CBS FM Sports Lineup Projections/Predictions

[Tim]

CBS is mainly targeting WTAM and WMMS and WKNR is really just a minor obstacle for CBS sportstalk in Cleveland? I agree....absolutely. In fact, that's what my group of media friends have been saying for weeks.

 

[vjm]

If WMMS starts to feel the ratings effect from the Fan's presence, I feel that would increase the odds of them snagging Jim Rome once the contract comes up (sooner rather than later) in order to shore up their man cave lineup and go toe to toe with 92.3.

If GKB isn't willing to give back the noon hour on 850, then there is no way Premiere would want to renew with the status quo still in effect.

 

[Rusty Muck]

If WMMS starts to feel the ratings effect from the Fan's presence, I feel that would increase the odds of them snagging Jim Rome once the contract comes up (sooner rather than later) in order to shore up their man cave lineup and go toe to toe with 92.3.

If GKB isn't willing to give back the noon hour on 850, then there is no way Premiere would want to renew with the status quo still in effect.

That, or GKB panics.

I can see them canceling "Afternoon R&R" and scooting the "S.S. tRBS Titanic" into afternoon drive so as to be a little bit competitive against Adam the Bull (it won't work). Then, Munch gets moved to a truncated 10a-12p slot, which would once again clear all of Mike and Mike and free up all three hours of Romey.

They'll need to do something. The doomsday clock is being set for KNR2, and Craig K. needs to please the Bristol folks - and Aaron's dad - as much as possible.

WMMS is more likely to take Rome if WKNR goes out of business completely.

 

[AntDog152]

If WMMS starts to feel the ratings effect from the Fan's presence, I feel that would increase the odds of them snagging Jim Rome once the contract comes up (sooner rather than later) in order to shore up their man cave lineup and go toe to toe with 92.3.

If GKB isn't willing to give back the noon hour on 850, then there is no way Premiere would want to renew with the status quo still in effect.

That, or GKB panics.

I can see them canceling "Afternoon R&R" and scooting the "S.S. tRBS Titanic" into afternoon drive so as to be a little bit competitive against Adam the Bull (it won't work). Then, Munch gets moved to a truncated 10a-12p slot, which would once again clear all of Mike and Mike and free up all three hours of Romey.

They'll need to do something. The doomsday clock is being set for KNR2, and Craig K. needs to please the Bristol folks - and Aaron's dad - as much as possible.

WMMS is more likely to take Rome if WKNR goes out of business completely.

I don't think KNR even needs Rome. They need to be completely local, even if it means Rome going to WMMS. If I was programming WKNR, my daytime lineup would be this:

5-6am Munch
6-9am Mike and Mike
9am-1pm tRBS
1-4pm X's and O's with Bruce Hooley, LeCharles Bentley, and Je'Rod Cherry
4-7pm Afternoon R&R
7-8pm Cleveland Browns Daily
8pm-12am WKNR Gamenight/Postgame Shows

Let's not declare KNR a loser before The Fan even starts. I honestly think Jim Rome is doing more harm to the current lineup than good which was why Craig added the 4th hour of tRBS in the first place. Plus if they want to keep Bentley, Cherry, and/or Hooley, give them a good timeslot.

 

[vjm]

If WMMS starts to feel the ratings effect from the Fan's presence, I feel that would increase the odds of them snagging Jim Rome once the contract comes up (sooner rather than later) in order to shore up their man cave lineup and go toe to toe with 92.3.

If GKB isn't willing to give back the noon hour on 850, then there is no way Premiere would want to renew with the status quo still in effect.

That, or GKB panics.

I can see them canceling "Afternoon R&R" and scooting the "S.S. tRBS Titanic" into afternoon drive so as to be a little bit competitive against Adam the Bull (it won't work). Then, Munch gets moved to a truncated 10a-12p slot, which would once again clear all of Mike and Mike and free up all three hours of Romey.

They'll need to do something. The doomsday clock is being set for KNR2, and Craig K. needs to please the Bristol folks - and Aaron's dad - as much as possible.

WMMS is more likely to take Rome if WKNR goes out of business completely.

I don't think KNR even needs Rome. They need to be completely local, even if it means Rome going to WMMS. If I was programming WKNR, my daytime lineup would be this:

5-6am Munch
6-9am Mike and Mike
9am-1pm tRBS
1-4pm X's and O's with Bruce Hooley, LeCharles Bentley, and Je'Rod Cherry
4-7pm Afternoon R&R
7-8pm Cleveland Browns Daily
8pm-12am WKNR Gamenight/Postgame Shows

Let's not declare KNR a loser before The Fan even starts. I honestly think Jim Rome is doing more harm to the current lineup than good which was why Craig added the 4th hour of tRBS in the first place. Plus if they want to keep Bentley, Cherry, and/or Hooley, give them a good timeslot.

Jim Rome has been a staple on KNR since 1998. Quite frankly he (and the Buckeyes) were for a long time the only things keeping 850 even looking like a station that matters (and some people even today still feel that way).

Craig added hour #4 of RBS for 2 reasons--more local ad $ and some perverted belief that people actually wanted more of Hammer and Ned.

He still doesn't get it that people listen(ed) for RIZZO, not The Bratty Bunch.

WKNR only does as well as it does because they are (until 8-29) the only outlet that could claim to be all sports (with 1540 going along for the ride) .

"ESPN Cleveland" has an attitude about them that their fecal matter doesn't offend nasal sensibilities, and that it's your privillage as the listener to have their pearls of wisdom coming from your radio.

Most people who listen to KNR just wanna talk sports, and not deal with the added ga-ga that the sports marketing firm/trust fund kid sandbox disguised as a radio station hoists upon them.

Joe Sixpack sports fan wants to hear Indians/Browns/Cavs/Buckeyes. RBS and R&R might get to that around their 74 live reads and sponsored bits ("News with Ned", "Bump and Run", Hammer on his soapbox, etc.).

BTW...Browns Daily can't be moved...if they wanted the 7 p.m. slot, then they would have been able to go to WMMS, since it would have been after Alan Cox (WTAM still couldn't do it due to Tribe/Cavs games).

But since they insisted on 6 p.m., the flagships had to pass and 850 was Plan B.

 

[AntDog152]

If WMMS starts to feel the ratings effect from the Fan's presence, I feel that would increase the odds of them snagging Jim Rome once the contract comes up (sooner rather than later) in order to shore up their man cave lineup and go toe to toe with 92.3.

If GKB isn't willing to give back the noon hour on 850, then there is no way Premiere would want to renew with the status quo still in effect.

That, or GKB panics.

I can see them canceling "Afternoon R&R" and scooting the "S.S. tRBS Titanic" into afternoon drive so as to be a little bit competitive against Adam the Bull (it won't work). Then, Munch gets moved to a truncated 10a-12p slot, which would once again clear all of Mike and Mike and free up all three hours of Romey.

They'll need to do something. The doomsday clock is being set for KNR2, and Craig K. needs to please the Bristol folks - and Aaron's dad - as much as possible.

WMMS is more likely to take Rome if WKNR goes out of business completely.

I don't think KNR even needs Rome. They need to be completely local, even if it means Rome going to WMMS. If I was programming WKNR, my daytime lineup would be this:

5-6am Munch
6-9am Mike and Mike
9am-1pm tRBS
1-4pm X's and O's with Bruce Hooley, LeCharles Bentley, and Je'Rod Cherry
4-7pm Afternoon R&R
7-8pm Cleveland Browns Daily
8pm-12am WKNR Gamenight/Postgame Shows

Let's not declare KNR a loser before The Fan even starts. I honestly think Jim Rome is doing more harm to the current lineup than good which was why Craig added the 4th hour of tRBS in the first place. Plus if they want to keep Bentley, Cherry, and/or Hooley, give them a good timeslot.

Jim Rome has been a staple on KNR since 1998. Quite frankly he (and the Buckeyes) were for a long time the only things keeping 850 even looking like a station that matters (and some people even today still feel that way).

Craig added hour #4 of RBS for 2 reasons--more local ad $ and some perverted belief that people actually wanted more of Hammer and Ned.

He still doesn't get it that people listen(ed) for RIZZO, not The Bratty Bunch.

WKNR only does as well as it does because they are (until 8-29) the only outlet that could claim to be all sports (with 1540 going along for the ride) .

