Again, to whomever might know, how did Indy's TWO sports talk stations do in the ratings? WNDE with Fox and WXLW with ESPN?
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Indy sports talk
- Thread starter MightyFrenchman
- Start date
M
MikeFromIndiana
Guest
> Again, to whomever might know, how did Indy's TWO sports
> talk stations do in the ratings? WNDE with Fox and WXLW
> with ESPN?
>
WNDE came in at #19 staying the same as the last book
WXLW came in at #23 down a tick from the previous book
> talk stations do in the ratings? WNDE with Fox and WXLW
> with ESPN?
>
WNDE came in at #19 staying the same as the last book
WXLW came in at #23 down a tick from the previous book
H
HarryCaray
Guest
> > Again, to whomever might know, how did Indy's TWO sports
> > talk stations do in the ratings? WNDE with Fox and WXLW
> > with ESPN?
> >
> WNDE came in at #19 staying the same as the last book
> WXLW came in at #23 down a tick from the previous book
> What do you guys think of Sports Talk in Indy? As big of a sports town as Indy is, you would think they would fare better? Why so low??????
> > talk stations do in the ratings? WNDE with Fox and WXLW
> > with ESPN?
> >
> WNDE came in at #19 staying the same as the last book
> WXLW came in at #23 down a tick from the previous book
> What do you guys think of Sports Talk in Indy? As big of a sports town as Indy is, you would think they would fare better? Why so low??????
> What do you guys think of Sports Talk in Indy? As big of a
> sports town as Indy is, you would think they would fare
> better? Why so low??????
I wonder if the, "Indy's a big sports town", idea isn't more urban legend than fact. You know, more of what we want outside people to percieve the city as so we can land big events.
> sports town as Indy is, you would think they would fare
> better? Why so low??????
I wonder if the, "Indy's a big sports town", idea isn't more urban legend than fact. You know, more of what we want outside people to percieve the city as so we can land big events.
As a sports talk fan, I can't stand Fox Sports...and I can't get ESPN 950 outside 465 (and inside sometimes). Seems like ESPN would want a better outlet in Indianapolis.
> As a sports talk fan, I can't stand Fox Sports...and I can't
> get ESPN 950 outside 465 (and inside sometimes). Seems like
> ESPN would want a better outlet in Indianapolis.
>
I listen to Czaban on Fox in the morning... only because my commute is to Anderson. On the way home I get JMV, he's not bad. I would rather have Mike and Mike in the mornings, but that is not meant to be.
All in all, I think Indy sports radio does pretty well. All sports are well covered. The talk could be better. I think XNT needs a new afternoon guy, Rakestraw (however you spell it) could put hyperactive monkeys on caffene to sleep. I think NDE built new studios so they would have space for JMV's ego. But all in all, not a bad job.
> get ESPN 950 outside 465 (and inside sometimes). Seems like
> ESPN would want a better outlet in Indianapolis.
>
I listen to Czaban on Fox in the morning... only because my commute is to Anderson. On the way home I get JMV, he's not bad. I would rather have Mike and Mike in the mornings, but that is not meant to be.
All in all, I think Indy sports radio does pretty well. All sports are well covered. The talk could be better. I think XNT needs a new afternoon guy, Rakestraw (however you spell it) could put hyperactive monkeys on caffene to sleep. I think NDE built new studios so they would have space for JMV's ego. But all in all, not a bad job.
> As an early sports talk fan and 30 plus year vet of radio.. I, too have spurned at the small 12+ numbers of Fox and ESPN in Indy.. But, if you look at the overall 12+ breakdown of the market, it would conclude:
With the combined numbers of the two stations, one would still only pull #16 in the 12+ numbers... And if you look deep into the successful call letters in Indy, only ONE AM shows up in the top 15 (and 16) stations listed... Most that listen to WIBC just have it set on their AM side of the BAND button and keep it there and only move the FM BAND side of their tuners...
I tend to like FOX sports in the evening and ESPN in the mornings.... Was always a "Brick" fan and enjoy "Mike & Mike" in the mornings on ESPN...
