This blog post from Bob Smizik about the former B-94 now going sports talk.
As word about the new sports-talk station in town — SportsRadio 93.7 The Fan — continues to dribble out, one thing is clear: These guys mean business.
From all indications, the CBS Radio Group has made a serious long-term commitment to the station, which will use the call letters to KDKA-FM.
Most notable about that commitment is The Fan will carry at least 16 hours of locally originated programming. That’s twice as many hours as 1250 ESPN produces.
One way to fill some of those hours will be with broadcast of games. That is where Pitt could benefit.
Another area where I expect the new station to be a major player is in bidding for the broadcasting rights of the local franchises — Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, Pitt football and basketball and Duquesne basketball. All of those rights, except Duquesne’s, are currently held by Clear Channel, which operates five stations in the Pittsburgh market and has the Steelers on one, the Penguins on another and Pitt on a third.
The Penguins recently extended their deal with Clear Channel and will be heard on WXDX (105.9) for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to imagine the Steelers leaving Clear Channel, when their contact expires. Because they are the No. 1 franchise in town, the Steelers are heard on WDVE (102.5), the crown jewel of the Clear Channel stations and No. 1 in the market.
But KDKA-AM has made strong bids for the Steelers rights in the past so there’s reason to believe the new station will come just as hard or harder.
Pitt is where The Fan has the best chance to win broadcasting rights. Pitt’s contract with Clear Channel is due to expire in the near future (not sure of the exact date) and I would expect The Fan to be a player in the bidding. Pitt has no reason to be unhappy at Clear Channel, where it’s heard on WWSW (94.5), and it gets plenty of the cross-promotion on the five stations that Clear Channel does so well. But it’s still No. 4 on Clear Channel. It could be No. 1 at The Fan.
Obviously another bidder is helpful. If the new station is really serious about doing local programming that heavy, it would be nice to see some kind of attempt to focusing on Pitt and/or regional college teams as part of the programming. I’m sure there will be no skimping on further over-saturating the region with the Steelers and Penguins coverage, plus rants on how bad the Pirates are doing.
I’d like to think they would consider trying to take some shot at doing a college show. It seems an area that remains relatively untouched. Especially if they do score rights to Pitt football and/or basketball.
