Comments on: New Radio Deal

By: Off Wing Opinion

Off Wing Opinion — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:00:51 +0000

Caps Take Radio Contract To Bonneville…

From Caps PR: The Washington Capitals and Bonneville International Corporation have reached a two-year agreement that will put broadcasts of……

By: odessasteps

odessasteps — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:53:10 +0000

I know most everyone hates Andy and Steve for their “anti-Cap stance,” but remember there are people at 980 who love hockey and will likely be sorry to lose it from the station.

By: norske

norske — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:09:42 +0000

I actually stopped listening to the Sports Reporters long ago, so I voted with my radio dial on that show. I definitely don’t look to that station for good hockey coverage, so please don’t look at anything I said as a defense of them. (You can take my comments as a defense of Kornheiser, though, since I’ve always liked him. Not because of anything he has to say about hockey, though. Just in general.)
Yes, getting some promotion on WTOP would be a great thing, and something that, I admit, I missed in reading the story the first time. I’ll miss all the interviews, though.

By: Gustafsson

Gustafsson — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:52:06 +0000

Norske,
While they may not have the number of interviews with Capitals personnel on 980 this year as they did last year, there should be better promotion of the team this year. From the press release:

“A variety of promotional elements will air on Talk Radio 3WT and Bonneville sister station WTOP (103.5 FM and 103.9 FM), including commercials, community relations and public service announcements, game promotions and station identification reads.”

WTOP laughs at the ratings of all the other stations. And while we may not hear more in depth coverage (not that you get that out of John Thompson’s mouth… but you do with Smokin’ Al Koken) there will be a much larger pool to target promotions, etc. Also, with that being said, you don’t need to go to 980 for more in depth anyway. You can just visit us, Off Wing, and Japers’.

By: OrderedChaos

OrderedChaos — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:43:58 +0000

Excellent points Norske. First, I have to believe that 1500’s greatly increased signal strength is a major factor, and hopefully they have a good business deal as well. I doubt the Czaban squabble was the cause for this switch.
As for Kornheiser, I don’t think he *hates* hockey, but I’d rather have him ignore the sport than make uninformed & dismissive comments about it (which seems to be his M.O.).

By: norske

norske — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:38:59 +0000

If Ted’s doing this because he is paying 1500 a lower rate, or because 1500’s signal is significantly stronger than 980’s signal and much, much stronger than 570’s signal, or for other, business-related reasons, then it is the smart thing to do. If he’s doing it because he had a squabble with Czaban, then it is a kneejerk,stupid thing to do.
For example, last season the Caps had a deal with WTEM providing for at least one guest appearance by a member of the team each week on both the Brian Mitchell Show and the John Thompson Show. I doubt there could be any similar deal with 1500, given their planned schedule of political talk shows. Giving that up because the hosts of one show are jerks would be stupid. Giving that up because there are other tangible business advantages to making the change would be smart.
BTW, why are people so convinced that Tony K. hates hockey? I have listened to him regularly for years, and yeah, he make jokes about poor attendance and TV ratings, but no more than the rest of the MSM. And he loves Ovechkin, and gave him props on his show all the time, and has often said that playoff hockey is the most exciting experience in all of sports. Yeah, real hatred there.

By: OrderedChaos

OrderedChaos — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:38:30 +0000

TG, the way I think it worked for 980 was that the Caps paid for a “broadcast window” for each game, but the team kept any advertising revenue during that window. Not sure if it’ll be a similar deal for 1500 or not.

By: TG

TG — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:41:57 +0000

I wonder if Ted is paying 1500 to broadcast the games (and if so, it’s got to be significantly more than he paid 980), or if he’s actually going to get paid for the rights.

By: Gustafsson

Gustafsson — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:19:44 +0000

“(though isn‚Äôt fellow hockey-hater Tony K. on 1500 in the mornings?)”
You are correct, JP. However, Mr. Tony won’t be on until his MNF gig is done, so we have a break from the hate.
From DCRTV.com:

“8/28 – DCRTV hears that, come 9/20, when Bonneville launches 3WT in place of Washington Post Radio, David Burd will be hosting from 5:30 AM to 10 AM. At 8 AM, the new talker will shift to “The Tony Kornhesier Show Starring David Burd.” Jessica Doyle, who hosts early mornings with Burd, will join the existing ensemble, which includes Victoria Jones. The 5:30 AM to 8 AM segment will take on more of the morning zoo flavor of Burd’s old Washington Post Radio Saturday morning show, we’re told…..”

By: J.P.

J.P. — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:11:02 +0000

I definitely could get WTOP on certain nights all the way up in Syracuse, NY.
I can’t even get 980 driving down K Street some nights. Great news (though isn’t fellow hockey-hater Tony K. on 1500 in the mornings?).