COFFEE MONDAY...
The Giants' KNBR broadcast deal expires at the end
of next (2021) season. There's NO guarantee, like in past years that an extension will be done because of a multitude of obstacles, issues that weren't considered problems in years past.
For starters, KNBR's talk-heavy Monday-Friday platforms, featuring Greg Papa, Tom Tolbert, Larry Krueger, has become a money-making machine. Much of the programming, while not overall ratings nirvana, nonetheless has placed KNBR #1 at the A25-54 sports-talk universe, men being the biggest draw.
Much of the talk has centered on the 49ers and NFL. Football is KING and all you have to do to see that is realize how much NFL talk is broadcast and specifically, the 49ers, from April to now and the playoffs and Super Bowl. The 49ers' down year hasn't translated to down interest.
So why screw it up with baseball? And the Giants? Not on the KNBR radar. Larry Baer is shivering.
The Giants will take the best deal, whoever it may be.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I don't listen to sports on the radio.
ReplyDeletePeople are used to tuning into a specific radio frequency to find their sports. The actual frequency can change if it has to. I believe Cumulus owns both KNBR and KGO-Radio. How it manages its people and decides which frequency/station to actually use shouldn't matter much. I do know at a certain time in the evening, particular AM radio stations get atmospheric interference and become unhearable. This would be a major concern for consideration. I know this is a personal problem for me with 560 AM. I don't know how 680 or 810 perform at these hours. I think 810 is hearable 24/7 by me in San Jose, but again, I don't listen to the radio much anymore. When I do, I mainly want to hear local Bay Area news especially if I become stuck in a traffic jam or want to know about a visible law enforcement or fire issue. I understand many folks would like to listen to various sports on the radio in their cars or if they're allowed to listen to the radio at work. Hopefully, advertisers are aware of such folks.
It’s not atmospheric interference. KGO and KNBR are 50k watt clear channel stations, which means they don’t have to reduce power at night. KSFO is required to alter its 5k watt signal pattern when the Sun goes down, otherwise its signal would travel too far in certain directions and interfere with stations sharing the 560am frequency. AM signals propagate further at night, so it’s the FCC that is mandating the reduced signal in your area.
DeleteTo drag it down to the level of the rest of their programming KGO could just have Chip and Nikki call the games.
ReplyDeleteThey could go back to KSFO like the old days . . .
ReplyDeleteAnd how does KNBR's minority ownership in the Giants play a role in all of this???
ReplyDeleteYes! Finally some talk about the underutilized clear channel resource of KGO with only Cal football as the live sports on the calendar. It would be a challenge to schedule the growing news talk offerings with Giants. But perhaps news talk controls the late morning & afternoon weekdays and build a 4 PM - 12 PM block around the Giants and sports programming. Seems to me the Monty Stickles had sports talk on the old, old KGO.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny for me that after all the decades on KNBR, I still think of the original association with KSFO, where Giants (with Lon Simmons and Russ Hodges), 49ers (with Lon), and I think Stanford football were all juggled with great music hosts for "The World's Greatest Radio Station" -- plus Aaron Edwards news reporting!
BTW ... Monday Gavin Newsome Faux Pas -- he booked his briefing opposite Biden's vaccination and the Guv just got pre-empted. Somebody on his staff is either on vacation, "checked out" for the week or maybe is preoccupied with their own Covid19 status.
ReplyDeleteHi Rich. Forgive me for wandering Off Topic, but I've wanted to ask you something. You're a Media Insider when you wish to be.
ReplyDeleteMy question is about TMZ an entertainment network. Months ago they shut down their Comments Section. The comments were the main reason I loved looking at the site. Similar to the same reason I come to your website.
I guess too many readers decided they were 'offended' for one reason or another. Got their nose pushed outta joint.
Do YOU know when their Comments Section will come back?
- I dig 12:20's reminiscing about KSFO having Lon Simmons calling the Giants & 49ers, with each SF team treated with equal respect. Plus, there was no one like Lon or Russ Hodges or Bob Fouts.
ReplyDelete- I have stopped listening to most sports all together because: 1. The endless injuries and penalties/fouls/called-strike-threes have become way too depressing and diminishes the entertainment value immensely; 2. The radio conglomerates are a turn off; 3. The sports owners are a turn off; and 4. The no-life fanatics, especially among football, specifically college in the South, are the biggest turnoff of all, putting aside their family, even faith, in favor of football. The sports landscape today is too less about the sport as an art form and as a badge of community honor (regardless of the ads showing otherwise), and too much about overcommercialization and pageantry, both of which seem to have more air time than the games itself. I realize the monetary value of each franchise, but the fan base are of equal value and are way too often forgotten. Even before the pandemic, I had never watched less sports than I do now. I might as well just read, listen to music, or pop in a classic DVD than see a hype-diluted game-diminishing product.
- It is very sad that the sophomoric John Lund continues to benefit from KNBR's recent sports-talk rating fortune, despite its endless commercials. It explains why Bay Sports Talk will never match that of LA or the rest of the nation.
- Lockstep lost a lot of leverage when he misstepped with his wife. Not to mention the Giants board lost a lot of local credibility with their divisive donation report.
- TMZ ending the Comment section? I guess Harvey Levin's ego was severely bruised too often. Most TMZ comments are not from the same people who appear outside in front of Levin's most beloved TV series The People's Court, as seen at 3PM each weekday on PIX, which is why KPIX will never air the East Coast feed of the CBS Evening News, like KGO-TV airs the East Coast feed for ABC's World News Tonight. KNTV also never airs the East Coast feed for NBC Nightly News, but that's because Kelly Clarkson has been a goddess-send for the 3PM hour. Bay viewing does affect the three network newscasts' national ratings, with the order being ABC-NBC-CBS, and David Muir outrating Lester Holt, despite the latter's Marin roots.
The Giants on kgo?..john rothman can host the pre and post game shows from either his library, the deli section at cal mart or from the spacious confines of the raymond burr memorial bathroom
ReplyDelete4:47 - don't forget the Raymond Burr nipple rouge.
ReplyDeleteOn topic - they can go to whatever station as long as the get rid of Amy G.
95.7 would go all out to steal the Giants away from knbr, no question..they's openly been trying it for years, of couse even when they were carrying the A's it was all Giants all the time..
ReplyDelete1050AM or 860AM
ReplyDeleteSpeculating about which Cumulus station?
ReplyDelete