Pro & college sports radio affiliations

[Nate Wesley]

I'm curious if anyone could answer some questions I've had about how radio affiliations work for professional and college sports.

For the pros and the most popular college programs, I know broadcast rights to their games are often bought by whichever station offers the best money and the best coverage (signal, audience coverage, and local promotions, etc). At least this SHOULD be true in large markets in which the teams play or are close to.

But is this always the case? Say a station in Birmingham wants to broadcast live Atlanta Falcons or Atlanta Braves games. Does that station have to pay for broadcast rights, or are there barter agreements that could be reached?

How about stations in medium-sized & small markets (including unranked ones and small towns)? One of my local stations, WMFC-FM 99.3, airs University of Alabama football, basketball, and baseball. As a small town station, would it normally pay rights fees, or does barter play a role here?

And what about sports programming from smaller collegiate programs (think Ohio instead of Ohio State)or smaller professional teams (usually minor league baseball)?

I could be asking too many questions with way too many answers, but any answers at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! <P ID="signature">______________
What, you were expecting me to make sense for a change?</P>

 

[Guy_Incognito]

The simple answers are:

The team considers a lot of factors in choosing its flagship, including signal, coverage, inventory, straight-up cash transaction, "added value" -- like how involved will your morning show be -- as well as sales and production responsibilities.

The primary concern in choosing an affiliate is "does adding Station WXXX encroach on existing affiliate/flagship WYYY?" If multiple stations meet that criterion and are vying to be affiliates, then see above answer for flagships.

Affiliates are usually just straight barter. While there may be no cash involved, teams in high demand may want some ROS spots thrown in along with the spots that run during the games. Most stations in markets 150 and below have plenty of ROS inventory to spare.

Also, a good rule of thumb I was taught years ago by a colleague at ESPN Radio that has since worked every time: Check with a few of your local stores that sell team-licensed gear. If the the team in question doesn't sell more in your market than the "big" team in that sport, you won't make money broadcasting its games. By "big" I mean the ubiquitous "love 'em or hate 'em" team that sells huge amounts of stuff nationwide, not necessarily the "best" team. For instance, if you're looking at University of Anywhere football and U-Any doesn't sell more gear than Michigan and Notre Dame do, you won't make money selling local ads. For baseball, it's the Yankees; NFL is Cowboys and Raiders; you get the gist. Unscientific?...yes. Has it been an accurate barometer every time I have seen it used?...yes.

 

[Nate Wesley]

>
> Affiliates are usually just straight barter. While there
> may be no cash involved, teams in high demand may want some
> ROS spots thrown in along with the spots that run during the
> games. Most stations in markets 150 and below have plenty
> of ROS inventory to spare.***

***A former radio wannabe asks, "What are 'ROS spots'?"


>
> Also, a good rule of thumb I was taught years ago by a
> colleague at ESPN Radio that has since worked every time:
> Check with a few of your local stores that sell
> team-licensed gear. If the the team in question doesn't
> sell more in your market than the "big" team in that sport,
> you won't make money broadcasting its games. By "big" I
> mean the ubiquitous "love 'em or hate 'em" team that sells
> huge amounts of stuff nationwide, not necessarily the "best"
> team. For instance, if you're looking at University of
> Anywhere football and U-Any doesn't sell more gear than
> Michigan and Notre Dame do, you won't make money selling
> local ads. For baseball, it's the Yankees; NFL is Cowboys
> and Raiders; you get the gist. Unscientific?...yes. Has
> it been an accurate barometer every time I have seen it
> used?...yes.
>

THIS tidbit is what has really piqued my interest, and here's an incredibly boring story why: Living outside of metro Birmingham, I've always complained about not getting to hear live football or basketball games of MY alma mater, the University of Alabama at Birmingham. As you can imagine, I can push scan on my car stereo and find several Alabama or Auburn affils airing the same select game. That's not the case for UAB at all.

Currently, the "Blazer Radio Network" consists of one local Birmingham station, WYDE 101.1 (and simulcast on WYDE 1260). At one time, there were additional affiliates in Mobile, Montgomery, Dothan--they've long since dropped their affiliations. Meanwhile, it's somewhat easier to find Troy University stations, as their statewide 'network' dwarfs UAB's. And to their credit, Alabama, Auburn, and Troy have had athletics for significantly longer than UAB has, and they have more statewide alumni...playing right into the rule of thumb you described.

