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Sounds on 102.5

For a few years back in the 1980s, the Sounds were on WLAC. I believe they were the only minor league team to ever have their games heard on a 50KW, clear channel station.
 
The Buffalo Bisons have been on 50 kW clear WWKB 1520 for the last few years. Down the road, some weekend Rochester Red Wings games have aired on 50 kW clear WHAM 1180 in the past, though they're mostly on sister station WHTK. And the Brooklyn Cyclones have had one game each summer heard on WFAN 660 in recent years, during the All-Star break.
 
nasheagle said:
Sounds baseball on the radio should be used to torture captured terrorists.
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The Sounds also have a new announcer for this season, Jeff Hem, replacing Stu Paul, so the broadcast have to be much better. I thought Stu Paul was a terrible announcer, sounded like he was doing a BAD Jeff Brantly (Cincinnati Reds' Announcer) imitation. Jeff Hem has to be a big improvement.
 
The Sounds are lucky they draw more than three or four hundred people a game. Why would anyone listen to them on the radio? And, The Game doesn't do much advertising other than a few billboards. How would anyone know they are airing Sounds games?

Brilliant move.

I can see Cromwell switching back to The Party in about a year or another format nobody will listen to.
 
NashvilleNative said:
May be late news for some, but the sounds are now on 102.5. Were they still on 98.9? I never understood how you could get in your car after a sounds game to tune it to 98.9 and hear 98.7 splatter when WAMB was broadcasting on that channel. I guess they'll get the Western crew now. What person in Hop-town doesn't wanna hear about the sounds?
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Nomoreradionews said:
The Sounds are lucky they draw more than three or four hundred people a game. Why would anyone listen to them on the radio?
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Two words: "radio blackout!" ;D
 
Nomoreradionews said:
The Sounds are lucky they draw more than three or four hundred people a game. Why would anyone listen to them on the radio? And, The Game doesn't do much advertising other than a few billboards. How would anyone know they are airing Sounds games?

Brilliant move.

I can see Cromwell switching back to The Party in about a year or another format nobody will listen to.
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I must say the Sounds draw better than you think. Still, though, it's not a whole heckuva lot of people. Maybe 3-4k on weeknights and 7-8k on weekends.

But I will agree with your sentiment that having to run minor league baseball games sucks the life right out of a radio station. I can't speak for how things go with the Sounds, though I used to board-op their games on WANT back about 10 years ago, but I have experience as a Sports Radio PD in another market with the rights to a Minor League baseball franchise.

You end up spending too much time babysitting the management of a minor league team that wants the major league treatment, and you can't focus on the things that actually make you money. You have to hire part-timers at minimum wage to do everything (and pray to God they show up -- there have been several times I was out with my wife and had to return to the station in a panic because my board-op decided he didn't want to come to work) and hope it doesn't rain (because if it does, your whole program log is screwed up AND you have to deal with the doubleheader the next day covering up part of your actually-profitable drive-time show).

The Game won't lose any listeners for the Sounds games (because running ESPN Radio's evening crap in the summer won't get you any listeners anyway), but they certainly won't gain any, either. WGFX, by losing the rights, is the real winner here.
 
RadioZack said:
The Game won't lose any listeners for the Sounds games (because running ESPN Radio's evening crap in the summer won't get you any listeners anyway), but they certainly won't gain any, either. WGFX, by losing the rights, is the real winner here.
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I tend to think of Sounds broadcasts as community service radio. More of a "let's-show-our-audience-we're-part-of-the-whole-Nashville-sports-scene-not-just-football" kind of thing.Or let's air
 
I don't know the particulars of the Sounds/WPRT arrangement, but typically, minor league sports franchises will pay stations a per-game rate, and then air the spots for their existing sponsorship partners. It does make some revenue for the radio station during evenings when you're usually just running ROS spots or make-goods, but it's not worth the hassle most of the time. You get no listeners, and you have all the headaches of having to schedule a board-op every evening and make sure the equipment works as it should (and when you're dealing with COMREX Hotline codecs, that can be a real problem).
 
I can NOT get into the Sounds. I have NO interest in that team. I'm not a huge MLB fan but I would welcome a major league team in Nashville and would definitely go to the games.

And I still find it hard to get excited about the Preds. For one I can't watch the games on TV....which is stupid IMO. And hockey doesn't translate very well on the radio. And I think it's stupid how the NHL is operated anyway.

As for 102.5...I find myself spending less and less time listening. I really tried when they first came out but I only flip over there from time to time now. BSPN overnight can't touch JT the brick and FoxSports. I listened to The Game when they had more local shows.
 
mghtn said:
BSPN overnight can't touch JT the brick and FoxSports. I listened to The Game when they had more local shows.
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JT the Brick better than ESPN overnight? Wow, you must really have a low opinion of ESPN, since FoxSports is as bad as they come, and the Brick is even worse. But let's sample a more common timeslot, say the recent Saturday afternoon when ESPN was giving a rundown on the day's games to that point, and the wannabes on Fox were discussing their favorite musicals. I kid you not... their favorite musicals!!! On what was supposed to be a national sports talk broadcast!!!! (Oh, I'm sorry, maybe you tune in for that kind of thing... don't mean to step on any toes...)
 
