wgns

[SpaceRaider]

what changes?

wgns:

Blue Raiders, NewsRadio WGNS Enter New Relationship

 

[RandallThomason]

The only change I get from that is that baseball games will be on WGNS.

 

[SpaceRaider]

The only change I get from that is that baseball games will be on WGNS.

I wonder if we are losing the Game as an option...

 

[blueboro007]

I wish they would correct technical issues we seem to have on every broadcast. Seems they go dark at least once or twice during each game for up to several minutes at a time.

 

[MTFNBY5]

Reading between the lines the Mass Com dept will have nothing to do with MT athletics. No more BB on WMTS and the campus facility will not be used to produce the games (WGNS is the new production home from the press release).

First, no BkB on WMOT on certain days due to "contractual requirements" for a live show.
Soon, no sports were available streaming even though they were being broadcast, and
This year FB was on WMOT but IIRC not one BkB game (M or W) has been on 89.5.

I really don't know just what the purpose of having such a ballyhooed Mass Com Dept if it doesn't train future on air personalities and support personnel. I guess I just don't know WTF is going on on the campus and in the offices of Cope. The forces that wanted Americana full time must have someone by the balls.

WMOT was a Godsend to this MT fan when it came on the air. Living where I do I could now listen to MT FB & BkB on the radio when not in the range of M'boro AM stations. I've listened to the Raiders on WMOT from Waverly to Monteagle Mt. and from Westmoreland to Loretto.

A huge resource for MT athletics has been pissed away.

(and yes blueboro007: The production is really bad when compared to other school's networks: Hell; Monte Hale, Sr. had as professional a game broadcast as anyone and that was 35+ years ago.)

 

[SpaceRaider]

The only change I get from that is that baseball games will be on WGNS.

I just want to add that this is an improvement for baseball over the last season or few, where the baseball games were mostly available over one of the other 'student run' frequencies 88.3/92.5 or whatever when the signals barely made it outside the m'boro city limits...

 

[Raiderclyde]

So much for terrestrial radio coverage: really have to rely on the 101.9/100.5 FM frequencies even at the fringes of Murfreesboro City Limits at night. Night games on 1450kc will only reach about the 1985 city limits. The FM frequencies do cover the county OK. The AM frequency will reach Woodbury and Shelbyville and SE Davidson Co. acceptably in daylight hours on a car radio. Consider this a terrible step backwards for Blue Raider athletics . But, thank goodness for online streaming though!

 

[dukewayne]

I certainly like to see MT take the best advantage of any and all resources to best support the teams. The ongoing direction of audio/video and digital technology seems to be heading significantly towards streaming with broadcast radio seemingly losing ground like most other modes of media.

 

[Raiderclyde]

I certainly like to see MT take the best advantage of any and all resources to best support the teams. The ongoing direction of audio/video and digital technology seems to be heading significantly towards streaming with broadcast radio seemingly losing ground like most other modes of media.

Hard to stay relevant in the public on a 1,000 watt AM flagship station (daytime), 250 (night) with the casual listener in mind. WGNS FM translators are licensed at 250 watts on 101.9 FM. A far cry from the 100,000 watts that our flagship previously was!! Quite frankly, a poor move for Blue Raider Sports in getting fan engagement across Middle Tennessee...which we desperately need being FBS and major D-1. Also, the latest stereo systems from Como Audio ($599 on Amazon) does not have AM and have seen the latest boom boxes (whenever one can find one--not easy to find anymore) to drop AM band as well (so much for finding 1450 on those).

If terrestrial is anything like print media, it may disappear with 5G cellular/wi-fi technology. Two days ago, NYT CEO has given print media 10 years to live as a viable media channel: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/12/print-journalism-may-last-another-10-years-new-york-times-ceo.html. Ultimately, I see fewer over-the-air, free (advertiser) media options and in its place more paywall content...maybe that's by design? Interesting times in the media world.

 

[SpaceRaider]

http://goblueraiders.com/news/2018/2/13/general-mt-wgns-radio-enter-new-relationship.aspx


..."Middle Tennessee is proud to grow our partnership with WGNS" said Chris Massaro, Director of Athletics for Middle Tennessee. "It is great to be on a station that is committed to our broadcasts and wants to air our games. This is what our fans in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County deserve.".....


