Got an e-mail from Raj Mathai at KNTV as a response to the lack of Quakes coverage on the local telly... Hi Mike, We need more fans like you! As a big soccer fan myself, I'm sorry we couldn't dedicate more time to the Earthquakes playoff win on Sunday. However, as you know, KNTV has more 'Quakes coverage than any other local station (TV or Radio). You probably didn't see it, but we also aired Earthquakes stories on Monday's NBC11 morning show...and Monday's NBC11 6 o'clock newscast. I can assure you, no other station dedicated as much time to the 'Quakes. But we're not done. Hopefully, we'll be doing 'Quakes stories two weeks from now - in Carson - from the MLS Cup! Thanks for the note. Please keep in touch. Raj Raj Mathai NBC11 Sports Director 408.977.4366 Hope that those of you who weren't too thrilled with the local coverage of the game, give him a call or jot a note to him.
I wish they would go a step further. And i know it's hard b/c the front office has changed so much year after year. But how great would it be for BOTH the Quakes and KNTV to be marketing partners. KNTV could, by itself, help fill the stadium to capacity. And then management could worry about more important things like a new stadum and keeping Frank.
Well, the stadium should be up to the owner(s), whoever they are/will be. Johnny needs to work on keeping Frank or if he joins ROTC (run over to Canada), to find a replacement. I agree wholeheartedly that marketing needs to find a media partner to push the team. Unfortunately, KNTV is not the answer. KNTV (Owned and Operated by NBC) would not give up Saturday, Sunday, or Wednesday primetime airtime to show a local soccer game. NBC would never bump Ed on Wednesdays to show a Quakes match in the Bay Area. I feel that the two best shots would be KICU TV-36, or KRON Ch. 4. 36 is co owned with Channel 2, and KRON is now an indy station. Lordy, KRON shows Stanford and Cal basketball. However, as much as that is dreaming, I cannot fathom any current broadcast channel carrying soccer in the Bay Area. Look at the Sharks. If you don't have cable, they don't exist. Sharks used to be shown on 36 and KGO 7. What about a local Spanish language station? Would coverage/teaming bring in the hispanic crowd? Do we have a latino player who would draw the crowds to see them? Would Frank allow the team to really try and beat the latin teams when we go to Guatemala, Mexico, etc. instead of playing the reserve players and resting the stars? Or would placing the Quakes on Telemundo (owned by NBC) and using the SAP channel to cross televise the game in English just confuse the uninitiated? Broadcast television would not take on the Quakes unless 30,000 butts were in Spartan Stadium each match.
JM -- You misinterpret my wish. I don't think KNTV would broadcast home games, or even away games. But they could make it a point to report on the team, maybe have a highlight show, and do a bunch of co-marketing with the Quakes. If they were on top of things, they could have made lots of hay Sunday night, and could have done a series of reports up to the big playoff game, which is not going to be seen on local tv (as far as I know). But Raj would win a lot of loyal soccer fans. Another way to look at it: ALL the english-speaking stations split the Niners, Warriors, Raiders, Sharks, etc. NONE of the english speaking stations pay a crapper-worth of attention to soccer. If ONE station would make an alliance with the Quakes, and feature soccer more prominently, they would have a market segment all to themselves. Face it, people who want to watch NFL coverage can go to any station. More than likely, they're going to cable.
You've got it backwards, it's the affiliates that bump network shows. When I lived in Savannah GA, I always had to go to a sports bar to watch the Breeders Cup, because the NBC station there always had a college football game on, some sort of regional deal with Jefferson Pilot. And the Breeders Cup is an event that NBC invests a good amount of resources in promoting and broadcasting.
Keep in mind, Savannah, GA's station was an affilliate. Not an owned and operated station. When KNTV was an ABC affilliate, they would drop ABC programming to do other things to make money (like the Billy Graham Crusade). KGO in San Francisco would stay with the network, because they had to. KNTV being owned by the network will do the same.
Re: Stop the presses! Well, not on my (SF/Peninsula) copy. However, I did see this buried in the back of Section A: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/7225998.htm Not Quakes related, but it is kind of a weird coincidence this article appeared the day after el clásico. Even the stoic Germans can be moved to tears by the beautiful game, even nearly 50 years later.