Money Dictates Shumann's Fate; KGO-TV's Lucrative Relationship with Warriors Probably Spells Doom for Veteran Sports Anchor

I DON'T LIKE THE INEVITABLE DECISION coming regarding Mike Shumann's likely dismissal because of an alleged theft, but odds are the 28-year KGO-TV sports anchor will be fired.

There's several factors dictating this move but the biggest one is the most obvious: money.

It always is.

KGO makes a ton of money off its business relationship with the Warriors; those post-game shows involve several millions of dollars --no wonder it's all "exclusive" content.

"The revenue generated by the 'Warriors essentially pays the station its freight," said a KGO staffer familiar with the broadcast terms. Which means any deviation from its broadcast rights with the team is virtually unbreakable. That status probably spells doom for Shumann.

Shumann, according to those in the know, wasn't liked by many players on the team before the alleged theft incident in San Antonio.

Furthermore, after watching the video of the affair, many players stated they would no longer speak to him. That would complicate matters with KGO, which would obviously have to make a tough decision regarding Shumann's fate even if his "it was a total misunderstanding" reaction to the San Antonio is true.

KGO could simply take Shumann off the Warriors' beat (as they did before Sunday's and Tuesday's games) and replace him with Larry Beil; a decision on that and all other matters is supposedly being bandied about at KGO's 900 Front building.

The Warriors' Hangover; KGO-TV Is Giddy; The Last Time The Warriors Won The NBA Finals Was 1975; Visuals For Those Who Care; Patty Hearst; 'Do The Hustle' And President Jerry Ford Outside The St. Francis

 

 If you think KGO-TV personnel are happy now (like presumably every other Warriors fans this morning) just wait for the next few weeks.


For starters, KGO killed in the May Sweeps. They blockheaded the competition at all-important 11 PM and did very well at 5 and 6 PM too.


Now, they get the NBA Finals and ratings nirvana (ABC broadcasts the NBA Finals and of course KGO is ABC's O and O (Owned and Operated) station in the Bay Area.


Take that, everyone else!

Which means everyone at 900 Front will be donning yellow and blue and the sales department will be eating a lot of cake.


The last time the Warriors were in the NBA Finals was 1975 (as pointed out) --they played at the Cow Palace, the dilapidated dump in Daly City.

In 1975 Jerry Ford was the POTUS. (Sarah Jane Moore tried to assassinate him in September outside the St. Francis Hotel) Joe Alioto was SF mayor. Patty Hearst was living on Morse Street with Bill and Emily Harris of the SLA. The Streets of San Francisco on ABC was #5 on TV and the local news was dominated by "Channel 7 News Scene"


#1 hit: "Do the Hustle"--Van McCoy. "When Will I See You Again."--The Three Degrees


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KCBS Suits Not Entirely Thrilled That Willie Brown Did KGO Ronn Owens Show; Sussman In Line For Pay Cut; Happy KTVU; Roye And Tolbert Winning Radio Combo On Warriors PBP; Hot KGO Traffic Chick Only Dates 'Christian' Guys; Friday Notes; I'm Back

 WILLIE BROWN is regularly heard on KCBS every Friday morning during the AM news with Phil Matier of the Chronicle and KPIX.

It's about three minutes of political shop talk and SF/Sacramento/Washington nuggets.

Recently, Willie had a good one involving Hillary Clinton.

Cut to last Monday during the Ronn Owens show on KGO: Your guest, Willie Brown talking.

My CBS insiders said a few high suits had a hissy fit when they learned Brown did the Owens show although it's well known in SF media circles that Brown and Owens have been friends for over 30 years and in fact, Brown used to be Ronn's attorney.

Nonetheless, execs at 855 Battery were ticked off; the Chronicle could care less--they continue to bleed red ink. Another indication of budget mindedness? The Chron didn't send its own Cal beat writer down to cover the Bears-USC game in LA. Embarrassing. In the print edition, an AP-bylined story was used. Like I said, embarrassing.

FRIDAY ROUND-UP

*Brian Sussman and his dorky KSFO morning zoo bizarro is in for a surprise at the end of the year; "Suss" can expect a 50% pay cut which, given Cumulus' flat business situation, isn't surprising. He won't be the only one.

*Here's proof positive that the alleged FM sports station in town has a Program Director that doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Nice concept: Offend Hispanic community with show that nobody will listen to anyway, kind of like "The Game." He must have pictures.

*Take this with a grain of salt but from a good KTVU source, the natives are relatively happy since the Fox takeover. It's early of course.

*Best NBA play-by-play radio team hands down: Our illustrious Warriors tandem of Tim Roye and Tom Tolbert. Hard to believe they've only been together barley a year. Chemistry? Check. Knowledge? Check. Sense of humor? Check. Tolbert gets a little too giddy every now and then but he and Roye make the broadcast a pleasure to listen to. That would be good.

