Lions. Tigers. Red Wings. Pistons. Michigan . Michigan State
“Detroit is one of the three
or four best sports towns in America ,”
said Mike Valenti, a host at WXYT 97.1 FM The Ticket.
And that’s why, according to The Detroit News, many radio
industry insiders were floored it took longer than six months, let alone six
years, for Metro Detroit to see a second sports-talk station hop on the FM dial
to take a run at CBS Radio’s 97.1.
That station is Detroit Sports WMCG 105.1 FM Detroit Sports/ESPN which broadcasts
out of the Greater Media’s Ferndale
compound.
On Wednesday, 105.1 FM got a glimpse of its initial impact, by way of
its first full weekly ratings. To nobody’s surprise, 97.1, which has been on
the FM dial since 2007, dominated the cumulative numbers, or total audience.
“Until you get a decent sample size, the numbers really
don’t play into decision making,” said Jason Dixon, the station’s program
director who came to Detroit from Raleigh , N.C.
“This is a long-term play for us. It’s not a short-term
approach we’re taking. We’ve done some great things.”
WXYT is local practically around the clock. And that’s a major obstacle for 105.1, which
clears ESPN.
The other big advantage 97.1 has: The teams.
In an unusual set of circumstances, 97.1 owns the broadcast
rights to all four pro teams. That’s big-time bragging rights for the station,
but doesn’t always sit well with the teams. When there are scheduling
conflicts, one game has to be demoted to the AM dial — either 1270 in the case
of the Tigers or Red Wings, WWJ 950 with the Pistons.
Getting the rights to a team or two is a big priority for
105.1.
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