To borrow a Jim Rome format...

Dear Jim,

We should be concerned about men who listen to, and talk about, musicals.

Regards,

Man Who Wear Titans Jersey to Places Other Than the Game
Talk Show Caller Who Voices His Opinion on All Local Shows at Both Sports Talk Stations
Billy Crystal's man crush on Mickey Mantle
 
jetfli said:
mghtn said:
BSPN overnight can't touch JT the brick and FoxSports. I listened to The Game when they had more local shows.
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JT the Brick better than ESPN overnight? Wow, you must really have a low opinion of ESPN, since FoxSports is as bad as they come, and the Brick is even worse. But let's sample a more common timeslot, say the recent Saturday afternoon when ESPN was giving a rundown on the day's games to that point, and the wannabes on Fox were discussing their favorite musicals. I kid you not... their favorite musicals!!! On what was supposed to be a national sports talk broadcast!!!! (Oh, I'm sorry, maybe you tune in for that kind of thing... don't mean to step on any toes...)
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Yes....I DO have a very low opinion of espn. They are the CNN/MSNBC of sports. I don't like the influence they've had on sports in general and I don't like how they censor stories based on their business contracts. There was a time when espn was awesome and fun but now it's boring and stale. I do like Colin Cowherd and his analysis but even he can get too goofy and I can tell when he is having to watch what he says because he's with espn. He would be better if he left like DP.

JT and Looney kick the snot out of espn overnight. Jason Smith was bad enough and Amy Lawrence is even MORE boring. I can't really speak for any other FoxSports shows other than Dan Patrick. As for Saturday afternoon? Eh. Not much going on. I've caught little bits of the other FoxSports shows from time to time and I don't hear enough to tell if I'd like them or not.
 
mghtn said:
JT and Looney kick the snot out of espn overnight. Jason Smith was bad enough and Amy Lawrence is even MORE boring.
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You and I have two different expectations of what is wanted from national radio during fill-in hours. I'm looking for game updates, scores, and news (for which Smith and Lawrence are serviceable) or otherwise, I'm not listening. I don't need shlock and drivel.
 
Sports radio is changing, Jet. You don't need sports radio for game updates, scores, and news anymore. That's what mobile devices are for.

When it's not play-by-play of live events, sports radio is all about conversation now. It's a tricky line to walk, because not everyone will be interested in the topic at hand. That's why goal #1 is to be entertaining, not informative, and that's what guys like Dan Patrick and 3HL do so well. ESPN Radio hasn't quite grasped this yet, and that's one reason their product doesn't speak to a lot of people (but is a perfect fit for the by-the-book question-and-answer-radio WPRT).

Plus, ESPN Radio is nothing more than an arm of its PR department. Everything on ESPN Radio is designed to drive your attention to ESPN TV and ESPN.com when you aren't trapped by a radio. Aside from Colin Cowherd, there is nothing at all on ESPN Radio that is appointment listening, and everybody but Colin is afraid to give an opinion on anything. They just invite guests, usually other ESPN personalities, to do all the talking for them. And that's why ESPN is so afraid of Colin Cowherd - he causes them PR problems on a fairly regular basis. But people listen, so they won't get rid of him. ESPN is a machine. TV, radio, online -- all of their personalities are groomed to be replaceable. No one can be bigger than the product. Colin, to an extent, is. You get rid of him, you damage your brand. So it's a weird situation they've put themselves in as the mission of ESPN Radio has changed over the last few years.
 
RadioZack said:
Sports radio is changing, Jet. You don't need sports radio for game updates, scores, and news anymore. That's what mobile devices are for.

When it's not play-by-play of live events, sports radio is all about conversation now. It's a tricky line to walk, because not everyone will be interested in the topic at hand. That's why goal #1 is to be entertaining, not informative, and that's what guys like Dan Patrick and 3HL do so well. ESPN Radio hasn't quite grasped this yet, and that's one reason their product doesn't speak to a lot of people (but is a perfect fit for the by-the-book question-and-answer-radio WPRT).
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Of course. I know that. I've done my part in helping things change. What I'm saying though, is I want conversation about games and sports news, not shlock and drivel and not a discussion about favorite musicals. Plus, I'm listening in my car, and my mobile device is in my pocket. Even if I have it in the seat next to me because I've just gotten off a call, I'm not going to be driving down the road trying to thumb scroll to find information. I want someone to tell me. On the radio.

RadioZack said:
there is nothing at all on ESPN Radio that is appointment listening
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Agreed. It is fill-in programming. I'm just saying what I prefer for fill-in hours. It can be interesting what the 3HL guys talk about off subject, because at least it's local. I don't care about the chit chat in NY, LA, or Vegas.
 
Jet, I think you and I agree on conversations about sports but we disagree on personalities. I too can only take so much drivel.

I like JT because he usually has a different take on what espn are saying. He comes at it from a different angle. And that's also why I like a little Cowherd and Patrick. It's not the usual bs from most of espn. For me, most of espn is drivel.

Mainly I'm just glad to have alternatives to go to.
 
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