"ESPN Cleveland" has an attitude about them that their fecal matter doesn't offend nasal sensibilities, and that it's your privillage as the listener to have their pearls of wisdom coming from your radio.

Most people who listen to KNR just wanna talk sports, and not deal with the added ga-ga that the sports marketing firm/trust fund kid sandbox disguised as a radio station hoists upon them.

Joe Sixpack sports fan wants to hear Indians/Browns/Cavs/Buckeyes. RBS and R&R might get to that around their 74 live reads and sponsored bits ("News with Ned", "Bump and Run", Hammer on his soapbox, etc.).

BTW...Browns Daily can't be moved...if they wanted the 7 p.m. slot, then they would have been able to go to WMMS, since it would have been after Alan Cox (WTAM still couldn't do it due to Tribe/Cavs games).

But since they insisted on 6 p.m., the flagships had to pass and 850 was Plan B.

You hit on basically all of KNR's programming problems. But if Craig was willing to take out Hour #1 of Rome (only hour of that show worth listening to), then taking him off the lineup in favor of more local programming is not out of the question. I know Jim Rome is a staple, but he is not going to help KNR compete with CBS. That's why I'm suggesting dumping Rome completely in favor of the best KNR show (IMO) that no one knows about. They need to be completely local after 9am in order to have a fighting chance against CBS.

 

[vjm]

If Craig does do something like shift all 3 hours of Rome to 1540, or just flat out drop him, there will be people with pitchforks and torches at the Galleria, don't kid yourself.

He does have a huge C-Town following..this is the only place to have gotten 3 Romey "tour stops".

And WMMS would pick him up in a second...partly to stick it to WKNR, but mostly to fill the gap between Rover and Cox to do battle with the Fan.

Pure sports talk vs the man cave on the FM side could be a killer battle.

 

[AntDog152]

If Craig does do something like shift all 3 hours of Rome to 1540, or just flat out drop him, there will be people with pitchforks and torches at the Galleria, don't kid yourself.

He does have a huge C-Town following..this is the only place to have gotten 3 Romey "tour stops".

And WMMS would pick him up in a second...partly to stick it to WKNR, but mostly to fill the gap between Rover and Cox to do battle with the Fan.

Pure sports talk vs the man cave on the FM side could be a killer battle.

I just don't believe Rome is a good fit for WKNR anymore. I wonder how many people in this market listen to Rome nowadays with the first hour being gone. After they got rid of the first hour, people tuned out anyway so its doing KNR no good right now. But Rome vs. CBS would be a fun battle in this market.

 

[asterisk]

It's still rumor at this point, so I'm not going to confirm or name names yet, but it looks like "The Fan's" M-F lineup is nearly complete.

One thing I can say...it appears that they will now go live until midnight, which makes sense when you consider the competition's post-game shows and their own promises of doing the shows.

Hints? Well, at least one host is very much an up and comer, a young, talented guy with no connection at all to the Galleria. In fact, none of the names I've seen so far are being stolen from there.

There may be one or two folks in some positions with WKNR on their resumes, but it is by far not a flood.

OMW, your description sounds a lot like Ken Carman... Which would be a great move IMHO

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Read into my description what you wish, my friends

Remember, I'm still waiting for confirmation on a lot of this information.

I'm impressed with the list, for the most part. This station could very easily have hit the He Used To Be On Station X (or "K") list, but that doesn't appear to be the driving force here at all.

Some folks with that station on their resumes will show up, but it's not the Home of Ex-WKNR or even Ex-WHK types who have 5 or 6 stops on their resume and are adding 92.3 as Stop Number 7.

BTW, those with smartphones who use the TuneIn software like I do - CBS has asked TuneIn to remove all its stations. That takes both WKRK and Adam the Bull's former home of WFAN out of TuneIn.

Presumably, they hope you use their own Radio.com to listen. Radio.com has apps for both Android and iOS (and probably Blackberry, haven't checked)...it's a bit flaky in testing this afternoon (Android version). Hope it holds up for long-term listening...TuneIn was a LOT smoother, and less error prone.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Almost forgot: OMW has confirmed that "92.3 The Fan" will be running Fox Sports Radio overnights.

