Bills Moving to WGR

[jas2525]

Do people at the stadium listen to the radio anymore with all that's available on the scoreboard?

Having to look at the scoredboard isn't as nice as having the info spoon-fed to you through an earbud.

I've been to hockey games where WGR was in delay, and it was very disappointing. Seeing a game in person while hearing RJ's call of the game is the best of both worlds.

[JustPastBuffalo]

Objective Observation:  Today the Bills announced the signing of Mario Williams, the top free agent on the market and arguably the best defensive player in the league.  WGR's Men 25-54 stock just went up.  Thanks to a two hour delay in the press conference to announce Williams' signing, the station cached some serious TSL in the Winter book which is on through March 28.

[SirRoxalot]

I hope that Entercom sent Ralph a fruit basket or something. The value of that contract just rose dramatically. As did the value of the Bills as a team.

[jas2525]

I hope that Entercom sent Ralph a fruit basket or something. The value of that contract just rose dramatically. As did the value of the Bills as a team.

Isn't that still the ELEPHANT in the room?

Ralph is edging much closer to you-know-what.

THEN what?

[bbb]

Per Pergmanet, John Murphy leaving Channel 4 to work for the Bills and have a nightly show on the Bills on GR:
http://networkedblogs.com/vPe7U

[JustPastBuffalo]

If this is true, it indicates Entercom worked a shrewd deal with the Bills. John Murphy doing a nightly WGR show may have been one of many moving parts of the deal. Could be the Bills made Murphy an offer to draw him away from Ch 4 that he couldn't refuse? What's certain, WGR is making some smart moves. With the Sabres battling for a playoff slot and the upcoming Bills draft, the Spring book should be very interesting. The battle for Men 25-54 just got a little bit hotter.

[SirRoxalot]

Hmmmm. Could Pergy be part of a negotiation between Murphy & Channel 4? In case you haven't noticed, Don Paul & his Weather Wonders have been sucking up large amounts of budget and airtime lately, while the sports department has languished. Now, it could be that Murphy's had enough, and has other options. It could also be that he's looking for some help, and this is a way to apply pressure to Channel 4, who'll also be losing Paul Peck after the NFL draft & Sabres season ends.

In reality, does Murphy really want to give up doing two sportscasts - at 6:00 and 11:00 - in order to deal with the moronic radio callers left behind by Mensa Mike & the Bulldog between Sabres broadcasts? If he's getting out, it's likely to work with the Bills, and get his evenings back to himself.

[bbb]

I watch verrry little TV.  I guess that's why I'm probably the only non radio professional checking out and posting on a radio board.

But, I have to agree with Jeff Simon's article today.  He said he's baffled as to why local TV newscasts have given sports such short shrift.  When I was growing up, I tried flipping between Van, Rick and Ed to see as much as I could.

How people can care so much about the weather is beyond me.  I want to know what is the temperature now, what was the high and low, and what's it going to be like in the next few days. 

That is the thing that should take a minute like it used to (at my house growing up, it was time to go to bed when the sports was over). 

I can even sports being downsized in markets without big league teams, but we have two plus 4 D1 programs in the area.

[Philip_Airtime]

I don't think Alan Pergament would have posted this if it weren't a done deal.  Granted, he's now a blogger as opposed to a newspaper columnist.  But Pergament is no Joe Illuzi, the local political blogger known for making outlandish claims that later turn out to be false.  I would put money that this is happening and is not simply a negotiating ploy.  Pergament's credibility would take a significant hit (I know, many in our biz would argue has hasn't any) if Murph stays at Channel 4.

I think we'll learn more about the details once this is all made public.  You bring up a good point, Rox, in asking why Murph would subject himself to moronic calls from listeners on WGR.  Perhaps the WGR show will be of the once-a-week variety on a Monday after a Bills game.  Or the show, if it is nightly, could feature Bills players and coaches or local writers.  This would make it less dependent on callers.  I remember the days of John Murphy being joined by Larry Felser on WBEN.  That was appointment listening for me.  Maybe Sully would move from Schopp and the Bulldog to John Murphy's show.  The possibilities are endless.  The bottomline is that delivering a two-minute TV sportscast, despite the high audience numbers, might not be more appealing if station management is cutting your salary and resources.  Plus, it's likely the Murphy show on WGR would not air during the off-season, or only on days when there is major breaking news such as the draft or big free agent signing, giving him free evenings for six to seven months a year. 

[bbb]

I can't find the article online, but today's News pretty much says Murph from Ch. 4 to the Bills is a done deal.  The GR thing is a possibility, it says.  It would be like Carucci's deal with the Browns (which I'm not sure exactly what that deal is) - he'd get paid by the Bills and not GR.