I wonder what was told to people when (if) they were recruited. I'm sure no guarantees were made but pulling the plug after only 9 months?? Did they really expect to make money that fast??
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.htmlThe decision to pull the plug on FM sports talk radio station The Game on Thursday after nine months on the air was not an easy one for WGN-AM 720 president Jimmy de Castro.
It was even harder on staffers, including at least one who found out while on the air, venting his frustration to listeners.
But with Chicago radio revenues declining this year and WGWG-LP 87.7 unable to turn a profit, de Castro said WGN Radio needed to cut its losses.
"The market is way off and the economics won't support us," de Castro said. "It's unfortunate that it's that way this year and at this time."
The all-sports station will finish out the year and be off the air as of January 1, de Castro said Thursday.
Technically a low-powered TV station, Tribune Media has been operating WGWG through a local marketing agreement with Los Angeles-based Venture Technologies Group, which owns the frequency. The lease agreement runs through Sept. 2015, and de Castro wasn't sure what, if anything, will be on the station come January.
"It's not going to be the sports format, that's for sure," de Castro said.
The Game didn't gain much traction in its short run, ranking tied for 34th among Chicago stations with a 0.5 share in the latest Nielsen listenership survey. WSCR-AM 670, owned by CBS Radio, has a 2.5 share, while ESPN's WMVP-AM 1000 has a 1.6 share, according to Nielsen.
WGN is also ending its streaming online radio station, wgn.fm, de Castro confirmed. As part of the change, Jonathon Brandmeier, whose morning show was simulcast on WGWG and wgn.fm, has been let go, along with Garry Meier, whose afternoon show was bumped from WGN and moved to the online station in May.
Brandmeier's contract with WGN was up, while Meier's contract runs through September.
"We've tried a lot of things. Some have worked and some haven't," de Castro said. "In the case of 87.7 and wgn.fm, the economics haven't dictated the ability for us to make money, and we're in the business of making money."
While the FM station and the online station are going away, de Castro said WGN is planning to move into podcasting as an alternative way to connect with listeners.
"Coming next year we'd like to create a podcast model that gives instant access to media in an on-demand world," de Castro said. "Our goal is to build that forum for everything we have on the AM."
The failure of The Game and the streaming online station, which de Castro had said would be a talent incubator for a future FM acquisition, has apparently ended such a pursuit, at least in the near term. But he is confident that WGN-AM 720, stripped of the money-losing side ventures and some high-priced contracts, will have a successful 2015.
"WGN is going to be great, we're going to come around a corner and make a lot of money next year," de Castro said. "It's just taken us awhile to get here and it's unfortunate that the sports station hasn't worked."
Executives planned to break the news to air personalities on The Game and wgn.fm as they completed their shifts. That shifted to Plan B after midday co-host Ben Finfer, who found out during his show Thursday and vented his frustration on the air.
"I said probably some pretty harsh stuff," Finfer said near the end of his noon to 3 p.m. show. "I don't know what you can even relate it to — finding out while you're on the air that you're being fired. It's pretty lame the way we got treated today."
De Castro said he understood Finfer's frustration.
"He got a little bit upset," de Castro said. "That's a tough way to find out."
The Kap & Haugh Show, which is simulcast weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon on WGWG and Comcast SportsNet Chicago, will remain on the cable channel after January 1. The show features David Kaplan and the Chicago Tribune's In the Wake of the News sports columnist David Haugh.
Everyone else may be out of a job come January, but de Castro is optimistic many of the staffers will find new media homes in short order.
"I think a lot of these guys are going to get jobs," de Castro said.
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