning an "original six" matchup for the Friday after Thanksgiving between Boston and Detroit during the afternoon. Versus will start the regular season with a doubleheader on opening night, Thursday Oct. 6th and show a total of 7 live games over the season's first 7 nights. NBC and (by then) NBC Sports Network alrady plan to televise 10 games during the final 7 days of the regular season to gear up for next spring's Stanley Cup playoffs. In a significant upgrade, NBC and NBC Sports Network will have telecasts of every Stanley Cup playoff game, even if on a regional basis, for the first two rounds of the post-season. Then, they will carry exclusive telecasts of the both Conference semi-finals and, as always, the Stanley Cup Finals.
NBC Sports Network will also have flex scheduling for its new Sunday Night NHL games. This is all in addition to an increased schedule of games picked up by NHL Network, bringing NHL action to many hockey fans just about every night during the season. If the NBA isn't ready, the NHL will be.
If and as the NBA season gets going, TNT and NBA-TV have added a new studio host for their telecasts. But he's a familiar face. Vince Cellini returns to Turner Sports and will host "GameTime" on NBA-TV during the season, working on nights Ernie Johnson doesn't. Cellini anchored sports on CNN in the late 80's back when CNN had regularly scheduled extended sportscasts.
MIAMI: The replacing of the late Jim Mandich on the Dolphins' radio team took all the way into the exhibition game season, but it's hard to question the choice. None other than Bob Griese will be the third man in the booth, joining Jimmy Cefalo and Joe Rose on WINZ 940. The team was able to talk Griese out of retirement, since Bob had left ABC/ESPN after 24 years as an analyst there. Of course, Griese stayed close to the Dolphins, using his Augusts to appear on Dolphins exhibition game telecasts for more than 20 years.
DETROIT: Local fans want to watch a winner, or in the case of this past Friday (8/19), two of them. The Tigers were playing the first game of their big weekend series vs. the Cleveland Indians at home, while the Lions happened to be playing in Cleveland at the same time. The Tigers game had a slightly higher rating for its Fox Sports Detroit telecast, made even more impressive when you realize that more than 40,000 attended the game in Detroit. (That would be at least one more ratings point if they could only watch on TV instead.) The Lions' win over Cleveland ran about an hour after the Tigers game ended, and the football ratings on WXYZ-TV increased more than 20% during that period.
Fox Sports Detroit is adding a weekly half-hour high school football score and highlights show, starting this coming Friday (8/26). Friday Football Overtime will air at Midnight late Friday and again at 11 AM each Saturday. FSD will also air the high school football state playoffs in October and November.
While Philadelphia adds an FM simulcast to its all-sports station there, Detroit is losing its version. The highly rated WXYT-FM The Ticket will lose its simulcast on 1270 AM after four years as of September 12th. The AM station will air syndicated (non-sports) talk shows, while 97.1 continues as is.
PITTSBURGH: Penguins telecasts will again have the announcing team of Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey calling at least 70 games on Root Sports. The pair was without a contract following last season and just signed what was announced as a multi-year deal.
LOS ANGELES: It's a long long way from his 25+ seasons of calling Dodgers games, but 72-year old Ross Porter has taken an assignment to call some high school football and basketball games for a streaming web site operated by IBN. Porter will do a "prep football game of the week" most Friday nights, along with some basketball games and other program features for the site.
MEMPHIS: ESPN 680 + 92.9 has added the Memphis Grizzlies play-by-play to its lineup starting, well, whenever the next season does. To beef up its Grizzlies coverage, play-by-play voice Eric Hasseltine now hosts the 2 to 4 PM sports talk show. The station also carries Tennessee Titans football.
SARASOTA: WTMY 1280 has changed to all sports and become The Sports Fanatic. At this point, its weekday local shows are Rich Spedaliere with "Spitz On Sports" from 6 to 9 AM and "The Sports Ministry" from 3 to 6 PM, with Fox Sports Radio filling up the remainder. It will also air Florida State football along with Riverview High School games.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The Broadcast Booth - June 14th Update
The vast majority of pro basketball fans had a definite reaction late Sunday night when Dallas defeated Miami in what many term an upset to win the NBA Championship. However, it was far from a "championship performance" at the local sports-talk level when that happened.
A check of Miami sports stations within an hour of the championship having been lost by the Heat revealed that none of them had a local show on the air. No immediate opportunity for Heat fans to express their frustration, disappointment, and/or aggravation at what had just happened. Just as incredible is how Dallas' sports radio stations were just as guilty. Nothing local and live.
I'm sure I'll get private responses from friends and others I don't know within the industry who will point out that this was late on Sunday night, was a minimal audience time slot, and that station management did not know for sure the NBA Finals would not be taken to a Game 7. I know those things, and they are true.
However, there is more involved here. Sports radio stations seem to place top priority on letting the listeners react to a breaking sports story. Sometimes to the point of too much priority over the players, coaches, and executives making the news. In Dallas and Miami (and you could even include Cleveland in the mix with LeBron James not winning the championship), this was a major moment in the sports history of that city. But local fans had no local radio station to call and celebrate or vent. Every one of them that tuned in to their favorite local sports station and heard national and in a couple of cases unrelated programming will remember that. They weren't going to 'hold that thought' until the next morning or afternoon and call in after the fact.
These stations should have been ready for this. Have a regular host in the studio or able to get there within minutes of the game ending to go on the air and have a special edition of NBA Finals discussion. They should have been on spurring fan reaction either way for at least an hour. And then spent much of the following day letting listeners know that they were letting listeners react right away with that 'special edition'.
Why? Credibility is the #1 reason. Having the midday guy saying "Did you hear that one guy blaming Dwayne Wade 20 minutes after the game was over?" and talking about the station doing a post-game call-in show tells the audience that they can depend on their favorite sports station for immediate reaction of a major story - no matter when it happens. And this story could have and should have been anticipated.
Years ago, I had the opportunity to cover a championship team's return home and literally went on the air live from the airport with updates at 3:30 in the morning. By the time I returned to the studios with interviews and to record a wrap-up, the morning man was already in. So we recorded a special wrap up for him to air during the morning, letting people know the station provided live coverage overnight, and letting me get to sleep. Even though it was not a large audience at 3:30 in the morning, being able to let the audience know we did it reminded listeners to tune in when something big happens.
Several times during the next day, mentions were made of how "our live coverage" continued up until nearly 4 AM "for those who stayed up to celebrate". These days, too many radio stations forget that sports fans have numerous choices to react and/or to get news and scores, including their phones, online, and multiple sports TV channels.
And this was not an all sports station I was working for. To think that stations dedicated to sports in these major cities ignored this opportunity is disappointing to say the least.
Meanwhile, congrats to NBA broadcaster Jim Durham on finally being selected for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Prior to calling national games for ESPN Radio along with an occasional TV assignment, Durham called Mavericks games from 1993 to 2001. He established himself as one of the best during his 18 seasons as radio voice of the Chicago Bulls, leaving after Michael Jordan's first championship season of 1990-91. Durham will be inducted on August 12th.
CBS Sports has signed former University of Michigan football head coach Rich Rodriguez to do both studio work and analysis on its college telecasts. He will work with play-by-play voice Dave Ryan during game telecasts.
The latest monthly radio ratings for May are coming out, with most of the Top 10 markets having been announced as of press time on Tuesday. In New York, WCBS-AM dropped .7 overall, but is 6th overall in the market with its Yankees broadcasts. WFAN finished only 17th overall with WEPN at #25, although both stations held steady compared with the prior month. In Chicago, WSCR The Score dropped since April and fell back into a tie with rival WMVP ESPN Radio, which held steady for the 3rd straight month. In Los Angeles, KSPN and KLAC both held steady, although their overall combined ratings still would not make the top 20 in the market.
In San Francisco, KNBR finishes at 6th overall this time. Even with a slight drop in total audience, they leave the other sports stations in the dust. In Philadelphia, WIP lost .5 overall from the month before, while WPEN held steady for the third month in a row. News station KYW is 2nd overall and continues with regular sports score and information updates.
Dallas and Houston continue to show different levels of interest in sports radio. KTCK The Ticket and KESN ESPN now rank only 17th and 18th overall, but both stations showed a .4 overall audience increase. KRLD-FM trails, but showed a .2 increase. Thus, the 3 sports stations combined for a one full point ratings increase. In Houston< KILT, KMBE, and KFNC each showed .1 increases overall. However, even combined they would barely dent the top 20 in the entire market. What makes the Houston numbers significant is that Houston is the largest market without a news station ranked in the top 12 overall.
Baseball fans around the country are practically needing to be reminded that there are other races in progress besides the Yankees and Red Sox. On Monday (6/13) and on Weds. (6/15) ESPN had or will have the Yankees on its Monday Night and Weds. Night Baseball telecasts. On Tuesday (6/14) and scheduled for Thursday (6/16), MLB Network did and will carry the Red Sox vs. Tampa. On Friday (6/17), MLB Network carries the Yankees at Chicago Cubs game in the afternoon, while the same matchup is a Fox regional game for Saturday. The series concludes on Sunday (6/19) on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. This left TBS with only one choice (or so it seems) for Sunday afternoon, as it will show the Brewers at Red Sox. Next Monday's ESPN Monday Night game? You guessed it. Yankees at Cincinnati. The TBS game for Sunday June 26th is scheduled to be Colorado at the Yankees.
St. LOUIS: WXOS ESPN 101.1 has hired Kent Sterling as its Program DIrector. Sterling had earlier programmed KFNI The Fan Indianapolis, and replaces Jason Barrett who joined recent San Francisco new sports talker KBWF 95.7.
TAMPA: Gene Deckerhoff will continue his busy weekends for a while. The long time football play-by-play voice signed a 2-season extension to call the Buccaneers games, as he has done since 1989. The 12 time FL Sportscaster of the Year also continues to call Florida State Seminoles football on Saturdays.
LUFKIN TX: The Lufkin High School Panthers will have a different radio station for their football and basketball broadcasts starting this fall. KYKS Kicks 105 will air the football games while KTBQ 107 will air the basketball, with Gary Ivins getting the play-by-play role. Why is this big news? Because those games will no longer air on KRBA 1340, on which they have aired since 1938 when the family owned station first signed on the air.
LINCOLN: KNTK The Ticket 93.7 is set to debut within the next few weeks as the new sports station. The station has now hired Adrian Fiala, previously an analyst on the Nebraska Husker Sports Network, and former KLKN-TV sportscaster John Gaskins, will be among the local show hosts. The station will also carry Fox Sports programming.
LAKE CHARLES LA: KEZM-AM from the nearby town of Sulphur may not survive this year. The sports station's ownership has until the end of the year to find a new transmitter site location, but reportedly lacks the finances to do so.
