WTIC1080 no longer broadcasting UConn games? | Page 4 | The Boneyard

WTIC1080 no longer broadcasting UConn games?

whaler11 said:
I could listen to the Whalers in my car when I lived in Raleigh after sundown.
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Tom Yawkee used to listen to Sox games on WTIC when he was in South Carolina.
 
gtcam said:
What's wrong with you folks? No - it's KO's fault postings yet????
Grew up in the early 60's listening to all the away games with the transistor in my ears - those URI scraps with Art Stepheson!!!
WTIC is the voice of the Huskies
But the P5 crap bites UConn again
Let's hope Joe D gets the gig on the new station - love him or hate him he is the current voice of UConn sports
Now I will never listen to WTIC again
oh well...........
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It's Ollie's fault.
 
I've won a shat ton of UCONN and concert tickets on 1080 over the years.

Dead & Co. for the June Hartford show this summer is my most recent score.

The talk shows are so conservative tinged now its silly.
All I can envision are scared old white people tuned to the radio to lap up their 6 am - 7 pm salt lick of right wing propaganda.

Oh well.
I'll still listen to the games when I'm in the car no matter what station they are on.
WTIC 1080 is near dead to me now.
 
JMick said:
WTICs web presence is a mess so I'm not surprised it was hard to find. iHeart should be better
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You actually could never listen to the games on WTIC's streaming format because it was IMG Sports property. You had to download some sort of radio app and then go through the UConn IMG station. I would imagine that won't change at all moving forward despite the station change.
 
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UCFBfan said:
Not entirely true. I was trying to stream the WTIC broadcast of a football game this fall while raking leaves and every link from the site led me to a few different apps which I downloaded and tried and when I clicked on WTIC it went to a national CBS CFB talk show. No game. So not all games were accessible via streaming on a smart phone.
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They are all stream-able on Tune In - that's who IMG has their streaming deal with. That's not WTIC's fault.
 
UCFBfan said:
Fair enough and I'm not as young and saavy as I once was with apps. So it's likely out there. Just was odd that the link on the actual WTIC site made me download an app and then when clicking on the station it wasn't what was actually on WTIC.

Assuming with new deal iHeart radio app will carry games or be the app to use.
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Still might be Tune-In - that's up to IMG, not iHeart or the school.
 
IMG, which holds the broadcast rights for all UCONN athletics most likely wanted significantly more money for the radio rights in a new contract. Entercom, which now owns WTIC, refused to pay what UCONN/IMG was looking for and decided that they could do without UCONN athletics. The Entercom VP's statement is a way to justify their not paying what UCONN was looking for. "I couldn’t justify what they were seeking when compared to more successful partnerships Entercom enjoys with elite Power 5 institutions." Sadly, there is an element of truth to that statement, thanks to the current state of the FB and MBB teams.

UCONN/IMG was probably looking for Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State (FB) Duke, North Carolina (MBB) type money. I'm sure there were negotiations, but ultimately a a deal could not be reached and Entercom walked away.

It appears iHeart Radio is stepping in to pick up the broadcasts and put them on 97.9 FM. The current wave in professional and college sports is to move the radio broadcasts to the FM dial. Of course, FM doesn't have the reach of AM, and 97.9 has limited reach outside of the greater central Connecticut region, so look for a network to be put together - probably with stations in New Haven, the Norwich/New London area and the Fairfield County/Danbury area.

Sadly, WTIC is a shell of its former self, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they fill the UCONN void with more satellite feeds of nationally syndicated shows, which are cheap to put on the air.
 
Market value....in the global picture in Entercom's seat, they are not going to pay what IMG was asking for rights to a school in a non-P5 asking to be paid like a P5....conference affilliation means $$$$$$$$......
 
Imagine that. You ask for a lot of money to broadcast games against teams that people won't go to or don't want to watch. And fly your broadcast crew all over the country to broadcast games no one wants to see or listen to.

And the broadcaster says 'yeah, no thanks.'

IMAGINE THAT.

But hey FOOTBALL~!
 
Towney007 said:
Imagine that. You ask for a lot of money to broadcast games against teams that people won't go to or don't want to watch. And fly your broadcast crew all over the country to broadcast games no one wants to see or listen to.

And the broadcaster says 'yeah, no thanks.'

IMAGINE THAT.

But hey FOOTBALL~!
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Well except ESPN/iHeartRadio said yes. It's a business move IMG/UConn isn't going to offer content for a discount because of an attachment to 1080. Highest bidder wins
 
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DSquiz said:
Well except ESPN/iHeartRadio said yes. It's a business move IMG/UConn isn't going to offer content for a discount because of an attachment to 1080. Highest bidder wins
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Highest Bidder

Highest Bid

A Bid. That might have been what they wanted, but probably wasn't close. There's no one to negotiate against.
 
