Kaiton Out as Radio Broadcast

[Ole Gil]

I liked listening to chuck in the car. But at worst, John/Tripp will be just as good. I think Tripp's commentary will be really beneficial on a radio broadcast where it's pretty hard to tell what's going on.

In the end, Chuck leaving is bad for nostalgia purposes. But practically speaking, what's lost?

 

[The Stranger]

I question the 2k number as well...the context of it...is that world-wide...does that include listeners tuning in on satellite/nhl.com?

Is that just the local market? How are they arriving at the number...presumably sampling and statistics...how good is the sampling.

Does that count people who tune in while driving, but then continue watching on TV while home?

I'm not saying it's wrong either...although it did strike me as surprisingly low.

 

[GoldiFox]

On 99.9 driving home yesterday one of the guys, maybe David Glenn said that he doesn’t know how they came up with 2,000. That only the internal group at the station knows that number and he didn’t think they had told anyone. He wasn’t saying it was wrong, just that he has fairly intimate knowledge of how that process works and he doesn’t believe that number comes from a verified source. At best it’s probably “off the record” or more just some prediction of radio audience by the Canes themselves.

Also made it seem like the Canes offered Chuck his new position a while ago, he thought about it for a decent period of time, and has just now came back to say “nah, I’m good”. He said that Chuck had potentially the wrong idea (more negative than needed) going into the offseason about how this would go down so it started off on the wrong foot.

 

[Chrispy]

I question the 2k number as well...the context of it...is that world-wide...does that include listeners tuning in on satellite/nhl.com?

Is that just the local market? How are they arriving at the number...presumably sampling and statistics...how good is the sampling.

Does that count people who tune in while driving, but then continue watching on TV while home?

I'm not saying it's wrong either...although it did strike me as surprisingly low.

I doubt they are getting numbers from XM. They probably have NHL.com numbers. I don't think WRALsportsfan streams the Canes feed because of NHL.com, correct?

It was interesting to hear 99.9 state yesterday afternoon that THEY don't have numbers on prime time; only their drive time shows. I don't know if that means they don't bother to get the numbers, or prime time radio numbers aren't reported, or what it means.

All that said, the question that doesn't get answered by this is of those "2000", how many will be turned off by listening to Forslund? Regardless of the true number listening, I expect the answer is close to 0.

 

[tarheelhockey]

We keep using this 2000 number they’ve given us. I’m not arguing it’s a false number as I have no idea, I just know they’re giving it to us packaged with a potentially unpopular subject in a way that softens the blow.

Is this an accurate number? How do they quantify it? You can make numbers look anyway you want them to sometimes.

I agree it’s a medium that’s falling off the radar and maybe this was happening no matter what, I just don’t want to be fed bs.

Say it’s double that number in reality. Does it matter?

 

[Anton Babchuk]

The Florida Panthers had 3,000 viewers per game for their TV broadacsts a couple years ago. Despite record, Sabres’ local ratings up 55 percent

It wouldn't shock me in the least if that less than 2,000 number for Chuck Kaiton is accurate. Actually, it would be very surprising if it was more than that.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Say it’s double that number in reality. Does it matter?

It doesn’t matter. As a strictly business decision it doesn’t make any sense to invest in radio. Chuck at 66 didn’t want a different role at a reduced rate, and really I can’t blame him for that. It’s a forced retirement that happens to a lot of people. It just sucks it had to end this way.

 

[tarheelhockey]

There’s a reason WRAL isn’t tracking those numbers. The bottom line isn’t viewers, the bottom line is dollars. If the broadcast is losing money, and there’s not a clear value-added where the organization can recoup those losses, then it’s only a matter of time before funding cuts happen.

It sounds like Dundon offered Chuck the opportunity to continue in a lower-cost environment, and he wasn’t interested.

Edit: what Joe said.

 

[Chrispy]

There’s a reason WRAL isn’t tracking those numbers. The bottom line isn’t viewers, the bottom line is dollars. If the broadcast is losing money, and there’s not a clear value-added where the organization can recoup those losses, then it’s only a matter of time before funding cuts happen.

It sounds like Dundon offered Chuck the opportunity to continue in a lower-cost environment, and he wasn’t interested.

Edit: what Joe said.

And for 99.9, the bottom line being dollars means the ratings are largely irrelevant to them. As this story points out, they get paid to broadcast the Canes games, rather than paying the Canes for the rights like FS Carolinas does on the TV side.

If the Canes can't monetize the radio broadcast, it makes even more sense to simulcast the TV broadcast they are making money from.

 

[Negan4Coach]

Ode to you Mr. Kaiton whose voice was there for me during the visits to the bathroom.

Thats a good point. It was kind of cool to hear him while ducking in the bathroom.

On the other hand, many of those times it was just high pitched anguish coming thru the speakers as the other team scored yet another goal...

 

[bleedgreen]

Then there’s no reason for them to be using the number 2000 as a justification for cutting his salary and getting rid of him.

I get the math, I get the reasons. There’s something about the way the new regime frames things that’s been irking me. Like others have said, if we win who gives a shit. If we still keep losing little things start adding up.

