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What teams do you think ESPN 98.7 will carry?
- Thread starter nd2023
- Start date
What makes you think CBS does not want the YANKS. Even though you pay more for the YANKS than the METS to have on your signal wouldn't you rather have the panache of the YANKS than the METS. Also the YANKS have a far reaching network that makes money for the station because it is pumped out on other signals. The METS if I remember just one other.
The Knicks and Rangers are essentially a package deal with Madison Square Garden - they won't be separated. If anything, MSG would want to own its own radio station - I believe they looked in to this many years ago. ESPN Radio made it appealing for MSG to go with them back in the early 2000s.
Rutgers will likely stay with WOR since it's got a strong New Jersey base built in. Likely Seton Hall will continue with ESPN Radio although a lot of their games air on WABC or WBBR due to conflicts.
Rutgers will likely stay with WOR since it's got a strong New Jersey base built in. Likely Seton Hall will continue with ESPN Radio although a lot of their games air on WABC or WBBR due to conflicts.
ESPN will get one of the MLB teams in this deal. Even if they won't say it out loud, that had to be the top reason to get an FM freq since 1050's reception is terrible most everywhere. They made the push last year for the Yankees rights but lost out because the Yankees aren't going to move off a 50kW clearchannel that can skywave across half the country for night games for a dinky AM that can't even be heard in parts of its home market. If anything, this will make for a bidding war. The mouse can throw a LOT of money at the Steinbrenners for these rights; money that CBS likely won't be able to match. Enough to move them over to the ESPN family without much hassle (and ridding us of Ma and Pa Yankee, even though I've always heard that the Steinbrenners adore Sterling, which is why he's still the voice of the team).
The only thing that I can see putting a wrench in the whole works is the exclusivity thing. There's a certain cachet to the Yanks being the only sports team that's on 880, and 880 isn't afraid to cater to them with this exclusivity. Unless there's a major major major news event, they're never going to be preempted. I can see the Jets holding a lot of sway and demanding that the Yankees be pushed down to 1050 or another freq if there's a conflict on a Sunday afternoon in September (or even during the playoffs -- I'm pretty sure that NFL teams hold a lot more power in these matters) if they're sharing the same station (such as how the Giants will preempt most Mets games on the FAN now). Don't think that this won't sit uneasily with the Yankees ownership. It might even give CBS a leg up if it becomes a big enough issue. The Mets might be OK with that, but I doubt the Yankees will, especially with them usually being in a tight pennant race in September.
As for the rest of the teams, I think the Knicks and Rangers stay put. The move to FM is nothing but good for them as they'll be heard by more listeners who can't get 1050's lousy signal. I don't think any college teams will move around. Rutgers football is produced by some sports group tied to it's AD and they market that themselves and it's heard everywhere on WOR as is.
If anything, I think ESPN can easily land the Mets and CBS goes all in to keep the Yankee cash cow in their court.
The only thing that I can see putting a wrench in the whole works is the exclusivity thing. There's a certain cachet to the Yanks being the only sports team that's on 880, and 880 isn't afraid to cater to them with this exclusivity. Unless there's a major major major news event, they're never going to be preempted. I can see the Jets holding a lot of sway and demanding that the Yankees be pushed down to 1050 or another freq if there's a conflict on a Sunday afternoon in September (or even during the playoffs -- I'm pretty sure that NFL teams hold a lot more power in these matters) if they're sharing the same station (such as how the Giants will preempt most Mets games on the FAN now). Don't think that this won't sit uneasily with the Yankees ownership. It might even give CBS a leg up if it becomes a big enough issue. The Mets might be OK with that, but I doubt the Yankees will, especially with them usually being in a tight pennant race in September.
As for the rest of the teams, I think the Knicks and Rangers stay put. The move to FM is nothing but good for them as they'll be heard by more listeners who can't get 1050's lousy signal. I don't think any college teams will move around. Rutgers football is produced by some sports group tied to it's AD and they market that themselves and it's heard everywhere on WOR as is.
If anything, I think ESPN can easily land the Mets and CBS goes all in to keep the Yankee cash cow in their court.
I want the Yankees on a strong AM like 660 if they can be on FM that's fine too, I'd enjoy that for when I can't get them on FM.
