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Sox to WGN!
- Thread starter sjs1959
- Start date
radioman148
Walk of Fame Participant
Good, Go Go White Sox!
How ironic. Only a few years ago, WGN gave up being the Cubs longtime flagship because management didn't want to pay the high cost. I'm not sure if WGN said it was barely breaking even or maybe even losing money on the Cubs.
No word if anyone else, such as Disney/ESPN-owned WMVP tried to bid. Can you imagine, a 50,000 watt all-sports station in Chicago with no major league teams! I guess no FM owners thought to bid, to create Chicago's first FM sports station built around the White Sox. NYC, Boston and Philadelphia each have two FM sports stations but Chicago has none.
With only days to go till Spring Training begins, you can be sure WGN got very favorable terms.
No word if anyone else, such as Disney/ESPN-owned WMVP tried to bid. Can you imagine, a 50,000 watt all-sports station in Chicago with no major league teams! I guess no FM owners thought to bid, to create Chicago's first FM sports station built around the White Sox. NYC, Boston and Philadelphia each have two FM sports stations but Chicago has none.
With only days to go till Spring Training begins, you can be sure WGN got very favorable terms.
I guess no FM owners thought to bid, to create Chicago's first FM sports station built around the White Sox.
Which full market signal FM would you blow up for a sports FM?
FM Sports stations often make a lot of money. You can run more spots than on a music format, and advertisers will pay more to be associated with a sports team than just running spots in a music format.
So, how about Country 95.5 WEBG? Owned by iHeart, which owns other sports stations. Stuck in the one-point-somethings, unable to overtake Entercom's Country station, WUSN.
Or how about the two Marlin stations? Cumulus was going to buy them but backed out, saying they've been running them in an LMA but are losing money. OK, maybe that's not true and Cumulus, in Chapter 11, just doesn't want to pay Merlin for them. But they can't be doing that well or Merlin would know what to do with them. 101.1 WKQX and 97.9 WLUP.
Or how about WSHE? It's an AC station owned by Hubbard, which owns a sports station in Minneapolis. Stuck in the twos. I'm sure it makes money. But maybe an FM Sports station built around the White Sox would make more?
So, how about Country 95.5 WEBG? Owned by iHeart, which owns other sports stations. Stuck in the one-point-somethings, unable to overtake Entercom's Country station, WUSN.
Or how about the two Marlin stations? Cumulus was going to buy them but backed out, saying they've been running them in an LMA but are losing money. OK, maybe that's not true and Cumulus, in Chapter 11, just doesn't want to pay Merlin for them. But they can't be doing that well or Merlin would know what to do with them. 101.1 WKQX and 97.9 WLUP.
Or how about WSHE? It's an AC station owned by Hubbard, which owns a sports station in Minneapolis. Stuck in the twos. I'm sure it makes money. But maybe an FM Sports station built around the White Sox would make more?
I'm sure it makes money. But maybe an FM Sports station built around the White Sox would make more?
I'd suggest a station playing music with average ratings will make more money than a station paying millions for broadcast rights to a losing team that will get them at best the exact same numbers. If they could get the White Sox for the same cost as playing records, sure. But play by play sports is extremely expensive.
Informed Observer
New Participating Member
Lets not forget that the Sox is primarily a south side team and any station doing the broadcast will see a skew in demos.
radioman148
Walk of Fame Participant
Lets not forget that the Sox is primarily a south side team and any station doing the broadcast will see a skew in demos.
When the Sox win as they have done before, all of the Chicago area listens.
When the Sox win as they have done before, all of the Chicago area listens.
Or watches...and since most of the games are at night, most people watch.
radioman148
Walk of Fame Participant
Or watches...and since most of the games are at night, most people watch.
True except when they are in their car.
Inexpensive
I think WGN took this as a gamble. The Sox deal cold not have been all that expensive rights wise. And of course, we will never know all the details. There could be a revenue sharing component as compared to a flat fee arrangement which then manages more closely the actual cost to the station. The more they make, the more they both make.
And the Sox were not in a superior position to argue for more than that at this point in time. The team is still undergoing rebuilding and their prospects this year are mixed at best. So Jerry being no dummy took what he could get. If they win and win a lot, they both stand to make more...much more.
As I said before, sports rights fees are on a bubble now. They can't go much higher before it becomes both unsustainable financially (AKA Cubs/WGN), or viewing/listening public are burned out by all the ads spread across the broadcast. WBBM being the poster child for that with all their embedded 10 second ads during Bears games between plays. And the NFL's viewing being down about 8-10% this year for much the same reason. Social backlash isn't the reason. The public is simply burned out on ads, not simply fatigued.
