PIRATES

[Parttimer]

I've been out of town most of this month and only noticed last week that some of the weekday spring training games have been on 970 (including streaming through their website). I wonder if anyone else noticed and if it will help their numbers at all?

And does anyone know what 104.7 is going to do around the games now that Eilis is gone? Are they just going to cut away from Savage in mid-sentence 30 minutes before game time?

As I recall, when the Bucs moved to clear channel the story was that they wanted to be on DVE, but CC convinced them that this was just as good, that DVE would talk about the team all day and then drive the people who wanted to hear the game over there for the PBP.

It would be interesting to know how the team currently perceives this whole situation.

 

[pman44]

I had heard that Pirates Team management is currently trying to trade their broadcasts on 104.7 to the Red Sox for two daytime AM signals and a shortwave op to be named later. Thier scouts think the AM stations have a ton of potential.

 

[Knisha1]

I imagine it will be all Rocco all the time.

They preempted Savage last week for Pirates Spring Training specials hosted by Rocco.

 

[FreddyE1977]

It would be interesting to know how the team currently perceives this whole situation.

I suspect that if you pin them down on it, they would prefer their games not be on a talk station with
a partisan political bent. Whether that be Liberal or Conservative, there is really nothing to be gained
by potentially alienating large swaths of your fan base who may object to the likes of Michael Savage
or Randi Rhodes.

Spring Training PBP is actually a significant upgrade to 970's daytime programming. I don't know how
much that really helps their overall numbers, since the signal is so limited. Probably more a convenient
afterthought as the games were being webcast anyhow. Personally I think it would help 970 if they were
to simulcast all the Pirate games. At least it would get them some street cred as a sports station.

I think the Pirates are or should be concerned about their radio network as much if not more than
the flagship. They are in one of MLB's smallest markets, and historically have had to rely on fans
from outlying areas like Meadville, Morgantown, Bedford, or Jamestown, N.Y. to supplement attendance.
Changes in the business have really affected that small town network over the years. Does not help that
their territory is geographically truncated by Cleveland to the west, and now D.C. to the southeast.

 

[Pratte4Life]

I've stated in the past that I think the Bucs are missing an opportunity to have their games on WWVA 1170, which supposedly has a 50KW signal. Clear Channel owned and airing religious programming at night (which is supposedly a big revenue draw for them but I still am skeptical), it would seem to be a place for the Bucs to restore their games on a huge blowtorch.

The thing is, WWVA's 50KW signal is hardly the blowtorch KDKA is. I've heard people say KDKA isn't operating at full power, but when I lived in Tennessee or Central PA I could pick up KD at night. I could not pick up WWVA.

Does anyone know what the deal is with their signal? For a 50KW station that, I'm told, once entertained the country with Jamboree the way 650 in Nashville entertained with the Grand Old Opry, their signal is lousy.

It can't be picked up, to my knowledge, outside the region at night.

 

[Parttimer]

I've stated in the past that I think the Bucs are missing an opportunity to have their games on WWVA 1170, which supposedly has a 50KW signal. Clear Channel owned and airing religious programming at night (which is supposedly a big revenue draw for them but I still am skeptical), it would seem to be a place for the Bucs to restore their games on a huge blowtorch.

The thing is, WWVA's 50KW signal is hardly the blowtorch KDKA is. I've heard people say KDKA isn't operating at full power, but when I lived in Tennessee or Central PA I could pick up KD at night. I could not pick up WWVA.

Does anyone know what the deal is with their signal? For a 50KW station that, I'm told, once entertained the country with Jamboree the way 650 in Nashville entertained with the Grand Old Opry, their signal is lousy.

It can't be picked up, to my knowledge, outside the region at night.

Don't be skeptical about the religious programming at night. It's big money.

And I don't know exactly what the deal is with their signal, but you're right, it isn't what you'd expect.

 

[radiogeek07]

Thing is, wouldn't MLB in general want their games broadcast on FM/lower power stations so it would force those out of the region to subscribe to MLB field pass or whatever?

 

[collegeDJ86]

Regarding WWVA - the Pirates would do well to be placed on that signal. Sure, it may have some problems at night (they are heavily directional to the east) but in the NYC/North Jersey area, 1170 is one of the better AM signals (KDKA is squashed by WINS hash). I know 1170 used to carry the Steelers, and my dad would sometimes listen to 1170 in the daytime driving across I-76 just east of Akron to get the games. And, despite how small Wheeling is, does it not also sport black & gold during all sports seasons?

