spiderman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Third sports talk radio station a strong possibility for Chicago Posted by Ed Sherman at 6/8/2009 5:46 AM CDT on Chicago Business Is there room for a third sports talk radio station in town? Chicagosportswebio.com, the new sports talk Internet outlet, is on the verge of also being heard on an AM station in town, and possibly an FM station too. David Hernandez, the CEO of Spectrum Entertainment Group, said he is talking with three representatives accounting for 10 AM and FM stations about placing programming on a Chicago-area radio outlet. "I can next to guarantee within one month we will be on an AM station," Mr. Hernandez said. "We could be announcing programming (this week). The foundation is there." Mr. Hernandez said local radio stations recently have contacted him about picking up a portion or all of the outlet's programming schedule. Webio, which made its debut in April, currently broadcasts from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Depending the nature of the deal, Mr. Hernandez said Webio could expand its programming into evenings and weekends. "I've found the AM dial to be a lot like cable TV," Mr. Hernandez said. "There are a lot of stations, but not enough content to fill it. Everyone is looking for content." Mr. Hernandez said the AM signals are between 670 (the one belonging to sports-talker WSCR-AM) and 1000 (WMVP-AM, the other sports talker). One likely candidate would appear to be WCPT-AM 820, the progressive talk station based in Crystal Lake. The station also has three sister FM stations. The deal probably would feature some type of revenue-sharing component between Webio and the prospective station or stations. Mr. Hernandez said the potential AM signal could be weak downtown. "But that's OK," Mr. Hernandez said. "Because you're at work, and you're listening to us on the Internet." Indeed, Mr. Hernandez said broadcasting on the Internet remains the prime focus of Webio. It has allowed him to operate an outlet without the upfront cost of purchasing a radio signal. However, placing Webio programming on a radio station obviously expands its reach. I think if Webio got on an AM or FM station, many sports talk listeners would have it as a preset on their car radios. "We want to be on as many media outlets as possible," Mr. Hernandez said. "It's the four legs of the table philosophy. We're going to hit smart phones, radio, the Internet. We're doing research on a possible satellite radio deal. We're supposed to talk to representatives from (XM-Sirius) in a few weeks." Mr. Hernandez said Webio currently gets 7,000-10,000 hits per day, with the user staying on the site for an average of 27.8 minutes. He said it has had more than 100,000 unique visitors since the site launched. Mr. Hernandez said the goal is for the site to generate 15,000-20,000 hits per day. "There are a lot of (radio) stations that would love to have that," Mr. Hernandez said. Mr. Hernandez has spent considerable money marketing Webio with TV commercials and billboards. He think the effort has paid off in bringing awareness to the site. Mr. Hernandez said Webio already is generating a profit. Major advertisers include the Rohrman Auto Group, Hooter's and the White Sox. I told Mr. Hernandez many people would doubt his claim of profitability, knowing that he has been bold in spending money to sign talent along with the high costs for marketing. However, Mr. Hernandez said, "I know what my overhead expenses vs. revenues are. We're absolutely in a profit." You can say this for Webio: It certainly is working hard to make an impact. Let's see what happens next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipps Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Crash and burn Webio...crash and burn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderman Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 QUOTE (shipps @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 09:46 AM) Crash and burn Webio...crash and burn. They claim they are making a profit, but I don't see how they are or how they could last. Anyone here 'Boom Boom'? He can't speak, doesn't know anything about Chicago sports. Last week, I was listening because it was so bad, and he said baseball is like watching paint dry....He then realized he's on a sports show that he tried to backtrack. Coppick is extremly full of himself, and I think he's sort of given up on serious sports talk so now he spends his time talking about old movies and songs with him. It's quite possibly the worst show I've ever heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swingandalongonetoleft Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 North and Murph. Still better than a lot of what AM1000 has to offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurcieOne Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jun 9, 2009 -> 01:34 AM) North and Murph. Still better than a lot of what AM1000 has to offer. Murph is the 2nd worst sports radio host in Chicago. North is the worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggsmaggs Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 The only