FM Sports station in Pittsburgh

[toddjammin]

Would an all FM Sports Station be successful in Pittsburgh? thoughts?

 

[Radio_Realist]

> Would an all FM Sports Station be successful in Pittsburgh?
> thoughts?

That depends on whether it is a GOOD sports station or just a syndicated programming carrier. I think those of you who work in radio are far too concerned about which band a station is on. Sports radio fans will tune in ANY station that carries good and interesting sports programming, regardless of whether it's on AM or FM.

In fact, such a station doesn't even have to be all that good, it simply has to be better than any alternatives. Any new sports station, AM or FM, that's better than the two sports stations currently on the air will attract new listeners if it's promoted well. On the other hand, put a sports station on a strong-signalled FM station but don't give it any advertising or promotion, and fill it with nothing but the syndicated stuff that the other two stations have already rejected, and it will fail.

Everybody makes big deal out of 104.7's success as a talk station on FM, but the truth is, had Clear Channel put the same programming on a strong AM station, like 970, it probably would have done just as well. WPGB's success is mostly because of its program content, not the band it's one.

 

[radioalogo]

> Would an all FM Sports Station be successful in Pittsburgh?
> thoughts?

well, with the Steelers on DVE the Penguins + Nascar on 3WS. The Panthers on 104.7 not much left for a stand alone all sports format to carry, and the way the Steeler radio broadcast contract is assigned you have to be a AM/FM combo to be the flagship station for that organization. Hence forth 970 isn’t going anywhere.

As for a "Lets Talk Sports" type station. That’s a hard sell to the advertisers without any "home team" to base that station on. Now if you could pull the Pirates from KD, never say never on that. then it could work

 

[otiv]

I am going to disagree with the realist

> Everybody makes big deal out of 104.7's success as a talk
> station on FM, but the truth is, had Clear Channel put the
> same programming on a strong AM station, like 970, it
> probably would have done just as well. WPGB's success is
> mostly because of its program content, not the band it's
> one.
>

Much of the programming on 104.7 had already been on smaller am's other than rush
which was on WTAE weekends before KDKA. These programs did not soar in the ratings on small am's. While I agree that this programming might do better on am 970 than most of the current programming. I was in Prospect listening to 104.7 clear as a bell. Just like country..I think it's doing well in Butler and Washington and Fayette. Many of the listeners in Butler and other areas can only get KDKA. So now they can get Quinn and so I would guess the audience is stronger outside Allegheny County for 104.7. Remember, when it was non directional WYDD in New Ken It had the best signal north of the city. In my opinion FM is the key to 104.7's success.
I see traditional WDVE listeners on 104.7 too. A friend of mine who is tired of the body function infomercials on KQV is now switching to 104.7. I might not agree with what is on 104.7 . But I think the audience that agrees with the
president is listening.

 

[Radio_Rancher]

AM vs. FM makes a huge difference when some of the AM signals don't even cover all of Allegheny County. Signal strength is more of an issue in Pittsburgh than it is in other markets because the terrain makes reception more difficult. If people can't HEAR your station, it doesn't matter if you have billboards on every major highway.

AM vs. FM makes a huge difference when most listeners under 40 have grown up as FM listeners with no frame of reference to the AM band whatsoever. People who are accustomed to CD quality audio don't have much patience with AM radio's crackle and static.

Why do you think progressive thinking sports franchises like the Steelers and Penguins have moved to FM, with an AM station serving merely as an echo? Why do you think the Pirates are seriously considering a flagship station other than KDKA for the first time in 50 years? Because they have almost three million tickets to sell every year, and they need to appeal to younger people who get out more often.

The only AM stations that draw significant numbers in Pittsburgh are KDKA and WJAS. Both have declined greatly and both are heavily laden with plus-50 demos.