Broadcasting as a general business needs to realize this and get rid of 6 minute stop sets on radio and >15 minutes an hour on TV. The networks are wondering where the public is going. Well...it's not that difficult.
RR
I think WGN took this as a gamble. The Sox deal cold not have been all that expensive rights wise. And of course, we will never know all the details. There could be a revenue sharing component as compared to a flat fee arrangement which then manages more closely the actual cost to the station. The more they make, the more they both make.
And the Sox were not in a superior position to argue for more than that at this point in time. The team is still undergoing rebuilding and their prospects this year are mixed at best. So Jerry being no dummy took what he could get. If they win and win a lot, they both stand to make more...much more.
As I said before, sports rights fees are on a bubble now. They can't go much higher before it becomes both unsustainable financially (AKA Cubs/WGN), or viewing/listening public are burned out by all the ads spread across the broadcast. WBBM being the poster child for that with all their embedded 10 second ads during Bears games between plays. And the NFL's viewing being down about 8-10% this year for much the same reason. Social backlash isn't the reason. The public is simply burned out on ads, not simply fatigued.
Broadcasting as a general business needs to realize this and get rid of 6 minute stop sets on radio and >15 minutes an hour on TV. The networks are wondering where the public is going. Well...it's not that difficult.
RR
Broadcasting as a general business needs to realize this and get rid of 6 minute stop sets on radio and >15 minutes an hour on TV. The networks are wondering where the public is going. Well...it's not that difficult.
Someone has to pay those rights fees. If you want advertisers to pay it, then you get 6-minute stopsets. If you don't like that, then each person pays $15 a month. Because streaming won't be free for much longer. That was just to get you hooked.
Someone has to pay those rights fees. If you want advertisers to pay it, then you get 6-minute stopsets. If you don't like that, then each person pays $15 a month. Because streaming won't be free for much longer. That was just to get you hooked.
Streaming MLB has never been free. It's either part of the monthly TuneIn Plus fee (as is the NFL) or $20 per season directly from MLB. The NHL and (I think) the NBA stream for free, as do many colleges, but not MLB or the NFL.
I think WGN took this as a gamble. The Sox deal cold not have been all that expensive rights wise. And of course, we will never know all the details. There could be a revenue sharing component as compared to a flat fee arrangement which then manages more closely the actual cost to the station. The more they make, the more they both make.
And the Sox were not in a superior position to argue for more than that at this point in time. The team is still undergoing rebuilding and their prospects this year are mixed at best. So Jerry being no dummy took what he could get. If they win and win a lot, they both stand to make more...much more.
Reinsdorf was in almost as much of a bind as then-Sox owner John Allyn was in 1971, when the team was horrible and had one foot in Seattle and the other on a banana peel. He brought in Harry Caray, but still had to pay two small stations (WEAW-FM 105.1 and WTAQ 1300) to be on radio at all. They didn't return to WMAQ until 1973.
Informed Observer
New Participating Member
Rex:
The three year deal must have opt out clauses. The station is about to be purchased by a notorious bottom feeder, Sinclair. The existing owner is not about to assume additional debt. Maybe they have an agreement similar to the Wildcats agreement where the team buys the time and resells it???
The three year deal must have opt out clauses. The station is about to be purchased by a notorious bottom feeder, Sinclair. The existing owner is not about to assume additional debt. Maybe they have an agreement similar to the Wildcats agreement where the team buys the time and resells it???
Maybe they have an agreement similar to the Wildcats agreement where the team buys the time and resells it???
I don't know about the Wildcats, but typically a sports team doesn't buy the time. They get a certain number of free avails in their game to sell. That's part of the deal.
I don't know about the Wildcats, but typically a sports team doesn't buy the time. They get a certain number of free avails in their game to sell. That's part of the deal.
Not true. I've been part of deals where the team bought the time in a time brokerage agreement and produced the whole thing. The variety and creativity in these deals is endless.
I will not argue there may be out clauses. And I will not argue either side in this arrangement. It could be either way.
However, in light of Sinclair offering to spin TV's WGN and WPIX in order to gain FCC approval, one can't imagine they would keep WGN radio if that occurs.
RR
Not true. I've been part of deals where the team bought the time in a time brokerage agreement and produced the whole thing.
That sounds like a college thing. I'm talking about a pro team like the White Sox. They are more likely to get free avails to sell as part of their deal.
staggmovie
Star Participant
Doesn't seem right to me the Chicago White Sox on WGN Radio
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