If WFAN simulcasts on 92.3 FM, the Yankees can have their cake and eat it too! They'd have the 660 blowtorch and the full-market 92.3 signals. When Giants football starts, those games could air on 92.3 FM and baseball on 660 AM. When the Yankee season ends, Giants games can be simulcast on 660 AM and 92.3 FM. This is done in other markets.
With ESPN moving to 98.7, only two NFL teams remain that do not have an FM flagship or co-flag, the Giants and the Denver Broncos. If CBS blows up NOW, the Broncos will be the lone AM holdout.
ESPN 98.7 will hold on to the teams they currently have and will definitely add baseball in 2013.
With ESPN moving to 98.7, only two NFL teams remain that do not have an FM flagship or co-flag, the Giants and the Denver Broncos. If CBS blows up NOW, the Broncos will be the lone AM holdout.
ESPN 98.7 will hold on to the teams they currently have and will definitely add baseball in 2013.
You KNOW they are going to make a big play for the Yankees on 98.7. How dumb would they be to settle for the Mets? The Yanks + and FM signal could be the thing that finally unseats the Fan as the sports station for NYC. The Mets? Who cares. They barely have a radio network anymore, because nobody wants to carry them.
And the Yankees have the final say in who the announcers are, so expect IIIIT IS HIGH IIIIT IS FARRRRR IT IS........ GONE! To remain on the radio along with Susan.
Honestly, people here moan about Sterling, but have you ever listened to some other teams sports casts? Some are like paint drying. At least John gives the game some dramatic flair, sometimes too much, but it's better than some of the flat broadcasts I've heard.
Yanks, Giants, Rangers, Knicks. Whichever station winds up with that combo is the winner. Period. AM, FM, semaphore, Japanese Kabuki doesn't matter at that point, it's those teams that are the teams of NYC. Jets, Mets, Nets, Devils... the also ran teams. I'll admit that the Devils have a good hockey team, just nobody cares about hockey! Look at the Islanders, they're on a college station for crying out loud.
And the Yankees have the final say in who the announcers are, so expect IIIIT IS HIGH IIIIT IS FARRRRR IT IS........ GONE! To remain on the radio along with Susan.
Honestly, people here moan about Sterling, but have you ever listened to some other teams sports casts? Some are like paint drying. At least John gives the game some dramatic flair, sometimes too much, but it's better than some of the flat broadcasts I've heard.
Yanks, Giants, Rangers, Knicks. Whichever station winds up with that combo is the winner. Period. AM, FM, semaphore, Japanese Kabuki doesn't matter at that point, it's those teams that are the teams of NYC. Jets, Mets, Nets, Devils... the also ran teams. I'll admit that the Devils have a good hockey team, just nobody cares about hockey! Look at the Islanders, they're on a college station for crying out loud.
WNTIRadio said:
ESPN 98.7 will make a big play for the Yankees but I don't think they want to be on FM exclusively. If CBS blows up 92.3 NOW to simulcast WFAN, the Yankees will have what they want, a 50 kW blaster (660 AM) and a full-market FM (92.3).
ESPN 98.7 will not be giving up the Jets, Knicks or Rangers. If the Yankees move to WFAN, the Mets will be headed to 98.7 FM. IMHO, that's the most likely scenario.
If 98.7 doesn't have a baseball team, they will continue to be the second fiddle sports station in the market. If they get the Mets, they will gain some but the Mets won't help them ratings wise.
The Yankees are the prize. If they don't have a 50kW blaster, plenty of suburban stations would love to hop on the Yankees network and carry the games!
The Yankees are the prize. If they don't have a 50kW blaster, plenty of suburban stations would love to hop on the Yankees network and carry the games!
ESPN always goes after the biggest prize, so in baseball, it's clearly the NYY they want. If there's a bidding war and CBS ends up keeping them for WCBS or WFAN, then ESPN will settle for the NYM.
As for any discussion regarding conflicts with the Jets...keep in mind that local NFL deals are not made for the relatively small game day ad revenue they generate. Football rules network TV and local radio ratings for the NYJ and NYG aren't huge. What's beneficial to a local sports radio station is the cache of having the NFL, the access, and the M-F sports talk about both teams all week during the season. There are relatively few conflicts with a baseball team and a football team. If ESPN gets the NYY and keeps the NYJ, you can be sure that it's the Jets games that will move to another station when there are scheduling conflicts.
