And its corporate behemoth is chock full of debt. And part of that debt involes SF Radio. Entercom owns KCBS, slightly less muddled than The Game.
If they didn't have the (Warriors), nobody would be listening. And even with the Warriors, they make no money. They are in a red-alert situation.
No one is talking at The Game, which is no big surprise, because what are they going to say? "We're the craps?" --Yeah, we get it.
Only now, there's a general feeling anong industry people that The Game, literally, could be GONE any moment now, like maybe a nanosecond. The Warriors have a contractual deal with 95.7 but, according to my insiders, that wouldn't necessarily preclude them from suddenly being ripped apart and playing music. Which is rumored all over the place. It has a lot of legs.
Entercome has tried to go the the non-terrestrial route with its Audacy retrofit, largely podcasts, streaming, and music. All of this, to try to attract the younger demo, so far to no avail and still LOSING millions of dollars. Radio is a tough business and especially when your Bay Area FM/sports outlet is major sucking.
Ouch.
In all seriousness... how in the wide world of sports could anyone listen to KNBR? Not one person there has a credible 'sports take.' I get it... The Game isn't full of savants but at least they are up to date on what is going on in sports. KNBR has NO ONE (except Marty Lurie) that even remotely understands sports.
ReplyDeleteMarty Lurie doesn't know a damn thing about any sport but baseball..
DeleteMarty Lurie only knows baseball. Ask him about any other sport and he's a complete moron
ReplyDeleteAnd thats an insult to complete morons
DeleteThe Game alienated east bay fans and then and forced non-stop warrior talk down everyones throats to the few remaining listeners. If they hadnt been so smug and condescending about it i might actually feel bad for them
ReplyDeleteIn what way did they alienate East Bay fans? A's and Raider fans always claim that 95.7 did this, but 95.7 in it's earlier days as a sports station bent over backwards to cater to A's and Raider fans with all the A's and Raider guests they used to have on, and A's and Raider programming they used to have during the week. They did shows at the Coliseum before and after A's day games or when the A's would host the Giants, Red Sox, or the Yankees, their biggest draws of the season at the Coliseum. They even brought in JT The Brick to host a show before Greg Papa's show for more Raider conversation. The A's and maybe to some extent the Raiders, were bad business partners, at least according to Damon Bruce, so that may have had something to do with it too.
DeletePlus, the Giants, Niners, and Warriors are a bigger deal in the Bay Area and are more popular than the A's, Raiders, and the Sharks. Plus, there's more topics surrounding the Giants, Niners, and the Warriors. Yeah, sometimes they run some of the same topics into the ground (Jimmy G conversation with the Niners, Kerr's rotations with the Warriors and whether or not Jordan Poole should start over Klay, etc), but there are more talking points that can fill a day or two worth of shows and caller interaction.
With the A's it's always about their stadium and if they can keep their players. That gets boring and kind of depressing after like 10 minutes. The A's it's the same old story and no one is going to help them out. Who wants to talk about that? When the Raiders were in Oakland, it became about their stadium issues as well, but the Raiders were irrelevant most years, so there wasn't as much to talk about regarding the Raiders most of the time they were on 95.7. There honestly is no point in talking about the Raiders anymore since they are out of the Bay Area now. Yes, there are still a lot of Raider fans in the Bay Area but they are an out of market team now.
But yes, I felt 95.7 did what they could to make East Bay fans happy. They were originally supposed to be the East Bay version of KNBR, but the A's and Raiders just don't have the same traction and fan interest as the Giants, Niners, and Warriors do.
They alienated As fans in a few ways. When the station first launched they were obligated to talk As, being their flag ship station. But they brought in hosts from other markets who constantly ridiculed and mocked As fans and were overly fixated on the bad ownership instead of discussing the product on thr field. Yes they were talked about but it was overly negative and condescending. You can disagree all you but this is why every As fan i know gave up on the station years ago.
DeleteThat negativity is why the As eventually left the station. Was that a smart move by the As? Maybe, maybe not, whole different conversation. So At that point they stopped mentioning As altogether, other than quick and dismissive 2 min summary and then move on to other topics.
They did not make an honest effort to bring in As fans. They talked As enough to "check that box" but they alienated fans. The ratings dont lie
That frequency has been country music in the past...a country station tends to pop up in this market in tough economic times..."just sayin'"
ReplyDeletethey take caller phone calls once in awhile otherwise they are just as bad as knbr which hasnt taken calls in about six years now..it would be fascianting if the station went dark as far as the format where are the employees would go, there arent any openings at knbr and most of them are retreads that were let go by knbr to begin with..
ReplyDeleteYou haven't been listening to Steiny and Guru. They take calls all the time.
