WGR: Game On

[Element9]

Props to Brian Koziol and Tony Caligiuri on their enthusiastic performances doing play by play during the station's debut of Friday Night Lights high school football. Iroqious rolled over East Aurora and the game was a blowout, but Koziol & Caliguiri did an admirable job. Although the were a few rough spots it's clear each knows his roll in the booth. Take note UB radio crew. Friday night was an absolutely perfect late summer night for high school football. The fans, schools, parents and players had to love hearing the game on the 5kW regional flamethrower. The only downside, WGR's highly directional night signal may not have sufficiently covered East Aurora or Iroquois as solidly as is does during the day. WGR is offering a limited schedule of high school football but deserves kudos for taking a chance on what once was the sole domain of WXRL, WJJL, WDOE and WLVL. Nice work.

 

[Steven21]

Props to Brian Koziol and Tony Caligiuri on their enthusiastic performances doing play by play during the station's debut of Friday Night Lights high school football. Iroqious rolled over East Aurora and the game was a blowout, but Koziol & Caliguiri did an admirable job. Although the were a few rough spots it's clear each knows his roll in the booth. Take note UB radio crew. Friday night was an absolutely perfect late summer night for high school football. The fans, schools, parents and players had to love hearing the game on the 5kW regional flamethrower. The only downside, WGR's highly directional night signal may not have sufficiently covered East Aurora or Iroquois as solidly as is does during the day. WGR is offering a limited schedule of high school football but deserves kudos for taking a chance on what once was the sole domain of WXRL, WJJL, WDOE and WLVL. Nice work.

DO enough people really care about HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS to warrant programming time on a signal like this?

...just askin'.

 

[qman]

Parents of players and alumni of said high school care VERY MUCH about HS sports. Western New York is a hotbed for high school athletics and weekly one hour shows seem to do quite well with stations seeking ad revenue. Not my cup of tea but I can understand why there's an audience for it.

 

[heydaybegone]

Bingo!! You folks are playing into my hand!! I PAY the Iroquois school taxes for that football team (ok-some locational info there-oops). My daughter has a passion for dance. No sons on the football team. Do I give a flying F about the broadcast of the football team...nope!!! That team costs me tax dollars I'd rather not pay. Let's not GUESS at the audience. Come to Iroquois School District and do a research study of 100% of the population covering the 3 towns the District covers. I think you'll change your tune.
That is all.

 

[yugoidar]

WGR is offering a limited schedule of high school football but deserves kudos for taking a chance on what once was the sole domain of WXRL, WJJL, WDOE and WLVL. Nice work.

I have to agree with Qman above. Seems to me when times are tough, stations often look for new ways to generate sales and become, shall we say, a little more collaborative.  Looks to me like a case of simply following the money.

 

[Steven21]

Parents of players and alumni of said high school care VERY MUCH about HS sports. Western New York is a hotbed for high school athletics and weekly one hour shows seem to do quite well with stations seeking ad revenue. Not my cup of tea but I can understand why there's an audience for it.

Don't kid yourself: There are high school sports enthusiasts all over the country and they are generally the parents and alumni. They are also, generally, a pretty small crowd when compared to the whole population.

This market seems smaller by the minute.

 

[superset weekend]

This is a great move for GR. Everybody on here complains about not enough local, community content, then when you get some, you question it. This is a small portion of GR's programming, but the benefits are large.

 

[Steven21]

This is a great move for GR. Everybody on here complains about not enough local, community content, then when you get some, you question it. This is a small portion of GR's programming, but the benefits are large.

Local is one thing, high school sports is another.

No offense to high school sports enthusiasts, but how big an audience do you really think this will attract? Most people who would even bother to listen are probably AT the game---and even if they're not, their numbers have to be so anemic that you could fit them all on the team bus.

Broadcasting games on such a dominant signal? Whatever. This isn't a high school radio station we're talking about.

Talk about small-time.

 

[Play Freebird]

No offense to high school sports enthusiasts, but how big an audience do you really think this will attract? Most people who would even bother to listen are probably AT the game---and even if they're not, their numbers have to be so anemic that you could fit them all on the team bus.

Broadcasting games on such a dominant signal? Whatever. This isn't a high school radio station we're talking about.

Talk about small-time.

But high school sports sure beats 30-minute "infomercials" for colon cleansers and get-rich-quick schemes. That's really small-time radio.

If the station can make money with it, why not?

 

[heydaybegone]

Who makes the money?

Steven 21 - valid point to which I concur...the enthusiasts are AT the game

Play Freebird - again I bring on the economics. This is not the Buffalo Bills providing TV revenues to this that and the other guy. Why should the station receive revenues for a sports team (high school) the I provide tax dollars to support...without any return on MY investment. (Nope, there is NO line item in our school budget for "Broadcast sports rights"...that helps reduce our budget. It returns me to the Heyday when Public Broadcasting was "funded" and we commercial stations had to "earn our bread & butter".
I have a problem with that. (not you personally - LOL)

 

[SirRoxalot]

Why should the station receive revenues for a sports team (high school) the I provide tax dollars to support...without any return on MY investment.

I think that you're picking a pretty small nit on this one. The team's going to be outfitted and play the game regardless. WGR isn't likely to do much more than break even on these games. About the only people who benefit are high school sports supporters who can't attend the games for whatever reason.

Somebody does some live and local programming that benefits the community. If it becomes a serious money-maker, I'm sure that there will be people standing in line with outstretched palms looking for some payback.

 

[Steven21]

If it becomes a serious money-maker,

Sorry, but I laughed out loud when I read this.

 

[OttoM]

No offense to high school sports enthusiasts, but how big an audience do you really think this will attract? Most people who would even bother to listen are probably AT the game---and even if they're not, their numbers have to be so anemic that you could fit them all on the team bus.

