Sports on a Gospel Format?

[Comm1ofJax]

Frist of all brand new to gtoup. Actually found by accident. As the tittle states I am a co-host of sports talk show on Gospel Station WCGL 1360 AM. We are only on 1hour a week, but we have been greatly received.

 

[jmtillery]

Frist of all brand new to gtoup. Actually found by accident. As the tittle states I am a co-host of sports talk show on Gospel Station WCGL 1360 AM. We are only on 1hour a week, but we have been greatly received.

How long has your sports program been airing on WCGL? And how well is it working out for you? Do you discuss general sports or something more specialized to differentiate yourself from the market's full-time sports stations? Just curious how the gospel/sports mix is working out.

 

[Comm1ofJax]

We started September 2014 we talk about local and national sports. Because our listners are largely females and none traditional Sports listners we talk about general topics as well. I think that what has been lost on this audience is even thought they are of a religious background they have various interest and are eager to talk to us about them.

 

[b-turner]

I worked a station that was among 5 on the dial doing Christian programming. Our format angle was to target the weekly church attendee, specifically families. We had several 'secular' elements from Chamber of Commerce reports from a couple of suburban communities where we got several small businesses to advertise to a cooking show, a call in show with a doctor, gardening show and several other 'lifestyle' shows that included a local soccer program and high school sports show that focused on local sports when school was not in session on Saturday. Lifestyle shows included a talk show with an auto mechanic, a CPA and several others that did not tout a Christian theme (ie: I'm a Christian and a CPA), etc. We carried some high school sports and college football.

Granted we took on the shows to sell airtime that typically went unsold and it was more because of the need for more billing in a fight with 4 other competitors, I can say it did much to bring us an audience. My beef with Christian radio all along is how so many think it has to be all teaching, preaching or Christian music. Lifestyle programming makes for a nice mix. Then again, some ministries and their flocks will balk at this but it was summed up nicely by a Pharmacy owner that advertised with us: In my job I sell to virtually anybody that walks in and I know many are not Christian yet the Christian formatted radio station is skewered for selling to anybody that may or may not be Christian. In his mind, if they wanted Christians as customers and did their customers right, what's the problem. After all, the station's 'format' was Christian but the station was not a ministry, so had the format not worked, we would have quickly gone to another format because we were a business.

 

[jmtillery]

We started September 2014 we talk about local and national sports. Because our listners are largely females and none traditional Sports listners we talk about general topics as well. I think that what has been lost on this audience is even thought they are of a religious background they have various interest and are eager to talk to us about them.

It sounds as though it is working for you.