ESPN radio nyc

[Joylovepulse967]

This is radiolink

On Tuesday ESPN announced it is shutting down its ESPN Deportes radio business on Sept. 8, and 10 full-time and 25 part-time employees will be let go. ESPN will close Deportes Radio’s Coral Gables, Fla., offices; some of its N.Y.-based sales employees also will be affected.

ESPN issued the following statement: “Hispanic audience consumer habits are changing rapidly and this requires ESPN to evolve as well. It’s no secret Hispanic fans skew heavily on digital and social which is why we made the decision to discontinue ESPN Deportes terrestrial radio in September.”

The move to close down ESPN Deportes Radio will not affect the rest of ESPN Deportes’ businesses, including its TV and digital operations. ESPN Deportes has 44 radio affiliates in the U.S. In the N.Y. market, the company owns ESPN Deportes Radio 1050 AM, which will switch to an English-language sports channel.

Do you think 98.7 espn change will format or kiss fm back soon?

 

[TheBigA]

Do you think 98.7 espn change will format or kiss fm back soon?

Disney signed a 12 year deal with Emmis in 2012, so they are under contract to continue to program WEPN through 2024.

BTW I would dispute their premise that "Hispanic fans skew heavily on digital and social." What is hurting Desportes is the quality of the facilities its on.

 

[luperm]

I doubt ESPN 98.7 is going anywhere. If anything, ESPN will use 1050 to run national programming that isn't already carried on 98.7. ESPN has plenty of content to fill the airtime, plus it will make a good PBP overflow outlet when conflicts arise.

 

[Joylovepulse967]

Disney signed a 12 year deal with Emmis in 2012, so they are under contract to continue to program WEPN through 2024.

BTW I would dispute their premise that "Hispanic fans skew heavily on digital and social." What is hurting Desportes is the quality of the facilities its on.

I thought 8 year deal for 98.7

 

[Don CT]

Isn't 98.7 starting to make ground on WFAN? Why would they shut that down?

 

[andreajesus]

Isn't 98.7 starting to make ground on WFAN? Why would they shut that down?

only as far as Michael Kay's afternoon show....basically, I think the 'Fan's still got the edge otherwise

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Disney signed a 12 year deal with Emmis in 2012, so they are under contract to continue to program WEPN through 2024.

Emmis just sold its ownership of all their stations in Austin. That leaves them with radio stations only in New York and its hometown of Indianapolis...and New York is a small cluster. Other than 98.7 which is LMA'ed to Disney, Emmis just has Hot 97 and WBLS...and WLIB on AM which I think has been "for sale" for a long time.

If the FCC's review of ownership rules results in loosening local ownership caps, would Emmis sell and exit New York? The company seems to have been shrinking its radio operations, and I think they've all but given up on their NextStation digital platform. Emmis is a publicly traded company and I don't know where they're concentrating their growth efforts now but it doesn't seem to be radio, right?

 

[DavidEduardo]

BTW I would dispute their premise that "Hispanic fans skew heavily on digital and social." What is hurting Desportes is the quality of the facilities its on.

The problem with Deportes is that it is a national network where there is no national uniformity in sports preferences among Hispanics.

Hispanics with a Caribbean heritage have little or no interest in soccer. Those from the Southwest with a Mexican or Central American heritage rarely care about baseball.

And those interested in predominantly US sports like American Rules Football and basketball, both pro and collegiate, tend to also be bilingual or English dominant and listen to any radio broadcasts in English.

And then there is a subset to the regional issue: fans of soccer from Mexico tend to follow the team or teams from their regions of Mexico. So in different areas of the Southwest, the teams preferred by local Spanish dominant soccer fans will differ from city to city since each large Hispanic population city in the US tends to have a predominance of immigrants from one particular area of Mexico.

Add in the overindexing of Hispanics on smartphone ownership and you have more Hispanics using their phone for this kind of information.

 

[AceBiscuits]

Do you think 98.7 espn change will format or kiss fm back soon?

Probably not. I could see them reverting back to a simulcast or partial-simulcast. 1050 would clear more of the ESPN Radio programming and possibly air conflicts.

 

[Radi0411]

I can kind of see the 100% simulcast route from a purely ratings perspective, but who is really going to seek out these nationally syndicated shows on an AM station in 2019? As much as it pains me to type that it is truly realistic. Part of me can't even see them caring for the *who* is listening but rather that they have an outlet in Market #1 to clear the shows much like what Salem does and so on and on and on and on...

 

[Alex Browne]

In the N.Y. market, the company owns ESPN Deportes Radio 1050 AM, which will switch to an English-language sports channel.

In New York, WEPN-1050 is the Spanish-language home of the New York Mets, which will still have about a month's worth of games to play after ESPN Deportes shuts down. Wonder if those games will still be carried in Spanish on WEPN after it switches to English-language programming.

 

[staggmovie]

This is radiolink

On Tuesday ESPN announced it is shutting down its ESPN Deportes radio business on Sept. 8, and 10 full-time and 25 part-time employees will be let go. ESPN will close Deportes Radio’s Coral Gables, Fla., offices; some of its N.Y.-based sales employees also will be affected.

ESPN issued the following statement: “Hispanic audience consumer habits are changing rapidly and this requires ESPN to evolve as well. It’s no secret Hispanic fans skew heavily on digital and social which is why we made the decision to discontinue ESPN Deportes terrestrial radio in September.”

The move to close down ESPN Deportes Radio will not affect the rest of ESPN Deportes’ businesses, including its TV and digital operations. ESPN Deportes has 44 radio affiliates in the U.S. In the N.Y. market, the company owns ESPN Deportes Radio 1050 AM, which will switch to an English-language sports channel.

Do you think 98.7 espn change will format or kiss fm back soon?

So if any national shows are on this station, they will be losing their affliate, but really who knows what if any station will take over this spot. In fact your guess is as good as mine, if not better then mine.

 

[mets18]

Probably not. I could see them reverting back to a simulcast or partial-simulcast. 1050 would clear more of the ESPN Radio programming and possibly air conflicts.

I think they might go all national. It would give them an opportunity to clear shows like LeBatard and Will Cain in the NYC market. Also, they could toy with the idea of a local morning show on 98.7 and bump Golic and Wingo to AM.

 

[AMRocks]

I think they might go all national. It would give them an opportunity to clear shows like LeBatard and Will Cain in the NYC market. Also, they could toy with the idea of a local morning show on 98.7 and bump Golic and Wingo to AM.

They really should simulcast 100% and use the AM for game conflicts. Why add another competitor when you're trying to beat WFAN?

They could LMA it to some Russian/Korean/Christian broadcaster. Takes a potential competitor out of the mix.

 

[mets18]

They really should simulcast 100% and use the AM for game conflicts. Why add another competitor when you're trying to beat WFAN?

They could LMA it to some Russian/Korean/Christian broadcaster. Takes a potential competitor out of the mix.

If they use the AM for game conflicts it doesn't count as a simulcast for ratings purposes so they would be adding another competitor on a pure numbers basis. They are never going to beat WFAN.