SPORTS PROGRAMMING IN SMALL MARKET RADIO by Eugene DeLisio A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Communication UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT Stevens Point, Wisconsin May, 1995 THESIS APPROVAL FORH Graduate School - University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, Wisconsin April 20, 1995 P.onth Day Year Delisio, Eugene Last Name {Please Print or Type} First Name .Middle 1506 South Adams Ave .• #111 Marshfield, Wisconsin 54449 , , Permanent .Address - Number and Street City State Zip Tit 1 e of The s i s : Sp or t s P r o gr a mm i n g in Sm a 11 Mark et 8 a d i a omn1 t tee Mem er ~ ~ 2 µ-£i.· t-~ Corrrnittee Me er Thesis approved for Co hour of credit. Thesis Deposit Deadlines: 10 days prior to graduation if student is participating in the cormiencement ceremony. By the graduation date if student is not participating in the co1m1encement ceremony. Please return this form to the Dean of the Graduate School. FORMD Report on Ora'l Defense of Thesis TITLE: Sports Programming in Small Market Radio AUTHOR: __E_u_,g,t..e.;_n_e_D.;_e..::....;::_L.::.i.::.s.::.i.::.o ____________ Having heard an oral defense of the above thesis, the Adtiisory Committee: , I ~) Finds the defense of the thesis to be satisfactory and accepts the thesis as submitted, subject to the following recommendation(s), if any: --8) Finds the defense of the thesis to be unsatisfactory and recommends that tl1e defeme of the thesis be rescheduled contingent upon: \ \ \,, l \ (f (I c- Date: \\ ~\(},\ \ _ 1 \ 2 Committee: \ .1 \~- t\ ---'·.. \L...l..+------'- -~~~\__,.._\~::,._J..;;;...\\+..:,0C--· ~=-·· ~..,____ ___ _, Adt•isor. I c~-1·t t '-Z //;. hi~-L,~- ABSTRACT This project reviews sports programming at small market radio stations in central and northern Wisconsin. The study examines the significance of sports programming at these stations, what type of station broadcasts local sports, and what impact these broadcasts have on the stations and their communities. Quantitative information was obtained from radio stations within the survey area, indicating the type of events broadcast, the number of broadcasts, teams broadcast, and broadcast methods and personnel. From this survey it was determined that virtually all small market radio stations program local sports events, especially on their AM frequencies. The second part of the research program consisted of personal interviews with officials from these radio stations, who discussed what sports programming means to their radio stations. From this information it was determined that sports programming is an important part of "localism": the way small market radio stations relate to their communities. This makes local sports programming a natural fit on small market AM radio stations, which try to use information programming to attract listeners. Many stations, however, shun sports programming on their FM stations, since sports interrupts the homogeneity or format integrity of a music-oriented station. There are exceptions, however, such as FM stations in areas which are underserved by AM radio. Other FM stations broadcast sports to take advantage of additional revenue and new listeners despite the risk to format integrity. The project concludes that sports programming is an important part of a local radio station, not only because of the revenue it produces and the listeners it attracts, but because of the way it allows the radio station to bind itself to the community. This programming is especially important in an age of additional media competition, when local stations are looking for ways to give their communities specialized programming which cannot be duplicated by other media outlets. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: THE RESEARCH PROJECT INTRODUCTION PAGE 1 ORGANIZATION PAGE 2 BRIEF HISTORY PAGE 4 RELATED LITERATURE PAGE 5 JUSTIFICATION PAGE 9 METHODOLOGY PAGE 11 CHAPTER TWO: SPORTS AND RADIO HISTORICAL BACKGROUND PAGE 18 SPORTS ON RADIO PAGE 32 SMALL MARKET RADIO SPORTS PAGE 58 CHAPTER THREE: THE MAIL SURVEY QUANTITATIVE DATA PAGE 72 DISCUSSION PAGE 78 CHAPTER FOUR: THE PERSONAL INTERVIEWS QUALITATIVE DATA PAGE 100 LOCALISM PAGE 101 REVENUE PAGE 105 HOMOGENEITY PAGE 109 TALENT PAGE 116 OTHER SPORTS PAGE 120 SPECIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 123 UNIVERSITIES PAGE 125 EXCEPTIONS PAGE 132 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS DISCUSSION PAGE 139 RECOMMENDATIONS PAGE 144 APPENDIX "A": STATION LIST PAGE 148 APPENDIX "B": MAIL SURVEY PAGE 149 GRAPH #1 PAGE 150 GRAPH #2 PAGE 151 GRAPH #3 PAGE 152 GRAPH #4 PAGE 153 GRAPH #5 PAGE 154 BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGE 155 iv CHAPTER ONE THE RESEARCH PROJECT INTRODUCTION Since the early 1900's, when radio became an important part of the American communications system, sports broadcasting has played an important role in programming. From the early days of broadcasting, radio stations have used the broadcast of athletic contests and sports news as a way to attract audiences, bring important events to the community, and earn a profit. Today, sports programming still plays a key role, not only