 

[Rusty Muck]

If Craig does do something like shift all 3 hours of Rome to 1540, or just flat out drop him, there will be people with pitchforks and torches at the Galleria, don't kid yourself.

He does have a huge C-Town following..this is the only place to have gotten 3 Romey "tour stops".

And WMMS would pick him up in a second...partly to stick it to WKNR, but mostly to fill the gap between Rover and Cox to do battle with the Fan.

Pure sports talk vs the man cave on the FM side could be a killer battle.

I just don't believe Rome is a good fit for WKNR anymore. I wonder how many people in this market listen to Rome nowadays with the first hour being gone. After they got rid of the first hour, people tuned out anyway so its doing KNR no good right now. But Rome vs. CBS would be a fun battle in this market.

They probably defected to WARF/1350 Akron or WDFN/1130 Detroit, or stream the show online. Those people are probably done with WKNR for all eternity, and who can blame them?

Jacor put Rome on WKNR in early 1998 in order to make the station non-competitive vs. WTAM (remember, Jacor's plan was to take every competitive element from WKNR onto WTAM, especially the Indians play-by-play rights). But that move backfired: WKNR became one of Rome's linchpin affiliates east of the Mississippi, and often was neck-and-neck against WTAM's Rush Limbaugh in certain demos. Not to mention the multiple tour stops and selecting Rizzo, Aaron and Fedor to be one of Rome's primary fill-ins.

Make no mistake: taking the first hour of Rome off of Cleveland radio was the dumbest thing Craig K. could ever have done. And probably one of the worst moves ever in Cleveland radio history (alongside blowing up "Jam'n 92" in 1999 or WTAM replacing Glenn Beck with Jerry Springer in 2005).

 

[Rusty Muck]

Almost forgot: OMW has confirmed that "92.3 The Fan" will be running Fox Sports Radio overnights.

Time to set the doomsday clock for KNR2.

 

[Tim]

Gotta assume you'll hear more paid programming on 1540.....you know: the never-ending medical, vitamins, etc. products for sale, financial, religious programs, and so forth. And, why not? At least it brings $$$$'s in the door...and costs practically nothing to operate.

 

[DToTheJ]

Watch 1540 load up on "colon blow" programming - then they can emphasize on the number "2" part of the "KNR2" name. :

 

[AntDog152]

Almost forgot: OMW has confirmed that "92.3 The Fan" will be running Fox Sports Radio overnights.

So does mean that Munch is done with his FSR duties?

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

It is quite likely, AntDog.

For one, the late night weekend FSR shifts Munch has been covering would most assuredly be heard on "The Fan", unless there's PBP or other considerations on the air.

For another, back when we heard that FSR was a possibility for 92.3, we were told that they could pick up the network even with "KNR2" as an affiliate with no problem (since FSR isn't heard post 9 PM on 1540) - but that FSR would then give the Galleria a 30 day out notice.

I find it hard to imagine a scenario where Munch could continue to be heard as a local host on KNR/KNR2 and also be an FSR host, now that the network is moving to 92.3.

This would also mean, by the way, that CC is unlikely to mount even a "flanker" sports station in Cleveland, either by altering WMMS at all, or throwing FSR on the 99.1 translator, whenever it comes up. For those who may not remember, FSR is owned by CC's Premiere Radio.

 

[74WIXYGrad]

BTW, those with smartphones who use the TuneIn software like I do - CBS has asked TuneIn to remove all its stations. That takes both WKRK and Adam the Bull's former home of WFAN out of TuneIn.

I was wondering about that as I was checking around last night. Thanks for the info OMW!

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

The Saturday night shift Munch has been covering on FSR is officially listed "TBA" on FSR's schedule. I don't get the idea he was doing more than filling in.

http://www.foxsportsradio.com/pages/fsrweekends.html

 

[vjm]

Almost forgot: OMW has confirmed that "92.3 The Fan" will be running Fox Sports Radio overnights.

1540 is probably now going to go ESPN from sign on to sign off (outside of Munch from 7-9a and the Jim Rome displaced hour at noon).

So instead of "Loose Cannons" and Petros & Money, we'll get Doug Gottlieb and Brian Kenny during the late afternoon/evening hours on KNR2.

FSR always was a redheaded step child at the Galleria any way, so it's no shock.