WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sports?

[aindik]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Since it's ESPN radio, WFAN probably won't be carrying it this year. WEPN 1050 will probably carry it in NYC, and you have no prayer of catching that in Philly.

All week, WPHY airs ESPN's talk shows and all the network commercials. They may even pay rights fees. In exchange for that, they get some exclusivity for ESPN programming in their market. No other station that reaches Trenton will be permitted to run the Derby, at least until such time that they make a larger-scale airtime commitment to ESPN Radio.

 

[Rockin Rob]

In defense of WNPV, and I do not have any inside info, but I believe ESPN offers two separate feeds, one for ESPN Radio + PBP and another which is just ESPN radio itself, no PBP. Otherwise, you'd be able to hear ESPN NBA coverage, which NPV doesn't air. If that is the case, I wouldn't expect to hear the Derby on 1440, either.

 

[eatspaste]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

NO I WILL NOT. 920 AM HAS A BAD SIGNAL, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?

Julius, I suggest that you spearhead a massive e-mail writing campaign directed towards all of the AM stations within the market and get them to fight Nassau to bring ESPN to a city-based signal! We must all rise-up and address this major problem right away! Julius, I would e-mail WPHE, WVCH, WTMR, WWDB, WURD, WNAP, WFYL, WEMG, WHAT, WDAS, WNWR, WPWA, and WTTM right now - there's still time to get horse racing on AM radio in Philadelphia!

 

[Jul]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Julius, I suggest that you spearhead a massive e-mail writing campaign directed towards all of the AM stations within the market and get them to fight Nassau to bring ESPN to a city-based signal! We must all rise-up and address this major problem right away! Julius, I would e-mail WPHE, WVCH, WTMR, WWDB, WURD, WNAP, WFYL, WEMG, WHAT, WDAS, WNWR, WPWA, and WTTM right now - there's still time to get horse racing on AM radio in Philadelphia!

Not those stations. I'm talking about these stations: WFIL, WIP, WPEN, WNTP, KYW and WPHT or even the FM stations in town.

 

[DToTheJ]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

I would e-mail WPHE, WVCH, WTMR, WWDB, WURD, WNAP, WFYL, WEMG, WHAT, WDAS, WNWR, WPWA, and WTTM right now - there's still time to get horse racing on AM radio in Philadelphia!

Not those stations. I'm talking about these stations: WFIL, WIP, WPEN, WNTP, KYW and WPHT or even the FM stations in town.
[/quote]

But what about WHAT? They broadcast in HD!

 

[Jul]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

I hope that WPEN 950 AM will take the ESPN radio affiliation before May of this year starts because WPHY 920 AM will not cut it in this market with their poor signal as a ESPN radio station.

 

[8638]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

ESPN radio is not known as being a big draw - in any market. It's cheap name-brand programming, that's about it. Frankly... this is a format that's well suited for small markets and rimshots. Why waste a perfectly good Philly AM signal on it?

I agree: All in favor of 1540 WNWR switching to ESPN Radio, say "aye"!

But what about those nighttime horse races? WNWR can't cover those The Philly market is definitely underserved, horse race wise!!

 

[oaktree]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

"...not no rimshot station," Me thinks Julius believes 920 "...blowed it big time."

Julius, Radio 101 course will show that affiliation agreements/contracts don't merely fall from the skies into the laps of stations you may want them to.

That's why it's called BROADcasting.

Some stations take as much of a competitive advantage to keep programming OUT of a market as much or, at times, even MORE than they do to keep it IN a market.

WPHY, "bad signal" and all at 920 with 1400 watts may be doing just that. It's cheaper for them affiliate-wise to pay for the "brand name" than to allow 'PEN or 'IP to have the affiliation, even if they wanted it, than to not cover it themselves.

Julius, unfortunately, it's not about making audience these days ... it's about making $$$ and preventing your competition from making even more.

If you owned 920, I assure you that you'd laugh all the way to Churchhill Downs with the thought that your "rimshot" was keeping the Derby OFF the air in metro Philly, while the suburbs could get it on YOUR station...while the other rimshots could serve to get the signal to as much of the metro area as they could.

If someone wanted the affiliation before now, trust me, ESPN would have given eye-teeth to bend over backwards to have a good Philly signal affiliated with it. You snooze...you lose. And ESPN is not a syndicated power in any market.

Plus, there are rules about what to carry, what not -- and how much advertising per hour from the network you have to carry, in addition to an affiliation fee to consider.

Incidentally, Julius...the Derby looks better in HD on television than it does on radio. You'll hear plenty of replays on KYW. Promise.

 

[Jul]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

"...not no rimshot station," Me thinks Julius believes 920 "...blowed it big time."

Julius, Radio 101 course will show that affiliation agreements/contracts don't merely fall from the skies into the laps of stations you may want them to.

That's why it's called BROADcasting.

Some stations take as much of a competitive advantage to keep programming OUT of a market as much or, at times, even MORE than they do to keep it IN a market.

WPHY, "bad signal" and all at 920 with 1400 watts may be doing just that. It's cheaper for them affiliate-wise to pay for the "brand name" than to allow 'PEN or 'IP to have the affiliation, even if they wanted it, than to not cover it themselves.

