To start off, what are your
thoughts about sports talk radio off the top of your head? Find it interesting?
Do you think it is doing well? Or struggling?
Due to the increases of digital
technology, such as the Internet, television, live streaming, and video
podcasts, radio can be viewed as “old” technology. According to the chapter titled, The Coverage of Sports on Radio, written
by John W. Owens, “ when one discusses the media and sports, it might be easy
to sidestep our mature broadcast companion in favor of the ‘fresh’
communication technologies that deliver us multimedia highlights of our
favorite athletes and/or teams” (117).
When fans want to get scores, updates, or highlights of a game they
missed, the first place they are going to look is not radio. It seems today, fans want to see all the
action play out, not listen to it. However,
in an article titled, “A Strong Signal,” found in the Sports Business Journal, the author, John Ourand, discusses how old-fashioned
sports talk radio proved to be most popular during Super Bowl week and how
sports talk radio is going through a renaissance.
In the
article, Dennis Wharton, an executive vice president of the National
Association of Broadcasters, is quoted saying, “There’s never been more sports
radio stations than there is now. It
would be great if former station owners got back into the business with highly
localized sports stations. There’s just
a tremendous appetite and audience for that” (Sports Business Journal).
One of the main reasons why fans still turn to sports talk radio is
because they can find all the latest news and updates about the team they care
about. Fans can tune into ESPN on
television and get highlights about their team and other teams around the league,
but they only focus on the game of maybe 30 seconds. On the other hand, sports talk radio stations
that are localized are going to go into further details, analysis, and interviews
from the local teams. Who else agrees
that television is only going to show a recap of your favorite team and radio
will debate about your team all day? When
the textbook, Handbook of Sports and
Media, discussed the history of radio in chapter 7, it mentions that, “by
the end of the 1920s, radio had penetrated 1 in 3 households” (120). Back then, radio was the source of all news,
information, and sports for people, however, today television has taken over
that role. Do we all agree? Radio, which is in cars, is still prevalent
in today’s society because we are consistently driving. Because we are always traveling and on the
move, localized sports talk radio provides fans the perfect way to hear all
about their specific teams. For example,
my father is always driving because of his job and listens to Dennis and
Callaghan on WEEI, sports talk radio station in Boston. This allows my father to hear about the teams
he cares about. All their topics focus
on the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, Bruins, and some college teams in the area. What does everyone think? Do you feel that one of the main reasons why sports
talk radio has endured success through this technological revolution is because
stations have become more localized?
The
article also suggests that sports talk radio continues to grow because stations
are starting to air on FM. The article
states, “At the end of 2011, 125 sports talk radio stations were operating in
FM across the United States” (Sports
Business Journal). Many AM stations
are deciding to switch over to FM because the audiences are much bigger and
younger. As Owens writes in his chapter
about radio, “By the late 1970s, radio listeners, especially younger listeners,
perceived FM stations as superior, as a part of their new generation” (123). For example, the WEEI station that I
mentioned before used to be an AM station but more recently switched over to
FM. Are there any other recent examples
of sports stations leaving AM to FM? Sports
radio stations are going to look for audiences that are young because they want
to keep their ratings high through each generation. Sports talk radio is popular to the
demographic of young men. This
demographic is also popular for sponsors who are willing to place
advertisements on these sports talk shows, ultimately fueling the fire of this
recent renaissance of radio. A lot more
people are listening to FM stations, so why wouldn’t sports talk radio expand
through the FM stream. Do you think that
FM is playing an important role of the continued rise of sports talk radio?
Ultimately,
the big question is whether or not this traditional sports talk radio can
continue to be popular. For me, I feel
that it has the opportunity to continue to grow. As the article discusses the future of the
radio business, it states that people have different avenues for listening to
radio nowadays. Live streaming online,
podcasts, and mobile apps are common examples.
However, the article mentions that the ratings for the traditional radio
listeners have still remained consistent.
If this is the case, then I feel that sports talk radio can be
successful despite this technological revolution. As the textbook writes, “Combined these
characteristics with skilled announcers, loyal fans and the brain’s ability to
paint unrivaled images and one has a formula for cost effective programming
that will continue for the foreseeable future” (128). This quote sums it up perfectly. If fans who love listening to the games of
their local teams continue to tune in each night or as they are driving to
work, the sports talk radio business is going to continue to flourish. What are everyone’s thoughts about the future
of sports talk radio? Do you see it surviving or diminishing?
Article from Sports Business
Journal: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2012/02/13/In-Depth/Lead.aspx
