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Chris Mack: Fans Would Pay $15 A Month For Favorite Teams After AT&T SportsNet Demise

“It’s something I get the feeling they’ve already been thinking about, and they should have already been thinking about it.”

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AT&T SportsNet — a regional sports network offered in Pittsburgh, Houston, and Denver — is hoping to close up shop in March and allow the franchises it holds the television rights to reclaim their rights. Chris Mack of The Fan Morning Show believes Pittsburgh sports fans would be more than willing to pay nearly $200 a year to watch the Pirates and Penguins, which currently air on the station, in a streaming service.

“If people said to you you’ve gotta pay X amount of dollars as part of an al a carte system to just get the Penguin games and the Pirate games, would you pay separate so to speak?” co-host Colin Dunlap asked. “Or an app? Would you do that? Because I would.”

“Yes, because it’s the one thing that’s the most difficult to ensure you have access to when you cut the cord,” Chris Mack said. “It’s the one reason — for example in our house, we haven’t cut the cord completely because I want to ensure A) I have access to those games and B) that I also have access to DVR those games, so if I miss one I can go back and watch it later.

“It’s something I get the feeling they’ve already been thinking about, and they should have already been thinking about it. (Pirates owner Bob) Nutting should be calling up … Penguins owner John Henry, he’s an 80% owner in NESN and saying ‘Hey, how do you do it up there?’ because it works for the Red Sox and Bruins.”

“If you got a bill in the mail,” Dunlap asked, “and it said ‘Here’s the dollar amount’ one that you’d feel comfortable paying on a year basis … how much is that bill that comes in your mailbox? How much are you willing to pay for that channel and that channel only?”

“At least $10 a month,” retorted Mack. “$10-$15 a month.”

“Pittsburgh is still a really strong local market. That’s not a number you can fudge. You see it in the ratings. They bragged about that and rightly so,” Dunlap said.

“I think in Pittsburgh, that is a model that could work,” Mack added. “There are other markets where it won’t work because when the baseball team falls out of contention for five years, people do stop watching altogether… in Pittsburgh, people will watch. They may not go to the games all the time, but they will watch. They love their teams too much to not watch.”

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Dan Patrick: NBC Created ‘Something That Was Brilliant’ With Flex Scheduling

“Networks were so upset that NBC would go ‘Hey, you know what? We’re gonna take that game and we’re gonna have it on Sunday night.’ Then FOX and CBS would be scrambling there.”

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Roger Goodell wants flex scheduling to come to Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football package. It could happen this season, but we won’t know for sure until May after league owners decided to table a vote on the proposal. On Wednesday, FOX Sports Radio’s Dan Patrick joined the chorus of critics calling it a bad idea.

Patrick said that the league always prioritizes revenue. If it were thinking about the fans, this isn’t something that would even be discussed.

The idea of flex scheduling was first introduced for NBC’s Sunday Night Football package in 2006. The goal was to make sure the prime time TV package could deliver high quality games every week.

“NBC did something that was brilliant where they were able to flex Sunday night games,” Patrick said. “Everyone wanted it.”

While the fate of flex scheduling for Thursdays remains up in the air, we do know that flex scheduling is coming to Monday Night Football on ESPN this season. Patrick, who worked for NBC when the practice was introduced, said that it always took care of one broadcast partner by screwing others.

“Networks were so upset that NBC would go ‘Hey, you know what? We’re gonna take that game and we’re gonna have it on Sunday night.’ Then FOX and CBS would be scrambling there.”

Dan Patrick suggested that perhaps Amazon’s Prime Video doesn’t deserve the same treatment as NBC or ESPN. Far fewer people watch the Thursday night game than any other primetime NFL contest.

Whether or not flex scheduling comes to Thursday Night Football, Patrick says it does not guarantee to change the package’s reputation for delivering largely unappealing games.

“I’ve long said it’s crazy to say you have to play Sunday and then turn around and play Thursday and we’d always go ‘Man, these Thursday games aren’t good,’” he concluded. “Well, was it the matchup or just the quality of play?”

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Sports Radio News

106.7 The Fan Extends Deal to Remain Washington Nationals Flagship

“We’re looking forward to continuing to serve as the home for everything Nats for the foreseeable future…”

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106.7 The Fan has announced it has reached a multi-year extension with the Washington Nationals to remain as the MLB club’s radio flagship.

Nationals fans will continue to hear game broadcasts on the station, and those living inside the club’s broadcast territory will be able to stream the radio broadcasts on the Audacy app.

“Opening Day is finally here and we’re thrilled to celebrate the return of baseball season by extending our partnership with the Washington Nationals,” said Audacy Washington D.C. Senior Vice President and Market Manager Ivy Savoy-Smith. “We’re looking forward to continuing to serve as the home for everything Nats for the foreseeable future and give the team’s fans a front row seat to the action on the field and top storylines throughout the year.”

The Nationals have called 106.7 The Fan home since the 2011 season. Beyond game broadcasts, the station will welcome Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo to The Sports Junkies every Wednesday at 9:00 AM throughout the season. The station will also air segments titled “Nats Insider”, hosted by broadcaster Dan Kolko that feature player interviews and features. Those segments will air all along the Nationals Radio Network.

“We couldn’t be happier to partner with Audacy in bringing Nationals fans even more of the interviews and exclusive access they love,” said Lerner Sports Group COO Alan H. Gottlieb. “From in-depth interviews with execs and top players, to off-the-field profiles and more Spanish and English bilingual content than ever before, Audacy offers a comprehensive look at our ball club from all angles.”

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Sports Radio News

Todd Markiewicz Departing 97.1 The Fan

“He has left an indelible mark in the Columbus market and within the sports/talk radio world by building The Fan with excellent programming, dominant ratings, and overall market share.”

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Longtime 97.1 The Fan Vice President and Market Manager Todd Markiewicz has announced he is leaving the sports radio station.

Markiewicz has been named the President of the 1870 Society, a Name, Image, and Likeness collective working with Ohio State athletics and Learfield to devise NIL strategy, fundraising, and logistics.

In an internal memo, Tegna Columbus President and General Manager John Cardenas credited Markiewicz for helping to establish the brand as “the powerhouse sports station in the country. He has left an indelible mark in the Columbus market and within the sports/talk radio world by building The Fan with excellent programming, dominant ratings, and overall market share.”

Markiewicz joined the station in 2010. Under his leadership, 97.1 The Fan has routinely ranked as the highest-rated station in the Columbus market.

His final day with the station will be Friday, May 26th.

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