• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Sports on WPEN - Can It Attract Younger Listeners?

J

John1

The Inquirer article yesterday that some weekend specialty shows will stay on the new WPEN sports format makes me wonder - will they truly change WPEN to an aggressive sounding, younger-skewing hot sports talk station, or will it be WPEN as it is now with sports talk in between the tired commercials instead of music. We know that when they went from standards to oldies they basically just changed the music and added jingles.

As Fennessy posted earlier, WPEN is known as a "follower". Will they just try half-heartedly to copy WIP and pick up some listeners from them, or will GM really try this time to re-tool and create a sports station that will have people - especially younger people who may find WIP old & boring - talking about it and listening. WIP truly is a "water cooler" station for many people - I hear that "did you hear what they said on WIP about..." all the time with (mostly 50+ male) co-workers.

In other markets there are "hot sports talk" stations, some on FM, basically running Fox or ESPN but marketing aggressively to younger people. No matter how hot the conversation, will younger listeners turn away once the left over nursing home, bowel cleanser spots come on (as the oldies listeners did) or will WPEN sound totally different and unrecognizable from the station it is now?

I doubt it can be different with Jay Lamont, Frank Rizzo, etc. staying on, but going beyond cynical thoughts, I'll be interested to hear if they can create a "new" 950.
 
I suppose they could do some research to find out what time of day Philly sports fans aren't listening and that's the time when they could sell the help-me-poop herbal remedies.

IMHO, I think it will be a miracle (and possibly a cold day in hell) if GM is suddenly smart enough to run any start-up in town successfully enough to hurt a competing station. Go ahead, GM: Prove me wrong.


> The Inquirer article yesterday that some weekend specialty
> shows will stay on the new WPEN sports format makes me
> wonder - will they truly change WPEN to an aggressive
> sounding, younger-skewing hot sports talk station, or will
> it be WPEN as it is now with sports talk in between the
> tired commercials instead of music. We know that when they
> went from standards to oldies they basically just changed
> the music and added jingles.
>
> As Fennessy posted earlier, WPEN is known as a "follower".
> Will they just try half-heartedly to copy WIP and pick up
> some listeners from them, or will GM really try this time to
> re-tool and create a sports station that will have people -
> especially younger people who may find WIP old & boring -
> talking about it and listening. WIP truly is a "water
> cooler" station for many people - I hear that "did you hear
> what they said on WIP about..." all the time with (mostly
> 50+ male) co-workers.
>
> In other markets there are "hot sports talk" stations, some
> on FM, basically running Fox or ESPN but marketing
> aggressively to younger people. No matter how hot the
> conversation, will younger listeners turn away once the left
> over nursing home, bowel cleanser spots come on (as the
> oldies listeners did) or will WPEN sound totally different
> and unrecognizable from the station it is now?
>
> I doubt it can be different with Jay Lamont, Frank Rizzo,
> etc. staying on, but going beyond cynical thoughts, I'll be
> interested to hear if they can create a "new" 950.
>
 
Sports on WPEN

Maybe if they created some kind of wild promotional plan.

Let say the 76ers games are on WB17 and/or Comcast Sports Net and the games were on WPEN Radio. They could do a tandem promo like: If you're away from your TV catch the 76ers on SportsRadio 950 WPEN.
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

> Maybe if they created some kind of wild promotional plan.
>
> Let say the 76ers games are on WB17 and/or Comcast Sports
> Net and the games were on WPEN Radio. They could do a tandem
> promo like: If you're away from your TV catch the 76ers on
> SportsRadio 950 WPEN.
>
WPEN was bidding for the 76ers but they will remain on WIP with the Flyers. I think the only play by play they have is St. Josephs University sports, not a lot to cross-promote. Maybe they can go the opposite route - promote that while WIP is running play-by-play, they're the only ones talking about sports.
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

My idea is dangerous, but no one is doing it...

Trivia shows. I would call in, play and listen. Quizo is big in the local pubs.

