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Galaxy gets ESPN

T

ThePickleReport

It's mentioned in another topic, but I thought I'd start a thread here. WNSS evidently got the 90 day cancellation notice from ESPN, and according to the story posted this AM at Radio-Info by Tom Taylor, Galaxy will represent ESPN on AM & FM.

On AM: WTLA & WSGO

on FM: Translators at 97.7 in Syracuse and 100.1 in Oswego

Pluuuuussss, ESPN Deportes on 1070 AM.

Discuss. I have thoughts forthcoming.
 
Play Freebird said:
So 1070 was chosen for the Spanish feed because it covers Mexico?
Click to expand...
A genuine LOL on this one. :D
 
Living in Oswego, let me provide some insight on this one. WTLA/WSGO now run a standards format, which has declined in listenership since Phil Markret left that station in 2006. I wondered exactly when Galaxy would do to WTLA/WSGO what it did in Utica (“The Team.”) But, I can see what Galaxy is trying to do in Syracuse. Here’s their stratigy. They’re trying to build a “wall of men.” In escence, they are trying to make their cluster in Syracuse the go-to listening hub for men, and squeeze Citadel into flipping their stations (WAQX and WNSS) to either more general or more female friendly formats. And, with Classic Rock, Modern Rock, Classic Hits, and Sports, they just might do that.

The next question is: Will Citadel respond? Well, in a way, they’ll have to, what with losing their ESPN affiliation. However, Citadel says they’ll keep Axe. OK, so, they’re sticking with Sports. They have 2 options. 1. Move the Fox Sports Affiliation to WNSS. This would then bring longtime Sports station WHEN into this whole mess, and a new round of speculation from us RI posters, as well. 2. Sporting News Radio. In a way, they’d be getting back at Galaxy. Galaxy now runs SNR on “The Game” in Utica. If option 2 were chosen, Syracuse would have 3 Sports stations. Does anyone here think Syracuse can support 3 Sports stations? IMO, it can’t.

As for ESPN Deportes “being in the market” on WSCP (1070 AM), that is a joke. In the market? Are you flippin’ kidding me? I live in Oswego, and you can only hear that 1070 thing on a good day! How, then, is the Syracuse Spanish speaking audience supposed to hear it? Answer: They can’t. The only reason Ed’s clearing it there is that so noone else can claim it. I wonder, though, with WSCP being so close to Watertown, could WNER object to having someone else take their affiliates Spanish counterpart?? I’m thinking probably not, but they sure can’t be too happy with Galaxy right now.

--The Radio Kid
(Oswego, NY.)
My email: [email protected].
 
Interesting irony in that Disney is pulling ESPN from a station owned by Citadel, to whom they sold the rest of ABC Radio. That news could not have been well-received.

So they walk away from a 5K station, and move to two 1Ks with two FM translaters. I don't see that as a huge improvement. There must be "other consideration," as they say. Fans of adult standards (and there seem to be a few) will obviously claim age discrimination.
 
Galaxy does not run Sporting News Radio in Utica...they run Fox, but according to the press release, The Game is going ESPN as well. So if Citadel took SNR, it would not "get" Galaxy at all. As a matter of fact have you HEARD SNR?? It is HORRENDOUS. Citadel would be better going all local than wasting time on that platform.
 
Galaxy does not run Sporting News Radio in Utica...they run Fox, but according to the press release, The Game is going ESPN as well.

So then, what happens to the station in Herkimer?
 
This discussion may be moot considering Citadel as a company is little more than a turd and the big flush is expected January 15th. So in a sense, SNR, the Yugo of radio sports networks, would be a good fit for a company whose share price hovers around the five cent mark. ESPN is the benchmark for sports programming, arguably the strongest brand on any platform, TV, Internet and radio. Fox Sports is a formidable challenger and would be a good fit for Citadel and the market. More than anything else, could this deal have hinged on Galaxy clearing ESPN Deportes? Given that ESPN was on a reasonably strong 5kW AM signal that penetrates the market better than Galaxy's translators, ESPN may be shortchanging itself. On the other hand, Disney may know that Citadel is definitely about to flat-line, making the move to Galaxy a no-brainer.
 
theradiokid said:
They have 2 options. 1. Move the Fox Sports Affiliation to WNSS.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Clear Channel has Fox Sports on WHEN. Highly doubtful they would bolt seeing that they are repped by Premier, which is Clear Channel! Yeah, I know ESPN bolted from a Citadel station but I'd be floored if this happened.

Face it, Citadel is screwed on this one. Between WHEN and Galaxy's stations they have the best sports programming LOCKED UP.
 
TheBigA said:
So they walk away from a 5K station, and move to two 1Ks with two FM translaters. I don't see that as a huge improvement. There must be "other consideration," as they say. Fans of adult standards (and there seem to be a few) will obviously claim age discrimination.
Click to expand...

The way the Syracuse paper reported it, it sounded as if the clearance of ESPN Deportes was that "other consideration," something Citadel simply couldn't provide because it doesn't have any other stations available. Regardless of anyone's opinions on the performance of the three Citadel FMs, none of those formats is worth sacrificing for ESPN Deportes.

Apparently ESPN doesn't care that WSCP is a rimshot signal 45 miles north of downtown Syracuse; as long as it's in Oswego County, it technically counts as being "in the market" and that's all they need to tell advertisers they have more clearance for spots.

Perhaps this is a good example of how HD radio could have potentially benefitted Citadel; they could have offered to simulcast WNSS on one of their FM HD2s and ESPN Deportes on another HD2 (or HD3). In general, I'm really amazed that more clusters aren't simulcasting their AM signals on FM-HD2s... Clear Channel finally got a clue recently when putting WSYR on WPHR-HD2. These "fake" music HD-2 formats they're running are OK to fill the void when you have absolutely nothing else to use, but they could still knock out another one to put WHEN on an FM-HD2.

It's disappointing to hear all the advertisements for HD Radio, then go to buy one, only to find out Clear Channel's really the only company doing anything in HD. The WSYR coverage on WPHR-HD2 is decent when you can get it, but doesn't seem to stretch too far outside of Syracuse, and even has some serious coverage holes closer to the city (ie. eastern end of 690). We all know FM is only marginally better in HD, but the technology really does wonders when you get AM stations onto FM HD2s.

And I'd have to agree with the others -- no way at all that WNSS has a chance of stealing Fox Sports away from WHEN. Even if Premiere weren't associated with Clear Channel, Fox Sports have a pretty long-standing relationship with WHEN, along with WSYR's carriage of Fox News Radio. If Fox Sports pulled out of WHEN, you could count on CC playing hardball and replacing Fox News with a different network... and there's really nowhere else for Fox News to go. Well, maybe WFBL, but aside from sending a million Twitter tweets a day, they do no promotion, so nobody would even know Fox is still in the market.
 
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