Some local station claimed to caryy HS Games

[Incompletist]

Was it 95.5?

 

[ishelly404]

WXRL 95.5FM/1300AM carries the Lancaster HS games (all of them I believe), and WBFO 88.7FM started carrying select HS games this year on Friday at 7PM.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

WXRL deserves to be complimented for broadcasting the Lancaster Legends high school football games over the years. If anything, the station should make the games an even more prominent fixture in its weekday line-up, with produced promos and revenue-generating ancillary features in the same manner that WGR promotes the Bills and Sabres.

"Friday Night Lights" may be the last bastion of local and consistent revenue for smaller stations. One need only look at how the game is played on both sides of the microphone in Colorado, Texas, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, where high school sports rivals college sports ... and in playoff season, perhaps competing with the pros when the pro teams are having a lousy season.

Western New York is home to robust high school rivalries and legacies in football, basketball and now, soccer and lacrosse. The area has a number of well-organized and efficiently-administered high school sports leagues. Not only can covering these games be great revenue generators for smaller, local radio stations, they can provide the stations with consistent revenue-generating opportunities, becoming intertwined with the fabric of the communities they serve.

Years ago, WUSJ (now WLVL) Lockport was the local sports station in Niagara County, broadcasting high school basketball, football, and in some seasons, baseball. At the time DeSales High School (no longer a high school) was a prominent sports fixture in central and eastern Niagara County. WUSJ thoroughly covered DeSales and Lockport high schools' sports calendars. Clip Smith, and later John Murphy, were Lockport play-by-play and sports legacies. Smith's work at WUSJ served as a springboard to Buffalo sports, where for a time, he called University at Buffalo Bulls football on WBFO while working at WKBW-TV. Murphy moved to WBEN Radio, then to television and later became the Bills play-by-play man when Van Miller retired. It should be noted that Miller was a local high school sports PBP legacy at WDOE, Dunkirk before moving to WBEN.

WJJL (now WEBR) also provided regular coverage of high school sports in western Niagara County. Both WUSJ and WJJL were known for their sports coverage; the weekend games and updates throughout the week.

WBTA, Batavia also provided thorough coverage of high school football in years past. It may even do so to this day, but its signal does not adequately reach this poster's receiver. Yes, I know ... "streaming on-line." Sighs. And yes, this too is an important avenue and platform from which revenue can be generated.

 

[ckg279]

Let's give WJCW in Warsaw credit, too; they also air high school football and basketball.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Our WDNY in Dansville is on the southern edge of the Rochester market. We continue to carry high school sports two or three times a week, including football, boys' and girls' soccer and basketball, baseball and softball. Plus a twice-daily high school sports update that starts its new season next Monday. All of it is sold out for the three sports seasons.

 

[Marchant26]

It seems as if Spectrum is no longer carrying games. TV, I know, but interesting nonetheless. Hurts when local content decreases.

 

[ckg279]

Add WDOE in Dunkirk who airs high school football(both Dunkirk & Fredonia).

 

[Mark1981]

Give WLVL credit for airing Scholastic Bowl, although you have to wonder how many people listen to it when compared to the number of listeners high school sports (football, basketball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse) has the potential to draw. Just do the numbers based on the participants in each competition and the nature of the games.

The above quote came from another thread. But I thought it was more appropriate to post here. I’d be interested in hearing more from Rusty and other programming mavens on this board about just how much high school sports attract listeners. Aren’t most people with an interest — students and parents — in the stands watching in person? Who is left to listen? Grandparents maybe. Inclement weather may prompt some to stay home and listen.

it’s been pointed out that WXRL has a history of broadcasting Lancaster football. The broadcast has sponsors and is probably a revenue generator. But I wonder if the sponsors buy the game because they want to demonstrate their community support. Again, my gut tells me the actual listening audience is minimal. But there may be data to prove me wrong.

When I started at WMNS in Olean in 1977, the station aired fast and slow-pitch softball, plus bowling. The broadcasts were filled with sponsors. But I wondered who was really interested in bowling on the radio. Within a year, these games disappeared from our schedule. Our new owners at the time realized our bread and butter was our Top 40 format.

Later in my career, I was responsible for producing UB Division III football on WBFO. The athletics department wanted a radio presence. None of the commercial stations were interested. UB had its own radio station. So, we were “encouraged” to broadcast the games. The games, I’m sure, attracted some ears. But there was no evidence of a ratings boost. What we did hear were complaints from listeners who didn’t like that we were pre-empting Saturday jazz and a then fledgling blues show. On a couple of occasions, a night game pre-empted A Prairie Home Companion, which was growing into a huge public radio hit at the time.

