[IRCA] Changes at ESPN New York (1050)

[Tim Kridel <tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

April 26, 2012

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on April 30, 2012, ESPN Radio New York (1050 AM)
will be heard on 98.7 FM as a result of an agreement between ESPN Audio and
98.7¹s owner, Emmis Communications. ESPN New York 98.7 is New York¹s first
24/7 sports talk station on the FM band.
For now, 98.7 FM and 1050 AM will simulcast content but plans are to turn
1050 AM into an ESPN Deportes New York Radio owned operation in conjunction
with Hispanic Heritage month (Sept. 15 ­ Oct. 15).
The addition of 98.7 FM in metropolitan New York reinforces ESPN Audio¹s
strategy to pursue FM distribution for its content. Of ESPN¹s 364 full-time
affiliates, 137 are positioned on the FM band, representing a growth rate of
120% in the last two and a half years. FM stations make up 30% of ESPN¹s
total affiliate base (not all are full-time).
³Opportunities like this don¹t come along too often and it¹s tremendous that
we were able to conclude a deal that will enhance our mission of serving
sports fans in not just English but Spanish as well,² said Traug Keller,
ESPN Senior Vice President/Production, Business Divisions. ³Come Fall,
Spanish-speaking New Yorkers will have their first 24/7 sports talk radio
station.²
ESPN New York launched 11 years ago and will now feature a local weekday
line-up that will remain mostly unchanged with Maxed Out in the Morning with
Jared Max (4-6 a.m. ET), Mike Lupica (Noon-1 p.m.), Stephen A. Smith and
Ryan Ruocco (1-3 p.m.) and The Michael Kay Show (3-7 p.m.). Patrick McEnroe
will also have a Saturday show on the station from 10 a.m. to Noon,
beginning May 5.
The Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco Show is a new offering and capitalizes
on Stephen A.¹s widespread popularity on ESPN New York platforms and as a
regular opposite Skip Bayless on ESPN¹s First Take (ESPN2, weekdays, 10
a.m.)
National shows, Mike & Mike in the Morning (6-10 a.m.) and The Herd with
Colin Cowherd (10 a.m.-Noon), remain on ESPN New York and both continue to
see increased listenership and penetration in the market. February¹s ratings
indicate ESPN New York has had five straight months with at least a 3.0
share, good for 12th place in the market with a 3.1, up 35% year to year.
³This move to the FM dial is in keeping with the industry trend of sports
radio shifting (from AM) and offers an even broader reach for our content,²
said Dave Roberts, ESPN Radio New York Vice President and General Manager.
³By combining the FM reach with our wide variety of digital offerings from
ESPN Audio, we are uniquely positioned to provide coverage of all of New
York¹s sports. 
About ESPN New York
ESPN New York 1050 is the flagship station of ESPN Radio, providing sports
talk, news and local and national play-by-play coverage.  It¹s the official
radio home of three of the New York market¹s most iconic teams: New York
Knicks, New York Rangers and New York Jets game broadcasts in addition to
national rights for the entire NBA season from tip through The Finals, Major
League Baseball from Opening Day through the World Series, college football
including the BCS title game, the USGA¹s U.S. Open and the 2014 FIFA World
Cup. ESPN New York is also streamed live at www.ESPNNewYork.com
<http://www.ESPNNewYork.com/> .
About ESPN Audio
ESPN Audio is comprised of the country¹s largest sports radio network,
featured event programming, ESPN Deportes, ESPNRadio.com and ESPN Podcasts.
ESPN Radio provides more than 9,000 hours of talk and event content annually
to 24 million listeners a week on more than 700 stations, including owned
stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas, and more than 300
full-time affiliates.  ESPN Radio offers the only all-sports Spanish radio
network, ESPN Deportes, which has 45 affiliates with stations in nine of the
top 10 Hispanic markets.  ESPNRadio.com <http://ESPNRadio.com>  is the most
listened to live stream of any terrestrial broadcaster in the world ­
reaching more than three million unique users per month (source: Omniture)
and one million unique listeners per month (source: Ando Media). In
addition, ESPN Podcasts are downloaded more than 358 million times per year
from the ESPN PodCenter and iTunes. This includes The B.S. Report with Bill
Simmons, which logged more than 92 million downloads in 2011.

_______________________________________________
IRCA mailing list
IRCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca

Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers

For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org

To Post a message: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx