New Homes for Sports Teams In 2004? (4-12-03)

As for the Padre radiocasts itself for 2004, a new home could possibly in order, but this year, the Spanish language rights for the Padre games are now on XEMO 860 from Tijuana, a station that used to broadcast an English-language religious format until 1980. This year's English-language team is still the duo for Jerry Coleman and Ted Leitner, who hasn't yet shown up on another TV broadcast outlet doing sports reports as far as I know. Cable Channel 4 broadcasts the games Mon-Sat, except on certain daytime games, but the Spanish-language TV rights remain unknown (cable? channel 45 or TV Azteca?)

It's not just the Padres that may be moving, but other teams could also.

The Padres are in their fourth and final year on KOGO AM 600 (103.3 this year in Temecula, 94.5 last year), and it doesn't look like Clear Channel wants to spend money on a broadcast package that doesn't make money during the time period the most people listen to anything related to the Padres: during the play-by-play broadcast. Why? Rights fees that have gotten prohibitively too high for the station to get enough money from the sales of ad spots to make a better profit than Clear Channel could make bartering three hours for paid programming. Already, Spanish TV Padre rights, last year was on XEWT 12, are not on Tijuana TV this year due to the same high rights fees issues.

Clear Channel may want a cheaper fee to ensure that the play-by-play broadcasts turn a profit because, as is the norm, fans tune in close to when the game begins and out when the game ends, so the bookend Padre call-in and locker room shows won't make up for the rights fees the station paid for to air the Padre games.

Negotiations over the past few months failed to produce an extension, and the two sides agreed to allow the Padres to seek other bids.

The Padres are sending out Requests for Proposals to selected radio stations to bid on rights to carry the team's broadcasts after this season is over. Lots of luck trying to get as much as five million dollars a season in the future. KCBQ's nighttime signal doesn't reach into North County (plus it may go off the air this September if no new transmitting site is found and built by then), XPRS 1090's signal doesn't reach El Cajon (the so-called El Zono Loco mysterious realm where XUPN doesn't reach either), KFMB 760 is doing fine with no help from baseball (it's resident sports broadcasting package, the Chargers, don't want the station to acquire the Padre rights), KPOP is owned by Clear Channel so that's also out, KFSD-AM 1450 only reaches North County, KCEO 1000 in Vista gets blocked out by Seattle's AM 1000 in the Southern part of SD County at night, XTRA Sports 690 is basically serving Los Angeles now, ESPN 800 has Angels baseball telecasts, and KSURF 540 may not take a chance at the high asking price of the rights fees either. Did I mention that AM 1130 is also out of the question since the station is going Spanish religious programming within weeks?

But all stations have one thing in common: the days of acquiring a loss-leader sports broadcasting package are over given today's radio environment and stiff competetion from non-radio alternatives such as subscription satellite radio and CDs.

Looks like next season at this rate, the Padres may have to look into time buying their way onto the radio stations and selling their own ad spots themselves if no local broadcaster will take a chance on an asking price too high for the stations to profit from the telecasts, or just settle for no radio prescence at all.

San Diego State, which has a year remaining on its contract with XTRA 690 for football and basketball in the San Diego area, are also sending out RFPs this month, and since 690 is basically a Los Angeles station, it may not consider returning to XTRA next season. XTRA 690, last fall, moved their talent and studios out of San Diego and into Los Angeles, and has been more of an extension to KXTA 1150 than the other way around the way the station sounds and feels.

The Padres and San Diego State could end up anyway on 800 or 1090 on a time-buy basis, meaning, that the station is paid only for the time agreed to by the program at a set rate agreed on. The program, being the sports broadcast or other related programming, sells the ad spots and keeps all of the advertising revenue. I'm not sure if any major sports broadcaster in America is doing this kind of way of broadcasting on the radio, but one thing for sure: baseball in radio is publicity for the ball club. Would it be fair anyway for the Padres to pay to be on the air as if it was a three-hour commercial for Major League Baseball?

The Mighty 1090, which already has their first play-by-play entitiy, the San Diego Riptide from the Arena Football II league, is looking to add to their lineup, and the Aztecs basketball and football could be within their price range, but the Padres may be a tougher one to acquire if the price is too high.

According to Dave Palet, program director at ESPN 800, a signal boost, with the help from Mexico's governing boady that regulates radio and TV, should come before spring of 2004, but will that station get the Padres next year? If AM 800 gets the Padres next year, fans in Los Angeles may not get it unless they have a GE Superradio III that can get the AM 800 signal from 150 miles away near the AM 790 station about 10 miles away. You would need a radio that can get selectively get channels that close on the dial apart.

In 1999, Clear Channel agreed to pay $20 million over four years to put the games on KOGO AM 600. Like many sports teams, the Padre telecasts helped the station attract listeners and charger more for advertising rates. But now that KOGO is well-known as a news talk station, it doesn't really need the Padres anymore. The Padres on KFMB were a loss-leader for the longest time even during the years when mass quantites of listeners were tuning in while the team was getting into the 1996 and 1998 playoffs (and the World Series in 1998), but if the Padres were to return to KFMB (given the Chargers have an uncertain future in San Diego), it would be on the radio stations' terms.

First off: KFMB 760's nighttime signal is 50,000 watts, which itself would give listeners in far away cities the ability to listen to the Padre telecasts in Bakersfield, Phoenix, San Francisco, perhaps the Rockies as far as I know, etc. KOGO's nighttime signal remains at 5,000 watts and its signal is mainly coastal, and doesn't reach San Berdoo or Temecula due to protection to AM 590 from Sab Berdoo nearby. No other San Diego-based radio station can make the claim (AM 690, 950, and 1090 are also at least 50,000 watts apiece, but originate from Tijuana). KCBQ's daytime wattage is 50,000 watts, but dims down to 1,000 watts or so at night. Radio Disney is only 1,000 watts in the day and 250 at night.

So if the Padres want to get their product exposed on radio in the form of play-by-play telecasts, then their only choice could be KFMB, but KFMB could be the one that's doing the pitching to get the Padres on their terms, and not the customary other way around anymore.