• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

What local broadcast group is likely to pick up the rights to the new NHL team?

DavidEduardo said:
Of course, at night all get worse.

(And today, 5 mV/m is not adequate in many areas of today's cities)
Click to expand...

That's true. Even the ITU has established, given the increase in terrestrial noise, that 10mVm is the minimum field strength for reliable reception of AM signals.

1090 has pretty significant designed nighttime nulls to the Southeast and South. One can sit on a hill in Des Moines and see the tower lights for 1090/770, but not be able to hear the station. That null includes areas like Kent and Maple Valley at night.

It's one thing carrying a junior hockey league, quite another a professional NHL team.
 
Speaking about 1090's signal, I expected from experience down here five years ago that it would be a mix of XEPRS and KFNQ, but KFNQ was alone on the frequency about 10 last night. KOMO surprisingly had a solid signal, would have thought I was still in Seattle given how strong it was.
 
Of course, all this speculation is predicated on the idea that NHL hockey will fly in Seattle, a city that let go of its pro basketball team. I know that the team's owners must have done their homework before buying and promoting the idea of having a team here, but it wouldn't be the first time a pro team failed in a large metro. For those reasons, and the fact that most fans would probably watch the games on TV, 1090 would be adequate. If it's adequate for TBirds hockey, why wouldn't it be adequate for NHL hockey?
 
boombox4 said:
If it's adequate for TBirds hockey, why wouldn't it be adequate for NHL hockey?
Click to expand...

This decision won't be made by the public or by city leaders. It will be made between a broadcaster and a team. So what's adequate for the public doesn't matter. If a broadcaster thinks he can make more money with pro hockey than with whatever else they're doing, they will make an offer.
 
boombox4 said:
Of course, all this speculation is predicated on the idea that NHL hockey will fly in Seattle, a city that let go of its pro basketball team. I know that the team's owners must have done their homework before buying and promoting the idea of having a team here, but it wouldn't be the first time a pro team failed in a large metro. For those reasons, and the fact that most fans would probably watch the games on TV, 1090 would be adequate. If it's adequate for TBirds hockey, why wouldn't it be adequate for NHL hockey?
Click to expand...

All indications are the management team is solid. The gm, Ron Francis, comes with high credentials.
 
TheBigA said:
This decision won't be made by the public or by city leaders. It will be made between a broadcaster and a team. So what's adequate for the public doesn't matter. If a broadcaster thinks he can make more money with pro hockey than with whatever else they're doing, they will make an offer.
Click to expand...

Point taken, but we were discussing which signals would, or wouldn't, be adequate to broadcast the games to the public.
 
boombox4 said:
Point taken, but we were discussing which signals would, or wouldn't, be adequate to broadcast the games to the public.
Click to expand...

Last year, the Arizona Coyotes were looking for a new radio outlet. They moved from a 100K FM to a 5K AM owned by iHeart. They made them an offer the team couldn't refuse.

https://news.radio-online.com/artic... (Arizona Sports 98.7) for the 2019-20 season.

They would be the centerpiece on KGME, and iHeart would build them a presence on iHeartRadio. Sometimes it's all about the deal.
 
boombox4 said:
That was in 2018, two years ago. A lot has changed since then. The economy, for one. Coronavirus, for another.

Anybody remember the Vancouver Grizzlies?
Click to expand...

While you are correct, it is important to note that the Seattle Kraken are already considered one of the most successful expansion teams. They have experienced a significant demand for both season tickets as well as team merchandise. While nobody can predict the future, it sounds like they have set a strong foundation for lasting success.
 
TheBigA said:
Last year, the Arizona Coyotes were looking for a new radio outlet.
Click to expand...

And a couple of years earlier they were looking for a buyer. Rumor was that a Seattle group had a deal in place but the team decided to stay. Not surprised that they can't get a radio deal. Seattle OTOH won't have that problem based on the heightened interest from the beginning.
 
DN14224 said:
Not surprised that they can't get a radio deal.
Click to expand...

