1050 ESPN Quietly Phasing Out "1050"?

[DToTheJ]

I noticed an interesting development today as I listened to Michael Kay's show on 1050 ESPN New York - or shall I say, ESPN New York. For most of the show, be it coming back from breaks, or taking phone calls from listeners - not to mention welcoming Saints coach Sean Payton for an interview via telephone - Kay referred to the station as "ESPN New York," as in, "... you're next on ESPN New York." One eyebrow-raising exchange came in the final hour, when Kay told a caller, "you're next on 1050," before stammering for a few seconds, and finishing with, "... ESPN New York."

Obviously, it sounds like the station's hosts have been given a missive to start refraining from saying "1050 ESPN" and concentrate on "ESPN New York." It's a coincidence that "the worldwide leader" recently launched a New York-centric sports website, espnnewyork.com. (I should point out that imaging on the station, at least today, still refers to "1050 ESPN, New York." And I should also point out that they are still being voiced by imaging pro and R-I member Jim Cutler. )

It's also a coincidence that another area station that recently started to drop a word from its on-air vocabulary - that would be 101.9 WRXP, the former rock "experience" - just happens to be the station highly rumored to be simulcasting 1050 ESPN programming, if not ESPN moving entirely over to 101.9.

So is ESPN gearing up for a huge move in the near future? Or do they, like most of us, think that AM radio, for the most part, is "dead," and it's not worth referring to?

 

[vinceapple]

Very hard to say what's going on. I recently typed "espn1019" and "1019espn" into my Web browser and came up with absolutely nothing. If ESPN is about to make a move to 101.9, they've made no plans Internet-wise yet. I think if it's going to happen, it won't be for a while yet. Maybe Emmis honestly wants to give WRXP a fighting chance. Perhaps if the station is still floundering in the fall, they'll think about dumping it.

 

[radioguy39nj]

Emmis has been giving WRXP a fighting chance for well over two years! It's been floundering since it flipped from smooth jazz! Speculation was rampant in late 2008 that a flip to ESPN was about to happen but it never did. Emmis' financial condition could force them to make a move sooner rather than later.

Now that they're quietly phasing out the 1050 handle, Jets fans won't know where to dial up their team's games, if they can even receive the signal!

 

[luperm]

That branding is going on in other markets too...

ESPN Boston
ESPN Los Angeles
ESPN Chicago

...just to name a few.

I'm not sure I'd read into it too much at this point.

 

[MoldaMania182]

That branding is going on in other markets too...

ESPN Boston
ESPN Los Angeles
ESPN Chicago

...just to name a few.

I'm not sure I'd read into it too much at this point.

Bingo! I was about to point this out as well...seems to be just a marketing/branding switch, probably to give a national name a slightly more local touch...FWIW...

 

[Rusty Muck]

I would agree with DToTheJ, this "ESPN/city name" branding is probably meant to combat the further irrelevance of the AM dial, given that most major ESPN affils (especially the O&Os) use the same streaming internet players, plus the utilitzing of iPhones and all that techno-stuff.

WEPN is simulcast on several stations as it is, right? That alone would make the "1050" branding unnecessary. If you're listening to 107.1, 1050 (or maybe even 101.9) the branding is still the same: ESPN New York. Which it would probably still be even if they did land on 101.9, IMO.

 

[Rusty Muck]

That branding is going on in other markets too...

ESPN Boston
ESPN Los Angeles
ESPN Chicago

...just to name a few.

I'm not sure I'd read into it too much at this point.

Bingo! I was about to point this out as well...seems to be just a marketing/branding switch, probably to give a national name a slightly more local touch...FWIW...

Note that ESPN operates "ESPN Boston." The actual ESPN Boston affiliate, Entercom-owned WEEI, operates their own website (and multi-station network).

There's also other markets like "ESPN Milwaukee" and "ESPN Cleveland" that are the umbrella branding for duopolies in their respective markets. "ESPN Milwaukee" is the website for both that city's ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes affiliates, while "ESPN Cleveland" is for that city's default sports station with a heavy amount of local weekday programming, with a daytime-only sister station carrying all of the network spillover in a platoon programming with Fox Sports Radio.

All aforementioned four stations still maintain separate channel brandings.

 

[Macker]

Very hard to say what's going on. I recently typed "espn1019" and "1019espn" into my Web browser and came up with absolutely nothing. If ESPN is about to make a move to 101.9, they've made no plans Internet-wise yet. I think if it's going to happen, it won't be for a while yet. Maybe Emmis honestly wants to give WRXP a fighting chance. Perhaps if the station is still floundering in the fall, they'll think about dumping it.

1019espn.com and espn1019.com have both been owned by ESPN, Inc since December 2008, and both redirect to Go.com, which is owned by Disney/ESPN

 

[ccuphl]

So is ESPN gearing up for a huge move in the near future? Or do they, like most of us, think that AM radio, for the most part, is "dead," and it's not worth referring to?

Keep in mind ESPN is one big commercial for itself. ESPN Radio is all about pushing people to the various ESPN websites and the various ESPN cable networks. If you had to choose between plugging an AM dial position or an overall 'brand' every 60 seconds, I'd go with the brand. At some point, sports radio will become an extension of a website (on-demand interviews, streaming audio, streaming video, podcasts, social networking stuff, blogs, news stories, etc.) -- not the other way around.

 

[Macker]

Plus, there's no reason to even say 1050. People know what frequency they're listening to. I don't even know why they need to say "New York" after it. Why not just refer to it as ESPN, short and simple. Have the hosts say "(insert name), you're next on ESPN"

 

[ansky212]

I was driving through Newark this morning and happened to be scanning the FM dial. My radio tuned to 97.5 which was broadcasting ESPN radio. Any idea where this is from? Could it have been Tropo from another market?

 

[TheBigA]

Keep in mind that the goal of ESPN Radio is similar to Radio Disney: Promote the brand. The brand isn't the radio station. It's ESPN. Now that they've set up the local sports sites, they need to drive audience there. That's the brand. Not the radio station.

Get used to it, folks. That's the future of radio.

 

[paganwoof]

ESPN dropped "radio" a couple years ago with "audio" in marketing. It's all about the brand- a name bigger, more valuable and more protected than ABC.

 

[DToTheJ]

Macker: The main "ESPN" is the network and, while I am sure everyone is aware they're not watching the TV while listening to the radio, they just can't refer to the radio station as simply "ESPN." Everybody knows which came first in this instance...

Ansky212: You probably heard "97.5 The Fanatic" out of Philadelphia, which is, more or less, a simulcast of "950 ESPN..."

And Vinceapple: Upon seeing your name attached to one of the first replies in this thread, I was expecting a remark about me sitting through the Michael Kay show.