AHL Bruins jettison radio team and broadcasts for end of season and playoffs.

[GarbageGoal]

Pretty embarrassing to be an original six team's farm club and fourth in attendance and you can't be bothered to broadcast games.

Click to read more...

 

[Nightsquad]

Pretty embarrassing to be an original six team's farm club and fourth in attendance and you can't be bothered to broadcast games.

Albany had done away with radio broadcasting all their games years ago. When people complained they were told the local sports radio stations (most owned by large companies from big cities) aren't interested in broadcasting minor league sports. They also said it cost these AHL teams a lot of money to get a station to cover the entire season and its just not cost effective with AHL live and smart devices. Albany at one time used to have all 80 games, playoffs, and even coverage of the ALL Star game. It probably has nothing to do with your status as an AHL market as much as the "progressive" trends. I personally enjoy radio coverage, after all the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Green Bay can be heard nationally on the radio lol. I think fans of minor league teams, especially at the AAA or AA level should be able to follow their team home and away, and get sponsorship exposure. No radio broadcast no promotion of the team as anything less then insignificant. Its bush league, less then minor league, almost semi pro.......Lucky for the P-Bruins they are smack dab in the Bruins territory, anywhere in New England the Bruins AHL team will do well.

 

[SemireliableSource]

The cost (either cash or trade) of having games on terrestrial radio is why many teams still have a broadcaster but the audio goes out on the online video as well as mediums like Mixlr. It offers a lot more freedom, you control the breaks, you control when and where you broadcast from, no need for legal IDs (as a guy who used to work in radio, these can be hard to fit in; it doesn't seem like much but 10 seconds in the middle of a hockey game isn't the easiest to find).

This isn't a good look for the P-Bruins. And I doubt they're hurting so much they can't afford to pay broadcasters for the remainder of the season. And if they are, they need to reevaluate how much they're paying the broadcasters.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

I know a few ECHL teams have done all road games on TV before. I think each of Elmira, wheeling and reading have done it. Wouldn't it be way easier to trick some local TV station into that? You could then use the feed with the other team's broadcast in situations like this.

 

[GarbageGoal]

I should clarify they were already internet only, for like the last eight years. The last time they were broadcast on the radio, only a few low power AM stations ran them. They have been broadcasting only thru AHL Live since, and you can't stream that thru a smart phone unless you buy the video. I've been listening on my laptop for years.

Albany had done away with radio broadcasting all their games years ago.

More like this season. They were on the Albany ESPN station 104.5 most of the time until this year.

 

[Nightsquad]

I should clarify they were already internet only, for like the last eight years. The last time they were broadcast on the radio, only a few low power AM stations ran them. They have been broadcasting only thru AHL Live since, and you can't stream that thru a smart phone unless you buy the video. I've been listening on my laptop for years.



More like this season. They were on the Albany ESPN station 104.5 most of the time until this year.

No that started years ago, back when the River Rats were still a franchise. I also know some media people up that way. They used to for much of the 1990s broadcast either on a solid FM or power AM stations. It wasn't until later years of the River Rats whereby they went to an SELECT away game format only. Ask any fan from up that way they will tell you since the Devils return back in 2010 broadcasts on the Albany ESPN affiliate were only away games. Home openers never broadcasted, they never covered the AHL or had call in shows like the River Rats had, and if the Yankees were playing forget it, the majors were a priority over the AHL playoffs if Albany made it. This IMO was the start of the demise of the Albany fan base. Not the cause but this along with barely ever making the playoffs in Albany, 3pm Saturday starts, the Devils for a few years playing "home" games in Atlantic City...The ESPN Albany affiliate from what I heard needed filler, they didn't even care to cover the Albany Devils let alone hockey. When local Albany AHL fans complained to the station one of their "local" on air personalities who was once a local sportscaster on their ABC affiliate had basically said hockey in Albany takes a back seat to everything, including local high school sports. He called the Devils AHL team in Albany a baby mickey mouse organization and we will dictate what we cover and discuss. He went as far as suggesting no minor league team should even be mentioned on a station that has the letters E S P N in its name. This is that apathy the runs wild in the Albany market... At one time the Albany River Rats broadcaster not only had covered all games home and away, the AHL ALL Star Game, and even had his own hockey TV show on Albany's WXXA Fox Face Off...The glory years of Albany's AHL hockey lol. Your Baby Bruins head coach is in the video from his Captain Days and his AHL Championship lol...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2hG9FSgp0U

 

[GarbageGoal]

I listened to them at least once last year thru the ESPN radio stream because I couldn't stream the Bruins feed on my phone.

http://www.thealbanydevils.com/2015-16-streaming-and-broadcast-schedule/

Most the games seem to be on the road but some were at home.

 

[CrazyEddie20]

This is a cost-cutting move, although being that the broadcasters were part-timers, I doubt they really cut that much salary from the bottom line.

Doing it this way, with three games left in the regular season and the playoffs ahead, is a bad look, for sure. But then again, people don't follow teams at any level as closely as they used to, so maybe no one will notice.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Trust me, people will notice this far more than a lot of other teams in the league.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Trust me, people will notice this far more than a lot of other teams in the league.

HOPE THIS ISN'T ANOTHER trend away from local branding....

 

[royals119]

I know a few ECHL teams have done all road games on TV before. I think each of Elmira, wheeling and reading have done it. Wouldn't it be way easier to trick some local TV station into that? You could then use the feed with the other team's broadcast in situations like this.

The Royals use the ECHL.tv stream and all away games are shown on the local cable access channel with the Royals announcer providing audio. Several of the team sponsors run ads during the breaks in the game. They dropped (lost?) their radio broadcast this season and went to i-heart radio app instead. They use the feed reserved for the local Spanish language station, but only on the i-heart app. The regular Spanish language feed goes out over the FM radio. The station is owned by i-heart media along with a couple other local stations which are Royals sponsors. The team's radio guy is a full time employee, also does a weekly hour long show about the team, does some sales work in the off season, handles some of the travel arrangements and other office work for the team as well. The point is, there are ways to make it work if the team cares enough.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

The Royals use the ECHL.tv stream and all away games are shown on the local cable access channel with the Royals announcer providing audio. Several of the team sponsors run ads during the breaks in the game. They dropped (lost?) their radio broadcast this season and went to i-heart radio app instead. They use the feed reserved for the local Spanish language station, but only on the i-heart app. The regular Spanish language feed goes out over the FM radio. The station is owned by i-heart media along with a couple other local stations which are Royals sponsors. The team's radio guy is a full time employee, also does a weekly hour long show about the team, does some sales work in the off season, handles some of the travel arrangements and other office work for the team as well. The point is, there are ways to make it work if the team cares enough.

That's pretty much what the jackals did these past two years. They would air the game with the team's radio announcer via whatever the league stream feed is. It can be done, I don't know how costly it is. I don't know if that made the finances get that bad that the owner decided to fold them or not. But I was amazed a franchise struggling that badly would air road games on TV all the time. I think Wheeling only did the venture for one year.

Team"s still do radio shows? Damn. I feel like they haven't some one here in a few years. I didn't mind them but I also felt like they weren't as informative for the fans as they should be. Its more of player profiles than real team insight.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Don't even know what to say at this point. This is an embarrassment.