WAXY 790 Information

[MaXx]

I just found out some interesting news about WAXY 790, turns out they may become much more involved in sports talk. Personally, I think this is great because this will bring a much larger audience to FIU's radio station, I don't see a downside to this and this will only increase the amount of people listening in to 790. That means more people listening to FIU promos and FIU radio broadcasts. Hopefully, this will create a greater interest in the coach's show and will result in more listeners to our football broadcasts. I've quoted some stuff from an insider on a marlins message board and an article from the Herald about the possible outcomes of this:

OK, as everybody knows, WQAM is pretty much dumping sports for shock talk by picking up Howard Stern, but 790 AM will be launching a new sports station format on Sept. 1st according to my sources.

Possible Hosts include Joe Rose, Jeff DeForrest, Dino Costa, Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, Jorge Sedano (will he choose HEAT or new ESPN 790?), Don Strock/FIU Athletics, and possible additions of the Marlins, Panthers, and Dolphins are all possible.

You could also see Boog Sciambi, Dan LeBatard, and other local sportscasters end up with shows on the new 790. This station is to be modeled after other ESPN Radio stations but with alot more local stuff in the mornings and afternoons/evenings.

and:

As of right now....Goldberg, Mandich, Rogers, Jorge, and Kaplan cannot leave WQAM without sitting out their contracts non compete.

Looks like Joe Rose and DeFo will handle the morning show, while Costa and Sedano are rumored to be doing the afternoon show. Other hosts could be on weekends or evenings. Don Strock's show will continue as will the continuance of 790 as FIU's flagship station.

and:

Dolphins and Marlins both have their contracts up....who will move off Puke-AM? Dolphins will command big money and will want an FM...101.5 and 102.7 may not want to add the Dolphins simulcast of all the games.

My guesses are Fins go to Y-100/610 WIOD or stay with WQAM (560 is going down!), with the Marlins and Panthers fleeing to 790. The Heat will stay at 610 with their new contract.

This was also in the herald:

Ex-Dolphin Rose signs off NBC


NBC 6 sportscaster and former Dolphins tight end Joe Rose, whose weekday radio show is about to be bounced by Howard Stern, bid farewell to his WQAM listeners Saturday and said he would start a new show elsewhere Sept. 1. According to multiple sources, Rose has been negotiating with local businessmen who are expected to launch an all-sports station on WAXY-790.

The station would be an ESPN Radio affiliate. Rose would give the new all-sports venture a marquee name to compete with Stern, whose 6-10 a.m. syndicated show will be picked up by WQAM beginning Aug. 16. ''I'm taking a month off and then starting something . . . Sept. 1,'' Rose told his WQAM audience.

Another potential WAXY target is Jeff DeForrest, Rose's former WQAM morning co-host who now does a 4-6 p.m. show for WFTL-850 in Palm Beach. DeForrest has been contacted by the new station but has not received an offer.

WQAM general manager Greg Reed said he probably would have re-hired DeForrest to team with Howard David from 5 to 8 a.m. had he not added Stern. Reed said he has met with the Dolphins, who are not happy about WQAM's decision to add Stern, and thinks it's ''50-50'' whether the team will choose to remain on WQAM after this season.

Reed said he added Stern because ``it was a chance to land a superstar. We need to secure the future of WQAM.''

Reed also said Stern's show would be aired on slight delay ``to keep something obscene off the air.''

Stern often goes past his 10 a.m. sign-off, and Reed said WQAM would stick with Stern's show until conclusion, even if it means delaying the start of Neil Rogers' program.

-- BARRY JACKSON

[Xpedition]

Thank God! Ever since 940 turned to FAR left-wing crap I've been yearning for another sports-talk radio station. I only wish it was Fox Sports and not ESPN so I could listen to Tony Bruno in the morning. Sedano was good on 940 and he's an FIU alumnus.

[Mike]

Great news about the station format!!

Have you heard anything about getting a new host for the Don Strock Show?

[ARod]

Xpedition said:

Thank God! Ever since 940 turned to FAR left-wing crap I've been yearning for another sports-talk radio station. I only wish it was Fox Sports and not ESPN so I could listen to Tony Bruno in the morning. Sedano was good on 940 and he's an FIU alumnus.

Yo X,
940 switched to talk, but if you live up in North Dade or Broward County, there is 1400 The Fan which has recently switched to a Fox Sports format. They carry the Morning Bullpen (a local show) with Carl Foster (formerly of 790AM and 940AM) and Frank Forte (formerly of WPLG Channel 10) from 6:00am 'til 9:00am. They then carry Tony Bruno (best talk show out there) for the full show until 12:00pm which then switches to Jim Rome until 3:00pm.
They are the new local FOX affiliate (1400AM) and were toying around with the idea of carrying either ESPN Radio or Sporting News Radio. They were able to switch to FOX because 940AM was sold to become talk radio. My only beef with 1400AM is that they need to get a stronger signal to reach all of Miami-Dade county (this is because they are located in Pompano Beach). I do believe that they are working on it though.
I dislike the fact that Greg Reed of WQAM sold out Sports Radio to pick up Howard Stern. I already can't stand Neil Rogers. I am glad that 790AM is going back to their old format of Sports Radio. Hopefully they are successful in picking up Joe Rose and Jorge Sedano. These two are good talents out there that are local.
Also, Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd are pretty good national shows that I listen to via a streaming broadcast on the internet everyday at work.
I hope the Marlins, Panthers, and Dolphins make the switch because 560 WQAM has a monopoly on the market and feel they can put anything on the radio and the public will listen because we don't have any other choice! I, for one, am tired of listening to that garbage-talking bum who only knows about horse-racing (Hank Goldberg).
Thanks for the heads up, MaXx.

