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Would WEEI dump ESPN for DialGlobal's NBCSports?

raccoonradio

raccoonradio

It was pointed out on b-r-i and tweets by bostonradio that Dial Global has the NFL package.
Mark S. wondered if WEEI would dump ESPN to pick up NBCSN/DialGlobal---NFL games
(but they'd lose baseball playoffs etc.) It's going to be interesting esp. if CBS puts their
new sports net on WBZ-FM and dumps Fox

The players
ESPN
Fox Sports Radio
Yahoo!Sports Radio (will they survive?)
The new CBS Sports Radio via Cumulus
The new NBC Sports Radio via Dial Global

Some of Mark's tweets:
>>FSR would be homeless in Boston in that case. That would suck because FSR is by far superior sports network out there,IMO.
>>Some sports stations nationally are both - ESPN and DG affils. They may have to drop ESPN if they to retain NFL which means they'd be forced to carry NBC Sports Radio Net

>>Dial Global is NBC Sports Radio's partner. Dial Global has all the big NFL radio package incl. SB. They can definitely leverage+ NFL rights and NBC carriage with national affils. For stations like 'EEI, it maybe more value to carry NFL than ESPN's WS or NBA

(Me again) A reminder that when Sports Hub debuted, they had Sporting News Radio
(now Yahoo!) overnight. 2 months later, ESPN made a deal with EEI. Fox Sports Radio
(synd. by Clear Channel) wound up on 98.5, what with JT's cult following.

If Fox were homeless again...1200? 1430?
 
i wish someone would carry fsr full time so i can listen to the Dan Patrick show in my car!!
 
I love Dan Patrick show. When I'm at home (sick, or day off), I watched it on "Comcast Sportsnet"

What WEEI should've done in the first place (after losing "Fox Sports Radio" to "98.5 The Sportshub") what WEEI should've done is get "Yahoo Sports Radio" and ran that overnights, and weekend nights like they do with "ESPN Radio"
Because WEEI lost a lot of their overnight listenners to "98.5 The Sportshub"

If they went with "Yahoo Sports Radio" maybe they will still have those listenners? Because both "Fox Sports Radio", and "Yahoo Sports Radio" sound very alike


can't wait to see what happens here
 
They may have gotten ESPN to get things like baseball playoffs, etc. The whole Dial Global/NBC
Sports Network deal is that they have the NFL package. Mark of BRW was quoted as saying that
who knows, EEI might get rid of ESPN just to get the NFL games. It would be interesting if the
850 were to be a network station 24/7, as was forecast, but it's said they a) want to cover all
areas and 93.7 may be weak in some... and b) if they do a 100 per cent simulcast of 93.7/850,
they get credit for both stations.

This is why you didn't have, say, the NBA playoffs (after Celts got eliminated) put on, say, 850
while WEEI-FM does Red Sox. It would break up the simulcast. They would not get credit in
the ratings.

As for networks, which network is the best depends on who's listening. You may like Yahoo Sports.
Mark S mentioned on Twitter he thought Fox was the best. We don't even know yet what NBC
Sports Network and CBS Sports Network will offer--but in the case of CBS if it's anything like
what they have on some of their stations (like Sports Hub) it could present a serious challenge
to ESPN. Ditto, NBC, if they do a good job. Remember in case of WEEI they run ESPN
overnights mostly. But they would have things like baseball playoffs.

Again you may like Yahoo Sports but ESPN is a known name and they wanted things like
baseball playoffs. Without ESPN, no World Series on Boston Radio. (Unless ESPN affiliated
with Sports Hub and even then there could be conflicts.) And CBS would rather have 98.5
run their own product.

ESPN and the other networks ideally would want a station to run them 24/7 or close to it. The best ESPN could do was overnights, etc on WEEI. I wouldn't be too surprised if, say, 98.5
took CBS Sports overnight next Jan. when it premieres. Where does Fox go? Remember Clear
Channel syndicates it. 1200 or 1430 (if cons talk goes to 101.7)? Or even 1510 overnights?

>>WEEI lost a lot of their overnight listenners to "98.5 The Sportshub"

JT does have a cult following.

