Face for radio


Sports airwaves getting more crowded:
Hardcore makes its debut Sunday
Chris Zelkovich

Not that anybody was asking for it, but the sports radio talk show scene will get a little more crowded on Sunday.
That's the day Sirius Canada's Hardcore Sports Radio channel launches its day-long NFL show at 1 p.m. Not surprisingly, executive producer Richard Garner promises the show will be ``hard-core."
``It's going to be ESPN Game Day except more fun," says Garner, who will use fans as correspondents and will encourage them to speak like fans.
``If a guy says, `Vince Young just ran in a touchdown and that's f---ing excellent because I covered the spread and won my fantasy game,' that's great," he says. And because satellite isn't subject to federal regulations on language, the guy can indeed say something like that.
``To differentiate ourselves from the rest, we have to talk about sports the way real people talk about real sports," says Garner, adding that quality programming and not the occasional obscenity is what will sell.
Hardcore will launch more talk shows in January, also promising frank discussions, gambling information and stuff Garner says isn't being done on regular radio.
But will satellite radio sell and will sports programming mean dark days ahead for the likes of the FAN 590?
On the first count, satellite is already selling. Sirius has surpassed 200,000 paying Canadian customers and XM Canada has 91,000 with more and more auto manufacturers installing satellite radios on new cars.
``We expected 75,000 in the first year and blew past that," says XM Canada president Stephen Tapp.
``We expect to have 1 million subscribers by 2010."
Tapp believes in the power of sports, though he admits music is satellite's great hope right now.
``Our big opportunity is NHL exclusivity," he says, referring to a 10-year, $100 million (U.S.) deal to carry all NHL games after this season.
``We made a very calculated and smart investment in what we believe is going to be a major driver for subscribers."
That's why XM earlier launched a series of hockey-related talk shows on its Home Ice channel. Phil Esposito, Jim Tatti, Gary Green and Todd Lewis are among its hosts.
FAN 590 host Bob McCown bucks the trend in his business by saying satellite is more than a flash in the sky.
``I don't see it going away," he says. But McCown also doesn't see it as a serious threat to his livelihood. (He also doesn't see it as a potential employer because he's under contract into 2008 and will soon begin talks on extending that deal through the 2010 Olympics.)
``The way it's formatted right now, I don't see how you could deem it competition at all," he says. ``Most of sports radio is local and that's the challenge."
The satellite folks disagree.
``There are plenty of people who want to hear about the entire NHL," says XM sports and talk program director Joe Thistel. ``I don't think a hockey fan wants to listen to a hockey channel that's all about the Leafs."
I tend to agree with Tapp, who sees the two loving in different worlds.
``I think we're complementary," he says.
``Terrestrial radio does its thing and we do ours.
``There's a place for all of us."