NEW SPORTS STATION

[vjm]

Hooley (former sports talker on 1460 AM/97.1 FM) got ran out of C-Bus because he was all over Tressel's butt when all the crap went down, and Dispatch Media (owner of the Columbus Dispatch, ONN, and WBNS TV/AM/FM) is tight with OSU, so Bruce got shown the door.

Wouldn't surprise me if Hooley gets signed to a full time deal, and becomes immersed in 850's Buckeye coverage (probably on the pregame/postgame shows, as well as frequent appearances on RBS and R&R as the resident OSU analyst/beat reporter).

K&B may go AMD on 92.3 The Fan. They can do mostly sports and go off the board just enough to dabble in the man cave format.

 

[asterisk]

As long as Aaron Goldhammer is in a high profile role, there will be more of the same from their biggest show. I swear he subliminally threw a jab on the air today when he said that Mike and Mike and Dan Patrick were the preeminent sports talk shows going today... are you kidding me? Aaron mentions a show people are slowly going to within it's signal in Patrick, and a show that I GUARANTEE YOU would've been cut to 2 hours in Cleveland if there wasn't a fear of losing their "Branding."

Their surveys have become a joke... Aaron Goldhammer is being reported as being universally hated, and being announced on the air that listeners want to hear LESS, and it only seems like incentive to put him on more.

 

[vjm]

As long as Aaron Goldhammer is in a high profile role, there will be more of the same from their biggest show. I swear he subliminally threw a jab on the air today when he said that Mike and Mike and Dan Patrick were the preeminent sports talk shows going today... are you kidding me? Aaron mentions a show people are slowly going to within it's signal in Patrick, and a show that I GUARANTEE YOU would've been cut to 2 hours in Cleveland if there wasn't a fear of losing their "Branding."

Their surveys have become a joke... Aaron Goldhammer is being reported as being universally hated, and being announced on the air that listeners want to hear LESS, and it only seems like incentive to put him on more.

We all know why Hammer's there, so unless news of a sale of WKNR goes down, we're more or less stuck with him.

92.3 is gonna get a lot of curious ears early on, but it will be interesting to see if it can be sustained long term.

If whatever 92.3 puts against RBS (be it Kiley and Booms or whatever) starts putting chinks in their armor, MAYBE then GKB will THINK about some changes, but as I said, outside of a station sale, Mr Goldhammer's baby boy is in good shape at the Galleria.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Could Kiley and Booms reunite?

Kiley just left a high-profile role at WQAM/Miami alongside Michael Irvin.

I mean "just left" as THIS PAST Friday.

And before anyone asks, it's very well possible that Kiley does his end of the show via CBS' Washington studios, and Booms at the Halle. Remember that after 9/11, to be closer to family, Booms did his end of the FSR show at 6200 Oaktree (via an unused studio that IIRC is used by Rover), while Kiley still was at CC's DC complex.

 

[Rusty Muck]

We're all just guessing (well, most of us)...but: consider ad revenue when you're guessing which frequency the new Cleveland CBS sportstalk station will land on:

CBS is in business short term & long term to maximize their advertising revenue, cut costs, and eventually improve their Cleveland cluster's profitability so they may be able to sell.

The primary population growth in the Cleveland metro is to counties OTHER than Cuyahoga. It's not good enough to just cover the city and NE suburbs...which is what 92.3 has always been.

So, if making the most money is a primary CBS goal...it makes little sense to go sports on 92.3......the 5-county coverage is just too marginal.

It makes even less sense to start sports on 92.3, and move to 98.5 "later". That's insane. Make the big splash....grow the audience passion and loyalty: do it right from the beginning. Grow listener and advertiser loyalty: it's 98.5, and move the classic rock (a fading format nationwide because it's aging rapidly)...move it to 92.3 and play out the string.

All very excellent points, and they all are why I've had a gut feeling - even without any proof otherwise - that 98.5 is being tagged for "The Fan" and WNCX appears destined for 92.3. People within CBS Corporate might still want to keep that extremely hush-hush, and at the same level they kept "The Fan" top-secret for literally months until late last week.

It just makes sense. Dollars and cents.

CBS has already committed so much into this operation that they seem to REALLY want to make the "big splash." And a launch on 98.5 is the best possible route to go, even if it will irritate the classic rock audience to no end. They have to go big, or go home. And this is the only real option they have to really make a seismic shift in the market - and puts WKNR on very shaky legs.

When Tom Bigby (the guy responsible for "97.1 The Ticket's" smash debut in 2007) paid or is paying a visit to CBS Cleveland... and it's not for "official business..." to me, that makes it obvious he was asked to consult or is consulting on the format's launch. And for all we know, he might be laying out the exact same points Tim made... to CBS Corporate and CBS Cleveland management. (Oh, and Bigby and WDOK/WQAL PD Dave Popovich also happen to go all the way back to the 70s when "Skippy" was Bigby's phone screener at "13Q" in Pittsburgh.)

Follow the money. Go big, or go home.

That's why I'm highly skeptical about the overwhelming assumption regarding "92.3 The Fan." It's the only part that doesn't jibe with the rest of their current actions.

Oh, and even if "985thefan.com" isn't registered yet, do note that the website for all intents and purposes WILL be hosted on "cbscleveland.com." Domain name may be registered just before the announcement takes place.

 

[DToTheJ]

...It may all be because CBS is intending to just burn off the contract, get the rest of the station rolling along, and then come November, unveil the actual (and probably preferred) morning show. Again, "97.1 The Ticket" did that by burning off the rest of Deminski and Doyle's contract (inherited from "97.1 Free FM") for two months, and then hired Jay Towers and Bill McAllister...

Does Ed Norris on CBS' "105.7 The Fan" in Baltimore count? He, too, was a holdover from a previous spoken word format and stayed on with the transition to sports radio, and left the station (WJZ-FM) not too long ago.

 

[dasfonzie]

Rover was talking about this the other day in betwixt his bashing of Maxwell and Tom Herschel. So it's somewhat public knowledge now I suppose.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Rover was talking about this the other day in betwixt his bashing of Maxwell and Tom Herschel. So it's somewhat public knowledge now I suppose.

CBS could put up a gigantic banner on top of the Terminal Tower while they're at it.

It's just a matter of when it launches. Sometime between last week of August and Labor Day is still most likely.

And I can confirm that Maxwell will NOT be a part of the new operation. A different morning show will be in place on "The Fan" on day one. Which means that Maxwell's contract will basically run out on WNCX.

It also confirms that 92.3 will be home to "The Fan," and CBS will actively look and see how both WNCX and 92.3 perform over the next year with regard to ratings and revenue. Then they will likely judge and swap both stations.

 

[CleveRadioInsider]

Unlike these other guys here that refuse to tell you what they know I will tell you. 92.3 is flipping to all sports and Booms will be involved. Why people come on these threads and say I know but I can't tell is stupid.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Unlike these other guys here that refuse to tell you what they know I will tell you. 92.3 is flipping to all sports and Booms will be involved. Why people come on these threads and say I know but I can't tell is stupid.

You likely haven't been following my Twitter feed...

 

[Rusty Muck]

K&B may go AMD on 92.3 The Fan. They can do mostly sports and go off the board just enough to dabble in the man cave format.

Their former colleague at Fox Sports Radio, Dan Sileo, basically let the cat out of the bag. (Of course, between Dan and Chuck, the cat would have been let out last October. ;D)

Fun fact: Booms was, in another life, the morning host on "Jam'n 92" (WZJM/92.3) alongside Scott Free. He only lasted five weeks before his commitment to a Comedy Central series - the short-lived "COD: Comics On Delivery" - ate up all of his time (apparently in the days before ISDN lines became the norm in radio broadcasting). Free actually went solo for a week under the "Booms and Free" banner before Booms quietly resigned.

One episode of "COD" had him go to all-sports WTEM in Washington, DC, where he was paired alongside... the same Kevin Kiley.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Yes, "Kiley and Booms" are nearly holding out a megaphone at Public Square at this point.

Kiley just quit his gig with Michael Irvin in Dallas (at the ESPN O&O sports talker, I believe), as Dan Sileo mentioned in that tweet linked above. The newspaper in Dallas said he was "going back home to Virginia". supposedly for some family reasons.