Broadcasting games on such a dominant signal? Whatever. This isn't a high school radio station we're talking about.

Talk about small-time.

"Steven21" - clearly there is nothing about terrestrial radio that will EVER please you. This board has thread after thread that proves it. So if you hate the industry so much, why waste your time reminding us over and over how much you hate it? Sounds like you need some therapy.

To keep the thread on track - even if there's virtually NO listeners - kudos to WGR - a station owned by out of towners - to realize just how important it is to KEEP being local.

 

[BRADonWECK]

Props to Brian Koziol and Tony Caligiuri on their enthusiastic performances doing play by play during the station's debut of Friday Night Lights high school football. Iroqious rolled over East Aurora and the game was a blowout, but Koziol & Caliguiri did an admirable job. Although the were a few rough spots it's clear each knows his roll in the booth. Take note UB radio crew. Friday night was an absolutely perfect late summer night for high school football. The fans, schools, parents and players had to love hearing the game on the 5kW regional flamethrower. The only downside, WGR's highly directional night signal may not have sufficiently covered East Aurora or Iroquois as solidly as is does during the day. WGR is offering a limited schedule of high school football but deserves kudos for taking a chance on what once was the sole domain of WXRL, WJJL, WDOE and WLVL. Nice work.

I think it's a good idea and couple of very good, importantly, very interested people doing the broadcasts.

That said, what was "take note, UB radio Crew" intended to mean?

 

[Element9]

I really had no intention of stirring this into a brawl when I first posted, only to give WGR some credit for reaching out to local high school sports, football in particular. As it sometimes happens here, the thread took a completely unexpected but interesting and informative turn. I hope the mods don't get itchy fingers and blow it up.

When it comes to school funding, it's important to remember how local (and state) tax dollars are appropriated to school districts. One thing that we sometimes forget is that a tax paying homeowner (newly wed or empty nester) with no kids in public school pays essentially the same school tax rate as a taxpayer with three kids in school. It's hoped that the homeowner with no kids in school places a sufficient value on education and approves the annual school budget when it comes up for a vote. The system is also unfair to a family that chooses to send their kids to a private or parochial school. The taxpayer pays private school tuition on top of local school taxes. The system is inherently unbalanced in this regard, just as funding for dance or music may be unbalanced when the amount of money appropriated for music, dance or theatre may not match the amount appropriated for men's and women's varsity sports.

For stations like WLVL, WDOE and other local stations, high school sports broadcasts can be a consistent revenue generator. I don't know if WGR makes money on high school sports. As noted earlier, it could be that the station breaks even. I suspect WGR doesn't pay a rights fee nor (I hope) does the school pay WGR to broadcast the games. This would be kind of a twist since last I heard, UB and even the Buffalo Bisons pay their broadcast partners to carry their games. In a perfect world, if WGR made money on the games, it would be a commendable gesture for the station to donate a percentage of the profits to the schools. I can almost hear you laughing. And did I hear somebody mutter, "Please put down the bong?" Unfortunately, schools would be relying on the accounting methods of the stations, which is similar to musicians and bands relying on the accounting methods of the record/music industry.

_________________________________________________

As to "UB crew take note," there have been occasions when the color guy interrupts or steps on the play by play guy. Each has a specific task and as such, the broadcasts sound better and are far more coherent when the play by play guy is allowed to call the play without being "stepped on" or "talked over" by the color guy and vice versa.

 

[Steven21]

"Steven21" - clearly there is nothing about terrestrial radio that will EVER please you. This board has thread after thread that proves it. So if you hate the industry so much, why waste your time reminding us over and over how much you hate it? Sounds like you need some therapy.

To keep the thread on track - even if there's virtually NO listeners - kudos to WGR - a station owned by out of towners - to realize just how important it is to KEEP being local.

Overreact much?

Especially considering I'm not the only one who has criticized this, your criticisms of me for voicing my opinion are misguided and unwarranted.
I didn't realize you were the arbitor of what was worthy of criticism and who was worthy of making that criticism.

For the record, I do not hate terrestrial radio. I do hate foolish decisions that continue to lead this business off target(HD anybody?). Does high school sports on WGR make or break radio? Of course not. Does it sound really, really small time? Sure does.

 

[qman]

For the record, when I was talking about a radio station generating revenue from broadcasting a high school athletic event or a program talking about local high school sports, I wasn't suggesting that the local school districts foot the bill. The station can generate revenue from ad sales to sporting good stores, etc. So radio doesn't necessarily have to benefit from anyone's tax dollar.

 

[heydaybegone]

For the record, when I was talking about a radio station generating revenue from broadcasting a high school athletic event or a program talking about local high school sports, I wasn't suggesting that the local school districts foot the bill. The station can generate revenue from ad sales to sporting good stores, etc. So radio doesn't necessarily have to benefit from anyone's tax dollar.

Qman- no one is debating that concept. The debatable issue rides similar to song/artist rights and royalties. The taxpayers are providing the venue and entertainment on which a third party can "produce" revenue (profitable or not)...without return to the provider. So indirectly...yes the station does benefit from someone's tax dollar. (BTW - the schools aren't "footing the broadcasting bill", nor was that implied)

 

[qman]

Wasn't it taxpayer dollars, at least in part, that helped build Ralph Wilson Stadium? I know they were used to build Frontier Field here in Rochester and yet third parties are benefitting from revenues generated from these places. Where do we draw the line?

 

[ThePickleReport]

I think this was a great idea by WGR. They have either been running repeats of interviews done during the day or ESPN at night. They aren't missing anything by doing this. It would even help their cause further if they would do some type of high school "scoreboard" show either during of after the game they are covering. I think people would tune in for scores instead of waiting for the paper the next day.