You didn't read the linked story. They had a radio deal but kept getting bumped by other sports. They chose one on a smaller OTA station that provided a bigger online footprint. Same with the Oakland As. That would likely be the case if the Kraken go on an established sports station.
 
fordranger797 said:
While you are correct, it is important to note that the Seattle Kraken are already considered one of the most successful expansion teams. They have experienced a significant demand for both season tickets as well as team merchandise. While nobody can predict the future, it sounds like they have set a strong foundation for lasting success.
Click to expand...

Could this all be because they're new and sports has been in hibernation for several months?

I attribute it to the; 'new guy pop'.
 
TheBigA said:
They chose one on a smaller OTA station that provided a bigger online footprint. Same with the Oakland As. That would likely be the case if the Kraken go on an established sports station.
Click to expand...

And this will be the case in Seattle too. Has nothing with the heritage, programming, or band of the the station, but everything to do with (depending on how the deal is structured) amount of inventory the station will give to team-sponsors, and/or how much the station is willing to pay.
 
fordranger797 said:
While you are correct, it is important to note that the Seattle Kraken are already considered one of the most successful expansion teams. They have experienced a significant demand for both season tickets as well as team merchandise. While nobody can predict the future, it sounds like they have set a strong foundation for lasting success.
Click to expand...

I want to think you're correct but they probably said the same thing about the Seattle Pilots.
 
boombox4 said:
I want to think you're correct but they probably said the same thing about the Seattle Pilots.
Click to expand...

I was 14 and following baseball intensely in 1969. The launch of the Pilots was a disaster from Day 1. I don't think anyone expected immediate success. The surprise to me was that, when Seattle got a second chance with the Mariners, it took several years for the team to catch on, the catalyst being the arrival of Ken Griffey Jr. followed by stars like Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez.

I would expect the Kraken to be a solid performer right out of the box, even if they are a more typical expansion team than the Vegas Golden Knights, who somehow built a Stanley Cup finalist out of other teams' spare parts in their first year. The NHL offers a more entertaining product for the novice fan now than it has in several decades. Showcase it in an exciting setting and it's hard not to get swept up in the whole package. The "X" factor here is whether they can build that enthusiasm in a first season that few if any fans may get to watch in person. I have yet to find one fellow hockey fan who thinks watching the sport on television or listening to it on radio beats or even equals seeing it in the arena.
 
boombox4 said:
That was in 2018, two years ago. A lot has changed since then. The economy, for one. Coronavirus, for another.

Anybody remember the Vancouver Grizzlies?
Click to expand...

Grizzlies failed due to poor ownership and marketing. Toronto got the basketball hungry audience hooked right out of the gate, and while the Raptors were bad for their first few years, they got their franchise player in Vince Carter, and that immediately helped them become relevant. Vancouver never had that franchise player that would’ve filled seats, and with the continued aforementioned issues and subsequent continued loss of revenue, they headed South.

I don’t anticipate any of that with the Kraken. You’ve got an ownership group willing to be patient and spend $ to have a viable product on and off the ice. They’ll have their franchise player(s), and fans will come/support, pandemic or not.
 
ksradiogeek said:
I don’t anticipate any of that with the Kraken. You’ve got an ownership group willing to be patient and spend $ to have a viable product on and off the ice. They’ll have their franchise player(s), and fans will come/support, pandemic or not.
Click to expand...

If the NHL does for Seattle what it did for Las Vegas, the team will launch with several bankable stars.
 
Interesting points made. I still am a little skeptical. Hockey draws maybe 9000 fans a year in a good one in the Seattle metro, and Climate Pledge Arena will have 17K capacity for hockey. Being that the economy may keep tanking and surfacing and tanking again for the next year or so, they may need some deep pockets to break even for a while....

I wish the Kraken the best.

Still, I think 1090 is probably the logical radio choice for the Kraken. But games are a year and a half away, a lot could change before then.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top Bottom