OK, I'm a business man, and C.J. can make excuses all day that what I'm going to start with my opinion is heretical: RADIO RIGHTS? How Valuable to WIZARDS? How Valuable to RADIO? The way I understand it: 1. Sell Radio Rights to Local Radio Station (profit motive; cash flow) 2. Radio recoups its investment from Advertising by Companies (strategy:they will get exposure to a segment of the population-profits) 3. Fans are happy with feeds to out of town games; interest is generated where frustration might have prevailed...even apathy; etc, etc....) Here's my suggestion to all parties (to get the ball rolling) GIVE IT AWAY! (sell rights for minimal, or no profit, for just a season, or rest of this and next) I can't see the expense to the Wizards, albiet no profit either (a wash)! The Radio should/would take a gamble to market a "conceptual product" at a pretty good time in the product's development! The Fans (the segment we're referring to) would develop a loyalty to the station it may not have had before! There, I said it. What does BIG SOCCER think? Big Pat
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. It's kind of like the TV deal MLS had (until recently) with ESPN. MLS was actually paying ESPN a fee to get ESPN to show the games. In this case, the Wizards would have had to pay a radio station to broadcast the games and probably would have had to sell the advertising themselves.
I would definitely take radio over nothing, but I'd much rather have a pre or postgame radio show with TV for the games.