More sports

1010 reversion might create oversaturation

By SHARON GINN
Published August 12, 2006

Does the Tampa Bay market really need three all-day sports-talk radio stations? That's doubtful, but the latest incarnation of WQYK-AM 1010 as a sports station makes perfect sense to operations manager Mike Culotta.

Anything's better than the almost unmeasurable low ratings generated by 1010 during the winter and spring ratings seasons. The station had been "Classic Country" since January, sharing the format of its sister station at 99.5 FM. But because few people have only an AM dial anymore, pretty much nobody was listening.

Meantime, Culotta said, there was "a desire for many people in the building to be back in sports." So over the past month, Culotta has hammered out a lineup that includes a lot of Sporting News programming (including Tony Bruno, dropped recently by WHBO-AM 1470), a new local show by Ch. 28 sports anchor Al Keck and a redux of the Hooters-sponsored, on-again-off-again SportChix.

The format change officially happened Friday.

It has been two years since 1010 picked up Howard Stern and dropped ESPN Radio, ending a reasonably long but only marginally successful streak as an all-sports station.

In its heyday, when it was billed as 1010 The Team, the station had contracts with the Bucs and USF and had some local programs worth listening to.

But it was dominated in the ratings by WDAE-AM 620, which continues to rule the sports-talk market in Tampa Bay.

During the winter ratings period, the station was No. 1 among all stations for men 25-54, its target demographic. During the spring, WDAE was a still-strong No. 3 among men 25-54.

In recent months, WHBO has attempted to tap into that coveted audience by strengthening its ESPN Radio-dominated lineup, giving weekday shows to local favorites Scot Brantley and J.P. Peterson.

"We're getting nothing but good responses from listeners, thanking us for giving them a good alternative to 'DAE," said Brad James, WHBO vice president of programming and marketing.

Culotta said WQYK would like a piece of those numbers, too.

"Even if it's a percentage of what (WDAE has) got, (the sports format) was a more viable option for revenue and ratings," Culotta said.

WQYK has long-standing contracts with Westwood One for NFL and college football games and also has been airing Yankees baseball and NASCAR races, so it made sense to switch back to the all-sports brand, Culotta said.

The weekday lineup includes Sporting News shows by Matt Spiegel and Bill Lekas (6 to 9 a.m.), Bruno (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), Tim Brando (6 to 7 p.m.), Arnie Spanier (7 to 10 p.m.) and area resident Todd Wright (10 p.m. to 2 a.m.).

Keck's show airs from 1 to 3 p.m., and the SportChix - Lynn Austin, Brenda Lee and Heather Young in the latest incarnation - are on from 3 to 6 p.m. It's a lineup that, at first glance, appears unlikely to challenge either WDAE's or WHBO's.

Even if that ends up being the case, WDAE program director Jon Volmar said, "Competition makes everyone better."

[Last modified August 12, 2006, 02:40:38]