Re: Bruins

[Dib9@aol.com]

Many of the reasons you listed are legitimate by I do take issue with a couple
of them:

In a message dated 98-06-18 14:07:01 EDT, Joseph Gallant writes:

<< Some reasons why WBZ might be desperate for Bruins' radio network
  affiliates in Maine:
 
 (1) University of Maine Men's Hockey. Although recently rocked by NCAA
  sanctions, the "Black Bears" have sold-out their 6,500(?)-seat arena
  for every home games since the mid-to-late 1980's. A number of their
  home games (8 to 10 a year?) are also televised on WLBZ-2 in Bangor
  and it's sister station, WCSH-6 in Portland. I suspect their radio
  coverage isn't just in Bangot/Orono, but statewide. >>

WGAN picked up the Black Bear games this past year but the Black Bears have
never had an extensive radio network.  There is also not much interest in the
team now that they are not on top.  Marginal sports fans, in all sports, are
front runners.

 <<(2) TV Coverage. NESN is available to most cable systems in Maine. I
  believe WSBK-38 also still is (although I've heard that because of
  an expanded UPN program schedule that WSBK this coming season may
  only air about 25 Bruins' games, mainly weekends or late-night west-
  coast games out of conflict with the 8-10 P.M. M-F UPN schedule).
  With every game available on TV between NESN, WSBK, and Fox (ch. 51?)
  in Portland, radio coverage might go begging. >>

Good point.  Growth of cable TV has a lot to do with many of the changes in
local radio.  Some of the changes that have been caused in part by the growth
of cable TV are the loss of news coverage, drop in popularity of talk radio,
ect.  Cable telecasts also make it harder to find radio sponsors for games in
smaller markets.
 
 <<((3) Other Boston pro sports teams. Perhaps WEEI demands full schedule
  coverage of Celtics and Red Sox games.
 
 If I were a PD at a Maine radio station carrying both the Bruins and
  Celtics, I'd broadcast all home games of both teams, and whatever
  road games fit in, without conflicting with the other team at home.>>

I made this point earlier.  As far as taped delayed radio braodcasts go, I
would not pay to sponsor a tape delayed game.  WJAE runs both the Celtics and
Bruins, but I am pretty sure that they just drop the Bruins when there is a
conflict.
 
 <<(4) Board operators. In some small Maine stations, it's satellite 
  24/7, and breaks and commercial insertions are all automated--no
  human hands necessary. To carry 10 pre-season games, 82 regular-
  season games, and up to 25 (assuming the Bruins continue to improve
  and make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals) playoff games--
  a total of up to 117 games--you'd need to have a board op working
  168 hours on a part-time basis (assuming a three-hour game, a 30-
  minute pregame show and a 30-minute postgame show for every game).
  In the smallest radio markets, this could be a considerable expense.>>
 
Reliable part timers are very hard to find.

 <<(5) Local high-school sports. There are probably still a lot of high-
  school sports in the fall and winter broadcast in smaller Maine
  markets. While the number of such games on local radio up there has
  probably decliend considerably from what it once was, there's still
  some local school sports on the air.>>

Not a factor.  I got my start in radio doing high school sports, but in Maine,
such broadcasts are now nearly non-existent.
 
 <<(6) WBZ. The Bruins are on a flagship station whose 50,000-watt 
  signal will cover southern Maine (the most populous part of the
  state) during the day and all of Maine at night. Stations may be
  reluctant to take the Bruins because fans in these areas can
  already get WBZ without any problems.>>
 
A legitimate point, but it did not cause problems when WBZ was the flagship
station for the Patriots.  They have always had a strong radio network in
Maine.  Of course, the Patriots and football are much more popular than the
Bruins and hockey.

Dan Billings
Bowdoinham, Maine 

------------------------------

End of boston-radio-interest-digest V2 #103
*******************************************