Julius, unfortunately, it's not about making audience these days ... it's about making $$$ and preventing your competition from making even more.

If you owned 920, I assure you that you'd laugh all the way to Churchhill Downs with the thought that your "rimshot" was keeping the Derby OFF the air in metro Philly, while the suburbs could get it on YOUR station...while the other rimshots could serve to get the signal to as much of the metro area as they could.

If someone wanted the affiliation before now, trust me, ESPN would have given eye-teeth to bend over backwards to have a good Philly signal affiliated with it. You snooze...you lose. And ESPN is not a syndicated power in any market.

Plus, there are rules about what to carry, what not -- and how much advertising per hour from the network you have to carry, in addition to an affiliation fee to consider.

Incidentally, Julius...the Derby looks better in HD on television than it does on radio. You'll hear plenty of replays on KYW. Promise.

I want to hear the derby on radio this year in Philadelphia radio. I hope that one philadelphia radio station in this market that cares about the radio market will air this broadcast Next Saturday, like KYW, WPHT, WIP, WPEN, WFIL, WNTP or even one of the FM's will broadcast this race. It doesn't make any sense to me that the other major markets cleared this broadcast but not Philly? Come on Philly radio, you got to do better than that.

 

[Frasier]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

I want to hear the derby on radio this year in Philadelphia radio. I hope that one Philadelphia radio station in this market that cares about the radio market will air this broadcast next Saturday...

But clearly, they DO care about the market - that's exactly why they aren't bending over backwards to carry the call for this race in the first place.

And quite frankly, if some major station was planning to carry the race, you probably wouldn't be listening anyway. Remember the time you blackmailed WPEN into airing the AFC Championship game, then disclosed that you weren't listening?

 

[oaktree]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Hey, Julius...another point.

While I, too, am one of a few lingering AM fans still around, I'm really surprised that by now you haven't put 2+2 together and still adamantly ignore the facts of why this ESPN deal just isn't happening in Philly.

OK, let's try another tact.

From where I live, I punch up my Roku Labs Internet radio (or handy laptop) and cruise through the listings...of Internet Radio stations.

Yeah, there it is...E S P N. Under "E".

And if I didn't get the play by play or call, I'd go to "Sports" and, wow...look at the list of E S P N stations in all time zones!

Hey...how about going to WHAS in Louisville? Betcha they stream the race! And in digital crystal clear quality audio, too!

So, you see, Julius, in 2007, ESPN is in fact, in Philadelphia...on every computer, on every block, on every laptop, on every Internet radio (available at Best Buy) and we're not talking onesies and twosies, here, so don't give me "But most poeple don't have a computer," as an argument.

And it's on satellite, too!

But its free on the computer and with no hassle in tuning im listening for those "rimshot" little teapot stations.

AM, incidentally, never sounded as good or better than with a decent, quality stream on the Internet. Better than HD, in fact and no dang static!

Welcome to 2007, my friend.

 

[Jul]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Hey, Julius...another point.

While I, too, am one of a few lingering AM fans still around, I'm really surprised that by now you haven't put 2+2 together and still adamantly ignore the facts of why this ESPN deal just isn't happening in Philly.

OK, let's try another tact.

From where I live, I punch up my Roku Labs Internet radio (or handy laptop) and cruise through the listings...of Internet Radio stations.

Yeah, there it is...E S P N. Under "E".

And if I didn't get the play by play or call, I'd go to "Sports" and, wow...look at the list of E S P N stations in all time zones!

Hey...how about going to WHAS in Louisville? Betcha they stream the race! And in digital crystal clear quality audio, too!

So, you see, Julius, in 2007, ESPN is in fact, in Philadelphia...on every computer, on every block, on every laptop, on every Internet radio (available at Best Buy) and we're not talking onesies and twosies, here, so don't give me "But most poeple don't have a computer," as an argument.

And it's on satellite, too!

But its free on the computer and with no hassle in tuning im listening for those "rimshot" little teapot stations.

AM, incidentally, never sounded as good or better than with a decent, quality stream on the Internet. Better than HD, in fact and no dang static!

Welcome to 2007, my friend.

ESPN radio doesn't allow streaming of its play by play broadcasts. I don't know if they allow it on XM and Sirius? That's another reason why I and the radio listeners in this region want to hear this race Saturday.

 

[BRUSSTAR]

That's another reason why I and the radio listeners in this region want to hear this race Saturday.

Julius, with no personal offense intended, I probably interact with a hundred times as many "radio listeners in this region" as you do in any given week.

Trust me, you do not speak for them.

Many, many years ago, as a budding want-to-be broadcaster, I discovered there was much more to learn by listening to those who have "been there" and know what they're talking about versus spouting off the same uneducated comments over and over like an annoying, squawking parrot.

I'm probably one of the few around here who have really appreciated your passion for folowing Philadelphia radio over the years. But that passion is clearly now overshadowed by your total arrogance and complete unwillingness to learn the realities of broadcasting from the many professionals and observers alike who have tried to help you. People spend lots of time trying to explain things, frequently at your own request, yet you repeatedly ignore their contributions by continuing to jam radio forums with these same tired "arguments" and hollow complaints. And when you go into your "So-and-so is terrible and should be fired" routines, you're being just plain cruel.

