Would an FM Sports/Talk station succeed in Buffalo without PBP Sports?

[tbolt909]

It is bizzare to see Craig Carton who did overnights on WGR become a multi-millonare
Another example of leave Buffalo

He was also convicted of fraud and did time in prison.

As for Bob's premise of a new sports format -- Again it would be expensive and require long term commitment. How many different ways can you regurgitate Bills Talk?
It's been noted that WGR does a ratings dive after the football season ends. Generating revenue enough to pay all the talent is a pipe dream. Of course, you could recruit fans with no Radio experience who are willing to work for free. It would be about as bad as some of the "Pros" sound...

 

[SirRoxalot]

Pegula Sports Entertainment has done reasonably well with some former players from both the Bills and Sabres along with game announcers and color commentators from both the Bills and Sabres. It works well in mid-days as a cable TV simulcast. They also produce significant content for internet distribution that could include radio audio. That doesn't solve the problem of a good local morning show. Good luck luring Howard Simon out of retirement even if he would be a good building block. I don't know if any of the podcasters plying their trade locally have enough of an audience to be considered big enough to build around, but it's worth looking into. It might be possible to offer some of the second-tier local TV sportscasters more money than they're making on TV these days along with better hours. Rich "Bull" Gaenzler has been on the sidelines for a while now and was likely the least culpable in the 97-Rock "toast" debacle. Perhaps he's deserving of a second chance.

 

[Gregg.]

Will Buffalo someday have an FM Sports station? Creating a new Sports station from scratch is too expensive to challenge WGR, which has the Bills and Sabres rights. But the FM dial in Buffalo will likely get a Sports station when Audacy sees the need to protect WGR. WGR and WBEN are among the highest billing stations in Buffalo.

Audacy has given FM simulcasts to many of its highest billing AM stations: WINS, WFAN, KNX, WBBM, KCBS, KYW. It had to blow up FM music stations with their own revenue streams to protect the high-billing stations on AM. In the long run, you can't let your best stations wither on the AM dial. The trouble is, in Buffalo, Audacy only owns two FM stations, full signal WKSE 98.5 and rimshot WLKK 107.7.

So what would you do? Give 98.5 to WGR and give 107.7 to WBEN? I think WBEN had 107.7 a few years ago. But at the time, it meant little to WBEN's numbers, so it went back to music. Now the need for FM simulcasts for WBEN and WGR are too strong to ignore. It takes decades to build a high-billing radio station. If you wait too long, listeners will find other places for news and sports. Every year, fewer and fewer listeners are willing to consider flipping the switch to AM radio.

 

[tbolt909]

Will Buffalo someday have an FM Sports station? Creating a new Sports station from scratch is too expensive to challenge WGR, which has the Bills and Sabres rights. But the FM dial in Buffalo will likely get a Sports station when Audacy sees the need to protect WGR. WGR and WBEN are among the highest billing stations in Buffalo.

Audacy has given FM simulcasts to many of its highest billing AM stations: WINS, WFAN, KNX, WBBM, KCBS, KYW. It had to blow up FM music stations with their own revenue streams to protect the high-billing stations on AM. In the long run, you can't let your best stations wither on the AM dial. The trouble is, in Buffalo, Audacy only owns two FM stations, full signal WKSE 98.5 and rimshot WLKK 107.7.

So what would you do? Give 98.5 to WGR and give 107.7 to WBEN? I think WBEN had 107.7 a few years ago. But at the time, it meant little to WBEN's numbers, so it went back to music. Now the need for FM simulcasts for WBEN and WGR are too strong to ignore. It takes decades to build a high-billing radio station. If you wait too long, listeners will find other places for news and sports. Every year, fewer and fewer listeners are willing to consider flipping the switch to AM radio.

The WBEN simulcast on 107.7 was a major debacle. You can't force people to listen to content they don't want. WGR may have more people streaming from out of town anyway. People who moved out of Buffalo, but follow the team. Audacy is in even worse shape now. The Buffalo cluster is irrelevant and they likely will sell the rest of the stations.

The only reason WGR got the Bills games back was that no FM station was interested. It's expensive and the Bills take most of the money. When Audacy leaves Buffalo, you may get your wish that Sports will end up on an FM signal. Forget about WBEN. That won't happen...

 

[TheBigA]

Rich "Bull" Gaenzler has been on the sidelines for a while now and was likely the least culpable in the 97-Rock "toast" debacle. Perhaps he's deserving of a second chance.

Hmm. It's been 2-1/2 years since Lederman was fired. There are some people in Buffalo who believe he got a raw deal.

Last year, iHeart brought back Dallas sports talk legend Mike Rhyner when it flipped rock KEGL to The Freak:

Mike Rhyner Returns to Radio With 97.1 The Freak

The godfather of guy sports talk is coming out of retirement.

www.dmagazine.com

My view at the time was they should have kept some elements of The Eagle, such as keeping music on the weekends and overnights. Rock/talk hybrids have been successful in a lot of places, most notably WMMS in Cleveland. WMMS has been a ratings leader. KEGL in Dallas has been stuck in the basement. Perhaps Rhyner was past his prime. Perhaps the station suffers from poor presentation. But just bringing back heritage talent is likely not enough.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

The only reason WGR got the Bills games back was that no FM station was interested. It's expensive and the Bills take most of the money. When Audacy leaves Buffalo, you may get your wish that Sports will end up on an FM signal. Forget about WBEN. That won't happen...

Half true. The GM of WGR pursued the Bills when Citadel went into bankruptcy and the bankruptcy judge ruled that Citadel could walk away from its Bills contract, which it did. The Bills were without a radio partner, and at the time, it was a buyer's market. The enmity between the Bills and WGR ran deep, but the Entercom GM, to his credit, did a sales job.

Townsquare neither wanted nor needed the Bills. WYRK was #1 and WBLK was #2; WJYE, such as it was, held strong women numbers and Jack-FM was farting money with limited overhead. The Bills only would have cut into Townsquare's margins. So Entercom and WGR were the sole contenders.

Rich Gaenzler deserves another shot. He wasn't an active participant in the 97 Rock toast debacle. He was behind the board and added only the words "Ohhh-kayyy." Could he have bailed on the bit? Yes. And a point could be made that he should have. But he didn't wade into the discussion, didn't aid and abet Lederman. Gaenzler is a decent guy who knows sports and has a good history with the Bills. He's paid his penance. The problem is, any station that picks up Gaenzler would have some explaining to do. His hiring would be fodder for social media, TV news and the Buffalo News. This would automatically put the station one half step behind the 8 ball. Put the lawyers on standby. But if management believes Gaenzler can be rehabilitated and is "the guy", this is where the GM and PD meet with the leaders of the African American community and take Gaenzler around for the mea culpa tour. It can be done, but it's a process, and there are no guarantees.

Mildly amusing ain't it ... Mr. Barnett tactfully throws a bone out here, and all the dogs go crazy like it's free bacon. Woof!

 

[BobBarnett]

Half true. The GM of WGR pursued the Bills when Citadel went into bankruptcy and the bankruptcy judge ruled that Citadel could walk away from its Bills contract, which it did. The Bills were without a radio partner, and at the time, it was a buyer's market. The enmity between the Bills and WGR ran deep, but the Entercom GM, to his credit, did a sales job.

Townsquare neither wanted nor needed the Bills. WYRK was #1 and WBLK was #2; WJYE, such as it was, held strong women numbers and Jack-FM was farting money with limited overhead. The Bills only would have cut into Townsquare's margins. So Entercom and WGR were the sole contenders.

Rich Gaenzler deserves another shot. He wasn't an active participant in the 97 Rock toast debacle. He was behind the board and added only the words "Ohhh-kayyy." Could he have bailed on the bit? Yes. And a point could be made that he should have. But he didn't wade into the discussion, didn't aid and abet Lederman. Gaenzler is a decent guy who knows sports and has a good history with the Bills. He's paid his penance. The problem is, any station that picks up Gaenzler would have some explaining to do. His hiring would be fodder for social media, TV news and the Buffalo News. This would automatically put the station one half step behind the 8 ball. Put the lawyers on standby. But if management believes Gaenzler can be rehabilitated and is "the guy", this is where the GM and PD meet with the leaders of the African American community and take Gaenzler around for the mea culpa tour. It can be done, but it's a process, and there are no guarantees.