It was interesting that when Sports Hub debuted they had Sporting News Radio (now Yahoo)
but only for 2 months. As soon as WEEI signed with ESPN, they decided to pick up Fox.
 
from Ohio Media Watch:
http://ohiomediawatch.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/much-ado-about-sports-radio/

>>The odd man out? Probably Yahoo Sports Radio, which will lose big market clearances in Detroit and Chicago, where it airs off-hours on WSCR/670 “The Score”. We can’t see it surviving in a sports radio market with two new big network-run services. ESPN Radio will lose the Cumulus stations, mostly in medium and small markets. Fox Sports Radio will lose some clearances as well…in addition to “92.3 The Fan” here, Boston’s WBZ-FM 98.5 “The Sports Hub” also carries FSR in late night hours. We are assuming CBS Sports Radio will displace other networks in off-hours on all of the large market CBS-owned stations.
 
whatever happens I hope either WEEI gets something better than "ESPN Radio" (put Fox Sports Radio" back on or put "NBC Sports Radio" on),

or "ESPN Radio" has to do something to make themselves sound more alive (ex: Better Sportscenter Update Bed Music, Better (Rejoin Bedmusic) after the Sportscenter Update, read more Texts, have more features...
 
What Entercom may want to do (and perhaps eventually will) is eventually break-up the 850/93.7 simulcast, with "WEEI" on 93.7 only, and 24/7 ESPN Radio (and play-by-play overflow from 93.7) at 850.

There may be some overnight hours when both would simulcast ESPN Radio, unless Entercom were to hire a local sports host for overnights on 93.7 (and presumably, the other "WEEI Sports Radio Network" stations).
 
The problem is as I understand it the simulcast has to be 24/7 to get full credit. Break it apart
for sep. program, they don't get credit. This is why you didn't get the NBA finals on 850, etc.
while 93.7 did Sox, etc. If they want to suffer a bit in the ratings....and again, there may be
some areas where 850 covers better than 93.7, 103.7, 1440 etc It could happen someday
but so far, no.

>>There may be some overnight hours when both would simulcast ESPN Radio

I think they have to take ESPN shows to get the play-by-play. It's a package deal. WRKO may have had to pick up Ingraham and Doyle to get Savage; now that Ingraham is off, you still hear
her doing ads that WRKO runs...here, TRN may have said "if you can't carry Laura's show you still
need to carry her ads"--to keep Savage.

That could be the reason. Keep in mind also these decisions for Entercom might be made at
the corporate level at their HQ just outside of Philly. For all we know, Wolfe/Kahn may have
wanted to simulcast WEEI on 93.7 awhile back but didn't get permission from HQ till last year.
 
I just can't stand the ESPN brand in general anymore, nevermind ESPN Radio. Between the non sense of the brett farve coverage, tim tebow and lebron james...I have a real disdain for ESPN. The only ESPN radio show I like is Scott Van Pelt...other than that, its Fox Sports Radio for me, especially for weekend overnight programming; blows ESPN out of the water on that end. John Fricke, Big Ben, Mike North...they are entertaining and at least make it seem live.

I am just surprised EEI and Hub haven't had a live locally produced weeknight overnight show. In this sports talk generation world and especially in a sports city like Boston, just surprising to see none of those stations picked up on it. If EEI was smart and thats a big if....they would get an overnight host that is young and can get some of the demographic that 98.5 has completely taken away. I am in my 20s and all my friends listen to sports talk and they all listen to the Hub.... because D & C caters to the older white republican guy, people are tired of Glenn Ordway and Mike Adams show is such a homer show that even myself, a huge boston sports fan, has turn off because of the homerism. I do enjoy Jon Rider though, would definitly tune in if he did an overnight show.
 
you do get some post game talk etc/LOCAL past midnight when Pats are on Mon night football...maybe after C's or Sox playoff games, etc. but very rare

I might agree with you a bit on Fox vs ESPN but don't listen to either too often--but I do like
when EEI carries baseball playoffs, final four etc

EEI used to joke that Sheppard would get a midnight show and it would be called the Big Sexy
 
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