for radio networks and large market stations, but also for small radio stations in rural or isolated areas. In these communities, many listeners tune in not to hear professional sports teams or major college athletic squads, but to listen for high school, amateur, semi-pro and even little league teams. This study reviews the local sports broadcasting practices at a number of small radio stations in central and northwest Wisconsin. The project examines the daily sports operations at these stations to -1- -2- determine how radio stations schedule, broadcast their events, hire their staffs, and to what extent sports programming is emphasized during the broadcast day. The study also seeks answers to more subjective questions surrounding sports broadcasts, such as their significance and impact on the station and community. The author of this work is a sports broadcaster, who has worked in this field for over twenty years. I served as Sports Director of a college radio station while obtaining my undergraduate degree in Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Since graduation I have worked as Sports Director of radio stations in Cheboygan, Michigan, LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, Rochelle, Illinois, and for ten years prior to finalizing this project, Marshfield, Wisconsin. ORGANIZATION This study is divided into a number of sections, designed to give a full report on the small market radio sports industry in the study area. The first section gives an introduction to the study. This section includes a brief historical statement and a review of related literature. In this section, there is also a justification statement, and -3- a review of the methodological procedures used in this study. The second section presents a historical review of radio and the sports broadcasting industry. This area gives a synopsis of the history of radio and how sports broadcasting became an important part of the medium. This section also focuses on small market radio and how sports programming developed at this level of the industry. In section three, results of the mail survey are discussed. Here, there is a review of the quantitative data compiled in the mail survey, and a presentation of the overall impressions of this data. In this section, comparisons of data and of station methods are included. Section four includes information gathered from personal interviews. This includes several specific topics which have been focused upon following the accumulation of the quantitative data. Section five includes final assessments and some recommendations which might be helpful to the industry. This segment also includes suggestions for further study. BRIEF HISTORY Sports has played a prominent role in the broadcast industry almost from the inception of radio. In fact, this influence even dates to before the start of our modern radio system. When Guglielmo Marconi came from England to New York in October of 1899 to demonstrate his wireless telegraph, he did so by providing reports of the America's Cup yacht race to a New York newspaper. In 1920, a college football game was broadcast over Texas A & M's experimental station, 5XB. Pittsburgh radio station KDKA broadcast a prize fight in April of 1921, and a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game in August of that year. New York station WJY signed on in July of 1921 by broadcasting the heavyweight title fight between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier. Within the next several years, baseball, football, boxing and other sports important 1 programming tools for many radio stations. In the early years of radio, most stations were confined to large, metropolitan areas. There were 570 2 radio stations in the United States in 1925. This 1- John Hitchcock, Sportscasting: A Practical Guide to Success, (unpublished manuscript, date unknown) p. 3. 2- Christopher H. Sterling and John M. Kittross, Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American Broadcasting, (Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1978), p. 92. -4- -5- 3 4 number increased to 618 in 1930, 765 in 1940, and 971 5 in 1945. Few of these stations, however, were located in rural or underpopulated areas. By 1945, the only radio stations on the air in northern Wisconsin were in Ashland, Eau Claire, Medford, Rice Lake, Superior, 6 Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids. After World War II, when many smaller communities began to obtain radio service, it was only natural that they also provide sports coverage as a way to emulate successful large stations and to localize their programming for the area they wished to serve. RELATED LITERATURE In reviewing literature for this topic, little is found concerning the combination of sports broadcasting and small market radio. In fact, few studies have been completed on small market radio at all. Most radio studies concern large markets, and many of them discuss musical formats or news content. Studies on sports broadcasting usually focus on one of two topics: the influence of lucrative broadcast contracts on professional and major college sports, or the effect of 3- ibid., p.