 

[JohnW]

Don't forget that WWVA is affected by WHAM's IBOC hash.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Since they switched on IBOC, WWVA's signal is terrible...even worse than KDKA's buzzed-up sound.
They are also heavily nulled to the west. When I used to have a lot of business in Columbus I would
listen to them on the drive back. Even as close in as Cambridge, once local sundown hit they disappeared completely.

At one time being on 50,000 watt clear-channel AM stations was very important to MLB. As one poster correctly pointed out, not so much in the internet era. I do think though that a strong network of local stations in their territory is important. Free audio PBP, widely available, is a great marketing tool. And
not everyone has access to the net everywhere, 24X365 (though we're getting there). Personally I think
MLB is making a huge mistake charging for the audio feeds on their website.

 

[Parttimer]

Plus you can listen to every game on XM.

 

[quadraphonic]

I had heard that Pirates Team management is currently trying to trade their broadcasts on 104.7 to the Red Sox for two daytime AM signals and a shortwave op to be named later. Thier scouts think the AM stations have a ton of potential.

That's what they told ESPN, but we all know it's just to save money.

 

[hypwr]

When I was the CE of WWVA I calculated the night time signal to be around 144,000 watts at 77 degrees, and only about 200 watts toward KVOO in Tulsa. Every week I received DX reports from Finland, Norway, Denmark, etc. Sometimes they would include a cassette of our programs and they sounded like a local station.

Of course, the IBOC garbage has changed all of that.

 

[FreddyE1977]

I know WWVA throws a huge signal into Canada from Ontario east. The Jamboree was extremely popular with
Canadian country music fans who thought Nashville was just too far to travel on a bus.

 

[loeper]

do you think there is any truth to the rumor that this season the Steelers games will be broadcast on the police scanner?

 

[FreddyE1977]

do you think there is any truth to the rumor that this season the Steelers games will be broadcast on the police scanner?

Cincinnati's Joke of the Year for six years running....

 

[trefdawg]

Hey Hypwr
Funny thing about WWVA's signa at night....loud and proud out east but I can barely hear it on RT 22 near Cadiz at night on the way to Wintersville! I also hope the air check sent from Norway wasn't RG Stair!

 

[almaniac27]

At one time being on 50,000 watt clear-channel AM stations was very important to MLB. As one poster correctly pointed out, not so much in the internet era. I do think though that a strong network of local stations in their territory is important. Free audio PBP, widely available, is a great marketing tool. And
not everyone has access to the net everywhere, 24X365 (though we're getting there). Personally I think
MLB is making a huge mistake charging for the audio feeds on their website.

The MLB have been a bunch of Nazis about rights for a long time, they want to make money on everything, they even take classic baseball footage off of Youtube! I was looking for Carlton Fisk's famous "waving it fair" 1975 World Series home run, but Youtube told me to find it on MLB.com. It pisses me off to no end.

 

[FreddyE1977]

At one time being on 50,000 watt clear-channel AM stations was very important to MLB. As one poster correctly pointed out, not so much in the internet era. I do think though that a strong network of local stations in their territory is important. Free audio PBP, widely available, is a great marketing tool. And
not everyone has access to the net everywhere, 24X365 (though we're getting there). Personally I think
MLB is making a huge mistake charging for the audio feeds on their website.

The MLB have been a bunch of Nazis about rights for a long time, they want to make money on everything, they even take classic baseball footage off of Youtube! I was looking for Carlton Fisk's famous "waving it fair" 1975 World Series home run, but Youtube told me to find it on MLB.com. It pisses me off to no end.

You aren't kidding! On the regional sports channels on my dish, if Fox Sports Midwest is running a KC Royals Classics
game from 1983 they will black it out! They blacked out a replay of the closing ceremonies for Shea Stadium. And if
the Cleveland Indians are playing on ESPN or TBS they will black it out, even though Progressive Field is probably 150 miles from my house.

 

[drubytue]

I think it sucks that the Pirates are on a right-wing station. I tune in over MLB.com and all I hear is "Crapulous" promos between innings. It's offensive. One solution is to listen to the opposing team's broadcasts. Another is to stop being a Pirates fan after 50 years.