Update: WFAN/WEPN Baseball Flagship Radio Rights

[wabc860]

In today's NY Post Phil Mushnick has an more sources weighing in what the stations may be vying for.
Information is toward the middle of column.

URL below:

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/olympics/no_look_pass_16lOrcwUPepCOt7W60sweO

 

[WNTIRadio]

I don't get why ESPN would rather have the Mets, especially after this season. Sure the rights may be cheaper, but how many spots can you sell for how much when there's 1/4 of the Yankees audience.

Freddie Garcia is a "better value" than CC Sabathia, but who wins games?

 

[reelyreal]

It's all about the value. Less in rights fees, while you've still got a huge loyal Mets audience. Sure, you won't get Yankees spot money, but I'd bet you've still got a chance to sell enough to at least break even.

 

[radioguy39nj]

No surprise here. Everyone knows the Mets could be had for far less than the Yankees. Also, the Mets are no strangers to FM. The Mets were broadcasting on FM in the late 60s when only 50% of the NY area owned FM radios in their homes and few cars had FM. The Mets flag was WJRZ (970 AM) which could barely be received in Queens. Mets' games were broadcast on WABC-FM (95.5) in 1968 and '69, then WNBC-FM (97.1) in 1970 and '71. Both stations were easily receivable on Long Island.

 

[nd2023]

No surprise here. Everyone knows the Mets could be had for far less than the Yankees. Also, the Mets are no strangers to FM. The Mets were broadcasting on FM in the late 60s when only 50% of the NY area owned FM radios in their homes and few cars had FM. The Mets flag was WJRZ (970 AM) which could barely be received in Queens. Mets' games were broadcast on WABC-FM (95.5) in 1968 and '69, then WNBC-FM (97.1) in 1970 and '71. Both stations were easily receivable on Long Island.

Might as well put the Mets on an HD2

 

[WNTIRadio]

They put the Islanders on a college station!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not saying the Mets are that bad, but why go for the Hyundai when you can get the Rolls? ESPN has the money, and the Yankees are going to want to be on FM. I think it's a negotiating ploy to see if the Yanks lower their price. The old "nah, we're not that interested" shtick.

Maybe they watched Jack Donaghy's video series on negotiations....

 

[Bob1370]

The Mets are a work in progress but they will be contenders in a few years and the rights holder will still do well financially.

The Yankees will be perennial contenders and the station that gets them, IF they can make the most of the franchise, should be able to make a profit AND build audience in other dayparts. My money is on CBS to retain the rights and move the broadcasts themselves to WFAN, which has the programming that complements them best as well as a little bigger signal footprint in the tri-state area.

There is one wild card. The Yankees could decide to create their own radio voice and integrate it with their highly successful YES Network television operation. It wouldn't be easy--but they could acquire a full market signal on either AM or FM and make it either a sports station or, in a move with greater risk but a greater potential reward, a full service local live talker of a kind the city hasn't had since WABC went almost all-satellite years ago.

 

[DToTheJ]

According to the sources, the Mets represent to ESPN “a better value..."

Translation: "Mets" rhymed with "Jets" - a team that has been all over ESPN over the last few weeks.

 

[badjef]

Just because the rumor mill is now leaning WEPN chasing the Mets, does not mean a Yankee deal is dead.

By the way, the play-by-play will be tough for any HD-x because there is a serious delay due to the buffering.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[Danfm]

IF WEPN gets the Mets they should get rid of Michael Kay or at least move him to a different day part. A Yankee company line man/homer like him would be a very odd lead in for Mets Baseball. WEPN should try to sign Chris Russo away from Sirius XM for afternoon drive.

 

[pjc1961]

Notes:

Chris Russo signed his Sirius (later SiriusXM) 5-year contract (reportedly worth $15M) in August 2008, so it's up in August 2013.

Michael Kay is in negotiations with WEPN now; his contract is up in the fall of 2012.

As it is, devout Yankee fan Mike Francesa has been at least part of the lead-in to most evening Met game broadcasts on WFAN since September 1989. Russo is a dyed-in-the-wool San Francisco Giants fan. So much for the theory that there needs to be someone to toot the Mets horn. In my opinion, the Mets do get a fair amount of overall attention on The FAN.

Of course, Francesa does say on occasion that he doesn't "hate" the Mets, but readily admits his feelings towards the team are more related to the business of WFAN: if the team does well it's good for the station financially (via the rates advertisers are charged based on game broadcast ratings) plus the increase in programming if the team makes the postseason.

