Browns Seek New Radio Deal

[VODood]

With the quiet rumors of CBS possibly selling most of it's stable, outside the Top 20, to Cumulus, CBS securing the Browns PBP rights would be something Cumulus wouldn't have to deal with until the next contract negotiation some years down the road. Whether CBS CLE is on the block to Cumulus... who knows?

 

[VODood]

I hope that CBS gets them. I am sick and tired of listening to Browns games and at the end of every break it is listen to Alan Cox, Rover, Alan Cox, Rover, Alan Cox, Rover. At least with 92.3 or 98.5 we would get a wide variety of show promos.

They do promote Rover and Alan Cox pretty extensively, but bo be fair, 'MMS played a wider variety of show promos during the 1995-2008 era when they changed morning shows seemingly four times a year. Now that they have not one, but two consistently well-performing talk shows, I guess they're not inclined to hold back about promoting them...

Rover and Cox get promoted during Browns games, the Browns get promoted during Rover and Cox.

One hand washes the other.

It's a very simple formula that MMS has stumbled on and it works--rock/talk (Rover and Cox)/sports (Browns and some Tribe)...a little bit of everything guys like, which is why I call it "man-cave" radio.

Losing the Browns would be a punch in the gut for the Buzzard...it looks bad, plus it would make the wallet a little lighter with all that ad $$ going bye-bye.

When WMJI got the Browns upon their return in '99 promos for Lanigan were run, as well as cross promos for the other stations in the cluster (but not personality promos). Cross promotion is nothing new. It's smart.

 

[wjf82]

Right now we have two stellarly mediocre sports talk stations duking it out for a 2-share, while WTAM really has the street cred when it comes to sports. Getting the Browns would give WKRK (isn't it time to get some call letters that hint at "Fan"?) a tremenous leg up over WKNR. Sports sales has a highly emotional component and being able to say "Home of The Browns" would be a great book to the upstart sports talker. I agree that with WTAM and a whole stable of highly-rated FM's staying with CC would make much sense for the Browns, but if CBS has more to gain than CC has to lose. If CBS starts throwing "stupid" money at the Browns there's a point where I think CC will throw in the towel and let them have it. Having the Browns is about bragging rights more than anything else. They're not the constant cume driver that baseball provides. It's just one game per week, 16 weeks out of the year.

Call letters don't mean much (the Columbus station dubbed "The Fan" has the WBNS call letters).

 

[1sttimecaller]

The worst in game liners are (tie) WQKT and WONE.

"You're Listening to Cleveland Browns Football on 104.5 WQKT" Yes I know.

"Hi it's Tim and kristi with YOUR morning show with the most Rock-N-Roll in the morning on 97.5 WONE" complete with the sounds of football pads. How original.

One tells me nothing, the other tells me I there is a lame show on tomorrow and I don't need to stick around.

 

[DToTheJ]

Call letters don't mean much (the Columbus station dubbed "The Fan" has the WBNS call letters).

Likewise, the calls of many of CBS' FM sports stations are grandfathered from co-owned AM stations.

 

[Speaker of Truth]

In a world where you can stream NFL Games and Highlights on your Verizon phone, how important is radio to the overall product?

How much, in the end, is it really worth to have NFL rights, when you'll have to overpay to get them?

Does anyone think that even with new ownership, the Browns are close to being anywhere close to being competitive?

If you have a sales staff that can sell the hell out of this stuff, then you can make it work..but I've worked at network affliates that bled red ink for years with the Browns, because you had to make about $2,000 a game just to break even...

 

[vjm]

In a world where you can stream NFL Games and Highlights on your Verizon phone, how important is radio to the overall product?

How much, in the end, is it really worth to have NFL rights, when you'll have to overpay to get them?

Does anyone think that even with new ownership, the Browns are close to being anywhere close to being competitive?

If you have a sales staff that can sell the hell out of this stuff, then you can make it work..but I've worked at network affliates that bled red ink for years with the Browns, because you had to make about $2,000 a game just to break even...

I'm gonna put this as delicately as I can, and I apologize in advance to those who think I'm being gross.

But a lot of being a flagship (or even a nearby affiliate) of an NFL team involves pulling out a ruler and seeing who...measures up more.

There's that, and the fact that it could make $$ if done right, but don't discount the first factor.

CC and CBS are breaking out both their wallets and rulers for the Browns rights.

It's a dog-eat-dog world in the radio game, and whatever it takes to be able to say "mine's bigger" is what they're gonna do.

 

[SonoSational18]

Well put, vjm.