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Signs of Spring

E

Element9

Inside Radio said:
Is radio's love affair with baseball still going strong?
It's Opening Day - but you can hear today's season openers on so many more places than even five years ago. Former ARS and CBS Radio exec David Pearlman - who tried to buy three minor-league teams - tells us "at its core, baseball is a terrific TSL programming vehicle." But "baseball on the radio has never been more diluted" by its availability on satellite, Internet
and cable.
Click to expand...

The crack of the bat, the scent of hot dogs and the Bisons opening day this Thursday: Signs of Spring! Baseball is a wonderful game, but no longer the "national past time." Kids see it as boring. Scandals abound in the majors.

The progression of Buffalo Bisons over the years has gone from WBEN, WGR, WWKB and now WECK. At one time the Bisons were the gem of Buffalo sports. These days they compete with the Bills and red hot Buffalo Sabres and relegated to a 1 kW signal of a classic country station. At one time, broadcasters paid a rights fee to broadcast Bisons games. These days, the team buys airtime from the radio station.

Aside from hard-core baseball fans, who spends any great deal of time listening to minor league baseball these days? Major league radiuo ratings look superb in the 12+ realm, but when the ratings are sorted out, with the exception of major market teams (Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants) the numbers skew 50+. Minor league baseball is an even greater challenge.

Despite being one of the finest franchises in minor and major league baseball, the Bisons have pulled meager ratings over the last five years. It seems most fans would rather be at the game, where there's usually a good seat to be found in one of America' best ballparks.

-9-
 
Element9 said:
Aside from hard-core baseball fans, who spends any great deal of time listening to minor league baseball these days? Major league radiuo ratings look superb in the 12+ realm, but when the ratings are sorted out, with the exception of major market teams (Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants) the numbers skew 50+. Minor league baseball is an even greater challenge.

Despite being one of the finest franchises in minor and major league baseball, the Bisons have pulled meager ratings over the last five years. It seems most fans would rather be at the game, where there's usually a good seat to be found in one of America' best ballparks.
Click to expand...

The Allentown IronPigs debut in 2008 as the Phillies' AAA franchise. With both the Philles' and the Yankess' AAA franchises in new cities and close to their major league affiliates, it will be interesting to see the media interest. In Allentown, which lives in the media shadow of both NY and Philadelphia, it will be interesting to see what sort of radio deal emerges next year.

Sorry for veering out-of-region... it appears baseball-on-radio is going the way of international broadcasting-on-shortwave...

Richard in Allentown, PA (ex-East Aurora)
 
Compounding the potential for an even further drop in ratings for Bisons games is the loss of Jim Rosenhaus. Rosey and Duke had a chemistry that made listening to their games a pleasure. The new guy (I don't even remember his name) has a hard act to follow. I wish him well. A new voice and the fact the games are relegated to WECK will certainly prove to be a challenge.
 
Baseball on the radio is an acquired taste. Personally, I love it - any level, major or minor league. However, it is something that you have ON, but in the background. You pay attention only when something catches your ear. That's why the play-by-play person is continually giving the count, outs, score, etc. Thats OK, because that is how it is, and the fan understands that. What I do wonder, is if anybody ever responds to the ads, as they are even more in the background of the listener's consciousness than the game itself.
 
Element9 said:
The crack of the bat, the scent of hot dogs and the Bisons opening day this Thursday: Signs of Spring! Baseball is a wonderful game, but no longer the "national past time."

-9-
Click to expand...

Maybe that's because of the strange custom at Dunn Tire Field; I understand that if The Bisons don't win the first game they play there every year that the concession stands aren't allowed to sell beer...because, after all, you can't sell beer if you've lost the opener...

Oh bwha ha ha!!! ;D
 
Debaser said:
Maybe that's because of the strange custom at Dunn Tire Field; I understand that if The Bisons don't win the first game they play there every year that the concession stands aren't allowed to sell beer...because, after all, you can't sell beer if you've lost the opener...

Oh bwha ha ha!!! ;D
Click to expand...

DB, you truly have become Canadian.

Down here, all the beer bottles have twist-off caps... ;)
 
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