It'll be interesting to see the programming strategy shift on ESPN Radio NY should they obtain any of the NY baseball radio rights; the Mets and Yanks have been little more than a rumor on 1050/98.7 what with their saturation coverage of (mostly) the Knicks and (somewhat) the Rangers in the spring and NBA free agency in early July followed by (primarily) Jets/Tim Tebow and (secondarily) Giants NFL training camps.

PS While Phil Mushnick/NY Post reports that both Met + Yankee radio rights contracts are up after the 2012 season, Bob Raissman/NY Daily News has reported that the Met deal runs through the 2013 season. I'm not sure who's right on the Met end; it's known that the Yanks had extended their agreement with WCBS (AM) for just one year (the current 2012 season).

 

[Danfm]

Never said anything about rooting for the Mets. I know Russo is a Giants fan but Kay is a Yakneee Kiss Up. Fransessa thought also a Yankee fan for the most part is not a Yankee kiss up like Kay and is fair to the Mets and not afraid to criticize the Yankees when they deserve it . I do not need to hear Kay gong on and on about the Yankees "big" series and only scratch the surface with the Mets the mets Important series.

 

[WNTIRadio]

Well, we can understand why Kay is a "Yankee kiss-up" can't we? YES, as in the Yankees' network, pays what probably amounts to 2/3 of his total yearly salary or more. I'm sure he's making more from TV than the radio deal.

I certainly wouldn't be dumb enough to crap on my bread and butter on another media outlet...

Francessa is a blowhard. It was much easier to listen to him when Russo was there to balance out his bloviation a bit. I've enjoyed Evan and Joe on in the afternoon filling in for him.

 

[radioguy39nj]

If the Yankees move to 98.7, the team will probably demand that none of their games be transferred to other stations. This would include Knicks and Rangers playoff games in April and May and Jets pre-season and early season games. If WEPN-FM wants the Yankees that badly, they might have to let the teams they have had on their air for a decade go elsewhere.

If 'FAN goes to FM and 660 becomes the 24/7 flagship of CBS Sports Radio, that might be OK for the Yankees. Yankee games would be on the FM station, until Giants' football begins. Those Yankee games could be transferred to 660 AM, while the Giants play football on FAN-FM. CBS can offer a full-market FM signal and a 50 kW non-D blaster as backup. WEPN-FM can't offer that.

Of course, this is all contingent on WFAN moving to FM.

 

[BruceS8852]

It will be interesting to see if 1050 will be used as a backup station when the Knicks and Rangers have games at the same time. I presume no date has been set for ESPN Desportes to come to 1050.

Bruce

 

[CTListener]

The Mets will have to build out their radio network, especially in Connecticut, where you pretty much have to listen to 660 to hear the Mets outside of lower Fairfield County. The 'FAN blowtorch has served them well here over the years.

 

[radioguy39nj]

It will be interesting to see if 1050 will be used as a backup station when the Knicks and Rangers have games at the same time. I presume no date has been set for ESPN Desportes to come to 1050.

Bruce

I believe ESPN Deportes will start on 1050 Sept 1.

 

[ansky212]

The Mets will have to build out their radio network, especially in Connecticut, where you pretty much have to listen to 660 to hear the Mets outside of lower Fairfield County. The 'FAN blowtorch has served them well here over the years.

The Mets barely pull in TV viewers in CT, so I don't think there is much need to build out their radio network up there. I have seen a few informal surveys over the last year that indicate less than 10% of baseball fans in CT root for the Mets.

 

[Danfm]

The Mets will have to build out their radio network, especially in Connecticut, where you pretty much have to listen to 660 to hear the Mets outside of lower Fairfield County. The 'FAN blowtorch has served them well here over the years.

The Mets barely pull in TV viewers in CT, so I don't think there is much need to build out their radio network up there. I have seen a few informal surveys over the last year that indicate less than 10% of baseball fans in CT root for the Mets.

If the Mets were to build strong contender with the pieces in place to win it all it would become trendy to be a Mets fan and many of frontrunners that have rooted the Yankees and in case of CT the Red Sox too then at least some of the frontrunners might jump on the Mets bandwagon and that number could very quickly spike up to 30% or higher in CT.

 

[ansky212]

If the Mets were to build strong contender with the pieces in place to win it all it would become trendy to be a Mets fan and many of frontrunners that have rooted the Yankees and in case of CT the Red Sox too then at least some of the frontrunners might jump on the Mets bandwagon and that number could very quickly spike up to 30% or higher in CT.

I'd have to disagree. The Yankees and Sox have the two most loyal fan bases in all of baseball. If any of those "fans" were to leave and jump on a Mets bandwagon, those are likely just the casual fans that wouldn't be likely to listen to a game on the radio anyway.