It is being reported nationally and here on Barrett Sports Media that a third sports station is soon to be launched in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
The market has been dominated for over twenty-five years by Cumulus KTCK-The Ticket. Audacy debuted 105.3 The Fan 14 years ago, added the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers play-by-play, but still trails the ratings and revenue powerhouse KTCK.
Some former Ticket and Fan hosts are getting together to launch 97.1 The Freak for iHeart Media. Mike Rhyner is the Godfather of KTCK and held down afternoon drive for 25 years, retiring in 2020. He’s back now with The Freak, and gives them that local buzz, as do the other hosts who had prominent on-air positions on KTCK and The Fan.
So, how should the three sales staff handle this situation?
No matter what station I worked for, I wanted to get the most authoritative, honest opinions on my station. Let’s respect our competitors, not dismiss them, especially when it is iHeart, Cumulus, and Audacy. Salespeople should have off and on-the-record conversations with managers and program directors to get a feel for the changes. I always liked to understand the programming implications first in these scenarios.
I want the truth of the matter, and then I will develop my sales strategy. There is nothing worse in sales when you feel one way about changes like this and are told to say something else. I suggest you keep internalizing this until you are convinced that you have a great story to relate to your advertisers because they are about to be told all kinds of things out of your control.
I visited with our own Jason Barrett of Barrett Sports Media, who launched stations in San Francisco (The Game) and St. Louis (101 ESPN) and consults several stations around the country. Here are items to consider when getting a direct format competition:
Regarding the “new” competitor:
- Is the talent legitimate? Do they come from a station that is well-rated?
- Is the signal clear? Is it a Class C FM signal or AM with a limited FM translator?
- Do they have the money to promote? Are there any significant play-by-play rights on the station?
- Are there enough on-air personalities to drive listeners into every daypart?
On the stations already in the format:
- Why were the on-air people who left made available? What’s the story?
- What station image do you have, and how is it different than the new competitor? Guy talk, ESPN affiliated, national sports talk,1 or 2 local team-dominated talk, or all local straight-ahead sports talk?
- On average, do you have an under or over 40-year-old on-air staff? Do you have an FM or AM sound?
- How did the battle go the last time you dealt with a format competitor?
After you get a feel for these issues, it’s time to put together some sales strategies. We will tackle that next Friday.
Jeff Caves is a sales columnist for BSM working in radio and digital sales for Cumulus Media in Dallas, Texas and Boise, Idaho. He is credited with helping launch, build, and develop Sports Radio The Ticket in Boise, into the market’s top sports radio station. During his 26 year stay at KTIK, Caves hosted drive time, programmed the station, and excelled as a top seller. You can reach him by email at jeffcaves54@gmail.com or find him on LinkedIn.
