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The Beast AM 980 SOLD!
- Thread starter 34james
- Start date
One of the things that I think we have learned here is that Jim Rome cannot carry a station/network by himself. I am sure this will come as a revelation to him too, otherwise he wouldn't have made the move from his lofty positions at Fox Sports Radio and ESPN to CBS.
I only have anecdotal evidence so any further ratings/statistical evidence is welcome, but it seems like he had a huge platform with Fox Radio and its network of affiliates and ESPN every day on TV. As a former semi-regular listener, he was easy to find on an everyday basis being heard locally on KLAC which has a much better signal than KFWB and on ESPN in the afternoons. On CBS he has a much weaker affiliate radio base with not nearly enough name talent surrounding him, and he is almost invisible on TV, being only on CBS Sports cable and Showtime. (Maybe he is on the NFL pregame shows? I don't know, when it comes to the NFL, I only watch the games themselves, not the blowhards talking about it for two hours before kick-off).
In any case he was an important piece of the previous radio and tv outlets, but an afterthought where he is now and certainly not able to carry the network on his own brand.
Last thought - when he came on the scene he was the firebrand talking sports with a different approach (read: more attitude, sarcasm, "smack", and willingness to cozy up to his favorite stars) than your father's afternoon sportstalkers. But now he has been around for over 20 years and now his audience are fathers themselves, and he seems like he is trying too hard to be hip to the millennials. I can't help but wonder if he has an unwillingness to grow old with his audience and by trying to cater to the milleneals, of whom he is not, he starts to lose touch with both the existing audience and the new one he is trying to reach. Rick Dees had that problem and made a distinct choice to not grow old with his audience and his career has suffered tremendously for it.
K
K.M. Richards
Guest
He had the beginning of that "attitude" when he was at KTMS and it served him well, getting him to XTRA sports only a couple of years later.
The description you gave of how he keeps trying to be "hip" is a good one, and you draw a conclusion with Rick Dees that I hadn't thought of but fits. I think Jim's bigger problem is that he has fallen victim to the same malady that befell Rush Limbaugh ... he believes his own hype. The difference is that Limbaugh was still able to be "important" for a while after he was infected by that, and Rome instead quickly deteriorated to the point where he couldn't save a five-year-old from drowning in a wading pool, much less carry a network.
I still think he should have stuck to doing traffic reports on my old Y-97 afternoon drive shift.
Man...they picked a hell of a time to change formats, let alone being sold to a foreign-language broadcaster, especially given that the Rams are now coming back. KFWB getting the Rams sure would have raised this station's profile, if they were to bid for the broadcast rights.
I don't listen much, if at all, to the other local sports stations, but KFWB (especially Fred Roggin) had been on this whole "NFL to L.A." saga since they went all-sports. It's certainly a lost opportunity for them now that they're sold and switching formats; it would be no guarantees that KFWB would have beaten KLAC or KSPN in the ratings if they would have stayed the course and acquired the Rams' radio rights, but would have definitely put a scare in either one.
I don't listen much, if at all, to the other local sports stations, but KFWB (especially Fred Roggin) had been on this whole "NFL to L.A." saga since they went all-sports. It's certainly a lost opportunity for them now that they're sold and switching formats; it would be no guarantees that KFWB would have beaten KLAC or KSPN in the ratings if they would have stayed the course and acquired the Rams' radio rights, but would have definitely put a scare in either one.
Given most games are on Sunday, doesn't it make more sense for the Rams to be on FM?
Given that most NFL teams have migrated more and more to FM in recent years, that seems to be the trend, but that's essentially it. There's no hard-and-fast rule that the Rams have to be on FM, and I don't see much of a difference being on FM versus being on AM, other sound quality.
You're forgetting the target market is different for FM than AM.
I'm guessing that the team will go with the station(s) which are willing to pay the most.
It really doesn't matter to them whether the station is AM or FM.
It really doesn't matter to them whether the station is AM or FM.
I can't believe I took a cheap shot at the Raiders above and have not received even one hate-filled, angst driven takedown from Raider Fan. You guys are slipping - both on and off the field.
BTW, yesterday just another non-win for the Raiders. I didn't say it, owner Mark Davis did.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/raiders-could-playing-texas-soon-040346098.html
See you anywhere but here Raider Fan!
BTW, yesterday just another non-win for the Raiders. I didn't say it, owner Mark Davis did.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/raiders-could-playing-texas-soon-040346098.html
See you anywhere but here Raider Fan!
Agreed. This was possibly the stimulus through which KFWB might have begun to spike, and would have been a good fit for the Rams. Not a great fit however, due to a few Clippers conflicts in the Fall.
... and, as always, the signal.
I lived in the Bay Area in the late 60's and loved the Raiders. The AFL was everything the NFL was not (hello Big Ten format) and the Raiders in particular had a fantastic lineup of characters still not seen on professional football teams - all the way up to coach and owner. In short, they were the most entertaining group of guys ever to grace a football field.
Forward ahead 45 years and not so much. Losers on the field. Thugs as fans. The thrill is gone - and has been for almost half a century.
K
K.M. Richards
Guest
My guess is that KFWB would not have been in a good position to bid for the Rams while it was still operating under the trust anyway. And the number of AM signals with a decent enough signal can be counted on fewer fingers than Tom Lehrer needed in "New Math".
Look at which NFL teams are on FM rather than AM, check the ownership of those stations and see which of those also own stations in L.A., and then you'll have a good start as to where the Rams will likely end up.
Look at which NFL teams are on FM rather than AM, check the ownership of those stations and see which of those also own stations in L.A., and then you'll have a good start as to where the Rams will likely end up.
Yes, coming from a 25-54 average around 23rd at the beginning of the year, they are now between 9th and 13th in any of the last 6 months. That is a strong sales position.
There are several issues here.
First, LA is not a great sports town. Sports radio has never been the extreme biller or ratings getter such as markets like Detroit, New York and Dallas.
Second, KFWB was not a CBS station, but rather under a trust administration with a mandate to sell; they stalled for years hoping the FCC would comply with its mandate to re-evaluate ownership limits, but eventually had to sell it.
Third, the CBS FM stations are all doing very well, and probably much better than the potential revenues for all sports (and the increased costs) would justify with a switch to sports. Remember that the FM sports stations CBS has, for the most part, have mostly local talent talking about local sports, which is expensive.
You're talking about two different things. The CBS sports talk format that they've put on FMs in NY and Philly are local sports talk stations. This particular format that aired here was a syndicated sports talk format that, while branded as CBS Sports Radio, is actually marketed by Cumulus. This format is NOT used for the CBS-owned sports talk stations, except perhaps as filler in fringe time when local talent isn't available.
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