If they do that, without another big four Boston team to which they have broadcast rights, that's the end of WEEI-FM as a sports station. The Red Sox are the only big four team they have. They would give WBZ-FM all four.
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Audacy just filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
- Thread starter BostonRadioListener
- Start date
But on the nights when the 4 sports teams conflict with each other. Where will they all go?
Typically this is why all of the sports teams in a city don't give their rights to one station. Priority becomes an issue in negotiations. We see that in Los Angeles where the Dodgers are actually part owners of a radio station, and the Angels are full owners of a radio station, in order to ensure their team gets priority. You might see that in Boston, where NESN or the Red Sox could become partners in an AM station.
Boston only has a couple of even marginally good signals: 590 (Salem and religious), 680, 850 and 1030.
WEEI-850 is a very directional 50 kw station with nearly no ratings or revenue and it is owned by Audacy. That's the only one I see that is even a remote possibility.
In Los Angeles, KSPN has used Salem and KABC as overflow for its Lakers broadcasts.
My take is the quality of the signal isn't important, since the primary distribution is streaming.
That's another possibility: The team could retain its audio rights for its own streaming service. However, most teams tend to prefer outsourcing this function to someone else, and they would handle content production.
Would regulators step in at that point and force one of the teams to rip up its deal with WBZ-FM? If not, how will the original terms of the deal that mandated the current non-monopolistic sports rights deal be enforced? Monopoly by default, with WBZ-FM the winner, iron grip on sports play-by-play listeners and ad revenue be damned?
The regulation is about revenues. Part of the reason why Entercom had to divest WBZ-FM was over revenues.
But I think this is jumping to conclusions, because, as I've said, there are several options in this.
Maybe. There are sports radio stations in cities that don't have any professional sports teams.
Where I agree with that, we have not seen a long term successful sports talk station in Boston, unless it had broadcast rights to one of the local teams. Even WEEI-AM ended up flipping to sports betting, which is essentially one of a kind as of now in Boston.
You use the term "successful." Do you think EEI as it is now is successful? Right now, they have a 3 share with no PBP.
Hopefully they don’t sell any stations
They have publicly stated that during the transition period (which in a corporate situation can the a consider able a mount of time) they will not sell stations.
What I think is that in Boston, Sports talk stations last long-term so long as they have rights to a local team.
Is Boston College a local team?
A largely irrelevant one except among alumni. College sports are of little interest to Boston fans as a whole, except among gamblers. I grew up in the area and still don't get why they're so big in other parts of the country. I follow the school I went to, Syracuse, but to me, college football is just something to watch if the Red Sox, Patriots or Bruins aren't playing, and college basketball is a gambling proposition.
BC last mattered in a meaningful way to Boston fans in general 40 years ago, when Doug Flutie was playing quarterback for them. It's a private Catholic school, not an enorrmous state university like Alabama or Michigan. Its main purpose is to educate students. Quaint concept, I know, but New England schools generally think that way.
I stated in an earlier post that I was referred the big four leagues (meaning NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB).
That is certainly the intent. And they have breathing room, no doubt, in the near term. The future though is cloudy to say the least—and circumstances may dictate the ownership fate of the individual stations.
As for Sox rights, ownership has to take a cold hard look at what the “halo” effect of Sox broadcast has bought them: I’d argue little or nothing. Sure it buys revenues but it appears it’s a net financial loser. Mr. Field can count, money is very tight. I believe Sox Rights is a tarnished “luxury” they simply cant afford. Losing them would have a very slight adverse impact on ratings, and possibly a very positive impact on profits when you subtract that massive expense.
Look at the entire day and night ratings ex-AM Drive…it’s a disaster.