Dallas Cowboys Radio Network grade

[salemjedi54]

The Bone sucks all together, they should've dumped that station when Cumulus bought them and put the Cowboy games on the Ticket because the Ticket is a Sports station and the Bone isn't.

Well having The Bone was the deal maker. I thought that Cowboys would have bought KLIF and KDBN and made them the flagship stations. But I sure that Jerry Jones did not want to get into radio ownership. So do a deal with the best sports station in town and share the money. Whether you like The Ticket or not, its perfect to be the flagship station of the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network.

 

[trying2getn]

I don't know to much about the radio industry, but I just wondered through out the year if it's good to have to use four different weak signals (1310, 104.1, 1700 and 93.3) to TRY to cover the metroplex and there is still parts that don't get a good signals, especially at night. Say what you want about the Ticket, but it's arguably the most successful station in the market as well as now being the flagship for possibly the most popular sports franchise in the world. Isn't time to put them on a bigger stick. I just don't understand Cumulus not upgrading their signal, especially when they have KLIF wasting on 570. Why not swap and re-event KLIF on 1310 under Cumulus' "super talk" brand? But from what I was told, that not going to happen and I just don't understand. ???

 

[trying2getn]

Often the TV feed runs behind the radio feed - we have Time Warner's DVR and we just pause the TV feed for as long as we need to to make the radio and TV feeds sync. My son and I watch Mavs games like this, too, although he hates it when the commercials don't match (he's 7).

So you'd rather listen to Chuck Cooperstien then Mark Followill?

 

[little1]

Trying-

If they're (arguably-(agreed)) the most succesful station in the market, with (arguably) the at-most-4th-or-5th-best AM signal in the market, why go through the hassles and headaches of a frequency swap?

Maybe it helps the Ticket, but does it kill off KLIF? And I know some peeps here wouldn't mind seeing that, by why would Cumulus want to take that chance?

And as for the signal being so bad, the thing to remember is that the 1310 and 104.1 combo covers the VAST majority of listeners. So some guy in Glen Rose can't get it. The couple o'million people IN the metroplex can...

 

[trying2getn]

You make a lot of since little1, like I said I don't know too much about the industry. But I know when I am driving home on 75 in Richardson @ 6:00 the signal at times is horrible and that's in Richardson. Maybe it's because I would rather listen to the Ticket then KLIF, but I would just think that there would be more value in the Ticket being on a strong stick then KLIF.

 

[jd]

You make a lot of since little1, like I said I don't know too much about the industry. But I know when I am driving home on 75 in Richardson @ 6:00 the signal at times is horrible and that's in Richardson. Maybe it's because I would rather listen to the Ticket then KLIF, but I would just think that there would be more value in the Ticket being on a strong stick then KLIF.

trying2, I know what you're talking about, but the signal problems in that area are really nothing new. It's especially noticeable during the winter months, e.g., in January, KTCK has to reduce from 9,000 to 5,000 watts and hit the nighttime pattern at 5:45.

For many years 1310 (first as WRR, then KAAM) had a two tower array at the northern end of White Rock Lake in northeast Dallas; the nighttime signal was quite good in most of Dallas County and marginal in Tarrant County, but it rapidly fell apart to the northeast of the site toward Garland. That's because they had to protect a number of co-channel stations, especially one in Joplin MO. In 1982, when 1310's towers were relocated to the site off Belt Line Road west of Carrollton, it improved overall coverage of the Metroplex, but the problem with northeastward coverage at night was still there, only the new site was much further west. So the northern Richardson, Plano and Allen area then fell in the path of a very sharp null: www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KTCK&service=AM&status=L&hours=N

The Ticket became a success on 1310 and despite some signal problems the audience is quite comfortable with it right where it is. Like little1 was saying, 570 is a superior signal, and I think it would be a big mistake for the Ticket to swap with them; such moves always have a certain degree of risk. On the other hand, as I see it KLIF would have little to lose.

 

[trying2getn]

Don't get me wrong I understand what both of you are saying, I guess what my point is that the 1310 signal was good for the Ticket 10 years ago but with where it is now, isn't it time attempt to upgrade? That all I asking.

 

[DroopyDave111]

You make a lot of since little1, like I said I don't know too much about the industry. But I know when I am driving home on 75 in Richardson @ 6:00 the signal at times is horrible and that's in Richardson. Maybe it's because I would rather listen to the Ticket then KLIF, but I would just think that there would be more value in the Ticket being on a strong stick then KLIF.

I listen to The Ticket all the time. I switch to 104.1 FM between NW Hwy and the High Five. Works much better. That's their solution to North Dallas.

Personally, I wish they'd put The Ticket on 570 as well... KLIF sucks these days... Then I could get the Ticket all the way to Groesbeck easily.

If you use a CC Radio Plus, you can get it outside the range. It seems to be the best AM radio you can buy...

 

[little1]

You make a lot of since little1, like I said I don't know too much about the industry. But I know when I am driving home on 75 in Richardson @ 6:00 the signal at times is horrible and that's in Richardson. Maybe it's because I would rather listen to the Ticket then KLIF, but I would just think that there would be more value in the Ticket being on a strong stick then KLIF.