> > Would an all FM Sports Station be successful in
> Pittsburgh?
> > thoughts?
>
> That depends on whether it is a GOOD sports station or just
> a syndicated programming carrier. I think those of you who
> work in radio are far too concerned about which band a
> station is on. Sports radio fans will tune in ANY station
> that carries good and interesting sports programming,
> regardless of whether it's on AM or FM.
>
> In fact, such a station doesn't even have to be all that
> good, it simply has to be better than any alternatives. Any
> new sports station, AM or FM, that's better than the two
> sports stations currently on the air will attract new
> listeners if it's promoted well. On the other hand, put a
> sports station on a strong-signalled FM station but don't
> give it any advertising or promotion, and fill it with
> nothing but the syndicated stuff that the other two stations
> have already rejected, and it will fail.
>
> Everybody makes big deal out of 104.7's success as a talk
> station on FM, but the truth is, had Clear Channel put the
> same programming on a strong AM station, like 970, it
> probably would have done just as well. WPGB's success is
> mostly because of its program content, not the band it's
> one.
>

 

[Radio_Realist]

> AM vs. FM makes a huge difference when some of the AM
> signals don't even cover all of Allegheny County. Signal
> strength is more of an issue in Pittsburgh than it is in
> other markets because the terrain makes reception more
> difficult. If people can't HEAR your station, it doesn't
> matter if you have billboards on every major highway.

Please note that I specifically said a "a strong AM station, like 970". I agree that a station with a weak signal will always be at a disadvantage. On the other hand, a weak FM station is at a disadvantage to a high wattage AM station.

> AM vs. FM makes a huge difference when most listeners under
> 40 have grown up as FM listeners with no frame of reference
> to the AM band whatsoever. People who are accustomed to CD
> quality audio don't have much patience with AM radio's
> crackle and static.

I assumed that it would go without saying that I was only referring to spoken word programming, not music. Of course music programming almost has to be on FM to have any chance of success. And I do not dispute that spoken word programming on FM sounds better than spoken word programming on AM. My contention is that for spoken word programming, content will beat tonal quality. Sure, if a broadcaster simulcasts the same programming on AM and FM, almost no one will choose the AM version of the exact same program.

> Why do you think progressive thinking sports franchises like
> the Steelers and Penguins have moved to FM, with an AM
> station serving merely as an echo? Why do you think the
> Pirates are seriously considering a flagship station other
> than KDKA for the first time in 50 years? Because they have
> almost three million tickets to sell every year, and they
> need to appeal to younger people who get out more often.

Because the stations currently on the FM band do an overall better job in reaching listeners than the stations on AM. But it is a chicken-and-egg argument over why that is. Do the FM stations beat the AM stations because they're on FM, or do they beat them because the stations on FM offer better programming? And, as I conceded already, for music programming, FM beats AM any day of the week. So, if a sports team wants an outlet for their play-by-play broadcasts of games, they will want a station that already has a large audience. That means a music format station.

Besides, the Steelers moved to WDVE because Clear Channel bought the AM stations that had the rights, and then Clear Channel talked the Steelers into moving to WDVE. Not that convincing the Steelers to make that move was a tough sell. I'm sure the Steelers were as pleased to move to WDVE as Clear Channel was.

> The only AM stations that draw significant numbers in
> Pittsburgh are KDKA and WJAS. Both have declined greatly and
> both are heavily laden with plus-50 demos.

I do not dispute that one bit. But that still begs the question of why that is the case. KDKA and WJAS both broadcast programming that only appeals to old people. The decline of AM radio listenership, especially for spoken word programming, is real and cannot be disputed. But that doesn't prove that the AM band isn't capable of holding a winning, successful station.

Until someone actually puts some good, imaginative, compelling, and well-advertised programming on an AM station, we'll never know if such a station would work or not, will we? All we know for sure is that tired old programming on AM won't work. But then, don't we also know that tired old programming won't work very well on FM either?

>
>
>
> > > Would an all FM Sports Station be successful in
> > Pittsburgh?
> > > thoughts?
> >
> > That depends on whether it is a GOOD sports station or
> just
> > a syndicated programming carrier. I think those of you who
>
> > work in radio are far too concerned about which band a
> > station is on. Sports radio fans will tune in ANY station
> > that carries good and interesting sports programming,
> > regardless of whether it's on AM or FM.
> >
> > In fact, such a station doesn't even have to be all that
> > good, it simply has to be better than any alternatives.
> Any
> > new sports station, AM or FM, that's better than the two
> > sports stations currently on the air will attract new
> > listeners if it's promoted well. On the other hand, put a
> > sports station on a strong-signalled FM station but don't
> > give it any advertising or promotion, and fill it with
> > nothing but the syndicated stuff that the other two
> stations
> > have already rejected, and it will fail.
> >
> > Everybody makes big deal out of 104.7's success as a talk
> > station on FM, but the truth is, had Clear Channel put the
>
> > same programming on a strong AM station, like 970, it
> > probably would have done just as well. WPGB's success is
> > mostly because of its program content, not the band it's
> > one.
> >
>

 

[Radio_Rancher]

I'm not talking about music vs spoken word, I'm talking about signal quality no matter what the programming is. People who have grown up listening to CDs and stereo television don't want to listen to AM, no matter what's on.

