Bill Virgin's Radio Beat August 21, 2008

[radiofan]

Would KIRO-AM/710 score points with switch to sports?
Here are some pros and cons

By BILL VIRGIN
P-I REPORTER

It's a foregone conclusion, the conventional thinking in Seattle radio goes: Bonneville International, having moved its news and talk programming from KIRO-AM/710 to the former KBSG-FM/97.3 (now renamed KIRO-FM), plans to convert the AM station to all sports.

Even Bonneville itself, in announcing the AM-FM simulcast several weeks ago, was a bit coy as to the future of KIRO-AM, saying only that no decisions have been made. But given the predictions by competitors and reports that Bonneville has talked with national sports network ESPN about using its service, a switch to all sports seems at least a strong possibility.

We'll leave aside for the moment speculation about whether Bonneville will or won't, and focus on the reasons for and against such a switch. Starting with the arguments in favor:

It's got the properties: The two biggest draws in Seattle sports are the Mariners and the Seahawks. Bonneville already has the Seahawks, and the Mariners are retuning next year.

Bonneville has done this in other cities: In Phoenix, notes Bellevue-based sports-radio consultant Rick Scott, the company moved news-talk to an FM outlet, and switched its AM station to all sports. Of course, he adds, in its hometown of Salt Lake City, Bonneville moved news-talk to FM but kept it on AM, similar to the KIRO-AM/FM simulcast in place now. So, he notes, whichever model you decide Bonneville will follow in Seattle, you've got a 50 percent chance of being right.

What else would you do with an AM station? More conventional wisdom: Everyone's listening to FM these days. Music abandoned AM long ago (with a few holdouts such as KIXI-AM/880), and talk is headed the same direction, in search of younger listeners. "For them to move news to FM is smart," Scott says of the decision to move the former KBSG out of a crowded segment. "Music formats are tougher and tougher."

Sports sounds better on AM anyway: For some reason sporting event broadcasts sound flat and dull on FM. The lower audio quality of AM seems to heighten the immediacy and excitement.

Other metro areas have more than one sports station: Some, Scott adds, have three.

There's room for everyone: Were KIRO-AM to go all sports, it would go up against KJR-AM/ 950, flagship for University of Washington football and men's basketball and which features an extensive lineup of local talk hosts. But Scott says the experience in Dallas, where a new ESPN station challenged an established local sports-talk station, indicates that a KIRO-AM switch "doesn't mean they would split KJR's share. It would add listeners to the format."

Now for the arguments against:

Why throw out the heritage and legacy of KIRO on AM? With its morning drive-time news and long-established talk hosts such as Dave Ross and Dori Monson, plus the Mariners and Seahawks, KIRO-AM was a dominant station in the Seattle market. KOMO-AM/1000 grabbed some of that by landing the Mariners and switching to news. Yet KIRO didn't exactly disappear from the dial, or the ratings, while the Mariners were elsewhere. With baseball back, more than a few listeners are going to want their favorites in one place. KIRO, Scott says, is "definitely a valuable piece of property."

If it wants a sports component on the AM station beyond football and baseball games, it could always do a nightly sports-talk show as it did in the days when hosts such as Steve Rudman and Art Thiel (both now at the Seattle P-I) held down that slot. KIRO-AM has already added a weekly nighttime Seahawks show.

Why chase away half your potential audience? Women will listen for news. They may listen to Mariners broadcasts. They're not likely to stick around for sports talk.

Seattle already has multiple sports stations: Aside from KJR-AM, there's its sister station KHHO-AM/850 and Everett-based KRKO-AM/1380.

Seattle isn't like other cities: Is this town sports-crazy enough to carry multiple stations? Especially when KJR-AM has an established track record, and has done a good job of developing coverage of local sports from the high schools to the Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs to the Windermere Cup crew races. How many sports radio stations do crew races these days?

Broadcast rights aren't everything: KJR has also built plenty of local coverage and content around the three (now two) major pro-sports teams without having the game broadcast rights to any of them. In some instances sports teams aren't wild about their broadcast rights holder also doing commentary, which can be critical, about them.

In other radio notes:


KUOW-FM/94.9 is advising listeners that it is operating at reduced power "sporadically" until Sept. 1 while it works on its antenna. HD channels aren't available while it operates at lower power.


King County Executive Ron Sims takes listener calls on "Weekday" at 10 a.m. Thursday on KUOW-FM.


KING-FM/98.1 presents the recent International Wagner Competition in Seattle at 7 p.m. Saturday.


Lizz Sommars' guests on "Conversations" at 6 a.m. Sunday on KISW-FM/99.9, KKWF-FM/100.7 and KMTT-FM/103.7 and 7 a.m. Sunday on KNDD-FM/107.7 include Tom Vanderbilt, author of the book "Traffic."


Jim Wilke's "Jazz Northwest" at 1 p.m. Sunday on KPLU-FM/88.5 features a recent performance by singer Greta Matassa.

Bill Virgin's Radio Beat, Thursdays in the Seattle P-I

[jon]

Predicting what will happen with KIRO AM & FM is difficult.

But, what gives the most flexibility, which gives it favour, in my view, as the best decision, is to run both stations as a News/Talks/Sport mix. After all, if you have two overlapping Sports events, what makes the most sense is to air one on AM and one on FM.

I also think it makes the most sense to run them not simulcast whenever the available programming makes that possible.