I'm not a big sports junkie, but headlines like this raise a major eyebrow.National sports celebrity blog Sports by Brooks is reporting that ESPN Radio is "planning to charge some non-ESPN owned and operated sports radio stations fees to carry its radio network programming. For big markets (Top 30), the annual charge to stations is as high as $100,000."
Excerpt:
Most, if not all of those stations make their money on local sports talk shows and play-by-play ad sales. Revenue from ESPN’s national properties is usually negligible - as most of its shows have struggled in the ratings against large market, local shows. (I know, not in every case.) Perhaps local stations could make money on ESPN Radio’s play-by-play properties, but not enough to make up that $100K rights fee in any scenario.
What does this mean for local ESPN radio affiliate 980AM-WTIX? Its sister station is 790-AM The Ball, which is a FOX Sports Radio affiliate.
TMW will keep an eye out on this one.
E.C. :)
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2 comments:
I could see a smaller market station like 980 out of Winston-Salem maybe paying ESPN a fee of say $1,000.00 a month to carry the ESPN brand if you have it on 24/7, but the One Hundred Grand number is getting out of hand.
Smaller markets will be buying the brand name if they can work out a nominal fee deal. It would still be cheaper than having a staff.
If you are 980, why not do a merger with your sister station and carry the same format as 790 the Ball?????
That way you could do a better job of covering the entire market and use Fox Sports Radio network programming throughout.
You would have 6-9am FSR, Dan Patrick 9a till noon, Jim Rome noon till 3pm, Primetime with Mark Packer 3-7pm and FSR the rest of the night/overnight.....
And this wouldn't cost you a cent.....
Throw in your LIVE Saturday morning show on both stations and you are up and running in the Triad with better blanket coverage and at no cost to the providers.
Our local station broadcasts ESPN at night only. They said if charges come their way -- they're out. Their owner says it will simply open up the door for other companies to begin syndicating sports-talk radio offered to stations for free. He says his station finds it difficult to line up sponsors for ESPN and the ratings are lower than when his station played music. He also says local is the way to go in every case, talk or otherwise.
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