A few ancillary issues to go over regarding the status of A's baseball broadcasts on radio, be they KTRB or more likely, KFRC, 1550 AM...
The broadcast brohaha has to be mind-numbing to A's lead play-by-play man, Ken Korach, one of the vesy BEST in the business, not just here in the Bay Area, but nationally too. Korach, as I've said so many times, is about as good a broadcaster as they come. He's sharp, funny, gives the score relentlessly, and is not a homer. Just a terrific voice and consummate professional.
The fact that this current radio standoff puts him in an awkard position is a massive disservice to both A's fans and baseball fans in general. That's not good.
*Speaking of the A's radio situation, what I'm hearing:
From the A's side: KTRB's bank receiver, (Comerica,) is trying to get more money out of the franchise, in essence holding the A's radio broadcasts as hostage while negotiations continue. That may or may not be true, depending on who you listen to. In addition, Comerica is floating the spectre of another bidder/suitor. But I doubt there's any substance to that. Is this a ploy? Probably, but more on that later.
From the KTRB/Comerica side: Simple business. The bank is trying to get maximum dollar for an admitedly distressed property, but at what price and how reasonable are they acting? If this is simply a negotiating ploy, its probably not going to work.
Bottom line: The A's, even if they're being squeezed, (and from every indication, they just might be) could have and should have avoided all of this. It further erodes any smidgen of good will between the fan base and Lew Wolff and company. And it only reinforces the notion that Wolff's mindset is squarely on San Jose as a future destination for his team, and damn the Eastbay and Oakland fans.
Some conspiracy theorists on AthleticsNation have even speculated that this whole radio mess is being orchestrated by Wolff to make his case easier for a potential SJ move. I doubt that, but nothing would surprise me.
The radio matter is an embarrassment to the A's, their fans, Korach, the franchise's sponsors and vendors. No matter who or what is the bad guy, this whole thing should have been handled well before the season.
*KFRC 1550 AM: Although it's not 100% certain, the likelihood of the entire season's broadcasts on KFRC is now formidable, according to a well-placed source. The source indicated that there's a lot more to the whole mess, with lawyers, contractual obligations, and potential lawsuits in the play. Its not simply a case of the A's and KTRB negotiating over the cost of buying a radio station. As I said Monday, "the devil is in the details."
This, of course, may all be window-dressing and on Opening night, 860 AM will be doing the games, but that now remains doubtful, according to the source. We'll see...and hear more later in the week. KFRC, even at the worst dial position on the map, (1550 AM) is a clear channel and is heard fairly easily throughout the Bay Area. KTRB, while at a better dial position, has tower issues that require a whole lot of heavy lifting, (metaphorically speaking)...maybe all of this, from a listening standpoint, may be a blessing in disguise.
Stay tuned on this site; we'll post periodic updates when we obtain more information...Developing Story.
*Follow me on Twitter
For the heck of it I tuned into KFRC 1550 this morning, couldn't get it in the house but was able to listen in the car, though for music it was pretty poor quality.
ReplyDeleteI'm up in Santa Rosa.
John Fisher is ruining the family name in the bay area!
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable what's going on with the A's radio situation.
Rich, you touched on it just a tad, sweet Lew wants out of oaktown and into San Jose and I do believe he's using this as a marketing ploy!
ReplyDelete408er
Just wait until KTRB gets a court order stopping any other station from broadcasting A's games that they have the contracts rights too. Then,all hell breaks lose.
ReplyDelete1550 KFRC was hard to tune into last night in West SJ. Lots of static on multiple radios in the house and Car. If the go to KFRC I hope it's the FM side where KCBS is simulcasted. Much better signal.
ReplyDeleteFitz should study at the feet of Korach. That's how you do quality PBP,without excuses for bonehead plays,overt homerism..while still getting paid by the team. Ken,is like a throwback to Lon and Bill. I don't imagine they wanted to be accepted in a needy way by the players like Fitz does. Ken,tell some punk kid "I got your back"? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteDo you even know anything??? 1550am is NOT a clear channel station. It is a Class B 10kw regional. In fact there are no clear channel stations on 1550 in the US
ReplyDeletePlease if you're going to spout technical jargon try to get it right. You sound like a buffoon otherwise
Just a thought but remember 1050 wanted the A's quite a few yrs ago but the A's said no thanks they didn't want to be part of the Giants station group. Well now with Cumulus buying Citadel who's to say the A's don't end up on 1050, 560, or maybe even 810? Would make sense for both sides and seem to be a good fit if they can work out all the details. It would really help the A's to have a home that people know where it is on the dial plus you know KNBR would be hyping the A's more if they are on a sister station.
ReplyDeleteSome of these responses are laughable. "KFRC FM" should run the A's. REALITY: The station is tied for or rates #1 typically with its all news simulcast.
ReplyDelete"KGO may run the A's" Not in our lifetime. It's like a scud missile in a any station but a sports station's schedule. 6 months of the year the schedule would be out of wack. Too much audience confusion, and too significant a loss in revenue for KGO.
It's tough being an A's fan or an Oakland fan, in general. I can't even speak up on most bay area sites and defend my team without my posts being censored *cough* Kawakami *cough* It's so maddening how pro SF and Giants the local media is. Where is an A's fan to go?
ReplyDeleteWhen did 1050 want the A's? Back in the Bob Agnew days they made it pretty clear that no way, no how would the A's ever be on 1050.
ReplyDeleteGiants won't let A's on 1050. Giants would like nothing better than to have the A's completely out of the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteThis is all so embarrasing. Ken Korach deserves better than this.
ReplyDeleteIn fact Korach should pack his bags and go a bigger market where his talents will be appreciated and rewarded.
Hard to tell if he looks more like Burt Bacharach or Pete Carroll in that picture.
ReplyDeleteNo reason to be hostile, I didn't say they should be on KFRC FM, I said i hope they could be. I also hope to win the lottery and date a supermode...that won't happen either...Just like I hope the A's can get on a real Radio Station, KABL wasn't bad either for the A's during the run there. These comments to you might seem laughable because you are far more informed concerning the industry, back off a bit in the snideness, there are some of us 9-5rs who just want to have our team on some normal radio station in one of the most important media markers in the USA, we would support the station the sponsors and hive a boost to the ancillary programing. In reality the situation would be laughable if it wasn't real.
ReplyDeleteThis Giants/A's dynamic reminds of when the Raiders returned and the 49ers were incredulous that some people preferred the Raiders over SF. It was as if the Bay Area belonged to SF and they couldn't conceive that anyone thought otherwise.
ReplyDeletesome people prefer the Raiders? really?, where are they, certainly not at the games!
ReplyDelete