The problem is the 7 second delay. Get sponsors to provide some nice prizes (not a WIP prize pack or a Mike and Howard key chain...although the Cuz Gelati might be appealing) and the right host who is quick on his/her/other feet and you might just get a younger listener. Play some young hip music in the background to privide pace and, oh yeah, no pre-ESPN era questions.

Interactive. No one wants to hear a washed up journalist lecture for 5 hours.
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

> My idea is dangerous, but no one is doing it...
>
> Trivia shows. I would call in, play and listen. Quizo is
> big in the local pubs.
>
> The problem is the 7 second delay. Get sponsors to provide
> some nice prizes (not a WIP prize pack or a Mike and Howard
> key chain...although the Cuz Gelati might be appealing) and
> the right host who is quick on his/her/other feet and you
> might just get a younger listener. Play some young hip
> music in the background to privide pace and, oh yeah, no
> pre-ESPN era questions.
>
> Interactive. No one wants to hear a washed up journalist
> lecture for 5 hours.
>


i's not going to work I give it 6-12 months and it will be back to oldies oldies 950 wpen will be back
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

> no
> pre-ESPN era questions.

Well, that eliminates anything pertaining to the Eagles' "Meadowlands Miracle" that occurred 10 months before ESPN went on the air. :-(

ixnay
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

> My idea is dangerous, but no one is doing it...
>
> Trivia shows. I would call in, play and listen. Quizo is
> big in the local pubs.
>
> The problem is the 7 second delay. Get sponsors to provide
> some nice prizes (not a WIP prize pack or a Mike and Howard
> key chain...although the Cuz Gelati might be appealing) and
> the right host who is quick on his/her/other feet and you
> might just get a younger listener. Play some young hip
> music in the background to privide pace and, oh yeah, no
> pre-ESPN era questions.
>
> Interactive. No one wants to hear a washed up journalist
> lecture for 5 hours.
>
Good call. If anyone listens to the Sportbash (on afternoon drive on ESPN radio) their call in segments, especially the contests are very well recieved. A more listener involved station would work well. Wexler is right Quizo is hugely popular and a Saturday Night trivia type show would prolly hit it big.
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

When RKO was experimenting with different ideas to save KFRC in San Francisco, one of the ideas was " The Game Zone", a live radio game show format. Don't laugh...at least someone dared to think outside the box. It didnt work, and they say it was because Radio by nature is a non-intrusive medium allowing you to enjoy it while doing other things, like working, driving, relaxing. The game format required too much attention...taking people away from doing their jobs or concentrating on other important things.

At one time I thought Liberal Talk was the way to go in Philadelphia, but Air America is dropping like a rock, meaning the market position is not viable. Stations in other cities that have winning facilities ( unlike WHAT-AM)are bailing.
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

> At one time I thought Liberal Talk was the way to go in
> Philadelphia, but Air America is dropping like a rock,
> meaning the market position is not viable. Stations in other
> cities that have winning facilities ( unlike WHAT-AM)are
> bailing.>>

Air America is not doing that well so far, and has a few bright spots like Portland, Or., but the only station that I have heard that bailed recently was a small AM in Charleston, SC with 103 watts at night and 5,000 watts aimed out to sea during the day. Who else bailed (since the initial upstart problems last year)?
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

. If anyone listens to the Sportbash (on afternoon
> drive on ESPN radio) their call in segments, especially the
> contests are very well recieved.

I wish I could get in the ESPN station here. Signal bbbbbbbblllllllllllooooooooowwwwwwws.
 
Re: Sports on WPEN

920 WHJJ in Providence, which is owned by CC. They just dumpped Air America's Jerry Springer. (Yes the Give Me My Jerry Beads Springer) He hosts a Political Show on AAR and in the next couple weeks they're dumping Franken.
 
Re: More stations bailing on AAR

> 920 WHJJ in Providence, which is owned by CC. They just
> dumpped Air America's Jerry Springer. (Yes the Give Me My
> Jerry Beads Springer) He hosts a Political Show on AAR and
> in the next couple weeks they're dumping Franken.
>
KOMY in Santa Cruz, CA is threatening to bail unless local advertisers "support" the station.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom