Alan Pergament: Bills, Sabres leaving WGR-AM as flagship station to sell and produce own games
The Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres plan to leave WGR-AM as their flagship radio home at the start of next season for both professional sports teams.
The Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres plan to leave WGR-AM as their flagship radio home at the start of next season for both professional sports teams.
Pete Guelli, president of business operations for the Bills and Sabres, confirmed the plan for the teams to handle sales and production in-house with an affiliate network.
He didn’t rule out WGR remaining as an affiliate but said it could be any Buffalo station. He added that the Bills and Sabres could have different affiliate radio stations in the market.
“The economics of professional sports has changed dramatically, and we need a business model that reflects that and making sure the broadcasts
are accessible to fans of the Bills and Sabres,” said Pete Guelli, president of business operations for the teams. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
“The economics of professional sports has changed dramatically, and we need a business model that reflects that and making sure the broadcasts are accessible to fans of the Bills and Sabres,” Guelli said.
The Bills released a statement on Tuesday offering a few more details about the end of the team's 14-year broadcast partnership with WGR.
Beginning Monday, radio broadcasts of the weekday show "One Bills Live" that had been carried on WGR-AM 550 and on Rochester affiliate 950-AM The Fan will be streaming "exclusively" on Buffalobills.com and on the Bills' app, the statement read. "One Bills Live" will continue to be simulcast on MSG Western New York, according to the statement. The statement added that "One Bills Live" co-hosts Chris Brown and Steve Tasker will remain in their current roles.
The statement added that distributing Bills games in-house "will enable the Bills to expand their network of station affiliates across New York State, Southern Ontario, and additional regions throughout the country."
The Bills will work with media and marketing company Good Karma Brands to build out their content and distribution plan.
The statement released Tuesday said Good Karma is "a media and marketing company with expertise in leveraging the power of national and local sports."
Guelli, who was the chief business officer of the New York Giants before coming to Buffalo, said the planned Bills radio arrangement is similar to what was done with the Giants' games.
Similar details about the future of Sabres' games had yet to be announced late Tuesday afternoon.
According to sources, the news came at a sales meeting at WGR on Tuesday today that explained how the sports station will deal with the potential loss of the teams that drive their listenership.
In the meeting, the WGR sales team was told the station will shift from being the voice of the Bills to being the voice of the fan.
Audacy, which owns WGR, plans to simulcast the WGR sports format on another station it owns at 107.7 FM. There are also plans for WGR to add more Bills and Sabres coverage and to continue airing pregame and postgame coverage.
If WGR doesn’t become an affiliate, it would seemingly give its hosts even more freedom to speak their minds.
The rights to Buffalo Bandits games in the National Lacrosse League also may move to a different radio station, according to sources.