Which brings us to today. Forty years later, WBFO is again in the radio play-by-play business — this time with a Friday night high school game of the week. On the one hand, it’s commendable that WBFO is providing a community service. On the other, the broadcasts are no doubt angering WBFO’s core audience that expects to hear the Capitol Pressroom and PBS NewsHour. Then again, it’s after 7pm, so who cares. WBFO’s evening numbers have always paled in comparison to other day parts. I tuned in the inaugural broadcast last Friday while watering my garden. Stu Boyer, who was listed as a play-by-play announcer, was not doing the game. Some guy named Jack was. He had a great energy level. Sounded like he’s been doing this. Made the game exciting. Still, that wasn’t enough for me to keep listening. When I was finished watering, I turned the game off and went back to watching TV. It wasn’t until reading the Sunday paper that I saw Sweet Home had won the game.

So, I’d be interested in reading some of your responses to the value of high school play-by-play on the radio. No doubt high school games generate revenue for commercial stations. Small town radio stations might see it as an obligation to air games. But I have my doubts that many listeners are tuning in.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

So, I’d be interested in reading some of your responses to the value of high school play-by-play on the radio. No doubt high school games generate revenue for commercial stations. Small town radio stations might see it as an obligation to air games. But I have my doubts that many listeners are tuning in.

Yours is a cogent post. Good questions, especially since these days an argument can be made for streaming the games, or stream-casting on Facebook and/or YouTube.

The short answer for OTA radio would be "What's the alternative?" In the case of many small town AM stations, with or without FM translators, high school football or basketball has more monetary value and listener appeal than satellite syndicated talk or sports on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon, or Top 40, Country or Oldies that are available on full power FMs or AMs from the nearby "big city."

As to the appeal of fast and slow-pitch softball and bowling, what might be called tertiary sports, there may be sponsor money for that, but as you noted, only for sponsors "to demonstrate their community support." Other than that, parents and grandparents. Crickets. The ad rates for such tertiary local sports probably would fall in the "dollar a holler" realm, whereas rates for first tier sports such as football, basketball and hockey would yield more per spot. Eight to ten dollars a holler for a 30 second spot, which (using small market metrics) is a good rate. The client gets eight hollers a game (pre-post and in game as action allows), plus complementary (no-charge) billboard and sponsor mentions ("brought to you by") throughout the week. If there are a dozen clients per game, the station makes a nice haul. Add more revenue for coaches shows and player interview shows. Again, this would be using the Texas-Florida-Colorado high school football handbook.

On the ledger, "How much money can the station make?" is the key to survival. The peripheral view is "how much good will" (Lions, Elks, Moose, SBA and Kiwanis Club members love the effort) and "how much listenership" can be generated by doing live local high school sports rather than having the station gurgle some syndicated sat-pap. "What's the alternative?"

 

[ckg279]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't WBFO's HS game of the week only available on The Bridge?

Also, I should add that WNYO-TV airs high school football on Thursday nights as well.

 

[Mark1981]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't WBFO's HS game of the week only available on The Bridge?

Also, I should add that WNYO-TV airs high school football on Thursday nights as well.

The games are airing on WBFO’s main frequency, 88.7FM.

 

[ckg279]

The games are airing on WBFO’s main frequency, 88.7FM.

Thanks. Just wanted some clarification.

 

[KurtLockport]

Years ago, WUSJ (now WLVL) Lockport was the local sports station in Niagara County, broadcasting high school basketball, football, and in some seasons, baseball. At the time DeSales High School (no longer a high school) was a prominent sports fixture in central and eastern Niagara County. WUSJ thoroughly covered DeSales and Lockport high schools' sports calendars. Clip Smith, and later John Murphy, were Lockport play-by-play and sports legacies. Smith's work at WUSJ served as a springboard to Buffalo sports, where for a time, he called University at Buffalo Bulls football on WBFO while working at WKBW-TV. Murphy moved to WBEN Radio, then to television and later became the Bills play-by-play man when Van Miller retired. It should be noted that Miller was a local high school sports PBP legacy at WDOE, Dunkirk before moving to WBEN.

As recent as 1/23/2020 WLVL was airing high school basketball with Norm Palmer.

I suspect that stopped in 2020 and has yet to, or never will return.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

So, I’d be interested in reading some of your responses to the value of high school play-by-play on the radio. No doubt high school games generate revenue for commercial stations. Small town radio stations might see it as an obligation to air games. But I have my doubts that many listeners are tuning in.

I honestly don't know what our over-the-air audience is for those games on WDNY. But our streaming listenership was about 10x our normal streaming audience during today's game, so that may be somewhat of a useful metric. Our play-by-play for three seasons of high school sports, two months of collegiate baseball in the summer, and a sponsored daily high school sports report generates a significant amount of revenue for a small-town station. As I mentioned before in this thread, we've sold out live games for the year.

 

[Mad Man With A Blue Box]

Let me add in our stations too...
WGVA-AM carries games from the central/western Finger Lakes region
WAUB-AM carries games from Auburn and other Cayuga County schools
WFLR-AM/FM carries Dundee/Penn Yan sports
We also stream games online at fingerlakesdailynews.com

 

[ckg279]

Down in Erie, PA, WCTL-FM(which is a Christian-formatted station)also does HS football in season. They've been doing this for decades.