The Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest sports weekends of the entire year, yet some radio and TV stations clearly overlooked when scheduling programming for the sports fans. It's not that the personalities do not deserve some time off, but it is that we as sports fans deserve a realistic alternative instead of being kicked to the curb.
There I was on Thanksgiving morning turning on my TV. It was 3 hours before the first NFL game started. NBA news including Miami being on a losing streak. The night before in the NHL saw the first regular season meeting of Chicago and San Jose who met in the Western Conference finals in the spring. Plenty of college football to come over the next 2 days. College hoops tournaments going at all hours.
Silly me. I turned over to watch some of the Dan Patrick Show, now that it has recently gone to a TV simulcast on many of the Fox Sports and Comcast regional channels. A rare chance for me (and other sports fans) to watch the show for more than a few minutes.
What did I see? A "Best Of" show. Worse yet, for the sake of this column I tuned in on Friday morning as well, only to find a repeat of a show from earlier in the week.
On both mornings, ESPN was live with its "radio" shows on TV, as in Mike & Mike and The Herd, whether with substitute hosts or not.
Several of the sports radio stations across the country that I checked also had substitute hosts on, even on Friday morning. At least it was live programming with current sports, even if it wasn't with the regular name hosts.
But there is no excuse for The Dan Patrick Show to repeat and essentially blow off its audience. It has only been within the past few weeks that Patrick's show went to the TV simulcast, and that markets like Chicago were able to hear or watch the show live. And this is how sports fans are treated?
Here was a chance to show thousands of potential "new" viewers (and listeners) what the show is all about. Instead, we get repeats? Sorry, but Patrick could have, at the very least, recorded his predictions and thoughts about the upcoming Thursday NFL games. He could have had fresh interviews in the can. He could have had a guest host, maybe even a celebrity of sorts, host a live and current show and make Thanksgiving fun and special for his current and potential new audience.
What about Black Friday? Patrick and his show totally blew it again. A lot of sports fans had the day off, with millions of people spending more than usual amounts of time in the car with shopping or road travel. The chance to listen for an hour instead of 5 minutes. And all we get is a repeat?
I have liked Dan Patrick for years, but now consider myself offended that his show was not live on either day. Black Friday is not a legal holiday. Now I'm back to my normal schedule on Monday with little time to watch or listen. But now it doesn't matter in the future.
What a blow for the regional TV sports networks. They are trying to capture the sports fan audience during times when there are not any games being shown. And they lose a golden opportunity like that. I'm glad I'm not an advertiser, paying to reach an audience that had no reason to watch or listen.
Same for the sports radio stations with substitute hosts. With all of the events going on over the weekend, that was prime time for sports talk. I'm sure these hosts would criticize an NFL coach for playing his reserves in a game which did not sell out since fewer fans than usual were in attendance. But that's what these stations and programmers just did to us sports fans.
Even though ESPN has mostly substitute hosts, at least they kept it live and topical. They get some credit.
Note to station programmers. Fans want to hear and talk sports from the 'starting lineup' more often than only on working weekdays.
As you might expect, the holiday weekend had its share of TV viewers. The Dallas vs. New Orleans game was the best rated Thanksgiving game on Fox since 1995, while the New England vs. Detroit game was CBS' best on turkey day since its return to NFL coverage in the late 90's.
The Sunday Night Football game with San Diego beating Indy, even becoming a blowout in the 2nd half, was the top rated TV show for the 12th week in a row, and even drew a bigger audience than last year's Thanksgiving Sunday telecast which featured the Steelers.
Curiously, Norfolk, Richmond, and Albuquerque, were among the top 10 metered markets for the Sunday Night Football telecast.
CBS also scored well with Friday's Auburn vs. Alabama telecast, as the game is now the highest rated college football telecast of the season.
Too bad that fans had fewer radio and TV sports outlets and were reduced to substitute hosts to discuss all of these games over the weekend. But the hosts needed their time off, so screw the audience.
Meanwhile, Sports Byline USA Network has added a boxing show, hosted by Pedro Fernandez, and airing early Saturday afternoons.
SAN FRANCISCO: Somebody wasn't paying attention last Tuesday (11/23) during the CSN Bay Area "Chronicle Live" show. Nearly 5 minutes of a discussion segment was interrupted by camera shots with little or no sound from camera shots before the Oregon Ducks basketball game vs. Texas Southern, as indicated on graphics which came on the screen. Surprised viewers saw multiple camera angles showing one of the teams practicing, and another shot of the empty chairs with microphones for the announcers to eventually do the open for the game telecast.
Although it took nearly 5 minutes for viewers to be returned to the botched TV segment (which made no acknowledgement of the cutaway), CSN was lucky that no one at the nearly empty arena knew the cameras were on live TV. Boys will be boys, but in that instance they didn't know.
MIAMI: With all there is to talk about regarding the Heat's slow start, Dennis Rodman tried to do all he could to upstage that last Tuesday (11/23) morning. Rodman had called into Jorge Sedano's show on The Ticket 790 to comment on the Heat when a female voice became prominent along with an obviously distracted Rodman. Yet, instead of cutting the interview short, Sedano asked Rodman if he was "getting it on", and allowed Rodman to reply that she "was sucking something" on the air. You could say that the call wasn't for Rodman to talk about the Miami Heat. He wanted the world to know that he was "in heat".
WASHINGTON DC: Steve Czaban has been renewed for 2 more years on ESPN 980 as a result of his success upon joining the station earlier this year.
TOLEDO: Sorry that we overlooked this last week. The death of Frank Gilhooley in late November marked the end of an era in Toledo baseball. Not only did Gilhooley call Mud Hens baseball for more than 20 seasons from the mid-80's until 2007, but his 60 years on the air in the market included plenty more. His play-by-play went back to the 1950's and the then Toledo Sox of the American Association. He passed away at the age of 86.
AKRON: Akron Aeros baseball will remain on Fox Sports 1350 for the next 2 seasons, as the station will carry all 142 games. Jim Clark returns for his 19th season of play-by-play, while afternoon co-host Ken Carman will return to the booth for his 2nd season.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Broadcast Booth - November 21st update
It's time for the sports media to ease off on the rumors and speculation and return to reporting. As in being thorough on a story. Sports "news" is supposed to be "news", and not positive public relations. There were two major incidents over the past week which demonstrate the need for reporting to return.
These were the Donovan McNabb contract story, and the rules changes for the Northwestern vs. Illinois football game.
I should be reading about reporters being fired or reassigned after the McNabb story was botched so badly. On Monday, it became a huge story that Donovan McNabb was signed to an $80 million dollar contract. Discussion immediately began on practically every all-sports radio and TV outlet, and throughout work places around the country as to McNabb's real value to his team and the league, and how such a contract rates against other greats of the game. It seemed improbable to many football fans.
All of a sudden, less than 48 hours later, the very same media QUIETLY started reporting that this new contract could actually be valued at as (comparably) little as $3.5 million dollars, depending upon this season and each subsequent season.
While the more recently reported deal may seem more realistic to football fans, that is far from the point. Where is the outrage?
What about the hours and hours that experienced and "expert" reporters and sports analysts spent talking to fans about the supposed $80 million dollar deal?
If I were still the Sports Director of a radio station (or held an equally responsible media position), I would have been spending time and effort to track down the "reporter" and sources of the original story, and then try and find out why he or she was not disciplined. We, the fans, have been duped one way or the other, depending upon which "report" is accurate.
I'm not willing to accept the "ooops, just kidding" approach to this story that the sports media gave me. Those fans who spent hours talking about and listening to sports shows and reactions about the supposed $80 million dollar deal wasted their time.
Now, I can understand that every sports talk host and sports anchor has little to no reason to verify every national story. But I don't understand how it took more than a day to change this story. We, the sports fans who listen, watch, read, and support our favorite sports news and talk outlets, deserve better.
Then, there was the college football game (Northwestern vs. Illinois) played at Wrigley Field on Saturday (11/20). The hype was understandable in terms of that having been the first football game played in that baseball venue in 40 years.
However, it is not the sports media's job to hype the game to that extent. It was bad enough that Illinois lost to the University of Minnesota at home the week leading into the game and lost its momentum for the season. It should have been noted that if it wasn't for this game having been scheduled for Wrigley Field, very little attention would have been given to it.
Instead, fans, especially in the Chicago area, were subjected to extensive coverage of Wrigley Field being set up for football, including the very limited room at the end of the east end zone.
Then, on Thursday (11/18), just two days before the game and after literally weeks of preparation, suddenly the Big Ten Conference decides to alter the rules and have both teams drive toward the same end zone. The teams would switch bench positions for each half. And so on.
As a result, I became angry and disappointed with the sports media for the second time during the week. Where was the outrage?
For the benefit of sports anchors, show hosts, reporters, and writers everywhere, I'll list the questions which should have been raised by this:
What advantage goes to the team which wins the coin toss and would want the wind for the 4th quarter?
What about the fans who had tickets in and near the east end zone, who paid full price and not have an opportunity to see red zone action close up?
Why do the players have to adjust to their team's bench and coaching staff being in a different location from one half to the next?
If the one end zone was considered unsafe, why did it take several days to make this decision? What was different 2 days before the game from a week earlier when the field was considered to be ready?
Since the dimensions of a college football field do not change, how was the game allowed to be scheduled at Wrigley Field in the first place?
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Instead, what did we get from the media? We got the "Let's see how this works with special rules...." approach to continue to hype interest in the game. While I can understand ESPN and ESPN Radio taking that approach, since ESPNU had the telecast, it was not only ESPN that kept up the hype.
The Big Ten Conference made this last minute "decision". Or so the media reported. Does this mean that Northwestern, the Chicago Cubs, and every other organization associated with allowing this game was fine with college players playing under "unsafe" conditions?
THAT should have been the story to discuss and write about. This was an embarrassing story that went unreported as such.
So there I was hearing, seeing, and reading about how the Minnesota Vikings could fire coach Childress if they lost on Sunday. As if that is a sports "story". Whether you are Vikings fan or not, that is not exactly a positive sports story. (In fact, it's really speculation and not a story at all!)
Worse yet, it was INSTEAD of the real story about the McNabb contract and behind the troubled Northwestern vs. Illinois game.
At this rate, my personal sports news gathering each day will come from watching and listening to certain game broadcasts and telecasts, and from looking at the standings and transactions sections only. Hopefully those will continue to be accurate.
Meanwhile, just before changing the rules for one of its games, the Big Ten football championship game, which debuts on Dec. 3, 2011, will be televised on Fox Sports, which has the rights to do so through the 2016 season. Next year's game will be in Indianapolis. No word as to whether or not both end zones will be used.
BOSTON: Maybe it's because the Red Sox were out of the race by mid-September. Or maybe it is simply a fever pitch among Boston fans. Celtics ratings on CSN New England were up 27% after its first 9 telecasts of the season, while Bruins' ratings have risen by 33% on NESN. The Bruins telecast ratings include the 2 games from Prague at the start of the season which were shown live with late morning starts, not prime time like the other games.
Those who remember the early days of ESPN will remember Jimmy Myers from doing the sports updates during the week in between programs. Sorry to report that Myers is no longer doing his weekly show on WTKK-FM Boston, having done his final show on Halloween when the station did not renew his contract. It was his work in the 70's at WBZ-TV which helped Myers land the ESPN gig. Here's hoping he will join another outlet.
St. LOUIS: WXOS 101.1 continues its ratings success story, moving up to 14th overall in the market in the most recent ratings period after less than 2 years on the air. The male 25-54 age group reflects its success, as WXOS more than tripled the audience (in that demographic) of both KFNS and KSLG combined.