The stations that did carry UAB programming probably weren't selling enough local spots around it to make it worth their while.

One thing has always puzzled me: Birmingham has it's lone sports station carrying Tennessee Titans games, yet it has no station carrying Atlanta Falcons games (or Atlanta Braves games, as of last season). Could the 'merchandise rule' be in effect here as well?

Thanx for sharing your insight...I've learned a lot! <P ID="signature">______________
What, you were expecting me to make sense for a change?</P>

 

[Guy_Incognito]

> ***A former radio wannabe asks, "What are 'ROS spots'?"
>

ROS = Run of Schedule.

Stations can vary in how they apply the term: some say 6a-7p, others 6a-Mid, still others 5a-7p, etc.

After all of your "fixed" spots are put it -- e.g. John Smith Insurance bought 7:25a -- all of your "dayparted" spots -- e.g. Bob Jones Jewelers bought AM and PM Drive -- and all of your "positionals" go in -- e.g. Tom Johnson Motors bought 1st spot in 10 breaks throughout the day -- then all the rest of your avails get filled with ROS. Sort of like "at-large" bids to your log; you know that bought time, now it's a matter of "seeding" them...to borrow a sports metaphor.

Teams may want one or two :60's per day out of your ROS during the season. The smaller the station, the more likely it is to be able to sacrifice some inventory instead of cash. The team gets its money by raising its spot rate on those spots. So rather than getting cash from the stations, the team gets more cash from the advertisers.

Always remember, 90% of advertising buys are emotional. Small stations and markets find that number even higher. An advertiser ultimately buys Random High School football or U-Any basketball because he loves the team...or he went there...or his daughter goes there. Now you just need a team with a pool of those folks that's big enough for you to make money. With UAB only being [I think] about 40 years old -- and only doing Division I-A football for the last ten -- it will take a long time for that pool to equal Troy State, let alone the Tigers and the Tide.

 

[ticoSD]

> THIS tidbit is what has really piqued my interest, and
> here's an incredibly boring story why: Living outside of
> metro Birmingham, I've always complained about not getting
> to hear live football or basketball games of MY alma mater,
> the University of Alabama at Birmingham. As you can imagine,
> I can push scan on my car stereo and find several Alabama or
> Auburn affils airing the same select game. That's not the
> case for UAB at all.
>
> Currently, the "Blazer Radio Network" consists of one local
> Birmingham station, WYDE 101.1 (and simulcast on WYDE 1260).
> At one time, there were additional affiliates in Mobile,
> Montgomery, Dothan--they've long since dropped their
> affiliations. Meanwhile, it's somewhat easier to find Troy
> University stations, as their statewide 'network' dwarfs
> UAB's. And to their credit, Alabama, Auburn, and Troy have
> had athletics for significantly longer than UAB has, and
> they have more statewide alumni...playing right into the
> rule of thumb you described.
>
> The stations that did carry UAB programming probably weren't
> selling enough local spots around it to make it worth their
> while.
>
> One thing has always puzzled me: Birmingham has it's lone
> sports station carrying Tennessee Titans games, yet it has
> no station carrying Atlanta Falcons games (or Atlanta Braves
> games, as of last season). Could the 'merchandise rule' be
> in effect here as well?
>
> Thanx for sharing your insight...I've learned a lot!

As with the case of UAB, a lot of colleges with city or directional names in them don't usually have a large-enough following to justify more statewide coverage. You mentioned Ohio earlier. Look how many Division 1A schools are in that state, but Ohio State is the dominant program and is probably the only one with statewide coverage of its games. I can't imagine a lot of Akron having a huge following in Cincinnati. UAB has not had a football program for very long, as opposed to Troy, which had been a Division II power before jumping to 1A. When UAB does begin to win more football games and compete for conference titles on a consistent basis, then there will be more demand as more people will begin going to games and more stations may begin to take a second look at carrying the Blazers. Winning is all it takes.