Finally, this blog takes a look at "top sports media scandals" of recent years:
http://www.toponlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/10-sports-media-scandals-that-shook-the-industry/
Interesting to ponder, while we realize that the NHL season outlasted the NBA season, even though the Stanley Cup playoffs started a week sooner.
A check of Miami sports stations within an hour of the championship having been lost by the Heat revealed that none of them had a local show on the air. No immediate opportunity for Heat fans to express their frustration, disappointment, and/or aggravation at what had just happened. Just as incredible is how Dallas' sports radio stations were just as guilty. Nothing local and live.
I'm sure I'll get private responses from friends and others I don't know within the industry who will point out that this was late on Sunday night, was a minimal audience time slot, and that station management did not know for sure the NBA Finals would not be taken to a Game 7. I know those things, and they are true.
However, there is more involved here. Sports radio stations seem to place top priority on letting the listeners react to a breaking sports story. Sometimes to the point of too much priority over the players, coaches, and executives making the news. In Dallas and Miami (and you could even include Cleveland in the mix with LeBron James not winning the championship), this was a major moment in the sports history of that city. But local fans had no local radio station to call and celebrate or vent. Every one of them that tuned in to their favorite local sports station and heard national and in a couple of cases unrelated programming will remember that. They weren't going to 'hold that thought' until the next morning or afternoon and call in after the fact.
These stations should have been ready for this. Have a regular host in the studio or able to get there within minutes of the game ending to go on the air and have a special edition of NBA Finals discussion. They should have been on spurring fan reaction either way for at least an hour. And then spent much of the following day letting listeners know that they were letting listeners react right away with that 'special edition'.
Why? Credibility is the #1 reason. Having the midday guy saying "Did you hear that one guy blaming Dwayne Wade 20 minutes after the game was over?" and talking about the station doing a post-game call-in show tells the audience that they can depend on their favorite sports station for immediate reaction of a major story - no matter when it happens. And this story could have and should have been anticipated.
Years ago, I had the opportunity to cover a championship team's return home and literally went on the air live from the airport with updates at 3:30 in the morning. By the time I returned to the studios with interviews and to record a wrap-up, the morning man was already in. So we recorded a special wrap up for him to air during the morning, letting people know the station provided live coverage overnight, and letting me get to sleep. Even though it was not a large audience at 3:30 in the morning, being able to let the audience know we did it reminded listeners to tune in when something big happens.
Several times during the next day, mentions were made of how "our live coverage" continued up until nearly 4 AM "for those who stayed up to celebrate". These days, too many radio stations forget that sports fans have numerous choices to react and/or to get news and scores, including their phones, online, and multiple sports TV channels.
And this was not an all sports station I was working for. To think that stations dedicated to sports in these major cities ignored this opportunity is disappointing to say the least.
Meanwhile, congrats to NBA broadcaster Jim Durham on finally being selected for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Prior to calling national games for ESPN Radio along with an occasional TV assignment, Durham called Mavericks games from 1993 to 2001. He established himself as one of the best during his 18 seasons as radio voice of the Chicago Bulls, leaving after Michael Jordan's first championship season of 1990-91. Durham will be inducted on August 12th.
CBS Sports has signed former University of Michigan football head coach Rich Rodriguez to do both studio work and analysis on its college telecasts. He will work with play-by-play voice Dave Ryan during game telecasts.
The latest monthly radio ratings for May are coming out, with most of the Top 10 markets having been announced as of press time on Tuesday. In New York, WCBS-AM dropped .7 overall, but is 6th overall in the market with its Yankees broadcasts. WFAN finished only 17th overall with WEPN at #25, although both stations held steady compared with the prior month. In Chicago, WSCR The Score dropped since April and fell back into a tie with rival WMVP ESPN Radio, which held steady for the 3rd straight month. In Los Angeles, KSPN and KLAC both held steady, although their overall combined ratings still would not make the top 20 in the market.
In San Francisco, KNBR finishes at 6th overall this time. Even with a slight drop in total audience, they leave the other sports stations in the dust. In Philadelphia, WIP lost .5 overall from the month before, while WPEN held steady for the third month in a row. News station KYW is 2nd overall and continues with regular sports score and information updates.
Dallas and Houston continue to show different levels of interest in sports radio. KTCK The Ticket and KESN ESPN now rank only 17th and 18th overall, but both stations showed a .4 overall audience increase. KRLD-FM trails, but showed a .2 increase. Thus, the 3 sports stations combined for a one full point ratings increase. In Houston< KILT, KMBE, and KFNC each showed .1 increases overall. However, even combined they would barely dent the top 20 in the entire market. What makes the Houston numbers significant is that Houston is the largest market without a news station ranked in the top 12 overall.
Baseball fans around the country are practically needing to be reminded that there are other races in progress besides the Yankees and Red Sox. On Monday (6/13) and on Weds. (6/15) ESPN had or will have the Yankees on its Monday Night and Weds. Night Baseball telecasts. On Tuesday (6/14) and scheduled for Thursday (6/16), MLB Network did and will carry the Red Sox vs. Tampa. On Friday (6/17), MLB Network carries the Yankees at Chicago Cubs game in the afternoon, while the same matchup is a Fox regional game for Saturday. The series concludes on Sunday (6/19) on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. This left TBS with only one choice (or so it seems) for Sunday afternoon, as it will show the Brewers at Red Sox. Next Monday's ESPN Monday Night game? You guessed it. Yankees at Cincinnati. The TBS game for Sunday June 26th is scheduled to be Colorado at the Yankees.
St. LOUIS: WXOS ESPN 101.1 has hired Kent Sterling as its Program DIrector. Sterling had earlier programmed KFNI The Fan Indianapolis, and replaces Jason Barrett who joined recent San Francisco new sports talker KBWF 95.7.
TAMPA: Gene Deckerhoff will continue his busy weekends for a while. The long time football play-by-play voice signed a 2-season extension to call the Buccaneers games, as he has done since 1989. The 12 time FL Sportscaster of the Year also continues to call Florida State Seminoles football on Saturdays.
LUFKIN TX: The Lufkin High School Panthers will have a different radio station for their football and basketball broadcasts starting this fall. KYKS Kicks 105 will air the football games while KTBQ 107 will air the basketball, with Gary Ivins getting the play-by-play role. Why is this big news? Because those games will no longer air on KRBA 1340, on which they have aired since 1938 when the family owned station first signed on the air.
LINCOLN: KNTK The Ticket 93.7 is set to debut within the next few weeks as the new sports station. The station has now hired Adrian Fiala, previously an analyst on the Nebraska Husker Sports Network, and former KLKN-TV sportscaster John Gaskins, will be among the local show hosts. The station will also carry Fox Sports programming.
LAKE CHARLES LA: KEZM-AM from the nearby town of Sulphur may not survive this year. The sports station's ownership has until the end of the year to find a new transmitter site location, but reportedly lacks the finances to do so.
Finally, this blog takes a look at "top sports media scandals" of recent years:
http://www.toponlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/10-sports-media-scandals-that-shook-the-industry/
Interesting to ponder, while we realize that the NHL season outlasted the NBA season, even though the Stanley Cup playoffs started a week sooner.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Broadcast Booth - September 1 update
Always a catch, and not of the on-the-field variety. MLB Advanced Media has announced a partnership with YouTube to provide free streaming of MLB games within 36 hours of completion along with on-demand feeds of what it terms "every game" from the current season, along with 2009. But before you say "It's about time!", there is that 'catch'.
It looks like you have to be in Japan to have this feature. While fans here in the U.S. still have to pay for it. Isn't it time we ask why?
Shouldn't it be the other way around? To me, fans in Japan should incur a small charge for this service since they have little to no way of viewing MLB games throughout the season. And it should be FREE here in the U.S.
This wouldn't bother me if it weren't for the fact that I, along with millions of other baseball fans, are paying for cable/satellite each month at inflated costs partially because of the sports networks which use our money to pay MLB for the rights to carry the games. Yet, we are subject to blackouts. If only we were refunded for days on which a network we "subscribe" to is blacked out for 3 or more hours.
Now, fans in Japan, thousands of miles away, will be able to watch these games for free?
While techies begin searching for the site that will allow this, here is the actual story:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=134682&nid=118143
Of course, baseball is not the only sport where fans are subjected to having little to no choice about receiving telecasts.
Still another example in the Denver area and parts of Colorado for this coming Saturday (9/4). The Colorado vs. Colorado State football game kicks off the season in a highly anticipated matchup. And guess what? Local fans of either team have to have DirecTV OR an expanded digital (more expensive) package from Comcast Cable in order to see this game. It will not be shown on a "basic" cable service or over-the-air. Fans around the state don't care about ESPN/ABC covering a ton of other games. For all they collectively contribute each month to cable and (other) satellite provders, they have no choice in the matter.
The technicality here is that Colorado State is considered the home team for the Denver game, thus giving the rights to The MTN.
Thus, for what is estimated to be half of the local TV market, they either have to pony up in a hurry for one telecast or won't be able to watch the game at home.
For those paying the piper, James Bates and Todd Christenson will have the call.
Otherwise, it will be like the old days when you relied on radio to listen to the game. Both KOA 850 and KLZ 560 will have the broadcast. Mark Johnson and Larry Zimmer will have the Colorado call on KOA while Brian Roth makes his State play-by-play debut (replacing Jerry Schemmel who joined the Rockies' baseball booth for this season) with Kevin McGlue on KLZ. At least the radio stations aren't limiting the broadcasts to HD Radio stations and forcing listeners to purchase HD radios in order to hear the game. Sound far fetched? That's what the cable and satellite companies are doing to us.
MIAMI:
As the sports radio competition heats up with the new Dolphins season and a new flagship station, WQAM took the steps to protect its morning drive. Big Dog Joe Rose has reportedly signed a 2-year extension to continue on its morning show.
SAN FRANCISCO: The Bay Area's radio "Big Dog" Gary Radnich of KNBR 680 was very well replaced while on vacation last week. F.P. Santangelo (yes, the former pitcher) filled in for Radnich on the 9 AM to Noon show and handled the shift extremely well. It turned out to be great timing since this was also the week that the Giants' pitching collapsed.
DALLAS: As The Ticket 1310 gets ready for NHL season and its Stars coverage, the station has assigned Matt McClearin to host the pre-game and post-game coverage along with intermissions for the coming season. McClearin will continue to co-host "The Scrubs" from Noon to 2 PM each Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA: Comcast SportsNet has added Lisa Hillary to add to its extensive Flyers coverage for the coming season with John Boruk moving over to the anchor desk. Hillary has plenty of NHL coverage experience, having served with Comcast SportsNet in D.C. on Capitals coverage and on Canada's TSN in the past.
MINNEAPOLIS: Kudos to the NHL's Wild. They are actually making it easy for fans this season. Fans with basic cable or satellite should be able to see all 82 regular season games. Fox Sports North has 50 telecasts scheudled, KSTC-TV has 24 games, and the other 8 are scheduled for national telecasts on Versus.