I think it all depends on what metrics you're using to determine success. If you put KTCK on 570, yeah, you'd increase their coverage area somewhat, which could translate into more ratings success. But the thing to remember, the areas that they'd be adding are sparesly populated comparitevly speaking. So you're jumping through a lot of hoops to reach XX # of more people.

But then consider this- (And I'll explain a little since you say you don't know much aboutthe buisness side of things) there's a company called Miller-Kaplan that gathers and analyzes sales data for radio markets. One of the easy things to do with MK data is get the 'power ratio'. Which you get by comapring the dollar amount each station is getting in comparison to their ratings.
(So let's say that the total dollar amount billed in the market is 100 dollars. If you have a 10 share, you should get 10% of the market, or 10 dollars. If you bill 10$, your power ratio is 1.0. Bill 20$, your ratio is 2.0...etc...So the higher you are above 1.0 the better) WBAP and KTCK consistently have the highest power ratios in the market. Both bill 'more' than they should based strictly on ratings....

So the question is, if KTCK can outbill 95% of the market with a crappy signal, do they NEED to get a better signal? Chances are it won't significantly add to their cume or ratings, so why bother?

 

[little1]

And that 'wont add' comment is based on the idea that something like 90-some-odd percent of the DFW market can be found in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Ellis, & Rockwall (?) countys...I don't remember the exact figures and countys, but most of the people in the market are already "served" by the 2 KTCK signals...

 

[VERITAS DE VOCE]

Blue Star has served its purpose for decades and chosen the proper lighthouses to shine its light...

KVIL - Every day homer Cowboy fan, who grew up and...
KLUV - ... listened to the network their dad's did, then...
KTCK - ... their kids grew large enough stones to take over the radio.

Brad Sham is iconic, but hasn't had the real chemistry (a la Razor and Ralph) since Dale left the booth. Babe was great, but got to Cris Collinsworth-ish/Sean Salisbury-ish with his "over the top, I used to be the man (on the bench) but can reallly get my game on now" voice. Waters was very disapointing. Woodson has seen the greener side of the street so you can forget him being here. What a triumverant of Brad Sham, Cliff Harris (old school) and Jay Novacek (new school) booth? Now that's Dallas radio, and hell, I would turn down my TV anyday for that action.

 

[yardape101]

Man, I know I'm going to take a beating for this, but...

I've never particularly cared for Brad Sham as the play-by-play guy for the Cowboys.

He was fine as color man for Verne Lundquist, but I never hear the same intensity or excitment that you get from some of the other local pbp announcers. Plus, in the early 90's when the cowboys were winning a couple of Super Bowls, he seemed to lean a little toward the goofy cliche and heavy metaphor.

Sorry, just not a big fan.

Love the Cowboys, though.

 

[hajinator25]

Sturm is an ego maniac. He sucks. Charlie Waters is poor. Sham is greatness, miss Hansen, as much as I do not like his personality.

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

Yardape, You are not alone. He takes the game too seriously.He is boring

 

[VERITAS DE VOCE]

But if KTCK has done anything... it has made Sham into more of a transparent homer. Is it just me or does Sturm bust out the bass in his voice (even more than he already does) when the Ticket transforms into the the "flagship of the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network"?!

 

[trying2getn]

It seems that he tries a liitle bit too hard. That's the same problem I had with Greg Williams. I think he would be better if he was a little bit laid back like he was on TXCN. On the last post game show Craig Miller subed in for Norm and was so smooth. I think that's what the Ticket is missing with the DCRN, the "smoothness" they just came across as rookies trying to hard this year.

 

[txchipk]

But if KTCK has done anything... it has made Sham into more of a transparent homer. Is it just me or does Sturm bust out the bass in his voice (even more than he already does) when the Ticket transforms into the the "flagship of the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network"?!

It's not a KTCK thing...Sham is not an employee of KTCK, but rather an employee of the Dallas Cowboys now. This was a topic on KTCK one afternoon shortly after they picked up the rights...the growing trend of NFL rights where the announcers are picked by the team and on the team's payroll rather than by the station that has the rights.

So, Brad, Charlie, Mickey's "Ranch Reports", etc. are going to be overtly pro-Cowboys; they're all products of the Cowboys marketing department.

 

[Fen_der_Strat]

.
Brad Sham is NOT a homer... never has been... he's always been meticulous in not using "us", "we", "our" when referring to the Cowboys... it's always "they" or "them" or "the Cowboys". Sham is a true sports journalist.

Charlie Waters, on the other hand, drove me crazy with his "we need to" do this and that... and, as far as I know, has been the first of the Cowboys radio team to do that.

In short, Waters sucks as a booth guy.

Oh, if only Jones could suck it up, humble himself, and bring back Hansen. THAT is a broadcast team.

 

[317C50KW]

Josh Lewin is calling the San Diego Chargers on radio.....wonder if he'd mind working closer to home after the Rangers fold in late August?

And Sham doing NASCAR for Direct TV? Interesting!

 

[Gopher]

And Sham doing NASCAR for Direct TV? Interesting!

Interesting indeed. How is he going to handle the schedule conflict in the last three months of NASCAR and the first three of the NFL. Enquiring minds need to know. ;D