Deleteyeah i said 95/7 still takes listener calls, sometimes..i dont listen on a regular basis, but often the hosts go long segments talking among themselves too
DeleteHard to believe The Game has been around 11 years now. No success to speak of in all that time? What is Audacy waiting for?
ReplyDeleteThe thing that has kept them afloat is while they have a small audience, it is a demographic advertisers like.
DeleteIt’s a train wreck situation. The PD, who I know personally, is a moron. I told him from the outset how has a choice Kate Scott was in the morning. He told me ‘you’ll see…’
ReplyDeleteI saw.
Then he leaves Bonta with Butcher…two guys with literally no training in radio. Nothing against either - both have certain talents but not together in morning radio. That’s not their best use. Both of them are machine gunners; not tank drivers. You want to rip John Lund? He knows how to drive the tank. There are different skill sets.
Then the midday show is a complete wash.
Shocked to say it but Guru is the most talented guy on the station because it’s real. There’s no act. They have a pretty decent show.
Willard is just a guy. Could be in any market. When radio mattered he was in every market. But he’s not a ratings getter. Just a guy.
Dibley is actually funny and equally miscast. No reason he can’t be your Paulie Mac but again it’s not a good combo or time slot. He’s morning funny, and light.
Then you have the reeeeeal problem. Damon Bruce. He was brought in and PAID to be the bell cow and he has NOT delivered. He should be doing middays or nights at KNBR, but instead they overvalued him and thought they could launch off him like a Francesca or Missinelli. NOT EVEN CLOSE.
And while I don’t think Damon lacks talent because he’s not bad, at this point he’s not better than Ryan Covay. That’s just s fact. Covay has more energy, more passion and is wittier. Yet they’re contractually obligated to Bruce and guys like Covay have to talk about their ‘other jobs’ on the radio. When in your life did you hear hosts having to discuss their side hustle? That’s the stare of things.
Then there is Ray Ratto. He’s Ray Ratto. Should he be a host? No chance. He’s a great guest. He’s a segment every week. He’s not a host. For years they’ve been churning him out as proof they have no ideas.
Then we have Matt Kolsky, who’s too smart for this nonsense but can actually drive the tank forward. But as a solo host at night? That’s not his thing. That isn’t what works. He’s middays with an athlete who doesn’t understand the formatics.
All told, it’s a complete mess. The PD is a clueless dolt, and you can expect him to be living elsewhere as soon as the station folds up.
Sad they have such lame programmers running these stations but for that pay who would want these jobs?
Wow, what an accessment. It's pretty much spot on.... Regarding Bonta, I may have to disagree. Bonta has proven he can drive a show or as you said, be a tank driver. He drove the mid-day show that he did with Greg Papa, even though a lot of times Bonta couldn't get a word in when Greg Papa would go on his 5-minute diatribes/monologues. LOL. Bonta is currently also the host of the Warriors TV pre and postgame show. Bonta has come a long way and is progressing nicely in his career considering where he was 5, 6 yrs ago.
DeleteI agree on Guru. Everything he does is real. The guy really is a real sports fan and has that passion for sports, just like Butcher Boy. I feel most people can relate to them both because they are regular everyday guys who are big sports fans, that got the big break to get a job in sports talk radio.
Regarding Damon Bruce, yeah, I agree he probably was better when he was on 1050 from Noon to 3 and when he did Sportsphone. I think he had a better afternoon show on 95.7 when he was a solo host and had Gianna, who used to do the sports updates for his show who is now on Channel 5 (KPIX), be a part of his show. Ratto kills Damon's show. I agree that Ratto is not a host and might be better as a regular guest or someone they do a segment with on the local teams from time to time. Ratto is good for historical sports knowledge and can provide some measured insight on the local teams and sports issues in general, but his constant negativity and the fact that he doesn't want to be on the show half the time (he always looks forward to when their show is over), ruins the show.
But yes, spot on insight man.
Don’t get me wrong: Bonta is talented. But his job shouldn’t be DRIVING THE BUS. Can he drive? Sure. But it’s like asking Dray to guard centers. He can get away with it but that’s not what he’s supposed to do.
DeleteThe problem isn’t necessarily the talent as much it is the programming of the talent. I could take the exact same hosts and make better shows out of it. This moron cannot.
@David Weintraub- Speaking of Matt Nahigian, does he really sound like how they make him sound like on 95.7? Some of the hosts on 95.7 kind of joke around with how he sounds like. They make him sound like he has a raspy voice. LOL... "Look, look, look". haha.