But "Kiley and Booms" were not in the same room for long stretches of time at FSR. And Kiley did his portion, even after Chuck came back here, from WTEM in DC ("Hello, Northern Virginia!") via ISDN, and Chuck from here.

They could easily do the same for the Cleveland station, with Chuck on Huron Road and Kevin in DC.

Now, since I've been called out:

Unlike these other guys here that refuse to tell you what they know I will tell you. 92.3 is flipping to all sports and Booms will be involved. Why people come on these threads and say I know but I can't tell is stupid.

Hi, "CleveRadioInsider". Stupid, here!

I'm in a different position than you are.

You're a random message board poster no one knows here. I have a 6-year-running blog that is apparently in the middle of all this, so I have to tread lightly.

I have numerous sources on this, and some of this stuff, I've been told and asked to hold onto for various reasons. I've respected those confidences.

In the case of "Kiley and Booms", when I was first told about them, they were not a sure lock to happen. Things have obviously changed since then. I didn't want to breach their names until I had more information, and now, I do. (Even then, there is some speculation I'll put up here or on Twitter/FB, but not yet on the blog. Nathan has also put up some stuff on Twitter/FB, but he doesn't "represent" OMW unless he posts items on the blog itself.)

I am not the expert, of course, but it seems like I am very much leading this train. I'm told people close to CBS Radio (outside CLE) and other involved players have been read my items line by line for confirmation.

So, frankly, I have to be more careful than some guy on a message board only known as "CleveRadioInsider". And yes, I realize I don't use my full name in association with the blog, but for what it's worth, OMW has built up a reputation over the years (6 years!)...and I like to be more right than wrong.

Oh, and now-former WGR/Buffalo PD Andy Roth is the indeed the PD I've been talking about. Maybe I should drive up to Huron Road and ask to see him?

Again, it's mostly keeping confidences and not-yet-confirmed information that have led to me being "coy" on some of this. At this point, it's nearly public.

 

[DToTheJ]

Kiley just quit his gig with Michael Irvin in Dallas (at the ESPN O&O sports talker, I believe)...

Irvin is currently on the air in Miami on Beasley-owned WQAM; that was the "gig" that Kiley "just quit." But previously, "The Playmaker" had been on the aforementioned ESPN Radio station in Dallas.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Ah, thanks, DJ! I knew I had the Dallas ESPN O&O in my head for a reason, since Irvin started talk radio there.

And yes, now that I remember, the item about Kiley leaving was in the Miami Herald.

 

[CleveRadioInsider]

No what you are is a self important blogger that thinks the world revolves around your "Ooh I know something you don't know and I am not telling you" Ask any person on the street if they know who Ohio Media Watch is or Cleveland Radio Insider is and the response will be Who? Please don't overvalue your importance.

 

[vjm]

No what you are is a self important blogger that thinks the world revolves around your "Ooh I know something you don't know and I am not telling you" Ask any person on the street if they know who Ohio Media Watch is or Cleveland Radio Insider is and the response will be Who? Please don't overvalue your importance.

C'mon dude...

You're getting into a personal pi$$ing match with OMW, and this ain't the place for it.

Back off.

 

[Tim L]

No what you are is a self important blogger that thinks the world revolves around your  "Ooh I know something you don't know and I am not telling you"  Ask any person on the street if they know who Ohio Media Watch is or Cleveland Radio Insider is and the response will be Who?  Please don't overvalue your importance.

C'mon dude...

You're getting into a personal pi$ing match with OMW, and this ain't the place for it.

Back off.

Agreed...Most of what OMW does is for the so called "insiders", plus radio fans that care to follow such news..I completely understand why OMW cant reveal everything..And about 98 percent of the members here are okay with it..

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

No what you are is a self important blogger that thinks the world revolves around your "Ooh I know something you don't know and I am not telling you" Ask any person on the street if they know who Ohio Media Watch is or Cleveland Radio Insider is and the response will be Who? Please don't overvalue your importance.

Anyone who knows me or who has followed the blog over the years, know I have the self-esteem of a flea in a thimble.