Fox Sports Midwest is expected to announce the new arrangements for its Cardinals TV announcers for next season, now that it will show as many as 150 games. Word is that the delay is because of the possibility that Rick Horton is under consideration for a spot in the Washington Nationals' TV booth.
HOUSTON: Brett Dolan, one of the voices of the Astros, will call the Nov. 27th college hoops game between Houston and TCU on radio, filling in for Tom Franklin.
BANGOR: WVII-TV 7 is now 2 weeks into the initial 13 week run of its The Sunday Sports Page show which airs at 11 AM. Co-hosted by Pat Spekhardt and Brian Sullivan, the show features highlights from recent local and regional sports along with interviews and round table discussions. If successful, the show would expand into a 52 week run.
LONGWOOD VA: WMLU 91.3 has received the Virginia Association of Broadcasters "Outstanding Sports Coverage Award" for a public or non-commercial station for the second year in a row. Keenan Crump (Sports Director) and Nate Epstein (Assistant Sports Director) accepted the award. The Longwood University campus radio station airs the school's basketball and baseball games.
These were the Donovan McNabb contract story, and the rules changes for the Northwestern vs. Illinois football game.
I should be reading about reporters being fired or reassigned after the McNabb story was botched so badly. On Monday, it became a huge story that Donovan McNabb was signed to an $80 million dollar contract. Discussion immediately began on practically every all-sports radio and TV outlet, and throughout work places around the country as to McNabb's real value to his team and the league, and how such a contract rates against other greats of the game. It seemed improbable to many football fans.
All of a sudden, less than 48 hours later, the very same media QUIETLY started reporting that this new contract could actually be valued at as (comparably) little as $3.5 million dollars, depending upon this season and each subsequent season.
While the more recently reported deal may seem more realistic to football fans, that is far from the point. Where is the outrage?
What about the hours and hours that experienced and "expert" reporters and sports analysts spent talking to fans about the supposed $80 million dollar deal?
If I were still the Sports Director of a radio station (or held an equally responsible media position), I would have been spending time and effort to track down the "reporter" and sources of the original story, and then try and find out why he or she was not disciplined. We, the fans, have been duped one way or the other, depending upon which "report" is accurate.
I'm not willing to accept the "ooops, just kidding" approach to this story that the sports media gave me. Those fans who spent hours talking about and listening to sports shows and reactions about the supposed $80 million dollar deal wasted their time.
Now, I can understand that every sports talk host and sports anchor has little to no reason to verify every national story. But I don't understand how it took more than a day to change this story. We, the sports fans who listen, watch, read, and support our favorite sports news and talk outlets, deserve better.
Then, there was the college football game (Northwestern vs. Illinois) played at Wrigley Field on Saturday (11/20). The hype was understandable in terms of that having been the first football game played in that baseball venue in 40 years.
However, it is not the sports media's job to hype the game to that extent. It was bad enough that Illinois lost to the University of Minnesota at home the week leading into the game and lost its momentum for the season. It should have been noted that if it wasn't for this game having been scheduled for Wrigley Field, very little attention would have been given to it.
Instead, fans, especially in the Chicago area, were subjected to extensive coverage of Wrigley Field being set up for football, including the very limited room at the end of the east end zone.
Then, on Thursday (11/18), just two days before the game and after literally weeks of preparation, suddenly the Big Ten Conference decides to alter the rules and have both teams drive toward the same end zone. The teams would switch bench positions for each half. And so on.
As a result, I became angry and disappointed with the sports media for the second time during the week. Where was the outrage?
For the benefit of sports anchors, show hosts, reporters, and writers everywhere, I'll list the questions which should have been raised by this:
What advantage goes to the team which wins the coin toss and would want the wind for the 4th quarter?
What about the fans who had tickets in and near the east end zone, who paid full price and not have an opportunity to see red zone action close up?
Why do the players have to adjust to their team's bench and coaching staff being in a different location from one half to the next?
If the one end zone was considered unsafe, why did it take several days to make this decision? What was different 2 days before the game from a week earlier when the field was considered to be ready?
Since the dimensions of a college football field do not change, how was the game allowed to be scheduled at Wrigley Field in the first place?
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Instead, what did we get from the media? We got the "Let's see how this works with special rules...." approach to continue to hype interest in the game. While I can understand ESPN and ESPN Radio taking that approach, since ESPNU had the telecast, it was not only ESPN that kept up the hype.
The Big Ten Conference made this last minute "decision". Or so the media reported. Does this mean that Northwestern, the Chicago Cubs, and every other organization associated with allowing this game was fine with college players playing under "unsafe" conditions?
THAT should have been the story to discuss and write about. This was an embarrassing story that went unreported as such.
So there I was hearing, seeing, and reading about how the Minnesota Vikings could fire coach Childress if they lost on Sunday. As if that is a sports "story". Whether you are Vikings fan or not, that is not exactly a positive sports story. (In fact, it's really speculation and not a story at all!)
Worse yet, it was INSTEAD of the real story about the McNabb contract and behind the troubled Northwestern vs. Illinois game.
At this rate, my personal sports news gathering each day will come from watching and listening to certain game broadcasts and telecasts, and from looking at the standings and transactions sections only. Hopefully those will continue to be accurate.
Meanwhile, just before changing the rules for one of its games, the Big Ten football championship game, which debuts on Dec. 3, 2011, will be televised on Fox Sports, which has the rights to do so through the 2016 season. Next year's game will be in Indianapolis. No word as to whether or not both end zones will be used.
BOSTON: Maybe it's because the Red Sox were out of the race by mid-September. Or maybe it is simply a fever pitch among Boston fans. Celtics ratings on CSN New England were up 27% after its first 9 telecasts of the season, while Bruins' ratings have risen by 33% on NESN. The Bruins telecast ratings include the 2 games from Prague at the start of the season which were shown live with late morning starts, not prime time like the other games.
Those who remember the early days of ESPN will remember Jimmy Myers from doing the sports updates during the week in between programs. Sorry to report that Myers is no longer doing his weekly show on WTKK-FM Boston, having done his final show on Halloween when the station did not renew his contract. It was his work in the 70's at WBZ-TV which helped Myers land the ESPN gig. Here's hoping he will join another outlet.
St. LOUIS: WXOS 101.1 continues its ratings success story, moving up to 14th overall in the market in the most recent ratings period after less than 2 years on the air. The male 25-54 age group reflects its success, as WXOS more than tripled the audience (in that demographic) of both KFNS and KSLG combined.
Fox Sports Midwest is expected to announce the new arrangements for its Cardinals TV announcers for next season, now that it will show as many as 150 games. Word is that the delay is because of the possibility that Rick Horton is under consideration for a spot in the Washington Nationals' TV booth.
HOUSTON: Brett Dolan, one of the voices of the Astros, will call the Nov. 27th college hoops game between Houston and TCU on radio, filling in for Tom Franklin.
BANGOR: WVII-TV 7 is now 2 weeks into the initial 13 week run of its The Sunday Sports Page show which airs at 11 AM. Co-hosted by Pat Spekhardt and Brian Sullivan, the show features highlights from recent local and regional sports along with interviews and round table discussions. If successful, the show would expand into a 52 week run.
LONGWOOD VA: WMLU 91.3 has received the Virginia Association of Broadcasters "Outstanding Sports Coverage Award" for a public or non-commercial station for the second year in a row. Keenan Crump (Sports Director) and Nate Epstein (Assistant Sports Director) accepted the award. The Longwood University campus radio station airs the school's basketball and baseball games.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Broadcast Booth - November 9 update.............
The speculation had been around for weeks, but the news made official that Jon Miller will not be back for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball still hits hard. There was no solid reason given for the change. Miller wasn't called out for saying anything controversial or considered not politically correct. I don't recall him issuing an apology for anything he said. Nor do I recall him missing any games he was scheduled to do. (Not doing a game because he was being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame is different.)
More importantly, I don't recall hearing or reading a major complaint about his work, and that goes back 21 seasons on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Here we were one year ago with the media swamped with complaints about Chip Caray messing up on TBS' post-season coverage that led to his being replaced before this just completed season.
Yet, Jon Miller does his job well year in year out for 21 seasons. Shouldn't he be rewarded and not demoted?
Maybe it is the baseball purist in me that still yearns for the tradition of the game that vanishes even further every season. It's bad enough we have teams wearing different uniform tops every game, the constant changing of players, games shown and broadcast over different stations over the course of a week, and constant media speculation about personnel.
OK, so I didn't specifically tune in to Sunday Night Baseball because of Jon Miller, or even to hear Joe Morgan talk himself into and out of the same thought throughout the game. Yet, no matter who replaces Miller, it's going to be a bit harder to want to tune in on Sunday nights. Another constant has been taken away from us, and this time for no reason.
Meanwhile, the sports world lost another of its long time voices with the passing of Bob Fulton last week. The voice of the University of South Carolina football and basketball teams for 43 seasons died at the age of 89. It was fitting that his last football broadcast was the January 1995 win over Virginia in a bowl game, the school's first ever bowl win.
Maybe it's time to make the "I said it, but maybe I didn't mean it" statements a bigger issue. Saying something to make headlines and draw media attention shouldn't count. Actually, it shouldn't happen. Two examples within the past week bring this to mind.
Last Friday (11/5) Michael Kay had Isiah Thomas as a guest on his NYC show on ESPN 1050, and said on the air that Thomas "will become GM of the Knicks". There was nothing further said to back up this claim, which Isiah didn't even address. And, nothing further on any of the sports reports or columns since (as of press time). When you consider the sources that ESPN has, along with how many rumors ESPN "reports" (even if they are reported as rumors), you have to wonder about such a statement from Kay. Yet, the comment was picked up by a couple of NYC media members, and here I am bringing it up. It's as though people will forget about Kay's comment, assuming that Thomas will not get any such position with the Knicks, yet his show generated the additional publicity.
However, it's not just media personalities making a statement and eventually looking to get out from under. University of Washington Athletic Director Scott Woodward went on KJR-AM Seattle during the pre-game show on Saturday (11/6) and said on the air that rival University of Oregon has become "an embarassment" as an academic institution.
By the time I heard about this, Woodward had already issued an apology to anyone offended by the comments.
I can always understand when an apology is issued over something in print, since the context of a comment can easily be challenged when people are not able to hear exactly what was said. Woodward's comment was made on a radio show when potentially thousands of listeners heard it at the time. That makes an apology tougher to take.
Combined, these two incidents are examples of people on both sides of the microphone saying things over the air that shouldn't have been. Some credibility would be nice, especially with the number of sports outlets trying to stay on top of the competition.
MLB Network continues to provide fresh programming even as the off-season gets into full swing. On Monday (11/15) the Network will premier it's "Baseball's Seasons" with an episode recapping the entire 1990 season. Then on Nov. 29th they will premier the episode about the 1971 season.
Now if only MLB Network would put more effort into getting onto AT&T U-Verse, Dish Network, and other cable and satellite systems that don't offer it. All consumers deserve the same opportunities.
PITTSBURGH: WBGG 970 might be too excited about becoming an ESPN Radio affiliate and dumping Fox Radio Sports. Even though it doesn't make the change until Janury 1st, the station's web site is already promoting its lineup revisions and boasting about the change. This does give us confirmation that the (local) Joe Bendel show will continue from 4 to 7 PM. The station continues as the flagship station of the Steelers and Penguins, as well as being the West Virginia University football and basketball outlet (when no conflicts occur).
CHICAGO: The White Sox are on the way to becoming the first MLB team to be involved in their own HD Radio channel, most likely in time for the 2011 season. This is an addition to last week's announcement of a new 5-year deal to continue on WSCR The Score 670. One of the CBS FM station HD channels will be devoted to the White Sox.
Although this is not my marketing blog, the HD channel should really be all about marketing. In order to make this work, the team and station should be working to put HD Radios into the hands of White Sox fans. Give them out to full season ticket holders. Have them as prizes during station promotions and perhaps to selected callers throughout their sports talk days and nights. Offer significant discounts or free incentives from participating advertisers and retailers. Get HD radios into the hands of fans for nothing or pretty close to it.
This is the sort of thing which could make HD Radio worthwhile by offering a niche but mass appeal channel. To insist that fans spend $50 to $150 to purchase an HD Radio to hear it would only limit the audience. The ideal solution is to also stream the channel, which would benefit fans and advertisers the most, although it would not further HD Radio. Yet, if the idea is to have a constant vehicle of all things White Sox for the fan base, this will be something to keep an ear on.
BOSTON: The sports radio competition continues to thrive with WEEI and WBZ-FM, and smaller outlets and trying to get into the mix. This past Sunday (11/7) brought the "Upton & Lobel" to WXKS 1200 from 9 to 11 AM. The hosts are Bob Lobel (formerly of WBZ-TV 4) and Upton Bell.
WCRN 830 Worcester offers "The Henry Schwan Show" from 6 to 7 PM on Sunday nights, and currently has only one sponsor. On Halloween night, Schwan had plenty of time for personal reflection on the Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins. It seems no one called in. Just think if he were on HD Radio.
Comcast SportsNet is adding Bill Walton to some of its Celtics coverage for this season. Walton, who has a part-time schedule on Sacramento Kings telecasts, will work with Mike Gorman on the team's 6 upcoming telecasts (on CSN) from the west coast, starting with a Portland and Phoenix swing in late January. Dave Cowens will add to the studio coverage on a few dates, including the Memphis game this coming Saturday (11/13).
HOUSTON: Calvin Murphy's recent work talking Rockets basketball with Rich Lord and Robert Henslee on KILT could well lead to a regular and bigger role with the station. Those of us who remember Murphy's excellent playing days might say that he could "reach new heights" with his radio career. (For those who don't remember, Murphy was 5' 9" as an NBA standout player.)
VANCOUVER: Market veteran Rick Dhaliwal has a new radio home. He has been added to CKWX 1130 as a sports anchor, in effect replacing Geoff Rohoman and Jason Benner in the process. Scott Russell continues handling afternoons.
WICHITA: Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall began his weekly radio show on Monday (11/8) on KNSS 1330, this season doing the 6 PM show live from a local sports bar and inviting fan participation.
VALPARAISO IN: The recent success of Valparaiso University's basketball team in the NCAA tourney has helped to expand the team's regional radio coverage for the upcoming season. In addition to local WAKE 1500 and WEFM 95.9 Michigan City IN, WJOB 1230 Hammond will start by carrying 14 games this season. WJOB's signal reaches part of the southern tip of Chicago and several southern suburbs.
More importantly, I don't recall hearing or reading a major complaint about his work, and that goes back 21 seasons on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Here we were one year ago with the media swamped with complaints about Chip Caray messing up on TBS' post-season coverage that led to his being replaced before this just completed season.
Yet, Jon Miller does his job well year in year out for 21 seasons. Shouldn't he be rewarded and not demoted?
Maybe it is the baseball purist in me that still yearns for the tradition of the game that vanishes even further every season. It's bad enough we have teams wearing different uniform tops every game, the constant changing of players, games shown and broadcast over different stations over the course of a week, and constant media speculation about personnel.
OK, so I didn't specifically tune in to Sunday Night Baseball because of Jon Miller, or even to hear Joe Morgan talk himself into and out of the same thought throughout the game. Yet, no matter who replaces Miller, it's going to be a bit harder to want to tune in on Sunday nights. Another constant has been taken away from us, and this time for no reason.
Meanwhile, the sports world lost another of its long time voices with the passing of Bob Fulton last week. The voice of the University of South Carolina football and basketball teams for 43 seasons died at the age of 89. It was fitting that his last football broadcast was the January 1995 win over Virginia in a bowl game, the school's first ever bowl win.
Maybe it's time to make the "I said it, but maybe I didn't mean it" statements a bigger issue. Saying something to make headlines and draw media attention shouldn't count. Actually, it shouldn't happen. Two examples within the past week bring this to mind.
Last Friday (11/5) Michael Kay had Isiah Thomas as a guest on his NYC show on ESPN 1050, and said on the air that Thomas "will become GM of the Knicks". There was nothing further said to back up this claim, which Isiah didn't even address. And, nothing further on any of the sports reports or columns since (as of press time). When you consider the sources that ESPN has, along with how many rumors ESPN "reports" (even if they are reported as rumors), you have to wonder about such a statement from Kay. Yet, the comment was picked up by a couple of NYC media members, and here I am bringing it up. It's as though people will forget about Kay's comment, assuming that Thomas will not get any such position with the Knicks, yet his show generated the additional publicity.
However, it's not just media personalities making a statement and eventually looking to get out from under. University of Washington Athletic Director Scott Woodward went on KJR-AM Seattle during the pre-game show on Saturday (11/6) and said on the air that rival University of Oregon has become "an embarassment" as an academic institution.
By the time I heard about this, Woodward had already issued an apology to anyone offended by the comments.
I can always understand when an apology is issued over something in print, since the context of a comment can easily be challenged when people are not able to hear exactly what was said. Woodward's comment was made on a radio show when potentially thousands of listeners heard it at the time. That makes an apology tougher to take.
Combined, these two incidents are examples of people on both sides of the microphone saying things over the air that shouldn't have been. Some credibility would be nice, especially with the number of sports outlets trying to stay on top of the competition.
MLB Network continues to provide fresh programming even as the off-season gets into full swing. On Monday (11/15) the Network will premier it's "Baseball's Seasons" with an episode recapping the entire 1990 season. Then on Nov. 29th they will premier the episode about the 1971 season.
Now if only MLB Network would put more effort into getting onto AT&T U-Verse, Dish Network, and other cable and satellite systems that don't offer it. All consumers deserve the same opportunities.
PITTSBURGH: WBGG 970 might be too excited about becoming an ESPN Radio affiliate and dumping Fox Radio Sports. Even though it doesn't make the change until Janury 1st, the station's web site is already promoting its lineup revisions and boasting about the change. This does give us confirmation that the (local) Joe Bendel show will continue from 4 to 7 PM. The station continues as the flagship station of the Steelers and Penguins, as well as being the West Virginia University football and basketball outlet (when no conflicts occur).
CHICAGO: The White Sox are on the way to becoming the first MLB team to be involved in their own HD Radio channel, most likely in time for the 2011 season. This is an addition to last week's announcement of a new 5-year deal to continue on WSCR The Score 670. One of the CBS FM station HD channels will be devoted to the White Sox.
Although this is not my marketing blog, the HD channel should really be all about marketing. In order to make this work, the team and station should be working to put HD Radios into the hands of White Sox fans. Give them out to full season ticket holders. Have them as prizes during station promotions and perhaps to selected callers throughout their sports talk days and nights. Offer significant discounts or free incentives from participating advertisers and retailers. Get HD radios into the hands of fans for nothing or pretty close to it.
This is the sort of thing which could make HD Radio worthwhile by offering a niche but mass appeal channel. To insist that fans spend $50 to $150 to purchase an HD Radio to hear it would only limit the audience. The ideal solution is to also stream the channel, which would benefit fans and advertisers the most, although it would not further HD Radio. Yet, if the idea is to have a constant vehicle of all things White Sox for the fan base, this will be something to keep an ear on.
BOSTON: The sports radio competition continues to thrive with WEEI and WBZ-FM, and smaller outlets and trying to get into the mix. This past Sunday (11/7) brought the "Upton & Lobel" to WXKS 1200 from 9 to 11 AM. The hosts are Bob Lobel (formerly of WBZ-TV 4) and Upton Bell.
WCRN 830 Worcester offers "The Henry Schwan Show" from 6 to 7 PM on Sunday nights, and currently has only one sponsor. On Halloween night, Schwan had plenty of time for personal reflection on the Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins. It seems no one called in. Just think if he were on HD Radio.
Comcast SportsNet is adding Bill Walton to some of its Celtics coverage for this season. Walton, who has a part-time schedule on Sacramento Kings telecasts, will work with Mike Gorman on the team's 6 upcoming telecasts (on CSN) from the west coast, starting with a Portland and Phoenix swing in late January. Dave Cowens will add to the studio coverage on a few dates, including the Memphis game this coming Saturday (11/13).
HOUSTON: Calvin Murphy's recent work talking Rockets basketball with Rich Lord and Robert Henslee on KILT could well lead to a regular and bigger role with the station. Those of us who remember Murphy's excellent playing days might say that he could "reach new heights" with his radio career. (For those who don't remember, Murphy was 5' 9" as an NBA standout player.)
VANCOUVER: Market veteran Rick Dhaliwal has a new radio home. He has been added to CKWX 1130 as a sports anchor, in effect replacing Geoff Rohoman and Jason Benner in the process. Scott Russell continues handling afternoons.
WICHITA: Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall began his weekly radio show on Monday (11/8) on KNSS 1330, this season doing the 6 PM show live from a local sports bar and inviting fan participation.
VALPARAISO IN: The recent success of Valparaiso University's basketball team in the NCAA tourney has helped to expand the team's regional radio coverage for the upcoming season. In addition to local WAKE 1500 and WEFM 95.9 Michigan City IN, WJOB 1230 Hammond will start by carrying 14 games this season. WJOB's signal reaches part of the southern tip of Chicago and several southern suburbs.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Broadcast Booth - November 2 Update......
Another example of an NBA player using the media to make news took place within the past few days, but this is much different from the LeBron James signing which became a TV event instead of a news conference.
For all of the gossip and speculation that appears within sportscasts and on the sports pages these days, it is practially refreshing to see a pro athlete concerned about his comments enough to the point of taking to the media on his own.
Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat took matters into his owns hands. It seems that last Tuesday in Boston Bosh commented to a Toronto Sun reporter to the effect of "It's all about being on TV, and if a player has great statistics and you don't see it, it doesn't matter". (Not exact quote.) It seems those comments were taken by Raptors fans as a slap against the Raptors, for which Bosh had been the marquee player until joining LeBron and the Heat this summer.
Even though Bosh no longer plays for Toronto, he and his agent reportedly contacted Toronto's FAN 590 and Bosh went on the air last Thursday (Oct. 28) to explain the comments to host Doug Farraway. Bosh indicated that his comments were not intended to be a reflection on the fans and media coverage in Toronto.
Agree or not, it's interesting that Bosh chose radio over the newspapers, likely so that his voice could be heard addressing the situation. It is wonderful to see radio be able to use its edge over the print media, and in this instance, also TV, by being able to get live reaction first.
It is also interesting that this story got very little media coverage, considering what a major use of all-sports radio this was. Generally, the sports stations do not have nearly enough player interviews, especially from their local teams, considering their resources. Yet, this was a case of a player (technically no longer local) actually making news on a sports radio station.
The inevitable football vs. baseball on TV comparisons will be flying throughout this week, especially with the World Series' final 2 games both being directly up against NFL telecasts.