 

[Canes]

We've been losing forever and I don't really care about this. If Kaiton had been here 5 years, people especially wouldn't care. I get that his long tenure matters to some, and maybe it should matter to a certain degree, but personally I was never really a big fan of him. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

It's not like we're losing Vin Scully here... most people around hockey have no clue who Kaiton is. Given that, the low number of listeners per game and the current state of terrestrial radio, everyone had to know the time was going to come eventually. I don't even think winning and renewed interest in the franchise would have saved him much longer.

 

[Joe McGrath]

... most people around hockey have no clue who Kaiton is.

Well that’s total bull shit.

 

[bleedgreen]

And no one is really that upset it seems. Everyone seems to get why it happened and at most are sad to see an icon go. There’s no excessive hand wringing going on here, as of yet.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Give him a party, raise a banner for him with a big mic on it, and say goodbye.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Then there’s no reason for them to be using the number 2000 as a justification for cutting his salary and getting rid of him.

There’s no reason not to mention it. If the program had a huge audience, people would be asking questions about why they couldn’t monetize it. The lack of audience is the core issue that makes it needlessly expensive to maintain.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

I get the math, I get the reasons. There’s something about the way the new regime frames things that’s been irking me.

Karmanos had no compunction broadcasting his cheapness. "Look at our market size, look at my bank account, do the math."

With every decision by miserly master Tom Dundon, there's not just a reason, but a good reason, a perfectly rational and acceptable reason....

....which coincidentally is also the reason that saves the most money.

This could simply be Tom Dundon has realized the largest potential source of revenue for this team is in the casual fan; and that their money is earned not only through tangible success, but the perception of future success. My season ticket holder parents were talking 12 months ago that another bust year and they'd seriously reconsider their investment: but they're all on board with HCRB, with Darling bouncing back because he's not fat*, etc.

*= Darling wasn't "out of shape" as in he lacked game conditioning a la Eric Staal; he was "out of shape" as in he was actually overweight.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

A lot of people around the hockey world who don't normally care about the Hurricanes suddenly have an opinion about the organization letting Kaiton go.

Funny how that works out...

 

[Canes]

Well that’s total bull ****.

It's really not. Can you name another team's radio guy? A handful of them? I can't, and there's probably several guys just as prominent as Kaiton. I can't even name 5 team TV PBP guys, and I have subscribed to NHL.tv for years. And I'm not just some casual hockey fan here. The fact is a huge majority of people who consider themselves as hockey fans have no clue who he is

 

[Joe McGrath]

It's really not. Can you name another team's radio guy? A handful of them? I can't, and there's probably several guys just as prominent as Kaiton. I can't even name 5 team TV PBP guys, and I have subscribed to NHL.tv for years. And I'm not just some casual hockey fan here. The fact is a huge majority of people who consider themselves as hockey fans have no clue who he is

“Around hockey” and “casual hockey fan” are two very different things.

If you’ve subscribed to NHL TV for years and can’t name 5 PBP guys you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Edit: other teams radio guys I know are Mike Lange in Pittsburgh, Judd Sirott and Bob Beers in Boston (local to me), Matt Laughlin (sucks) and Chico Resch in New Jersey, Kenny Albert in New York, Mishkin and Phil Esposito in Tampa, Pete Weber in Nashville.

That’s off the top of my head

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Everyone wanted change.

Trouble is, change is risk. Not all changes are good. Not all risks pay off, and you never really know until you take them.

Saving $100k on a well-loved but outdated radio pbp guy is likely to get that $100k spent somewhere else that it can have an effect. But the $100k saved is very visible, and where it is spent might not be. Maybe it'll be for a goalie consultant. We have no idea.

But it's not necessarily just because TD is cheap. It's because he's looking at where every dime goes as he tries to build a winner.

Fans place a high value on sentiment. Math does not.

 

[RodTheBawd]

I could name 0 radio guys. And maybe 3 PBP. And I watch a shitload of hockey.

 

[tarheelhockey]

After looking at a list, are the PBP announcers I recognize as announcers (e.g., I didn’t know Espo was doing it so he doesn’t count).

Chico Resch, Devils - because he used to be on TV
Mike Lange, Penguins - because he used to be on TV
Rick Jeanneret - Because he’s simulcast from TV
Darryl Reaugh - Because he’s simulcast from TV
Kenny Albert, Rangers - Because he’s sports royalty
David Mishkin, Lightning - Because he’s famous for being completely awful

So out of 31 teams, 2 of them now have announcers I know for their careers of being radio PBP guys. One of them for being good at his job.

It really hadn’t crossed my mind till this thread, but the pure-radio PBP guys have made zero impression on me. And I feel like I’m reasonably familiar with this sport and league.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

the only radio pbp guy i could name off hand is mike lange and that is becuase someone brought him up in another thread in response to the kaiton contract so it is fresh in my memory.

i can name a handful of tv pbp guys, but still... don't really care who is announcing the games. i listen with sound low in the background while doing something else usually. all about that multi-task life

 

[vorbis]

the only radio pbp guy i could name off hand is mike lange and that is becuase someone brought him up in another thread in response to the kaiton contract so it is fresh in my memory.

i can name a handful of tv pbp guys, but still... don't really care who is announcing the games. i listen with sound low in the background while doing something else usually. all about that multi-task life

sry I missed that penalty, I was too busy swimming in elite twittr metrics