After talking to the decision-makers in the Athletic Deparrtment I can suggest a few of reasons:
*** One reason is financial. I understand that two broadcasting companies submitted bids to carry the broadcasts. It used to be that radio stations paid athletics to carry the games and then the stations got to sell all the advertising and keep all the sales revenues. These days it's the opposite. ISU pays a station/s for the airtime required to carry the games and coaches shows, and athletics sells all media advertising regarding athletics and keeps all of the revenues. Riverbend apparently underbid the other company, asking for significantly less money for the broadcasts as its bidding competitor.
*** Another reason given me is that ISU loved the features offered by Riverbend, which offers the games not only on two FM frequencies and two AM frequencies, but that it will be promoting ISU and the broadcasts on all of its other stations (KEIR [which will carry the games]KLCE, Z103, K-Bear, and 105.5 The Hawk). This gives ISU Athletics access to populations of radio listeners that it has never had before, all over the Snake River Valley, both upper and lower.
***Another reason that became obvious after our first meeting last week at Riverbend is the high level of professionalism that will be applied to the ISU product. We walked into a conference room and sat down with NINE officials from Riverbend...management, on-air, production, engineering, sales, traffic, promotion...they were all in that room to pledge to do their best to make our broadcasts sound better than they ever have before. I may be the same schleppy broadcaster, but I'm confident that all other aspects of the broadcasts will probably be of the highest quality they've ever been, including the online streaming.
All I can ask you to do is tune in and see for yourself. I will do my best no matter what company has the contract. I will say this...over my past 8 years of announcing ISU games, I truly enjoyed working with the staff employees at both Pacific Empire and Idaho Wireless, LLC, the two different companies that owned KSEI and KMGI, where the games have been carried through those years. They all worked hard to make my job as easy as possible and I know they did their best, and my thanks go out to everyone involved with our broadcasts over the past 8 years.
GO BENGALS!
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