I was just trying to explain my situation, and what situation I've found around me here.

Since the blog has become a focal point for those looking information about this thing (that is NOT an overestimation), it is being read by many people in many key positions, and I've been asked by people to keep confidences.

That's not bragging, really, it's fact, and that fact dumbfounds me.

I'm just a guy with a blog, and major radio players are reading my items for clues! (That's an exclamation of amazement, not excitement.)

I can't believe how much information is being funneled through the blog...and I have to be a LOT more careful than I do here, a board mostly read by radio "geeks" (and I mean that in the best possible way).

And it's not just me. If I walked away from the blog tomorrow and "gave the keys" to Nathan, he'd be even more in the middle of this than he is now.

Anytime the blog gets any attention from people like these out of town players, or is being read carefully from people about to be affected by a major change who haven't heard it from their bosses, it freaks me out. I know I have some readers who will be affected by any change in either 92.3 or 98.5, and I can't bring myself to ask them!

Look, I can try to explain it, but if I'm coming off as a self-important jerk who is putting you down, I apologize. I really, really am trying not to, just trying to explain a situation you can't see since you're not seeing all the incoming information on this.

Far from trying to make myself look "bigger" by this, I'm quite frankly dumbfounded that this has grown to the level it has.

With that, I'm out of this thread, and probably the other threads involving this station, until it begins. This back and forth is not productive for discussion, and there appears to be very little information to add until launch.

After I finish up this forum tonight, I'll still be on Twitter/FB, other topic threads on R-I and of course, on a certain blog.

 

[vjm]

No what you are is a self important blogger that thinks the world revolves around your "Ooh I know something you don't know and I am not telling you" Ask any person on the street if they know who Ohio Media Watch is or Cleveland Radio Insider is and the response will be Who? Please don't overvalue your importance.

Anyone who knows me or who has followed the blog over the years, know I have the self-esteem of a flea in a thimble.

I was just trying to explain my situation, and what situation I've found around me here.

Since the blog has become a focal point for those looking information about this thing (that is NOT an overestimation), it is being read by many people in many key positions, and I've been asked by people to keep confidences.

That's not bragging, really, it's fact, and that fact dumbfounds me.

I'm just a guy with a blog, and major radio players are reading my items for clues! (That's an exclamation of amazement, not excitement.)

I can't believe how much information is being funneled through the blog...and I have to be a LOT more careful than I do here, a board mostly read by radio "geeks" (and I mean that in the best possible way).

And it's not just me. If I walked away from the blog tomorrow and "gave the keys" to Nathan, he'd be even more in the middle of this than he is now.

Anytime the blog gets any attention from people like these out of town players, or is being read carefully from people about to be affected by a major change who haven't heard it from their bosses, it freaks me out. I know I have some readers who will be affected by any change in either 92.3 or 98.5, and I can't bring myself to ask them!

Look, I can try to explain it, but if I'm coming off as a self-important jerk who is putting you down, I apologize. I really, really am trying not to, just trying to explain a situation you can't see since you're not seeing all the incoming information on this.

Far from trying to make myself look "bigger" by this, I'm quite frankly dumbfounded that this has grown to the level it has.

With that, I'm out of this thread, and probably the other threads involving this station, until it begins. This back and forth is not productive for discussion, and there appears to be very little information to add until launch.

After I finish up this forum tonight, I'll still be on Twitter/FB, other topic threads on R-I and of course, on a certain blog.

Remember what I told you to do with the haters OMW...

 

[Tim]

If most of you reading this blog had any idea how honestly connected OMW is...and how many media people OMW knows, reads, and respects his blog...you'd be stunned.

OMW is as good and humble a person as I've ever know. OMW simply loves radio and media.

Because of the jobs many of us hold, it's simply impossible to reveal personal identities...we all work for a living and need our jobs.

You'll just have to (or not) trust the fact...there are some incredibly aware & well-connected folks in media who talk to OMW and Nathan personally.

These folks are doing you all a favor by letting you in on information, and, granted: strong rumors, that 99% of the general population has no clue.

I think the Radio-info discussion boards & input from blogs like OMW are great. Sometimes you just gotta trust somebody.

Or don't trust. Your call.