Ok, most people who know me know that I am a fan of sports radio. I listen faithfully to most games on the radio over the TV broadcasts, though I will typically have the TV broadcast on, and I have enjoyed two long standing Sports Radio programs in Mike & Mike and The Dan Patrick Show. However the recent spurt of sports radio groups popping up makes me go huh? How many people remember Sports Fan Radio Network? Or better yet, how many people remember Enterprise Radio?
Sports Fan Radio Network's collapse was mostly because Winstar went broke, but it proved that sports radio has a small audience to draw from. Enterprise Radio Network, on the other hand, had a sad upbringing. They started in 1981 and never fiscally got off the ground. Some of their ownership was arrested for not paying an unemplyment fund requirement after the station collapsed. During its peak, they reached a massive total of 74 stations. That;s right, you're not reading things, 74 stations could be an all-time low for a sports radio group. I think that both CBS and NBC Sports Radio have more stations on their lunch dates. It's no wonder we had 7 years between Enterprise Radio and the next Sports Talk Radio group- Sports Byline USA. However Enterprise Radio did produce two of the finest sports announcers we know today- Kevin Harlan and Sean McDonough.
Most people would say that ESPN Radio has monopolized most of the sports talk market, but One on One Sports and Sports Byline USA actually started before ESPN Radio and are still around. Fox Sports Radio took over a lot of One on One Sports stations when they started, and many people would say they are the #2 group, but Yahoo Sports Radio (formerly One on One Sports & Sporting News Radio) and Sports Byline USA have always had fairly decent draws.
Now we have NBC Sports Radio and CBS Sports Radio entering the fray. Where will it stop? How can all these groups survive? The basic answer is I don't expect most of them to survive, but the war for drawing affiliates will certainly be a long and hard draw. Lets look at each stations shows, and then you decide which ones you want to listen to, if any.
ESPN RADIO
Started in 1992
Has the rights to college football, MLB, NBA, and some college basketball (mostly ACC and Big 12)
Weekdays:
6 AM- Mike & Mike in the Morning
10 AM- The Herd with Colin Cowherd
1 PM- SVP & Russillo
4 PM- Coach & Company
7 PM- Hill & Schlereth
10 PM- SportsCenter Nightly/ SportsCenter All Night
Saturday
1 AM- The Sporting Life
2 AM- Mike Tirico's Weekend Blitz
3 AM- The Mort Report
4 AM- The Sporting Life
5 AM- Mike Tirico's Weekend Blitz
6 AM- Raceday
7 AM- The Sporting Life
8 AM- Dari & Mel
Noon- SportsCenter Saturday
Sunday
Midnight- The V Show with Bob Valvano
4 AM- The Sporting Life
6 AM- Raceday
7 AM- The Sporting Life
8 AM- SportsCenter Sunday
FOX SPORTS RADIO
Started in 2000
Weekdays
1 AM- JT The Brick
6 AM- Fox Sports Daybreak
9 AM- The Dan Patrick Show
Noon- Jay Mohr Sports
3 PM- Loose Cannons
7 PM- Petros & Money
1 0PM- Fox Sports Tonight
Saturday
1 AM- Ben Maller
6 AM- Seth Everett
8 AM- The Hank Haney Show
10 AM- Anthony Gargano & Lincoln Kennedy
1 PM- Andy Roddick & Bobby Bones
4 PM- Rob Dibble & Amy Van Dyken
7 PM- Mike North
10 PM- TJ Rives
Sunday
1 AM- Ben Maller
7 AM- Speed Sport on FOX
9 AM- The Blitz on Fox Sports Radio
7 PM- Andy Furman & Lincoln Kennedy
10 PM- Mike North
NBC SPORTS RADIO
Started September 4, 2012 but most regular programming doesn't start until 2013
Weekdays
1 AM- The Dan Schwartzman Show (Tuesday- Friday)
5 AM- 7 PM: Regular lineup launches on April 1, 2013
7 PM- The Erik Kuselias Show
10 PM- Amani & Eytan
Saturday
1 AM- The Dan Schwartzman Show
5 AM- TBA
7 AM- Safety Blitz
9 AM- The Clay Travis Show
Noon- The Anita Marks Show
3 PM- The Brian Webber Show
6 PM- The Newy Scruggs Show
9 PM- The Jason Page Show
Sunday
1 AM- The Rob Buska Show
5 AM- The Jim Daniels Show
8 AM- Speaking of Sports
9 AM- Sunday Mornings with Jon Stashower
Noon- The Anita Marks Show
3 PM- The Brian Webber Show
6 PM- The Newy Scruggs Show
9 PM- The Jason Page Show
CBS SPORTS RADIO
Begins January 2nd, 2013
Weekdays
2 AM- The D. A Show
6 AM- CBS Sports Radio Mornings w/ Tiki, Dana, & Brandon
9 AM- The John Feinstein Show
Noon- The Jim Rome Show
3 PM- Doug Gottlieb
6 PM- Moore & Jones
10 PM- Ferrall on the Bench
Saturdays
2 AM- Amy Lawrence
6 AM- Marc Mulusis
10 AM- Brandon Tierney
2 PM- Gregg Giannotti
6 PM- Jody McDonald
10 PM- Adam "The Bull"
Sundays
2 AM- Amy Lawrence
6 AM- John Kincade
10 AM- Vinny Cerrato & Rob Long
2 PM- Jody McDonald
6 PM- Josh Innes & Ted Johnson
10 PM- Amy Lawrence
YAHOO! SPORTS RADIO
formerly One on One Sports, Sports Entertainment Network, & Sporting News Radio
started in 1991
Weekdays
1 AM- The Overnight Takeover
6 AM- The Steve Czaban Show
10 AM- The Tim Brando Show
1 PM- Travis Rodgers NOW
4 PM- Hit Em Up with Geoff Ketchum
7 PM (Mon- Wed) Terry Ford
8 PM (Thurs) Wetzel to Forde
7 PM (Fri) Friday Night Insiders
8 PM (Fri) Fantasy Freaks Live
9 PM (Mon- Wed) Yahoo Sports Radio
10 PM (Thurs & Fri) Yahoo Sports Radio
Saturdays
4 AM- The Overnight Takeover
7 AM- Wetzel to Forde
9 AM- Charlie Epps Golf Hour
10 AM- Muscle Cars on the Radio
11 AM- Rivals Saturday
8 PM- Fred Faour
10 PM- Yahoo Sports Radio
Sundays
2 AM- Terry Ford
4 AM- Travis Rodgers NOW (Best of)
6 AM- The Steve Czaban Show (Best of)
9 AM- Gerald McNeil
10 AM- Sports Sunday
4 PM- Peter Brown
8 PM- Tony Desiere
SPORTS BYLINE USA
launched in 1988
Weekdays
1 AM- Sports Overnight America
6 AM- Sports Byline USA (replay)
9 AM- The Sports Attack
1 PM- Titillating Sports
6 PM- The Nick Bonsanto Show
9 PM- World Soccer Radio
10 PM- Sports Byline USA
12 AM- Video Game Review (Mon)
Saturdays
1 AM- Sports Overnight America
8 AM- Real Golf Radio
10 AM- Edge of Sports
11 AM- Sports Inside and Out
Noon- Fish Talk Radio
1 PM- Beyond the Box Score
2 PM- Ring Talk Radio
4 PM- Sports Byline rotating schedule
8 PM- Impact Syndicate
9 PM- Between Rounds
10 PM- Calling All Sports
Sundays
1 AM- Sports Overnight America
8 AM- Out and About
9 AM- Beyond the Box Score (replay)
10 AM- Tee to Green
2 PM- Ring Talk Radio (replay)
6 PM- The Wrestling Observer Live
8 PM- The No Holds Barred Show
10 PM- Speed Freaks
In the long run I'd say NBC Sports Radio is a bit behind the ball. They have Erik Kuselias and they have Jon Stashower, but two popular names from ESPN aren't enough to carry a whole group. They launched witha bunch of unknowns, and while they are available to listen to online, the rotating programs early on could easily cause many fans to tune out.
Compare that to CBS Sports Radio. CBS Sports Radio is launching later, but they got Amy Lawrence, John Kincade, and Doug Gottlieb from ESPN Radio. They also got a big score in getting the Jim Rome Show, coming over from Premier Radio Networks, and while they have a lot of shows that will just be getting their feet wet, having personalities like Tiki Barber, Brandon Jacobs, and CBS Sports personalities like JB, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, and others will certainly attract their attention. Frankly I expect the Tim Brando Show to move over to CBS Sports Radio as soon as its contract with Yahoo! Sports is up. I also wouldn't be surprised if NBC Sports Radio pushes hard to get Dan Patrick from Fox Sports.
In the long run each network may want the same crowd, but each network also has its own speciality. Sports Byline USA has shows on soccer, MMA, boxing, wrestling, and golf. What other network can say they spend time each week on those events? They've also had the World Series of Poker, and they occasionally pull out a "Best of Papa Joe" special for longtime fans of the deceased Papa Joe Chevalier.
Yahoo! Sports Radio spends time each week discussing famous muscle cars that many men enjoy hearing about. I personally have no interest in them, but considering they've had it around for 4 of 5 years now, it must be pretty popular. I'm really interested in how Yahoo! Sports does the Rivals Saturday. While ESPN spends some time discussing recruits, a weekly show devoted to upcoming recruits and the universities they are going to could be fascinating.
Luckily each of these groups can be listened to online if you don't have an affiliate nearby to carry them. At the moment I will continue to listen to ESPN Radio the most, mostly since they have an affiliate here in West Texas, but don't be surprised if some of their shows find massive ratings collapses when the newer networks get their new lineups in place, especially if NBC Sports Radio and CBS Sports Radio can get on Sirius XM.