As far as the not hearing the Braves in B-ham, I had assumed WJOX was still carrying it. This really shouldn't have anything to do with it, but I wonder if a change of flagship stations in Atlanta have anything to do with it. This year, WJDX in Jackson started carrying Braves games for the first time and that coincided with their sister station WGST regaining flagship status for the Braves. We also get the Titans in Jackson, but I think it's because QB Steve McNair is from Mississippi and since Nashville isn't too far, it's easier for the fans to follow them. <P ID="signature">______________
"...and the countdown continues until the neanderthals that govern college football do something about their pathetic postseason."--Tim Brando, Sporting News Radio</P>

 

[Nate Wesley]

> > ***A former radio wannabe asks, "What are 'ROS spots'?"
> >
>
> ROS = Run of Schedule.
>
> Stations can vary in how they apply the term: some say
> 6a-7p, others 6a-Mid, still others 5a-7p, etc.
>
> After all of your "fixed" spots are put it -- e.g. John
> Smith Insurance bought 7:25a -- all of your "dayparted"
> spots -- e.g. Bob Jones Jewelers bought AM and PM Drive --
> and all of your "positionals" go in -- e.g. Tom Johnson
> Motors bought 1st spot in 10 breaks throughout the day --
> then all the rest of your avails get filled with ROS. Sort
> of like "at-large" bids to your log; you know that bought
> time, now it's a matter of "seeding" them...to borrow a
> sports metaphor.
>
> Teams may want one or two :60's per day out of your ROS
> during the season. The smaller the station, the more
> likely it is to be able to sacrifice some inventory instead
> of cash. The team gets its money by raising its spot rate
> on those spots. So rather than getting cash from the
> stations, the team gets more cash from the advertisers.
>
> Always remember, 90% of advertising buys are emotional.
> Small stations and markets find that number even higher.
> An advertiser ultimately buys Random High School football or
> U-Any basketball because he loves the team...or he went
> there...or his daughter goes there. Now you just need a
> team with a pool of those folks that's big enough for you to
> make money. With UAB only being [I think] about 40 years
> old -- and only doing Division I-A football for the last ten
> -- it will take a long time for that pool to equal Troy
> State, let alone the Tigers and the Tide.

I believe UAB was actually chartered as its own university in 1969 (don't quote me on that), but they haven't been a university long, and their athletics program is still VERY young, even after its 25th overall season (basketball since day one, 1A football the last ten).

So basically, there's a LOT more to it than just signing up small town FMs and class C/D AM stations in small-to-large metros to broadcast the games--these stations WILL want to make some cake from doing so. And I can't say I blame them.

Good stuff, Guy. Thanks again.

<P ID="signature">______________
What, you were expecting me to make sense for a change?</P>

 

[Nate Wesley]

>
> As with the case of UAB, a lot of colleges with city or
> directional names in them don't usually have a large-enough
> following to justify more statewide coverage. You mentioned
> Ohio earlier. Look how many Division 1A schools are in that
> state, but Ohio State is the dominant program and is
> probably the only one with statewide coverage of its games.
> I can't imagine a lot of Akron having a huge following in
> Cincinnati. UAB has not had a football program for very
> long, as opposed to Troy, which had been a Division II power
> before jumping to 1A. When UAB does begin to win more
> football games and compete for conference titles on a
> consistent basis, then there will be more demand as more
> people will begin going to games and more stations may begin
> to take a second look at carrying the Blazers. Winning is
> all it takes.

I was about ten seconds away from stupidly asking, "But what about Southern Miss?" Once again--they've been a university much longer, they've thousands more alumni and fans (as evidenced by the Birmingham-area USM alumni group that always tailgates together at UAB home football games)--and a lot more success on the gridiron than my Blazers >:-(
>
> As far as the not hearing the Braves in B-ham, I had assumed
> WJOX was still carrying it. This really shouldn't have
> anything to do with it, but I wonder if a change of flagship
> stations in Atlanta have anything to do with it. This year,
> WJDX in Jackson started carrying Braves games for the first
> time and that coincided with their sister station WGST
> regaining flagship status for the Braves. We also get the
> Titans in Jackson, but I think it's because QB Steve McNair
> is from Mississippi and since Nashville isn't too far, it's
> easier for the fans to follow them.

I don't know, but the games would often get shifted to sister news/talker WAPI 1070 if they didn't air on WJOX. I seem remember reading an old B'ham Business Journal article saying Citadel didn't renew its agreement because they had trouble selling local advertising for the broadcasts. That didn't seem to make much sense to me, as the Braves are more of Birmingham's team than the minor-league Barons are.

Bringing back the Falcons for a second, I believe their games may have aired on WYDE 101.1 for a season during my freshman year (1999), but were dropped after that. I wouldn't call Birmingham a big pro-football town, yet the Titans are still heard there--go figure.

