Why Is Radio Shunning The Oakland A’s?

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You may recall last October when the Major League Baseball team took to Twitter to post a video aimed at Entercom’s 95.7 The Game, with radio equipment being wheeled out of the broadcast booth, and the tweet ‘It’s not us, it’s you.’ The A’s are still without a broadcast partner, which is quite unusual. The team made the playoffs last year and, for the most part, radio loves partnering with professional sports teams.

A’s President Dave Kaval told SF.Gate that he will have a radio partner when the teams starts the 2019 season. However, he also said, “Terrestrial radio is kind of dying and we need to look long-term at how you get in front of people with audio.” What he means by that is that the team is looking at several apps to carry the broadcasts.

After saying radio is dying, Kaval also admitted the team was looking into purchasing a station. “That’s a possibility. Those transactions take some time.” The A’s even kicked the tires at KGO in San Francisco.

In the end, Kaval believes the team will have a better radio partner than what they had. “Suffice it to say, we’ll have a terrestrial option that’s better than what we had. We didn’t feel we had a partner that was a good long-term fit or that was really promoting this amazing team and all we’re doing. That was something that was not working and we heard from fans who were frustrated. We needed to go another direction.”

It’ll be interesting to see of the A’s really do start the season with a radio partner, or become another Internet only audio team. Entercom’s radio’s biggest supporter of professional sports, by far, and that didn’t work out for some reason. Plus if radio’s dying why would the A’s be looking into buying a station?

6 COMMENTS

  1. I think leaving the station was a mistake until something better comes along. AT the same time, the lack of coverage and disrespect from the Morning Show, Mid morning hosts and Greg Papa was the final straw. They were openly hostile, patronizing and refused to talk about the A’s. They made themselves the Warriors station and also dropped the Raiders like a hot potato. Lately, it seems they are trying to woo the 49ers. I listen quite a bit and they seem to talk Warriors, 49ers and Giants. Very little coverage of the Raiders or Athletics. No matter what the A’s did, win, resign players, etc they ALWAYS paid more attention, respect and platitudes for for the cross bay teams. Was it a good idea to disrespect the station on the way out, probably not, but 957 earned it.

  2. If the Bay Area won’t support two teams, I’d bet someone would love to have the A’s. Nashville has wanted a team forever, and I feel confident they’d have a radio partner there or in many other markets who would welcome a MLB team with open arms. The Oakland teams, no matter how good they do are second class citizens in Bay Area sports..

  3. Maybe the problem isn’t radio, but team ownership. Read the comments of the team’s President. Not a way to attract partnerships.

    Because it’s not a problem with all of the other teams in MLB. Maybe the MLB itself should look into it.

  4. I am an A’s season ticket holder and frequent listener of A’s broadcasts. The decision to leave The Game was a disaster from the beginning and time has made it worse. I never thought The Game’s coverage was inadequate. The station talked about the team a lot and had regular A’s guests. By leaving that station, the A’s managed to make it so neither sports station in the area will talk about them. I recently heard an interview on The Game with JP Morosi, a national baseball writer. The whole interview was about the Giants. The A’s were not even mentioned. I don’t see how having the broadcasts on a non-sports station and/or streaming is better than being on a sports station.

    • The broadcasts were fine, even though the pre and post game shows were lacking. The rest of the day the station avoided talking about the team and some hosts were quite hostile towards the A’s..
      Greg Papa was especially good at the disrespect game..

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