Tony P Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 I hope I'm not rehashing an old thought (I searched) so... Given the direction that TP has the entire organization heading (buying the Amerks and TB stating they want to be best-in-class at both levels) wouldn’t it make sense that the next step would be to take Sabres and Amerks broadcasts "in-house" and start network centered on these two teams? Maybe Fox Sports WNY? TB has also stated that they want to get more Amerks games on in Buffalo. Black ran FOX Sports Pittsburgh for 3 years. He has all of the experience needed to make it happen and God knows, TP has the resources. I personally think that getting the broadcasts away from MSG would rock! In theory, they could have the best of the old Empire and fill a lot of time with features on the locals. It makes a ton of sense, both economically and organizationally - there's a lot of value in this as they plan on building a long-term winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 I hope I'm not rehashing an old thought (I searched) so... Given the direction that TP has the entire organization heading (buying the Amerks and TB stating they want to be best-in-class at both levels) wouldn’t it make sense that the next step would be to take Sabres and Amerks broadcasts "in-house" and start network centered on these two teams? Maybe Fox Sports WNY? TB has also stated that they want to get more Amerks games on in Buffalo. Black ran FOX Sports Pittsburgh for 3 years. He has all of the experience needed to make it happen and God knows, TP has the resources. I personally think that getting the broadcasts away from MSG would rock! In theory, they could have the best of the old Empire and fill a lot of time with features on the locals. It makes a ton of sense, both economically and organizationally - there's a lot of value in this as they plan on building a long-term winner. http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=437214 Magic 8 ball says "ask again" in 5 years. Also i think it is more likely the sabres get more programming on an established network like MSG well before a sabres/amercks network ever comes to fruition... its a luxury that i dont think will work in a town without a pro baseball team to eat 162 nights of games a year (pittsburg has pro baseball, football, hockey) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony P Posted July 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=437214 Magic 8 ball says "ask again" in 5 years. Also i think it is more likely the sabres get more programming on an established network like MSG well before a sabres/amercks network ever comes to fruition... its a luxury that i dont think will work in a town without a pro baseball team to eat 162 nights of games a year (pittsburg has pro baseball, football, hockey) Agreed on the baseball point but the Red Wings are pretty big in Rochester and the Bills could fill a lot of airtime given their popularity (lockout notwithstanding). Then there’s also a lot of local college sports as well. MSG contract is the biggest hurdle but I wouldn’t be surprised if it could be bought out if the popularity of the team continues to surge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spndnchz Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Black talked about this at the blogger summit. Not financially feasible to fill 24/7 with sports. There's just not enough produced locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreStu Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 *See Empire Sports Network. Didn't they struggle to find enough programming that wasnt filler material before the nhl lockout effectively killed it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Black talked about this at the blogger summit. Not financially feasible to fill 24/7 with sports. There's just not enough produced locally. I could challenge Ted Black on that. In fact I should try to get an appointment with Ted and pitch my idea of a combined radio/tv channel that would be chock full of compelling programming. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robviously Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Black talked about this at the blogger summit. Not financially feasible to fill 24/7 with sports. There's just not enough produced locally. So throw some Cheers re-runs on there. I'll watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Agreed on the baseball point but the Red Wings are pretty big in Rochester and the Bills could fill a lot of airtime given their popularity (lockout notwithstanding). Then there’s also a lot of local college sports as well. MSG contract is the biggest hurdle but I wouldn’t be surprised if it could be bought out if the popularity of the team continues to surge. What local college sports? UB Basketball? The entire scene is a joke except for the VERY occasional Niagara hockey run. (No, I'm not counting UB football. You've made a bowl game once in my lifetime. Twice, and we'll talk.) And none of it is during the summer, anyway, when a WNY sports network would be programming-starved (because as I've said before, no one is racing home to put the Bisons on TV). It might be charitable to support local college sports, but it sure isn't compelling TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Pittsburgh's new Root network has no steeler coverage on it whatsoever. Typically they have just hockey and baseball. There is no reason to have 100% local shows on it. The Dan Patrick show is on root as I type this. They also reproduce a lot of historical sports teams seasons as well. Player interviews, current news it could work. Advertising for sabres games would go far to make it a solvent network. http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=437214 Magic 8 ball says "ask again" in 5 years. Also i think it is more likely the sabres get more programming on an established network like MSG well before a sabres/amercks network ever comes to fruition... its a luxury that i dont think will work in a town without a pro baseball team to eat 162 nights of games a year (pittsburg has pro baseball, football, hockey) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 As much as I'd like the Sabres on a local network. Ted Black is right. I'd rather he'd shake up the MSG people to up the quality of their Sabres commitment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I could challenge Ted Black on that. In fact I should try to get an appointment with Ted and pitch my idea of a combined radio/tv channel that would be chock full of compelling programming. PTR PTR I am with you I think WNY sports radio and TV has alot to offer with Sabres and Amerks, Bills, high school etc the real issues is how do ya get the advertising money to keep it alfoat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I could challenge Ted Black on that. In fact I should try to get an appointment with Ted and pitch my idea of a combined radio/tv channel that would be chock full of compelling programming. PTR What is compelling to you isn't necessarily compelling to a broader