Re: Biddeford, Saco need to hear their high school sports

[Aaron Read <aread@speakeasy.net>]

At 09:10 AM 8/28/2003, SteveOrdinetz wrote:
>I don't think this is a fair statement, just typical knee-jerk (not that 
>I'm calling anyone a jerk) corporate radio bashing.  Most high school 
>sports makes for pretty bad radio, and I question the amount of 
>listenership (or revenue for that matter) it generates.  My guess is that 
>the majority of people who could care two beans about a high school game 
>are probably there.  When you factor in the cost of announcers, a board 
>op, remote gear, phone lines, travel expenses, etc. it's as often as not a 
>break-even event...when you add in the fact that you're disrupting regular 
>programming, it's probably negative.  I'm not sure what a "grid game" is, 
>but I wonder just how many of these fans ever listen to the games on the 
>radio.  I always get a laugh at these "grass roots" protests everytime a 
>bottom-feeder radio station gets sold and the new owners clean house.
>
>Flame on...

I think the problem here is over-generalization.   Some high-school sports 
radio is really well done; better than the college and, in some cases, 
better than the pros.  Even better, some high-school sports...as in, the 
games themselves, are better than college or the pros.  Witness the Saugus 
Little League world series race very recently; they were showing the game 
(briefly) on the jumbo screen in Fenway Park in the middle of a Red Sox 
game.   Yeah maybe it was an ultra-local appeal rather than a region or 
state...but it had appeal!

Especially in smaller towns, even here in New England, high school sports 
are pretty important to the locals.  Especially football.   If you get into 
Texas and the Southeastern US...high school football is KING.   Granted the 
big fans are at the games, but the radio broadcasts can be really popular too.

But, as I said...it's a case-by-case basis.  Even in Texas, there are 
schools where nobody cares about the football team.  The same is true 
here...I think if the school district really has popular support for the 
games, then they ought to be able (without too much trouble) to raise the 
funds to help pay for the airtime.  Am I off-base here?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron "Bishop" Read             aread@speakeasy.net
FriedBagels Consulting          AOL-IM: readaaron
http://www.friedbagels.com      Boston, MA