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Buffalo WGR to Simulcast on 107.7

TheBigA said:
Or maybe some form of non-exclusive arrangement, that could mean multiple stations would have access to certain content. The team release hints at that.
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I do not see that at all.. But yes, in theory they could sell One Bills Live to one station (but right now WGR would be only in-format play), game rights elsewhere, and Sabres to another station

Not far from what the Patriots do with WBZ-FM having gameday broadcasts, but WEEI having "Patriots Monday" and "Patriots Friday" with team guests all day.
 
lanceventa said:
Not far from what the Patriots do with WBZ-FM having gameday broadcasts, but WEEI having "Patriots Monday" and "Patriots Friday" with team guests all day.
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That's what I'm thinking. There are a lot of ways to merchandise a team. Concentrating all the rights on one station limits the ability to reach people who may not listen to that one station.
 
NFL rules require the games to be on a broadcast partner during the season. The WGR contract likely ran out and the Bills are looking for other options for their programming. The games could end up back on WGR, but their may be competition. It's possible that WGR decided to simulcast on 107.7 because the Bills prefer to be on an FM station or at least have a translator available. They may also wish to distribute content themselves so the bulk of the ad revenue goes to them and helps them establish relationships with local sponsors without Audacy being a middleman.
 
TheBigA said:
Concentrating all the rights on one station limits the ability to reach people who may not listen to that one station.
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Or maybe not. The Houston Texans have their games along with many hours of team produced content on Audacy’s KILT SportsRadio 610, and the station produced shows lean heavily into Texans talk year round. Rival iHeart sportstalker KBME 790 has a huge amount of time eaten up by the Astros and Rockets, as the station is the flagship for both. The Texans are able to rule the programming on Audacy’s sportstalker.

(Houston’s one FM sportstalker is on a bad rimshot signal, and is an irrelevance.)
 
TheBigA said:
Imagine if the Texans also had programming on some of the non-sports stations. Not all of their fans are sports junkies.
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Why would non-sports stations break format for Texans programming, outside of the actual games? Unless you are referring to general Talk formats, rather than music stations.
 
TheBigA said:
Money. As it is KILT-FM breaks its country format to carry Texans play by play. Why??? Money.

Radio stations aren't in the music delivery business. They're looking to diversify their revenue stream.
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My point was regarding Texans ancillary programming, of which there are many hours produced by the team. A music station is unlikely to break format for such content. Actual games are another matter.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
My point was regarding Texans ancillary programming, of which there are many hours produced by the team. A music station is unlikely to break format for such content.
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That's not what I'm talking about. Think outside the box of traditional sports talk. There are a lot of women who don't listen to sports talk, but are big fans of the NFL. So they're interested in the team, but not the statistics and the guy stuff. That's a growth area for the NFL.

Traditionally the radio station with the broadcast rights gets exclusivity for promotions and use of the team name for marketing and contesting. This opens that up to more stations.
 
TheBigA said:
That's not what I'm talking about. Think outside the box of traditional sports talk. There are a lot of women who don't listen to sports talk, but are big fans of the NFL. So they're interested in the team, but not the statistics and the guy stuff. That's a growth area for the NFL.

Traditionally the radio station with the broadcast rights gets exclusivity for promotions and use of the team name for marketing and contesting. This opens that up to more stations.
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I'm reading your theories and responses and remembering when KESZ carried the Arizona Cardinals from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. Yes, there were higher ratings for the games but people turned off the station for the ancillary stuff. And that ancillary stuff included an hour-long music show where listeners could call and talk to the players while the players chose their favorite songs to play. Except that didn't work out because many of the players were heavily into rap music, some of it with profanities. And KESZ, which was (and remains) an AC outlet, didn't always play the clean versions of the songs!

Now I've commented before on other threads about how some radio stations did play lyrics with profanities but they were stations programmed to attract audiences who liked that kind of music! Not so with KESZ! I very well remember when the station played the unedited version of "This DJ," by Warren G and had to cut down the song after the second "f**k" in the second verse.

And, to top everything off, the calls just weren't coming in with questions for the players! No. I really don't think, even with all of the money out there, that putting ancillary sports programming on music-intensive stations is going to assist the stations or the programming.
 
ted chittenden said:
I really don't think, even with all of the money out there, that putting ancillary sports programming on music-intensive stations is going to assist the stations or the programming.
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I agree. That's why I said think outside the box. One iHeart station I know of did a football themed cruise near the stadium on gameday. They got a C&D from the competing station that had the official radio rights. Do you think an AC station could have fun with a promotion like that? It doesn't have to be on the air signal to involve the audience and the team. The air signal is just one of the platforms radio stations are using now.
 
TheBigA said:
I agree. That's why I said think outside the box. One iHeart station I know of did a football themed cruise near the stadium on gameday. They got a C&D from the competing station that had the official radio rights. Do you think an AC station could have fun with a promotion like that? It doesn't have to be on the air signal to involve the audience and the team. The air signal is just one of the platforms radio stations are using now.
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Having either sports team on a music station would absolutely be good for any music station. Even if the teams sold the spots, it would get the market talking about the station. In a recall diary market, that is really important. There is no price you could put on the importance of either team on any station. It would be an incredible promotional play. I would put them on all of our seven metro frequencies just to get the pub for the stations.
 
Buddy Shula said:
Having either sports team on a music station would absolutely be good for any music station. Even if the teams sold the spots, it would get the market talking about the station. In a recall diary market, that is really important.
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When I was PD of WERC in Birmingham, we had the play-by-play announcer for the Crimson Tide as our morning man and we originated the games. We were an AC music station, but the "kick" that the Tide gave us was incredible.

Then, when I was group manager for stations that included the one that originated the Seminoles games in Tallahassee, I saw how running those games on Saturday afternoons could get us, in breakouts, over a 40 share in Arbitron. And because the team was in our own city, we had players and THE coach on the morning show often. We had one player who, during several seasons, would even do bits about how he explained the game and his plays to his girlfriend (who then became his wife). We had this fall in our lap, but it was like having a soap opera with a Noles player!

Unlike baseball and basketball, there are limited games in a season, so you don't constantly break format... and you get a sport that nearly everyone loves... or at least likes because their spouse loves it!
 
TheBigA said:
I agree. That's why I said think outside the box. One iHeart station I know of did a football themed cruise near the stadium on gameday. They got a C&D from the competing station that had the official radio rights. Do you think an AC station could have fun with a promotion like that? It doesn't have to be on the air signal to involve the audience and the team. The air signal is just one of the platforms radio stations are using now.
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I remember when I worked for George Mooney's company as manager in San Juan, he was based in Knoxville and did the Tennessee play by play. He originated the "Vol Navy" and you can't think of a bigger promotion for a station!

Key Details About the Vol Navy:
  • Origin: Started in 1962 by broadcaster George Mooney to bypass Knoxville traffic.
  • Location: Anchored along the Tennessee River's north bank, specifically at Volunteer Landing and near the Wayne G. Basler Boathouse.
  • The Experience: Fans, known as "sailgaters," often arrive days before the game, with some staying for weeks. The area becomes a massive, festive, orange-and-white party scene.
  • Vessels: The fleet ranges from small fishing boats to massive, multi-level yachts.
  • Accessibility: While it is a private tradition, it is highly visible, and fans often socialize between boats.

    (Google AI)
I went to several games on Mooney's boat... and while I am not an American "football" fan, the experience was just incredible. The great thing is that wives and girlfriends "bought into" the celebration and loved riding the boats and being part of the celebration. (Some did not go to the game but stayed in groups on the docks and on the nicer boats! )
 
Buddy Shula said:
Having either sports team on a music station would absolutely be good for any music station. Even if the teams sold the spots, it would get the market talking about the station. In a recall diary market, that is really important. There is no price you could put on the importance of either team on any station. It would be an incredible promotional play. I would put them on all of our seven metro frequencies just to get the pub for the stations.
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We carried the Sabres on Oldies. Worked great. Mostly night games when our cume was relatively small. Helped us get to #1 12+ and the demos were strong.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Why would non-sports stations break format for Texans programming, outside of the actual games? Unless you are referring to general Talk formats, rather than music stations.
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I know it's a smaller market (as is Buffalo), and I don't believe it's something that continues on most, if any, music stations there today, but, in the 90's, Kansas City used to have Chiefs programming on almost all the rock and country stations. At the time, classic rock KCFX, 101 The Fox, carried the games, but an hour of Chiefs talk, usually hosted by a member of the morning show and either a player or an executive with the team, was available somewhere in the 7:00 or 8:00 PM hours Monday through Thursday evenings during the football season. I would say the reasons it doesn't continue today are that the market has two major sports stations, neither of which really existed when the tradition started, and most of the jocks who hosted the shows had long time connections to the community and the team. Most of those personalities have either retired, moved to larger markets, died, or been fired over the last 25-30 years.

What little I know about Buffalo, it seems a lot more like Kansas City than it does Houston (though I don't think running a Texans show on a Houston station in the evening would be the worst thing you could do on a male-leaning station). Other than WGR, does Buffalo have a strong sports station? I know 1520 is strong in terms of power, but does anyone still remember it even exists today? Seems like the market would have some openings for Bills programming, especially in the evenings when radio advertising isn't in as high demand, if the players and/or executives would make themselves available.
 
97-Rock pulled big weekend numbers with Bills games for a decade or so before Audacy got the games back on WGR. 97-Rock has consistently carried sports talk elements with Bills personalities as part of morning drive. The Bills are a major draw here, and music stations go out of their way to offer some Bills content in order to be part of the everyday conversation around town.
 


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