Yankees Radio: Decision 2012

[badjef]

Keep in mind that Disney once owned the California Angels/Anaheim Angels/Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim baseball team starting in 1995. They sold the team to current owner Arte Moreno in 2003.

It was around the same time that they owned the Mighty Ducks Of Anaheim?Anaheim Ducks NHL hockey team.

This was during the Michael Eisner era which ran from 1984-2004. Under Robert Iger (2004-present), Disney has gotten out of the sports team business.
The media holdings they currently hold are ABC-TV (broadcasting and cable channels) , ESPN (TV), a few O+O ESPN stations and Radio Disney.

I don't think they'd be getting back into sports ownership. I don't see Disney shelling out $2 billion or so (see latest L.A. Dodgers sale) to own the Yankees just to have broadcasting rights.

I see the comparison being similar to Cablevision's ownership of the Knicks and Rangers and Madison Square Garden and the associated cable networks (MSG, MSG+), thereby bypassing paying those teams for the rights to telecast their games.

On the reverse angle, would the Yankees ever want to own (or partially own) a radio station in much the same arrangement as the YES regional cable network? Likely not, as there'd never be enough programming to fill around the times the Yanks aren't playing. While the Yanks can use YES as a promotional vehicle for the team, the same thought doesn't translate well to radio year-round.

And as long as there are suitors such as CBS Radio willing to throw millions at them for radio rights, why change anything?

1.) A year ago there was talk of moving Spring Training to Disneyworld in Orlando, it would assume Minor and Instructional League would follow. Disney wants to be a one stop fits all for vacationers.
2.) There is only a one year deal with WCBS - that might be enough time in which to complete the deal, but not too much time for a broadcasting relationship to be too uncomfortable for both as the broadcast would then be competing against 98.7 during the game if the deal were to be consumated during the life of the existing contract. CBS would surely go for the throat if Disney were to break the contract early.
3.) Rumor has it, Hal, Hank, or both are not as excited about the Yankees as they once were during the George era. They may be willing to relinquish their position to a minority interest. Disney would be one of the few able to pull off the deal as a result of value of the Yankees.
4.) The Yankees are not doing anything to build for the future. The recent signing of Ichiro is proof of that.
5.) As for Legends Field in Tampa, it would be the logical place to put the new Rays Stadium, since it is directly across the street from the North Parking Lot to Raymond James Stadium. Fans with tickets to both could go from one game to the other and not have to move the car.

Of course, any of this may have another variable that none of us aware of, but that is what I'm seeing, now.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

[KML-224]

I don't know if a Rays stadium would ever fit into that complex. There were some properties not too far west of where I took these two pictures:

http://imgur.com/xQaVT
http://imgur.com/IKa6b

Besides, I think the Rays are stuck in Saint Petersburg for quite a while, anyways.

Getting this back to radio, I don't remember if there was a station in Tampa/Saint Petersburg which carried the Yankees there. I know my Panasonic "Walkman" received no trace of WCBS-AM 880, considering the distance, plus being near the Gulf Coast and not the Atlantic.

[TheBigA]

4.) The Yankees are not doing anything to build for the future. The recent signing of Ichiro is proof of that.

I've been to quite a few Trenton Thunder games, and I disagree.  There are lots of great players in the farm team that show great promise for the future. 

I'm not as sure as you are about Disney's interest in owning baseball.  They had a shot at Anaheim a few years ago, and didn't move on it.  They were very happy to get out of the NHL.  (the again who wouldn't)  My friends within the Mouse Complex told me they prefer to rent than own.  Let someone else  get saddled with debt.

[badjef]

I don't know if a Rays stadium would ever fit into that complex. There were some properties not too far west of where I took these two pictures:

http://imgur.com/xQaVT
http://imgur.com/IKa6b

Besides, I think the Rays are stuck in Saint Petersburg for quite a while, anyways.

St. Pete does not want to let the Rays out of the contract and no tenant for the Trop. I love the Trop, but I also understand the complaints - most of which have little to no merit. Your links did not work for me. Nevertheless, there is more property at Legends Field than what appears on most maps. I've been there many times.

