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Daniel Snyder Destroys DC's Sports Talk Radio

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Horatio

Horatio

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http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/447rdxhx.asp

Daniel Snyder Destroys D.C.'s Sportstalk Radio

The perils of local ownership.

by Jonathan V. Last

08/22/2008 12:00:00 AM

FORGET LIMBAUGH AND NPR: There is no higher form of radio than sports talk. I grew up in Philadelphia where I was spoiled by America's best such station, the all-local WIP. The station played an important part in my adult formation. As a young boy educated by Quakers, I was confused by the strange emotions I felt when Eagles running back Ricky Watters deliberately failed to catch a pass in a losing game rather than be tackled, asking "For who? For what?" WIP taught me how to hate.

When I was exiled to D.C. 12 years ago, it was the sports talk I missed most. Washington had only had one station to choose from, WTEM. It was no WIP, but it wasn't terrible. Owned by the national radio giant Clear Channel, WTEM at least offered mostly local programming, which is always better than the homogenized babble of nationally syndicated shows. No more. The billionaire owner of the Washington Redskins, Daniel Snyder, has now gobbled up WTEM along with every other sports broadcaster on the local radio dial. His franchise will undoubtedly get worshipful coverage, even as he continues to run it into the ground, but quality sports talk is now an endangered species in the nation's capital.

Snyder decided to get into the radio business in 2006. The local station which had previously held the broadcast rights to Redskins' games didn't want to renew the deal. Probably because Washington is a lousy, front-running sports town and the franchise had been mired in mediocrity for more than a decade. Snyder decided that since no one wanted to buy the rights, he would create his own radio network to broadcast the games.

Snyder's tenure as an NFL owner has been marked by a penchant for spending scads of money on dubious prospects with little return. His adventures in radio were of a piece. He paid a whopping $33 million to acquire three weak-signal stations in the D.C. area. He then established them as a network affiliated with ESPN Radio, airing mostly ESPN's brain-dead, nationally syndicated programming.

The ratings have been dismal. According to Arbitron the three stations combined to pull between a 0.5 and 1.0 percent share. It was about the same rating they garnered before Snyder bought them--when they were Spanish-language music channels.

So Snyder doubled down. Earlier this summer he bought WTEM (and two smaller stations) for $24.5 million. WTEM had been crushing Snyder's network in the ratings. Naturally, his first move was to replace much of WTEM's popular local programming with the unpopular, syndicated ESPN product he was airing on his failing network. That's one way to beat the competition, I suppose.

But for Snyder, there's a hidden bonus: His new monopoly will allow him to discourage the local talkers from criticizing him and his team. WTEM's star personality is a fellow named Steve Czaban, who hosted both the morning drive program (which was itself syndicated to other stations) and a local-only afternoon drive show. The Washington sports establishment is notoriously sycophantic toward the Redskins, in part a hangover from the Jack Kent Cooke/Joe Gibbs glory days of the 1980s and early '90s. But Czaban was one of the few guys with the sand to criticize Snyder and the Skins.

So Snyder's next big move was to axe Czaban's morning show. The decision made no business sense. Czaban's show was doing double the ratings among the key advertising demographic (men aged 25 to 54) as the ESPN show that replaced it (which Snyder had been running on his original network). But it did make a certain kind of sense when coupled with another change: Shortly after taking control of the station, Snyder had Czaban's afternoon show do a stint broadcasting from the mothership of Redskins Park, with a parade of Skins personnel as special guests. The resulting state-sponsored pageant played out like a scene from Animal Farm. And the message was clear: Criticize Snyder and the Skins at your own risk; management is watching.

All of which leaves D.C. without a single good sports talk station. It's a strange turn of events that has local ownership gutting the local programming. And the conflict-of-interest monopoly has created a stifling atmosphere where hosts have to tip-toe around the biggest subject in town.

As for me, I'll muddle through. I'm hoping to figure out how to pull in Czabe's morning show from AOL Radio's online service. Meanwhile, thanks to my iPhone, I can now listen to my beloved 610 WIP from anywhere in the country. Maybe I'll call in to let them know about Snyder's destruction of sports talk radio in Washington. That's the kind of hate they can get behind in Philly.

Jonathan V. Last is a staff writer at THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

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da#1skinsfan

da#1skinsfan

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Its funny because I was listening to 980 yesterday after the game and thought wow its nice to have a real DC sports talk station for a change. Riggo was doing his thing, sonny was bashing the skins, so I dont believe the above to be true. Snyder isnt trying to control the airwaves so that only positive things are said about the team (give me a break), hes trying to control the airwaves to generate advertising spend and utilizing the biggest name in sports (ESPN) to do so.

What I can say, rather than cowherd and these other national guys, id like to see all day every day local shows focused on the skins. I dont want to turn on 980 and hear some dudes in michigan talking about the brewers and A's matchup or something. I'd rather hear about Todd Yoder raising a family of yorkshire terriers than some other markets non-news...thats what sportscenter is for.

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poultry_geist66

poultry_geist66

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I don't know if I'm the only one experiencing this. It may just be that I own the only three cars that do this. But, the signal to his station SUCKS!!!

On my ride to work, I'm constantly teetering between the stations to get the one that cuts in and out the least. It's HORRIBLE in the Tysons Corner area.

Again...I could be the only one experiencing it...but it is a sh_tty mess as far as I know.

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Destructis

Destructis

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I feel as though Snyder has made mistakes with the Skins. I also feel that his mistakes were made with good intentions. He hasn't spared any expense to try to win. He is still learning, just as a great QB takes years to develop. I think he is going in the correct direction with the Skins right now. He didn't go for the splashy Head Coaching hire this time. He went for someone new and hungry. Zorn has potential as a head coach and like a QB will have to develop also.

As far as the radio stations, for every post you can make with a "worship" talk show, I can make two where the talk show hosts have been critical. It's not his private "spin" showcase.

I can be very critical of Snyders choices, but his motives are pure. If it was all about greed, then he wouldn't be giving the signing bonuses that he does. He would be signing no names cheaply and saying that he feels as though they have potential. I enjoyed Jack Kent Cooke's ownership more, but Snyder is an owner who keeps on trying. Give him that much.

I guess I should put on my flame resistant suit now.

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scruffylookin

scruffylookin

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I don't know which Washington DC this douchebag is living in but to suggest that our Washington DC is a "front running" town is beyond stupid........it's PHILLY stupid.

How the hell is DC a front running town when we have the most consecutive sellouts dating back to the mid 60's?

The Skins always get strong tv ratings.

So I ask Mr. Philly Moron, how is Washington DC a front running town?

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ttr77

ttr77

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I feel as though Snyder has made mistakes with the Skins. I also feel that his mistakes were made with good intentions. He hasn't spared any expense to try to win. He is still learning, just as a great QB takes years to develop. I think he is going in the correct direction with the Skins right now. He didn't go for the splashy Head Coaching hire this time. He went for someone new and hungry. Zorn has potential as a head coach and like a QB will have to develop also.

Just curious...did your eyes glaze over as you typed this?

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Rocky21

Rocky21

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everything Snyder touches withers and dies... Look at Six Flags.

How this man ever made the kind of money he did is beyond me. He's a moron.

Here's how Snyder made his money.

Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth News Release

April 25, 2001

Companies To Pay $3.1 Million To Settle Slamming Allegations

TALLAHASSEE -- A telecommunications company and its former marketing agent will pay $3.1 million to settle allegations that they switched consumers to the company's long-distance telephone services without permission, Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth announced today.

Verizon Select Services Inc., formerly known as GTE Communications Corp., Verizon Florida Inc., and Snyder Communications Inc., including Snyder Direct Services Inc. and Snyder Communications LP, agreed to the payments without admitting any wrongdoing.

The attorney general alleged that unauthorized long-distance provider switching, known commonly as "slamming," had been carried out by Snyder Communications on behalf of GTE/Verizon, as well as by the telecommunications company's own sales personnel.

"In the case of Snyder Communications, our investigation revealed thousands of instances in which the marketing agent's representatives forged customers' signatures to switch them to GTE long-distance," Butterworth said.

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Metskins

Metskins

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A guy from Philly talking about front running cities is truly ironic.

I do believe that Snyder purchasing WTEM signals the beginning of the end as far as a great radio station, but his points are way off. Snyder didn't have a choice in axeing Czaban if he wanted to air ESPNradio material. Czabe pretty much said that on his blog. When you purchase the syndication, you have to take Cowherd and M&M, I believe. That's why I just listen to the First Team on my laptop now.

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jimster

jimster

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Posted
everything Snyder touches withers and dies... Look at Six Flags.

How this man ever made the kind of money he did is beyond me. He's a moron.

Six Flags turn around won't be a quick one, and he had people telling him that going in. Entertainment stocks in general are first to get hit in a recession and get hit the hardest. - Starbucks is trading at half what is was this time a year ago, Chipolte more than that. Restaurant suppliers, theme parks, and most of all, casinos are getting killed right now.

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ouvan59

ouvan59

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Am I missing something but it sure sounds like WTEM has been critical of the Skins plenty? One thing I'm certain this does is it keeps guys like Czaben from making up malicious, unfounded rumors like the only reason Joe Gibbs came back is because he needed the money. I just wish he would buy the Post.

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Larry Brown #43

Larry Brown #43

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His franchise will undoubtedly get worshipful coverage.

Ha! That's pretty funny...I guess this guy hasn't listed to the station at all since the acquisition.

But Czaban was one of the few guys with the sand to criticize Snyder and the Skins.

One of the FEW? HUH???? Czabe, Pollin, B-Mitch, Koken, Doc Walker, etc...all still employed at the station.

So Snyder's next big move was to axe Czaban's morning show. The decision made no business sense. Czaban's show was doing double the ratings among the key advertising demographic (men aged 25 to 54) as the ESPN show that replaced it (which Snyder had been running on his original network).

It was doing double the ratings because Snyder's old stations HAD NO SIGNAL. Duh! Apples and oranges, d-bag.

And if this idiot had done his homework, he'd know that part of having an ESPN Radio affiliate means you have to have Mike & Mike in the morning as your morning drive show, like it or not. You can't have an ESPN Radio affiliate and have Fox Sports programming in the morning drive slot. Did this guy do any research before writing this? And if Snyder wanted Czaban gone, he could fire him tomorrow from the afternoon show if he wanted to. If he wanted Czaban off the air, why hasn't Czabe gotten his pink slip yet?

All of which leaves D.C. without a single good sports talk station.

And this is different from before how??

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jbooma

jbooma

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I am torn on this whole 980 thing. Don't get me wrong I am happy that the skisn are on a good station. Danny did just tell everyone that helped him make XXX to go F yourself (Riggo). It would be nice to hear other shows like the Mike Tirico show.

This morning I noticed the old AM station is now spanish :D:D

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sly

sly

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Danny did just tell everyone that helped him make XXX to go F yourself (Riggo).

Actually, only a couple guys from TripleX were let go.

Riggins is still very much a Red Zebra employee. He's part of the Monday Morning Quarterback show (7a-9a) on 980, and you'll hear him on the Postgame Report following Skins games. There are other things in the works, too.

It would be nice to hear other shows like the Mike Tirico show.

We stream it on our website. :)

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