QUOTE
Bulls making an 'MVP move
Back on AM radio this year as WCKG mulls format change
By Ed Sherman | Tribune sports media reporter
9:24 PM CDT, October 26, 2007
The Bulls are returning to their old radio home.
The team will announce next week it has signed a five-year deal with WMVP-AM 1000 beginning with Wednesday night's opener.
The Bulls are leaving WCKG-FM 105.9 after one year because the station reportedly is planning a format change.
Instead of WMVP paying the Bulls a rights fee, the team will take the package "in house," essentially buying time on the station and then selling its own ads. The setup, which the Bulls started last year for radio, was considered profitable for the team, generating a reported $2 million in income.
The Bulls had a long relationship with WMVP dating to the heyday of the Michael Jordan era in the 1990s. The rights fee, peaking at $4 million per year, was considered the best in the NBA.
However, when Jordan retired the Bulls went through several lean years, and the team's radio ratings plummeted. As a result, WMVP took a financial beating.
When the contract expired after the 2005-06 season, negotiations produced no deal. So the Bulls then decided to take a gamble by going away from a traditional AM outlet and hook up with an FM station.
The Bulls had planned to be on WCKG again this year, but talks about a new format for the station led the team to find a new outlet less than a week before the start of the season.
Returning to WMVP should be a good move for the Bulls. They should benefit by again being aligned with an all-sports station, which will give them heavy promotion among sports listeners throughout the day. Also, WMVP's stronger signal will allow the Bulls to be heard for greater distances.
Neil Funk and Bill Wennington still will be on the call when the Bulls open the season Wednesday night at New Jersey.
esherman@tribune.com
Back on AM radio this year as WCKG mulls format change
By Ed Sherman | Tribune sports media reporter
9:24 PM CDT, October 26, 2007
The Bulls are returning to their old radio home.
The team will announce next week it has signed a five-year deal with WMVP-AM 1000 beginning with Wednesday night's opener.
The Bulls are leaving WCKG-FM 105.9 after one year because the station reportedly is planning a format change.
Instead of WMVP paying the Bulls a rights fee, the team will take the package "in house," essentially buying time on the station and then selling its own ads. The setup, which the Bulls started last year for radio, was considered profitable for the team, generating a reported $2 million in income.
The Bulls had a long relationship with WMVP dating to the heyday of the Michael Jordan era in the 1990s. The rights fee, peaking at $4 million per year, was considered the best in the NBA.
However, when Jordan retired the Bulls went through several lean years, and the team's radio ratings plummeted. As a result, WMVP took a financial beating.
When the contract expired after the 2005-06 season, negotiations produced no deal. So the Bulls then decided to take a gamble by going away from a traditional AM outlet and hook up with an FM station.
The Bulls had planned to be on WCKG again this year, but talks about a new format for the station led the team to find a new outlet less than a week before the start of the season.
Returning to WMVP should be a good move for the Bulls. They should benefit by again being aligned with an all-sports station, which will give them heavy promotion among sports listeners throughout the day. Also, WMVP's stronger signal will allow the Bulls to be heard for greater distances.
Neil Funk and Bill Wennington still will be on the call when the Bulls open the season Wednesday night at New Jersey.
esherman@tribune.com