Getting this back to radio, I don't remember if there was a station in Tampa/Saint Petersburg which carried the Yankees there. I know my Panasonic "Walkman" received no trace of WCBS-AM 880, considering the distance, plus being near the Gulf Coast and not the Atlantic.

WCBS-AM comes in twice a year. Very strong when it's there. But it certainly is not a marketable signal. Other times of the year, it is too far down in the grass. I have picked up 1560 as WQXR in Kahn Stereo and 660 WNBC. When both went C-quAM, there was no stereo.

TV? WFTS-28 used to carry Friday Night Yankee baseball. Once they took the new FOX network affiliate, there was no room on the schedule and they were dropped in favor of the increasing availability of FOX programming.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

[Bob1370]

Since CBS needs to dump one signal to get under  the FCC cluster limit, the most likely candidate is the poorest signal--meaning either 1010 or the recently acquired Long Island TV signal WLNY. That means a distinct possibility of WINS (second highest rated station in the CBS radio cluster behind only WCBS-FM) moving its callsign and format to the better signal at 660...and 1010 either sold or becoming the flagship of the CBS Sports Radio brand, while the FAN becomes an all-local sports talk station on FM only.

How that affects where the sports teams go, is anyone's guess. But it could have an effect, to be sure...

[KML-224]

I don't know if a Rays stadium would ever fit into that complex. There were some properties not too far west of where I took these two pictures:

http://imgur.com/xQaVT
http://imgur.com/IKa6b

Besides, I think the Rays are stuck in Saint Petersburg for quite a while, anyways.

St. Pete does not want to let the Rays out of the contract and no tenant for the Trop. I love the Trop, but I also understand the complaints - most of which have little to no merit. Your links did not work for me. Nevertheless, there is more property at Legends Field than what appears on most maps. I've been there many times.

Getting this back to radio, I don't remember if there was a station in Tampa/Saint Petersburg which carried the Yankees there. I know my Panasonic "Walkman" received no trace of WCBS-AM 880, considering the distance, plus being near the Gulf Coast and not the Atlantic.

WCBS-AM comes in twice a year. Very strong when it's there. But it certainly is not a marketable signal. Other times of the year, it is too far down in the grass. I have picked up 1560 as WQXR in Kahn Stereo and 660 WNBC. When both went C-quAM, there was no stereo.

TV? WFTS-28 used to carry Friday Night Yankee baseball. Once they took the new FOX network affiliate, there was no room on the schedule and they were dropped in favor of the increasing availability of FOX programming.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

The two pictures were ones I had taken on the west side of Legends Field. Me and my brother had gone to the Cowboys vs Buccaneers game that afternoon, enduring the mid-September Gulf humidity at 1 PM. Ugh!

A friend of mine has been to a few of the Yankees spring training games and has also been to Tropicana Field. His Trop visit this summer was about a week before Isaac brushed by the area.

While I had my Panasonic "Walkman" with me, I mostly kept it on FM while heading into downtown Tampa on my other full day there (in 2009). We went to the Channelside area and stopped by the Saint Pete Times Forum (its name then). I wasn't far from Tampa's Port Authority or the Florida Aquarium. I even remember the city bus passing by the studio of WTVT-TV (FOX) channel 13. I didn't get a picture of that. I did get one of the WFTS-TV (ABC) channel 28 studio, since it's very close to Raymond James.

Speaking of Sarasota, was the intent of WWSB-TV (ABC) channel 40 due to people in the southern end of the Tampa market having trouble receiving ABC from there? I think it was due to WTSP-TV channel 10 of Saint Petersburg (then an ABC affiliate) having their site further north to protect WPLG-TV (ABC) channel 10 of Miami.

Getting back to New York City...depending which borough I was in (but usually Manhattan), the furthest stations south I ever picked up were WSB-AM 750 in Atlanta and WWL-AM 870 of New Orleans. Tough to pick up much else, due to signal overload and the city buildings messing things up at times. 