At press time, early numbers indicated that the Giants' clincher on Monday night on Fox-TV drew bigger ratings than Monday Night Football on ESPN. Yet, NBC beat Fox on Sunday night with Sunday Night Football, even though this is the first time that NBC went ahead and televised a game up against the Sunday World Series. (And you know there are some NBC execs counting lost revenue from past years after that move.)
Yet, it appears that while Fox-TV scored well vs. its overall competition for the World Series that this year's will come in as the 2nd least watched World Series in recent years.
For NBC-TV, the trend continues among the Top 10 metered markets for Sunday Night Football. Other than NFL markets and Las Vegas, the 2 markets making the top 10 for the night were Richmond and Norfolk, which have scored very well in this category throughout the season.
On the World Series side, it turned out that the San Francisco market had higher audience figures than the Dallas market for every game of the World Series. Regionally, Austin and San Antonio were among the Top 10 metered markets for the World Series.
As the World Series ended and free agent talk starts, we have to pause and wonder whether the Giants' Game 5 win would be the final one that Jon Miller described for ESPN. The voice of Sunday Night Baseball for the past 21 seasons and the lead ESPN Radio voice in recent years now has an expired contract. Same for analyst Joe Morgan. It seems odd that Miller would not be locked up for next season and beyond.
ESPN might have rubbed it in to Fox and to some extent to MLB on Tuesday night (Nov. 2). It's "Bottom Line" scroll just happened to "report" that the World Series ratings were down this season. How that was "breaking sports news" and was given equal billing to scores, hirings, and transactions is beyond me. Face it, if ESPN had shown the World Series, that "report" would not have appeared the night following its conclusion.
The latest radio ratings, this for the mid-September into mid-October period, are coming out this week, showing the impact of the division races and post-season baseball in the cities involved.
As mentioned last month, we focus on the overall audience ratings, rather than the 25-54 male focus that other reporters seem to treasure.
In New York, WFAN and WEPN combined for a .5 total increase in overall audience, with WFAN 660 finishing 11th overall in the market. WCBS 880 showed well, no doubt helped by its Yankees broadcasts along with the all-news format.
Los Angeles listeners continue to not pay much attention to sports radio. KSPN and KLAC each rose .1, but combined their ratings would not make the market's current top 20.
Chicago's ratings saw movement among the two sports stations, even though they would not make the top 10 if combined. WSCR The Score dropped .3 and finished only 18th overall, while rival WMVP ESPN rose .4.
One Giants step for San Francisco radio was taken by KNBR 680, which rose along with the Giants' run to the post-season. KNBR went from a 3.6 to a 5.2 overall and finished #2 overall in the market. KTCT-AM also rose .4, normally a nice increase but it seems pale in comparison to KNBR's. With the ratings period having ended before the NLCS finished and the Giants in the World Series, the sports numbers figure to remain strong.
In Dallas, the Rangers' post-season run along with the Cowboys doing anything had its impact on sports radio as well. KTCK The Ticket led the 3 stations and showed a .2 increase. Rival KRLD_FM went up .6, while KESN still trails but also rose .4.
Philadelphia listeners were talking Phillies and Eagles. WIP 610 showed a .7 increase to #9 overall, while WPEN rose .5, giving both sports talkers a combined rating which would be 4th in the market.
However, in Houston, even though KILT leads the pack of 4 sports stations and rose .4 overall, the 4 stations combined wouldn't have made the market's top 20 stations. If this keeps up, 25-54 will be the sports radio listener estimate instead of an audience demographic when it comes to Houston.
Elsewhere, CBSC, the CBS Sports college TV network, is giving a free "preview" via some systems this week in an attempt to attract more viewers and subscribers. Carrying this Saturday's (Nov. 6) Utah-TCU telecast won't hurt. Fans of both teams might be hurt, as the strength of this telecast and the ability to attract "new" viewers could be keeping CBS from showing this matchup to a wider audience.
HOUSTON: The announcement of a Comcast Sports Regional Network for the Houston area starting in 2 years may or may not spell the death of Fox Sports Houston. After being forced out by similar moves in Chicago and other cities, FSH has 2 years to try and hold its own and prepare for losing both the Astros and Rockets after 2 more seasons.
Whether national Fox Sports programming, Big 12 Football, and coverage of the University of Houston and Rice sports will carry the bulk remains to be seen. Surrounding coverage of the Texans will also likely be threatened (if not upstaged) by a Comcast Regional Network, as these provide expanded NFL post-game and weekly programming in their other existing markets.
This will mark the end of an era. Fox Sports Houston was originally HSE and has carried the majority of Astros telecasts since 1983 and had the Rockets games most of those years.
CHICAGO: The Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks are still winners in the young NHL season. Not in the standings but in the TV ratings column. Comcast SportsNet Chicago aired 10 regular season games during October and reports a 77% ratings increase over last October. Both its pre-game and post-game shows have doubled their audiences compared with the first month of last season.
DePaul University basketball will have most of its basketball games aired on WSCR 670 starting later this month, including all of their (Big East) Conference games and the majority of the non-conference games. Zach Zaidman and Laurence Holmes will broadcast every game, with those not airing on WSCR being streamed online.
CINCINNATI: With the Bengals hosting Pittsburgh for Monday Night Football on Monday (11/8), Mike & Mike will do their ESPN Radio and TV morning show from Cincinnati that morning. WCKY 1530 is giving away tickets to attend the broadcast at the West Club Lounge inside Paul Brown Stadium.
SACRAMENTO: A tough week for listeners to and employees of KHTK 1140 this week. As of this week, Kings play-by-play voice Grant Napear is now the only host (schedule permitting) of the 4 - 7 PM spot, as co-host Mike Lamb was let go, as was Program Director Mark Evans. Lamb and Napear were teamed for the past 6 years until this week.
CLEVELAND: Sports anchor Tony Rizzo will be out at Fox 8 as of December 31st after nearly 15 years there. As of now, his WKNR 850 "The Really Big Show" continues on weekday mornings.
WINNIPEG: The recently started Sports Radio 1290 is adding a Saturday morning hockey show starting this Saturday (11/6), as The Illegal Curve Show debuts from 10 AM to Noon. Plans include having current and former NHL players as guests as often as possible.
For all of the gossip and speculation that appears within sportscasts and on the sports pages these days, it is practially refreshing to see a pro athlete concerned about his comments enough to the point of taking to the media on his own.
Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat took matters into his owns hands. It seems that last Tuesday in Boston Bosh commented to a Toronto Sun reporter to the effect of "It's all about being on TV, and if a player has great statistics and you don't see it, it doesn't matter". (Not exact quote.) It seems those comments were taken by Raptors fans as a slap against the Raptors, for which Bosh had been the marquee player until joining LeBron and the Heat this summer.
Even though Bosh no longer plays for Toronto, he and his agent reportedly contacted Toronto's FAN 590 and Bosh went on the air last Thursday (Oct. 28) to explain the comments to host Doug Farraway. Bosh indicated that his comments were not intended to be a reflection on the fans and media coverage in Toronto.
Agree or not, it's interesting that Bosh chose radio over the newspapers, likely so that his voice could be heard addressing the situation. It is wonderful to see radio be able to use its edge over the print media, and in this instance, also TV, by being able to get live reaction first.
It is also interesting that this story got very little media coverage, considering what a major use of all-sports radio this was. Generally, the sports stations do not have nearly enough player interviews, especially from their local teams, considering their resources. Yet, this was a case of a player (technically no longer local) actually making news on a sports radio station.
The inevitable football vs. baseball on TV comparisons will be flying throughout this week, especially with the World Series' final 2 games both being directly up against NFL telecasts.
At press time, early numbers indicated that the Giants' clincher on Monday night on Fox-TV drew bigger ratings than Monday Night Football on ESPN. Yet, NBC beat Fox on Sunday night with Sunday Night Football, even though this is the first time that NBC went ahead and televised a game up against the Sunday World Series. (And you know there are some NBC execs counting lost revenue from past years after that move.)
Yet, it appears that while Fox-TV scored well vs. its overall competition for the World Series that this year's will come in as the 2nd least watched World Series in recent years.
For NBC-TV, the trend continues among the Top 10 metered markets for Sunday Night Football. Other than NFL markets and Las Vegas, the 2 markets making the top 10 for the night were Richmond and Norfolk, which have scored very well in this category throughout the season.
On the World Series side, it turned out that the San Francisco market had higher audience figures than the Dallas market for every game of the World Series. Regionally, Austin and San Antonio were among the Top 10 metered markets for the World Series.
As the World Series ended and free agent talk starts, we have to pause and wonder whether the Giants' Game 5 win would be the final one that Jon Miller described for ESPN. The voice of Sunday Night Baseball for the past 21 seasons and the lead ESPN Radio voice in recent years now has an expired contract. Same for analyst Joe Morgan. It seems odd that Miller would not be locked up for next season and beyond.
ESPN might have rubbed it in to Fox and to some extent to MLB on Tuesday night (Nov. 2). It's "Bottom Line" scroll just happened to "report" that the World Series ratings were down this season. How that was "breaking sports news" and was given equal billing to scores, hirings, and transactions is beyond me. Face it, if ESPN had shown the World Series, that "report" would not have appeared the night following its conclusion.
The latest radio ratings, this for the mid-September into mid-October period, are coming out this week, showing the impact of the division races and post-season baseball in the cities involved.
As mentioned last month, we focus on the overall audience ratings, rather than the 25-54 male focus that other reporters seem to treasure.
In New York, WFAN and WEPN combined for a .5 total increase in overall audience, with WFAN 660 finishing 11th overall in the market. WCBS 880 showed well, no doubt helped by its Yankees broadcasts along with the all-news format.
Los Angeles listeners continue to not pay much attention to sports radio. KSPN and KLAC each rose .1, but combined their ratings would not make the market's current top 20.
Chicago's ratings saw movement among the two sports stations, even though they would not make the top 10 if combined. WSCR The Score dropped .3 and finished only 18th overall, while rival WMVP ESPN rose .4.
One Giants step for San Francisco radio was taken by KNBR 680, which rose along with the Giants' run to the post-season. KNBR went from a 3.6 to a 5.2 overall and finished #2 overall in the market. KTCT-AM also rose .4, normally a nice increase but it seems pale in comparison to KNBR's. With the ratings period having ended before the NLCS finished and the Giants in the World Series, the sports numbers figure to remain strong.
In Dallas, the Rangers' post-season run along with the Cowboys doing anything had its impact on sports radio as well. KTCK The Ticket led the 3 stations and showed a .2 increase. Rival KRLD_FM went up .6, while KESN still trails but also rose .4.
Philadelphia listeners were talking Phillies and Eagles. WIP 610 showed a .7 increase to #9 overall, while WPEN rose .5, giving both sports talkers a combined rating which would be 4th in the market.
However, in Houston, even though KILT leads the pack of 4 sports stations and rose .4 overall, the 4 stations combined wouldn't have made the market's top 20 stations. If this keeps up, 25-54 will be the sports radio listener estimate instead of an audience demographic when it comes to Houston.
Elsewhere, CBSC, the CBS Sports college TV network, is giving a free "preview" via some systems this week in an attempt to attract more viewers and subscribers. Carrying this Saturday's (Nov. 6) Utah-TCU telecast won't hurt. Fans of both teams might be hurt, as the strength of this telecast and the ability to attract "new" viewers could be keeping CBS from showing this matchup to a wider audience.
