What are you reasons for thinking iHeart would put KLAC on FM before KFI if they had an available FM?
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KNX onto … 97.1??
- Thread starter Jstnpspck
- Start date
The audience for sports is younger than KFI's. Also, once online sports betting is legalized in California and becomes mainstream, there will also be a rush of dollars trying to get stations that air sports to promote sports books.
Audience age is a consideration, but it isn't the only factor that matters. KFI bills way more than KLAC and the latter's more complicated ownership structure might also make an FM simulcast more challenging.
LA is also such a weird sports market.
I see this as being the next "Big Thing" as well. The sports leagues have gone all in on the sports betting websites, they see this as their biggest growth opportunity, and they will be moving some large assets to make it so in the months and years to come.
I see the NFL is already running some "don't bet more than you can afford" PSAs, no doubt to insulate them from the class action lawsuits that are sure to be forthcoming once this all blows up.
KLAC is about 10th in billing, while KFI is third (based on a more representative 2019 numbers). KLAC has rights fees (even if part owned by the team) while KFI has very high talent costs.
KLAC has rates that are proportionally higher as the demos are better. KLAC averages, for example 7th in men 35-44. KFI is 15th in 25-54 men. And sports has access to "sports" budgets that can be additional and separate from regular agency market budgets.
But, for transactional buys (the ones based on a well defined demo target and covering many larger markets) sports is much more attractive than talk; talk is, in fact, excluded from many agency buys as "no talk" mandates.
I think the Dodgers would love to have their games broadcast on the FM dial! I don't think the partnership would stop FM sports from becoming a reality when the market is right. I would assume that iHeart would buy out the Dodgers' stake in the partnership and the two would agree to a rights extension.
The reality: iHeart has no FM sticks free (and can't add another one to its LA portfolio) and sports betting is not legal in California.
The other reality: Sports betting would need to be an open market in California to fully tap the sports book ad dollars. I know tribal casinos are getting ready to spend big money on a proposition to legalize sports betting in the state, but all bets would need to be through tribal casinos. The more contenders in the space, the better for radio.
Based on how the Oakland A's handled their radio contract, I would disagree. The Dodgers are part owners of KLAC, so they have a vested interest in that station. Radio doesn't appear to be a top priority for baseball. It would take a lot of money to get the Dodgers out of their deal with iHeart, and I don't see Audacy in a position to come up with that kind of money.
Third reality: KLAC is a joint partnership with a team. iHeart is not going to give up a slice of an FM (all of which are doing very, very well) just to do on FM what seems to be working on AM in a rather strange sports town.
It's weird to think just over 5 years ago, LA had zero NFL teams, and then all of a sudden, boom Rams and pow Chargers. And I shall not even get started on Vegas grabbing teams left and right.
Just because teams locate in a town doesn't mean the people who use local media care about those teams. Case in point would be the hockey teams in Florida. So yes there are lots of pro sports teams in LA. But how passionate are the residents about the Chargers? Same with Vegas. The tourists might travel to Vegas to see their favorite team play the Raiders. But how many people in the suburbs are going to make the drive to town and pay for parking to see them?
Remember that the casinos use sporting tickets as comps for high rollers. I have heard stories about what a high percentage of the total ticket sales come from casinos and casino guests.
Actually hockey does really well in Tampa Bay. You are right about Miami and the Florida Panthers, but the Lightning are super popular in the Tampa Bay Area and have a rabid fan base. The NFL and Buccaneers are king, but hockey and the Lightning are the second most popular team in the city. It also helps that they have won back-to-back Stanley Cups!
Maybe in terms of attendance, but they're not a big attraction on the radio.
Another case in point, closer to home, would be the Los Angeles Kings, who no longer have a terrestrial radio flagship station. Instead, they are on the Los Angeles Kings Audio Network via iHeartRadio.
What US hockey team is? Even in New York and Boston, two "original six" cities, local sports talk radio generally avoids discussing the NHL in favor of NFL, MLB and (especially in NY) NBA. Most of the games are at night anyway, when radio listening drops off sharply, so how big is the audience for NHL play-by-play?
A lot of them are probably "snowbirds" from up north escaping the terrible winter.
I can only speak of Boston. The Bruins do get coverage between Boston's two prominent sports stations. But there are two variables that I think account for it. First, Boston has two stations, and it allows one to gain listeners as continuous coverage of the same sport hurts one of the stations (cough cough WEEI cough cough). Second, the Bruins are usually a playoff contender, so people see them as top half of the rankings team (in recent years, they are playing horrible this season). So, it's funny. While WBZ-FM carries the games, many times you hear hockey talk on WEEI-FM. In New York, the single sports station leads to me sharing your same observation. One station, three area teams, and a sport that's fourth in the top four. Why bring up Rangers, Islanders, or Devils hockey and turn away two thirds of a smaller audience, when you can talk either Knicks or Nets basketball, and get half of a larger audience.
Coming back to Los Angeles and the Kings specifically, the team won two Stanley Cups recently, and even their parades had dead spots. I was a season ticket holder to their old AHL Affiliate, Manchester Monarchs. They decided to swap that affiliation from Manchester, NH to Ontario, CA in a wise business decision. Emotionally, when they moved the team, fans in Ontario cited lower attendance in Machester (in a larger arena) than that for ECHL in Ontario (in a smaller arena). I pointed out how the home club couldn't even get a packed crowd for a Stanley Cup parade. Now, AHL continues in Ontario, while ECHL in Manchester folded. Keep in mind, they went from AAA hockey to AA, the season after they immediately won the Calder Cup, and the Kings sold Manchester to an owner who stripped down the experience to stale french fries and dried up hot dogs with the abandonment of the family atmosphere under the Kings ownership. That was while he blamed fans for not coming as to why the club folded, and ignored that the club was battling a downgrade in the caliber of play and the abandonment of the experience that fans once had. We went from t-shirts and free weekend get aways as possible prizes to old left-over items in the prize box from the old AHL team. I was a season ticket holder up until the last game, and it was sad to watch it go down like a dying mall. But I digress.
The point is that I agree. The Kings are a small fraction of the LA audience.
Will the Rams move to KNX and off of Jack? Anyone know?
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There are 2 sports stations in NY
I remember how mad San Diegans (Is that the right demonym?) were in the Chargers announced the move, so I imagine LA feels like they were dumped on, rather than getting a unique team, and that they feel the Rams are their true team. I do believe a town can get used to their club... eventually if they preform well enough, but I suppose it's true that a city that's gone without any NFL teams this far probably found other things to get behind. As for those Raiders, it should be better for them because they are out from under the shadow of the (formerly) next-door 49ers. If I had to guess, LV would be interested in their new home team and that brand new stadium for the first few years. After that, we might have a problem, but hopefully the Raiders can provide enough of a fan experience that LV will get acclimated to the new team.
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