[Xpedition]

Thanks ARod. I work up in North Dade so that's great that I'll be able to listen to Tony Bruno in the mornings now!

560 just totally blows. That station just has a bunch of grumpy old farts. Hank knows nothing - even about horseracing. The people on that station suck up to the teams they air - which are the only ones they cover - and all in all the station has been a mess for years. Neil Rogers has about 5 listeners and I'm not sure what the heck he's still doing on the air - he's a jerk. I had to laugh when they picked up Howard Stern, that guy was cool like 10 years ago. Who the heck cares about him now except for people stuck in the 90s?

790 moving to an all-sports format will be great for SFL and for FIU since it's the official station of FIU sports. More people will listen to the station now and hear more FIU promos (I imagine) which will be great. I hope the station picks up a pro team as well to help it out.

As far as new host for Strock Talk, I didn't know Randy left the show. If so, I think Sedano would be a great pickup for that show.

[MaXx]

Here's what the likely schedule will be:

Likely ESPN 790 Lineup
6a-10a Joe Rose Morning Show
10a-1p The Herd with Cowherd
1p-4p The Dan Patrick Show
4p-7p Local Afternoon Show
7p-7:30p PTI/Play-By-Play
7:30p-1a GameNight/Play-By-Play
1a-6a AllNight with Todd Wright

This isn't final but just an idea of what may happen.

[ARod]

Here's a story about it in the Sun-Sentinel:

www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-sportsradio03aug03,0,7652934.story

Local sports radio shaking up again
By Jim Sarni
Staff Writer

August 3, 2004

There's never a dull day in South Florida sports radio.

As WQAM listeners vented on Howard Stern replacing morning sports talk, 1400 The Fan shook up its lineup again, and 790 ESPN Radio South Florida announced it would start operations in time for the football season.

The Fan moved Anita Marks from mornings to afternoons and fired Bob Page and Tom Alexander.

Marks is teamed on The Press Box with Bruce Warner and will join Melissa Walker on Chicks on Sports, one of three weekly shows that will be broadcast from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the station.

Chicks on Sports, which debuts this week, will air Fridays from 6-8 p.m. The other new Hard Rock shows are Fantasy Sports (Thursdays, 6-8 p.m.) and Sports Saturday with Frank Forte and Bruce Warner (Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon).

The Fan will also air shows hosted by Dolphins Sage Rosenfels and Rob Konrad during the football season. The Sage Rosenfels Show will air Mondays (6-7 p.m.), followed by Jim Kiick's Monday Night Football Show (7-8:30 p.m.). The Rob Konrad Show will air Tuesdays (6-7 p.m.), followed by Legends on Sports with Sam McDowell (7-8 p.m.)

Wednesday nights will be devoted to college football with CaneSport Miami Hurricanes at 6-8 p.m. and possible Florida and Florida State shows.

Greg DePalma will replace Alexander on Diamond Talk for the remainder of August, joining Marc Bednarczyk.

The long-rumored 790 ESPN Radio affiliate will hold a news conference Thursday. Look for Joe Rose, who lost his morning show in the WQAM shuffle, to land there.

Dino Costa, who was fired in The Fan's earlier shakeup, has also talked to the new station.

And when it's all said and done, we'll have 3 sports talk radio shows in the SoFla market, more variety, and hopefully more attention given to FIU Athletics. We just need more FIU callers to call into the "Strock Talk" show so when the other listeners start listening, they'll see that we have a buzz going about the program.

[ARod]

Another update that may include Jason Taylor having a slot on the radio:

`Ticket' debuts Sept. 1; Rose gets morning slot

By Sarah Talalay
Staff Writer
Posted August 6 2004
MIAMI • South Florida's churning sports talk radio marketplace got a new entry Thursday, an ESPN affiliate based in Hollywood that will begin airing Sept. 1 on 790-AM.
Primetime Media Group, made up of five local business and sports marketing executives, struck deals with ESPN and Jefferson Pilot Communications, owner of WAXY (790-AM), to operate the station with a mix of ESPN programming and local sports talk. NBC-6 Sports Anchor and former Dolphin Joe Rose will host a morning show.
"There's a lack of decent sports radio stations in the area," said Joel Feinberg, CEO and president of Primetime Media Group and a local developer.
Feinberg, a 27-year-old millionaire who founded Capital Real Estate Group (CREG), helped unveil the new station during a news conference at the Orange Bowl, welcoming fans to tune at 6 a.m. Sept. 1, by singing the ESPN SportsCenter "dun, nuh, nah," theme.
His partners are sports radio veteran Jon "Stugotz" Weiner serving as the station's general manager; Sports & Sponsorships founder Scott Becher serving as chief marketing officer; sports public relations executive Alan Brown handling communications; and finance executive Kurt Murphy, who helped Feinberg launch CREG, as chief financial officer.
The lineup has not been finalized, but will include an afternoon show hosted by Miami Herald columnist and ESPN correspondent Dan Le Batard, and a weekly show with Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor. The station plans to pursue the broadcasting rights of local teams when their current contracts expire. The Marlins' contract with WQAM (560-AM) expires after this season; the Dolphins' and Panthers' contracts run through their upcoming seasons. The Heat's contract runs four more years on WIOD (610-AM).