About the Steelers on FM -- The Steelers (in the person of Joe Gordon) INSISTED that WTAE put them on FM back in the late '70s. They knew AM was non-existent for a new generation of listeners and wanted to make sure they were on 96.1 FM as well. Ted Atkins had a bird because he didn't want anything to disrupt the FM music programming, but the Steelers wouldn't do a deal without getting the games on FM.

 

[Radio_Realist]

> I'm not talking about music vs spoken word, I'm talking
> about signal quality no matter what the programming is.
> People who have grown up listening to CDs and stereo
> television don't want to listen to AM, no matter what's on.

That's a pretty sweeping, blanket statement. I won't dispute that some people feel that way. I won't dispute that a majority (like 51%) of people feel that way. But there's no way that statement is true about 100% of people, because NOTHING in that type of observation is true about 100% of the people. And since a station that manages to get only one out of every ten people to listen to it is considered a whopping success, and a sports talk station would consider even fewer people a major win, I stand by my contention that when it comes to starting a new sports station on Pittsburgh, better content will beat location on the FM band. And I also stand by my contention that given equal content, then FM's clarity would beat AM hands down.

> About the Steelers on FM -- The Steelers (in the person of
> Joe Gordon) INSISTED that WTAE put them on FM back in the
> late '70s. They knew AM was non-existent for a new
> generation of listeners and wanted to make sure they were on
> 96.1 FM as well. Ted Atkins had a bird because he didn't
> want anything to disrupt the FM music programming, but the
> Steelers wouldn't do a deal without getting the games on FM.

I was only going by what I read in the newspapers at the time. If you were there and know the story first hand, then I'll bow to your expertise. But, even at that, it's still a question of the Steelers wanting to be on a top rated station, which meant being on a station that played music most of the time when they weren't broadcasting Steeler games. In other words, I won't dispute that Gordon wanted the Steelers on an FM station, but I don't buy the argument that it was only because of the quality of the audio.

Especialy since the Steeler "network" meant that even if their Pittsburgh "flagship" station didn't reach much beyond Allegheny County, they were also on stations like WJPA, etc., to cover the entire region.

 

[Radio_Realist]

And another thing...

I realize that some folks like nothing better than to jump on minor points or asides while totally ignoring the main point of posts. But the main point of this thread is whether or not a new sports station would succeed in Pittsburgh if it were on the FM band. Given that the two current sports stations in Pittsburgh do not broadcast play-by-play accounts of any major league professional sports teams, whether or not any hypothetical new sports station could land a play-by-play contract for a major league sports team is moot.

The question was whether or not a new sports station could succeed on FM. My response was that it would or would not succeed based on the CONTENT OF THE PROGRAMMING, not whether it was on the AM or FM band.

So you can blather until the cows come home about this, that or the other thing. My main point is that CONTENT WILL THE MAIN DETERMINING FACTOR OR WHETHER A NEW STATION WILL SUCCEED OR NOT, with effective advertising and promotion of that new station being the second most important factor.

Do you agree or disagree with that contention? Do you agree that content is the most important factor in determining whether people will listen to a sports station, or do you contend that people would prefer to listen to crappy content over good content, so long as the signal was clear on the crappy content station? And, do you think that a station that keeps its existence a secret will draw more listeners than a station that advertises to get the message to listeners that it exists?

Or is it that you're so determined to disagree with something I've said that you'll refuse to even acknowledge that I've said something that you do not disagree with, and therefore will go off on some left-field tangent just to be able to disagree with me?