*A big thanks to all of you that contributed to this website --overwhelmed. By the way, it takes a helluva lot of time and energy to keep this running 24/7. Being that I'm the one-man show that writes, sells ads, makes sure the crappy tech elements are in place, yeah, it's nice to keep it going. Huzzah to all.

*That extremely hot and gorgeous traffic lady on KGO Radio in the afternoon, (she's also at KRON) is single. But she only dates very religious Christian guys--yeah, must be tens of thousands here. Good luck.

*Overused words/slogans that are a pain in the ass: haters, selfies, just sayin', I'll take my answer on the air, And, oh, by the way?.

*If you, like me, like something, enjoy reading someone like a columnist or writer, just because it's on the Internet, it's not against the law to pay to read that person's work. We've managed to create a new generation that thinks and believes that everything is FREE. Wonderful society.

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NBC Bay Area's Raj Mathai and Warriors Radio Tonsil Tim Roye on my KSCO/KOMY Radio Show Today

On my radio show today:

1-1: 20: Raj Mathai, lead anchor at KNTV, (NBC BAY AREA)

2-2: 30: Tim Roye, radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Golden State Warriors.

**To listen LIVE: click here or catch the podcast on demand by clicking on the streaming audio link.

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John Madden calls out Steve Bitker on KCBS; And gives out a Shout for Oakland; Rips Warriors Proposed Move to SF; Friday Starter

John Madden confronted a justifiable IN-YOUR-FACE  to a clearly flustered Steve Bitker on KCBS Friday morning.

Good for the coach.

Talking about the now-concluded Warriors season, Bitker, towing a company line about how the Warriors will have more fun and pack the new arena in SF, (I'm paraphrasing), was put in his place by Madden.

Madden thought it was a sham that despite the Warriors packing the Oakland/Oracle Arena, they'd be moving across the bay, (we'll see), to SF. Bitker was incredulous. So was Madden.

Madden seemed pissed off. "How do you, (Bitker), know they'll be a 'success in SF--What about Oakland?"

Bitker finally acknowledged "your allegiance to Oakland, John." Gees, thanks Steve for your insight.

I like Madden. I like the fact that he bitch-slapped Bitker ON THE AIR. While the other SF Media sports lemmings dare lament the fact that Oakland and the Eastbay have SOLD OUT the building, made it the loudest arena in the NBA, etc, Madden, of all people, called out Bitzie, who should know better.

Madden doesn't do this for shock. He's irritated and so am I in case you can't tell. I realize, as did Bitzie, that the proposed move to the city is all about money and location but Oakland deserves better. It's Oakland and the ROARCLE fans that are taken for granted by the Warriors owners. Do any Bay Area writers or broadcasters talk about this? Madden got it right. Too bad the writers and some broadcasters are clueless.

More Madden: "You know, Oakland needs a win. " Coach, you couldn't have said it any better.

Here's a link to the podcast

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NBA King Stern does Play-by-Play with Roye on Warriors Broadcast; Damon Bruce gets CBS Sports Radio Saturday Gig; NBC Bay Area: SF or San Jose?; Media Notes Saturday

Saturday quickies--

*Warriors radio PBP broadcaster, Tim Roye, had a fine interview with NBA commissioner, David Stern, on Friday night during the Dubs-Houston Rockets game.

In between basic chit-chat, Stern did a double take and began doing play-by-play. If you tuned in at the right moment, you'd have sworn Stern, not exactly Woody Allen, was a real charming fellow. And more remarkably, Stern wasn't half-bad either.

Of course it helped that it was Roye manning the ship. I've always said that Roye's versatility is well-regarded in most NBA broadcast circles and he's a master broadcaster. I'm delighted Stern was able to show a bit of self-deprecation but it was Roye who brought it out.

*More ominous news for AM/FM radio: Two big car companies are planning on phasing out terrestrial radio and launching Internet radio into their dashboards. Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, wrote about this recently.

*Real simple, but fundamentally profound question for NBC Bay Area, (KNTV): Do we want to be a SF station or San Jose/Silicon Valley operation. That's the $64 question.

*Damon Bruce of KNBR 1050, is hosting a national program on CBS Sports Radio in March. Good gig for Bruce who knows how to move the needle. Here's hoping the show is permanent. It airs Saturday morning.

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Tolbert joins Roye as Color Analyst on Warriors' Radio Broadcasts

Tom Tolbert of KNBR will join Tim Roye as a color analyst for the Warriors on ten radio broadcasts beginning early next year.

Tolbert's first broadcast will be the Jan. 2 game against the LA Clippers.

Tolbert will continue to host his PM drive show on KNBR. He's had previous TV stints on ESPN and ABC.


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