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NEW SPORTS RADIO NETWORKS, WILL STATIONS CHANGE?

D

discjockeyjohn64

CBS Sports Radio Network to launch 24 hours a day service on Jan. 2, 2013. Cumulus Media is marketing the CBS Radio Sports Network.NBC Sports Radio Network started mid-September and is running from 7pm -5am with sportstalk programming, with morning drive updates each hour on weekdays. Since 850 KHHO in Tacoma, 950/102.9 KJR/KNBQ Seattle/Tacoma, and KRKO 1380 in Everett all broadcast FOX Sports Radio, would any of these stations segue to one of the other 24 hour Sports Radio networks to differentiate themselves??

Dark horse entrant could be KPTK 1090. Since the liberal talk is not drawing a huge audience and CBS owns the station, might they flip to sports radio as well??
 
I agree one station needs to flip. Why do we have 3 stations carrying Fox Sports and only 1 carrying ESPN? This also might be a question for Andy, I think KRKO should switch.
 
Here's a brand new question: How MANY times can you invent the wheel?

How many sports talk stations can one market support?

Just curious......
 
I think it has more to do with billing when it comes to sports. I was reading the New York board the other day and they were basically saying that the networks charge based on how many perceived ears there are listening, not on actual numbers. That though does not explain why we have 3 Fox affiliates here.
 
bobdavcav said:
I think it has more to do with billing when it comes to sports. I was reading the New York board the other day and they were basically saying that the networks charge based on how many perceived ears there are listening, not on actual numbers. That though does not explain why we have 3 Fox affiliates here.
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Seattle does have a lot of sports fans. But these days, a lot more ways to get their fix than just AM sports talk radio. If there were a visual attached to whatever, sports fans are far more likely to gravitate over to that than the radio if given the choice. That choice is already there, several times over here on both TV and radio (along with the BAZILLIONS of options online.)

FM sports does much worse. In New York, they blew up a VERY popular urban station (WRKS) for sports and so far, not so good. Now they plan to put WFAN on FM. KNBQ locally hasn't been much of a boost for KJR-AM. It flounders in San Fransisco too.

Perception can be different from reality sometimes on the business end too.
 
Do you or anyone else have billing numbers for San Francisco? My prediction is that WPEN-FM will be out of the format in 2 years. I am surprised that Greater Media doesn't already realize that sports talk on fm does not work, and with the am going to Family Radio, they don't really have a chance. How 94.1 will do on its own I have no idea, haven't looked at the Philidelphia board lately.
 
Sports is not sold strictly on the Arb numbers. And when those numbers are used, it's not the 6+ numbers that everybody here goes by.

Would be interested in seeing the experts who are laying out predictions also back them up with analysis of sales, revenue and programming for each of those stations.

I'm not holding my breath.
 
Seattle sports radio will have something visual when 710 ESPN moves into their new studio.

KIRO Radio already has their studio webcams fired up. 710 ESPN will have the same set up. Would be interesting in 6 months to see which station actually has more "Viewers". Would the sports radio listener be more inclined to not only click in and listen either OTA or online and view a sports guest or watch the sports debate live, via webcam?
 
It's fair to say there is a certain amount of 'wait-and-see.' I suppose it is possible for CBS to leverage 1090 as an asset for their new network. They will want to demonstrate as many top 20 markets as they can. Ironically, that thought wasn't on my radar, but it doesn't really concern me, either. The 1090 signal is poor in our coverage area, particularly at night.

As for three stations running Fox, Rich Moore only uses Fox overnights and weekends at KJR. We would be open to networking our station with 850 at some point because we're at opposite ends of the market, particularly since KJR has been able to fill to the south with their FM. One solid locally shared program between the two stations could do some interesting things preceded or followed by a purely local host on each station. It's probably crazy-talk...and sometimes I brainstorm random ideas.

If the programming was just mind blowing, we conceivably could look at one of the new networks, but right now, the offerings are mostly recycled ESPN personalities. If somebody were to put out a show done by Bob Costas, then that kind of programming would be a game-changer.

Our history with ESPN is complicated by the manner in which we were left behind when they canceled us for 710. I never say "never," but Fox is a better fit for us right now despite some programming we'd rather drop. 710 will continue to eat away at ESPN's network footprint with local programming, but ESPN probably believes the net gain to their brand is better with 710 than clearing all their programming elsewhere. There is a federal law in the FCC regs that says a station can affiliate with any network programming not being aired by another station in the market; the only caveat is that 710 could block someone from carrying Cowherd, for example, by airing the commercial payload for Cowherd in lieu of carrying the programming.