Mildly amusing ain't it ... Mr. Barnett tactfully throws a bone out here, and all the dogs go crazy like it's free bacon. Woof!

Yeah, it’s been a lively discussion. It’s a conversation I’ve heard and participated in a few times over drinks…just like the “What Buffalo needs is an FM news station” and the “if Kiss drifts too far from Top 40–someone should launch a focused new Top 40”, etc. I’m sure every operator has a plan in their back pocket…we’ve all done the scenario mapping. I think it’s all about the who, and the when—-now. The market was stable for so long—and now it‘s been shaken up a bit. Thanks for your thoughts—it’s an interesting dialogue!

 

[tbolt909]

Half true. The GM of WGR pursued the Bills when Citadel went into bankruptcy and the bankruptcy judge ruled that Citadel could walk away from its Bills contract, which it did. The Bills were without a radio partner, and at the time, it was a buyer's market. The enmity between the Bills and WGR ran deep, but the Entercom GM, to his credit, did a sales job.

Townsquare neither wanted nor needed the Bills. WYRK was #1 and WBLK was #2; WJYE, such as it was, held strong women numbers and Jack-FM was farting money with limited overhead. The Bills only would have cut into Townsquare's margins. So Entercom and WGR were the sole contenders.

That's what I said. Cumulus wasn't going to keep the Bills and Townsquare wasn't interested. No solo operator was in the running, so Entercom was the Bills only option. Maybe the GM negotiated a slightly better deal, but the Bills had no other suitors...

 

[flybynight]

It is bizzare to see Craig Carton who did overnights on WGR become a multi-millonare
Another example of leave Buffalo

Harvey Weinstein came out of Buffalo too. And now you know the rest of the story...

 

[TheBigA]

Thought about this thread as I was listening to the new Garth Brooks streaming channel Tailgate Radio. It's not sports talk, but rather a cross-genre music station inspired by sports, using NBC Sports Maria Taylor as VO. Nothing like it on OTA radio now, but why not?

Tailgate Radio | Free Internet Radio | TuneIn

 

[spt87]

Will Buffalo someday have an FM Sports station? Creating a new Sports station from scratch is too expensive to challenge WGR, which has the Bills and Sabres rights. But the FM dial in Buffalo will likely get a Sports station when Audacy sees the need to protect WGR. WGR and WBEN are among the highest billing stations in Buffalo.

Audacy has given FM simulcasts to many of its highest billing AM stations: WINS, WFAN, KNX, WBBM, KCBS, KYW. It had to blow up FM music stations with their own revenue streams to protect the high-billing stations on AM. In the long run, you can't let your best stations wither on the AM dial. The trouble is, in Buffalo, Audacy only owns two FM stations, full signal WKSE 98.5 and rimshot WLKK 107.7.

So what would you do? Give 98.5 to WGR and give 107.7 to WBEN? I think WBEN had 107.7 a few years ago. But at the time, it meant little to WBEN's numbers, so it went back to music. Now the need for FM simulcasts for WBEN and WGR are too strong to ignore. It takes decades to build a high-billing radio station. If you wait too long, listeners will find other places for news and sports. Every year, fewer and fewer listeners are willing to consider flipping the switch to AM radio.

While there are many examples of AM operators who added a FM simulcast in the face of competition, a lot of these FM simulcasts have more to do with not knowing what else to do with the FM rather than improving the the AM by putting it on FM (regardless of what the station owners say). Putting WINS on 92.3 was more about 92.3 being a loser ever since it lost its morning show to SiriusXM and radio not having a pipeline of new talent/ideas to fill the void.