Thanks for the insight...and here's hope that Larry Eustachy gets things together before C-USA play starts...
<P ID="signature">______________
What, you were expecting me to make sense for a change?</P>

 

[OldAkronite]

> You mentioned
> Ohio earlier. Look how many Division 1A schools are in that
> state, but Ohio State is the dominant program and is
> probably the only one with statewide coverage of its games.
> I can't imagine a lot of Akron having a huge following in
> Cincinnati.

Since you invoked my hometown

Collegiate sports broadcasts are VERY regional here in Ohio.

Ohio State is indeed pretty much the only school that gets statewide coverage, from border to border and beyond, for obvious reasons.

Akron University has expanded its network a little, by adding Cleveland brokered talker WERE/1300 and Canton-market CCM WNPQ/95.9 New Philadelphia to their "Zips Sports Network", currently anchored at/originating from Clear Channel liberal talk WARF/1350 Akron "Radio Free Ohio". (The Zips have been on 1350 since they were a Fox Sports Radio affiliate.)

But no one outside of Northeast Ohio really cares about the Zips. Cleveland State doesn't have a football team, as far as I know, and its basketball games only get carried on Salem sportstalker WKNR/850 Cleveland. Kent State's on WARF's sister talk station in the Akron/Canton CC cluster, WHLO/640, with some basketball games on Akron market talker WNIR/100.1.

We don't get any of the Ohio University games up here, as far as I know, and the Cincinnati-area schools (U of C, Xavier, etc.) don't air here.

The one oddity is Bowling Green State University. BGSU - a school in the Toledo area - has somehow managed to get its games on Cleveland's WKNR/850. BGSU does have a satellite campus or two on the western edge of the Cleveland area. They're also on AM 1580 in Columbus.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>

 

[bigtalkradiofan]

Guy_Incognito,

I'd like to "second" or "echo" TheX's remark "Thanks for the insight."

I too found your knowledge of sports radio affiliations very useful and helpful.

Thanks again!

bigtalkradiofan




> > ***A former radio wannabe asks, "What are 'ROS spots'?"
> >
>
> ROS = Run of Schedule.
>
> Stations can vary in how they apply the term: some say
> 6a-7p, others 6a-Mid, still others 5a-7p, etc.
>
> After all of your "fixed" spots are put it -- e.g. John
> Smith Insurance bought 7:25a -- all of your "dayparted"
> spots -- e.g. Bob Jones Jewelers bought AM and PM Drive --
> and all of your "positionals" go in -- e.g. Tom Johnson
> Motors bought 1st spot in 10 breaks throughout the day --
> then all the rest of your avails get filled with ROS. Sort
> of like "at-large" bids to your log; you know that bought
> time, now it's a matter of "seeding" them...to borrow a
> sports metaphor.
>
> Teams may want one or two :60's per day out of your ROS
> during the season. The smaller the station, the more
> likely it is to be able to sacrifice some inventory instead
> of cash. The team gets its money by raising its spot rate
> on those spots. So rather than getting cash from the
> stations, the team gets more cash from the advertisers.
>
> Always remember, 90% of advertising buys are emotional.
> Small stations and markets find that number even higher.
> An advertiser ultimately buys Random High School football or
> U-Any basketball because he loves the team...or he went
> there...or his daughter goes there. Now you just need a
> team with a pool of those folks that's big enough for you to
> make money. With UAB only being [I think] about 40 years
> old -- and only doing Division I-A football for the last ten
> -- it will take a long time for that pool to equal Troy
> State, let alone the Tigers and the Tide.
>

 

[schmave]

