Should Reds develop their own Sports network?

[ShaySongz]

Would you buy it? Look how the yankees took off with theirs, and the major dollars teams are spending on free agents. Reds should market their brand and negotiate with cable networks regionally to get that revenue for talent.

[Tuff Nut]

i get to watch most every game on a Fox Sports Net channel. I'm sure the Reds get a piece of that pie.

[Nathan]

Probably not going to happen. The Yankees are a much more profitable product compared to the Reds. They have more money to adjust if it tanked. Also, you'd have to look at the start up costs of said project, which could get rather expensive. They are better off outsourcing (FSN) that, and continuing on a successful relationship than they are starting something new.

[ShaySongz]

Reds don't have another baseball franchise within a two hundred mile radius..if they developed their own network exclusively showed their games and and everything about Reds related it could work..not everyone gets fox sports ohio outside cincinnati,if you marketed it right you could tap into indiana, kentucky, tennessee, west virginia, not to mention the reds fans they made in sarasota florida from having the training camp down there for so many years, and also the home states for their minor league affiliates.people follow reds more often than you think, just don't travel to games.

[bah1286]

I live in Kentucky about 70 miles out and get FS Cincinnati. Also have MLB network, so I miss very little about the reds. But still, if there was a network that was reds 24-7, I would be all over that.

[brad1176]

FSN Ohio covers a LOT of territory. I live 40 miles from the western border of Indiana and I get it. I know Indianapolis has it. From what I've read their coverage extends through parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Northwest Pennsylvania, the border communities of West Virginia, and extreme Southwest New York.

It would be very difficult for the Reds to start up their own network and cover all of this territory.

[ShaySongz]

well they need to at least offer the package to all their minor league affiliate home towns...You remember being a Braves fan when I was younger not only because they won but because they were on TBS everyday!! You want to make fans win or expand your coverage sometimes both.

[ShaySongz]

Reds 24/7 would include classic games, minor league games, all access behind the scenes footage..make it happen Reds

[Nathan]

Do you guys realize how much it costs to start a television station? I can guarantee that the Reds will never do this! It isn't economical. If it fails (which chances are it will, it's a niche market) then what? It wouldn't be a bad idea for die-hard Reds fans, but, are there enough to keep an exclusive Reds channel afloat? Probably not.

[joshua]

Won't happen. Reds are stuck in their FSO contract for quit awhile...2016 or 2018 if I recall correctly. Their better bet would be to convince Fox to allow syndication of their games on other networks outside of the FSO area. But I don't even know if MLB will allow that. Too bad we don't have a monstrous nationwide channel (like WGN or TBS) that would carry all of the games. But when it comes to local ratings, the Reds have nothing to worry about and fare much better than many other major league teams. The problem isn't getting people to watch on TV or listen on the radio, that's about nearly maxed out locally; the problem is that Cincinnati is a small market, and they have trouble getting people into the ballpark. Let me explain:

The one thing the Reds do have going for them is that they are very strong locally. Check out this link from October (http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/baseball%E2%80%99s-diamonds-which-major-league-teams-dominated-local-tv-ratings/) The Reds clock in at #5 among MLB teams in local ratings during the regular season. 7.2% of all local households were tuned into Reds games. The problem is that the Reds have an awful contract with Fox Sports right now and there's no way FSO is going to renegotiate anytime soon unless the Reds threaten to absolutely leave once the contract is up if they don't. Which isn't going to happen.

What's even more impressive is that that in 2010 (the most recent numbers I can find), Reds were ranked #1 in MLB when it comes to local radio ratings. During a Reds game, a monsterous 25% of all local radios are turned to 700 WLW. The next closest are Detroit (21%) and St. Louis (19%). And if you're not going by percentages but total listeners, the Reds rank 10th in MLB. Which isn't impressive until you consider it's one of the smallest markets but still has more people listening than many teams in big cities. And I know there's a ton of Marty bashing on here, but any of you that subscribe to MLB At Bat already know that the other play by play guys in the league are absolute crap in comparison. Marty and Brantley are super entertaining and part of the reason why is because they aren't afraid to rip the team or players when they deserve it. Listening to other teams broadcasts, you'd think the announcers have a gun to their head and they know the trigger is going to be pulled the second they criticize the team. I'm glad Marty is allowed to cut loose and call people out on their BS, especially when it's Cubs fans or Cardinals players :)

But anyways, back to the point: The point is that we can't just sit around and wait for this contract to come up and renegotiate to gain more cash for payroll. The radio deal with 700 is already maxed out...you seriously can't ask for much more when it comes to ratings.

Cincinnati is a baseball town, no doubt about it, the numbers on TV and radio show it. But the question is why isn't this translating to numbers at the gate? My theory is this: Although I was only in 2nd grade when the Nasty Boys dominated the majors, and it would be 7 or 8 years between the Big Red Machine and my birth, I've heard plenty of stories about Riverfront and how insane, rowdy and passionate the fans there were. And those fans still exist!