[radioguy39nj]

Since CBS needs to dump one signal to get under  the FCC cluster limit, the most likely candidate is the poorest signal--meaning either 1010 or the recently acquired Long Island TV signal WLNY. That means a distinct possibility of WINS (second highest rated station in the CBS radio cluster behind only WCBS-FM) moving its callsign and format to the better signal at 660...and 1010 either sold or becoming the flagship of the CBS Sports Radio brand, while the FAN becomes an all-local sports talk station on FM only.

WINS will not move to 660.  CBS Sports Radio will eventually land on that prime piece of AM real estate.  AFIK, CBS will be giving up the WLNY transmitter and make it cable only to meet the ownership cap.

If WINS and WCBS Newsradio were on equal AM signals (660 & 880) or on equal Manhattan class B FMs, the game would change dramatically.  Recall that about a decade ago, CBS had a similar situation in Chicago with WMAQ (all-news, acquired in the Westinghouse deal) and heritage all-newser WBBM.  CBS blew up WMAQ in favor of WBBM.  Both are 50 kW blasters.

[disney fanatic]

Now that WKXP's "The Wolf" is still simulcasting Yankees baseball from WCBS-AM in the HV, I don't know how long if this station is going to last. Maybe if WEOK and WALL should dump Scott Shannon's "True Oldies" to make way for the new CBS Sports Radio in the coming months. If you look in the Poughkeepsie area, we got WGNY-FM which is "Fox Oldies", WBPM which they now calling "Biggest Hits" just like the current CBS-FM, and WEOK/WALL's "True Oldies". Like I said, Poughkeepsie and the rest of the Mid-Hudson Valley does not going to support three oldies/greatest hits stations, I hope maybe HV would have another sports station. Say goodbye to "True Oldies" and say hello to CBS Sports Radio starting in January, and move Yankees baseball back to its new home WEOK/WALL. Let's hope if the Yankees simulcast will continue to run on a country station which is WKXP/WZAD's "The Wolf". We shall see!

[badjef]

I don't know if a Rays stadium would ever fit into that complex. There were some properties not too far west of where I took these two pictures:

http://imgur.com/xQaVT
http://imgur.com/IKa6b

Besides, I think the Rays are stuck in Saint Petersburg for quite a while, anyways.

St. Pete does not want to let the Rays out of the contract and no tenant for the Trop. I love the Trop, but I also understand the complaints - most of which have little to no merit. Your links did not work for me. Nevertheless, there is more property at Legends Field than what appears on most maps. I've been there many times.

Getting this back to radio, I don't remember if there was a station in Tampa/Saint Petersburg which carried the Yankees there. I know my Panasonic "Walkman" received no trace of WCBS-AM 880, considering the distance, plus being near the Gulf Coast and not the Atlantic.

WCBS-AM comes in twice a year. Very strong when it's there. But it certainly is not a marketable signal. Other times of the year, it is too far down in the grass. I have picked up 1560 as WQXR in Kahn Stereo and 660 WNBC. When both went C-quAM, there was no stereo.

TV? WFTS-28 used to carry Friday Night Yankee baseball. Once they took the new FOX network affiliate, there was no room on the schedule and they were dropped in favor of the increasing availability of FOX programming.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Speaking of Sarasota, was the intent of WWSB-TV (ABC) channel 40 due to people in the southern end of the Tampa market having trouble receiving ABC from there? I think it was due to WTSP-TV channel 10 of Saint Petersburg (then an ABC affiliate) having their site further north to protect WPLG-TV (ABC) channel 10 of Miami.

After the big swap of '94, we were left with 2 City grade ABC signals 20 miles apart and no CBS.

If I didn't think that was bad enough, since the haste in demolishing analogue TV, we have no OTA portable reception, now. We had about 30 channels before '09.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

[CTListener]

WINS will not move to 660.  CBS Sports Radio will eventually land on that prime piece of AM real estate. 

Just how "prime" could "real estate" on AM be if the future of a great signal like 660 is 24/7 non-local generic birdfeed sports talk and play-by-play of the market's lesser teams along with, perhaps, events like the Super Bowl and World Series, which most people watch on TV?