from Boston Globe
The Red Sox are likely to move their games to radio station WRKO-AM after the 2006 season, after one of two main bidders for the broadcast rights said yesterday it would walk away from the negotiating table.
The owner of radio station WBOS-FM, Greater Media Inc., said it no longer will pursue a deal with the Red Sox. Greater Media had been the favorite to win the deal this week, but during several hours of meetings at Fenway Park in the owners' luxury suite Thursday, the two sides could not agree on final terms. Greater Media chief executive Peter Smyth and his lawyers ultimately left without signing. The breakdown in talks left the Red Sox's radio rights to Entercom Communications Corp., owner of WEEI-AM, Boston's dominant sports station, as well as WRKO.
In an interview, Smyth called his decision an ''economic issue."
''Would I have loved to have done it? Yes," he said. ''But I have a fiduciary obligation to the stockholders of Greater Media."
After negotiations with Greater Media fell apart, the Sox executives flew to Philadelphia and rekindled negotiations with Entercom. The Sox and Entercom were still negotiating late last night. Entercom all along has offered the team two stations: WEEI, which currently broadcasts Sox games, and WRKO. The Sox appeared to be headed to WRKO if the deal goes through. The current WEEI deal expires after this season, and the team has been taking bids from radio stations for a new deal.
The Red Sox and Entercom released a joint statement late last night. ''The Red Sox and Entercom engaged in productive discussions today regarding a radio contract. They are now in the process of clarifying issues."
The games would give a boost to WRKO, which has trailed WEEI in the ratings. WRKO already is the home of the Boston Celtics, and Jason Wolfe, the long-time program director at WEEI, recently expanded his responsibilities to include WRKO. In moving to WRKO, the Sox would benefit from a strong signal, and the team could separate itself from the sometimes acerbic commentary on WEEI.
The Sox's relationship with WEEI has been rocky at times: After general manager Theo Epstein's public split from the club in the offseason, the station's hosts and hordes of angry callers blamed Sox chief executive Larry Lucchino for Epstein's decision. Glenn Ordway, WEEI's afternoon host, was among the most vocal critics. When Lucchino ran into Ordway at a party at the Boston Harbor Hotel in December, the two exchanged words.
The prolonged talks over the radio deal have reinforced the Sox's reputation as tough negotiators. For months, the Sox shuttled between the two bidders, Entercom and Greater Media, who put in ever-increasing offers. The process dragged on, with both sides at times seeming optimistic that they would win. Greater Media wanted to let the Sox take an ownership stake in WBOS -- up to 25 percent -- and the two sides discussed putting sports programming on the air. Greater Media also offered the Sox the possibility of games on an FM station, which has better sound quality.
But Entercom came back with a strong campaign of its own. Chief executive David Field got involved. Entercom executives did not return phone calls yesterday.
When Greater Media walked away, it left a rich deal on the table: $140 million over 10 years, plus an $8 million signing bonus and the ownership stake, according to one account.
At that price, the deal would be the richest radio pact in Major League Baseball, surpassing the $13 million paid annually to the Atlanta Braves, and more than the New York Yankees' current $10 million deal, though that is expiring this year.
Around the country, radio stations are balking at pricey deals for sports play-by-play. The Chicago White Sox, despite winning the World Series last year, recently moved to a radio station that will pay the team $1 million less per year than its former deal, according to the Chicago Tribune.
In an internal memo, Phil Redo, a Greater Media executive, wrote, ''There are times when the best deal is no deal. This morning, Greater Media has decided to end our negotiations with the Red Sox. After many months of discussion, in the final analysis it simply was not in the best interest of the company and the effort and mission we have as a cluster."
Greater Media's decision to walk away from the Red Sox deal raises questions over the future format of WBOS. In yesterday's internal memo, Redo praised the station and said it will set a billing record for the month of May. Still, WBOS has the lowest ratings of Greater Media's Boston stations, according to Arbitron Inc. In an interview, Smyth also expressed strong support for the station, and said he is happy with it. ''I don't see anything today I'm going to do," he said.
Separately, even without the Red Sox, Smyth left the door open to converting one of Greater Media's stations to a sports format. ''I'm never going to say never to anything," he said. ''I believe the marketplace will tell me what the available opportunities are."