Nationals Drawing Fewer Radio Listeners Than Game Attendees
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Nationals' On-Field Woes
Not Helping Radio Audience |
The Nationals' radio broadcasts on WWWT-AM and WWWT-FM have "attracted a cumulative weekly audience of about 26,500 from May through July, the most recent period measured by Arbitron," according to Paul Farhi of the WASHINGTON POST. The low figures give the Nationals, who are an MLB-worst 46-85, the "unusual distinction of being a team that has far more people watching its games in person (average attendance has been 29,990 per game) than listening to them on radio." The team's radio following "isn't even in the same league as teams with similar records, even those in metropolitan areas with far fewer people" than DC. And Bonneville Int'l VP/News & Programming Jim Farley, whose company owns the stations, conceded that the "actual radio audience for the Nationals is 'probably lower' than the average reported by Arbitron." Farley said that the team's "poor record alone doesn't explain the results." Farley: "There's no storyline for this season. Who's the hero? Who's the big star? Even the (famously terrible) '62 Mets had Marv Throneberry. The Nats don't have a character like that." Farhi notes the stations themselves "have been beset by low ratings for some time, which has limited their ability to reach a wide audience and promote the games" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/26).
NATIONAL CRISIS? SI.com's Jon Heyman cited sources as saying that Nationals GM Jim Bowden "still appears to have the support of his bosses, who blame others for problems that have beset Bowden and the club," including the "failure to sign No. 1 draft choice Aaron Crow and reports that Bowden is being investigated in baseball's scout skimming scandal." Sources said that Nationals execs are "blaming the failed Crow negotiations squarely on Crow's advisers," Alan and Randy Hendricks. And Nationals execs are "blaming the attention being given to Bowden in the scout skimming scandal on erroneous press reports." Heyman: "While they are showing confidence in Bowden, they'd be better served placing their faith in club president Stan Kasten" (SI.com, 8/22). In Boston, Tony Massarotti reported the Hendricks brothers reportedly were "seeking a $9[M] signing bonus" for Crow. The Nationals "ultimately climbed to $3.5[M] before the Hendricks Brothers dropped to $4[M], leaving the gap at a mere $500,000." Massarotti: "If you're a team like the Nationals and you are clearly not going to invest in free agents, $500,000 seems like a trivial amount to come between you and your first-round pick" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/24).
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