Scully's Final Broadcast_Boon to KLAC Ratings?

[umfan]

http://frontpage.pch.com/story/3108...-mic-at-dodger-stadium?category=entertainment

As the living legend prepares to retire, with his final broadcast on Oct. 2nd, will those hoping to hear him on the radio (I know he only does the first three innings) drive KLAC ratings up? I realize that the 1.1 share they pulled in the last period isn't much and the signal is less than ideal, but this does represent the last opportunity for many to hear him live on the radio for that last time.

 

[FreddyE1977]

The man never ceases to amaze me. He works without a color man.
He weaves seamlessly between play-by-play, statistics, and stories about stuff that
happened in Brooklyn in 1953.

I hope my mind is half that sharp at age 88.

 

[michael hagerty]

http://frontpage.pch.com/story/3108...-mic-at-dodger-stadium?category=entertainment

As the living legend prepares to retire, with his final broadcast on Oct. 2nd, will those hoping to hear him on the radio (I know he only does the first three innings) drive KLAC ratings up?

Only if one or more of the people tuning in have PPMs. And then, you're talking about three innings in a 30-day rating period. So, probably not. It would take an incredible chunk of the PPM panel tuning in to hear Vin's last calls to move the needle even slightly.

 

[Oscar Madison]

He betrayed the City of Homes and Churches when he deserted - along with the traitor Walter O'Malley. Good at what he did, yes. But devoid of personal integrity.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

He betrayed the City of Homes and Churches when he deserted - along with the traitor Walter O'Malley. Good at what he did, yes. But devoid of personal integrity.

So because his employer chose to move the location of the business he owned, the owner is a traitor and the employee is devoid of personal integrity? You have a lot of assumptions you probably need to reconsider.

 

[davideduardo]

As the living legend prepares to r...n parts of the LA MSA than KNX.[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[DrAkbar]

He betrayed the City of Homes and Churches when he deserted - along with the traitor Walter O'Malley. Good at what he did, yes. But devoid of personal integrity.

So NYC really needed 3 MLB teams in the late Fifties? Sure glad he made the move and will miss this iconic broadcaster. Nurse Jeff and I"ll grill a Farmer John's Dodger Dog on the BBQ in his honor!

 

[Oscar Madison]

So because his employer chose to move the location of the business he owned, the owner is a traitor and the employee is devoid of personal integrity? You have a lot of assumptions you probably need to reconsider.

Don't think so. O'Malley had the most loyal fan base in organized sports ever. He capitalized on that and then driven by self-centered avarice he betrayed them. If you want to make a hero out of someone like him, maybe you should be reconsidering.

 

[Oscar Madison]

So NYC really needed 3 MLB teams in the late Fifties? Sure glad he made the move and will miss this iconic broadcaster. Nurse Jeff and I"ll grill a Farmer John's Dodger Dog on the BBQ in his honor!

Sure they did. Major League baseball never should have expanded or been allowed to extend beyond St. Louis West or Cincinnati South. Baseball was a lot more interesting with National and American League teams in the same city than with divisions, play-offs and inter-league play. The integrity and purity of the game was sorely compromised.

And New York had two major league teams. Brooklyn had one.

 

[davideduardo]

Don't think so. O'Malley had the most loyal fan base in organized sports ever. He capitalized on that and then driven by self-centered avarice he betrayed them. If you want to make a hero out of someone like him, maybe you should be reconsidering.

The sports industry changed radically with the widespread television broadcasts of sports. Nobody outside NYC wanted to view NY vs NY games, particularly with three teams. Three was just too many, since one league had two of them!

As baseball got a larger and larger portion of its revenue from TV, things had to change. And as Brooklyn itself was transforming ethnically, the loyal fan base was showing signs of shrinking.

The "best" thing in the long run is not always immediately perceived as being such a good thing.

 

[davideduardo]

Sure they did. Major League baseball never should have expanded or been allowed to extend beyond St. Louis West or Cincinnati South. Baseball was a lot more interesting with National and American League teams in the same city than with divisions, play-offs and inter-league play. The integrity and purity of the game was sorely compromised.

That would have killed baseball, as no national network would have wanted to carry games. And as the population in the Northeast became a smaller and smaller part of the national total, fewer and fewer fans would be interested. Baseball would have become more isolated and niche than hockey.

And New York had two major league teams. Brooklyn had one.

Same market. And Brooklyn, today, is 65% ethnic. Not the same constituency.

 

[ShawnHill1]

Sure they did. Major League baseball never should have expanded or been allowed to extend beyond St. Louis West or Cincinnati South. Baseball was a lot more interesting with National and American League teams in the same city than with divisions, play-offs and inter-league play. The integrity and purity of the game was sorely compromised.

And New York had two major league teams. Brooklyn had one.

Hell, if you had it your way, you probably would have never allowed integration in MLB either.

 

[TheBigA]

The integrity and purity of the game was sorely compromised.

Some would say the integrity and purity of the game was sorely compromised in 1919, long before expansion. Some would say that integrity and purity is compromised once the players do it for money. Once that line is crossed, nothing matters any more.

 

[CTListener]

That would have killed baseball, as no national network would have wanted to carry games. And as the population in the Northeast became a smaller and smaller part of the national total, fewer and fewer fans would be interested. Baseball would have become more isolated and niche than hockey.



Same market. And Brooklyn, today, is 65% ethnic. Not the same constituency.

It was ethnic back then, too. Immigrants from all parts of Europe and their first-generation children. Baseball was as foreign to Greeks and Russians then as it must be now to Somalis and Haitians. Somehow, a good number of the earlier immigrants became baseball fans, probably when their kids began to pick up the game on the streets and develop team allegiances. Hasn't the same thing happened with today's immigrant Brooklynites, or is it basketball that they're playing on the streets now and becoming fans of?

 

[Oscar Madison]

Hell, if you had it your way, you probably would have never allowed integration in MLB either.

Maybe you've forgotten: It was the Brooklyn Dodgers who integrated major league baseball.

However, nobody wants to remember that this destroyed the Negro Leagues, and their various teams owned by African-American entrepreneurs. And that "White baseball" signed players under contract to Negro League teams without paying those teams compensation (as they would when signing players under contract to other major league teams). In effect, MLB teams stole players.

 

[Oscar Madison]

The sports industry changed radically with the widespread television broadcasts of sports. Nobody outside NYC wanted to view NY vs NY games, particularly with three teams. Three was just too many, since one league had two of them!

As baseball got a larger and larger portion of its revenue from TV, things had to change. And as Brooklyn itself was transforming ethnically, the loyal fan base was showing signs of shrinking.

The "best" thing in the long run is not always immediately perceived as being such a good thing.

Network or out of market viewing was not a significant factor in 1957. And there had been considerable interest in subway series in the network radio era going back to the 20s. To say "nobody" was interested is not true.

What network television (and cable) broadcasts of major league games did do was almost destroy minor league baseball, which fortunately came back after "Bull Durham."

Again, we are talking about rampant greed. The Dodgers paid for Ebbet's Field - not the taxpayers. Unlike the real estate deal O'Malley got with Chavez Ravine - and other MLB owners continue to get.

I recall reading a prophecy years ago that sporting events would turn into TV shows with studio audiences - like The Price Is Right. Sounds like you think that's what has happened and that it's a good thing.

Baseball would have been better served in the American and National League had stayed put and the PCL had been allowed to move from "open" to major league status (and not pushed back to AAA).

 

[TheBigA]

Nothing anyone can do to put the toothpaste back into the tube. It's not going back, and the Dodgers aren't going to return to Brooklyn. It is what it is. Greed is the American way. It's not going to change. Even Larry King has forgiven them now that he lives in LA.

 

[CTListener]

Greed is the American way.

Correction: Greed is the human way. America has just refined it to an art form.

 

[DrAkbar]

Correction: Greed is the human way. America has just refined it to an art form.

Why is it the owners get the greed label? Anyone like to compare salaries of professional players today to the Fifties? This is devolving into a circular argument when it really should be focused on the original topic: KLAC getting a bump from Scully's last broadcast. We're rooting for a bump as no one is more deserving than Vin Scully!

 

[CTListener]

Why is it the owners get the greed label? Anyone like to compare salaries of professional players today to the Fifties?!

The players can only make what the owners are willing to pay them.