DeleteOne more thing on Bonta and Butcher Boy, I've mentioned this before but, I do kind of wish they were on from 9-Noon instead of 6-9 AM. Yes, they have the energy of a morning show and they fit the morning show, but I think their show might be better suited for the later morning hours or even Noon-3. I feel like their show really gets going around 8 AM which is sadly their last hour as their show is on from 6-9 instead of 6-10. They don't have a typical morning show like Murph and Mac and they get deep into the sports topics like a show later on in the day probably would. Plus, it would be better for Bonta as he hosts Warriors TV pre and postgame most nights during basketball season and has a quick turnaround for his morning show. I'm sure he wouldn't mind having his radio show a little later on in the day. Sometimes you have to wonder when does he sleep.
I do agree on Dibley as far as him being morning funny. He is a pretty funny guy in general and a good dude, but we all associate him with morning drive. I wouldn't mind if Willard and Dibs are on from 6-9 AM and have Bonta and Butcher Boy from 9-Noon or Noon-3.
Speaking of Kolsky, I agree that nights might not be his thing. Not sure if you've noticed, but he's constantly taking time off. I think more recently he had to take a mental break. At least that was what he said on his Twitter page. I think he was better when he was on with Damon and Ratto. Are you suggesting maybe put him on a show with a guy like Lorenzo Neal or maybe Eric Davis? I think I can see that, but Damon, Ratto, and Kolsky actually wasn't a bad afternoon drive show, even though Ratto and Kolsky didn't agree on a lot of things and talked over each other a lot... I kind of wish they could bring Covay back and have him back on at night. I think me and you might be the only people on here who liked his show. LOL. Yeah, he talked about his dog a little too much, but like you said, Covay brought energy and he has that passion for sports. He's not indifferent about sports like Steiny and Ratto.
I do agree with you about guys talking about their other jobs. Covay had like 4 other jobs when he was on 95.7 and one of them he would talk about openly on air. I think he painted houses or something like that? Butcher Boy the other day mentioned his other job on air and said they talked to him about taking vacation. We all know Bonta has another job with his work on NBC Sports Bay Area.
I doubt 95.7 folds. They still have a base despite what the radio ratings may show. The weekday shows get a ton of traction through caller interaction and the text line, as well as commenters in the chat on the livestream on Youtube and Twitch TV. The Youtube chat gets pretty lit on the daily.
Sports talk radio brings in revenue but is very expensive.
DeleteI don’t recall Nahigian’s voice other than it sounded Midwest. Just not an interesting or necessarily smart person.
I’m sure he’s worried about what the rest of his life looks like after this.
Oh my god OTIS drink some tea and relax
DeleteCovay sucked He came from a rich family He didn't have 4 jobs
DeleteThe fact that a clod like Covay can be on knbr and kgmz shows how weak radio is
work nights sometimes and on a lunch break i have fallen asleep in my car several times listening to matt kolski.. he seems like he is in love with the sound of his own voice, and the show is beneath him.. a bored college instructor going over this weeks lessons
Delete95/7 also used to have some women on air people, and they all seem to have been let go the last year or two.. along with Rick Title, another guy i think jim urban and a few years ago this another obnxious yeller they had on the weekend with darryl johnson, who knew nothing about sports, he was a music,pop culture person, it was strange
DeleteCovay does not suck at all. He kinda sucked on KNBR but he more than came into his own at the game. It was like two different people.
DeleteAs for this rich family of which you speak, not sure how you know about his family’s finances but he repeatedly referenced his other job and I was told left because he wasn’t making enough money.
Regardless, it has no bearing on talent which he had. Then again, I’ve a track record to speak of and you’re an anonymous, likely gutless, bummed out dude.
It's kinda funny how their former PD Barrett started his own media website and always has The Game ranked as one of the top sports radio stations in the country.
ReplyDeleteJason Barrett is one of the biggest idiots I’ve ever met, or had the displeasure of dealing with. Dan Patrick literally locked him away in a closet because he didn’t want to see his face. He has the intellect of a Trump voter from Arkansas. He will never have another job doing anything. Born into the business.
DeleteReality is there aren’t many good radio shows because these types of morons weren’t smart enough to figure it out before the demise.
Im sure you've met plenty of them at Big Idiots Anonymous
DeleteI agree with much of Weintraub's assessment; the only show I listen to consistently is Steinmetz-Guru. Bruce and Willard are nauseating and consequently I don't catch Dibley(who's really funny), and Ratto who's really smart. The idiotic program director should hire the talented Whitey G. to replace Willard and or Bruce.
ReplyDeleteIt no sense in having two sports stations in the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone ever read the entire rambling posts of jabronis like Otis and Weintraub?
ReplyDeleteMy god both of you are long winded clods