I am trying to read between the lines here.., If MT athletics were going to be on broadcast on other stations, this article from goblueraiders.com should have addressed that. The fact that 102.5 made a big production yesterday afternoon about their new deal with the Nashville Predators sort of wraps a bow on my suspicion...


..."Middle Tennessee is proud to grow our partnership with WGNS" said Chris Massaro, Director of Athletics for Middle Tennessee. "It is great to be on a station that is committed to our broadcasts and wants to air our games. This is what our fans in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County deserve.".....

What about MT fans in Nashville and the midstate? What do they deserve?

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

It does seem like a step backwards in some ways for over the air.

I will say that unless I am in my car, I would stream 102.5 over alexa. I think the same can be done with wgns.

I've been frustrated by the radio stations that I will probably go to streaming first.

If I were MT I would get these "skills" developed for alexa and google to just be able to say "play the blue raiders" and it would play.

 

[Raiderclyde]

To me, this radio deal is at best an OVC package and sounds more like NAIA: Case in point, if the new radio package is all Middle Tennessee fans deserve, then we are in the same league as our sister Blue Raider school: Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Kentucky. They can be found on 93.5 WAIN in Columbia. Our neighbors at Cumberland University (NAIA) has games on 98.9 WANT, which is a little stronger than WGNS FM translators (because that signal can reach Cookeville and Scottsville, Kentucky, but somehow gets bleeded out by WWTN on the west side of Murfreesboro). With FBS football and a near Top 25 mens basketball program this year (should we win a few more consecutively), this media announcement I consider an embarrassment. Somebody is asleep at the switch and allowed this to happen...WHY?
There is never a problem finding University of Tennessee or Vanderbilt University on the dial---win, lose, or draw. Why can't always be so for Blue Raider sports?

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

To me, this radio deal is at best an OVC package and sounds more like NAIA: Case in point, if the new radio package is all Middle Tennessee fans deserve, then we are in the same league as our sister Blue Raider school: Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Kentucky. They can be found on 93.5 WAIN in Columbia. Our neighbors at Cumberland University (NAIA) has games on 98.9 WANT, which is a little stronger than WGNS FM translators (because that signal can reach Cookeville and Scottsville, Kentucky, but somehow gets bleeded out by WWTN on the west side of Murfreesboro). With FBS football and a near Top 25 mens basketball program this year (should we win a few more consecutively), this media announcement I consider an embarrassment. Somebody is asleep at the switch and allowed this to happen...WHY?
There is never a problem finding University of Tennessee or Vanderbilt University on the dial---win, lose, or draw. Why can't always be so for Blue Raider sports?

Because there is not a demand for it, period.

 

[MTFNBY5]

Counting repeating stations such as the three for WGNS WKU has 20 stations for FB (12 cities) and 15 (11 cities) for BkB and they have just recently moved into Nashville for FB. And we're cutting back while they are increasing their network.

When Massaro came in he talked a good game about making MT Middle Tennessee's team since the name is not Murfreesboro St. U. How is cutting back the radio network accomplishing this goal?

Isn't is part of the contract with Learfield (formerly Nelligan) that they find stations and the needed sponsors to expand the network? If not it damn sure should be.

 

[Raiderclyde]

Because there is not a demand for it, period.

So, how do we create sufficient demand? What is the university doing so horribly wrong in media and merchandising? This radio media package is frankly a failure and somebody isn’t doing their job in the athletic department. It’s obvious.

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

Just my opinion: Radio is still useful but the medium is changing. The millennials behind me want everything streamed (as do I) so I would go as far as ensuring that the ease of broadcasts (tv/radio) are accessible via smart devices.

Maybe the cheese is moving where the demand is not met by a flamethrower but by strategic ways ala FB, instagram, twitter, snapchat, text, ext.

