The Chargers exit from San Diego left local football fans with a bitter taste in their mouth. It also created a situation where local sports brands were left trying to figure out how to proceed covering the NFL. Did it make sense to continue partnering with NFL teams, more specifically the Chargers? Or shut the league out and turn the station’s focus towards other things?
For The Mighty 1090, they’ve chosen to stay involved with the NFL, but they’ve taken a far less conventional path. Rather than developing a partnership with the team that left a hole in San Diego, they’ve gone into business with the Chargers soon to be landlord, the Los Angeles Rams.
The NFC West Champions have signed a two-year deal with 1090 to have their games broadcast on the radio station. 1090’s signal not only covers the San Diego market but it also extends into a large portion of Southern California including the Los Angeles area.
The new partnership is sure to produce mixed reactions from local fans. Some will embrace the Rams being featured on the station simply because they’re not the Chargers. Some will shun the NFL because of how pissed they are over the Chargers being taken away from the city. Others will be upset with 1090 for joining forces with a Los Angeles team, one which did to another city what the Chargers did to San Diego.
Mighty 1090 host Darren Smith announced the news on the air during his show and acknowledged that it took awhile for 1090 to come to the decision. Smith pointed out that market research was done to explore if the relationship made sense. Ultimately Smith said it felt like the right team at the right time, and a way to continue covering the NFL in a market where many football fans still exist, without attaching themselves to the team that left many heartbroken.
The irony in the new arrangement is that Rams executive Kevin Demoff is now working with a city which lost its NFL franchise to Los Angeles, after being in the middle of the same exact situation when the Rams left St. Louis for Los Angeles.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
