Quote Originally Posted by UtahsMrSports View Post
Bump!

Well, since this thread, there has been some shakeup in the local radio scene.

-Kevin Graham has left the market for the third time. Hopefully this time for good. His replacement is Tim Montemayor, who came to us from the Bay Area. I can honestly say that I gave this show a try. I came in open minded, to see if they would be interesting. To me, it was nice to bring in an outsider as other stations through the years have more or less recycled the same people. As open minded as I could be, I lasted 15 minutes with this show and had to change the channel. This is a less-clever, less-interesting, more juvenile version of "DJ and PK". It is the exact same shtick. They go for reaction more than quality analysis. I followed them both on twitter and that first fifteen minutes of the show was no fluke, they are out to troll.

As I said earlier in this thread, I really don't see them making it in the long term. As long as 1280 is affiliated with the Jazz and 700 is affiliated with the Utes and RSL, there really is no big team to affiliate with. The signal strength is about as weak as can be. I don't even think Jim Rome can save them as his ratings drop more each year.

-700 has dropped the dull as can be "SVP and Russilo" and now broadcasts Mike and Mike from 4-8, Dan Patrick from 8-11 (on a 1 hour delay) and then Colin Cowherd from 11-2. I asked them why they don't have any more local programming and was told that they have to air a certain number of ESPN programming each day. Basically, they have to choose between Dan Patrick and a local morning show and have stuck with Dan. Can't say I blame them.

-1280 has stayed consistent (more or less) since the merger almost two years ago. DJ and PK is what it is. I like Jake and Tony at times, although there are times when both of them are clueless. Scotty G is absolutely un-listenable to me as he rolls through cliche after cliche. Spence and Gordon have grown on me, but there producer, austin horton, constantly interjects some of the dumbest comments and it really takes away from their show.

I still do not see any compelling reason to switch the dial away from ESPN 700, unless it is a trolling day for Colin.

Thoughts?
Dan Patrick, as part of the Premiere Radio Networks, isn't mandated programming for any ESPN Radio affiliate, but Mike and Mike is. And I'm not sure you want to go local from 8-11. Also, Colin Cowherd is on a three-hour delay in SLC, as I get Colin right after Mike and Mike at 8 here in Twin Falls.

SLC is a very interesting dynamic for STR. It's really too small of a market for three such stations, and one of the big players in town (BYU) is unaffiliated with STR. Additionally, KSL ad rates on BYU sports are what you'd expect -- pretty doggone expensive and cost-prohibitive for a lot of small businesses. But stations like 1280 and 1320 can tap into that void, create BYU-friendly segments and pull enough advertisers to remain viable. Many here will not like what I'm saying here, but as long as there are three STR stations in SLC (and BYU athletics remain on a non-STR station), the driving force behind all of them will be to capture the BYU fan. Even 700 -- HOTRU -- knows this and has BYU figures on periodically, not to mention hiring a former BYU player to co-host their one local show.