 

[Raiderclyde]

I’m all for omnichannel distribution of media: AM, FM, podcast, television, Blue Raider-vision (pay per view), Teamline (telephone dial in), Facebook, Twitter, etc. Losing a Class A or Class B frequency property hurts us tremendously outside Murfreesboro. Of course 37132, 30, 29, 28, 27 et al should be and hopefully will always be our primary market. If we can’t win the hearts of these zip codes, then it’s game over. WGNS is a good station, make no mistake. But it’s Class C and not clear channel. 1450kc breaks up with the 46,000 volt power line noise along 96, 99 US 41, 70, and 231 about five miles from the tower at night. That’s not a quality signal for a FBS NCAA university that needs listeners to broadcasts. The FM repeaters are OK throughout the county, but one needs an above average radio receiver to pick up over 10 miles away from town. It’s not “city grade coverage” in signal prop rogation. A Blue Raider fan from Madison, TN or Columbia, TN will have a harder (not impossible) time tuning in. Yes, IPhones and streaming is a solution, but there will be a significant segment that will not be as likely to listen. With the availability of television, it may be somewhat moot. But don’t tell that to the University of Tennessee or Vanderbilt University, or Western Kentucky University—-they consider a large radio network to be important while we de-emphasized the broadcast medium.

 

[dukewayne]

It seems there is a pretty high level of outrage over this matter. I'm not knocking that as I have my share of outrages over blown opportunities by MT. In my view, MT on Tunein was a positive move. Typically, I tend to stream for most audio these days. I listen to over the air radio or siriusxm in my vehicle when I'm really not that interested in hearing much of anything. Anymore if I want to hear something, I'm accessing it on my smartphone. I imagine especially with this younger generation, they are heavily using the streaming services as well. Heck, sometimes I even stream local radio! Come to think of it, it seems early on I went to streaming first after not being able to reliably find the radio broadcast. For years, the univ blowtorch was where I typically tuned in to. For years, it had been strong and clear. It has been a downer to lose that. There are plenty of times I don't know what AD and Pres McPhee are thinking. The huge example of that being branding and the univ name.

This season, the video, or lack of tv broadcast, has been driving me crazy. I was hopeful that maybe one upside to losing the big conf broadcast rights might be the conf getting a good cohesive full digital video coverage. Those hopes have fallen apart rapidly. Every week, 2,3, or 4 ovc conf games are nationally broadcast on ESPNU and CBS Sports Network. One can even anticipate when and where those games will be televised nationally. Meanwhile, C-USA supporters are having to search over any number of mostly online outlets to find a game. If one can even be found! Then my blood really boils when I see a couple of sub .500 teams in say UT-Martin vs SIUE playing in front of 700 fans on national tv while top of the league C-USA teams playing in front of 7,000 fans might be streamed online if you know where to look.

To calm myself, I think perhaps C-USA is at least making a little money for that online stream while the ovc is virtually giving away the broadcasts to their games. With the leadership in the C-USA HQ, I'm not even confident that C-USA interests are being best represented.

 

[dukewayne]

Obviously, there is the matter with the univ leadership and the powerful campus radio station not being used to carry MT games.

How much of this is also a Nashville media market problem? How much responsibility falls to the athletic administration vs lack of coverage by Nashville outlets? One could made an argument that the tens of thousands of MT alumni in the Nashville area not demanding coverage could be a factor. Then again, that is where good leadership plays a vital role. In Nashville, MT is almost out of mind it seems regarding sports coverage. Sure, there are some exceptions. The Big Joe guy seems to give MT some decent coverage. Hutton and Pogue seem to bring up MT sports every once in a while. Not that I'm monitoring local news each night for MT reports. When I do flip through the channels at local news time, MT is not that often mentioned.

An example, a couple of nights ago. MT mbb has been getting some decent national pub at least with the college bball national media. MT has been gaining in votes for the Top 25 and was getting a fair amount of coverage as a team to watch in March. Local news that night covered TSU winning a few ovc games and moving up to 4th in the ovc. Good for TSU in getting some coverage, but it was frustrating as a MT alum. No mention of MT when MT bball is clearly a story with the national college bball sports media. It begs the question, how many casual sports fans in Nashville are not even aware MT is a legit team moving into March? Judging by Nashville TV news sports coverage, the casual fans saw TSU is moving into the top half of the ovc standings.