WSCR To Lose White Sox Games?

[DToTheJ]

While 670 The Score "certainly has the ability" to retain rights to air Chicago White Sox games after their current deal expires this year, a marketing executive with the team said they will be scouting other stations.

"We are looking at all of our options, and this is far from a handshake deal," he said.

The team has also contacted Emmis - owners of WKQX and WLUP - about a possible deal. This brings speculation that one of these two stations could switch to an all-sports format, should Emmis get the rights to air White Sox games.

Meanwhile, CBS Radio's Rod Zimmerman was mum on a possible new deal, and confirmed that "Fresh 105.9," which recently hired a new PD, has no plans of changing to a sports format.

Full story:
http://www.suntimes.com/business/lazare/2299274,CST-NWS-lew21.article

 

[KeithE4]

What would Emmis run when no game is being broadcast? Clear Channel Premiere Fox Sports Radio? Does Chicago even need a third sports station? Most markets have only one or two.

 

[radioguy39nj]

Baseball on FM is making inroads in smaller markets. Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Detroit are prime examples of teams that left their long-time 50 kW AM blowtorch for FM stations. Two factors are driving this trend IMHO, first the demographics are more favorable on the FM band and second is the migration of news/talk and sports formats to FM.

If the White Sox move to an FM station, it will mark the first top three market team to do so (at least to my knowledge). I might also add that some CBS stations have dropped their local MLB team in recent years (Pirates, Twins and Cardinals most notably).

 

[audioguy]

I wouldn't be that surprised. But I wonder about one thing: will the FM have to shut off their HD during the games, as the AM's have done in order to avoid the delay? I'll bet they will! Another strike against HD radio!

 

[Tom Wells]

WSCR 670 is not a "radio station". It is noisemaking placeholder on the AM dial 50 khz wide destroying reception of one of the most
valuable radio staions on the dial, WSM 650.
I truly wish them the worst possible consequences and I'm still considering making an entry in their public file
in condemnation of the interference to their own signal and that of others.

The only time I CAN really listen to WSM clearly is during a White Sox game with the iboc off.

 

[cyberdad]

Maybe they'll go back to 1300 a.m.

 

[radioman148]

Maybe they'll go back to 1300 a.m.

Ahhh good old WTAQ with Harry Caray & Ralph Faucher.
The Sox had a ring of stations surrounding Chicagoland. WJOL, WJOB, WTAQ, WKRS, & WEAW-FM now WOJO. So in 71 & 72
they were on FM.

 

[Prais]

Back in the day I believe that the Dundee or Woodstock station was also in "the ring." I worked at weaw at the time. It made wkrp look like wgn.

 

[radioman148]

Back in the day I believe that the Dundee or Woodstock station was also in "the ring." I worked at weaw at the time. It made wkrp look like wgn.

You're right--WVFV Dundee carried the games. The SOX didn't have a strong Chicago AM outlet those years, but they had the metro covered with those stations surrounding the area. WEAW-FM had the most reliable signal in Chicago of that group since they transmitted from the Hancock.
There were probably a few other stations that I can't recall now.

 

[radiotower40]

There have been rumors swirling around for a while now about CBS simulcasting 670 or 780 on 105.9.
I suspect that if the numbers for Fresh don't start turning around, this will be possible by fall 2010.

I personally think due to the demo's of 780, which were not so great in the 25-54 etc, that a simulcast on
105.9 would make sense for them. 670 did much better than 780 in the money demo's.

If this were to happen The Bears would be on AM and FM. They could also keep The Sox on 670, and at the
same time could break off the news programming on the FM side to air The Sox games. They are both CBS
properties so I think this could be done.

This would seem like a win win situation for everyone involved, The Bears , The Sox and 780.

As much as I still believe in AM, reality is that this would give us an FM news station. Something that would be
very convenient when I am in a building with poor AM reception. There is also the fact that I have to face, being
that 99% of new media devices, MP3 players and such, only offer FM radio if they offer a terrestrial radio at all.

I am a big AM radio geek, yet reality is what it is.

I also have to say that listening to 780 in HD is horrendous! There are many times I listen while getting ready for
work and want to know the traffic and weather and news in a small window of time. After a few minutes it frankly
hurts my ears. This is do to another aspect of HD radio which was "overlooked". I live about three miles from the
1390 and 1690's array. 1690 has harmonics on 790, and with them both being HD, it causes great interference on
780.

I'm not an AM radio is dying type, in fact I'm far from it, but if HD is not stopped soon it will hasten the demise of
it.

 

[radioguy39nj]

WSCR 670 is not a "radio station". It is noisemaking placeholder on the AM dial 50 khz wide destroying reception of one of the most
valuable radio staions on the dial, WSM 650.
I truly wish them the worst possible consequences and I'm still considering making an entry in their public file
in condemnation of the interference to their own signal and that of others.

The only time I CAN really listen to WSM clearly is during a White Sox game with the iboc off.

Do you get interference from WFAN on 660 AM New York?

 

[Tom Wells]

WSCR 670 is not a "radio station". It is noisemaking placeholder on the AM dial 50 khz wide destroying reception of one of the most
valuable radio staions on the dial, WSM 650.
I truly wish them the worst possible consequences and I'm still considering making an entry in their public file
in condemnation of the interference to their own signal and that of others.

The only time I CAN really listen to WSM clearly is during a White Sox game with the iboc off.

Do you get interference from WFAN on 660 AM New York?

I'm too close to 670 to ever know if anything from WFAN 660 is contributing to interference in 645-655 Khz. It must be, but all I hear is WSCR.

 

[317C50KW]

WJOB wasn't part of the White Sox net. It was the then WLNR 106.3 in Lansing.

All stations received the game via WEAW. A very nice 1970's Sherwood (then made in Chicago) FM receiver was provided to each station for pickup!

 

[radioman148]

WJOB wasn't part of the White Sox net. It was the then WLNR 106.3 in Lansing.

All stations received the game via WEAW. A very nice 1970's Sherwood (then made in Chicago) FM receiver was provided to each station for pickup!

I thought WJOB did carry some games at least for one year, but maybe it was WWCA. I know that WTAQ was the first station in that network and WEAW-FM did not carry the games right away. They started just after WTAQ carried some games early in the 1971 season.

 

[radiotower40]

You're right WJOB did carry some White Sox games. I don't think they did back then though. They carried
them around 2003-2004?? for a couple seasons.

 

[EnbyCee]

You're right WJOB did carry some White Sox games. I don't think they did back then though. They carried
them around 2003-2004?? for a couple seasons.

Yep, it was 01-03 actually I think. I always wondered what the deal was with that, when the Sox were on WMVP it made sense for stations in the western part of Chicagoland (like WBIG in Aurora) to carry them because of 1000's crap signal to the west at night, but WMVP blasts into NW Indiana 24/7. I guess WJOB was just that desperate to fill airtime, their owners were going bankrupt.