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Bendel out at 970

Wow, that is a shock. At times I found his show to be a little dry and slow moving.
But he is certainly very knowledgeable.

Is Smizik's full-time beat covering sports talk radio now?
 
Tunch and Wolf are also gone, although that's been an annual occurence when Steeler season ends. I think they might buy their time.

Savran is now doing Noon-2 and they are carrying Colin Cowherd from ESPN 10A- noon. Wouldn't surprised if Scoot Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo appear in Todd's old slot.

Probably two things...1) Pressure from ESPN to clear more daytime hours and 2) Todd costs less then Bendel.

Or maybe they're clearing the deck for the kind of re-shuffle we've been speculating about....
 
Smizik doesn't have a beat. He's an independent contractor who has a blog on their site. He writes whatever he wants to write.

I never listen to 970, but I thought Bendel did a good job with the Steelers postgame shows on WDVE. Hard to believe Todd would represent a significant savings. From what I understand, nobody there is making very much.
 
Yes, hard to believe there is much of a cost difference.
The newspaper biz is not exactly a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow these days.

At least now Joe will be able to find his way to any hole-in-the-wall dive bar in
Allegheny County without his GPS.

Any shot they move Savran to afternoon drive?
 
Not that Savran isn't capable of holding his own show, or, for that matter, that Guy Junker isn't capable of holding his own show.

You can see what I'm about to ask.

Any chance of the greatest team in the history of Pittsburgh sports talk reuniting?
 
Pratte4Life said:
Not that Savran isn't capable of holding his own show, or, for that matter, that Guy Junker isn't capable of holding his own show.

You can see what I'm about to ask.

Any chance of the greatest team in the history of Pittsburgh sports talk reuniting?

I don't see how 970 could afford to combine two high-priced talents on a single shift.

I could see them coming back together on The Fan, or if CC flips an FM to all-sports.
 
They could put Howard Stern on 970, and I bet it would still pull half a point in the ratings. The one
exception might be moving conservative talk from 104.7 to 970 as suggested in another thread, but
that seems unlikely, and I suspect it wouldn't be long before it ended up on a better signal.

C.
 
Pratte4Life said:
Not that Savran isn't capable of holding his own show, or, for that matter, that Guy Junker isn't capable of holding his own show.

You can see what I'm about to ask.

Any chance of the greatest team in the history of Pittsburgh sports talk reuniting?

I've been told by a good friend of Guy that it would take major money for him to be interested. As far as Stan is concerned, I think his Root Sports commitments during baseball season are a conflict with an afternoon drive radio show.
 
I don't think these are two "high-priced talents" any more. Savran is doing two hours per day on an AM station that consistently has less than a 1.0 share. Junker is on Trib online radio, which has even fewer listeners.

WTAE won't let Junker work on The Fan, so he'd have to quit the TV job if he went there.
 
Boss Radio said:
I don't think these are two "high-priced talents" any more. Savran is doing two hours per day on an AM station that consistently has less than a 1.0 share. Junker is on Trib online radio, which has even fewer listeners.

WTAE won't let Junker work on The Fan, so he'd have to quit the TV job if he went there.

It's not what they're getting paid now, it's how much you'd have to pay them to do 3-6pm on your newly minted FM talker. You might have to pay Junker enough to make it worth his while to give up TV (or change his relationship with WTAE). Maybe Root could be convinced that simulcasting the 5-6pm segment (especially on nights of Pirate games) makes a nice lead-in to the pre-game show.

As to high-priced... What other combo in the market would command more, as the "halo" shift for the station?
  • Alexander and Giannotti?
  • Vinny and Cook?
  • Starkey, Miller and Mueller?
  • Poni and Colin?
  • Cannon, Benz, and Laird?
 
Of course, Junker isn't going to leave WTAE unless someone pays him more. It's probably not likely that would happen. Savran is 65 and has had multiple major health issues over the past several years. I wouldn't be building my franchise around him.
 
dB said:
As to high-priced... What other combo in the market would command more, as the "halo" shift for the station?
  • Alexander and Giannotti?
  • Vinny and Cook?
  • Starkey, Miller and Mueller?
  • Poni and Colin?
  • Cannon, Benz, and Laird?

Mark Madden. And he's already there.
 
I know Savran and Junker are long in the tooth, but they are also both legends around here.

I happen to think from a money standpoint, Stan and/or Guy pitching your product would give your business credibility.
 
Savran is 65 and has had multiple major health issues over the past several years. From a practical standpoint, he's not a guy to build a franchise around.

Stan and Guy had their day. It was about 20 years ago. Time to move on.
 
If the ad Clear Channel is running for the position is to be believed (as opposed to simply meeting the EOE requirement), then Stan and Guy, whether you like them or dislike them, do not appear to be the direction that CC is looking to go.

If you can provide and edge, hot opinions and contemporary sports content, we want to hear from you.

We aren’t looking for the next Bob Costas, we are looking for the next great sports radio entertainer. If you think great sports radio is interviews and playing devils advocate, this isn’t the gig for you. We want passion and opinions.

The position includes creating content for a daily talk show, Steelers Nation Radio and The Pittsburgh Steelers Game day broadcast.

Must be able to run the control board, book timely guests and provide digital content for the station web site.

Read more: http://www.1059thex.com/pages/employment.html#ixzz2KVQcWQZi
 
Must be able to run the control board, book timely guests and provide digital content for the station web site

So they are looking for Craig Carton or Howard Stern, but they have to be a board op, too? ::)

T
 
Either:

a) they want a half-million dollar morning show for $50K, or

b) this is an ad for an on-air producer/sidekick (meaning they already have the #1 for the show).

fromtheinsideout said:
The position includes creating content for a daily talk show, Steelers Nation Radio and The Pittsburgh Steelers Game day broadcast.

Must be able to run the control board, book timely guests and provide digital content for the station web site.

"Creating content" for a talk show, Steelers Nation Radio and the game day broadcast doesn't necessarily mean you're delivering it. You could be the next Travis Rodgers to a local Jim Rome.

If it wasn't for the fact that I don't think Scott Paulsen wants to work 5 days a week, I'd say it was to be his partner...

And they actually may have already given the job to Scott and this is the EOE ad.
 
I disagree that Stan and Guy's prime was 20 years ago. They were just beginning then, and, to be honest, when ESPN 1250 was still on the air Stan and Guy's was the only show beating the superior signal of The Fan.

You want to tell me they are too old, okay. But I happen to think you put them on the proper signal and their brand would give that station some serious credibility.
 
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