 

[spt87]

The WBEN simulcast on 107.7 was a major debacle. You can't force people to listen to content they don't want. WGR may have more people streaming from out of town anyway. People who moved out of Buffalo, but follow the team. Audacy is in even worse shape now. The Buffalo cluster is irrelevant and they likely will sell the rest of the stations.

The only reason WGR got the Bills games back was that no FM station was interested. It's expensive and the Bills take most of the money. When Audacy leaves Buffalo, you may get your wish that Sports will end up on an FM signal. Forget about WBEN. That won't happen...

I think the debacle was that the AM signal is just much better than 107.7 in most of the market. If WBEN had simulcast on 102.5 things may have played out differently.

 

[tbolt909]

If WBEN had simulcast on 102.5 things may have played out differently.

Surely you jest. That's absurd. WBEN added an FM signal and the ratings WENT DOWN while The Lake revenue disappeared. Had they sacrificed STAR, even more revenue would have been lost(which Audacy has now done by selling the station).

Putting the same WBEN product on any FM signal won't find a new audience. Unless they shut down the AM completely, a simulcast is just a waste...

 

[SteveTripi]

As someone who worked at both WGR and 1270 The Fan ('13-'15) I can confidently say the market could benefit from a competitive sports station.

I say this as a straight white guy, but WGR's entire airstaff is a bunch of white dudes. At least when I was there Lauren K (I can't begin to spell her last name), Rachel Kingston, etc provided at least SOME female voices. Sports talk could use some diversity.

Why so few women? Probly a simple answer. More money in TV. TV salaries are bad. Radio are worse.

To do it right, you'd have to have a strong morning show, syndicate somebody really good middays (or go with music but not just the same stale classic rock) and you'd need a really strong PM drive. That's 4 actually talented humans that require a living wage. So no kids from WBNY "cutting their teeth" or "happy to be there". Reputable, experienced market talent. That's like $200/300,000 or so in salaries?

1 prod/1 host per shift, 1 PD, and you'd need some reporter/swing shift person. Basically a unicorn who's good at everything but will never host a regular shift and can be at every practice, every press conference, every event all the time to help network and gain favorable coverage (get that mic flag on local news, appear on podcasts, etc). This person also would have to be inexpensive. Again, these people don't exist or don't work in radio.

While "FM Sports Talk" is the topic of the thread, could an "FM Hot Talk" (or whatever equivalent) work instead?

You'd need a really cool, high budget studio that does super high quality, fun, viral video bits. You have to do Twitch/Youtube/live stream. The current station DOESN'T DO THAT. Beat them at something they don't do well. Plus, that's a product you can sell. More ways to sponsor the show.

Don't just talk about sports! But don't do old white guy ("I wish we have all of the power instead of most it") conservative talk either. TV, movies, pop culture. Talk about stuff that's fun! There are YouTube channels WITH MILLIONS OF SUBSCRIBERS who just talk about Marvel movies. Too niche? This is talk radio.

No one is listening.

Succession was A MAJOR hit, trended all the time, and the critics loved it. Episode 3 this season (when Logan Roy dies) could've been a "postgame show" style morning on WGR. Literally, just take calls on Succession. It's May! Nothing is happening anyway. That episode was buzzing like crazy and didn't even get a passing mention. A lost opportunity.

Do something fun. Do a pro wrestling show. Sure laugh at me. Pro wrestling is very popular in WNY (esp in local/indie circles). Do a lifestyle/dating apps/Buffalo nightlife show. Could be fun. The goal should be to have fun. The world sucks. The news is depressing. Buffalo sports team lose, all the time, in dramatically depressing fashion. Let's just have fun.

More people watch people play video games on the internet than watched the Stanley Cup Finals. What does this mean? I have no idea. Fred Jacobs writes 4 blogs a month about how radio NEEDS young people, and it NEEDS to cultivate young talent. Could a format like this work for that? I don't know. But young people work cheaper than old people. And learn to do the 10 things I mentioned above for 1 salary.