As for any discussion regarding conflicts with the Jets...keep in mind that local NFL deals are not made for the relatively small game day ad revenue they generate. Football rules network TV and local radio ratings for the NYJ and NYG aren't huge. What's beneficial to a local sports radio station is the cache of having the NFL, the access, and the M-F sports talk about both teams all week during the season. There are relatively few conflicts with a baseball team and a football team. If ESPN gets the NYY and keeps the NYJ, you can be sure that it's the Jets games that will move to another station when there are scheduling conflicts.
I would expect 1050 ESPN Deportes to become the logical outlet for conflict games, given that Jets, Knicks and Rangers fans are accustomed to hearing their teams' games there.
F
fmradio1
Guest
From what I understand, CBS is losing money with their current Yankee deal. As much prestige having the rights brings, they haven't been able to monetize it. With ESPN now in the bidding, the renewal price may wind up putting them in a worse situation than they're in right now. Unless they can get the numbers down, it wouldn't shock me if CBS took a pass and re-signed the Mets. ESPN may be able to sweeten the pot with some other things CBS can't using their online presence and cable networks. ESPN tends to go big, while CBS has been shying away from P-B-P rights if the numbers don't work. ESPN may have the advantage here.
blue feast said:
The Jets have been with ESPN since the station's inception in 2001. On Jets Game Day, 1050 (now 98.7) goes into full Jets mode. Seniority has its priviliges. Arguably, the Jets are the most important team on ESPN's airwaves. That could be a big sticking point in negotiations between the Yankees and ESPN.
From 1984 to '87, the Jets and Yankees shared WABC. The Yankees had been on WABC since 1981, so they had seniority. Jets games that overlapped the Yankees were moved to 5 kW WMCA.
IMHO, ESPN 98.7 cannot cater to the Yankees as they are used to.
A potential Yanks/Jets conflict scenario on ESPN Radio NY will have nothing to do with seniority - it will have to do with how ironclad the potential contract is with the Yanks along with how many bucks it cost ESPN to attain their radio rights. You can be sure that ESPN Radio NY will do everything possible to make it easy for the Yanks to move to their outlet. If it means the Jets have to move off of 98.7 FM for a few Sunday afternoons/Sunday nights/Monday nights/Thursday nights in the fall to accommodate the Yanks, you can bet that ESPN Radio NY will find a home for the Jets, as mentioned above likely to be 1050...or 1130...or 970.
Mike Francesa mentioned this years ago on the FAN: if you think football games get higher ratings and revenue than baseball games, check the ratings. Football is generally accepted to be primarily a TV sport - especially on Sundays where likely the most people are available to watch and wouldn't need the radio broadcast (unless traveling).
In recent times, however, it's true that in Septembers where the Mets have not been competitive, they've been bumped for Giants football broadcasts. Likely a FAN decision based on revenue along with competitiveness.
Mike Francesa mentioned this years ago on the FAN: if you think football games get higher ratings and revenue than baseball games, check the ratings. Football is generally accepted to be primarily a TV sport - especially on Sundays where likely the most people are available to watch and wouldn't need the radio broadcast (unless traveling).
In recent times, however, it's true that in Septembers where the Mets have not been competitive, they've been bumped for Giants football broadcasts. Likely a FAN decision based on revenue along with competitiveness.
pjc1961 said:
Not sure if this matters, but when the Giants and Mets shared WNEW (1130 AM) from 1975-77, afternoon Mets games went to 106.7 FM (then jazz WRVR) and games that overlapped the Giants went to other outlets, don't remember exactly which ones. WNEW had been the Giants flag since 1961 and regardless of competitiveness, no way was WNEW going to transfer those games elsewhere. BTW, both the Giants and Mets were pretty bad during that period.
Given the way the Jets do business (and I'm not a Jets fan), there's no way they will accept being pushed off 98.7 FM for at least 25% of their season and I wouldn't blame them. The Jets can take their business to CC. Jets football would fit just fine on WAXQ, classic rock Q-104.3. I'm sure CC would be glad to have them.
WEPN has a big investment with the Jets. Not only have they broadcast their games since 2001, they also have lots of Jets related programming both on Game Day and on Monday night. If WEPN wants the Yankees that badly, they'll risk losing the Jets.
Add the Buffalo Bills to that AM only list. After 13 seasons, the Bills last month moved from gameday combocasting on 96.9 WGRF and 103.3 WEDG (Cumulus via Citadel) to Entercom's WGR 550 (and an HD2 channel on Entercom's CHR WKSE 98.5.)radioguy39nj said:
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