BALTIMORE: Comcast SportsNet has named Julie Donaldson as an anchor and reporter for its SportsNite shows following a 3-month freelance tryout. Donaldson has anchor experience with SNY New York as well as WHDH-TV Boston. The network has named Jill Sorenson as the beat reporter for the Capitals.
CINCINNATI: Fox Sports Ohio has added the Sept. 16th home game against Arizona to its schedule after losing the Sept. 25th telecast vs. San Diego to Fox Sports as either a regional or national telecast. This means that all but one of the Reds games for the remainder of the season will be televised locally. Their big series against the Cardinals this weekend includes Fox Sports showing the Saturday game at 4:10 ET. The only Reds game not scheduled to be televised is the Sept. 9th afternoon game against Colorado.
TAMPA: No word (as of press time) regarding a new afternoon drive host for ESPN 1040 to start next Tuesday (9/7). The station is running ESPN national programming this week after Marc Benarzyk left the station in a reported "mutual decision".
LOS ANGELES: Congrats to Lawrence Tanter, the long time Public Address voice of the Lakers on being named Program Director of public station K-Jazz KKJZ 88.1. Tanter had been doing weekends at KTWV The Wave.
SCRANTON: Plenty of high school football, including The Game 1340 beginning its play-by-play of 18 games this season including every Friday night. WQMY-TV 53 is also televising a series of games. Yet, the local coverage doesn't stop there. Four of the area schools will have audio of their games online, while the NorthEastPAFootball.com site will carry some of the games along with live scoreboard updates on Friday nights.
SCHEDULE: While college football fans prepare for the season opening feast of televised games, MLB Network again steps up to the plate to provide some key playoff race telecasts this week:
Thursday, Sept. 2 (7 p.m.) N.Y. Mets at Atlanta
Friday, Sept. 3 (8 p.m.) Cincinnati at St. Louis
Saturday, Sept. 4 (7 p.m.) Chicago White Sox at Boston
Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend!
It looks like you have to be in Japan to have this feature. While fans here in the U.S. still have to pay for it. Isn't it time we ask why?
Shouldn't it be the other way around? To me, fans in Japan should incur a small charge for this service since they have little to no way of viewing MLB games throughout the season. And it should be FREE here in the U.S.
This wouldn't bother me if it weren't for the fact that I, along with millions of other baseball fans, are paying for cable/satellite each month at inflated costs partially because of the sports networks which use our money to pay MLB for the rights to carry the games. Yet, we are subject to blackouts. If only we were refunded for days on which a network we "subscribe" to is blacked out for 3 or more hours.
Now, fans in Japan, thousands of miles away, will be able to watch these games for free?
While techies begin searching for the site that will allow this, here is the actual story:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=134682&nid=118143
Of course, baseball is not the only sport where fans are subjected to having little to no choice about receiving telecasts.
Still another example in the Denver area and parts of Colorado for this coming Saturday (9/4). The Colorado vs. Colorado State football game kicks off the season in a highly anticipated matchup. And guess what? Local fans of either team have to have DirecTV OR an expanded digital (more expensive) package from Comcast Cable in order to see this game. It will not be shown on a "basic" cable service or over-the-air. Fans around the state don't care about ESPN/ABC covering a ton of other games. For all they collectively contribute each month to cable and (other) satellite provders, they have no choice in the matter.
The technicality here is that Colorado State is considered the home team for the Denver game, thus giving the rights to The MTN.
Thus, for what is estimated to be half of the local TV market, they either have to pony up in a hurry for one telecast or won't be able to watch the game at home.
For those paying the piper, James Bates and Todd Christenson will have the call.
Otherwise, it will be like the old days when you relied on radio to listen to the game. Both KOA 850 and KLZ 560 will have the broadcast. Mark Johnson and Larry Zimmer will have the Colorado call on KOA while Brian Roth makes his State play-by-play debut (replacing Jerry Schemmel who joined the Rockies' baseball booth for this season) with Kevin McGlue on KLZ. At least the radio stations aren't limiting the broadcasts to HD Radio stations and forcing listeners to purchase HD radios in order to hear the game. Sound far fetched? That's what the cable and satellite companies are doing to us.
MIAMI:
As the sports radio competition heats up with the new Dolphins season and a new flagship station, WQAM took the steps to protect its morning drive. Big Dog Joe Rose has reportedly signed a 2-year extension to continue on its morning show.
SAN FRANCISCO: The Bay Area's radio "Big Dog" Gary Radnich of KNBR 680 was very well replaced while on vacation last week. F.P. Santangelo (yes, the former pitcher) filled in for Radnich on the 9 AM to Noon show and handled the shift extremely well. It turned out to be great timing since this was also the week that the Giants' pitching collapsed.
DALLAS: As The Ticket 1310 gets ready for NHL season and its Stars coverage, the station has assigned Matt McClearin to host the pre-game and post-game coverage along with intermissions for the coming season. McClearin will continue to co-host "The Scrubs" from Noon to 2 PM each Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA: Comcast SportsNet has added Lisa Hillary to add to its extensive Flyers coverage for the coming season with John Boruk moving over to the anchor desk. Hillary has plenty of NHL coverage experience, having served with Comcast SportsNet in D.C. on Capitals coverage and on Canada's TSN in the past.
MINNEAPOLIS: Kudos to the NHL's Wild. They are actually making it easy for fans this season. Fans with basic cable or satellite should be able to see all 82 regular season games. Fox Sports North has 50 telecasts scheudled, KSTC-TV has 24 games, and the other 8 are scheduled for national telecasts on Versus.
BALTIMORE: Comcast SportsNet has named Julie Donaldson as an anchor and reporter for its SportsNite shows following a 3-month freelance tryout. Donaldson has anchor experience with SNY New York as well as WHDH-TV Boston. The network has named Jill Sorenson as the beat reporter for the Capitals.
CINCINNATI: Fox Sports Ohio has added the Sept. 16th home game against Arizona to its schedule after losing the Sept. 25th telecast vs. San Diego to Fox Sports as either a regional or national telecast. This means that all but one of the Reds games for the remainder of the season will be televised locally. Their big series against the Cardinals this weekend includes Fox Sports showing the Saturday game at 4:10 ET. The only Reds game not scheduled to be televised is the Sept. 9th afternoon game against Colorado.
TAMPA: No word (as of press time) regarding a new afternoon drive host for ESPN 1040 to start next Tuesday (9/7). The station is running ESPN national programming this week after Marc Benarzyk left the station in a reported "mutual decision".
LOS ANGELES: Congrats to Lawrence Tanter, the long time Public Address voice of the Lakers on being named Program Director of public station K-Jazz KKJZ 88.1. Tanter had been doing weekends at KTWV The Wave.
SCRANTON: Plenty of high school football, including The Game 1340 beginning its play-by-play of 18 games this season including every Friday night. WQMY-TV 53 is also televising a series of games. Yet, the local coverage doesn't stop there. Four of the area schools will have audio of their games online, while the NorthEastPAFootball.com site will carry some of the games along with live scoreboard updates on Friday nights.
SCHEDULE: While college football fans prepare for the season opening feast of televised games, MLB Network again steps up to the plate to provide some key playoff race telecasts this week:
Thursday, Sept. 2 (7 p.m.) N.Y. Mets at Atlanta
Friday, Sept. 3 (8 p.m.) Cincinnati at St. Louis
Saturday, Sept. 4 (7 p.m.) Chicago White Sox at Boston
Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Sports Media Report - January 4th update
Unfortunately, the loss of a unique journalist and broadcaster starts out the new year and decade, even if his age is 87. Sorry to learn of the death of Bill Gleason this past weekend, the long long time Chicago columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and Southtown Economist. Yet, many around country knew of him for helping to pioneer the concept of regularly scheduled sports writers appearing on electronic media.
Back in 1975, WGN Radio Chicago decided to experiment with some Sunday afternoon time following Cubs or Bears broadcasts, and gave an hour to a group of local sports writers to discuss the sports news of the week with strong opinion. The "experiment" soon went permanent and expanded. In the late 1980's, "The Sports Writers on TV" was formed by then SportsChannel Chicago, and was also shown in other "SportsChannel" cities including Los Angeles. Anyone who saw or heard this show knows how programs such as "The Sports Reporters" on ESPN got started and evolved into others such as PTI. Those shows will continue to serve as reminders of what Bill Gleason helped to start.
When I was covering games in the Chicago area for radio in the mid to late 70's, I always enjoyed my talks with Bill Gleason. He was one of the rare breed that always wanted to hear ideas and opinions of others, regardless of their age. I miss him already.
It's hard to believe how much sports media space leading into the new year and decade was taken up by the anxious moments while cable and satellite providers negotiated with TV networks about carrying of programming. Some of the negotiations had a "happy" ending, while others didn't. But it has gotten out of hand.
Some cities nearly lost all of the Fox-TV channels, both cable and over-the-air. Others still don't get NFL Network after literally years of "negotiations". Around the country, the cable and satellite operators blame the networks, and vise versa. You know what? It's time to blame them all.
Suppose you just signed up for new cell phone service, but then the carrier tells you that with this plan you can only call certain area codes but not others. You would, of course, be outraged. For years you have been able to call into any and every area code you want.
Suppose you just signed up for internet broadband service for a monthly fee. And then found out that you could not log on to certain social networks because the only broadband provider in your building doesn't access them. That wouldn't fly, would it?
Yet, cable and satellite TV providers are in effect doing this to us. Why are they getting away with it? Who are they to tell us which channels and networks we can and can't watch?
Every one of us, whether cable or satellite should incur a minimal monthly charge for the service the company we select is providing, as well as to receive all of the local over-the-air channels serving our area. Beyond that, it should be the choice of the customer.
We all have seen how much cable/satellite monthly fees have skyrocketed over the past five years. For what? The cable/satellite company we hire still provides the same services and benefits.
Any and all additional channels and networks should be available to us for an optional additional fee. No matter where we live (in the U.S.) we should be able to get the NFL Network, Versus, Big Ten Network, and others, if we want it and if we want to pay the price for it. Period.
Most sports fans are not able to receive every sports channel they want, and it isn't about price. Choices are limited. But it is just as unfair that people who are not sports fans are also paying several dollars each month for sports channels they don't even watch.
I don't have any small children in my household. Yet, I'm paying each month for kids' channels. I am forced to pay for channels in languages I do not speak or understand, and channels dedicated to religions I do not participate in. Along with others that for whatever reason I never watch. All this while I can't get certain sports channels I would pay a couple bucks more a month to get.
Where is our government to protect us from this? I'm sure many of you remember the period in the early 80's when local politicians were setting regulations for cable companies to install and build their local systems, subject to government approval. And when regulations about back yard satellite dishes were put in place. If there was or is some government control, then where did it go?