Again, this will never happen because the suits fear risk and won't put $$ on anything that won't guarantee profit. Why do like 4 stations all play the same songs? Because it's safe and it sells and it's cheap.

Sorry for the rant. If you're still reading this, I'm sorry for wasting your time.

 

[Gregg.]

>>>WBEN added an FM signal and the ratings WENT DOWN while The Lake revenue disappeared. Had they sacrificed STAR, even more revenue would have been lost(which Audacy has now done by selling the station).

Putting the same WBEN product on any FM signal won't find a new audience. Unless they shut down the AM completely, a simulcast is just a waste...<<<


That was true a few years ago. But as I said, every year, folks like ourselves who listened to AM radio as youngsters and are still open to tuning to AM are being replaced by folks who NEVER listen to AM radio.

Compelling programming is not enough to get most listeners under 50 to tune in an AM station. WGR and WBEN may be the two best billing stations in Buffalo. WYRK, WGRF, WHTT and WBLK also get good ratings. But as music stations, they can't run as many commercials, so their billing is likely not as good. WGR, WBEN and all AM-only leaders will need to simulcast on FM soon or watch those billings drop.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Sorry for the rant. If you're still reading this, I'm sorry for wasting your time.

In case you haven't noticed, this board is all about rants, screeds and speculatin'. If it weren't for those components, along with Unrequited Love For The Lake and half a dozen other issues, there'd be no "Radio Discussions" ... oh, and no pop-up ads with pictures of large breasted women and questionable-apps for converting pdf files. You made some very good observations. So rant on!

And it goes something like this...

Upon further review, WBUF, in its present format, might be the ideal situation to accommodate the Bills ... or Sabres .. or both. Stop laughing. OK, so the board consensus is the present WBUF morning show is vapid and the music is neither fish nor fowl. The morning show has been given more than enough time. It's getting bug-splattered by Shredd & Ragan on one end, and WGR on the other. So it would have to be blown up and a local show put in its place.

Putting local talent together would take a major investment. Shred and Ragan, and the WGR sports talk morning show cannot be flanked, they have to be targeted, and that would take a lot of talent, and a PD whose time is dedicated to nurturing and guiding the talent each day. So right off the bat, money has to be invested in talent, and more money has to be invested in a PD that has vision, protect-the-license-programing-skills and coaching skills. Those attributes don't come cheaply(ly), and they most often don't belong to even the best students who just graduated from Buffalo State, Syracuse or Fredonia.

Here's a suggestion: Slick Tom Tiberi as an anchor with Rich Gaenzler. Now you need a woman who can stand up to the guys and straighten their ties. Add a good, experienced PD who knows the game and can guide, encourage and when necessary, crack the whip on the talent. Yeah, the ad for that person would be: "Wanted, staff psychologist, attorney, coach, warden and father confessor."

Middays? Keep the present music format for four books. Find out if a full blown sports talk morning show can light a fire under middays. This is a daypart that can be used to flank the WGR, 97 and 103. Carefully. Big A earlier pointed to an approach that caught his interest. If a midday music/sports weave presentation can't get traction, blow it up and go local sports talk. Forget the flanking tactic. Forget shows like Rome and The Herd. Been there, heard that. Gotta be local and broadside.

Two young turks could be scheduled in middays, and as long as they don't sound like mindless frat boys after chugging a six of Genny Pounders, they might pull some numbers. Better combo, a turk and a legacy, each complementing the traits of the other. But there's an issue with young guys doing sports talk. They need a PD who can guide them and dedicate time to nurturing them, and the talent has to listen to the coaching and get it done. In a way, it's like cultivating a QB or receiver fresh out of college coming into the NFL. So many young guys come out of college and think they're going to be the next Jerry Rice or Tom Brady ... in radio/TV, the next ESPN morning anchor. Another thing about young sports guys on the air, the guys who listen often think they should be on the air in place of the guys who have the gig ... because "those guys on the radio don't know shizzle about sports." Testosterone wars.

