Thursday, April 3
Lawrence Business Magazine LLC
Lawrence Business Magazine LLC
2017 Third Quarter - Sports Impact

Radio and Sports

By on 48 Comments
The Enduring Bond of Radio and Sports

Listening to sports on the radio has long been and continues to be a favorite American pastime.

| 2017 Q3 | by Tim Robisch, General Manager KISS-FM, The Bull and KLWN New FM & 1320, photos by Steven Hertzog
Sports Radio

Hall of Famers and KU Radio Legends: Max Falkenstien and Bob Davis circa 1984 (photo courtesy Bob Davis)

Each of us has a special relationship with “our favorite teams” that we follow with endless devotion and passion. That relationship is not just passionately listening or watching that team, or buying tickets to see them play. Our primary team is the Jayhawks, and we know about the passion for them wherever they play. That passion extends to the Lions, Firebirds, Royals and Chiefs. The deep relationship with a fan and his or her team has a significant economic impact. Fans not only love to follow and support their favorite teams, they are attracted to anything related to them and will support advertisers who sponsor them.

The 1912 the radio broadcast of a boxing match became the first radio play-by-play broadcast of a sporting event and the sport-fan relationship moved beyond simply attending a live sporting event to bringing it to the audience wherever they lived. For Lawrence and the Jayhawk Nation, that deep connection started in the 1950s, when KLWN AM signed on and started to broadcast play-by-plays of KU athletic teams.

Sports Radio

Brian Hanni and David Lawrence calling the KU Football game from their radio booth in Memorial Stadium

Some wonder why there is such a deep relationship and connection between radio and sports. Why so many people follow their favorite teams on radio. Why so many fans listen to the games or events on the radio in the stands. It’s the connection exists the excitement and detail of every shot and play can be heard anywhere regardless of what the listener is doing. Only need a radio—no special equipment, subscriptions or “connections.”

Additionally, the ability for the spoken word to work like an artist with a brush, painting vivid, dynamic pictures demonstrating to the audience every move on the field or court, and the ability to tell that story has become an artform in its own right. We have many masters in our midst with “artists” like Max Falkenstien, Bob Davis and Brian Hanni behind the microphone—or should we say brush?

These connections and the passion of sports fans have a significant economic impact through advertising and marketing, but well beyond revenue generated for advertising and marketing programs. The ability to follow every play and support a team beyond a seat in the arena greatly expands the size of the fan base. An ad executive once said, “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.” Those sales can be fan gear, brands associated with a team and even local establishments that have benefitted from fans wanting to celebrate or share the experience of the game with a group.

The local sports scene has fans just as passionate as those of major college and professional teams. High school sports, for example football, and what is called “Friday Night Lights” has steadily grown. Beyond being a vehicle to support community teams and its participants, high school sports have significant value to student-athletes, families and fans in the community. KLWN AM-FM broadcasts nearly 100 games annually for Lawrence and Free State high schools.

Sports Radio

Libby Ross, Matt Llewellyn and Hank Booth call the football games for the Lawrence High Lions.

Earlier this year, a survey conducted by OfficeTeam, a national staffing service, found that 66% of workers found workplace morale improved when big sporting events were incorporated into the workplace. Another 21% said their productivity improved the day after a big event.

Whether it’s the Jayhawks going to the Final Four, a state championship title game or the Royals making another postseason run, the impact of sports is strong to us on a personal level, within our community and all across northwest Kansas.

Share.

Related Posts

48 Comments

  2. sextoy on

    sex nhật hiếp dâm trẻ em ấu dâm buôn bán vũ khí ma túy bán súng sextoy chơi đĩ sex bạo lực sex học đường tội phạm tình dục chơi les đĩ đực người mẫu bán dâm

  9. オンカジで借金地獄 on

    An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a colleague who had been conducting a little homework on this. And he in fact bought me lunch due to the fact that I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this matter here on your web page.

  10. best website on

    Hi! I simply wish to offer you a huge thumbs up for your excellent information you have got here on this post. I will be coming back to your website for more soon.

  13. BitStarz Casino Bonus Code on

    Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thanks, However I am having issues with your RSS. I don’t know why I am unable to join it. Is there anybody else getting identical RSS issues? Anyone who knows the answer will you kindly respond? Thanks!!

  25. best website on

    Aw, this was an extremely nice post. Spending some time and actual effort to generate a great article… but what can I say… I hesitate a lot and never seem to get nearly anything done.|

  28. seo company near me on

    I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They’re very convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are too short for novices. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.

  30. 늑대닷컴 on

    Your style is really unique in comparison to other folks I have read stuff from. Many thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I’ll just book mark this page.

  31. BitStarz Casino Bonus Code on

    You are so awesome! I don’t suppose I have read through a single thing like that before. So wonderful to find somebody with some unique thoughts on this topic. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This site is one thing that is required on the web, someone with a bit of originality!|

  33. my website on

    It’s really a great and helpful piece of information. I am happy that you shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.|

  35. this is my on

    Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast.|

  36. BitStarz Casino Bonus Code on

    Nice blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your design. With thanks|

  44. 今おすすめのオンラインカジノをチェック！ on

    Wonderful goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you’re just extremely fantastic. I actually like what you’ve acquired here, certainly like what you are saying and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it sensible. I can not wait to read much more from you. This is actually a great web site.|

  45. top website on

    Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely believe this site needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be returning to see more, thanks for the info!|

Leave A Reply