On signal... WXLW's 950 pattern is south bound.. Very little gets north of Carmel or Anderson, but to the south it booms in the day....Pretty much midtown to north loop at night.....WNDE has a good pattern over the main population of the metro, with a weaker rural signal to the south and west...Their big problem is the night pattern with the northwest metro 'out to lunch' beyond Laffayete Square Mall and up to Frankfort...
"Skip"
With the combined numbers of the two stations, one would still only pull #16 in the 12+ numbers... And if you look deep into the successful call letters in Indy, only ONE AM shows up in the top 15 (and 16) stations listed... Most that listen to WIBC just have it set on their AM side of the BAND button and keep it there and only move the FM BAND side of their tuners...
I tend to like FOX sports in the evening and ESPN in the mornings.... Was always a "Brick" fan and enjoy "Mike & Mike" in the mornings on ESPN...
On signal... WXLW's 950 pattern is south bound.. Very little gets north of Carmel or Anderson, but to the south it booms in the day....Pretty much midtown to north loop at night.....WNDE has a good pattern over the main population of the metro, with a weaker rural signal to the south and west...Their big problem is the night pattern with the northwest metro 'out to lunch' beyond Laffayete Square Mall and up to Frankfort...
"Skip"
H
HarryCaray
Guest
> > As a sports talk fan, I can't stand Fox Sports...and I
> can't
> > get ESPN 950 outside 465 (and inside sometimes). Seems
> like
> > ESPN would want a better outlet in Indianapolis.
> >
> I listen to Czaban on Fox in the morning... only because my
> commute is to Anderson. On the way home I get JMV, he's not
> bad. I would rather have Mike and Mike in the mornings, but
> that is not meant to be.
>
> All in all, I think Indy sports radio does pretty well. All
> sports are well covered. The talk could be better. I think
> XNT needs a new afternoon guy, Rakestraw (however you spell
> it) could put hyperactive monkeys on caffene to sleep. I
> think NDE built new studios so they would have space for
> JMV's ego. But all in all, not a bad job.
> Just a FYI...Rakestraw is on WXLW, not WXNT. Wxnt has Hammer on Sunday Night Sports which is a surprisingly entertaining considering the way he acts on WZPL. As for WNDE, I enjoy JMV. Ego or not, I think he does a great job. I listen a WHOLE LOT MORE now than I did with Mark "I am a Jerk" Patrick. That guy was awful. Personally, I would rather see some more local opinion shows in this market instead of crappy Louisville sports or IUPUI Hoops. Opinion based sports talk works, boring play-by-play does NOT! Especially of out of market teams!!!! In terms of pure sound, WIBC still does a good job, but it can be a little bland. Kevin Lee is very good. Just my 2 cents.....
> can't
> > get ESPN 950 outside 465 (and inside sometimes). Seems
> like
> > ESPN would want a better outlet in Indianapolis.
> >
> I listen to Czaban on Fox in the morning... only because my
> commute is to Anderson. On the way home I get JMV, he's not
> bad. I would rather have Mike and Mike in the mornings, but
> that is not meant to be.
>
> All in all, I think Indy sports radio does pretty well. All
> sports are well covered. The talk could be better. I think
> XNT needs a new afternoon guy, Rakestraw (however you spell
> it) could put hyperactive monkeys on caffene to sleep. I
> think NDE built new studios so they would have space for
> JMV's ego. But all in all, not a bad job.
> Just a FYI...Rakestraw is on WXLW, not WXNT. Wxnt has Hammer on Sunday Night Sports which is a surprisingly entertaining considering the way he acts on WZPL. As for WNDE, I enjoy JMV. Ego or not, I think he does a great job. I listen a WHOLE LOT MORE now than I did with Mark "I am a Jerk" Patrick. That guy was awful. Personally, I would rather see some more local opinion shows in this market instead of crappy Louisville sports or IUPUI Hoops. Opinion based sports talk works, boring play-by-play does NOT! Especially of out of market teams!!!! In terms of pure sound, WIBC still does a good job, but it can be a little bland. Kevin Lee is very good. Just my 2 cents.....
D
dmaguru
Guest
A few comments:
Sports talk radio isn't a format designed to grab huge ratings...anywhere.
Sure you have those widely successful stations: KNBR-AM in San Fran, The Ticket in Dallas, The Fan in NYC and KC has a HUGE sports talk station (I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that I can remember off the top of my head). But when you look at those stations you see HUGE local talent...20+ years on the same station, and the station has a long history of a sports or AM talk station.