Currently, I am looking into starting a web site and pursuing avenues to alert local politicians that TV viewers everywhere deserve to make their own choices. I would rather do that than read article after article from around the country about networks blaming cable companies and how sports fans are often deprived of watching sports events that are important to them.
Of course, this is not only an attack on the networks and the cable/satellite providers. Going to an a la carte channel selection across the country would level the playing field for all concerned. Any of the channels and networks that charge too much will feel it in the wallet, too.
Overall, it now costs way too much to be a sports fan. Not only is going to games getting priced out, but the cost to simply watch games on TV is getting out of hand. Now it's time for us as fans to negotiate.
Meanwhile, NBA-TV continues to step up its game coverage. While ESPN and TNT offer a reduced load of national games surrounding the New Year holiday, the Network is offering games every possible night. On Tuesday night (Jan. 5), NBA-TV is presenting a live doubleheader picking up local telecasts. The Network has added the Orlando at Indiana game at 7 PM ET and studio analysis as a lead in to its Fan Night voted selection of Houston at the L.A. Lakers at 10:30 PM ET.
What makes this wonderfully unique from the ESPN and TNT doubleheaders is that NBA-TV will devote at least 7 hours of live coverage for the night. In addition to a full pre-game show before the first telecast and post-game wrapup after the second, there could be nearly one hour between games with studio analysis.
NBC-TV finishes the regular season with 15 "wins" in the Sunday night ratings for its 16 weeks of telecasts. No surprise that the Jets game vs. Cincinnati scored well in the ratings at the start, but for the numbers to hold up in spite of the game being a blowout speaks well for the NBC team.
For the upcoming weekend, NBC has slated Tom Hammond, Joe Gibbs, and Joe Theismann to call the Jets rematch at Cincinnati for Saturday's first game. Then at 8 PM ET, the A team of Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth will call the Dallas vs. Philadelphia rematch.
Then, on Sunday, CBS will have the Ravens–Pats game at 1 PM ET with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, while FOX will have the next game at 4:30 ET with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman calling the Green Bay vs. Arizona rematch.
As one who does not like having this Wild Card weekend anyway, the thought of 3 of the games being a one-week-later rematch takes away even more, but the show must go on.
The MLB Network continues to improve seemingly every week. This Wednesday (Jan. 6th) features the debut of Peter Gammons, who begins with the Network's telecast of the Hall of Fame announcement.
ESPN is producing the Big East (Conference) Network Game of the Week in regional syndication this season, and has lined up a group of TV stations that will cover 41% of the U.S. The list of cities covered includes the usual suspects such as NYC, Chicago, Philly, Boston, D.C., Hartford, and Pittsburgh among others. What makes this year's group of stations so interesting is that markets including Tampa, Orlando, and Los Angeles are also included, with L.A. being among the first-timers. Pretty soon it might be called the "Big Deal" game of the week.
MIAMI: The WFTL group of AM stations which feature regional and national sports programming primarily north of Miami have just hired a well known Miami area sports personality for afternoon drive starting next week.
Ed Kaplan will handle the 4 to 7 PM spot on 640 AM and 2 other stations which also carry the same feed. Since being let go by WQAM in 2007, Kaplan had been retired until this past October when WFTL brought him in to host Yankees related programming surrounding the recent World Series broadcasts.
Kaplan is a pioneer of sorts in the market. He was the first to host a sports show on WQAM when it was still a mostly music station in 1986, and helped to transition 560 into a full-time sports station. For those not old enough to remember Sonny Hirsch on WKAT in the late 1960's, Kaplan introduced a lot of sports fans to this format.
CINCINNATI: Quick recoveries sometimes happen on the field, but it is great to see this one in broadcasting. Ken Broo was on the air on Sunday (Jan. 3) from Noon to 3 PM on "SportsTalk" on WLW. Quite an accomplishment, considering that Broo, also Sports Director of Channel 5 TV, had emergency heart surgery on December 24th after one artery was discovered as being completely blocked. Now that's a Happy New Year!
Back in 1975, WGN Radio Chicago decided to experiment with some Sunday afternoon time following Cubs or Bears broadcasts, and gave an hour to a group of local sports writers to discuss the sports news of the week with strong opinion. The "experiment" soon went permanent and expanded. In the late 1980's, "The Sports Writers on TV" was formed by then SportsChannel Chicago, and was also shown in other "SportsChannel" cities including Los Angeles. Anyone who saw or heard this show knows how programs such as "The Sports Reporters" on ESPN got started and evolved into others such as PTI. Those shows will continue to serve as reminders of what Bill Gleason helped to start.
When I was covering games in the Chicago area for radio in the mid to late 70's, I always enjoyed my talks with Bill Gleason. He was one of the rare breed that always wanted to hear ideas and opinions of others, regardless of their age. I miss him already.
It's hard to believe how much sports media space leading into the new year and decade was taken up by the anxious moments while cable and satellite providers negotiated with TV networks about carrying of programming. Some of the negotiations had a "happy" ending, while others didn't. But it has gotten out of hand.
Some cities nearly lost all of the Fox-TV channels, both cable and over-the-air. Others still don't get NFL Network after literally years of "negotiations". Around the country, the cable and satellite operators blame the networks, and vise versa. You know what? It's time to blame them all.
Suppose you just signed up for new cell phone service, but then the carrier tells you that with this plan you can only call certain area codes but not others. You would, of course, be outraged. For years you have been able to call into any and every area code you want.
Suppose you just signed up for internet broadband service for a monthly fee. And then found out that you could not log on to certain social networks because the only broadband provider in your building doesn't access them. That wouldn't fly, would it?
Yet, cable and satellite TV providers are in effect doing this to us. Why are they getting away with it? Who are they to tell us which channels and networks we can and can't watch?
Every one of us, whether cable or satellite should incur a minimal monthly charge for the service the company we select is providing, as well as to receive all of the local over-the-air channels serving our area. Beyond that, it should be the choice of the customer.
We all have seen how much cable/satellite monthly fees have skyrocketed over the past five years. For what? The cable/satellite company we hire still provides the same services and benefits.
Any and all additional channels and networks should be available to us for an optional additional fee. No matter where we live (in the U.S.) we should be able to get the NFL Network, Versus, Big Ten Network, and others, if we want it and if we want to pay the price for it. Period.
Most sports fans are not able to receive every sports channel they want, and it isn't about price. Choices are limited. But it is just as unfair that people who are not sports fans are also paying several dollars each month for sports channels they don't even watch.
I don't have any small children in my household. Yet, I'm paying each month for kids' channels. I am forced to pay for channels in languages I do not speak or understand, and channels dedicated to religions I do not participate in. Along with others that for whatever reason I never watch. All this while I can't get certain sports channels I would pay a couple bucks more a month to get.
Where is our government to protect us from this? I'm sure many of you remember the period in the early 80's when local politicians were setting regulations for cable companies to install and build their local systems, subject to government approval. And when regulations about back yard satellite dishes were put in place. If there was or is some government control, then where did it go?
Currently, I am looking into starting a web site and pursuing avenues to alert local politicians that TV viewers everywhere deserve to make their own choices. I would rather do that than read article after article from around the country about networks blaming cable companies and how sports fans are often deprived of watching sports events that are important to them.
Of course, this is not only an attack on the networks and the cable/satellite providers. Going to an a la carte channel selection across the country would level the playing field for all concerned. Any of the channels and networks that charge too much will feel it in the wallet, too.
Overall, it now costs way too much to be a sports fan. Not only is going to games getting priced out, but the cost to simply watch games on TV is getting out of hand. Now it's time for us as fans to negotiate.
Meanwhile, NBA-TV continues to step up its game coverage. While ESPN and TNT offer a reduced load of national games surrounding the New Year holiday, the Network is offering games every possible night. On Tuesday night (Jan. 5), NBA-TV is presenting a live doubleheader picking up local telecasts. The Network has added the Orlando at Indiana game at 7 PM ET and studio analysis as a lead in to its Fan Night voted selection of Houston at the L.A. Lakers at 10:30 PM ET.
What makes this wonderfully unique from the ESPN and TNT doubleheaders is that NBA-TV will devote at least 7 hours of live coverage for the night. In addition to a full pre-game show before the first telecast and post-game wrapup after the second, there could be nearly one hour between games with studio analysis.
NBC-TV finishes the regular season with 15 "wins" in the Sunday night ratings for its 16 weeks of telecasts. No surprise that the Jets game vs. Cincinnati scored well in the ratings at the start, but for the numbers to hold up in spite of the game being a blowout speaks well for the NBC team.
For the upcoming weekend, NBC has slated Tom Hammond, Joe Gibbs, and Joe Theismann to call the Jets rematch at Cincinnati for Saturday's first game. Then at 8 PM ET, the A team of Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth will call the Dallas vs. Philadelphia rematch.
Then, on Sunday, CBS will have the Ravens–Pats game at 1 PM ET with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, while FOX will have the next game at 4:30 ET with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman calling the Green Bay vs. Arizona rematch.
As one who does not like having this Wild Card weekend anyway, the thought of 3 of the games being a one-week-later rematch takes away even more, but the show must go on.
The MLB Network continues to improve seemingly every week. This Wednesday (Jan. 6th) features the debut of Peter Gammons, who begins with the Network's telecast of the Hall of Fame announcement.
ESPN is producing the Big East (Conference) Network Game of the Week in regional syndication this season, and has lined up a group of TV stations that will cover 41% of the U.S. The list of cities covered includes the usual suspects such as NYC, Chicago, Philly, Boston, D.C., Hartford, and Pittsburgh among others. What makes this year's group of stations so interesting is that markets including Tampa, Orlando, and Los Angeles are also included, with L.A. being among the first-timers. Pretty soon it might be called the "Big Deal" game of the week.
MIAMI: The WFTL group of AM stations which feature regional and national sports programming primarily north of Miami have just hired a well known Miami area sports personality for afternoon drive starting next week.
Ed Kaplan will handle the 4 to 7 PM spot on 640 AM and 2 other stations which also carry the same feed. Since being let go by WQAM in 2007, Kaplan had been retired until this past October when WFTL brought him in to host Yankees related programming surrounding the recent World Series broadcasts.
Kaplan is a pioneer of sorts in the market. He was the first to host a sports show on WQAM when it was still a mostly music station in 1986, and helped to transition 560 into a full-time sports station. For those not old enough to remember Sonny Hirsch on WKAT in the late 1960's, Kaplan introduced a lot of sports fans to this format.
CINCINNATI: Quick recoveries sometimes happen on the field, but it is great to see this one in broadcasting. Ken Broo was on the air on Sunday (Jan. 3) from Noon to 3 PM on "SportsTalk" on WLW. Quite an accomplishment, considering that Broo, also Sports Director of Channel 5 TV, had emergency heart surgery on December 24th after one artery was discovered as being completely blocked. Now that's a Happy New Year!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Sports Media Report - July 21st update
The sports world may yet feel some impact from the challenging economy as soon as later this year. Here we are just a couple of weeks from the opening of NFL training camps, and word is that the TV networks carrying NFL games are only about one-third sold out regarding commercial time for the upcoming season.
These are the same networks that usually base their costs according to prime time prices. However, the economy has already had an impact on prime time TV inventory sales, thus reducing the opportunity for higher or even consistent ad rates compared with last year.
In addition, primary sponsors such as auto makers and financial institutions are struggling or have gone away since last season, leaving fewer ad dollars to be divided among the networks.
MediaWeek.com reports that about 1/3 of network ad time has been sold for the upcoming season, a definite reflection of the concern. TV ad sales were already significantly reduced for NASCAR, even if that is due more to the problems in the auto industry.
The next NFL TV rights negotiations could be a better battle than anything on the field. The networks are not going to continue to pay hundreds of millions if they can't sell enough inventory. As it stands now, fans complain when a few of the Thursday night games can't be seen without paying extra for the NFL Network. If the networks do not wish to pony up for the league packages and the NFL games go local (such as with baseball, basketball, and hockey), it would mean way fewer out of market games shown each weekend.
It is not like the NFL can get away with raising their ticket prices even more. Many are already priced out from going and TV is their only source. If and when the NFL rights are reduced, this figures to carry over to baseball and basketball negotiations.
On the other hand, MultiChannel.com reports that ad revenue is doing well for soccer and the 2010 World Cup. It says that Univision has already sold nearly 2/3 of its inventory, even though the Cup doesn't get underway until long after the coming NFL season has been concluded.
NEW YORK: WFAN 66 continues as the nation's most popular sports station, actually increasing its audience to the point of finishing first in men 25-54 during both morning and afternoon drive in the most recent ratings.
This indicates the continued success of Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton in the morning. The Fan showed more than 4 times the audience of WEPN 1050 in this demographic. WEPN has finally been able to incrase power to 50,000 watts and improve its signal coverage around the NYC region.
HOUSTON: KILT continues as the leader among Houston's sports station, including finishing first among the sports talkers during every daypart except mornings. Although KGOW won the sports battle in the morning, the latest audience measurement showed an overall drop of more than 1 1/2 points among all of the sports stations during morning drive. The summer ratings could get interesting, since the Astros have gotten within striking distance in the N. L. Central and the Texans season will be starting shortly.
KILT will continue to broadcast the Texans games, with Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware returning as the broadcast team. KFNC 97.5 will be airing the Compass Media NFL broadcasts including 3 Dallas Cowboys games in the Houston market. Those are Dallas vs. K. C. on Oct. 11, vs. Atlanta on Oct. 25, and vs. Washington on Nov. 22. On the TV side, KIAH-TV 39 has secured the over-the-air rights to the Texans game scheduled for Monday Night Footballon Nov. 23rd against Tennessee. They will also air the Aug. 31 pre-season game against Minnesota (also shown on ESPN).
LOS ANGELES: San Diego Chargers games will air again this season in Los Angeles, as KLAC 570 picks up the Chargers Network with Josh Lewin and Hank Bauer.
SALT LAKE CITY: The Utah Jazz will begin their run on KFNZ 1320 this season and have named David Locke as the new play-by-play voice. Usually, changing radio stations is the significant part of such an announcement. Not this time. Locke becomes only the 2nd voice of the Jazz in (Utah) franchise history due to the recent and very quiet retirement of Hot Rod Hundley after 35 seasons.
Hundley developed a national following when he was on CBS-TV when that network had the NBA coverage in the 70's and into the early 80's. Locke handled the Seattle Supersonics play-by-play for the 2006-07 season and has also done TV play-by-play of University of Washington football and basketball.
BALTIMORE: Hard as it may be to believe, the (now) 4 sports talkers in Baltimore will have to work hard to have the best Ravens coverage. WBAL Radio continues with play-by-play and extended pre and post-game programming again this season. But they don't stop there. The station has cleared the 6 to 10 PM spot throughout the week for a block of Ravens related programming. This will include coaches shows, call-ins, and all things Ravens all week.
The Ravens game broadcasts will be simulcast on Rock 98 FM. The FM side plans a separate and "lighter" pre and post-game show even though the game broadcast is simulcast. The FM side will be more of a "tailgate party" style show.
Jerry Sandusky and Stan White continue to call the games. In addition, the Ravens' broadcast team will also be utilized on 3 of their 4 pre-season games shown locally on WBAL-TV Channel 11.
The Westwood One NFL prime time package will air in Baltimore on WJZ-FM.
St. LOUIS: The crowded sports radio dial gets a slight reduction this week (starting Weds. 7/22) when WFXX-AM drops Dan Patrick and Jim Rome's respective syndicated sports fare during the day in favor of more urban talk. Sports is expected to be among the topics on Craig Black's and Maurice Scott's talk shows during weekday afternoons.
DENVER: It looks like the winter sports teams believe that the increase in signal on 1510 AM KCKK will make a difference. Both the NBA Nuggets and NHL Avalanche have agreed to 2-year contract extensions to remain on the station.
I am suprised that both teams would agree to this, since NBA and NHL teams have many conflicts throughout the season, resulting in one of the teams being placed on another station.
MIAMI: Ever since I lived in Southern California in the mid-80's, I have said that "national sports" has a place on So. California and Florida radio because of all of the "transplant" sports fans. In those places it is common for fans to be attending pro games and rooting for the opposing team because that is what they have always done.
While it is true I often complain about syndicated shows being on instead of local shows, Miami remains one of those markets where there is a definite place for both.
The latest radio ratings show significant progress for WINZ 940, which began its sports format at the start of April. Sure enough, Dan Patrick's and Jim Rome's respective shows already fare better than WQAM 560 and 790 The Ticket.
WQAM has actually already countered this when they bought out Neil Rogers' contract recently (which was not a sports show) in order to finally become "all sports" radio. But no matter what, it shows WINZ had good instinct when it brought over 2 shows it knew would reach the "transplants".
Miami area listeners trend toward the show itself rather than a particular station, and that is rarely the case when compared with most markets.
Overall, WINZ finished well below The Ticket and WQAM, but it has a good start with middays. The Ticket scores well in afternoon drive as Dan LeBetard and Jon Weiner more than doubled the audience of WQAM and Jim Mandich. Yet, in morning drive WQAM with Joe Rose is the clear winner over The Ticket.
GRAND RAPIDS: It might just be radio stations refusing to pay the performance royalties for music or wanting to make less use of a quality stereo signal. For whatever reason, WMAX-FM 96.1 will drop its alternative music format next month and become ESPN 96.1. Its soon-to-be competitor WBBL 107.3 "The Ball" remains all sports, but dropped ESPN last May.
The new station plans to air Mike & Mike in the morning and add a local sports show for the afternoon.
COLUMBIA SC: WCOS The Team 1400 is moving former Gamecock and N Y Giant Corey Miller and J. C. Shurbutt into a new afternoon drive show starting in August. The 2 will join former U. of South Carolina basketball and baseball play-by-play voice Mike Morgan from 3 to 6 PM. Morgan will have the flexibility he needs to continue as the pre-season voice of Carolina Panthers pre-season telecasts.
HUNTSVILLE: Tennnessee Titans NFL broadcasts will air in the Huntsville market, even if it might take some digging to find them. WUMP at 730 AM and 103.9 FM are scheduled to carry the game day coverage, the Tuesday night (coach) Jeff Fisher Show and the daily Titans Report. In the event of conflict with U. of Alabama coverage or Friday night high school football (the latter of which is highly unlikely to cause a conflict), then WVNN at 770 AM and 92.5 FM will carry the Titans coverage.
Mike Keith begins his 11th season as voice of the Titans and continues to work with Frank Wycheck and Larry Stone.
These are the same networks that usually base their costs according to prime time prices. However, the economy has already had an impact on prime time TV inventory sales, thus reducing the opportunity for higher or even consistent ad rates compared with last year.
In addition, primary sponsors such as auto makers and financial institutions are struggling or have gone away since last season, leaving fewer ad dollars to be divided among the networks.
MediaWeek.com reports that about 1/3 of network ad time has been sold for the upcoming season, a definite reflection of the concern. TV ad sales were already significantly reduced for NASCAR, even if that is due more to the problems in the auto industry.
The next NFL TV rights negotiations could be a better battle than anything on the field. The networks are not going to continue to pay hundreds of millions if they can't sell enough inventory. As it stands now, fans complain when a few of the Thursday night games can't be seen without paying extra for the NFL Network. If the networks do not wish to pony up for the league packages and the NFL games go local (such as with baseball, basketball, and hockey), it would mean way fewer out of market games shown each weekend.
It is not like the NFL can get away with raising their ticket prices even more. Many are already priced out from going and TV is their only source. If and when the NFL rights are reduced, this figures to carry over to baseball and basketball negotiations.
On the other hand, MultiChannel.com reports that ad revenue is doing well for soccer and the 2010 World Cup. It says that Univision has already sold nearly 2/3 of its inventory, even though the Cup doesn't get underway until long after the coming NFL season has been concluded.
NEW YORK: WFAN 66 continues as the nation's most popular sports station, actually increasing its audience to the point of finishing first in men 25-54 during both morning and afternoon drive in the most recent ratings.
This indicates the continued success of Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton in the morning. The Fan showed more than 4 times the audience of WEPN 1050 in this demographic. WEPN has finally been able to incrase power to 50,000 watts and improve its signal coverage around the NYC region.
HOUSTON: KILT continues as the leader among Houston's sports station, including finishing first among the sports talkers during every daypart except mornings. Although KGOW won the sports battle in the morning, the latest audience measurement showed an overall drop of more than 1 1/2 points among all of the sports stations during morning drive. The summer ratings could get interesting, since the Astros have gotten within striking distance in the N. L. Central and the Texans season will be starting shortly.
KILT will continue to broadcast the Texans games, with Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware returning as the broadcast team. KFNC 97.5 will be airing the Compass Media NFL broadcasts including 3 Dallas Cowboys games in the Houston market. Those are Dallas vs. K. C. on Oct. 11, vs. Atlanta on Oct. 25, and vs. Washington on Nov. 22. On the TV side, KIAH-TV 39 has secured the over-the-air rights to the Texans game scheduled for Monday Night Footballon Nov. 23rd against Tennessee. They will also air the Aug. 31 pre-season game against Minnesota (also shown on ESPN).
LOS ANGELES: San Diego Chargers games will air again this season in Los Angeles, as KLAC 570 picks up the Chargers Network with Josh Lewin and Hank Bauer.
SALT LAKE CITY: The Utah Jazz will begin their run on KFNZ 1320 this season and have named David Locke as the new play-by-play voice. Usually, changing radio stations is the significant part of such an announcement. Not this time. Locke becomes only the 2nd voice of the Jazz in (Utah) franchise history due to the recent and very quiet retirement of Hot Rod Hundley after 35 seasons.