way they could be making a profit is if North and the rest of the hosts are making nothing, which is very possible right now. I don't even listen to sports radio that much because I have TV and the Internet. I don't need to listen to some morons (B&B) telling me that my opinions are wrong. If I do listen, it's Waddle and Silvy or Carmen, Jurko and Harry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 The station is re-tread of old personalities, and a couple young guys who are given a shot and only time will tell with them. I liked listening to Doug and OB after Bears games, but I'm not gonna bring up the stream online when I can just turn on a radio. So for that aspect, I hope there is a simulcast. Other shows, I don't really care to listen to. Who is Boom Boom? Never heard of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 North has really put all of his eggs in this basket for a while now, he was talking about webio when he was on the score It aint gonna go well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 9, 2009 -> 06:15 AM) The station is re-tread of old personalities, and a couple young guys who are given a shot and only time will tell with them. I liked listening to Doug and OB after Bears games, but I'm not gonna bring up the stream online when I can just turn on a radio. So for that aspect, I hope there is a simulcast. Other shows, I don't really care to listen to. Who is Boom Boom? Never heard of him. Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, former boxer. As a talk show guy......well, he was a decent boxer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Jun 9, 2009 -> 03:51 AM) Murph is the 2nd worst sports radio host in Chicago. North is the worst. ^^^^^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipps Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Well technically Dan Hampton is the worst but that will end soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Take it with a grain of salt because I haven't seen anything in ink, but heard yesterday from a reliable source that Webio is a massive failure. Pay checks are bouncing and heard that North is gone already. I'm trying to see if anything else is online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Chicagosports.com has all the North stuff and webio's problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurcieOne Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 13, 2009 -> 11:11 AM) Chicagosports.com has all the North stuff and webio's problems. couldn't happen to a better guy. from: chicagosports.com Phil Rosenthal Amid allegations that Chicago Sports Webio has been bouncing checks in recent days, Spectrum Entertainment Chief Executive David Hernandez on Friday fired host Mike North as senior vice president of the sports talk Web site he helped found last year. A simulcast of North's Comcast SportsNet Chicago program, "Monsters in the Morning," will continue to be heard on the Web site, according to North, who said late Friday he hopes to wrest back control of the Web site from Hernandez. Efforts to reach Hernandez -- whose NextStep Medical Staffing has been title sponsor of the "Monsters" television show -- for comment were unsuccessful. Other members of the launch team Hernandez fired Friday were North's wife, Bebe, as chief operating officer and Jeff Schwartz as general sales manager. CSN Chicago's Web site, for a time Friday, did not list "Monsters" on its schedule for next week. But the program later returned to the listings, and a spokesman had no explanation for the temporary absence but said the show would run as scheduled. North said when he learned checks were bouncing, he, his wife and Schwartz tried to reach Hernandez for an explanation. "He wouldn't return our e-mails. We tried talking to him," North said. "Right now the plan is to figure out what's going on." Hernandez has raised eyebrows with his considerable spending for the start-up. Among the more notable expenses were paying for talent such as veteran host Chet Coppock and former boxer Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini and a heavy marketing campaign. He also invested heavily to outdo established media rivals in areas such as travel for staff to cover the Stanley Cup playoffs. But a Crain's Chicago Business blog earlier this week quoted Hernandez as talking about expansion into broadcast radio and insisting the Web site already was making money. "I know what my overhead expenses vs. revenues are," Hernandez told Crain's. "We're absolutely in a profit." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoesox Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Jun 9, 2009 -> 03:51 AM) Murph is the 2nd worst sports radio host in Chicago. North is the worst. Couldn't agree more. They're unbearable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipps Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 13, 2009 -> 11:11 AM) Chicagosports.com has all the North stuff and webio's problems. The Sun Times reported North is fired from the Webio. Which I didnt see anywhere in the article above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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