> > I'm not talking about music vs spoken word, I'm talking
> > about signal quality no matter what the programming is.
> > People who have grown up listening to CDs and stereo
> > television don't want to listen to AM, no matter what's
> on.
>
> That's a pretty sweeping, blanket statement. I won't dispute
> that some people feel that way. I won't dispute that a
> majority (like 51%) of people feel that way. But there's no
> way that statement is true about 100% of people, because
> NOTHING in that type of observation is true about 100% of
> the people. And since a station that manages to get only one
> out of every ten people to listen to it is considered a
> whopping success, and a sports talk station would consider
> even fewer people a major win, I stand by my contention that
> when it comes to starting a new sports station on
> Pittsburgh, better content will beat location on the FM
> band. And I also stand by my contention that given equal
> content, then FM's clarity would beat AM hands down.
>
> > About the Steelers on FM -- The Steelers (in the person of
>
> > Joe Gordon) INSISTED that WTAE put them on FM back in the
> > late '70s. They knew AM was non-existent for a new
> > generation of listeners and wanted to make sure they were
> on
> > 96.1 FM as well. Ted Atkins had a bird because he didn't
> > want anything to disrupt the FM music programming, but the
>
> > Steelers wouldn't do a deal without getting the games on
> FM.
>
> I was only going by what I read in the newspapers at the
> time. If you were there and know the story first hand, then
> I'll bow to your expertise. But, even at that, it's still a
> question of the Steelers wanting to be on a top rated
> station, which meant being on a station that played music
> most of the time when they weren't broadcasting Steeler
> games. In other words, I won't dispute that Gordon wanted
> the Steelers on an FM station, but I don't buy the argument
> that it was only because of the quality of the audio.
>
> Especialy since the Steeler "network" meant that even if
> their Pittsburgh "flagship" station didn't reach much beyond
> Allegheny County, they were also on stations like WJPA,
> etc., to cover the entire region.
>

 

[Radio_Realist]

> As for a "Lets Talk Sports" type station. That’s a hard sell
> to the advertisers without any "home team" to base that
> station on. Now if you could pull the Pirates from KD, never
> say never on that. then it could work

Yet both of the two current sports stations in town, WBGG and WEAE, fit that description. Neither of them have exclusive major league play-by-play contracts.

 

[Radio_Realist]

Re: I am going to disagree with the realist

> > Everybody makes big deal out of 104.7's success as a talk
> > station on FM, but the truth is, had Clear Channel put the
>
> > same programming on a strong AM station, like 970, it
> > probably would have done just as well. WPGB's success is
> > mostly because of its program content, not the band it's
> > one.
> >
>
> Much of the programming on 104.7 had already been on smaller
> am's other than rush
> which was on WTAE weekends before KDKA. These programs did
> not soar in the ratings on small am's. While I agree that
> this programming might do better on am 970 than most of the
> current programming. I was in Prospect listening to 104.7
> clear as a bell. Just like country..I think it's doing well
> in Butler and Washington and Fayette. Many of the listeners
> in Butler and other areas can only get KDKA. So now they can
> get Quinn and so I would guess the audience is stronger
> outside Allegheny County for 104.7. Remember, when it was
> non directional WYDD in New Ken It had the best signal north
> of the city. In my opinion FM is the key to 104.7's success.
>
> I see traditional WDVE listeners on 104.7 too. A friend of
> mine who is tired of the body function infomercials on KQV
> is now switching to 104.7. I might not agree with what is
> on 104.7 . But I think the audience that agrees with the
> president is listening.

This is really a sidebar to the main topic of this thread, but as long as no one had ever attempted to put the programming that's currently on 104.7 on a strong AM like 970, and give it good, solid promotion to boot, we'll never know how important being on FM was to the success of WPGB. I doubt that anyone would attempt to deny that the success of WPGB is based on three things, content, promotion, and a strong signal. As to what the ratio of those three factors are to each other, no one knows for sure. But, I don't think anyone would expect that the programming on a station like WURP (for example) would suddenly turn into a major ratings success if that station were to switch to a strong FM signal.

 

[Pratte4Life]

Actually- I'm going to disagree

But, I don't think
> anyone would expect that the programming on a station like
> WURP (for example) would suddenly turn into a major ratings
> success if that station were to switch to a strong FM
> signal.

Solely because you used WURP- 1550 "The Edge" as an example. And I realize that you just picked it out of the air.