HOUSTON: The announcement of a Comcast Sports Regional Network for the Houston area starting in 2 years may or may not spell the death of Fox Sports Houston. After being forced out by similar moves in Chicago and other cities, FSH has 2 years to try and hold its own and prepare for losing both the Astros and Rockets after 2 more seasons.
Whether national Fox Sports programming, Big 12 Football, and coverage of the University of Houston and Rice sports will carry the bulk remains to be seen. Surrounding coverage of the Texans will also likely be threatened (if not upstaged) by a Comcast Regional Network, as these provide expanded NFL post-game and weekly programming in their other existing markets.
This will mark the end of an era. Fox Sports Houston was originally HSE and has carried the majority of Astros telecasts since 1983 and had the Rockets games most of those years.
CHICAGO: The Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks are still winners in the young NHL season. Not in the standings but in the TV ratings column. Comcast SportsNet Chicago aired 10 regular season games during October and reports a 77% ratings increase over last October. Both its pre-game and post-game shows have doubled their audiences compared with the first month of last season.
DePaul University basketball will have most of its basketball games aired on WSCR 670 starting later this month, including all of their (Big East) Conference games and the majority of the non-conference games. Zach Zaidman and Laurence Holmes will broadcast every game, with those not airing on WSCR being streamed online.
CINCINNATI: With the Bengals hosting Pittsburgh for Monday Night Football on Monday (11/8), Mike & Mike will do their ESPN Radio and TV morning show from Cincinnati that morning. WCKY 1530 is giving away tickets to attend the broadcast at the West Club Lounge inside Paul Brown Stadium.
SACRAMENTO: A tough week for listeners to and employees of KHTK 1140 this week. As of this week, Kings play-by-play voice Grant Napear is now the only host (schedule permitting) of the 4 - 7 PM spot, as co-host Mike Lamb was let go, as was Program Director Mark Evans. Lamb and Napear were teamed for the past 6 years until this week.
CLEVELAND: Sports anchor Tony Rizzo will be out at Fox 8 as of December 31st after nearly 15 years there. As of now, his WKNR 850 "The Really Big Show" continues on weekday mornings.
WINNIPEG: The recently started Sports Radio 1290 is adding a Saturday morning hockey show starting this Saturday (11/6), as The Illegal Curve Show debuts from 10 AM to Noon. Plans include having current and former NHL players as guests as often as possible.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Broadcast Booth - October 26th Update.....
Cleveland Cavaliers basketball won't be the same as the season starts, and that has nothing whatsoever to do with LeBron James. All but 2 of the past 40 NBA seasons have brought us Joe Tait as the voice of the Cavs. This new season was supposed to be Joe's final season leading into a well deserved retirement, and a chance for fans and media around the league to honor him on his last visit to each NBA venue.
However, Joe is having heart surgery this week, and it comes after a bout with pneumonia. Tait is not expected back until at least 2 months into the season, and that is considered "best case" at this time. Mike Snyder will step out of the pre-game and post-game studio role and handle radio play-by-play (along with Jim Chones on color), most likely for as long as he is needed on WTAM 1100 Cleveland and WAKR 1590 Akron.
Hardcore Cavs fans bemoan the loss of LeBron James. Longtime basketball fans have the loss of one of the best basketball play-by-play voices for an indefinite period of time. Here's hoping for a great recovery by Tait, and that it be enough to keep him around for one more FULL season after that.
Football and baseball continue to rack up the TV viewers during this busy sports month of October. TBS finished its post-season baseball coverage with a 9% increase in overall viewership for its Division Series and ALCS coverage. The New York vs. Texas ALCS Game 6 telecast finished as the 2nd most watched program in 34 years of TBS, helping the network achieve its highest viewership for any post-season series it has televised.
NBC-TV continues to soar in the Sunday Night Football ratings, with its Green Bay vs. Minnesota telecast (Oct. 24) winning the entire evening and being the most watched SNF telecast of the season to date.
In Milwaukee, WTMJ-TV's initial overnights showed a 53 rating and better than a 68 share, increasing to a 57 rating during the game's later stages. The curious trend continued with Norfolk and Oklahoma City (both cities without NFL franchises) each finished in the Top 10 of metered markets.
This ratings surge may not be limited to MLB and the NFL. Versus reports improved ratings for its early season NHL telecasts, and this week marks the start of the new NBA season, with TNT and ESPN each featuring 2 nights of doubleheaders.
Yet, all is not well in some of the NFL's TV markets. WTOC-TV Savannah had to defend itself on its own web site and in the media after NFL TV policy prohibited it from showing this past Sunday's Atlanta Falcons game vs. Cincinnati. The market is technically within 75 miles of Jacksonville FL, and as a result, the Jaguars game had to be shown. Since it was an away day for the Jags, the game had to be shown (since home games are not selling out). Granted, that is the rule under the current TV policy set forth by the NFL. One would think that given the staggering amount of money the networks pay the league for TV rights that the fans in various markets would be entitled to the games they would most like to see.
This past Sunday (10/24) also had a telecast schedule changed in San Diego, and it may not have been due to the Chargers. The Chargers' home game vs. New England managed to sell out and the game was shown in the local San Diego market. Hours later it came out that it was the (road team) New England Patriots that used a social media site to announce the availability of tickets for the game in San Diego, targeting fans in Southern California, to help get the remaining tickets sold in time.
With Gus Johnson out of handling New York Knicks play-by-play, his role for the Big Ten Network will expand for the coming college hoops season. Johnson will call approximately 23 games this season, nearly double the number of games his schedule allowed last season. Jim Jackson will return for studio analysis and occasional work on game telecasts. Quinn Buckner has been added to the BTN roster for color commentary when his schedule allows (in addition to color on Indiana Pacers telecasts). BTN has also signed Brian Anderson to call some games. Anderson just completed a full season of baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers TV and TBS Division Series coverage. Wayne Larrivee (Packers), Eric Collins (Dodgers), Dave Revsine, Tom Hart, and Tom Hamilton will also handle play-by-play assignments.
CBS-TV's Greg Gumbel will be the featured speaker on January 18th at the 46th Red Smith Sports Award Banquet in Appleton WI.
MIAMI: The Miami Heat radio station battle remains unsettled (at press time) hours before their much-anticipated season begins. What started over a battle over whether the Heat or the Dolphins would have priority next Sunday (10/31) when both the Heat and Dolphins games are both scheduled to begin at 1 PM ET has resulted in the Heat attempting to terminate their contract with WINZ 940.
While the contract status appears headed to court, WINZ may only be airing the Heat games through next week (Nov. 5). This includes the conflict on Sunday, when the Dolphins broadcast is reportedly being moved to WIOD 610 to give the Heat priority. Mike Inglis and John Crotty are set as the radio team regardless of where the Heat broadcasts wind up. Word is that The Ticket 790 has shown interest in taking over the rights.
NEW YORK: Seth Everett has been added to WFAN's broadcasts of the Nets effective in time for opening night. Everett has previously handled surrounding coverage of the Mets for SNY and for Fox Sports surrounding both Knicks and Nets games, along with hosting shows on ESPN 1050. Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw continue on play-by-play and analysis.
Ft. MYERS/NAPLES: Florida Gulf Coast University is receiving additional local TV college. "The FGCU Sports Report" will air on Saturday mornings on the local ABC-TV affiliate, and then in the evening on the local NBC-TV sub-station from now until May. Tom James, former Channel 2 sports anchor, hosts the show.
However, Joe is having heart surgery this week, and it comes after a bout with pneumonia. Tait is not expected back until at least 2 months into the season, and that is considered "best case" at this time. Mike Snyder will step out of the pre-game and post-game studio role and handle radio play-by-play (along with Jim Chones on color), most likely for as long as he is needed on WTAM 1100 Cleveland and WAKR 1590 Akron.
Hardcore Cavs fans bemoan the loss of LeBron James. Longtime basketball fans have the loss of one of the best basketball play-by-play voices for an indefinite period of time. Here's hoping for a great recovery by Tait, and that it be enough to keep him around for one more FULL season after that.
Football and baseball continue to rack up the TV viewers during this busy sports month of October. TBS finished its post-season baseball coverage with a 9% increase in overall viewership for its Division Series and ALCS coverage. The New York vs. Texas ALCS Game 6 telecast finished as the 2nd most watched program in 34 years of TBS, helping the network achieve its highest viewership for any post-season series it has televised.
NBC-TV continues to soar in the Sunday Night Football ratings, with its Green Bay vs. Minnesota telecast (Oct. 24) winning the entire evening and being the most watched SNF telecast of the season to date.
In Milwaukee, WTMJ-TV's initial overnights showed a 53 rating and better than a 68 share, increasing to a 57 rating during the game's later stages. The curious trend continued with Norfolk and Oklahoma City (both cities without NFL franchises) each finished in the Top 10 of metered markets.
This ratings surge may not be limited to MLB and the NFL. Versus reports improved ratings for its early season NHL telecasts, and this week marks the start of the new NBA season, with TNT and ESPN each featuring 2 nights of doubleheaders.
Yet, all is not well in some of the NFL's TV markets. WTOC-TV Savannah had to defend itself on its own web site and in the media after NFL TV policy prohibited it from showing this past Sunday's Atlanta Falcons game vs. Cincinnati. The market is technically within 75 miles of Jacksonville FL, and as a result, the Jaguars game had to be shown. Since it was an away day for the Jags, the game had to be shown (since home games are not selling out). Granted, that is the rule under the current TV policy set forth by the NFL. One would think that given the staggering amount of money the networks pay the league for TV rights that the fans in various markets would be entitled to the games they would most like to see.
This past Sunday (10/24) also had a telecast schedule changed in San Diego, and it may not have been due to the Chargers. The Chargers' home game vs. New England managed to sell out and the game was shown in the local San Diego market. Hours later it came out that it was the (road team) New England Patriots that used a social media site to announce the availability of tickets for the game in San Diego, targeting fans in Southern California, to help get the remaining tickets sold in time.
With Gus Johnson out of handling New York Knicks play-by-play, his role for the Big Ten Network will expand for the coming college hoops season. Johnson will call approximately 23 games this season, nearly double the number of games his schedule allowed last season. Jim Jackson will return for studio analysis and occasional work on game telecasts. Quinn Buckner has been added to the BTN roster for color commentary when his schedule allows (in addition to color on Indiana Pacers telecasts). BTN has also signed Brian Anderson to call some games. Anderson just completed a full season of baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers TV and TBS Division Series coverage. Wayne Larrivee (Packers), Eric Collins (Dodgers), Dave Revsine, Tom Hart, and Tom Hamilton will also handle play-by-play assignments.
CBS-TV's Greg Gumbel will be the featured speaker on January 18th at the 46th Red Smith Sports Award Banquet in Appleton WI.
MIAMI: The Miami Heat radio station battle remains unsettled (at press time) hours before their much-anticipated season begins. What started over a battle over whether the Heat or the Dolphins would have priority next Sunday (10/31) when both the Heat and Dolphins games are both scheduled to begin at 1 PM ET has resulted in the Heat attempting to terminate their contract with WINZ 940.
While the contract status appears headed to court, WINZ may only be airing the Heat games through next week (Nov. 5). This includes the conflict on Sunday, when the Dolphins broadcast is reportedly being moved to WIOD 610 to give the Heat priority. Mike Inglis and John Crotty are set as the radio team regardless of where the Heat broadcasts wind up. Word is that The Ticket 790 has shown interest in taking over the rights.
NEW YORK: Seth Everett has been added to WFAN's broadcasts of the Nets effective in time for opening night. Everett has previously handled surrounding coverage of the Mets for SNY and for Fox Sports surrounding both Knicks and Nets games, along with hosting shows on ESPN 1050. Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw continue on play-by-play and analysis.
Ft. MYERS/NAPLES: Florida Gulf Coast University is receiving additional local TV college. "The FGCU Sports Report" will air on Saturday mornings on the local ABC-TV affiliate, and then in the evening on the local NBC-TV sub-station from now until May. Tom James, former Channel 2 sports anchor, hosts the show.
The NBA national telecast schedule
By request, here is a calendar version of nationally televised NBA games as of now. Of course, the schedule is subject to change, especially later into the regular season.
The games listed on WGN-TV are those available on WGN America only. (The Bulls games carried just on WGN-TV Chicago are not available nationally.) NBA-TV continues having the fans choose the games for most Tuesday nights. All times ET.
Tuesday, Oct. 26
7:30: Miami at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, Oct. 27
8:00: Chicago at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
Thursday, Oct. 28
8:00: Washington at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (TNT)
Friday, Oct. 29
8:00: Orlando at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 30
8:30: Denver at Houston (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Oct. 31
7:00: Utah at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 1
8:00: Portland at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 2
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 3
8:00: Milwaukee at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Sacramento (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 4
8:00: New York at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 5
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 6
9:00: Denver at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 7
7:00: Boston at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 8
7:00: San Antonio at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 9
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 10
7:00: Utah at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: L.A. Clippers at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 11
8:00: Boston at Miami (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 12
7:00: Utah at Atlanta (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 13
8:00: Washington at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Golden State at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 14
7:30: Houston at New York, (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 15
7:00: Memphis at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 16
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 17
7:00: Phoenix at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 18
8:00: Phoenix at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 19
7:00: Oklahoma City at Boston (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 20
8:00: Dallas at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 21
6:00: New Orleans at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 23
8:30: Orlando at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 24
7:30: Miami at Orlando (ESPN)
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Nov. 25
8:00: Washington at Atlanta (TNT)
10:30: Sacramento at L.A. Clippers (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 26
7:00: Houston at Charlotte (ESPN2)
9:30: Golden State at Memphis (ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 27
7:00: Orlando at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:00: Chicago at Sacramento (WGN)
Sunday, Nov. 28
7:00: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 29
8:30: Houston at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 30
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 1
7:30: Portland at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 2
8:00: Miami at Cleveland (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 3
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 4
8:00: Houston at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Orlando at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 6
7:00: Atlanta at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 7
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 8
7:00: Denver at Boston (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 9
8:00: Boston at Philadelphia (TNT)
10:30: Orlando at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Chicago (ESPN)
10:30: Miami at Golden State (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 11
8:00: Minnesota at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Utah at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 13
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 14
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 15
7:00: Boston at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 16
8:00: Atlanta at Boston (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 17
7:00: Miami at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Phoenix at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 18
7:00: Miami at Washington (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Dec. 19
7:00: Phoenix at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 20
7:30: Dallas at Miami (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 21
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 22
7:00: Chicago at Washington (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 23
8:00: San Antonio at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Phoenix (TNT)
Saturday, Dec. 25
12:00: Chicago at New York (ESPN)
2:30: Boston at Orlando (ABC)
5:00: Miami at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
8:00: Denver at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Dec. 27
7:00: Detroit at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 28
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 29
10:30: Utah at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 30
7:00: New York at Orlando (TNT)
9:30: San Antonio at Dallas (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 31
3:00: New Jersey at Chicago (WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 2
9:00: Houston at Portland (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 3
8:00: Philadelphia at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 4
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 5
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 6
8:00: Oklahoma City at Dallas (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Sacramento (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 7
8:00: Houston at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: New York at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 8
8:00: Boston at Chicago (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 9
8:00: Cleveland at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 10
7:30: Houston at Boston (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 11
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 12
8:30: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Jan. 13
8:00: Orlando at Oklahoma City (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 14
8:00: Dallas at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 15
8:00: Miami at Chicago (NBA-TV,WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 16
9:00: Denver at San Antonio (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 17
1:00: Chicago at Memphis (ESPN)
4:00: Sacramento at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Orlando at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Tuesday, Jan. 18
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 19
9:00: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 20
8:00: Dallas at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 21
8:00: Phoenix at Washington (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 22
7:30: Utah at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
8:00: Cleveland at Chicago (WGN)
Monday, Jan. 24
7:30: Washington at New York (NBA-TV)
10:00: Sacramento at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 25
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 26
9:30: San Antonio at Utah (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 27
8:00: Miami at New York (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 28
10:30: Boston at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 29
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Atlanta at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Jan. 30
1:00: Miami at Oklahoma City (ABC)
3:30: Boston at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
10:00: Utah at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 31
7:00: Denver at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 2
8:00: New Orleans at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 3
8:00: Miami at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 4
8:00: Dallas at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Utah at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 5
7:00: Atlanta at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at Golden State (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 6
2:30: Orlando at Boston (ABC)
Monday, Feb. 7
8:00: Minnesota at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 9
7:30: L.A. Clippers at New York (NBA-TV)
10:30: Denver at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 11
8:00: L.A. Lakers at New York (ESPN)
Friday, Feb. 11
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 12
7:00: Charlotte at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Chicago at New Orleans (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 13
1:00: Miami at Boston (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at Orlando (ABC)
8:00: Oklahoma City at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 14
7:00: San Antonio at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 16
9:00: Denver at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 17
8:00: San Antonio at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (TNT)
Sunday, Feb. 20
TBD All-Star Game (TNT)
Tuesday, Feb. 22
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 23
8:00: Oklahoma City at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Portland (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 24
8:00: Miami at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 25
8:00: Oklahoma City at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: Denver at Portland (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 26
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 27
2:30: L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City (ABC)
8:00: New York at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Atlanta at Portland (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 28
9:00: Boston at Utah (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 2
7:30: Phoenix at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 3
8:00: Orlando at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Utah (TNT)
Friday, March 4
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV, YES)
7:00: Chicago at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: Miami at San Antonio (ESPN)
Saturday, March 5
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 6
1:00: Chicago at Miami (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at San Antonio (ABC)
6:30: New Orleans at Cleveland (ESPN)
9:00: Boston at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Monday, March 7
7:00: Portland at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 9
8:00: New York at Memphis (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Phoenix (TNT)
Friday, March 11
8:00: Atlanta at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 12
8:00: Utah at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 13
3:30: Orlando at Phoenix (ABC)
6:00: Milwaukee at Boston (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 14
8:00: San Antonio at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Orlando at L.A. Lakers (ESPN)
Tuesday, March 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 16
8:00: Oklahoma City at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Golden State (ESPN)
Thursday, March 17
7:30: Memphis at New York (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 19
7:30: Denver at Miami (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 21
7:30: Boston at New York (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 22
7:00: Chicago at Atlanta (TNT)
9:30: Phoenix at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, March 23
8:00: Orlando at New York (ESPN)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (ESPN)
Friday, March 25
10:00: New Orleans at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 26
7:00: New York at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (WGN)
Sunday, March 27
8:00: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (ESPN)
Monday, March 28
8:00: Philadelphia at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 29
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 30
7:00: Detroit at Indiana (ESPN)
Thursday, March 31
8:00: Boston at San Antonio (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, April 1
8:00: Boston at Atlanta (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, April 2
8:00: Toronto at Chicago (WGN)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 3
1:00: Phoenix at San Antonio (ABC)
3:30: Denver at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
9:00: Dallas at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 5
7:00 or 8:00: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
9:30 or 10:30: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, April 6
7:00: Milwaukee at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Denver at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, April 7
8:00: Boston at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Portland at Utah (TNT)
Friday, April 8
8:00: Phoenix at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Saturday, April 9
8:30: Utah at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 10
1:00: Chicago at Orlando (ABC)
3:30: Boston at Miami (ABC)
9:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (NBA-TV)
Monday, April 11
7:00: Orlando at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
10:00: Oklahoma City at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 12
8:00: Chicago at New York (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, April 13
8:00: Atlanta at Charlotte (ESPN)
10:30: Memphis at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
The games listed on WGN-TV are those available on WGN America only. (The Bulls games carried just on WGN-TV Chicago are not available nationally.) NBA-TV continues having the fans choose the games for most Tuesday nights. All times ET.