PM drive has to be live with at least two veterans who know the Bills and Sabres, know sports and know the community ... and yeah, can talk fantasy football (in moderation) and their kid's ability to play Purple Haze after a year's guitar lessons. Knock WGR's Shopp and Bulldog all we want (and we often do here), but they're now legacies in the sports talk arena. Legacies. The brand. Listeners may bytch about them, but they know them and listen to them. S&B can be knocked off, but it will take time, money, promotion, skill and a few contracts with players or ex-players to appear on the show. And as is usually the case with players and ex-players, they'll need coaching because most jocks think all they have to do is show up... which is why most jocks wash out. They have to be in the radio game, not there just to collect a check and ride their (fading) on-field rep.

Nights? Tough task. This is where talk radio wins when the chips are on the table, and gets blown away when there's nothing there. It's a daypart susceptible to intense listener abandonment on one side of the scale, and intense listener loyalty on the other ... the true sports believers. There are so many competing alternatives: on-line, TV, on the field, on the ice. World championship poker, X-Box. Participation in sports. Women. Life. Kids. Nights is a precarious daypart that doesn't generate a lot of cume (unless it's the Sabres or Bills), but can contribute modest to moderate quarter hours. So bring on the young turks. Ladies and gentlemen. This is where they develop their chops. This also is where the PD needs to be very attentive. If the turks are good and work out, they become your daytime bench players. If they don't, they go back to Home Depot or grad school. Nothing wrong with either.

All nights? Replays. Special daytime replay-promo features and maybe ... weave it with music ... and lots of cross promos. Did I mention promos? Lots of long form cross promotion for the daytime features.

And now the disclaimer ... the preceding screed is just a run up the flag pole. Tear it up. Take it apart. Have at it. It's what this board is all about. Game on!

 

[topsound]

L

In case you haven't noticed, this board is all about rants, screeds and speculatin'. If it weren't for those components, along with Unrequited Love For The Lake and half a dozen other issues, there'd be no "Radio Discussions" ... oh, and no pop-up ads with pictures of large breasted women and questionable-apps for converting pdf files. You made some very good observations. So rant on!

And it goes something like this...

Upon further review, WBUF, in its present format, might be the ideal situation to accommodate the Bills ... or Sabres .. or both. Stop laughing. OK, so the board consensus is the present WBUF morning show is vapid and the music is neither fish nor fowl. The morning show has been given more than enough time. It's getting bug-splattered by Shredd & Ragan on one end, and WGR on the other. So it would have to be blown up and a local show put in its place.

Putting local talent together would take a major investment. Shred and Ragan, and the WGR sports talk morning show cannot be flanked, they have to be targeted, and that would take a lot of talent, and a PD whose time is dedicated to nurturing and guiding the talent each day. So right off the bat, money has to be invested in talent, and more money has to be invested in a PD that has vision, protect-the-license-programing-skills and coaching skills. Those attributes don't come cheaply(ly), and they most often don't belong to even the best students who just graduated from Buffalo State, Syracuse or Fredonia.

Here's a suggestion: Slick Tom Tiberi as an anchor with Rich Gaenzler. Now you need a woman who can stand up to the guys and straighten their ties. Add a good, experienced PD who knows the game and can guide, encourage and when necessary, crack the whip on the talent. Yeah, the ad for that person would be: "Wanted, staff psychologist, attorney, coach, warden and father confessor."

Middays? Keep the present music format for four books. Find out if a full blown sports talk morning show can light a fire under middays. This is a daypart that can be used to flank the WGR, 97 and 103. Carefully. Big A earlier pointed to an approach that caught his interest. If a midday music/sports weave presentation can't get traction, blow it up and go local sports talk. Forget the flanking tactic. Forget shows like Rome and The Herd. Been there, heard that. Gotta be local and broadside.