Those in your life who encourage you to continue posting these tirades are now, I believe, doing you a grave dis-service.

After seven years of trying to be kind and helpful in your alleged quest to learn about the world of radio broadcasting (not to mention your borderline unhealthy obsession with airchecks), I'm afraid you've become just about impossible to defend and support anymore.

I really hope you'll reconsider the manner in which you launch these "campaigns" and think about listening to (and learning from) others who really understand the issues you say you care about. I wish you nothing but the best. Really.

P.S. -- (and this goes for anyone, not just Julius) Mindlessly adding the word "period" after a sentence does not strengthen one's argument. If anything, it subtracts from such by demonstrating a lack of confidence as well as an unwillingness to consider different points of view.

 

[oaktree]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Well said, George. Good points.

And now, back to Julius ...

Just because ESPN doesn't "allow" stations to stream play-by-play doesn't mean they don't. In fact, the same that is said for talk shows like Rush, Hannity, et al applies to ESPN..

Stations can, and often do, stream the ESPN feed IF 1) they pay to do so (just as Westwood One allows stations to carry certain sporting events) or, 2) If they forget to flip the Internet stream switch (and many forget to do so ... including some Phillies network stations or, 3) some stations just don't give a rip and they stream it anyway.

You're hung up in an AM/FM only world, Julius, and there are other alternatives.

And as "soundbite radio," I asssure you that you'll hear the last quarter mile run on the 4pm news-on-the-hour on KYW or on WPHT if the Phils aren't playing and within 15 minutes of the finish on ESPN, if not sooner online from affiliates not carrying the race.

You got a favorite in this race or somethin'? Isn't a horse from Steinbrenner running for the roses? What will you do when AM radio finally implodes upon itself?

 

[Frasier]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Stations can, and often do, stream the ESPN feed IF 1) they pay to do so (just as Westwood One allows stations to carry certain sporting events) or, 2) If they forget to flip the Internet stream switch (and many forget to do so ... including some Phillies network stations or, 3) some stations just don't give a rip and they stream it anyway.

Uhhh maybe it's me, but wouldn't 2 and 3 be the same?

 

[oaktree]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Sorry. The difference is "intent." Some stations "forget" to block the stream, others (#3) say, "Screw it," and just let the feed go.

We're talking a 2-minute horse race, not the Olympics. Probably a half-hour or hour package at best.

I live in a market where no matter the threats, a station here carries MLB, NFL and NBA games both on air and online, knowing that it's copyright infringement ... even though they are legitimate affiliates of the teams. They know they can't air games on the Internet.

It's not hard to check.

I'm surprised the station hasn't been caught, despite the heavy hand of the leagues involved.

 

[Jul]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

It doesn't make any sense that a Philadelphia radio station is not carrying this. 920 AM WPHY DOES NOT COUNT as a Philly radio station. Please contact all the Philly radio stations thss weekand ask one of them to carry the race Saturday and also ask one of them to carry ESPN radio play by play from now on.

 

[oaktree]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Dear WPEN -

Hi. Hey, uh, since the new Winter Book came out today and, well, seeing from the "currency" ratings from the personal people meter thingy showing 950 WPEN in dead last place, where even Wilmington stations beat you, I wonder, if just this one time, you could do me a favor.

Could you, uh, maybe run, for just two minutes, the call of the Kentucky Derby for my friend and pal, Julius, this Saturday?

He's having a blistering attack of the "I wants" on this topic and I'm afraid he's spent the lunch money on some off-track wager on this race and he'll have an absolute wopnick if that freaking race isn't on a legitimate Philadelphia radio station, instead of that 920 thing in Trenton.

Come on, WPEN, it's just a 2-minute race for the roses and, while it's not enough for quarter-hour credit (which must be five minutes,) how about giving a guy a break?

Just two dang minutes.

Horse racing on radio never sounded so good as it does in HD, either, you might want to look into that for Saturday's big race. It's in Kentucky. Churchill Downs. My pal, Julius, says he can already hear the hoofbeats among the tinkling of mint julep glasses. (He was kinda hoping it was Orange Julius' being sold.)

Please, before you absolutely go off the scope into the hinterlands of no ratings, could you please do this one favor, please?

Why, I haven't heard great horse racing on radio since WILM did it for Brandywine Raceway and Delaware Park and that was eons ago.

Thank you. Many board posters will thank you and, who knows, we might listen.

Then again, we may not.

Thanks,

G. Steinbrenner
Horse Owner

 

[Wil]

Re: WPHY 920 AM preventing Philly radio stations to air some play by play sport

Please contact all the Philly radio stations thss weekand ask one of them to carry the race Saturday and also ask one of them to carry ESPN radio play by play from now on.

I wish I could help you, but I plan on WATCHING the race on TV. This type of race is much more exciting when it is visual. Do yourself a favor, take a deep breath, turn off the radio for 2 minutes this weekend, sit down, relax, and WATCH the race. WHo knows, you may enjoy it a little!