> Since you invoked my hometown
>
> Collegiate sports broadcasts are VERY regional here in Ohio.
>
> Ohio State is indeed pretty much the only school that gets
> statewide coverage, from border to border and beyond, for
> obvious reasons.
>
> Akron University has expanded its network a little, by
> adding Cleveland brokered talker WERE/1300 and Canton-market
> CCM WNPQ/95.9 New Philadelphia to their "Zips Sports
> Network", currently anchored at/originating from Clear
> Channel liberal talk WARF/1350 Akron "Radio Free Ohio".
> (The Zips have been on 1350 since they were a Fox Sports
> Radio affiliate.)
>
> But no one outside of Northeast Ohio really cares about the
> Zips. Cleveland State doesn't have a football team, as far
> as I know, and its basketball games only get carried on
> Salem sportstalker WKNR/850 Cleveland. Kent State's on
> WARF's sister talk station in the Akron/Canton CC cluster,
> WHLO/640, with some basketball games on Akron market talker
> WNIR/100.1.
>
> We don't get any of the Ohio University games up here, as
> far as I know, and the Cincinnati-area schools (U of C,
> Xavier, etc.) don't air here.
>
> The one oddity is Bowling Green State University. BGSU - a
> school in the Toledo area - has somehow managed to get its
> games on Cleveland's WKNR/850. BGSU does have a satellite
> campus or two on the western edge of the Cleveland area.
> They're also on AM 1580 in Columbus.
>
> -OA

Ohio U.'s broadcasters claim to be heard from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, but exactly where I couldn't tell you. They do have an affiliate here in Columbus underneath THE Ohio State University's nose but it has very limited reach.
I can see how Bowling Green got its games on WKNR (when they don't conflict with the Bucks, I'd guess). It seems they're the only MAC school in the state that has any sort of regional following (OU would beg to differ but this is just my perception), and a lot of Clevelanders go to BG so maybe that's how it happened.
Even Cincinnati and Xavier, which get many games on WLW, don't seem to have big followings once you get beyond 275. Get to Dayton, Wilmington, etc. and it seems to be all OSU.

 

[ticoSD]

> I was about ten seconds away from stupidly asking, "But what
> about Southern Miss?" Once again--they've been a university
> much longer, they've thousands more alumni and fans (as
> evidenced by the Birmingham-area USM alumni group that
> always tailgates together at UAB home football games)--and a
> lot more success on the gridiron than my Blazers >:-(

The farthest north affiliate that I know that carries Southern Miss is a country station in Greenville. I think one thing that helps USM is that it's the second largest university in the state and its clout is growing. However, Ole Miss and MSU still dominates and those two schools are where a lot of the movers and shakers in the state went to school. But I also go back to my point of winning games. If they win the New Orleans Bowl, USM will be guaranteed a 12th consecutive winning season, something our two in-state SEC brethren and all but a few programs around the country can't claim.

> I don't know, but the games would often get shifted to
> sister news/talker WAPI 1070 if they didn't air on WJOX. I
> seem remember reading an old B'ham Business Journal article
> saying Citadel didn't renew its agreement because they had
> trouble selling local advertising for the broadcasts. That
> didn't seem to make much sense to me, as the Braves are more
> of Birmingham's team than the minor-league Barons are.

> Bringing back the Falcons for a second, I believe their
> games may have aired on WYDE 101.1 for a season during my
> freshman year (1999), but were dropped after that. I
> wouldn't call Birmingham a big pro-football town, yet the
> Titans are still heard there--go figure.

The Titans/Falcons situation could also be a sales thing, or it could be an issue of broadcast rights. With the Barons being a local team, fans don't have to make a two-hour trek to see the Braves or Falcons. By staying home, they save gas and can easily afford the price of admission than they would seeing pro sports in Atlanta. Selling advertising with the Barons probably has more advantages that it would with the Braves and Titans.

> Thanks for the insight...and here's hope that Larry Eustachy
> gets things together before C-USA play starts...

If he doesn't start partying and drinking again like he did at Iowa State.
<P ID="signature">______________
"...and the countdown continues until the neanderthals that govern college football do something about their pathetic postseason."--Tim Brando, Sporting News Radio</P>

 

[nate81]

> Ohio U.'s broadcasters claim to be heard from Lake Erie to
> the Ohio River, but exactly where I couldn't tell you. They
> do have an affiliate here in Columbus underneath THE Ohio
> State University's nose but it has very limited reach.

The Ohio Sports Network used to be on WERE in the late 90's, then moved to WKNR and 1220 WHK (now WHKW) in 2001. The OSN disappered w/o a trace in the Cleveland area back in 2003 - I can't find an affil anywhere.

OU's flagship is ESPN WJAW-FM in McConnelsville, just NE of Athens.

Akron games also were once on 1220 before going to WERE (who themselves use an unequalized phone line to carry the games - which may not be a problem UNTIL you here 1350 promos on WERE

> I can see how Bowling Green got its games on WKNR (when they
> don't conflict with the Bucks, I'd guess).

