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So Long, The Fan

T

The Mailman

Well, I guess 98.7 The Fan is no more. I'm going to be sad to see it go. Granted, I didn't listen to it all the time but I found it to be a refreshing alternative to the Station Formerly Known As The Animal from time to time. There are some very good people that work over there, and I feel bad for Ryan, Trevor, Pants, Brooks, Roxanne, Booger, Jim, and the Commish. Heck even Jessie who just signed on a mere couple of months ago...I'm certain they will land on their feet in no time.

As for sports radio in the Tampa market, I think a second station is needed to compete with WDAE. It doesn't help that the SFKA the Animal has all that IHateLocalMedia $$$ behind them, AND the fact that all three major league teams and UF broadcast their games with either 620 or 970. God knows Genesis won't get it done with their stations. Heck does anyone even listen to 1040 outside of maybe an FSU game?

So where did I think things went wrong? For starters, going 24/7 live and local from the outset was a little too ambitious in my opinion. It works in markets like New York, Philly, Boston, etc. Major markets where passion for the sports teams up there knows no bounds. Do we have that in Tampa Bay? Not even close. Second, CBS getting rid of Mike Pepper and hiring a manager who was in West Palm as a mgr of a rock station IMO didn't help. Furthermore, getting rid of a VERY familiar voice to Tampa radio, Todd Wright, as well as Lynne Austin I think was a mistake. I loved Dinger on the morning show; heck that was the only real reason I listened during that time slot on my way home from work (I never was that big a fan of Kirk; too much of a Baltimore/Washington homer for my taste). Also, once when CC/IHeart put their station on a low power FM, the writing was pretty much on the wall sad to say.

I wonder what the rest of you think? What happens now, does Bubba come to 98.7 after the format flip? Does Genesis pick up what was left over from the remnants and TRY to make a run at 620 (good luck with that)?

Just a dark day for Tampa radio in my opinion.
 
I'll never forget when 820 the Team signed off in 1999, the first thing that played after the format switch was "Headed For A Heartbreak" by Winger, a song I had not heard since 1990, when it came out, nor have I heard since that moment.
 
They NEED to sell off 1010 and buy Radio Disney's 1380. That's the ONLY signal that's gonna compete with 620. The fact is, the lineup was ALWAYS weak on 98.7 and they never fixed it in over 2 years of existence. The writing was on the wall for whoever worked there. As for Genesis...... they had some momentum a few years ago but without an FM translator or any kind of promotion, they'll NEVER have a chance.
 
Well, at least those folks who were mad that The Dove didn't go "Holiday 24/7" this year will have a place to go.....

My guess is that we'll see some variant of Rock (most likely Classic Rock) with Bubba in the morning.
 
Sounds like they are also inserting the occasional red-herring "This is a format test" between holiday tunes...

Example: "Tampa Bay's Modern Music...98.7 The Point", with clips from Vance Joy, Coldplay, and The Black Keys.

Hot AC? Alternative? Highly unlikely in either case.
 
Let's face one fact: For all the money, for all the local talent, an NCAA football/ basketball flagship, for the big ownership that started that station, The Fan has to be considered the single biggest flop in recent Tampa Bay radio history.

I think the bottom finally fell out when after the Bucs fired Greg Schiano. The midday show put on the single worst hour of broadcasting I'd ever laid ears on. Humour is one thing. childish slander and defamation are other things altogether.

It didnt help that USF football couldn't out recruit anyone in Florida, and the radio broadcasts had all the excitement and pagentry of an IRS audit.

820 The Team shuffled the deck chairs a few times, and struggled with poor programming management and a night time power of one of Uncle Bud Paxsons Electric Can Openers. Both The Team and The fan would finish a far second to The Animal, but when you pull the plug on a sports station at the height of football season in Florida, you know just how bad its gotten.
 
Obtuse said:
Sounds like they are also inserting the occasional red-herring "This is a format test" between holiday tunes...

Example: "Tampa Bay's Modern Music...98.7 The Point", with clips from Vance Joy, Coldplay, and The Black Keys.
Click to expand...

I heard that as well.

Obtuse said:
Hot AC? Alternative? Highly unlikely in either case.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Wasn't there a station in the Tampa market that carried "The Point" format at one time?
 
To succeed as a "sports station" you must have play by play rights to at least one of the major league local teams.
 
JayR said:
Agreed. Wasn't there a station in the Tampa market that carried "The Point" format at one time?
Click to expand...

Two, actually. First was 102.5 WHPT back in the 90's, when they ran a AAA/Alternative hybrid format. Later came all-80's WPOI 101.5 The Point. They are now 102.5 The Bone and Hot 101.5, respectively, but they've kept their call letters which both date back to earlier "The Point" branding.
 
The demise of the fan means we can finally put to rest what without argument is the single biggest radio flop in recent Tampa Bay history, especially when you consider the ownership group the amount of money the number of talent live in local that was put into this effort no question

The low mark of the station was after Bucs Head Coach Greg Schiano was fired. The mid day program was utterly unlistenable as the hosts shrieked like schoolgirls through the worst hour of radio I've ever heard in my life

it didn't help that the station was saddled with a struggling college football program who could barely out recruit FCS schools, and whose radio broadcasts have the excitement and pageantry of an IRS audit.

People laughed at the demise of 820 The Team, but even with poor management and a nighttime signal that rivaled that of one of Uncle Bud Paxsons Electric Can openers, that station provided a better overall listening experience than 98.7.
 
Oh, I can't begin to tell you how much I am going to savor this. Obviously, I feel sorry for anyone who lost their job, but let me remind you... Last year I told you "The Fan" wouldn't make it another year, and practically all of you told me I was crazy. "CBS doesn't flip formats once they go sports"... well apparently Beasley does, and just did. CBS just wasn't making enough money here, this was inevitable. Are you still wondering where Bubba is going to end up? I had this figured out over 6 months ago. I'm so glad I got out of this business, nobody ever listened to me.
 
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