With the Seahawks in a bye week, it offers lots of time for the Seattle TV stations to plan their playoff coverage for a minimum of one, max of two games at Lumen Field. The Super Bowl would be another matter. We shall see. Here's a snapshot to ponder.
KING is well positioned as usual and, as we know they have the inside track Seahawks partnership, but longtimers Paul Silvi and Chris Egan, along with Arielle Orsuto, will be on top of the story, plus lots of non-sports opportunities with Evening and New Day NW wide open for features and sidebars. Needless to say, The Fifth Quarter will offer its usual diet of post-game coverage with Silvi and Walter Jones. Michael Robinson, Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are on the pre-season games for KING, so that might offer another edge for star power. And get Matt Hasselbeck on a Zoom interview along the way.
FOX13 has really increased its staff, led by knowledgeable longtimer Aaron Levine. Add in Alyssa Charlston-Smith, Digital Producer (and sometime on-air) Curtis Crabtree, Ethan McReynolds and recent addition, Lauren Helmbreht. Chris Swanson, ex-KIRO sports producer, worked a lot of Mariners coverage and may have a role for football. They have used a former Hawks player as well for analysis. They have Washington Sports Wrap Nightly and Seattle Sports Live on weekends. In addition, the station's LIVE DESK concept will be another vehicle to offer live news conferences with coaches and players. May be a good advantage depending how it is used during middays against the other stations apps. Studio 13 Live may be a good vehicle as well, much like New Day NW on the competition. Fox 13 will likely have all of the Seahawks games to air so plenty of pre-game and post-game shows to air and sell! Lots to expect from these guys. One other note, 13 has a good relationship with KJR radio, so maybe some cross promotion opportunities there (Holmgren connection?).
KOMO only has Sports Director Niko Tamurian but Senior News Reporter Chris Daniels will be highly involved and the two of them also have the Inside the Arena podcast together. They would seem to need extra help, so maybe a freelancer could be in order. Who? Don't know but maybe Mike Ferreri would come back for quick help. More likely, they could try to hire some former players, like Bobby Wagner, since the Commanders season is history in DC. They need a star for showcasing. He would be outstanding. Or maybe Richard Sherman, because Amazon will not have any Hawks games. Go for it.
KIRO has no sports department, but I suspect Eric Thomas will get lots of work with his sports coverage experience. Jason Sloss has that background, too, so he can work both news and sports angles. I expect to see the main news anchors doing shows on Seahawks game days, much like they did during the Mariners playoff run. Could also partner with KIRO radio 710 and use Mike Salk, Brock Huard, Bob Stelton and Michael Bumpus.
Also, you will see flashy custom graphics, plenty of weather showcasing leading up to home games and all of the apps will be busy as well. It's a full court press, but hopefully anchors won't wear jerseys or caps on air. Wishful thinking.
That would be smart move for KIRO 7 to partner KIRO radio, which is a sports station. 30 years ago, they were not partners, they were one broadcasting company.
ReplyDeleteThat they were. Both TV and radio could benefit from getting back together under one roof and one common owner.
DeleteI think 7's Nick Allard does weather for KIRO radio
DeleteAgree with IDC but the question I would have is A. would Bonneville (KIRO Radio owner) be interested in buying the TV station back and if yes, B. would they want to spend the necessary money to beef up the station. And that second part I think is true for any company that buys them. It's obvious what the needs are - they need a sports department, I feel they need a fourth weatherperson (Ed Muir would be my choice there if he's not doing anything else currently) to serve as the chief fill-in, they probably also need one-two male anchors and overall additional reporting presence also. But at least for now, partnering with KIRO Radio would make a lot of sense to help in this coverage.
DeleteWell, Bonneville is making cuts at its TV flag in Salt Lake, so I doubt they want to dive back into TV and do a rebuild. But Cox/Apollo are probably sellers in some form, perhaps even piecemeal.
DeleteI wasn't thinking that Bonneville would necessarily buy KIRO-TV, but rather Cox or the company that eventually gets KIRO-TV when Cox finally decides who to sell its TV and radio stations to buying KIRO Radio. I wouldn't be opposed to Bonneville owning KIRO-TV again, but if they're cutting back at their Salt Lake City TV station, it doesn't sound like an expansion of TV properties is in the cards.
DeleteSolid analysis of where our local TV station sports departments currently stand in terms of resources, and what options they have to cover the Seahawks' playoff run. KING and Fox 13 look set to offer the most comprehensive coverage, but KOMO and KIRO both have opportunities to shine should they choose to take advantage of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the rundown. KIRO is clearly the Los. Vegas Raiders of local sports. As always. Long ago, the ND had a banner hanging that said “Own The Big Story” but the station has never invested in the way that allows it do so. If you’re not there for viewers on sports, politics or whatever day to day why would viewers come to you for the Super Bowl or election night or any big event? KING somehow has always done this despite many ownership and management changes while KIRO never has.
ReplyDeleteThe recent U Tube popularity among radio shows , could 710 Sports do their own live streaming show?
ReplyDeleteRich
I don't follow radio enough to know what 710 could or wants to do.
DeleteI don't think FOX 13 is what it once was with Michell Ludtka, Ian Furness and Dave Wyman on their pregame and postgame coverage. Solid talent, but not the same level as before. Wyman and Furness are especially missed as far as Seahawks go. KIRO was decent when Chris Francis was there. KING will reign supreme.
ReplyDeleteWyman fits in well on the radio color analysis
ReplyDelete