Aug

Radio Deal Means End of Line for 850 The Buzz

Capital Broadcasting made a stunning announcement today that will shake up the sports radio market. In a complex deal, Capital Broadcasting will acquire 620 The Bull and most of the local talent at 850 The Buzz. Curtis Media will take the 850 signal and convert it to a music format (presumably either a Latin variant or Retiree Radio).

The move means the end of the line for the area leader in sports talk, 850 The Buzz. For me it began back on September 6, 1996, Hurricane Fran had devastated Raleigh, leaving hundreds of thousands without power for days. The next day we were scanning the dial for afternoon discussion about the hurricane damage, and landed on the old KIX signal, 850 am. I didn’t realize that they were doing talk radio at that point, but we couldn’t turn it off. In that era they had The Fabulous Sports Babe, Mark Jackson (sports), and some chick who talked about sex every night. Excellent grammarian Pat Mellon took the afternoon drive time for a while and talked about local issues, especially the struggle to land an NHL team and to get funding to complete the planned arena in West Raleigh.

By a couple of years later, under the direction of programming director Craig Schwalb, 850 had dedicated itself to sports talk and firmly cemented its presence as the local sports talk leader. While 620 had some mumbling curmudgeon each evening mocking the future of the Canes, 850 had a strong local lineup including Mike Solarte, Adam Gold, and Morgan Patrick.

I happened to be the big winner of 850’s trip to eat lunch in NYC with The Fabulous Sportsbabe contest. The station put us up in the Helmsley Park Central, gave us tickets to the BOS/NYR hockey game at The Garden (lame crowd), and tickets to see Saturday Night Live. It will go down as one of my favorite weekends, so 850 The Buzz will always hold a place in my heart.

As the sports talk format grew in America this decade, 850 faced new challengers. The race for the all-important 18-40 male market has been an interesting one. With a coveted place on the FM dial and lots of “capital” behind it, Capital Broadcasting buys a strong station and will reorganize its lineup.

99.9 FM carries the ESPN brand, and has a long-term contract with the radio network, so we are likely to see the national programming on that station staying put. The popular Jim Rome Show will likely shift over to 620 The Bull. According to someone close to the situation, local sports talk will fill the gaps on both stations in order to always bring a national/regional + local one-two punch.

In the end what we are really seeing is a shift of 850 The Buzz over to 620 The Bull, with a few exceptions. ACC expert Dave Glenn will take the 99.9 drive time slot, while it is likely that Mark Packer will be carried on 620 opposite.

Many, many questions remain to be answered, though. There is no word on what will happen to other local talent such as Morgan Patrick, Bomani Jones, Amnon Nissan, Scott Jackson, Mark Thomas, and Mike Maniscalco. Who will carry Imus In the Morning? What will happen to the Dan Patrick Show?

The transition date has not been set. In fact we don’t know that it will happen before year’s end. In the meantime, enjoy the “strong” signal on 850 the Buzz while you can, and enjoy some of these local talent people I mentioned…while you can.

8/11 Note: This bit of info comes from the TBJ story:

"In addition, Curtis Media is forming a new sports network, which will syndicate radio shows hosted by 850 The Buzz mainstay David Glenn and WPTF sports anchor Taylor Zarzour. Capitol has agreed to broadcast Zarzour on WDNC weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon, while Glenn’s program will air from noon to 3 p.m. on 99.9 The Fan."

Presumably the concept here is to take these two, especially Glenn, and syndicate them to smaller markets in the region. It is perfectly reasonable to see his show, for instance, being carried in markets like Wilmington, Greensboro, Fayetteville, and smaller towns. Perhaps, though, it would be interesting to people in Asheville, Richmond, and beyond given Glenn’s expertise of ACC issues.

10 Comments

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CarnifeX Said:
August 10th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Moreso than Bomani, Scott, Mark and Mike, I’m concerned for Tony Rigsbee the sports news guy. Maybe its just that I haven’t been inundated with his opinions and views as much as the other guys, but this guy’s sports knowledge blows me away every time he talks about any event for longer than the score.

This will be a big change on the local sports talk landscape. Probably a good move to get Dave Glenn on FM radio though. He is, in my humble estimation, the premier sports talk knowledge of all things ACC.
Justin Said:
August 10th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Ahh, Tony Rigsbee’s wife was my 6th grade social studies teacher. I too hope he ends up with a winning deal.
Bill Said:
August 11th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Capital Broadcasting is ruining radio around the Triabgle. I listened to The Bull once, it was aweful, will never listen to it again. Who will be talking about local sports?
Thank goodness I have been listening to 99.9 for my local sports, Mike Manascalco needs to jump to 99.9.
Tony Said:
August 11th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Other than Dan Patrick, “The Bull” is “Bull”. Mike Maniscalco should jump to 99.9. 620 The Bull, what a pathetic name.
ChampKind Said:
August 11th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Bill, Tony,

From your posts, it appears you know very little about either of the stations involved, and local sports radio in general.

“The Bull” has been on the air for three years, and carried 2, sometimes 3, local sports-based shows! Mike Maniscalco has been on 99.9 since its inception. Dan Patrick has never been on The Bull. Between the two of you, I see about 7 sentences…some are opinions, but most of which are full of patently incorrect data.
Doug Said:
August 11th, 2009 at 9:55 am
We attended a Bulls game this season and sat right in front of the press box. The familiar PA voice of the Durham Bulls is – you guessed it, Tony Rigsbee. Hope he stays on the local airwaves as well.
Lew Said:
August 12th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Rigsbee and Morgan Patrick were a great combination when they were on in the morning and Ovious (sp?) was on vacation. IMHO Glenn, Rigsbee and Morgan are really the only
on-air talent at 850. Though Steve Logan was by far the best thing EVER to hit local sports radio. Adam Gold … while extremely knowledgeable … should go back to NY (and I’m from NY). One of the most arrogant sounding people I have ever heard. At least in recent years he has laid off talking *baseball* 24/7/365.

Another thing I don’t understand is the fascination with Jim Rome. How you keep that on over Dan Patrick is beyond me.

Big fan of 99.9 – FM reception, local coverage of Canes and NC State is great and great mix of National and Local.
Subway Scoundrel Said:
August 13th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Listen to Joe Oveas (spelling) and Adam Gold. I like it although sometimes I have say no one digs that deep into basketball, but maybe they do. AG takes the alternate position but sometimes I want to say “shut up” but it keeps it interesting. I still listen and I think he is OK.

As a severe canes fan, I like it but I guess 99.9 has more canes coverage but in the morning is the only time when I listen to terestial radio.

They should stop tonight JT the brick which is the absolute worse.

Agree with Rigsbee. Although he could care less about hockey or the canes, he has a lot of knowledge, especially on baseball. I guess it is 620 in the morning if I can pick it up or I am going to 99.9. If it is piped in which I think it is,, I guess I will go back to NPR or just go whacky (for me) and just listen to a urban station for 20 years old or go completely espanol.

Why not ??
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Gay Gary Said:
March 30th, 2017 at 4:23 pm
Who was the black guy that did the news on 850 The Buzz back in the day, probably around 2005-2008 era.