Lions/Whitecaps radio rights?

[GrumpyOldMan]

This is an interesting time for sports properties on the radio, and in TV. The Whitecaps have begun the process of looking for a contract, while the Lions are making their usual end of contract overtures about being miserably unhappy about they way they've been dealt with at CHUM.

My prediction is the Lions stay where they are, and the Whitecaps go to CKNW.

[johnsykes]

Next year, with the Whitecaps joining MLS, that club needs to think major league re radio rights....and NW would or should be considered.....although I fail to see why the Lions would be peed off with how Team Radio handles their broadcasts. Good grief, for years all they got was a half-hour or one-hour pre-game show......Team Radio has gone overboard with virtual all-day pre-gamers. Wally in the morning.....Wally in the afternoon. What more do they want! Team Radio is advertising broadcast times....do you think some other outlet wold go beyond? Doubt it. Maybe its because Ball & Co. are calling games like they should......truthfully. If the team is crap, its crap.......sometimes truth hurts. I don't appreciate clubs controlling broadcasts....occasionally, it comes over as ...."well the Cubs are down by 15 runs, but here in the 9th inning, they are beginning to fight back." Hope you get the drift of that.

[Coolcat]

The Whitecaps would be crazy to seriously consider NW. They are not a sports station anymore. Their 3 hour show at night is nice but the Whitecaps would demand a lot more attention in the way of specials and shows than NW would give them.

Team 1040/1410 would be ideal for them but they do have to go through the motions to get the best deal.

[johnsykes]

The only reason I suggested NW for the Whitecaps was because their season would coincide with the Lions....mind you, I'd sooner listen to a Whitecaps game than the Canadians baseball......I listen to the Mariners and Jays games....but the Canadians??? So there could be space on Team Radio for the 'Caps....thinking realistically. So, you are probably right....NW is not he way to go.

[Roger Pedacter]

My understanding - which is very limited - is that the Lions always complain about their radio deals. So if they do go to another station, will they simply repeat the situation in 3, 4 years?

Not sure what the Whitecaps plans are but I think they're going to be a big property in a few years, maybe surpassing the Lions. I would think plenty of stations wouldn't mind getting in on that.

[sparky]

This is an interesting time for sports properties on the radio, and in TV. The Whitecaps have begun the process of looking for a contract, while the Lions are making their usual end of contract overtures about being miserably unhappy about they way they've been dealt with at CHUM.

My prediction is the Lions stay where they are, and the Whitecaps go to CKNW.

If the Lions had any brains, they would stay put where they are. Who really cares what 1410's ratings are? The fans who aren't at the stadium know where to find the game on the radio and that's the bottom line. Sure, NW has bigger numbers, but are the Lions front office people so stupid as to think that the regular NW audience will stick around through a football game? The way NW has treated them in the past should be grounds enough to eliminate them from the running. Used to be if the game was in OT and ended at 10:40, there was a 20 minute postgame show. The fact too that they no longer have a real sports department speaks volumes. Dan Russell and Neal McCrae don't go to games or add anything to the broadcast, so all you've got is the "B" Team covering a major sporting event.

The amount of time that The Team devotes to the Lions is the way it should be. Teams 1040 and 1410 should also go after the Giants. They too should be on an all sports station (regardless of the numbers) rather than being an interruption on an AM music station. Again, like NW, do you think the regular core CISL audience leaves the radio on when a Giants game hits the air? I kinda doubt it.

Just my .02 cents worth from over on the island.

Stan

[GrumpyOldMan]

I agree with the points about the TEAM's Lions coverage. It is good...it's an event now. It wasn't at 'NW, and I don't think they could dedicate the kinds of resources the TEAM is currently committing.

But CHUM is also greedy. They'll put anything on the air for the right price...and Canadians baseball is a prime example. If it weren't for rich American owners shelling out 3 grand a game, you wouldn't be hearing Rob Fai calling single A ball. I think single A ball doesn't belong anywhere on traditional radio...and for me...it's an instant shut off.

I have this feeling that CHUM is in a bigger fight for the Canucks than they think. It was Paul Ski that agreed to spend 1.5 million a year on the rights, and he's now at Rogers, which is trying to wiggle AM 730 away from Corus. This is going to be a fascinating 5 years for sports radio.

[Tighthead]

I agree with the points about the TEAM's Lions coverage. It is good...it's an event now. It wasn't at 'NW, and I don't think they could dedicate the kinds of resources the TEAM is currently committing.

But CHUM is also greedy. They'll put anything on the air for the right price...and Canadians baseball is a prime example. If it weren't for rich American owners shelling out 3 grand a game, you wouldn't be hearing Rob Fai calling single A ball. I think single A ball doesn't belong anywhere on traditional radio...and for me...it's an instant shut off.

I have this feeling that CHUM is in a bigger fight for the Canucks than they think. It was Paul Ski that agreed to spend 1.5 million a year on the rights, and he's now at Rogers, which is trying to wiggle AM 730 away from Corus. This is going to be a fascinating 5 years for sports radio.

I thought Jake Kerr was Canadian?

[johnsykes]

I do have to ask....who the hell would listen to Vancouver Canadians baseball....its single A for Pete's sake

[Fustercluck]

Agreed on the Single 'A (rookie league, no less)'. It's a brand of baseball best reserved for the Bends, Kennewicks and Salems of the baseball world. These kids must think they've died and gone to heaven when they get to a city like this rather than Podunk, Oregon.

It would be nice to see if the C's owership and PAVCO have any aspirations on bringing AAA back to this town. It's a better fit than the NBA ever was.

On the subject of Lions/Whitecaps rights... There is something here that everyone on this board doesn't get, or doesn't want to get in regard to the Lions.

The Lions and the TEAM were a perfect fit before they got the Canucks. No matter how much temporary summer love the TEAM directs toward the Lions, they will be a rumour two weeks outside of Canucks training camp on 1040, conisgned to the red headed step child that is 1410.

The key for the Lions is to be somewhere where the Canucks are not, and they are treated as the one and only. CKNW by itself isn't that place, but the cluster of stations on FM would give the Lions the chance to sell to the male demo who listens to the Fox and Rock 101. If the Lions do make the jump, they would have to demand it's a deal with the cluster and not just NW alone. They'd end up getting better value out of a deal like that.

As for the Whitecaps, it's hard to tell how they would do today ratings or cume wise... but in three years they could be gangbusters if they put a winning product on the field. With more games than the Lions, they would be a more attractive anchor for 1410. MUCH cheaper than the Lions too. You could build up The whole soccer thing on that station with EPL and UEFA in the mornings, and pull down a few UK shows for good measure. It would be better than what they are running now, and probably more attractive in this market.

Anyway, I see the Lions with a tough decision, and the Whitecaps going to 1410 no matter what. If NW won't do Giants games once a week, they won't stick their necks out on soccer.