Sports Radio News

Danny Parkins: ‘Demise of RSNs Could Cost MLB a Season’

“In baseball, there’s no cap, there’s no floor [and] there’s no trust.”

Published

2 months ago

July 26, 2023

BSM Staff

Courtesy: Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune

The traditional regional sports network model seems to be in a state of peril, and it has led to Major League Baseball assuming select local broadcasts. Both the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks now have their local games produced and distributed by the league’s local media department after Diamond Sports Group chose not to pay them in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The dispute between MLB and Diamond Sports Group, the latter of which is now suing its parent company, Sinclair Broadcast Group, for allegations of misconduct in transactions and breach of contract.

On Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs and Marquee Sports Network announced a new direct-to-consumer service where fans will be able to watch games and access on-demand content. The network, which is co-owned by the team and Sinclair Broadcast Group, is charging $19.99 a month for fans to access the service.

“They’re healthy and the team is good and the ratings are relatively high and they’re making money,” Danny Parkins said of Marquee Sports Network on 670 The Score, “but they’re not making money like they used to.”

Since the launch of Marquee Sports Network in 2019, the rate of cord-cutting in the United States has accelerated, with major pay TV providers losing 16% more subscribers in Q1 2023 than Q1 2022. That equates to over 2.2 million households. As a result, it will likely have an impact on the next stage of media rights deals.

“In baseball, there’s no cap. There’s no floor. There’s no trust,” Parkins said. “So, all of a sudden if the owners are like, ‘Hold on a second. Our media rights deals collapsed; we’re making less money. We have to pay you less,’ and the players are like, ‘Nope, we don’t trust you; we don’t see your books. We expect player salaries to go up year after year after year after year.’ Shocking – they’re going to have a huge problem when it’s time for collective bargaining in a couple of years – a huge problem.”

The start of the 2022 Major League Baseball season was delayed because of a lockout; however, the league was still able to play 162 games since a deal was struck with enough time to hold spring training, albeit abbreviated. Co-host Matt Spiegel presented the idea of adding a salary cap for more parity in payrolls around the sport, preventing situations where the gap between the No. 1 and No. 30 teams is nearly $290 million.

“I remember having the very solid feeling last time the collective bargaining was up for debate that an entire restructuring of the way [MLB] does [its] business is called for very, very soon,” Spiegel said. “Frankly, if this forces those conversations to go to a new level and you end up getting somewhere that has a salary cap and a salary floor and some level of openness with the books, long-term I think that would do the game better.”

Parkins knows that the players would not feel the same way, therefore inciting a string of unfortunate events that would put the sport in a precarious position. The current collective bargaining agreement on Dec. 1, 2026, when, at that time, the league will either enter a work stoppage or continue operations under a new pact with the Major League Baseball Players Association.

“I think if that happens, you’d see a missed season,” Parkins said. “Now obviously that’s years down the road, but I think if it came to that, I think it would cost you a season. I think it would be worse than ‘94 just because they’ve taken so much pride [for] so long in being the strongest union and the only league with no cap and all of that.”

BSM Staff

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Sports Radio News

John Kincade Celebrates 700th Show at 97.5 The Fanatic

“In radio, if you could find a show that’s faced more adversity in 700 shows, I’d like to buy them a beer.

Published

2 hours ago

October 4, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

Courtesy: John Kincade

97.5 The Fanatic host John Kincade reached a milestone for his show on Tuesday – show number 700.

Kincade has been on the air at the Philadelphia station since 2020. He made sure to show love to everyone involved with the show for all they’ve done.

“Congratulations to the entire crew,” he said.

The road to 700 for Kincade in Philly hasn’t always been an easy one. One thing John has been dealing with has been a colon cancer diagnosis back in the spring that led to a brief time away from the show.

Still, Kincade was thankful for the listeners who’ve continued to tune in and get the show to this point.

“In radio, if you could find a show that’s faced more adversity in 700 shows, I’d like to buy them a beer. That is what I would say to you,” Kincade added. “We appreciate all of you being a part of us for 700 shows, and we hope you’re gonna be with us for the next 700.”

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.

Sports Radio News

Paul Allen: I Don’t Know What We’ll Do if Taylor Swift Says Yes to Announcing With Us

Allen offered to let Swift announce a portion of the upcoming Vikings/Chiefs game with him on KFAN.

Published

2 hours ago

October 4, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

Courtesy: Dan Myers

It’s been a few days since VP of programming for iHeart Twin Cities Greg Swedberg attempted to get Taylor Swift’s attention ahead of Sunday’s Chiefs/Vikings game in Minneapolis. But Swedberg’s offer for Swift to come to the KFAN FM 100.3 broadcast booth and potentially do some play-by-play with Paul Allen still stands.

Swedberg was a guest with Paul Allen on Tuesday. Allen, the radio voice of the Vikings, asked Swedberg what exactly the plan was for Swift if she happened to see him and say hello.

“I thought she could come in and give you a break on play-by-play,” Swedberg joked.

“That’d be sweet! That’d be great!” Allen responded.

Swedberg has known Taylor Swift since she was a teenager just breaking through on the country music scene. While he said he wouldn’t consider them close friends, they know each other as associates.

Allen asked what would happen if she did show up. She usually rolls pretty deep with security and the like, so the situation in the broadcast booth could be crazy. But Swedberg did say he realizes Swift likely isn’t going to come say hello or anything on Sunday. He acknowledged that it’s possible Taylor doesn’t even show up in Minnesota at all. He just wishes some people would let people enjoy things.

“It’s a bit. Pretty much everything we do here is a bit to a certain extent,” he said. “But, I wouldn’t rule it out. It’s possible.”

“We would make room, wouldn’t we?” Allen asked.

Paul asked Greg the possibility that Swift and Travis Kelce’s family could be situated in a suite near the broadcast booth. Swedberg said if that’s the case, it would make it hard for her to ignore stopping in to say hi.

“If she wants to come in, it’s a quick trip from that booth – I’ve made that little trip myself – into your booth,” Swedberg said.

“It’s an extreme longshot, but hey, you know somebody for 17 years you take a shot,” he added. “And she’s very conscious of PR, and it would be a great scene!”

Jordan Bondurant

Sports Radio News

Greg Hill: NFL, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift All Working Together for Publicity Stunt

“I don’t think Taylor Swift needs the publicity.”

Published

11 hours ago

October 3, 2023

BSM Staff

(Photo: WEEI)

Are Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the NFL in cahoots to drive publicity for each other? That’s what WEEI morning host Greg Hill believes.

During The Greg Hill Show Tuesday, the Boston-based host led a discussion about whether or not Swift was more popular than the NFL. Co-host Courtney Cox argued that it’s undeniable she is more famous than the NFL on the global stage. Meanwhile, colleague Jermaine Wiggins argued the pop start isn’t even the most popular artist in America.

“The reason this came up is because of the massive fraud, charade that is being pulled on America by all of them,” Hill said. “And that’s Kelce, that’s her, and that’s the NFL. Who is it benefiting the most? I think Courtney is right. I don’t think Taylor Swift needs the publicity.”

Producer Chris Curtis claimed 2.5 million people in Brazil watched Super Bowl LVII, while only 2 million attempted to get tickets for Swift’s shows in the country. Cox argued that was an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Hill maintained the alleged relationship between Swift and Kelce is simply a ploy by the NFL to seek out a new potential fan base with Swift’s massive following.

BSM Staff