BSU athletics fight down to three… sort of

The Boise Weekly’s Deana Darr has a fantastic piece on the race to land the radio rights to Boise State’s athletic events. I talked to Deana on background last week - and she did a great job chasing down all the players.

First, the headlines:

- Journal Broadcast Group did NOT bid on the rights
- Citadel GM Sandy Gamblin: “Certainly, it’s very important to maintain the rights”
- Tester Broadcast Group bid, and would put the games on KTMB/99.1 The Man.
- Peak Broadcasting submitted a bid, but declined to say where the games would go

Journal’s decision to not bid on the rights frankly isn’t a big surprise. They don’t really have a suitable station, and they have a lot of irons in the fire. If the radio rights and TV rights were tied together and Journal had both - that would be something - but the TV rights are not up until next year. Bob Rosenthal is clearly a big BSU backer, but JBG doesn’t seem to be focused on sports.

Citadel has the most to lose - and least to gain out of this. Sure, they’ll save a bundle if they don’t win the rights package, but all that ad revenue goes away. It also hurts KBOI, which has built its identity around BSU. Recent developments, like the rebranding (with less blue and orange) and the expnasion of afternoon news could be a hedge against losing the rights. KBOI also stands to lose Paul J. Schneider if they don’t keep the contract. After 35 years - Paul J. could either go to whomever grabs the rights - or retire. Paul J. is the best-known radio personality in this market, and KBOI doesn’t have an obvious successor. KBOI would also possibly face new competition. If KIDO/NewsRadio 580 pulls in the rights, it boosts them at KBOI’s success.

Peak is possibly the most-obvious second choice to many. The rights would boost KIDO instantly - and could have some benefit to KFXD. Why is Godwin declining to say what station he’d put the games on? This could signal that part of the package is a double pump with football games on both KIDO and an FM station. Of course, all four of Peak’s FM stations are female-oriented. As I’ve reported before, Peak CEO Todd Lawley told staffers last year that he would either get the rights for his group - or make Citadel pay dearly. I highly doubt he gave much thought to a third bidder.

Which brings us to Tester Broadcast. While Dave doesn’t own the stations - he’s a smart operator with the backing of an owner with pretty deep pockets. BSU might be turned off by the KTMB. The station has a very large signal pattern, but there are holes around Boise. Part of the plan may be to find ways to plug those gaps. I think everyone in this town just expects KBOI to take home the rights yet again. Perhaps. People think Peak is the number two choice. Don’t count out TB.

Frank Zang, Boise State spokesman, said the university is not forced to accept just any bid. The selection criteria will take into consideration things like the company’s history in the area, experience in sports broadcasting, creativity of proposal and opportunities for promotions, as well as financial terms and benefits.

Let’s break those things down, by bidder.

Company History
Peak - Brand new. Has established stations. Not locally owned.
Tester - New-ish (a rework of the FM Idaho group, same owners). Has new stations. Locally owned.
Citadel - Established. Established stations. Not locally owned.

Experience in sports broadcasting
Peak - As a company, none. Has some staff members with experience.
Tester - Some. Owns a sports station. Has a nightly sports show. Produced a slew of HS football games last fall
Citadel - Lots. Current BSU rightsholder. Paul J. on staff. Has a sports station.

Creativity of proposal
…we’ll see…

Opportunities for Promotion
Peak - Has a stable of stations with female appeal. Showed commitment to the school with efforts last fall. Tried to attach their brands to BSU without the actual rights - so I would expect this would only continue with the deal in hand.
Tester - Still a small group without a big ratings draw. Would probably have to look for partners and outside media
Citadel - They’d probably have to do better than what they currently offer, but they have experience

Financial Terms
Peak - Just spent a ton of money to just buy the stations - and has to keep them running.
Tester - FM Idaho’s Wendell Starke made a killing when he sold the stations and then bought them at the Horizon Broadcast Group fire sale. He’s been using that capital to add stations, build transmitters and acquire licenses.
Citadel - Just spent a fortune on ABC Radio. Pulled out of Spokane. Boise performs well, but paying up could be hard. The “rest” of the proposal may have to carry them.

I’ve teased the possibility that the school could take the rights in house. It’s still possible. Deana took the speculation around here and pitched it to Curt Apsey”: We’re considering everything and, at the end of the day, going a direction that’s best for all involved.”

Sounds cagey, doesn’t it?

By the way, I have a trick up my sleeve on this story - I should have more tomorrow.