I'm interested to see how it all shakes out just like you are. We'll likely just keep going the way we are.
 
If so, that will be the first time (that I can remember) hearing up to three sports stations on the same frequency at night. KPTK, XEPRS and sometimes KBOZ in Bozeman, Montana.

-crainbebo
 
It's a no-brainer. KPTK. Sorry to say it, because I listen to 1090 now, but CBS wants this format in as many markets as feasible, and this seems like the only real possibility.
 
multiplex said:
It's a no-brainer. KPTK. Sorry to say it, because I listen to 1090 now, but CBS wants this format in as many markets as feasible, and this seems like the only real possibility.
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I hope not. And in spite of the pathetic numbers from the pathetically small PPM sample, there's actually quite a few KPTK listeners.
 
If you are running a network and making network sales, it doesn't matter whether there are too many sports stations in a market - at first. CBS could be promising all the big cities, giving good deals to get advertisers involved, and figuring if you take a little away from 710 and a little away from 950, you'll have perhaps more than you do with a format that you don't control and that isn't on enough of your stations to matter. Then, you add one or two local talents and move forward. From a network standpoint, you can look at securing rights to some major events and begin to farm exclusive content to your network. And, with 1090's signal, which they improved somewhat to the east, if they really saw a future, they could start to poke around for UW, Mariner, Seahawks, Sounders, or some other rights deal, like Gonzaga, and get on the map.
 
Rather interesting to hear just this morning that KMAS will be carrying Gonzaga basketball this season. Apparently the folks from Gonzaga will be meeting with a handful of stations over the next few days, here on the west side of the state.

KMAS acquired an fm frequency in the recent past, simulcasting on both the original 1030 am location as well as the new 104.1 fm. They modified their format from music to newsradio about a year ago. With Gonzaga soon reaching the south sound through this outlet, could KMAS be looking for a change to an all sports format? Seems a sports network would be a better fit for the south sound rather than continuing to run with a satellite fed all news station.
 
As one who is not really a fan of the sports talk stuff, I am being reminded that it's time for me to get a smart phone with in-car radio streaming, so that my Randy Rhodes fix doesn't cause me convulsions if she's again taken off of AM 1090 this winter. Goodbye, terrestrial! And just when I was starting to think there were at least a few stations for me in the Seattle market. With Bill Radke replaced by a rodeo clown mornings on KIRO-FM, there really isn't that much that I can stomach on the air anymore.

By the way, speaking of sports -- did you know that KRKO Everett really booms into Vancouver BC at night? Are you guys a fulltime 50kw now? I was driving around Vanc and Burnaby last weekend, and surprised by how much stronger the 1380 signal was than most of the other AMs from Seattle. It was just as strong as the local higher-end 50kw-ers up there (1320, 1410, 1470), while the two Ferndale AMs (1600 and particularly 1550) are now barely audible at night in the metro area. KRKO actually sounded louder and clearer than I recall it ever sounding in North Seattle at night (tho' I haven't scanned the AM dial at night much lately at home). Must be the beauty of directional AMs with substantial nighttime power. KRKO probably gets into Alaska by skywave now, too.

However, in terms of program content, not only were 1040 and 1410 doing sports talk in Vancouver, even big ol' CKNW 980 was running some sort of sports talk at night everytime I chanced by. And one of the suburban FMs had minor league hockey. So is there room. much less a demand, for even more, sports fans?? I guess everthing's just a game now.

Otherwise, nighttime reception in E. Vancouver found a lot of interference on 880 and the usual stuff from Tijuana competing for 1090 from Seattle - audible, but with the other stations fighting it out for the frequency in the next big market up the Am directional path from Seattle.
 
Goldilocks94941 said:
By the way, speaking of sports -- did you know that KRKO Everett really booms into Vancouver BC at night? Are you guys a fulltime 50kw now? I was driving around Vanc and Burnaby last weekend, and surprised by how much stronger the 1380 signal was than most of the other AMs from Seattle. It was just as strong as the local higher-end 50kw-ers up there (1320, 1410, 1470), while the two Ferndale AMs (1600 and particularly 1550) are now barely audible at night in the metro area. KRKO actually sounded louder and clearer than I recall it ever sounding in North Seattle at night (tho' I haven't scanned the AM dial at night much lately at home). Must be the beauty of directional AMs with substantial nighttime power. KRKO probably gets into Alaska by skywave now, too.
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Yes. I am. Painfully. If you're in the Skagit and/or Whatcom County areas, you can now officially fry eggs on your radio.

I know their old 5,000 watt signal used to make it into Finland......
 
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