93.7 aka "B94" aka K-Rock aka "The Zone" aka B94 again, has again changed its format and acquired the unique call sign of "the fan." Abandoning its pop format 93.7 has instead embraced the single most important thing in Pittsburgh, sports talk from sunrise to sunset.
But Is there any room on the Pittsburgh radio dial for another station completely devoted to Pittsburgh sports talk? Is there room for anyone (both figuratively and literally) on the same format dominated by the sports juggernaut known as Mark Madden.
A sample listening of "The Fan" over the past few weeks has revealed absolutely nothing that wasn't already on the radio dial. Paul Alexander and Joe Starkey are more than capable hosts from 2-6, and are superior to 1250's awkward trio of Paulson, Logan and Crow, but they add very little to the conversation. The same opinions are the same opinions, regardless of whether they're on the FM dial or the AM dial.
Mark Madden's ever skyrocketing ratings are a result of going against the Pittsburgh sports radio status quo. He's not intimidated by the Steeler hype machine and he's not impressed by the "old guard" of Pittsburgh sports media. He doesn't worship the Steelers, he barely tolerates the Pirates, he's constantly right about the Penguins, he's mouthy, he doesn't tolerate stupidity, and he's always entertaining. Listeners may hate him, but yet they can't stop listening to his show. Ratings keep rising and Madden keeps getting the last laugh. Madden succeeds by having opinions that differ from the homogenized stew that is Yinzer sports talk.
So far "The Fan" fails to impress. As the new station in town it had better embroil itself in some controversy, anything to get people talking about the station. Madden dominates by weaving a beguiling mix of sports, sex and outrage. "The Fan" is predestined for failure. Pittsburgh can't support a new sports station, and its doubtful they will be able to take down 970am or 1250am as they have the backing of Fox Sports and ESPN respectively. The X has the biggest name in Pittsburgh sports plus the Penguin broadcasts. No offense to the station or hosts, but if anyone thinks that Ron Cook and Jim Colony is going to attract more than a few token listeners, you're in for a Mark Maddenesque surprise.
2 comments:
Ok hold up. I know I don't live in Pittsburgh anymore but I have to make a stand here. Being a big fan of talk radio, I think this new station is exactly what Pittsburgh needs. Mark Madden is fine if you are driving in the car for the couple of hours he is on. Also I don't want to hear that mod rock bs that 105.9 thinks is so cool to play every ten minutes during his program. As far as 1250 and 970....they are AM stations. Due to Pittsburgh's wonderful hills, you cant drive for more then five minutes in any direction without the station fading in and out. This new station will give sports fans what they want: an fm station that has sports talk all day long with no Nickelback. What is so wrong with that?
Well there's nothing wrong with that, and we all like sports talk radio. But does Pittsburgh really need a whole new station when we're already so saturated with sports talk. Even the non-sports stations offer lots of sports talk. I don't want this new station to fail, I like Joe Starkey and Paul Alexander as much as anybody else. But I just don't feel like it's adding anything new to the conversation.
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