Hundley developed a national following when he was on CBS-TV when that network had the NBA coverage in the 70's and into the early 80's. Locke handled the Seattle Supersonics play-by-play for the 2006-07 season and has also done TV play-by-play of University of Washington football and basketball.
BALTIMORE: Hard as it may be to believe, the (now) 4 sports talkers in Baltimore will have to work hard to have the best Ravens coverage. WBAL Radio continues with play-by-play and extended pre and post-game programming again this season. But they don't stop there. The station has cleared the 6 to 10 PM spot throughout the week for a block of Ravens related programming. This will include coaches shows, call-ins, and all things Ravens all week.
The Ravens game broadcasts will be simulcast on Rock 98 FM. The FM side plans a separate and "lighter" pre and post-game show even though the game broadcast is simulcast. The FM side will be more of a "tailgate party" style show.
Jerry Sandusky and Stan White continue to call the games. In addition, the Ravens' broadcast team will also be utilized on 3 of their 4 pre-season games shown locally on WBAL-TV Channel 11.
The Westwood One NFL prime time package will air in Baltimore on WJZ-FM.
St. LOUIS: The crowded sports radio dial gets a slight reduction this week (starting Weds. 7/22) when WFXX-AM drops Dan Patrick and Jim Rome's respective syndicated sports fare during the day in favor of more urban talk. Sports is expected to be among the topics on Craig Black's and Maurice Scott's talk shows during weekday afternoons.
DENVER: It looks like the winter sports teams believe that the increase in signal on 1510 AM KCKK will make a difference. Both the NBA Nuggets and NHL Avalanche have agreed to 2-year contract extensions to remain on the station.
I am suprised that both teams would agree to this, since NBA and NHL teams have many conflicts throughout the season, resulting in one of the teams being placed on another station.
MIAMI: Ever since I lived in Southern California in the mid-80's, I have said that "national sports" has a place on So. California and Florida radio because of all of the "transplant" sports fans. In those places it is common for fans to be attending pro games and rooting for the opposing team because that is what they have always done.
While it is true I often complain about syndicated shows being on instead of local shows, Miami remains one of those markets where there is a definite place for both.
The latest radio ratings show significant progress for WINZ 940, which began its sports format at the start of April. Sure enough, Dan Patrick's and Jim Rome's respective shows already fare better than WQAM 560 and 790 The Ticket.
WQAM has actually already countered this when they bought out Neil Rogers' contract recently (which was not a sports show) in order to finally become "all sports" radio. But no matter what, it shows WINZ had good instinct when it brought over 2 shows it knew would reach the "transplants".
Miami area listeners trend toward the show itself rather than a particular station, and that is rarely the case when compared with most markets.
Overall, WINZ finished well below The Ticket and WQAM, but it has a good start with middays. The Ticket scores well in afternoon drive as Dan LeBetard and Jon Weiner more than doubled the audience of WQAM and Jim Mandich. Yet, in morning drive WQAM with Joe Rose is the clear winner over The Ticket.
GRAND RAPIDS: It might just be radio stations refusing to pay the performance royalties for music or wanting to make less use of a quality stereo signal. For whatever reason, WMAX-FM 96.1 will drop its alternative music format next month and become ESPN 96.1. Its soon-to-be competitor WBBL 107.3 "The Ball" remains all sports, but dropped ESPN last May.
The new station plans to air Mike & Mike in the morning and add a local sports show for the afternoon.
COLUMBIA SC: WCOS The Team 1400 is moving former Gamecock and N Y Giant Corey Miller and J. C. Shurbutt into a new afternoon drive show starting in August. The 2 will join former U. of South Carolina basketball and baseball play-by-play voice Mike Morgan from 3 to 6 PM. Morgan will have the flexibility he needs to continue as the pre-season voice of Carolina Panthers pre-season telecasts.
HUNTSVILLE: Tennnessee Titans NFL broadcasts will air in the Huntsville market, even if it might take some digging to find them. WUMP at 730 AM and 103.9 FM are scheduled to carry the game day coverage, the Tuesday night (coach) Jeff Fisher Show and the daily Titans Report. In the event of conflict with U. of Alabama coverage or Friday night high school football (the latter of which is highly unlikely to cause a conflict), then WVNN at 770 AM and 92.5 FM will carry the Titans coverage.
Mike Keith begins his 11th season as voice of the Titans and continues to work with Frank Wycheck and Larry Stone.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sports Media Report - June 23 update
The May radio ratings across the country showed more movement among sports radio stations than previous months have in some key markets. In Los Angeles both KLAC 570 and KSPN 710 showed increases, with KLAC almost doubling its audience over the past year. As we mentioned earlier, Dallas' KTCK The Ticket continues its solid lead against local competitors. That is even more impressive when you note that the 4 sports stations in Houston do not even combine for a bigger morning drive share in Houston than The Ticket has in Dallas.
In Chicago, even though the passion among baseball fans remains high (with both baseball teams coming off 2008 Division championships) the Cubs and White Sox radio broadcasts are not making a dent in the ratings. WSCR showed little movement at night vs. ESPN Radio WMVP with the Sox games, while WGN Radio ratings continue to struggle even with the addition of Cubs play-by-play to the past 2 ratings months.
My theory remains that the fans who enjoy baseball on radio prefer the old school professional broadcasters who focus on the game and only the game. White Sox broadcasts are handled by Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson, both former players, and while Farmer has improved significantly over the years, has not been well received by many fans. Cubs legend Ron Santo was a legend on the field but usually offers little more than a few cheers. And did I mention that TV ratings for both teams have shown increases for this season?
Overall, it's a week filled with comings and goings on the sports radio scene.
CHICAGO: Great to see WSCR 670 "The Score" get rid of its overnight syndicated programming and go live and local. Now, the 50,000 watt station only needs to either get Dan Patrick on live during the midday or switch to a live show after 10 PM or following its White Sox broadcasts. Saving money is one thing, but airing a show previewing games which have already been played by the time Patrick's show finally airs doesn't do a thing for the audience.
Better yet, the station has brought back Les Grobstein as host from 1 to 5 AM. Many remember this walking encyclopedia of sports from his days on WLS Radio in the late 70's and early 80's and through several sports talk and reporting gigs in the Chicago area ever since.
PHILADELPHIA: Sorry to learn of the death of 54 year old Gary Papa, who most recently was Sports Director of Channel 6 Action News, and died last week after a battle with cancer. Papa had been off the air for about 6 weeks, having been on Philadelphia TV since 1981. He had been Sports Director since 1990.
SAN DIEGO: I don't think anyone is surprised, but XX Sports Radio will have a "fill-in" host from 5 to 9 AM next week (week of June 29) when Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith are off. None other than Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, known for his long time stint on the former XTRA Sports 690.
Hamilton is an ideal fit for Southern California because of his knowledge of sports around the country. With thousands of transplants living in the San Diego area, this is a key to success in a market where the talk does not always center around the Padres and Chargers in season.
Speculation is already underway that this is an audition for Hamilton to return, especially since the station will need at least one more host by the end of the Padres baseball season. XX Sports carries extensive pre and post-game talk for its Padres broadcasts, which run through September.
Speaking of XTRA 1360 (its current incarnation), the station has a 2 year extension for its Chargers football broadcasts to run through the 2011 season. The new deal reportedly gives the team more ad time to sell rather than cash, which to me is a win-win for the team and the station.
The Chargers can package air time along with game programs, stadium signage, and sponsorships, while the station pays less out of pocket for the rights. KIOZ-FM 105.3 (yes, Rock 105.3) will also carry the games along with expanded pre and post-game shows. Josh Lewin is currently under contract to handle play-by-play only through the coming 2009 season. Word is that Lewin's contract will be extended, along with Hank Bauer, to coincide with the extension of the radio pact.
MIAMI: Sports 560 WQAM is finally going to be all sports. While it has been understandable from a revenue standpoint that WQAM kept 30+ year market veteran Neil Rogers on middays with the station's only "non-sports" talk show, the new sports show will make for a consistent format. Rogers accepted a buyout of his multi-year contract and is expected to retire.
BALTIMORE: WJZ-FM The Fan 105.7 is adding NFL coverage to its play-by-play roster starting with the coming season. The Fan has signed for the Westwood One package of Sunday, Monday, and Thursday NFL broadcasts. It already carries the Orioles along with University of Maryland sports. The NFL Ravens continue on WBAL 98 Rock this season. Baltimore is already one of the rare (but growing number) of major league markets to have both its MLB and NFL teams games broadcast on FM.
ALBANY: Clearance Channel strikes again. But at least it's not another batch of firings. Just a lack of hiring. WOFX 980's Big Board Sports Show continues to be hosted by Rodger Wyland, and remains the only regularly scheduled local sports show on the station. But now, when Wyland takes a day off or goes on vacation, there are no more subsitute local hosts, such as Channel 13's Andrew Catalon. On those days, WOFX instead runs a live airing of The Dan Patrick Show, normally heard during the afternoon on tape delay.
Then again, they probably considered voice tracking a sports talk show from New York City or Buffalo.
Wyland is now likely to be the most nervous and tense person ever to take a vacation.
CHATTANOOGA: WTZO-FM 105.1 has a new deal for University of Tennessee Chattanooga football and basketball starting this season, complete with coaches shows and a daily update to be known as "Mocs Sports Today". Until now, the football and basketball broadcasts were on (other) separate stations. Jim Reynolds has been named to continue as play-by-play voice for both sports.
SCHEDULES:
TBS Sports has presented a steady diet of New York and Boston for much of its Sunday MLB Game of the Week showings this season. But this is going overboard. Since ESPN is carrying the Yankees and Mets on Sunday night, TBS is showing the Red Sox at Atlanta game this coming Sunday (6/28) with Chip Caray and Buck Martinez on the call. However, TBS just showed Atlanta at Boston this past Sunday. Yes, the same matchup 2 weeks in a row. But their response would be that it isn't always Boston and New York. They do have the Milwaukee vs. Chicago Cubs games scheduled for July 5th.
On the college football side, the Pac-10 Conference has announced a portion of its national and regional TV schedule. (The balance will be announced one to two weeks prior.)
2009 PAC-10 FOOTBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE (Pacific time)
Thu., Sep. 3 7:15 p.m. Oregon at Boise State ESPN2
Sat., Sep. 5 12:30 p.m. San Jose State at USC FSN
7:00 p.m. Maryland at California ESPN2
7:30 p.m. LSU at Washington ESPN
Sat. Sep. 12 1:00 p.m. UCLA at Tennessee ESPN
5:00 p.m. USC at Ohio State ESPN
7:15 p.m. Purdue at Oregon FSN
8:00 p.m. Oregon State at UNLV CBS College
Sat., Sep. 1912:30 p.m. USC at Washington ABC
12:30 p.m. Utah at Oregon ESPN
3:45 p.m. Cincinnati at Oregon State FSN
7:15 p.m. Kansas State at UCLA FSN
Sat., Sep. 26 12:30 p.m. California at Oregon ABC
Sat., Oct. 3 12:30 p.m. Washington at Notre Dame NBC5
:00 p.m. USC at California ABC
Sat., Oct. 17 12:30 p.m. USC at Notre Dame NBC
7:00 p.m. Washington at Arizona State FSN
Sat., Oct. 24 5:00 p.m. Oregon State at USC ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
7:15 p.m. Arizona State at Stanford FSN
Sat., Oct. 31 4:30 p.m. WSU vs. Notre Dame @San Antonio NBC5:00 p.m.
USC at Oregon ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat., Nov. 7 5:00 p.m. USC at Arizona State ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat., Nov. 28 ABC 5:00 p.m. Notre Dame at Stanford ABC
7:00 p.m. UCLA at USC FSN
Thu., Dec. 3 6:00 p.m. Oregon State at Oregon ESPN
Sat., Dec. 5 12:30 p.m. Arizona at USC ABC
In Chicago, even though the passion among baseball fans remains high (with both baseball teams coming off 2008 Division championships) the Cubs and White Sox radio broadcasts are not making a dent in the ratings. WSCR showed little movement at night vs. ESPN Radio WMVP with the Sox games, while WGN Radio ratings continue to struggle even with the addition of Cubs play-by-play to the past 2 ratings months.
My theory remains that the fans who enjoy baseball on radio prefer the old school professional broadcasters who focus on the game and only the game. White Sox broadcasts are handled by Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson, both former players, and while Farmer has improved significantly over the years, has not been well received by many fans. Cubs legend Ron Santo was a legend on the field but usually offers little more than a few cheers. And did I mention that TV ratings for both teams have shown increases for this season?
Overall, it's a week filled with comings and goings on the sports radio scene.
CHICAGO: Great to see WSCR 670 "The Score" get rid of its overnight syndicated programming and go live and local. Now, the 50,000 watt station only needs to either get Dan Patrick on live during the midday or switch to a live show after 10 PM or following its White Sox broadcasts. Saving money is one thing, but airing a show previewing games which have already been played by the time Patrick's show finally airs doesn't do a thing for the audience.
Better yet, the station has brought back Les Grobstein as host from 1 to 5 AM. Many remember this walking encyclopedia of sports from his days on WLS Radio in the late 70's and early 80's and through several sports talk and reporting gigs in the Chicago area ever since.
PHILADELPHIA: Sorry to learn of the death of 54 year old Gary Papa, who most recently was Sports Director of Channel 6 Action News, and died last week after a battle with cancer. Papa had been off the air for about 6 weeks, having been on Philadelphia TV since 1981. He had been Sports Director since 1990.
SAN DIEGO: I don't think anyone is surprised, but XX Sports Radio will have a "fill-in" host from 5 to 9 AM next week (week of June 29) when Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith are off. None other than Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, known for his long time stint on the former XTRA Sports 690.
Hamilton is an ideal fit for Southern California because of his knowledge of sports around the country. With thousands of transplants living in the San Diego area, this is a key to success in a market where the talk does not always center around the Padres and Chargers in season.
Speculation is already underway that this is an audition for Hamilton to return, especially since the station will need at least one more host by the end of the Padres baseball season. XX Sports carries extensive pre and post-game talk for its Padres broadcasts, which run through September.
Speaking of XTRA 1360 (its current incarnation), the station has a 2 year extension for its Chargers football broadcasts to run through the 2011 season. The new deal reportedly gives the team more ad time to sell rather than cash, which to me is a win-win for the team and the station.
The Chargers can package air time along with game programs, stadium signage, and sponsorships, while the station pays less out of pocket for the rights. KIOZ-FM 105.3 (yes, Rock 105.3) will also carry the games along with expanded pre and post-game shows. Josh Lewin is currently under contract to handle play-by-play only through the coming 2009 season. Word is that Lewin's contract will be extended, along with Hank Bauer, to coincide with the extension of the radio pact.
MIAMI: Sports 560 WQAM is finally going to be all sports. While it has been understandable from a revenue standpoint that WQAM kept 30+ year market veteran Neil Rogers on middays with the station's only "non-sports" talk show, the new sports show will make for a consistent format. Rogers accepted a buyout of his multi-year contract and is expected to retire.
BALTIMORE: WJZ-FM The Fan 105.7 is adding NFL coverage to its play-by-play roster starting with the coming season. The Fan has signed for the Westwood One package of Sunday, Monday, and Thursday NFL broadcasts. It already carries the Orioles along with University of Maryland sports. The NFL Ravens continue on WBAL 98 Rock this season. Baltimore is already one of the rare (but growing number) of major league markets to have both its MLB and NFL teams games broadcast on FM.
ALBANY: Clearance Channel strikes again. But at least it's not another batch of firings. Just a lack of hiring. WOFX 980's Big Board Sports Show continues to be hosted by Rodger Wyland, and remains the only regularly scheduled local sports show on the station. But now, when Wyland takes a day off or goes on vacation, there are no more subsitute local hosts, such as Channel 13's Andrew Catalon. On those days, WOFX instead runs a live airing of The Dan Patrick Show, normally heard during the afternoon on tape delay.
Then again, they probably considered voice tracking a sports talk show from New York City or Buffalo.
Wyland is now likely to be the most nervous and tense person ever to take a vacation.
CHATTANOOGA: WTZO-FM 105.1 has a new deal for University of Tennessee Chattanooga football and basketball starting this season, complete with coaches shows and a daily update to be known as "Mocs Sports Today". Until now, the football and basketball broadcasts were on (other) separate stations. Jim Reynolds has been named to continue as play-by-play voice for both sports.
SCHEDULES:
TBS Sports has presented a steady diet of New York and Boston for much of its Sunday MLB Game of the Week showings this season. But this is going overboard. Since ESPN is carrying the Yankees and Mets on Sunday night, TBS is showing the Red Sox at Atlanta game this coming Sunday (6/28) with Chip Caray and Buck Martinez on the call. However, TBS just showed Atlanta at Boston this past Sunday. Yes, the same matchup 2 weeks in a row. But their response would be that it isn't always Boston and New York. They do have the Milwaukee vs. Chicago Cubs games scheduled for July 5th.
On the college football side, the Pac-10 Conference has announced a portion of its national and regional TV schedule. (The balance will be announced one to two weeks prior.)
2009 PAC-10 FOOTBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE (Pacific time)
Thu., Sep. 3 7:15 p.m. Oregon at Boise State ESPN2
Sat., Sep. 5 12:30 p.m. San Jose State at USC FSN
7:00 p.m. Maryland at California ESPN2
7:30 p.m. LSU at Washington ESPN
Sat. Sep. 12 1:00 p.m. UCLA at Tennessee ESPN
5:00 p.m. USC at Ohio State ESPN
7:15 p.m. Purdue at Oregon FSN
8:00 p.m. Oregon State at UNLV CBS College
Sat., Sep. 1912:30 p.m. USC at Washington ABC
12:30 p.m. Utah at Oregon ESPN
3:45 p.m. Cincinnati at Oregon State FSN
7:15 p.m. Kansas State at UCLA FSN
Sat., Sep. 26 12:30 p.m. California at Oregon ABC
Sat., Oct. 3 12:30 p.m. Washington at Notre Dame NBC5
:00 p.m. USC at California ABC
Sat., Oct. 17 12:30 p.m. USC at Notre Dame NBC
7:00 p.m. Washington at Arizona State FSN
Sat., Oct. 24 5:00 p.m. Oregon State at USC ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
7:15 p.m. Arizona State at Stanford FSN
Sat., Oct. 31 4:30 p.m. WSU vs. Notre Dame @San Antonio NBC5:00 p.m.
USC at Oregon ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat., Nov. 7 5:00 p.m. USC at Arizona State ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat., Nov. 28 ABC 5:00 p.m. Notre Dame at Stanford ABC
7:00 p.m. UCLA at USC FSN
Thu., Dec. 3 6:00 p.m. Oregon State at Oregon ESPN
Sat., Dec. 5 12:30 p.m. Arizona at USC ABC
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Changing stadiums and uniforms ?
I would like to believe that stadiums and uniforms should be a constant in the world of us sports fans, but it seems more and more as though the media does not. And like ticket prices as well as the cost of watching our respective favorite teams on TV (via cable or satellite), it looks like still more sacred turf is getting out of hand. I don't see why stadiums and uniforms should receive anywhere close to the amount of media time they get these days.
Land Shark Stadium??? I heard about this and I thought about the hysterical sketch on the early (and funny) days of Saturday Night Live with Chevy Chase knocking on apartment doors and "eating" the residents who opened the door for his "Land Shark" costume. Then I saw this in print, and thought that maybe a reputable news operation had picked up a story from The Onion.
But, silly me. This could happen as soon as this coming Friday. It seems that name is now the name of a beer. This could be the name of the same stadium the Miami Dolphins have played in for years. The stadium I still refer to as Joe Robbie Stadium, since that's how it was introduced and Joe Robbie was the Dolphins' owner who got it built.
The same stadium that right now technically isn't named for the team that plays in it (Dolphin Stadium and NOT Dolphins Stadium). The former Underwear Stadium (whatever). The same facility that cuts off beer sales at half-time and had to implement a "family section" so that kids attending a pro football game would have a safe harbor. Let alone that it is not and has never been in Miami.
Yet, the media will accept this and mention the name on any and every report. This could wind up even worse than Enron Stadium in Houston. Or whatever it is called this week.
The same radio and TV stations hard up for advertising revenue won't carry a report "from Miami" or "from Houston" about the Dolphins or Texans games? They act as if there is an obligation to include the corporate stadium name.
What all of these changing stadium and arena names does for the hardcore sports fan is to add distance between us and the teams we follow. Personally, all I need to know is which is the home team when watching or listening to a game or highlights.
Then there is the matter of inside the stadiums and arenas. Telecasts are now littered with advertising on the field (and ice for hockey games) and in almost every shot. Yet, when it comes to uniforms, teams won't allow any advertising on those, such as what NASCAR does. (And I'm not complaining about that!)
Yet, now the NFL announces it will hold a series of "AFL Legacy" games during the coming regular season, to feature the 50th season for many of the old American Football League teams. I'm fine with that. History is a huge part of sports. However, the NFL is making the participating teams wear retro uniforms for the entire game.
Even without advertising on them, these retro uniforms used on occasion by pro teams, are a terrible distraction. The novelty has worn off, if it was even there in the first place. Fans watching the game lose identity for "their" team because it becomes harder to recognize the players.
And what if any of these games has a team or league record broken? Or a significant individual or team achievement on one or a series of plays? The result is that highlights shown for years to come show the player(s) involved in a completely different uniform than all of the other highlights. Again, a terrible distraction. This one has nothing to do with advertising.
