While club management will not say that publicly, further proof of why the rights should stay on CHED came this week.

The latest Edmonton radio ratings - released on Monday - shows CHED second in the market with a 11.3 share. The TEAM 1260 - the only station that could potentially take the Eskimos rights from CHED when the contract expires at the end of the football season - is 15th in the market with a 1.6 share.

But when the ratings are broken down into the male 25- to 54-year-old demographic (the typical sports fan demo), CHED is still bringing in numbers that justify the rights staying put.

In the mornings, CHED has an 11.9 share in that demo, significantly higher than the TEAM's 4.2. In the afternoon drive (3-7 p.m. weekdays), the TEAM is doing very well, generating much higher numbers than CHED's combo of Bryan Hall's sportstalk show and afternoon news. Total Sports with Bob Stauffer has a 9.7 share, which is third in the market among men.

In comparison, CHED has a 5.2 share for eighth spot in the market in that male demo.

But at night, CHED rules the airwaves with sports fans.

Dan Tensor's Inside Sports - which is produced by Eskimos colour commentator Dave Campbell - has a huge 16.3 share for first spot.

The TEAM 1260 is countering with a 3.1 share in the 7 p.m. to midnight time slot, which is 10th among local stations.

So, while some fans are growing tired of Bryan Hall's play-by-play call of Eskimo games, CHED can provide a much wider audience to promote the team. Hall's future in the play-by-play booth after this year will be determined by CHED management with the Eskimos surely having a say in the decision.

Of course, the other factor besides listenership that comes into any rights negotiation is price. While nobody is publicly discussing what numbers might be bid, a source told Sun Media that the TEAM is apparently prepared to start getting involved in the rights game in this city on the Eskimos and Oilers front.

However, until the TEAM starts to put some money on the table, CHED is still the front-runner. And even if the Eskimos receive an attractive bid from the Team, logic would dictate it would have to be worth considerably more than any other competing offer to make the club walk away from CHED's massive listening audience.