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World Series Blacked Out in Boston
- Thread starter inorm99
- Start date
My guess is: No Red Sox, no carry. Boston is so provincial, they probably think nobody will listen unless the Red Sox are playing. And they're probably right.
There's always the ESPN app or an out-of-town station. And I'll guess that Channel 25 is airing it.
If you have SiriusXM, it is on 2 channels. The same situation happened years ago in FL when none of the radio stations in Palm Beach County did not have the World Series on radio. It was on in Miami, but the radio station WQAM did not have enough power at night to reach Palm Beach County
For live events like the World Series, Sunday Night Baseball, and the NBA playoffs, ESPN Radio offers its full-time affiliates right of first refusal. Presumably for a top 10 market like Boston, ESPN Radio would have tried to find someone else to carry the games if WEEI did not.
Noticed it too, coming back from CT. There, WUCS "ESPN 97.9" had it. Washington DC's WFED 1500 had the game via ESPN.It's part of the Nationals network but the team's flagship is considered WJFK-FM 106.7 I believe.
During the Series only the team's flagship carries their own team network
broadcasts--team 'network' affiliates carry ESPN instead. In 2013 WBOQ 104.9 carried the ESPN feed when Red Sox were in the Series.
Some various Ancient Modulation stations carrying ESPN carried it including 1050 in NY, 1520 in Buffalo and 1530 in Cincy, all audible at night here. XM subscribers do have the ESPN and "team network" options.
When the Red Sox won the WS in 04 the flagship was WEEI 850. In 07 the flagship was WRKO 680. Entercom quickly made 850 the Sox flagship again in 2009 (at that time 850 only had the occasional game) 2 weeks after Sports Hub debuted as Boston's first FM sports station, with WEEI moving to FM in Sept of '11.
During the Series only the team's flagship carries their own team network
broadcasts--team 'network' affiliates carry ESPN instead. In 2013 WBOQ 104.9 carried the ESPN feed when Red Sox were in the Series.
Some various Ancient Modulation stations carrying ESPN carried it including 1050 in NY, 1520 in Buffalo and 1530 in Cincy, all audible at night here. XM subscribers do have the ESPN and "team network" options.
When the Red Sox won the WS in 04 the flagship was WEEI 850. In 07 the flagship was WRKO 680. Entercom quickly made 850 the Sox flagship again in 2009 (at that time 850 only had the occasional game) 2 weeks after Sports Hub debuted as Boston's first FM sports station, with WEEI moving to FM in Sept of '11.
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MassMusicMan
Banned
They aired earlier games in the series. I was laughing at that last night too. They own two stations, and at 10:30, they had neither Sunday Night Football (great game too!) nor Game 5 of the World Series on the air. Maybe a sports radio station should air a sporting event once in a while.
No one's talking about what aired in place of the World Series: The Real Postgame Show.
The Patriots had the late game, which meant WEEI would have pre-empted their local, sponsored talk show for a nationally syndicated baseball game.
Yes it's not a regular Sunday Night Baseball game, it's the World Series. I get that. But which makes more money? Local talk or syndicated baseball?
Talking about the Patriots (even though you don't have PBP rights), and talking about the Bruins (even though you don't have the PBP rights) makes more money than the World Series. That's why they did it. You'd think they might run it on the AM, or one of the other stations, but they didn't.
The Patriots had the late game, which meant WEEI would have pre-empted their local, sponsored talk show for a nationally syndicated baseball game.
Yes it's not a regular Sunday Night Baseball game, it's the World Series. I get that. But which makes more money? Local talk or syndicated baseball?
Talking about the Patriots (even though you don't have PBP rights), and talking about the Bruins (even though you don't have the PBP rights) makes more money than the World Series. That's why they did it. You'd think they might run it on the AM, or one of the other stations, but they didn't.
Was RPGS on both 93.7 and 850? They coulda run the game on one of them.
It was, and yes that was an option, but AFAIK they didn't break the simulcast.
To be honest, it wasn't a stimulating game. Perhaps if it was, that would have made a difference.
ESPN pays 850 to be on but whatever aired last night may have paid em more.
FWIW, WUCS Hartford opted for the World Series game over Sunday Night Football. At 9 p.m. the postgame show was still prattling away on WAQY Springfield, which had carried the Patriots game hours earlier, despite WAQY's not being a sports station. Must be in the contract with the Patriots. With Hartford being a one-sports-station market, that mean no SNF on local radio.
And yes, once again, I did not stay with the WS game until the end. This has been the single most boring World Series I can recall in my 52 years of fandom. Even the four-game sweeps I've lived through have had individual tense games. This Series has had one close game -- Game 1 -- and even that one felt flat because of the big problems modern-day baseball has: grinding pace, lack of action and singular focus on home runs as a way to score.
And yes, once again, I did not stay with the WS game until the end. This has been the single most boring World Series I can recall in my 52 years of fandom. Even the four-game sweeps I've lived through have had individual tense games. This Series has had one close game -- Game 1 -- and even that one felt flat because of the big problems modern-day baseball has: grinding pace, lack of action and singular focus on home runs as a way to score.
I thought Weei ended the simulcast years ago? They seem to be using 850 again for various things. They usually always have the world series at least on the AM are they really that bad off? Doesn't make sense from a programming view.
Yup. Same here in Pittsburgh. Even though we have an ESPN affiliate they've aired NONE of the playoff baseball this season. Apparently their market research shows their listeners would rather hear three guys sitting at Buffalo Wild Wings and drilling down 3 to 4 levels into the Steelers depth chart.
I have been listening on SiriusXM and on the MLB app.
I have been listening on SiriusXM and on the MLB app.
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Did your ESPN affiliate carry Packers-Chiefs last night instead or just talk?
I think ESPN Pittsburgh is WBGG 970 plus an FM translator--not the best night signal on former, as I recall one night being west of the city and trying to hear the All Star Game
850 is supposed to be doing ESPN all the time though some spillover sports can wind up on AM.Ratings rules used to say a simulcast had to be 100% to count.Maybe those rules got a bit relaxed. Or, yes, full time ESPN stations can veer away with other programs...Being separate, the 850 gets tiny ratings but would it be worth having "WEEI SportsRadio" on both AM and FM? No, because most listeners prefer the FM. This way at least they get a bit of money to run ESPN on the AM.
Obviously when 850 was local WEEI sportsradio, it did well and the 04 and 07 World Series were AM only in Boston.Most of those listeners moved with them to FM.A move they had to make to compete.
I think WEEI-FM's sister station in Worcester is part of the Sports Hub
Patriots network.
And some ESPN listeners hear the shows and play by play on their app or XM.
"This is the World Series on ESPN...and the ESPN app."
Obviously when 850 was local WEEI sportsradio, it did well and the 04 and 07 World Series were AM only in Boston.Most of those listeners moved with them to FM.A move they had to make to compete.
I think WEEI-FM's sister station in Worcester is part of the Sports Hub
Patriots network.
And some ESPN listeners hear the shows and play by play on their app or XM.
"This is the World Series on ESPN...and the ESPN app."
The Patriots air on Cumulus owned WWFX The Pike in Worcester.
OK, thanks--I was thinking of the fact that as far as I know WVEI 1440 Worcester, a WEEI sister station, carries a Sports Hub-syndicated play by play..the Bruins.Another B's affiliate that's part of the WEEI network, and owned by Entercom is WVEI-FM 103.7
Westerly RI
Westerly RI
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