For the most part...and I'm really generalizing here...sports talk
is a format that gets about a 2 to 3 share in most of the top 50 markets
(see exceptions above). The format is aimed at getting those very loyal 35+ men which is great for sales...and the station is usually part of a cluster
that targets men, or has large male numbers. It's a good fit for the sales department.
> > As a sports talk fan, I can't stand Fox Sports...and I
> can't get ESPN 950 outside 465 (and inside sometimes). Seems
> like ESPN would want a better outlet in Indianapolis.
WXLW 950 has a very, very poor signal over much of Indianapolis.
Daytime, 5000 watts (barely)...it's supposed to be directional south,
but that's a bit suspect at times. Nighttime strength 117 watts and
it's also directional south!! Congrats Pike Township...you're the
lucky area that can hear ESPN Radio at night. The rest of Indy, and
the metro, is screwed!
> I listen to Czaban on Fox in the morning... only because my
> commute is to Anderson. On the way home I get JMV, he's not
> bad. I would rather have Mike and Mike in the mornings, but
> that is not meant to be.
Agreed...Mike and Mike is a great AM show...too bad WNDE no longer
has it. However, WXLW kinda gets hosed as the show is on TV now
on ESPNews...and that hurts 950. You wake up, hit the TV, check the
scores and news of the day and that's it. What more is there to
listen to...it's basically the same thing hour after hour.
> All in all, I think Indy sports radio does pretty well. All
> sports are well covered. The talk could be better. I think
> XNT needs a new afternoon guy, Rakestraw (however you spell
> it) could put hyperactive monkeys on caffene to sleep. I
> think NDE built new studios so they would have space for
> JMV's ego. But all in all, not a bad job.
Rakestraw is boring and his speech is very hard to understand at
times. I thought you were to have a decent speaking voice and
personallity to get a radio show?
Hey BSU Radio Geek...have you met JMV before? Have you had a
bad run in with him? Not sure why you're suggesting he has a huge
ego. If you're forming your opinion from what you hear on the
radio, I'm laughing hard. It's a SHOW! I've met with, talked
to and know him well enough to say hi if we pass by each other
at a game. He's a GREAT guy, down to earth and probably nicest
person I've met from the radio/TV business in years!
My 24 cents...thanks for taking time to read
Sports talk radio isn't a format designed to grab huge ratings...anywhere.
Sure you have those widely successful stations: KNBR-AM in San Fran, The Ticket in Dallas, The Fan in NYC and KC has a HUGE sports talk station (I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that I can remember off the top of my head). But when you look at those stations you see HUGE local talent...20+ years on the same station, and the station has a long history of a sports or AM talk station.
For the most part...and I'm really generalizing here...sports talk
is a format that gets about a 2 to 3 share in most of the top 50 markets
(see exceptions above). The format is aimed at getting those very loyal 35+ men which is great for sales...and the station is usually part of a cluster
that targets men, or has large male numbers. It's a good fit for the sales department.
> > As a sports talk fan, I can't stand Fox Sports...and I
> can't get ESPN 950 outside 465 (and inside sometimes). Seems
> like ESPN would want a better outlet in Indianapolis.
WXLW 950 has a very, very poor signal over much of Indianapolis.
Daytime, 5000 watts (barely)...it's supposed to be directional south,
but that's a bit suspect at times. Nighttime strength 117 watts and
it's also directional south!! Congrats Pike Township...you're the
lucky area that can hear ESPN Radio at night. The rest of Indy, and
the metro, is screwed!
> I listen to Czaban on Fox in the morning... only because my
> commute is to Anderson. On the way home I get JMV, he's not
> bad. I would rather have Mike and Mike in the mornings, but
> that is not meant to be.
Agreed...Mike and Mike is a great AM show...too bad WNDE no longer
has it. However, WXLW kinda gets hosed as the show is on TV now
on ESPNews...and that hurts 950. You wake up, hit the TV, check the
scores and news of the day and that's it. What more is there to
listen to...it's basically the same thing hour after hour.