Salem, WKNR's owner, puts spillover games on sister stations 1220 WHKW (religious) and 1420 WHK (satellite NT).

 

[EnbyCee]

>
> Ohio U.'s broadcasters claim to be heard from Lake Erie to
> the Ohio River, but exactly where I couldn't tell you. They
> do have an affiliate here in Columbus underneath THE Ohio
> State University's nose but it has very limited reach.
> I can see how Bowling Green got its games on WKNR (when they
> don't conflict with the Bucks, I'd guess). It seems they're
> the only MAC school in the state that has any sort of
> regional following (OU would beg to differ but this is just
> my perception), and a lot of Clevelanders go to BG so maybe
> that's how it happened.

Interesting, considering that my experience from my brief time living in Toledo is that UT has a bigger following than BG (of course, the Bucks and Wolverines dwarf both). WSPD in Toledo even pushes Sean Hannity back an hour on Monday nights in the fall to carry the Rockets' coach's show. The Falcons meanwhile are buried on the Fox Sports affiliate on 1230.

The situation in Illinois is somewhat similar to Ohio in that the Fighting Illini are the only team heard statewide, while other schools are limited in coverage to within about a 50-mile radius of their campuses, if that. Even Northern Illinois games were hard to hear in much of Chicagoland until WSCR picked them up this year.

 

[schmave]

> > Ohio U.'s broadcasters claim to be heard from Lake Erie to
>
> > the Ohio River, but exactly where I couldn't tell you.
> They
> > do have an affiliate here in Columbus underneath THE Ohio
> > State University's nose but it has very limited reach.
> > I can see how Bowling Green got its games on WKNR (when
> they
> > don't conflict with the Bucks, I'd guess). It seems
> they're
> > the only MAC school in the state that has any sort of
> > regional following (OU would beg to differ but this is
> just
> > my perception), and a lot of Clevelanders go to BG so
> maybe
> > that's how it happened.
>
> Interesting, considering that my experience from my brief
> time living in Toledo is that UT has a bigger following than
> BG (of course, the Bucks and Wolverines dwarf both). WSPD in
> Toledo even pushes Sean Hannity back an hour on Monday
> nights in the fall to carry the Rockets' coach's show. The
> Falcons meanwhile are buried on the Fox Sports affiliate on
> 1230.
>
> The situation in Illinois is somewhat similar to Ohio in
> that the Fighting Illini are the only team heard statewide,
> while other schools are limited in coverage to within about
> a 50-mile radius of their campuses, if that. Even Northern
> Illinois games were hard to hear in much of Chicagoland
> until WSCR picked them up this year.

I spent four years in college at Toledo, and while UT may have a larger following in the city if you get down to the south, not too far really, there seem to be a lot more Bowling Green loyalists (and not just in BG). Of course those fans usually have dual allegiances and also pull for OSU or Michigan.
WSPD has been the Rockets' flagship station for all but one year since the early 60s. It does work well for UT because 1370 is the city's best AM signal by such a long shot I can't do it justice here, and the Rockets broadcasts come first. It eliminates the need for a network such as BG's, and as long as I can remember 1370 has done a great job on the Rockets games.

 

[mmb5]

Also as sports becomes less lucrative for the radio station, this model will be changing. Michigan (who got rights fees) will be booted off 50K WJR in Detroit starting in the fall of 2006 for Michigan State (who will be paying the station).

It's a slightly unusual situation here since the Detroit metro area is pretty much a 50-50 split between U-M and MSU supporters. This works OK for radio since Ann Arbor is technically its own market, but is hell for TV, since Ann Arbor is part of the Detroit DMA and have to walk a fine line to being shills for U-M (since they are half your audience) and upsetting MSU fans (the other half).

The majors:

U-M: Football and M-Basketball (WJR and statewide network), Hockey and W-Basketball (local Ann Arbor station), Softball (partial coverage on local Ann Arbor Station)

MSU: Football and M-Basketball (WXYT and statewide network), Hockey and W-Basketball (local Lansing station), W-Volleyball (partial coverage of local Ann Arbor Station)


The mid-majors:

WMU: Football and M-Basketball (7 station network), Hockey (2 station network), W-Basketball (local station)

EMU: Football, M-Basketball, W-Basketball (EMU's NPR station)

CMU: Football (5-station network with a Detroit station), M-Basketball (2 station network)


--Mike B.