Tuesday, Oct. 26
7:30: Miami at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, Oct. 27
8:00: Chicago at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
Thursday, Oct. 28
8:00: Washington at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (TNT)
Friday, Oct. 29
8:00: Orlando at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 30
8:30: Denver at Houston (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Oct. 31
7:00: Utah at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 1
8:00: Portland at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 2
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 3
8:00: Milwaukee at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Sacramento (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 4
8:00: New York at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 5
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 6
9:00: Denver at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 7
7:00: Boston at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 8
7:00: San Antonio at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 9
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 10
7:00: Utah at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: L.A. Clippers at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 11
8:00: Boston at Miami (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 12
7:00: Utah at Atlanta (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 13
8:00: Washington at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Golden State at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 14
7:30: Houston at New York, (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 15
7:00: Memphis at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 16
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 17
7:00: Phoenix at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 18
8:00: Phoenix at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 19
7:00: Oklahoma City at Boston (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 20
8:00: Dallas at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 21
6:00: New Orleans at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 23
8:30: Orlando at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 24
7:30: Miami at Orlando (ESPN)
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Nov. 25
8:00: Washington at Atlanta (TNT)
10:30: Sacramento at L.A. Clippers (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 26
7:00: Houston at Charlotte (ESPN2)
9:30: Golden State at Memphis (ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 27
7:00: Orlando at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:00: Chicago at Sacramento (WGN)
Sunday, Nov. 28
7:00: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 29
8:30: Houston at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 30
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 1
7:30: Portland at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 2
8:00: Miami at Cleveland (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 3
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 4
8:00: Houston at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Orlando at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 6
7:00: Atlanta at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 7
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 8
7:00: Denver at Boston (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 9
8:00: Boston at Philadelphia (TNT)
10:30: Orlando at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Chicago (ESPN)
10:30: Miami at Golden State (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 11
8:00: Minnesota at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Utah at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 13
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 14
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 15
7:00: Boston at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 16
8:00: Atlanta at Boston (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 17
7:00: Miami at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Phoenix at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 18
7:00: Miami at Washington (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Dec. 19
7:00: Phoenix at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 20
7:30: Dallas at Miami (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 21
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 22
7:00: Chicago at Washington (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 23
8:00: San Antonio at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Phoenix (TNT)
Saturday, Dec. 25
12:00: Chicago at New York (ESPN)
2:30: Boston at Orlando (ABC)
5:00: Miami at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
8:00: Denver at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Dec. 27
7:00: Detroit at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 28
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 29
10:30: Utah at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 30
7:00: New York at Orlando (TNT)
9:30: San Antonio at Dallas (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 31
3:00: New Jersey at Chicago (WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 2
9:00: Houston at Portland (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 3
8:00: Philadelphia at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 4
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 5
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 6
8:00: Oklahoma City at Dallas (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Sacramento (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 7
8:00: Houston at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: New York at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 8
8:00: Boston at Chicago (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 9
8:00: Cleveland at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 10
7:30: Houston at Boston (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 11
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 12
8:30: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Jan. 13
8:00: Orlando at Oklahoma City (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 14
8:00: Dallas at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 15
8:00: Miami at Chicago (NBA-TV,WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 16
9:00: Denver at San Antonio (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 17
1:00: Chicago at Memphis (ESPN)
4:00: Sacramento at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Orlando at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Tuesday, Jan. 18
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 19
9:00: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 20
8:00: Dallas at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 21
8:00: Phoenix at Washington (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 22
7:30: Utah at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
8:00: Cleveland at Chicago (WGN)
Monday, Jan. 24
7:30: Washington at New York (NBA-TV)
10:00: Sacramento at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 25
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 26
9:30: San Antonio at Utah (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 27
8:00: Miami at New York (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 28
10:30: Boston at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 29
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Atlanta at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Jan. 30
1:00: Miami at Oklahoma City (ABC)
3:30: Boston at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
10:00: Utah at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 31
7:00: Denver at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 2
8:00: New Orleans at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 3
8:00: Miami at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 4
8:00: Dallas at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Utah at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 5
7:00: Atlanta at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at Golden State (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 6
2:30: Orlando at Boston (ABC)
Monday, Feb. 7
8:00: Minnesota at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 9
7:30: L.A. Clippers at New York (NBA-TV)
10:30: Denver at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 11
8:00: L.A. Lakers at New York (ESPN)
Friday, Feb. 11
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 12
7:00: Charlotte at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Chicago at New Orleans (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 13
1:00: Miami at Boston (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at Orlando (ABC)
8:00: Oklahoma City at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 14
7:00: San Antonio at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 16
9:00: Denver at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 17
8:00: San Antonio at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (TNT)
Sunday, Feb. 20
TBD All-Star Game (TNT)
Tuesday, Feb. 22
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 23
8:00: Oklahoma City at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Portland (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 24
8:00: Miami at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 25
8:00: Oklahoma City at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: Denver at Portland (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 26
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 27
2:30: L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City (ABC)
8:00: New York at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Atlanta at Portland (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 28
9:00: Boston at Utah (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 2
7:30: Phoenix at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 3
8:00: Orlando at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Utah (TNT)
Friday, March 4
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV, YES)
7:00: Chicago at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: Miami at San Antonio (ESPN)
Saturday, March 5
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 6
1:00: Chicago at Miami (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at San Antonio (ABC)
6:30: New Orleans at Cleveland (ESPN)
9:00: Boston at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Monday, March 7
7:00: Portland at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 9
8:00: New York at Memphis (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Phoenix (TNT)
Friday, March 11
8:00: Atlanta at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 12
8:00: Utah at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 13
3:30: Orlando at Phoenix (ABC)
6:00: Milwaukee at Boston (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 14
8:00: San Antonio at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Orlando at L.A. Lakers (ESPN)
Tuesday, March 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 16
8:00: Oklahoma City at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Golden State (ESPN)
Thursday, March 17
7:30: Memphis at New York (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 19
7:30: Denver at Miami (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 21
7:30: Boston at New York (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 22
7:00: Chicago at Atlanta (TNT)
9:30: Phoenix at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, March 23
8:00: Orlando at New York (ESPN)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (ESPN)
Friday, March 25
10:00: New Orleans at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 26
7:00: New York at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (WGN)
Sunday, March 27
8:00: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (ESPN)
Monday, March 28
8:00: Philadelphia at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 29
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 30
7:00: Detroit at Indiana (ESPN)
Thursday, March 31
8:00: Boston at San Antonio (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, April 1
8:00: Boston at Atlanta (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, April 2
8:00: Toronto at Chicago (WGN)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 3
1:00: Phoenix at San Antonio (ABC)
3:30: Denver at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
9:00: Dallas at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 5
7:00 or 8:00: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
9:30 or 10:30: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, April 6
7:00: Milwaukee at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Denver at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, April 7
8:00: Boston at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Portland at Utah (TNT)
Friday, April 8
8:00: Phoenix at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Saturday, April 9
8:30: Utah at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 10
1:00: Chicago at Orlando (ABC)
3:30: Boston at Miami (ABC)
9:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (NBA-TV)
Monday, April 11
7:00: Orlando at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
10:00: Oklahoma City at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 12
8:00: Chicago at New York (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, April 13
8:00: Atlanta at Charlotte (ESPN)
10:30: Memphis at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The Broadcast Booth - October 20th update....
This week brings still more examples of sports radio shows going to TV. In Chicago and several other cities, next Monday (Oct. 25) marks the debut of Dan Patrick's radio show going to the TV side by way of some Fox Sports regional networks and Comcast Sports regional networks.
In Chicago, this marks a move of Patrick's show off the radio and on to TV in perhaps the most significant move in the country. While it is true that Dan Patrick's radio show has been airing on 670 WSCR The Score since its start, the show has been airing on a severe tape delay. Airing the show from 1 to 4 AM and previewing games which have already been completed was never the best showcase for Patrick. Whether that was worth it just to be able to tell potential advertisers that the show airs in Chicago is up for debate. It's just that airing overnight after games were over has been a waste of time, and the better parts of Patrick's show never got a fair shake in the Chicago market.
Getting rid of the Dan Patrick Show means that WSCR The Score will be live and local 24 hours a day. Host Les Grobstein will no longer have a split show from 10 PM to 1 AM and then return from 4 until 5 AM, or need to host for 7 hours straight when there is no Patrick Show to air. Now, he settles into Midnight to 5 AM.
Starting Monday, the Dan Patrick Show will air live on Comcast SportsNet each weekday morning.
In Boston, the popular WEEI morning show, The Dennis and Callahan Show, will be simulcast on NESN, starting the week of November 15th, from 6 to 9 AM. What also makes this interesting is that The Dennis & Callahan Show has changed over the past couple of years and is not all sports. It will be interesting to see how some political cross-talk goes over (or doesn't) with the NESN all-sports audience, especially since NESN plans to air the show on its outlets beyond the immediate Boston area. On the other hand, it will be interesting to hear if the show transitions back more to sports due to the addition of the TV simulcast.
These 2 cities add to the existing radio shows on TV, which includes portions Mike Francesa's WFAN show airing in the NYC area on YES, among other examples. The most prominent example is Mike & Mike's ESPN Radio show airing on ESPN2 each morning.
From the TV point of view, I understand these moves since the production costs are very little to pick up an existing "radio" show compared with needing a studio, fresh talent, producers, and the like. This is their way of going with a familiar and established entity for their viewers.
As a radio guy, I don't like to see this at all. While radio people sit around trying to determine why the medium is gradually losing its audiences across the board, it is actions such as this one that answer their own question.
In Boston, Dennis & Callahan enjoys strong ratings, especially within its targeted demographic. They have been a morning drive fixture since being moved there in 1999. But starting next month, radio will not have this show exclusively. Did WEEI executives stop to wonder what happens if several people who have PPM's (the meters used to monitor listening for ratings) are no longer listening to WEEI and instead watch NESN each morning?
If the radio ratings drop, the show will not be considered as successful, WEEI loses revenue, and radio loses a portion of the audience it has to fight hard for.
It's just like some of the music stations which want you to pay to download the songs they play and offer podcasts on their web site. They look at it as additional revenue instead of how they are also giving people more reasons NOT to listen to their station.
Some of the regional TV sports networks also already do their own version of a radio show on TV. A prime example is Sports Time Ohio's "All Bets Are Off" with Bruce Drennan. Bruce sits in the STO studio and takes listener calls, only occasionally showing an interview. For 3 hours on weekday afternoons and then 2 hours most Sunday nights. This is one example of TV copying radio, but at least they are originating their own show.
If and as radio continues to offer less unique programming, the overall audience is not likely to grow, or even sustain current levels.
NEW YORK: One can't blame NBC-TV for pointing this out. Sunday Night Football (10/17) with the Indianapolis vs. Washington game more than doubled the overnight ratings of Fox's NLCS telecast of the Phillies and Giants. Their report claims this was the best NFL prime time overnights vs. a baseball league Championship Series since 1997. The football ratings were reportedly 10% better than last season's Week 6 telecast.
A check of the Top 10 metered markets from this game understandably includes Richmond and Norfolk in the Top 5, due to their proximity to Washington D.C. The most curious markets to appear in the Top 10 are Knoxville and Greensboro. The markets with baseball teams still alive in the post-season, New York, Dallas, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, did not crack the Top 10 Sunday Night Football markets.
MIAMI: No update yet as to how WBGG-FM is going to handle their contract conflict on October 31st. It seems the station has "priority team" agreements with both the NBA Heat and the NFL Dolphins regarding WBGG, and the Heat is taking legal action. The teams are both scheduled for 1 PM ET regular season games on Halloween. The Dolphins broadcasts also air on WINZ-AM. The Heat will be into their first regular season weekend with LeBron James and company. In addition, the Heat is reportedly upset that the Dolphins get a 2-hour pre-game block whereas Heat broadcasts have a 30-minute pre-game. However, the Dolphins play once per week compared with 3 or 4 games for the Heat.
St. LOUIS: One more chapter in the "why radio is losing its audience" derby. Even though the Cardinals dropped out of N.L. Central contention by September, their TV ratings, up about 19% from the previous season, led local ratings for all of MLB. In addition, they averaged higher TV ratings over the course of their season than any NBA or NHL team during the 2009-2010 seasons.
Not so coincidentally, the Cardinals will return to KMOX Radio for next season after another season on a signal-challenged AM station that barely covered the St. Louis metro. Let's see what happens to their ratings for next season when fans throughout the region can EASILY get the games on radio.
By the way, the Minnesota Twins local telecasts averaged the 2nd highest in local MLB telecast ratings this year, understandable given the team's A.L. Central championship and their new stadium. They also beat out every NBA and NHL local telecast from the prior seasons. The Red Sox had won this category for the six previous seasons, but suffered about a 38% ratings decrease for 2010 and did not make MLB's top 5 local telecasts rankings.
SAN FRANCISCO/OAKLAND: The Oakland A's had one of the biggest increases overall in their local telecast ratings compared with other teams with more than a 48% improvement for their Comcast SportsNet telecasts. However, they still wound up with the lowest local telecast ratings of the season.
GAINESVILLE: Glad to see that Renee Gork is back working again on sports radio. Gork was the reporter fired from an Arkansas station following an incident where she wore a U. of Florida hat to a U. of Arkansas press conference. Here's hoping she pursues legal action on that. Meanwhile, WRUF 850 has hired her to be a part of the University of Florida operated station. On one hand, that is just as insane. On the other hand, she has a job in sports radio, like she should.
MILWAUKEE: Challenges for local play-by-play voices. At press time (10/19), 40-year Brewers voice Bob Uecker was scheduled to have additional heart surgery to repair a tear from his prior heart valve replacement. The 75-year young Uecker missed much of the just concluded season when he had to have heart surgery in April. We most certainly hope he will "get up....get up....and get out" of the hospital as soon as possible.
Bucks radio voice Ted Davis went to Texas to help his ailing mother but is expected back prior to the end of the pre-season. TV voice Jim Paschke has filled in on at least one Bucks pre-season broadcast so far.
CLEVELAND: It's not just Milwaukee announcers. Sorry to report that Cavaliers voice Joe Tait, scheduled to retire after the coming season, was hospitalized on this past weekend due to chest pains. TV voice Fred McLeod filled in for Saturday's (10/16) pre-season game vs. Dallas.
PITTSBURGH: Stan Savran is back, and is now a part of the Steelers Radio Network. He will be heard during the pre-game, half time, and post-game shows. In addition, he will make weekly Steelers related appearances on the WDVE Morning Show, WXDX's Mark Madden Show, and "Tunch & Wolf" on Fox Sports 970.
PHILADELPHIA: Former Sixer Eric Snow made his debut last week (10/12) as analyst working with Marc Zumoff, becoming the 4th analyst in 4 seasons to do so on Comcast SportsNet. He replaces Ed Pinckney, who joined the Chicago Bulls as an Assistant Coach. Bob Salmi and Steve Mix handled the seasons prior to Pinckney.
DALLAS: While the Rangers battle to reach their first World Series, the team will have a new TV play-by-play voice for next season. The team is not renewing the contract of Josh Lewin after 9 seasons. This does not impact Lewin's other duties as play-by-play voice of the San Diego Chargers (radio) and baseball assignments for Fox TV. Tom Grieve continues as the team's TV analyst.
CINCINNATI: Xavier University's basketball team's success has carried over to the TV side. As of now, every game with the exception of the Paradise Jam tournament they are scheduled for will be televised. Fox Sports Ohio will air at least 9 games, CBS College Sports will show 5 games, and ESPN has 10 games scheduled. Brad Johansen and Steve Wolf will call the Fox Sports Ohio telecasts.
DAYTON: Last week's big area high school game between Wayne and Centerville had plenty of coverage. In addition to being televised nationally on ESPNU, WONE 980 broadcast the game as its Greater Western Ohio Conference Game of the Week, while WSWO 97.7 aired it along with all Wayne H.S. games, and WCWT 107.3 airs all of the Centerville games.
ALBANY: Sorry to learn of the passing of Bob McNamara, sportscaster in the market from 1966 into 2001, at the age of 76. He worked at WTEN-TV in 1966, then to WRGB in 1967 for 14 years before going to WNYT.
BANGOR: The Bangor Daily News reports that WZON The Sports Zone 620 will cut back its sports talk programming in favor of news/talk shows between now and the end of the year. Play-by-play is expected to continue, including high school football and hoops, Husson University games, and Red Sox baseball (for which it is under contract through the 2011 season).
TERRE HAUTE: Brazil Indiana's WSDM 92.7 has dropped its country rock music format and moved ESPN Radio from WSDX 1130. The AM signal suffered from being only 500 watts during the day and even less at night. This provides better coverage for ESPN Radio, also carried on WBOW 1300 in Terra Haute.
In Chicago, this marks a move of Patrick's show off the radio and on to TV in perhaps the most significant move in the country. While it is true that Dan Patrick's radio show has been airing on 670 WSCR The Score since its start, the show has been airing on a severe tape delay. Airing the show from 1 to 4 AM and previewing games which have already been completed was never the best showcase for Patrick. Whether that was worth it just to be able to tell potential advertisers that the show airs in Chicago is up for debate. It's just that airing overnight after games were over has been a waste of time, and the better parts of Patrick's show never got a fair shake in the Chicago market.
Getting rid of the Dan Patrick Show means that WSCR The Score will be live and local 24 hours a day. Host Les Grobstein will no longer have a split show from 10 PM to 1 AM and then return from 4 until 5 AM, or need to host for 7 hours straight when there is no Patrick Show to air. Now, he settles into Midnight to 5 AM.
Starting Monday, the Dan Patrick Show will air live on Comcast SportsNet each weekday morning.
In Boston, the popular WEEI morning show, The Dennis and Callahan Show, will be simulcast on NESN, starting the week of November 15th, from 6 to 9 AM. What also makes this interesting is that The Dennis & Callahan Show has changed over the past couple of years and is not all sports. It will be interesting to see how some political cross-talk goes over (or doesn't) with the NESN all-sports audience, especially since NESN plans to air the show on its outlets beyond the immediate Boston area. On the other hand, it will be interesting to hear if the show transitions back more to sports due to the addition of the TV simulcast.
These 2 cities add to the existing radio shows on TV, which includes portions Mike Francesa's WFAN show airing in the NYC area on YES, among other examples. The most prominent example is Mike & Mike's ESPN Radio show airing on ESPN2 each morning.
From the TV point of view, I understand these moves since the production costs are very little to pick up an existing "radio" show compared with needing a studio, fresh talent, producers, and the like. This is their way of going with a familiar and established entity for their viewers.
As a radio guy, I don't like to see this at all. While radio people sit around trying to determine why the medium is gradually losing its audiences across the board, it is actions such as this one that answer their own question.
In Boston, Dennis & Callahan enjoys strong ratings, especially within its targeted demographic. They have been a morning drive fixture since being moved there in 1999. But starting next month, radio will not have this show exclusively. Did WEEI executives stop to wonder what happens if several people who have PPM's (the meters used to monitor listening for ratings) are no longer listening to WEEI and instead watch NESN each morning?
If the radio ratings drop, the show will not be considered as successful, WEEI loses revenue, and radio loses a portion of the audience it has to fight hard for.
It's just like some of the music stations which want you to pay to download the songs they play and offer podcasts on their web site. They look at it as additional revenue instead of how they are also giving people more reasons NOT to listen to their station.
Some of the regional TV sports networks also already do their own version of a radio show on TV. A prime example is Sports Time Ohio's "All Bets Are Off" with Bruce Drennan. Bruce sits in the STO studio and takes listener calls, only occasionally showing an interview. For 3 hours on weekday afternoons and then 2 hours most Sunday nights. This is one example of TV copying radio, but at least they are originating their own show.
If and as radio continues to offer less unique programming, the overall audience is not likely to grow, or even sustain current levels.
NEW YORK: One can't blame NBC-TV for pointing this out. Sunday Night Football (10/17) with the Indianapolis vs. Washington game more than doubled the overnight ratings of Fox's NLCS telecast of the Phillies and Giants. Their report claims this was the best NFL prime time overnights vs. a baseball league Championship Series since 1997. The football ratings were reportedly 10% better than last season's Week 6 telecast.
A check of the Top 10 metered markets from this game understandably includes Richmond and Norfolk in the Top 5, due to their proximity to Washington D.C. The most curious markets to appear in the Top 10 are Knoxville and Greensboro. The markets with baseball teams still alive in the post-season, New York, Dallas, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, did not crack the Top 10 Sunday Night Football markets.
MIAMI: No update yet as to how WBGG-FM is going to handle their contract conflict on October 31st. It seems the station has "priority team" agreements with both the NBA Heat and the NFL Dolphins regarding WBGG, and the Heat is taking legal action. The teams are both scheduled for 1 PM ET regular season games on Halloween. The Dolphins broadcasts also air on WINZ-AM. The Heat will be into their first regular season weekend with LeBron James and company. In addition, the Heat is reportedly upset that the Dolphins get a 2-hour pre-game block whereas Heat broadcasts have a 30-minute pre-game. However, the Dolphins play once per week compared with 3 or 4 games for the Heat.
St. LOUIS: One more chapter in the "why radio is losing its audience" derby. Even though the Cardinals dropped out of N.L. Central contention by September, their TV ratings, up about 19% from the previous season, led local ratings for all of MLB. In addition, they averaged higher TV ratings over the course of their season than any NBA or NHL team during the 2009-2010 seasons.
Not so coincidentally, the Cardinals will return to KMOX Radio for next season after another season on a signal-challenged AM station that barely covered the St. Louis metro. Let's see what happens to their ratings for next season when fans throughout the region can EASILY get the games on radio.
By the way, the Minnesota Twins local telecasts averaged the 2nd highest in local MLB telecast ratings this year, understandable given the team's A.L. Central championship and their new stadium. They also beat out every NBA and NHL local telecast from the prior seasons. The Red Sox had won this category for the six previous seasons, but suffered about a 38% ratings decrease for 2010 and did not make MLB's top 5 local telecasts rankings.
SAN FRANCISCO/OAKLAND: The Oakland A's had one of the biggest increases overall in their local telecast ratings compared with other teams with more than a 48% improvement for their Comcast SportsNet telecasts. However, they still wound up with the lowest local telecast ratings of the season.
GAINESVILLE: Glad to see that Renee Gork is back working again on sports radio. Gork was the reporter fired from an Arkansas station following an incident where she wore a U. of Florida hat to a U. of Arkansas press conference. Here's hoping she pursues legal action on that. Meanwhile, WRUF 850 has hired her to be a part of the University of Florida operated station. On one hand, that is just as insane. On the other hand, she has a job in sports radio, like she should.
MILWAUKEE: Challenges for local play-by-play voices. At press time (10/19), 40-year Brewers voice Bob Uecker was scheduled to have additional heart surgery to repair a tear from his prior heart valve replacement. The 75-year young Uecker missed much of the just concluded season when he had to have heart surgery in April. We most certainly hope he will "get up....get up....and get out" of the hospital as soon as possible.
Bucks radio voice Ted Davis went to Texas to help his ailing mother but is expected back prior to the end of the pre-season. TV voice Jim Paschke has filled in on at least one Bucks pre-season broadcast so far.
CLEVELAND: It's not just Milwaukee announcers. Sorry to report that Cavaliers voice Joe Tait, scheduled to retire after the coming season, was hospitalized on this past weekend due to chest pains. TV voice Fred McLeod filled in for Saturday's (10/16) pre-season game vs. Dallas.
PITTSBURGH: Stan Savran is back, and is now a part of the Steelers Radio Network. He will be heard during the pre-game, half time, and post-game shows. In addition, he will make weekly Steelers related appearances on the WDVE Morning Show, WXDX's Mark Madden Show, and "Tunch & Wolf" on Fox Sports 970.
PHILADELPHIA: Former Sixer Eric Snow made his debut last week (10/12) as analyst working with Marc Zumoff, becoming the 4th analyst in 4 seasons to do so on Comcast SportsNet. He replaces Ed Pinckney, who joined the Chicago Bulls as an Assistant Coach. Bob Salmi and Steve Mix handled the seasons prior to Pinckney.
DALLAS: While the Rangers battle to reach their first World Series, the team will have a new TV play-by-play voice for next season. The team is not renewing the contract of Josh Lewin after 9 seasons. This does not impact Lewin's other duties as play-by-play voice of the San Diego Chargers (radio) and baseball assignments for Fox TV. Tom Grieve continues as the team's TV analyst.
CINCINNATI: Xavier University's basketball team's success has carried over to the TV side. As of now, every game with the exception of the Paradise Jam tournament they are scheduled for will be televised. Fox Sports Ohio will air at least 9 games, CBS College Sports will show 5 games, and ESPN has 10 games scheduled. Brad Johansen and Steve Wolf will call the Fox Sports Ohio telecasts.
DAYTON: Last week's big area high school game between Wayne and Centerville had plenty of coverage. In addition to being televised nationally on ESPNU, WONE 980 broadcast the game as its Greater Western Ohio Conference Game of the Week, while WSWO 97.7 aired it along with all Wayne H.S. games, and WCWT 107.3 airs all of the Centerville games.
ALBANY: Sorry to learn of the passing of Bob McNamara, sportscaster in the market from 1966 into 2001, at the age of 76. He worked at WTEN-TV in 1966, then to WRGB in 1967 for 14 years before going to WNYT.
BANGOR: The Bangor Daily News reports that WZON The Sports Zone 620 will cut back its sports talk programming in favor of news/talk shows between now and the end of the year. Play-by-play is expected to continue, including high school football and hoops, Husson University games, and Red Sox baseball (for which it is under contract through the 2011 season).
TERRE HAUTE: Brazil Indiana's WSDM 92.7 has dropped its country rock music format and moved ESPN Radio from WSDX 1130. The AM signal suffered from being only 500 watts during the day and even less at night. This provides better coverage for ESPN Radio, also carried on WBOW 1300 in Terra Haute.
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