> All in all, I think Indy sports radio does pretty well. All
> sports are well covered. The talk could be better. I think
> XNT needs a new afternoon guy, Rakestraw (however you spell
> it) could put hyperactive monkeys on caffene to sleep. I
> think NDE built new studios so they would have space for
> JMV's ego. But all in all, not a bad job.
Rakestraw is boring and his speech is very hard to understand at
times. I thought you were to have a decent speaking voice and
personallity to get a radio show?
Hey BSU Radio Geek...have you met JMV before? Have you had a
bad run in with him? Not sure why you're suggesting he has a huge
ego. If you're forming your opinion from what you hear on the
radio, I'm laughing hard. It's a SHOW! I've met with, talked
to and know him well enough to say hi if we pass by each other
at a game. He's a GREAT guy, down to earth and probably nicest
person I've met from the radio/TV business in years!
My 24 cents...thanks for taking time to read
R
radiohead007
Guest
> > As an early sports talk fan and 30 plus year vet of
> radio.. I, too have spurned at the small 12+ numbers of Fox
> and ESPN in Indy.. But, if you look at the overall 12+
> breakdown of the market, it would conclude:
>
> With the combined numbers of the two stations, one would
> still only pull #16 in the 12+ numbers... And if you look
> deep into the successful call letters in Indy, only ONE AM
> shows up in the top 15 (and 16) stations listed... Most that
> listen to WIBC just have it set on their AM side of the BAND
> button and keep it there and only move the FM BAND side of
> their tuners...
>
> I tend to like FOX sports in the evening and ESPN in the
> mornings.... Was always a "Brick" fan and enjoy "Mike &
> Mike" in the mornings on ESPN...
>
> On signal... WXLW's 950 pattern is south bound.. Very little
> gets north of Carmel or Anderson, but to the south it booms
> in the day....Pretty much midtown to north loop at
> night.....WNDE has a good pattern over the main population
> of the metro, with a weaker rural signal to the south and
> west...Their big problem is the night pattern with the
> northwest metro 'out to lunch' beyond Laffayete Square Mall
> and up to Frankfort...
>
> "Skip"
>
I know this post is a bit late, but just catching up on some reading. My 2 cents: First on a network level, Mike and Mike in the Morning is very hard to listen to at length. Other than when they do interviews, their show is so self-centered I can't listen for a long time to them talking about themselves. And the next time you listen, count how many times Golick(sp) says "certainly." You could make a drinking game out of it. I like Fox's First team, it's smart and has good content, although lately Szaban(sp) has gotten a little bit of a "holier than thou" attitude, but I perfer it over ESPN. I really do enjoy Colin Cowherd, and try to never miss his show. That's what you want in a sports talk show. Someone you always want to tune in to, because you don't want to miss anything. The rest of Fox and ESPN shows are fair to poor.
Locally, Rakestraw does a decent job, but spends too much time on IUPUI and Butler. That's probably a contractual thing though, and it probably hurts their ratings. He does slur his "S's" quite a bit, regarding the post earlier about not being understandable. JMV tries too hard to sound like Jim Rome, that he has a hard time letting his own personality come through. He does an outstanding job getting guests on, and tends to ask the right questions and have an opinion, where Rakestraw needs to get off the fence on issues. How does 950 allow JMV to continually book ESPN people on his show? If I were the PD their I'd be throwing a fit so loud you'd hear it all the way to Bristol. Kudos to JMV on that!
"Bottom Line" is (stole that from a JMV crutch) both signals aren't strong enough to garner higher ratings. One station is with a struggling group in Indy, the other is the red-headed stepchild of the company, so money is always going to be an issue. All things considered, and taking into account the market, they do an adequate job. They fulfill the listener's needs. Sorry this got long.
> radio.. I, too have spurned at the small 12+ numbers of Fox
> and ESPN in Indy.. But, if you look at the overall 12+
> breakdown of the market, it would conclude:
>
> With the combined numbers of the two stations, one would
> still only pull #16 in the 12+ numbers... And if you look
> deep into the successful call letters in Indy, only ONE AM
> shows up in the top 15 (and 16) stations listed... Most that
> listen to WIBC just have it set on their AM side of the BAND
> button and keep it there and only move the FM BAND side of
> their tuners...