I think the Reds are going in the opposite direction they need to when it comes to trying to fill the stadium. If you want to fill the stadium and get the local community to be bonkers about Reds baseball again this is what you do: Everytime there's a game against a division rival at night, they should have a special...not just once, but EVERY NIGHT GAME AGAINST A DIVISION OPPONENT should have $2 Hudy Delight drafts and $1 John Morrell hot dogs. Not only are you giving an awesome deal, but you're supporting local businesses. If a few guys are getting off work and thinking about grabbing a drink, why go to the bar to watch the game and pay $3 for beer when you can go to the stadium, buy a ticket and drink for cheap during division games? I really think the fans would pour out for this, be pumped up about games against rivals and show up in force. This isn't a promotion for the kiddies, but a promotion to get the hard core blue collar baseball fans back in the stadium in full effect.

Another good promotion would be when we play against the Cards, Cubs, Piraters or Brewers. They could have a "Throw out the Trash" night, where if you bring a rival shirt or hat and throw it in a trash can at the ticket counter, you get 50% off certain seats...or maybe instead you could throw away a Cards shirt in exchange for some Reds memorabilia. They're already giving away free stuff at the gate all of the time, why not give the fans the pleasure of metaphorically slapping our hated foes in the face? Of course all the thrown out clothing could be donated to charity. Or better yet, burned in a giant bon fire in the parkinglot. All these snuggly fleece blankets, bobbleheads and other stuff are great for day games and weekend games when you're bringing your kids to the ballpark, but with all the college students in the area and blue collar beer swilling baseball fans in Cincinnati it's about time they start marketing towards them half of the time. Fireworks, bobbleheads and lame concerts aren't getting the job done.

[Moosie52]

Indianapolis here. We get 95 games a year on Fox Sports Indiana, an offshoot of FSO. I could get 145 games if I switched to DirecTv. No need for Reds Sports Network.

[joshua]

Also, the only way to really get a good increase in their TV numbers would be is if FSO itself expands or games somehow start being broadcast on over the air network TV locally. Either way, Reds are getting screwed on their current TV deal. Their numbers will see a HUGE jump when they step back up to the negotiating table in four or so years

[joshua]

There are two ways the Reds can increase their TV ratings in a notable manner: 1) Fox Sports Ohio expands 2) Games start being broadcasted regularly on over the air network TV in the tri-state area. Neither of those things are likely right now. The TV deal they have now sucks, because the team sucked when they signed it. The Reds are pretty massive right now as far as local ratings go, so when they go to strike another deal with Fox Sports Ohio, they should have other people interested and the cash they're raking in from it should increase...but you're still not going to get a huge haul. Reds have awesome ratings but are in one of the very smallest media markets in MLB. They need to focus on getting people in the gate! I've love to see rabid fans anxious to get into every home game and have constant sell outs like in places like Boston and St. Louis. It's really the only way we're going to be able to compete as far as payroll goes.

[Reds]

Anyone have hard numbers on what Sports Time Ohio nets the Indians that the Reds miss out on?

The power of Reds radio will be an issue as long as Brennamen occupys the booth, truth be told.

[Krawhitham]

Probably not going to happen. The Yankees are a much more profitable product compared to the Reds. They have more money to adjust if it tanked. Also, you'd have to look at the start up costs of said project, which could get rather expensive. They are better off outsourcing (FSN) that, and continuing on a successful relationship than they are starting something new.

They are only getting like 10 million a year from FSN. They need a better media deal if the are going to compete going forward

[Krawhitham]

Do you guys realize how much it costs to start a television station? I can guarantee that the Reds will never do this! It isn't economical. If it fails (which chances are it will, it's a niche market) then what? It wouldn't be a bad idea for die-hard Reds fans, but, are there enough to keep an exclusive Reds channel afloat? Probably not.

Not much at all, The world of cable TV has changed greatly over the last 10-20 years. The digital age is a wonderful thing.

The only hard part is getting cable companies to carry your station

list of channels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cable_and_satellite_televisi on_networks

[joshua]

SportsTime Ohio was started by the Dolan family, who also owns the Indians.

An interesting idea is Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio swapping games for each team. For example; FSO simulcasted one of the the Indians and Reds springtraining games via STO and later on STO did the same of a later game for FSO. If they can reach a similar agreement where FSO would broadcast Indians games after they already aired on STO and vice versa, both clubs could get more money from each network...although I'm not sure if it's even a possibility with the contract the Reds currently have with Fox Sports.

Some current Fox Sports deals

the Angels: 3 billion over 20 years (150 million/year)

The Rangers: 1.6 billion over 20 years (80 million/year)

The Tigers: 1 billion over 10 years (100 million/year)

The Indians gain about $25 million per year with STO that they put back into the clubs. The Brewers have a $12 million a year deal with Fox Sports. The Padres had a similar deal to the Reds at $14 million a year, but are working on a contract in the neighborhood of 75 million a year. The Reds make about $10 and isn't up until 2016...that's not even enough money to pay for Brandon Phillips' option this year. Think about that for a second.

The Reds could start their own network and after the original expense pays itself off, start making near to what the Indians are, or they can wait until their current deal expired and get a deal similar to the Padres. It's a no brainer, because by the time 2016 rolls around, these TV contracts are only going to go up. The Reds might actually be able to make in the neighborhood of 60-70 million if things go right. Until then nearly every MLB team is leaving us in the dust and it's going to be a ***** to catch back up.