My frustration is that both the Miami area stadium and AFL Legacy games are and will get significant media attention this week and beyond. I would much rather hear and see about the teams playing in those games. Maybe THAT would attract more advertisers for the starving radio and TV sales.
NEW YORK - The NHL continues to make decisions which hurt its television exposure even into the playoffs. The league which chose Versus, which many people don't even know where to find, over ESPN two seasons ago, and allows NBC-TV to televise games at staggered times each week, has managed another similar accomplishment.
Ratings were down in New York even though the Rangers and Devils both had 7 game playoff series in the first round. The reason? The 2 game 7's were scheduled to start one hour apart, thus segmenting what might have been a huge audience for either game.
Yet, there is no similar excuse in Buffalo, which only has NHL and NFL as its major league pro teams. Thus far this playoff season, NHL playoff ratings overall have dipped below local NBA playoff ratings. Ouch.
BOSTON - Here's hoping for a full recovery of Red Sox analyst Jerry Remy, who is again sitting out from NESN telecasts this week while trying to shake his bout with pneumonia. Even though Jerry missed much of spring training, it appears he was not yet fully recovered. NESN borrowed Buck Martinez from TBS for the Tampa series this past weekend, and has Dennis Eckersley (also of TBS) working with Don Orsillo during the current Yankees series instead of his NESN studio role. Word is that Remy could return for this upcoming weekend.
HOUSTON - Sorry to hear of the death of McCoy McLemore, the former NBA player who served as analyst on Houston Rockets telecasts on HSE back in the late 1980's. He passed away at age 67 from cancer.
ST. LOUIS - With 3 sports stations now in the St. Louis market the recently released winter ratings book took on additional meaning. Newcomer WXOS 101.1 FM seems to have taken more audience away from perennial sports talk leader KFNS, leaving KSLG 1380 as the leader among men 25-54. WXOS began the sports format (and new call letters) on New Year's Day. Yet, KSLG had its strongest finish, with its addition of Kevin Slaten, now on afternoons, appearing to be making a difference.
WXOS figures to grow later in the year when it begins Rams football broadcasts and coverage.
Meanwhile, 74 year-old Jay Randolph has added co-hosting a horse race handicapping show on KFNS 590 each Saturday at 10 AM that will run through June 6th, the day of the Belmont Stakes. Jay continues his duties on Cardinals telecasts on KSDK-TV this season as well.
ATLANTA - Congrats to Lary Munson on his induction this past Monday night (5/4) into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. The 86 year-old Munson called U. of Georgia football from 1966 through 2007, and videotaped his acceptance message when health concerns prevented him from traveling to the event.
SEATTLE - University of Washington football for the coming season looks so promising that the TV people are jumping on the bandwagon already. The Huskies' season opener vs. LSU on Sept. 5 will air on ESPN in West Coast prime time (7:30 PT), while the Sept. 19th game against USC will be an ABC-TV afternoon regional telecast. In addition, the Huskies will appear on NBC-TV on Oct. 3rd at Notre Dame, although that is due to Notre Dame and not the Huskies' possible ranking at the time. ESPN still has the option to pick up at least one additional telecast up to 2 weeks before a scheduled game.
COLUMBIA SC: Mike Morgan is out as basketball and baseball play-by-play voice for the University of South Carolina. The school will seek a replacement, but it will not be current and continuing football voice Todd Ellis. Ellis, the former SC quarterback, has held the role (succeeding Charlie Alexander) from the 2003 season. This will keep SC as one of only 2 SEC schools (Alabama is the other) using separate announcers for football and basketball play-by-play.
SOUTH BEND: Here's a different impact for college hockey on local sports radio than usual. WPNT 1620 is now carrying ESPN Radio in South Bend since sister station WDND 1490 has gone dark. The reason? WDND's replacement transmitter tower (built early 2008 after a wind storm knocked down the original one) needs to be moved - because Notre Dame is building its new hockey arena on the same site. WDND could remain dark for the remainder of the year.
SALEM OR: KVXX 1390 is still sports radio, but the language has changed. As of last Friday (5/1), the station now carries ESPN Deportes. The next closest ESPN signal, on KFXX 1080, does not cover the entire market at night and will also make hearing Seattle Mariners games a local challenge. KVXX will carry Spanish broadcasts of the NBA Portland Trailblazers starting next season.
Land Shark Stadium??? I heard about this and I thought about the hysterical sketch on the early (and funny) days of Saturday Night Live with Chevy Chase knocking on apartment doors and "eating" the residents who opened the door for his "Land Shark" costume. Then I saw this in print, and thought that maybe a reputable news operation had picked up a story from The Onion.
But, silly me. This could happen as soon as this coming Friday. It seems that name is now the name of a beer. This could be the name of the same stadium the Miami Dolphins have played in for years. The stadium I still refer to as Joe Robbie Stadium, since that's how it was introduced and Joe Robbie was the Dolphins' owner who got it built.
The same stadium that right now technically isn't named for the team that plays in it (Dolphin Stadium and NOT Dolphins Stadium). The former Underwear Stadium (whatever). The same facility that cuts off beer sales at half-time and had to implement a "family section" so that kids attending a pro football game would have a safe harbor. Let alone that it is not and has never been in Miami.
Yet, the media will accept this and mention the name on any and every report. This could wind up even worse than Enron Stadium in Houston. Or whatever it is called this week.
The same radio and TV stations hard up for advertising revenue won't carry a report "from Miami" or "from Houston" about the Dolphins or Texans games? They act as if there is an obligation to include the corporate stadium name.
What all of these changing stadium and arena names does for the hardcore sports fan is to add distance between us and the teams we follow. Personally, all I need to know is which is the home team when watching or listening to a game or highlights.
Then there is the matter of inside the stadiums and arenas. Telecasts are now littered with advertising on the field (and ice for hockey games) and in almost every shot. Yet, when it comes to uniforms, teams won't allow any advertising on those, such as what NASCAR does. (And I'm not complaining about that!)
Yet, now the NFL announces it will hold a series of "AFL Legacy" games during the coming regular season, to feature the 50th season for many of the old American Football League teams. I'm fine with that. History is a huge part of sports. However, the NFL is making the participating teams wear retro uniforms for the entire game.
Even without advertising on them, these retro uniforms used on occasion by pro teams, are a terrible distraction. The novelty has worn off, if it was even there in the first place. Fans watching the game lose identity for "their" team because it becomes harder to recognize the players.
And what if any of these games has a team or league record broken? Or a significant individual or team achievement on one or a series of plays? The result is that highlights shown for years to come show the player(s) involved in a completely different uniform than all of the other highlights. Again, a terrible distraction. This one has nothing to do with advertising.
My frustration is that both the Miami area stadium and AFL Legacy games are and will get significant media attention this week and beyond. I would much rather hear and see about the teams playing in those games. Maybe THAT would attract more advertisers for the starving radio and TV sales.
NEW YORK - The NHL continues to make decisions which hurt its television exposure even into the playoffs. The league which chose Versus, which many people don't even know where to find, over ESPN two seasons ago, and allows NBC-TV to televise games at staggered times each week, has managed another similar accomplishment.
Ratings were down in New York even though the Rangers and Devils both had 7 game playoff series in the first round. The reason? The 2 game 7's were scheduled to start one hour apart, thus segmenting what might have been a huge audience for either game.
Yet, there is no similar excuse in Buffalo, which only has NHL and NFL as its major league pro teams. Thus far this playoff season, NHL playoff ratings overall have dipped below local NBA playoff ratings. Ouch.
BOSTON - Here's hoping for a full recovery of Red Sox analyst Jerry Remy, who is again sitting out from NESN telecasts this week while trying to shake his bout with pneumonia. Even though Jerry missed much of spring training, it appears he was not yet fully recovered. NESN borrowed Buck Martinez from TBS for the Tampa series this past weekend, and has Dennis Eckersley (also of TBS) working with Don Orsillo during the current Yankees series instead of his NESN studio role. Word is that Remy could return for this upcoming weekend.
HOUSTON - Sorry to hear of the death of McCoy McLemore, the former NBA player who served as analyst on Houston Rockets telecasts on HSE back in the late 1980's. He passed away at age 67 from cancer.
ST. LOUIS - With 3 sports stations now in the St. Louis market the recently released winter ratings book took on additional meaning. Newcomer WXOS 101.1 FM seems to have taken more audience away from perennial sports talk leader KFNS, leaving KSLG 1380 as the leader among men 25-54. WXOS began the sports format (and new call letters) on New Year's Day. Yet, KSLG had its strongest finish, with its addition of Kevin Slaten, now on afternoons, appearing to be making a difference.
WXOS figures to grow later in the year when it begins Rams football broadcasts and coverage.
Meanwhile, 74 year-old Jay Randolph has added co-hosting a horse race handicapping show on KFNS 590 each Saturday at 10 AM that will run through June 6th, the day of the Belmont Stakes. Jay continues his duties on Cardinals telecasts on KSDK-TV this season as well.
ATLANTA - Congrats to Lary Munson on his induction this past Monday night (5/4) into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. The 86 year-old Munson called U. of Georgia football from 1966 through 2007, and videotaped his acceptance message when health concerns prevented him from traveling to the event.
SEATTLE - University of Washington football for the coming season looks so promising that the TV people are jumping on the bandwagon already. The Huskies' season opener vs. LSU on Sept. 5 will air on ESPN in West Coast prime time (7:30 PT), while the Sept. 19th game against USC will be an ABC-TV afternoon regional telecast. In addition, the Huskies will appear on NBC-TV on Oct. 3rd at Notre Dame, although that is due to Notre Dame and not the Huskies' possible ranking at the time. ESPN still has the option to pick up at least one additional telecast up to 2 weeks before a scheduled game.
COLUMBIA SC: Mike Morgan is out as basketball and baseball play-by-play voice for the University of South Carolina. The school will seek a replacement, but it will not be current and continuing football voice Todd Ellis. Ellis, the former SC quarterback, has held the role (succeeding Charlie Alexander) from the 2003 season. This will keep SC as one of only 2 SEC schools (Alabama is the other) using separate announcers for football and basketball play-by-play.
SOUTH BEND: Here's a different impact for college hockey on local sports radio than usual. WPNT 1620 is now carrying ESPN Radio in South Bend since sister station WDND 1490 has gone dark. The reason? WDND's replacement transmitter tower (built early 2008 after a wind storm knocked down the original one) needs to be moved - because Notre Dame is building its new hockey arena on the same site. WDND could remain dark for the remainder of the year.
SALEM OR: KVXX 1390 is still sports radio, but the language has changed. As of last Friday (5/1), the station now carries ESPN Deportes. The next closest ESPN signal, on KFXX 1080, does not cover the entire market at night and will also make hearing Seattle Mariners games a local challenge. KVXX will carry Spanish broadcasts of the NBA Portland Trailblazers starting next season.
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