>
> I tend to like FOX sports in the evening and ESPN in the
> mornings.... Was always a "Brick" fan and enjoy "Mike &
> Mike" in the mornings on ESPN...
>
> On signal... WXLW's 950 pattern is south bound.. Very little
> gets north of Carmel or Anderson, but to the south it booms
> in the day....Pretty much midtown to north loop at
> night.....WNDE has a good pattern over the main population
> of the metro, with a weaker rural signal to the south and
> west...Their big problem is the night pattern with the
> northwest metro 'out to lunch' beyond Laffayete Square Mall
> and up to Frankfort...
>
> "Skip"
>
I know this post is a bit late, but just catching up on some reading. My 2 cents: First on a network level, Mike and Mike in the Morning is very hard to listen to at length. Other than when they do interviews, their show is so self-centered I can't listen for a long time to them talking about themselves. And the next time you listen, count how many times Golick(sp) says "certainly." You could make a drinking game out of it. I like Fox's First team, it's smart and has good content, although lately Szaban(sp) has gotten a little bit of a "holier than thou" attitude, but I perfer it over ESPN. I really do enjoy Colin Cowherd, and try to never miss his show. That's what you want in a sports talk show. Someone you always want to tune in to, because you don't want to miss anything. The rest of Fox and ESPN shows are fair to poor.
Locally, Rakestraw does a decent job, but spends too much time on IUPUI and Butler. That's probably a contractual thing though, and it probably hurts their ratings. He does slur his "S's" quite a bit, regarding the post earlier about not being understandable. JMV tries too hard to sound like Jim Rome, that he has a hard time letting his own personality come through. He does an outstanding job getting guests on, and tends to ask the right questions and have an opinion, where Rakestraw needs to get off the fence on issues. How does 950 allow JMV to continually book ESPN people on his show? If I were the PD their I'd be throwing a fit so loud you'd hear it all the way to Bristol. Kudos to JMV on that!
"Bottom Line" is (stole that from a JMV crutch) both signals aren't strong enough to garner higher ratings. One station is with a struggling group in Indy, the other is the red-headed stepchild of the company, so money is always going to be an issue. All things considered, and taking into account the market, they do an adequate job. They fulfill the listener's needs. Sorry this got long.
Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but I had to respond. I have actually seen JMV at the station when I was doing an interview with Drew Carrey, but I only know him from his on-air personality. That is all I was referencing from.dmaguru said:
A
Alex B
Guest
Sports Talk seldom looks good in a 12+ Demo. With a few exceptions, Sports Talk in a major market is a 1.0 - 2.0 12+.Sports Talk has a target demo of Men 25 - 54, and generally isn't sold using Arbitron numbers. However, Sports Talk radio pulls more revenue out of a market than the ratings share would indicate.I'm not from Indy, but if you have two ST stations with signal issues, that's also adding to the problem.skipspence said:
I only listen to ESPN 950. I can't stand JMV. I don't like Fox Sports Radio. NDE ran me off when Mark Patrick was there although there are several of my friends that work there.As an educator that teaches this, I don't know what anyone is talking about when criticizing Greg Rakestraw's voice. The only thing I might say to Greg is to slow down. Sometimes he gets going to quickly, but I don't hear the "s" slurs, etc. that others do. I find Greg fair, complete, and knowledgable. Plus, Greg lets his callers do the talking and does not make fun of them or belittle them.In the interest of full disclosure, Greg Rakestraw is a friend of mine. Even if he were not a friend, I would listen to his program because it's the best sports talk show in Indianapolis that's on in drive time.Other shows are marginal. Jersey Johnny...now there's a guy that has a voice I don't really like. Kevin Lee is okay, but he's on too late and gets pre-empted too much.I wish they'd dump the King and put Kevin Lee on in that slot! The King's show is basically all "rip on Matt Hibler" and "rip on the Democrats" and "Live Read Commercial".
Most cities of any size at least have "seasoned, respected" broadcasters, usually ex-players who have "been there" for local sports talk. We have afternoon sports talk hosts who have never made it above local college sports broadcasting. It's sad to drive through other towns with quality shows, then come back to Indy and get our local "high school" level sports talk, along with Garrison and Dave Wilson.Do all experienced broadcasters leave Indy? Garrison, Wilson, Rakestraw, JMV? C'mon!
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