Where was that "Most loyal Yankees fan base" when Shea was packed in the mid to late 80's and Yankee Stadium was half empty. Both teams have diehard true blue fans which are about the same number for both teams. But for the most part New York is a frontrunner town and most New Yorkers are " who's wining the most now" since 1996 most of the front runners have been on the Yankees bandwagon and have never had a major reason to get off.
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Update: WFAN/WEPN Baseball Flagship Radio Rights
- Thread starter wabc860
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One underestimates the size of the Mets' own loyal (and long-suffering) fan base at one's own peril, though. Even if you give the Yankees an overly-generous 75% of the potential baseball fan base in the NYC metro, and allocate just 25% to the Mets, you're still looking at a potential Mets fan base of more than 5 million viewers/listeners, which is still one of the biggest local markets in all of baseball. Assuming Mets ownership is less greedy than Yankees ownership when it comes to rights fees, the Mets radio deal may well be more lucrative to the eventual rightsholder than the Yankees deal.
And if the Mets fans in my own family are any kind of decent indicator, it's the Mets listeners who will be there consistently whether the team is winning or losing, while Yankees fandom (at least on the fringes) seems to be more dependent on the team's record. (But this is a Red Sox fan talking, so take that with a big grain of cynicism!)
And if the Mets fans in my own family are any kind of decent indicator, it's the Mets listeners who will be there consistently whether the team is winning or losing, while Yankees fandom (at least on the fringes) seems to be more dependent on the team's record. (But this is a Red Sox fan talking, so take that with a big grain of cynicism!)
Just some numbers to keep in mind when evaluating the relative radio audience sizes for Yankees versus Mets.
In the 2009 season, the Yankees brought WCBS an average game cume of 412,000. In other words, 412,000 different individual listeners tuned in for some part of the average Yankees game carried on WCBS in 2010.
That same season, the Mets brought WFAN an average game cume of 277,000 listeners.
Last season (2011), the Yankees 6+ game cume was down to 363,000 listeners. In watching the overall WCBS weekly cume through the year, the Yankees appear to add about 500,000 listeners a week to the station cume during the season. Those are listeners who don't tune into the station for news coverage during the rest of the year, but, apparently, only listen to WCBS for Yankees games.
I couldn't find any more up to date cume numbers on the Mets. The reference articles I pulled the numbers from are linked to below.
http://www.skyviewsatellite.com/industry-articles
http://www.radioink.com/article.asp?id=1759143
In the 2009 season, the Yankees brought WCBS an average game cume of 412,000. In other words, 412,000 different individual listeners tuned in for some part of the average Yankees game carried on WCBS in 2010.
That same season, the Mets brought WFAN an average game cume of 277,000 listeners.
Last season (2011), the Yankees 6+ game cume was down to 363,000 listeners. In watching the overall WCBS weekly cume through the year, the Yankees appear to add about 500,000 listeners a week to the station cume during the season. Those are listeners who don't tune into the station for news coverage during the rest of the year, but, apparently, only listen to WCBS for Yankees games.
I couldn't find any more up to date cume numbers on the Mets. The reference articles I pulled the numbers from are linked to below.
http://www.skyviewsatellite.com/industry-articles
http://www.radioink.com/article.asp?id=1759143
Danfm said:
I remember a surge of interest in the Mets here in central Connecticut in the mid-'80s. Sporting goods stores that usually had only Yankees and Red Sox gear in the display windows were putting Mets stuff in them as well. But in 2000, when the Mets next made the World Series, I didn't notice much of an impact. Maybe a few Sox fans started pulling for the Mets just because they weren't the Yankees, but it was nothing like 1986.
Even if CBS Radio New York keeps both the Yankees and Mets next year (2013), I expect WFAN-660 will get the Yankees and another of their New York stations will get the Mets.
Putting together The Greatest Name In Sports (New York Yankees) and The Greatest Name In Sports Radio (WFAN) is too irresistible an idea to pass up.
Putting together The Greatest Name In Sports (New York Yankees) and The Greatest Name In Sports Radio (WFAN) is too irresistible an idea to pass up.
Joseph_Gallant said:
They have had chances to put the Yankees on WFAN and move the Mets in the past and have never done it. Though most likely scenario that would have CBS radio keep the Mets and Yankees would be the Mets staying put on 660 WFAN but it now being the flagship of the new CBS sports radio network and the WFAN local talk shows and the Yankees moving to 92.3 or 102.7 as WFAN-FM. If the Yankees insist AM 50,000 Watt signal the Mets could then be on WFAN-FM.