Towney007 said:
Highest Bidder

Highest Bid

A Bid. That might have been what they wanted, but probably wasn't close. There's no one to negotiate against.
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Jeff Jacobs just reported that the new deal with ESPN is being announced in a press conference this afternoon. The 1080 contract was up and companies placed bids. Clearly 1080 didn't want to match the ESPN bid so backed out of negotiations. I don't think its more complicated then that.
 
Fishy said:
I’m guessing it has something to do with IMG.

UConn doesn’t negotiate these things directly.
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Having IMG manage and control UConn rights was a huge mistake. It's totally unnecessary and this is another brand disaster. We just lost 50,000 watts of AM coverage over a good portion on New England. If there is a wrong direction we find a way to take it.
 
BlueDogs said:
Having IMG manage and control UConn rights was a huge mistake. It's totally unnecessary and this is another brand disaster. We just lost 50,000 watts of AM coverage over a good portion on New England. If there is a wrong direction we find a way to take it.
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Ok guys, calm down. The IMG deal was a big time move. It was an 80 million dollar 10 year deal. I believe it was top 10 in college athletics at the time. Using our brand to make more money at a time we desperately need it isn't a huge mistake. 1080 AM isn't the Taj Mahal.
 
BlueDogs said:
Having IMG manage and control UConn rights was a huge mistake. It's totally unnecessary and this is another brand disaster. We just lost 50,000 watts of AM coverage over a good portion on New England. If there is a wrong direction we find a way to take it.
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Really? They paid UConn $8+ million a year ($80M+ over course of contract) for that right... sounds like a smart move @ the time.
 
Towney007 said:
You ask for a lot of money to broadcast games against teams that people won't go to or don't want to watch.
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What are the local ratings? Honest question. UConn is not drawing fans to the arena, but to be in attendance carries more resource cost than watching on TV or listening to the radio, which are monetarily free (with a paid cable/Satellite, or Internet subscription.).

Could be that a lot of people want to watch, but the benefit of going does not meet, let alone exceed, the cost of going.

That's my theory with football. Going to the Stadium is virtually an all day event and at the end of the day, people want to feel satisfied. For at least 15,000 people who used to come to games, the cost of parking, tailgating, tickets to the game, time for all of the above, and related intangible costs (Hangover, nagging (again, as applicable,), etc.) is so not worth suffering through poor quality live entertainment as compared to the ability to flip on the radio while mowing the lawn and the ability to turn the station if need be.
 
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BlueDogs said:
Having IMG manage and control UConn rights was a huge mistake. It's totally unnecessary and this is another brand disaster. We just lost 50,000 watts of AM coverage over a good portion on New England. If there is a wrong direction we find a way to take it.
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Is lack of presence on AM radio really a big deal in 2018? On the rare cases when I've had to listen to a UConn game over the past few years, I just bring up the UConn IMG Sports Network stream on TuneIn radio.

There is a nostalgic connection to WTIC (and Joe D has been the voice of the team for decades) but I cant remember the last time I actually tuned to 1080 on a radio dial.
 
huskymedic said:
Really? They paid UConn $8+ million a year ($80M+ over course of contract) for that right... sounds like a smart move @ the time.
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You don't know that. That manage a lot of brands and dont think for a second we aren't arbitraged to lever other brands.
 
RoderickSpode said:
Is lack of presence on AM radio really a big deal in 2018? On the rare cases when I've had to listen to a UConn game over the past few years, I just bring up the UConn IMG Sports Network stream on TuneIn radio.

There is a nostalgic connection to WTIC (and Joe D has been the voice of the team for decades) but I cant remember the last time I actually tuned to 1080 on a radio dial.
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Listened to a game from lower VT recently. Just plain false.
 
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huskymedic said:
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The release seems to hint that WTIC wasn't a good partner in building a usable affiliate network. Our affiliate network is terrible, and has been for years.

The idea that you can't receive a UConn broadcast over the entire small state of CT at night is unimaginable, but it's been the case for the majority of time that i can remember.

If WTIC has a hand in that, good riddance.
 
WTIC was a black hole before this with only a strong signal to point to. Think for a second about their daytime lineup. Joe D was the only listenable thing on there andhis coverage was very soft especially on KO’s coaches show. Embarrassing. Glad UCONN is leaving them.
 
I dunno about all this handwringing.

I'll obviously miss 1080 and Joe D (if he doesn't come along), but being on FM is a good thing in my humble opinion.

They will almost certainly put together a radio network for the whole state, so I wouldn't worry too much if you're down in FF county or someplace outside the Hartford market.

iHeart Radio is a powerful brand in the media world and if they're willing to pay us millions of dollars to broadcast games then it would be crazy not to take it.

If they were willing to bid significantly more than 1080, than all the better.

We need the money, people!

Do I hear buyout? (just kidding...kind of)
 
Those waxing nostalgic over losing 1080 are so stereotypical New England curmudgeons.

New deal is FM though iHeart radio and is much more aligned with current and future media distribution.
 
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