I actually think that station has potential. Okay, it's not great. A lot could be better.

But, for one thing, I'm an Imus fan. I think G. Gordon Liddy is not the player he once was but is probably the most talented talk show host(s) you'll find on the market from 10-12.

Don and Mike, in effect, do what Doug Hearth does- only better. Tom Veykis I believe would be able to get listeners- perhaps take away from Michael Savage's audience (since they are both ranters and ravers- but that crowd will at times want to hear something other than politics).

And The Sporting News is probably the best network out there for sports talk.

The problem is, of course, their horrible signal. Four watts in Braddock at night. ICK!

But if, for instance, they traded frequencies with, WPTT- not the greatest signal in the world- I think their programming would merit more of an audience than what is currently on 1360.

Would it make WURP- The Edge- a major player? No. But it would get them a ratings point, in my opinion, and do better than what WPTT or WORD is doing now.

 

[Part-timer]

>
> Please note that I specifically said a "a strong AM station,
> like 970". I agree that a station with a weak signal will
> always be at a disadvantage. On the other hand, a weak FM
> station is at a disadvantage to a high wattage AM station.
>

Actually 970's biggest problem is its signal.

The facility was engineered at a time when the Mon valley was the key economic force in the region, and it also has to protect 970 in Ashtabula, OH. Thus the signal is aimed southeast, and comes in better in Uniontown than it does on McKnight Road (where it sounds like it's underwater). It's inaudible north of Cranberry.

There are almost no sports FMs anywhere because the money doesn't come from ratings per se, it comes from hosts, teams and features attracting sponsors. The long-form Steeler and Pitt shows are 970's major reason to exist.

If it wasn't for the lack of a night signal, ABC should move EAE to 540. That's an absolute flamethrower of a daytime signal (and for the life of me, I don't get where Radio Disney makes any local money anyway).<P ID="signature">______________
"With God as my witness, I could have sworn turkeys could fly."</P>

 

[Radio_Realist]

Re: Actually- I'm going to disagree

I don't dispute that a better signal would help WURP get better ratings. There's not a station on the air that wouldn't benefit from a stronger signal with more range.

And I don't think that WURP's programming is that bad. It could be sold to the listening public with a solid promotional effort. But given the depth of Clear Channel's pockets, I'm working under the assumption that they cherry-picked the best of what's out there in the world of syndicated talk, leaving the other stations stuck with whatever was left.

So, I stand by what I said, but only because I threw in the modifer "major". Given what you described, WURP would be a success, but not an arguably "major" success. But I totally agree that it WURP were to replace WPTT (and with the same amount of advertising and promotion that WPTT uses), they would pull better that WPTT currently does.

And as for WORD, there's a juicy chunk of FM bandwidth going to waste.

> But, I don't think
> > anyone would expect that the programming on a station like
>
> > WURP (for example) would suddenly turn into a major
> ratings
> > success if that station were to switch to a strong FM
> > signal.
>
> Solely because you used WURP- 1550 "The Edge" as an example.
> And I realize that you just picked it out of the air.
>
> I actually think that station has potential. Okay, it's not
> great. A lot could be better.
>
> But, for one thing, I'm an Imus fan. I think G. Gordon Liddy
> is not the player he once was but is probably the most
> talented talk show host(s) you'll find on the market from
> 10-12.
>
> Don and Mike, in effect, do what Doug Hearth does- only
> better. Tom Veykis I believe would be able to get listeners-
> perhaps take away from Michael Savage's audience (since they
> are both ranters and ravers- but that crowd will at times
> want to hear something other than politics).
>
> And The Sporting News is probably the best network out there
> for sports talk.
>
> The problem is, of course, their horrible signal. Four watts
> in Braddock at night. ICK!
>
> But if, for instance, they traded frequencies with, WPTT-
> not the greatest signal in the world- I think their
> programming would merit more of an audience than what is
> currently on 1360.
>
> Would it make WURP- The Edge- a major player? No. But it
> would get them a ratings point, in my opinion, and do better
> than what WPTT or WORD is doing now.
>

 

[FMRadio1]

Sports can still work on AM and do well. Case in point: WEEI/Boston. It's a 50K AM that doesn't reach all of the market after sunset, yet it's number one 12+. More importantly, they are number one 25-54 men. So much for the myth that people in their 20's and 30's won't listen to AM. WEEI has the Red Sox, but considering their signal problems at night their numbers are coming from other places besides baseball. This station wins because they have local personalities from 6am-12mid that are compelling and keep the focus on local teams and athletes.

I think a station like that could work in Pittsburgh, even without play-by-play. Just because a station doesn't carry the Steeler games doesn't mean it can't become the official station of the Steeler fan...a place for them to go to talk about their team. The signal would have to have full coverage to work and an all local lineup would be expensive, but if it was done right and allowed to develop, it would be successful. Pittsburgh is a great sports town. It deserves better than having sports stations with only one or two local shows.

--Mike Thomas


> I do not dispute that one bit. But that still begs the
> question of why that is the case. KDKA and WJAS both
> broadcast programming that only appeals to old people. The
> decline of AM radio listenership, especially for spoken word
> programming, is real and cannot be disputed. But that
> doesn't prove that the AM band isn't capable of holding a
> winning, successful station.
>
> Until someone actually puts some good, imaginative,
> compelling, and well-advertised programming on an AM
> station, we'll never know if such a station would work or
> not, will we? All we know for sure is that tired old
> programming on AM won't work. But then, don't we also know
> that tired old programming won't work very well on FM
> either?

 

[FreddyE1977]

> > Would an all FM Sports Station be successful in
> Pittsburgh?
> > thoughts?
>
> well, with the Steelers on DVE the Penguins + Nascar on 3WS.
> The Panthers on 104.7 not much left for a stand alone all
> sports format to carry, and the way the Steeler radio
> broadcast contract is assigned you have to be a AM/FM combo
> to be the flagship station for that organization. Hence
> forth 970 isn’t going anywhere.
>
> As for a "Lets Talk Sports" type station. That’s a hard sell
> to the advertisers without any "home team" to base that
> station on. Now if you could pull the Pirates from KD, never
> say never on that. then it could work
>


well....if the Pirates left KDKA, they would definitely lose their preset spot on my radio. Such a move might very well fit the strategy of CC to take them down one slice at at time.

 

[Radio_Realist]

Just curious about something...

> well....if the Pirates left KDKA, they would definitely lose
> their preset spot on my radio. Such a move might very well
> fit the strategy of CC to take them down one slice at at
> time.

Do you usually tend to surf through only the stations on your preset buttons, or do you usually scan the entire dial?

 

[Radio_Rancher]

You conveniently forgot to mention that a lot of the WEEI programming is simulcast on FM and their Arbitron entry is a combined AM-FM.

Do you think their numbers might be skewed by the fact they have Red Sox play- by-play and the Red Sox won their first World Series in something like 80 years in one of the all-time baseball mad towns in America?

Pittsburgh is hardly lacking for local sports talk. 1250 has Junker & Crowe, Madden and shows wrapped around Steelers games and some Penguins games.

970 has Tunch and Wolfley and Savran daily, along with shows wrapped around Steelers and Pens games.

KDKA has Alexander doing a three-hour show five nights a week, a Saturday show and programming wrapped around Steelers games.

There's also sports talk on TV -- an hour with Savran every night, half hours on UPN 19 and PCNC, and endless call in shows covering Steelers games on UPN 19 or KDKA-TV, along with Fox Sports.





> Sports can still work on AM and do well. Case in point:
> WEEI/Boston. It's a 50K AM that doesn't reach all of the
> market after sunset, yet it's number one 12+. More
> importantly, they are number one 25-54 men. So much for the
> myth that people in their 20's and 30's won't listen to AM.
> WEEI has the Red Sox, but considering their signal problems
> at night their numbers are coming from other places besides
> baseball. This station wins because they have local
> personalities from 6am-12mid that are compelling and keep
> the focus on local teams and athletes.
>
> I think a station like that could work in Pittsburgh, even
> without play-by-play. Just because a station doesn't carry
> the Steeler games doesn't mean it can't become the official
> station of the Steeler fan...a place for them to go to talk
> about their team. The signal would have to have full
> coverage to work and an all local lineup would be expensive,
> but if it was done right and allowed to develop, it would be
> successful. Pittsburgh is a great sports town. It deserves
> better than having sports stations with only one or two
> local shows.
>
> --Mike Thomas
>
>
> > I do not dispute that one bit. But that still begs the
> > question of why that is the case. KDKA and WJAS both
> > broadcast programming that only appeals to old people. The
>
> > decline of AM radio listenership, especially for spoken
> word
> > programming, is real and cannot be disputed. But that
> > doesn't prove that the AM band isn't capable of holding a
> > winning, successful station.
> >
> > Until someone actually puts some good, imaginative,
> > compelling, and well-advertised programming on an AM
> > station, we'll never know if such a station would work or
> > not, will we? All we know for sure is that tired old
> > programming on AM won't work. But then, don't we also know
>
> > that tired old programming won't work very well on FM
> > either?
>

 

[Part-timer]

> Pittsburgh is hardly lacking for local sports talk. 1250 has
> Junker & Crowe, Madden and shows wrapped around Steelers
> games and some Penguins games.
>
> 970 has Tunch and Wolfley and Savran daily, along with shows
> wrapped around Steelers and Pens games.
>
> KDKA has Alexander doing a three-hour show five nights a
> week, a Saturday show and programming wrapped around
> Steelers games.
>
> There's also sports talk on TV -- an hour with Savran every
> night, half hours on UPN 19 and PCNC, and endless call in
> shows covering Steelers games on UPN 19 or KDKA-TV, along
> with Fox Sports.
>

And you forgot Ellis Cannon.

I think part of the problem is that there's too much sports programming in too many places. Add to that the amunt of sports content on the DVE morning show, and it's hard for one station to build a solid base.

And I can tell you that more resources are not given to 970 specifically becuase the brass in the flashcube don't want to take male listeners from DVE. That's why there was no local morning show on 970 until Tunch and Wolf were willing to buy the time.

If one sports station in this town featured Madden, E, Crowe and Junker, Tunch and Wolf, and Savran you'd really have something.<P ID="signature">______________
"With God as my witness, I could have sworn turkeys could fly."</P>

 

[Pratte4Life]

Local sports talk, egos, and more

>
> If one sports station in this town featured Madden, E, Crowe
> and Junker, Tunch and Wolf, and Savran you'd really have
> something.

Possibly, but then again, that's a lot of egos in the same room.

Why did Savran leave ESPN 1250 a few years ago? At the time Scott Paulsen had the weekday drive-time gig on "The Burgh"- as FOX 970 was called then.

My guess is that he didn't want to have to put up with being a second banana on "The Mark Madden Station."

I'll be honest. I LOVE sports talk- but I don't LOVE what I'm hearing from the local hosts.

Example-

Madden- Sorry. My IQ is over 50 and I'm a first grade graduate. I don't fall for his schtick.

Ellis- A 40 something white guy professing his love for Eminem? And while I understand that he tries to paint himself as something of a "everyman's fan"- that's tough to do when you're reminding everyone you used to be a lawyer.

Whatever happened to Henry Cannon, anyway?

Junker and Crowe- Why must Guy Junker ALWAYS have a sidekick? Where is it written he can't do his show alone?

And if he HAS to have one- why must it be the ultimate wet blanket and really shallow thinking of Eddy Crowe?

Tunch and Wolf- Energetic. Both are educated in broadcasting- which many sports talk hosts are not. My only problem with them is that they allow too many idiots on their air- like the Raiders fan who calls up thinking he has charisma when in actuality he just comes off as a fool.

That guy dragged down Jim Penna's old show. Take my advice, fellas, ban him. Something different is good on a radio show . . . except when it's a train wreck.

Savran- The last word in broadcast sports talk in Pittsburgh but after 30 years we pretty much know where he stands. I also tune out when I hear a guy like "Baywood Bernie" on.

Alexander- Never really been able to take off. Not as sappy as Tolo or angry as Corby but something missing.

Benz- Whiny, irritating guy who talks down to you. I'll pass.

Rocco- That "celebrating the average" bit he does could actually be his whole show. Lacks sports knowledge.

Hawthorne- Gets solid guests from the Pirates and then makes you forget they were on 10 minutes after they are interviewed.

Von Benko- Gotta give him credit for sticking around, even if it is AM 590. But a little more personality wouldn't hurt.