A riddle wrapped in an enigma

4CX1000A · Dec 9, 2015

WAMG "ESPN 890" was one of my clients for a few months before they suddenly went off the air in the summer of 2009 after losing their ESPN affiliation to WEEI, which has been running the network 24/7 on 850 for several years.

On 890, ESPN got a 1.5 share; on 850, with all its 50,000 watts, it has never got so much as a .5. Since the programming is more or less the same, I find that odd.

justgladtobehere · Dec 9, 2015

4CX1000A said:
WAMG "ESPN 890" was one of my clients for a few months before they suddenly went off the air in the summer of 2009 after losing their ESPN affiliation to WEEI, which has been running the network 24/7 on 850 for several years.

On 890, ESPN got a 1.5 share; on 850, with all its 50,000 watts, it has never got so much as a .5. Since the programming is more or less the same, I find that odd.

850 has no local programming except for BC sports while 890 had Felger and a midday show. Plus, Entercom seems to have no interest in promoting 850.

raccoonradio · Dec 9, 2015

Paid by ESPN to run shows and sports.You could
hear a World Series game on 850 while 93.7 ran
Sun Night Football or Pats talk.
WEEI got pretty good ratings on 850 (at least
pre 2009 debut of Sports Hub) but had to move
to FM to better do battle with Sports Hub,and now
they get miniscule ratings to run ESPN.Otherwise
maybe they'd think of selling 850

mnw1890 · Dec 9, 2015

ESPN should buy 850 and make it an O & O station like in NY

CTListener · Dec 9, 2015

mnw1890 said:
ESPN should buy 850 and make it an O & O station like in NY

Why? Boston has shown that it prefers its sports hyper-local. ESPN devotes hours of gab to college football and basketball, which very few Bostonians care about, and hardly any to NHL hockey, which is of interest to many sports fans in the market. I'm sure Disney is happy to tell its advertisers that it's able to clear its shows and big events in Boston, even if nobody listens. Advertisers are funny that way.

dumber than a box of hair · Dec 9, 2015

4CX1000A said:
WAMG "ESPN 890" was one of my clients for a few months before they suddenly went off the air in the summer of 2009 after losing their ESPN affiliation to WEEI, which has been running the network 24/7 on 850 for several years.

On 890, ESPN got a 1.5 share; on 850, with all its 50,000 watts, it has never got so much as a .5. Since the programming is more or less the same, I find that odd.

Not odd at all. Until August 2009 there was only WEEI (AM) doing local sports and dominating the format. By the time ESPN parked at 850 the Sports Hub was also doing local sports and cleaning WEEI's clock. Between the two stations there wasn't much left for a non-local sports format.

The lesson, especially in a sports-obsessed town like Boston: Live and local wins every time.

Wimmmex · Dec 9, 2015

Does ESPN Radio do well anywhere?

I may be wrong (I am not a sport radio aficionado), but is there anyplace that the ESPN national radio network does well?

I know in some smaller markets it's a godsend, as smaller stations can't afford to do all their own local sports programming. I also hear it's an easy sell for local radio sales folk to be able to walk into the local hardware store and say "Do you want to do some adverting on ESPN radio?"

However, ESPN always seems to be an "also ran" in many large markets. Almost a place holder, where owners plunk it on...and don't think they have to do anything else.

Maybe ESPN radio would work with local drive shows?

Thoughts?

CTListener · Dec 9, 2015

Wimmmex said:
I may be wrong (I am not a sport radio aficionado), but is there anyplace that the ESPN national radio network does well?

I know in some smaller markets it's a godsend, as smaller stations can't afford to do all their own local sports programming. I also hear it's an easy sell for local radio sales folk to be able to walk into the local hardware store and say "Do you want to do some adverting on ESPN radio?"

However, ESPN always seems to be an "also ran" in many large markets. Almost a place holder, where owners plunk it on...and don't think they have to do anything else.

Maybe ESPN radio would work with local drive shows?

Thoughts?

WUCS 97.9 goes local in the late afternoon/early evening, but morning drive is still Mike & Mike, with Dan Le Batard middays. Ratings for the whole day aren't much, but the station -- a transplanted rimshotter from Springfield -- has a poor signal over a good portion of the Hartford market due to its having to protect WSKQ New York to the southwest. Maybe the local shows do better than the birdfeed. That info isn't made public, so who knows, unless a "mole" shows up on this board.

justgladtobehere · Dec 10, 2015

Wimmmex said:
I may be wrong (I am not a sport radio aficionado), but is there anyplace that the ESPN national radio network does well?

I know in some smaller markets it's a godsend, as smaller stations can't afford to do all their own local sports programming. I also hear it's an easy sell for local radio sales folk to be able to walk into the local hardware store and say "Do you want to do some adverting on ESPN radio?"

However, ESPN always seems to be an "also ran" in many large markets. Almost a place holder, where owners plunk it on...and don't think they have to do anything else.

Maybe ESPN radio would work with local drive shows?

Thoughts?

Just looking at the 12+ ratings, ESPN Radio beats the other sports station in Chicago. It loses to the other station in NYC, but the ratings for that ESPN station is in the 2's. Plus, it carries a couple of team broadcasts.

I've read on the board the stations must carry Mike & Mike,, so morning drive time is out. ESPN stations focus on afternoon drive and a midday show. The bigger the market, the more those stations do local. New York is local all the time during the week except for Mike & Mike. Chicago is local except for Mike & Mike and the overnight. It is apparent that ESPN Radio doesn't care about anything past 4:00 PM EST as it changes up those shows seemingly every six months.

CTListener · Dec 10, 2015

justgladtobehere said:
Just looking at the 12+ ratings, ESPN Radio beats the other sports station in Chicago. It loses to the other station in NYC, but the ratings for that ESPN station is in the 2's. Plus, it carries a couple of team broadcasts.

I've read on the board the stations must carry Mike & Mike,, so morning drive time is out. ESPN stations focus on afternoon drive and a midday show. The bigger the market, the more those stations do local. New York is local all the time during the week except for Mike & Mike. Chicago is local except for Mike & Mike and the overnight. It is apparent that ESPN Radio doesn't care about anything past 4:00 PM EST as it changes up those shows seemingly every six months.

Makes sense, especially 7 p.m. Eastern to 2 a.m. Eastern (11 p.m. Pacific), when most of ESPN Radio's daytime audience is watching sports on TV.

MarcB · Dec 11, 2015

CTListener said:
WUCS 97.9 goes local in the late afternoon/early evening, but morning drive is still Mike & Mike, with Dan Le Batard middays. Ratings for the whole day aren't much, but the station -- a transplanted rimshotter from Springfield -- has a poor signal over a good portion of the Hartford market due to its having to protect WSKQ New York to the southwest. Maybe the local shows do better than the birdfeed. That info isn't made public, so who knows, unless a "mole" shows up on this board.

The Rob Dibble show on WUCS is horrible. He's a horrible broadcaster. They never should have let Bower go. The Bower Show was a good listen. Paul Nanos was a good host too when he was temporarily doing both morning drive on the now defunct FOX Sports Radio 1410 and afternoons on 97.9 WUCS. Briefly he was Rob Dibble's co-host, but then he was let go. Dibble went solo and FOX Sports Radio 1410 went with the network morning show.