More pro sports teams are buying radio outlets as more stations balk over what they say are unprofitable rights deals.
The moves have alarmed some radio executives, such as CBS Radio CEO Joel Hollander, who has expressed anger at sports leagues for allowing competition, in the form of satellite radio and Internet sites, to dilute the value of their broadcasts.
CBS, until recently known as Infinity, has lost two teams to such deals: The St. Louis Cardinals abandoned their 52-year tie to KMOX after the station sought to reduce its rights fee and bought a 50 percent interest in KTRS-AM; and Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder elected to buy three stations and form Red Zebra Broadcasting rather than extend his deal with WJFK-FM.
Two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim owner Arte Moreno paid what locally published sources said was $42 million to buy KXME-AM, a San Fernando Valley-based Spanish-language station whose 50,000-watt signal is one of the strongest in Southern California.
The club said the deal was less about rights fees and more about having a strong signal on a station where the team could control the programming.
“Baseball hasn’t been the focus on some of these stations,” said Tim Mead, the Angels’ vice president of communication, adding that the deal guarantees the team a consistent home after years of changing stations. He said the team will review its options when its English-language deal with low-rated KSPN ends in two years.
But Hollander warned that teams will find it more difficult and expensive to run stations than they imagined. He said franchises may not allot dedicated staffs for critical station functions and would serve the team’s business model rather than their new properties.
“They don’t have the infrastructure of radio stations,” Hollander said. “There may be five or six people at any given moment just selling Redskins radio.”
But others think the moves could be sound ones if the teams are realistic.
Sporting News Radio President Clancy Woods said owners want to be able to control the marketing for their teams, and buying stations allows them to schedule shows, package in-stadium deals and promote their clubs more effectively.
“You have really smart guys who own teams and who have been successful in other businesses,” he said. “[They] understand the value of owning proprietary content and understand the value of being able to brand their content in the advertising marketplace.”
Andrew Grossman is a writer in New York.