audience. Call me crazy, but I'm going to side with the guy who has actually run a regional sports network. He just might know what he's talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 What is compelling to you isn't necessarily compelling to a broader audience. Call me crazy, but I'm going to side with the guy who has actually run a regional sports network. He just might know what he's talking about. I agree ... there's a big difference between compelling and profitable ... Those regional networks struggled enough BEFORE people could watch and listen to anything they want whenever they want online or even on their smartphone. What they need to do is take the same content they would have used on TV and put it all online in the form of podcasts, behind the scenes stuff, etc ... you target a specific demo and target advertisers to it ... you can produce something like a high school football/basketball/whatever highlight show way cheaper for online, have someone as the title sponsor and run one 30-second ad or something ... people can watch it whenever they want, you can archive it, etc. ... if you do it right and get links all over facebook and twitter and stuff, you have a much better chance of promoting the things you want and becoming part of the community than you do paying to be one of 500 channels on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHAAAUGHT!!! Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I get Buffalo and Rochester stations where I live and IMO there are more than enough local sports between Buffalo and Rochester to cover 24/7. Channel 26 has Rochester lacrosse, RIT hockey, and Amerk reruns all the time. Add NU, the bandits, and some AAA baseball games and you have a network. My first order of business would be to get Rob Ray and Barnaby back together and give them an hour long show, which includes a case of Labatts and a 6 pack of 5 hr Energy before every taping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dEnnis the Menace Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I get Buffalo and Rochester stations where I live and IMO there are more than enough local sports between Buffalo and Rochester to cover 24/7. Channel 26 has Rochester lacrosse, RIT hockey, and Amerk reruns all the time. Add NU, the bandits, and some AAA baseball games and you have a network. My first order of business would be to get Rob Ray and Barnaby back together and give them an hour long show, which includes a case of Labatts and a 6 pack of 5 hr Energy before every taping. Is that safe? :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I get Buffalo and Rochester stations where I live and IMO there are more than enough local sports between Buffalo and Rochester to cover 24/7. Channel 26 has Rochester lacrosse, RIT hockey, and Amerk reruns all the time. Add NU, the bandits, and some AAA baseball games and you have a network. My first order of business would be to get Rob Ray and Barnaby back together and give them an hour long show, which includes a case of Labatts and a 6 pack of 5 hr Energy before every taping. You forgot the bag of chips for them to fight over (I believe that actually happened once). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 What is compelling to you isn't necessarily compelling to a broader audience. Call me crazy, but I'm going to side with the guy who has actually run a regional sports network. He just might know what he's talking about. Well you assume I have no experience in the field. I do. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I get Buffalo and Rochester stations where I live and IMO there are more than enough local sports between Buffalo and Rochester to cover 24/7. Channel 26 has Rochester lacrosse, RIT hockey, and Amerk reruns all the time. Add NU, the bandits, and some AAA baseball games and you have a network. My first order of business would be to get Rob Ray and Barnaby back together and give them an hour long show, which includes a case of Labatts and a 6 pack of 5 hr Energy before every taping. You're piecing together a pretty fractured audience there though. If you're trying to put together something that a large number of people are going to watch consistently, Rochester lacrosse and low level Atlantic Hockey games isn't going to do the trick. They could probably cover the winter pretty well, but the summer is going to be very rough, unless the could somehow put together an affiliation with a network like YES (if that's even allowed). Well you assume I have no experience in the field. I do. PTR No offense, and I'm making a big, relative safe assumption here, but my guess is Black has far more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 You're piecing together a pretty fractured audience there though. If you're trying to put together something that a large number of people are going to watch consistently, Rochester lacrosse and low level Atlantic Hockey games isn't going to do the trick. They could probably cover the winter pretty well, but the summer is going to be very rough, unless the could somehow put together an affiliation with a network like YES (if that's even allowed). No offense, and I'm making a big, relative safe assumption here, but my guess is Black has far more. I'll give you that. I never ran a regional sports network but I did develop air talent and managed morning radio shows. My thinking is that you don't need sporting events 24/7 to fill a network. You could create two or more talk shows made up of hosts, journalists and athletes. Furthermore you could simulcast such programming on TV and radio ala Empire Sports Network and WNSA. Empire did something like that but they did it on the cheap. Imagine what a few bucks and some Pegula magic could do? PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 PTR your ideas are fine, but TV is just not the place for it anymore. Put it all online so people can watch it when they want and you have a chance ... no matter how good the content is, you are not going to put much of an audience together or sell ads for a talk show like you are talking about because if you put it on in primetime, it will get killed by "real" shows and live sports, and it you put it on at say 2 p.m. everyone is at work. For instance ... I am 40 years old, married with a kid, and a wife who is pretty understanding about the whole sports thing ... but if I want to watch every Sabres game, she will lose her mind if there's no game on and I try to watch Sully argue with Bucky and Nick Mendola and Kevin Sylvester for a half hour ... but you stick stuff like that online and get it sponsored and I can watch it when she falls asleep? Fighting chance. Make it a podcast so people can listen when they work out or on their way to work? Even better. But on TV it gets killed. Everyone on this board and TBD would love it, and it would not register a blip as far as advertisers are concerned. You could do 10 of them a day and they could be GREAT and no one will sit in front of their TV and watch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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