Two young turks could be scheduled in middays, and as long as they don't sound like mindless frat boys after chugging a six of Genny Pounders, they might pull some numbers. Better combo, a turk and a legacy, each complementing the traits of the other. But there's an issue with young guys doing sports talk. They need a PD who can guide them and dedicate time to nurturing them, and the talent has to listen to the coaching and get it done. In a way, it's like cultivating a QB or receiver fresh out of college coming into the NFL. So many young guys come out of college and think they're going to be the next Jerry Rice or Tom Brady ... in radio/TV, the next ESPN morning anchor. Another thing about young sports guys on the air, the guys who listen often think they should be on the air in place of the guys who have the gig ... because "those guys on the radio don't know shizzle about sports." Testosterone wars.

PM drive has to be live with at least two veterans who know the Bills and Sabres, know sports and know the community ... and yeah, can talk fantasy football (in moderation) and their kid's ability to play Purple Haze after a year's guitar lessons. Knock WGR's Shopp and Bulldog all we want (and we often do here), but they're now legacies in the sports talk arena. Legacies. The brand. Listeners may bytch about them, but they know them and listen to them. S&B can be knocked off, but it will take time, money, promotion, skill and a few contracts with players or ex-players to appear on the show. And as is usually the case with players and ex-players, they'll need coaching because most jocks think all they have to do is show up... which is why most jocks wash out. They have to be in the radio game, not there just to collect a check and ride their (fading) on-field rep.

Nights? Tough task. This is where talk radio wins when the chips are on the table, and gets blown away when there's nothing there. It's a daypart susceptible to intense listener abandonment on one side of the scale, and intense listener loyalty on the other ... the true sports believers. There are so many competing alternatives: on-line, TV, on the field, on the ice. World championship poker, X-Box. Participation in sports. Women. Life. Kids. Nights is a precarious daypart that doesn't generate a lot of cume (unless it's the Sabres or Bills), but can contribute modest to moderate quarter hours. So bring on the young turks. Ladies and gentlemen. This is where they develop their chops. This also is where the PD needs to be very attentive. If the turks are good and work out, they become your daytime bench players. If they don't, they go back to Home Depot or grad school. Nothing wrong with either.

All nights? Replays. Special daytime replay-promo features and maybe ... weave it with music ... and lots of cross promos. Did I mention promos? Lots of long form cross promotion for the daytime features.

And now the disclaimer ... the preceding screed is just a run up the flag pole. Tear it up. Take it apart. Have at it. It's what this board is all about. Game on!

Love this. You know anybody that could be PD???? Bwahahaha.....

I think you could structure a really good sports/talk/music hybrid with Bull as your #1 personality. He's got the experience/chops in both music and sports, is solid formatically, and has learned whatever lesson there was to learn. He's more than capable now of keeping co-stars in line (in cahoots with a strong PD) after what he's been through. And (this IMHO is a BIG PLUS) his return creates a big buzz, a significant amount of it negative, but you know what they say, and it's true....

You can build around him with a high-content male, a solid female, and even an up-and-comer as producer/gofer/butt of jokes. It's the old Seinfeld combo....as an old consultant described it..."a dick, a dork, and a dear...."

Thoughts?

 

[SteveTripi]

I mean, if it isn't obvious, I'd love to be a part of something like this.

But truthfully, no one is hiring and this is all conjecture anyway.

Fun to talk about though!

 

[Marchant26]

I definitely think it can be done. WGR has become ripe for the picking. The morning show is/has been a disaster and how Bulldog still has a job is amazing. S&B are so stale. My friends are huge sports fans who are craving local content but instead listen to Sirius. GR is that bad.

However, as others have stated, it'll take $, patience, and a sound strategy. I'd love to see it happen.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

I definitely think it can be done. WGR has become ripe for the picking. The morning show is/has been a disaster and how Bulldog still has a job is amazing. S&B are so stale. My friends are huge sports fans who are craving local content but instead listen to Sirius. GR is that bad. However, as others have stated, it'll take $, patience, and a sound strategy. I'd love to see it happen.

Most interesting that Sirius-XM has been brought into this discussion. I too have friends who check out S/XM Sports, but it also has its issues. My friends always keep going back to WGR for their full Bills or Sabres fix. Anecdotally, I'd guesstimate their Sirius-to-WGR ("S-XM / WGR") listening ratio at 40/60. Local should always win.