Danfm said:
We'll see what happens if this season turns out to be a long-term trend rather than an anomaly. I have the feeling that the Phils still have too much talent, especially pitching, not to bounce back in 2013.
What will really be interesting is what happens if the Red Sox continue their slide into mediocrity. The fan base is growing bitter and cynical (nobody believes for a second that the team is still selling out every game, despite the nightly claims that the streak is intact) and another stinker of a season could have a huge effect on TV and radio ratings and advertising.
CTListener said:
Well, of course. The Red Sox have little to no chance in making it to the playoffs this year, thus fans don't feel as obligated to watch or listen to every game.
But Red Sox fans are extremely loyal and have sold out every game since 2003, so chances are that the Red Sox not experience the same exodus of fans or advertisers on radio and TV then let's say, the Houston Astros, and still make their games valuable content.
badjef said:
Let me use this claim then. The Chicago Cubs are one of the most valuable teams in baseball even though they haven't won a World Series since 1908. Heck, they haven't even made it deep in the playoffs for quite I mean the White Sox are in the same town and have more chances of winning a World Series than the Cubs, but the Cubs still beat them when it comes to game attendance and value. Why? Because:
1) The Cubs are rooted in tradition.
2) Wrigley Field is rooted in tradition.
This goes on to say this, the Red Sox will continue to be very successful and be valuable if they win or not, if they:
1) Continue to be in Boston.
2) Continue to play at Fenway.
So, if they move the Red Sox to Foxborough, you think they would have the same attendance problem of the Rays?radiojomo said:
I don't think so. It has to do with the marketing. The perception becomes the reality. Especially with a team with no generational fan base. All the Rays need is history. The bias will continue to be skewed toward the visiting team. Hugh Culverhouse saw that with the Buccaneers. It never bothered me, either. I was watching a game over there for $5. We now have generational Bucs fans and it shows in the way WDAE covers the Bucs as opposed to the Rays.
On the other hand, I liked going to Shea. I grew up to the Mets from the mid-60's. Then, I went to Citi Field. I didn't feel I had that connection with the team. They were hosting the Rays.
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
Phil Mushnick reports in the New York Post, that "According to multiple sources," the Yankees have decided to remain on WCBS 880 for another year.
Yankees Stay Put: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/sources_yanks_to_stay_on_wcbs_NGXUraASAftuAc2LUjwt7N
Yankees Stay Put: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/sources_yanks_to_stay_on_wcbs_NGXUraASAftuAc2LUjwt7N
Oh my good goodness gracious as Ma Pinstripe would say.
>>CBS recently began the national CBS Sports Radio Network, and early seems to be throwing a lot of money and energy in its direction.
Is there a way they could land on an FM next yr as a simulcast?
>>CBS recently began the national CBS Sports Radio Network, and early seems to be throwing a lot of money and energy in its direction.
Is there a way they could land on an FM next yr as a simulcast?
CTListener said:
Selling out games is just a matter of tickets being sold, most of which was probably before the season even started. It doesn't matter how many people actually show up at the stadium. I'm sure there are plenty of seats on StubHub these days. As others have mentioned, the stadium is pretty small, so selling all the tickets really isn't that hard to do.
True, but I split my time between NJ and the Boston area. Having been to Fenway a couple times this year, more than I've been to Yankee Stadium, it IS full. We got our tickets on Stub Hub, but the park is always almost full. One way or another those tickets were sold. This weekend was Sox-Royals, a meaningless game, and it was full. Sure it's only 37k people, but still, the team is out of it and the park is full.
I hate the Red Sox, I bleed pinstripes... BUT, Fenway is a great place to see a baseball game. It feels like a ballpark, you can feel the history in the place. Unfortunately, I don't get that same feeling from the shiny new Yankee Stadium.
The Mets have a great new ballpark and a suck team to go in it... they can't sell tickets either.
I still don't know why the Yankees aren't placed on WFAN. Makes no sense to have the "Flagship station for NY sports" and have the dinghy of baseball teams on it.
I hate the Red Sox, I bleed pinstripes... BUT, Fenway is a great place to see a baseball game. It feels like a ballpark, you can feel the history in the place. Unfortunately, I don't get that same feeling from the shiny new Yankee Stadium.
The Mets have a great new ballpark and a suck team to go in it... they can't sell tickets either.
I still don't know why the Yankees aren't placed on WFAN. Makes no sense to have the "Flagship station for NY sports" and have the dinghy of baseball teams on it.
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