• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

High School Football on Indianapolis Radio

U

undertheradar

When the sports AMs in the market started airing play-by-play of high school football on Friday nights a number of years ago, I thought what the hell, why not? Its not like its going to kill their evening ratings [LOL here] and if they can make some money with it, they got to consider it a "win."

However, this evening when I heard HS Football play by play on WIBC 93.1 FM, I really wondered if this was a bad decision. ???

Any opinions out there?
 
I tuned in hoping to find the Colts game and was surprised to hear HS football.

This is a basketball state. When will they start carrying HS BB?
 
Quick let me pick up the phone and tell the officials of Notre Dame and the management of the Colts they are in the wrong state.

You must understand the power of making money on the AM band doing high school sports. There are small to medium market stations doing very well with not only the play by play but the week night coaches shows. The beauty of the whole thing you are making money in the evening when you are not usually make money.

If you think you can only make small money then you don't have the right people putting the broadcast together and the wrong sales staff. On football you sell everything from the Game time temperature, to the Opening Kick off and score board updates at ther half and after the game ad much more.

IYou must have at least one person on the saes team who has a passion to sell high school sports.It's a great thing to be able to turn to the local station in town and hear a high school football broadcast.
So unless you want Notre Dame or the Colts to eave then think about how you can make moeny.
 
This is no longer a basketball state. Started when the IHSAA went to a class system, and finished with the fight in Detroit.

The majority of the HS football games these days draw more people than the accompanying basketball gyms can even hold. Exceptions for places like Anderson which have massive basketball gyms.
 
RDO said:
I tuned in hoping to find the Colts game and was surprised to hear HS football.

This is a basketball state. When will they start carrying HS BB?
Click to expand...

The reason why the HS FB Game was on 93.1 was because the colts were on 1070/97.1. Usually the HS FB Games air on Friday nights on 1070. but have been bounced the last 2 weeks due to the colts having friday night games.
 
Lately the tv stations go all out with their "operation football" and similarly named coverage. This stuff can't appeal to any more than 5% of their audience, but apparently they can sell it. For that matter even coverage of a Colts practice session likely is of interest to a very limited number of people.
 
Steppenwolf said:
If there's a big crowd at a high school football game, it's the parents of the students in the marching band.
Click to expand...

the smaller high schools dont have maybe if lucky 70 students in the marching bands. and usually theres at least serveral sister/brother combos anyways in the marching band

so even if you have a Ben Davis Size Marching band of 220 something people. there is at least im sure maybe if lucky thats 400 parents at most for the marching band. what about the parents of the 70 something football players or the 20 something cheer leaders as well. and the regular students. and the allumni of the schools. im sure its not all just parents of the marching band that makes up the attendence at a high school football game
 
Steppenwolf said:
If there's a big crowd at a high school football game, it's the parents of the students in the marching band.
Click to expand...

Have you ever been to a Ben Davis, Warren, Cathedral, Carmel or Center Grove football game? When these teams play in big situations, you're talking quite a crowd, especially when they play each other. Plenty of money to be made. I should know, football is just as easy to sell to underwriters at Pendleton Heights as basketball. 5K plus every year (not enough for a commercial station in Indy, but great for a small market or non-comm).
 
I don't know what kind of crowds you get in Indiana for a high school football game. However, I can tell you in Ohio high school football is big. The crowds are big and the interest is huge with coaches shows during the week . I have had stations that have brought close to $3,000 per Friday night and in some cases.

The reason why the TV stations are giving big time coverage of high sports on Friday night is becaue of te huge audience interest and sponsor appeal.

The small to medium market stations can make money. The music stations should stay away from the games but a sports talk station would be a perfect fit for it.

There are very few sponsors who buy high school sports for the good to the community thing. They do it because they are getting results.

I know that WHIO in Dayton stopped doing the games. And WLW is never going to do the games.
But in Cincinnati Fox Ohio makes mone and gets good ratings with Thursday night football.

I rrespect all of your comments but I would love to hear from those who have good results selling high school football, basketball and baseball. There are some stations thatmake grea mone airing wrestling. I have had success with h.s. sports and I know of a number of stations doing very well.
 
If there's a big crowd at a high school football game, it's the parents of the students in the marching band.
Click to expand...

Does it follow that the crowds in basketball gyms are caused by the parents of the kids in chess club?
 
I'm sure tv does it because it makes money, but nonetheless I still think 95% of their audience isn't interested. That 5% is enough to bring cash through the doors though.
 
I think this is a value question initially posted, and maybe this thread has gotten off track a bit:

"When the sports AMs in the market started airing play-by-play of high school football on Friday nights a number of years ago, I thought what the hell, why not? Its not like its going to kill their evening ratings [LOL here] and if they can make some money with it, they got to consider it a "win."

However, this evening when I heard HS Football play by play on WIBC 93.1 FM, I really wondered if this was a bad decision."


Do folks out there believe HS Football play-by-play really belongs on a good FM signal, with decent ratings, in Market #39?
 
Putting HS football on WIBC is a ratings loser. It was done because their sports station (1070) was tied up with a Colts pre-season game. This weekend WIBC begins a weekly sports talk show on Saturday afternoon. Having an all-sports station in the cluster doesn't seem to be enough.
 
yeah I thought when they first took the ESPN logo from 950 and moved the news talker to the FM they said "We'll have news on 93.1 and sports on 1070. We want to make sure they stay in their own little niches."
 
Good to see times are so tough that Lebanon radio has competition in the sports arena. This has been a staple for years on many mom and pop stations.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom