lovers vs. haters
August 27th, 2009We live in a small media market. there are maybe(!) 250,000 people who live in the “greater Charleston metro area,” and ESPN has had a strong radio presence here for years. they had a lock on the morning sports talk segment – until Fox Sports began broadcasting their nationally syndicated sports talk shows a few months ago.
admittedly, I was jazzed that I’d have double the sports content to listen to in the AM – and not have to give in and subscribe to Sirius. but…..with only 250,000 people (and probably only a couple thousand sports radio listeners!), I asked myself – can this market really support two sports stations?
on the one hand, you have ESPN’s Mike & Mike in the Morning, pairing two good natured personalities who seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs – who wouldn’t, right? (even if you’re not a sports junkie, you may be familiar with Mike Golic. he’s been a pitchman for Nutrisystem for some time.)
on the other hand, you have this guy on Fox Sports in the morning. recognize him?
his name’s Steve Czaban. and unless you like to crave sports commentary that constantly criticizes and berates professional athletes, you probably have no clue who he is. I didn’t before Fox Sports started broadcasting here.
as I prepare for this season’s fantasy football league (which I will win!), I’ve been listening to both ESPN and Fox rate players to pick. it’s been terribly enlightening – ESPN has told me who I should choose while Fox has told me whom not to choose.
where am I going with this? simply that the world is divided between lovers and haters, people who see the bright side of things (ESPN listeners) and folks who are Debbie Downers (Fox Sports listeners). I wonder if their programming staffs are tuned into this? they must be or the two differing formats couldn’t both succeed in such a market like ours.
One Response to “lovers vs. haters”
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September 3rd, 2009 at 2:28 am
My rational, ratings-oriented mind says that you’re right, no way can Chas support two sports stations like that. On the flip side, I’ve lived in smaller markets before that have had a similiar competitive situation, and b/c sports is such a big deal, both–particularly b/c they serve very different audiences–hold tightly onto their listeners… We’ll have to see how the season plays out.