Courtesy St. Louis Post Dispatch

(March 5, 2010) Questions are swirling again concerning the Cardinals' radio situation: Will they add the local FM sports-talk station, WXOS (101.1), to augment KTRS' coverage this year? And in the bigger picture, will former longtime home KMOX be their destination for 2011?

This will be the Cards' fifth season of an eight-year agreement with KTRS (550 AM), but the club has an option to move the broadcasts after this season. KMOX and WXOS are expected to be major players if the rights go on the market. Fans continue to loudly criticize the current set-up, with most complaints being about KTRS' signal.

Some grousing comes from listeners outside the reach of the team's radio network — people who used to rely on the powerhouse signal of KMOX (1120 AM), which at night can be heard in most of the U.S. east of the Rockies. But there also is grumbling inside the market, from people who are in pockets that KTRS or Metro East affiliate WSMI-FM (106.1 FM) doesn't cover — or are in buildings the signal doesn't penetrate.

Sources say WXOS management soon will make a pitch to simulcast games this season, with an eye to gaining the package by itself next year. WXOS general manager John Kijowski didn't want to go into specifics but reiterated the theme he has been expressing: "We remain very intent on doing everything we can to put our best foot forward to show the Cardinals that we'd be a great partner."

Cards executive Dan Farrell, who oversees the broadcasts, said the team is negotiating with KTRS about picking up the option.

"We've had some discussions with them. They've been productive and very creative," he said.

He would not say whether the "creative" aspect includes WXOS, but other sources have said it does.

Meanwhile, fans have been vocal. In a poll taken last summer on STLtoday.com, the Post-Dispatch web site, 78 percent of those answering said they want the broadcasts back on KMOX. WXOS received 18 percent and KTRS only 3 percent of the votes.

Although unscientific, the percentages are eye-opening. That's because the poll was done on a web site, and statistics say fewer people in KMOX's older age demographic are Internet-savvy compared to the younger audience of the other two stations. So, at least in theory, younger people were voting for KMOX at a high rate.

But Farrell said the current arrangement is a viable option.

"We've invested a lot of time and energy expanding the network," he said. "And KTRS has made a number of improvements to their signal" in the time it has had the Cards. "We do feel they are doing a good job reaching the vast majority of the market.

"I don't think we have a broken model here. We're doing well with ad sales. We get great support and coverage on the station."

blog comments powered by Disqus