What do Football and Radio have in common? More than meets the eye. Sweeper, hook, break… some of the terms that can be found both in football and broadcasting dictionaries.
Can the radio anouncer be your 13th player?
We all know the fans on the stadium are the “twelfth” player for every team, but what is the link between people at work, in their cars rushing home, or fans in general, outside the stadium or the gym? Radio. The majority of Americans still listen to AM/FM radio frequently, but 40% percent of them listen to the radio on digital devices, while interest in traditional radio is fading.
Valencia Club de Fútbol knows that their fans love radio. They began broadcasting on a new official radio station RADIO VCF, a service to Valencianistas, as the mail language is Valencian. They broadcast live twice a day, at 1 pm and 8 pm. This is a great way to get closer to their fans from all over the world, as they can listen to the radio via www.valenciacf.com, and pretty soon on mobile devices.
Big Apple returns to its radio roots after 30 years
The New York area will soon have two Major League Soccer clubs, as New York City Football Club joins the Red Bulls for their debut season. They will play at Yankee Stadium, but more importantly than this, their games will not only be carried on the local YES Network, but on WFAN Radio, for the first time in over 30 years! What led to this was the fact that the radio really expanded last summer during the World Cup, when people with audio on whatever device were engaged.
With all the drama involved in a football match, the radio will be an easy way to get closer to some new fans and establish even better relationship with the existing ones.
How does Croatia stand on this matter?
First ever radio calling in Croatia happened on May 17th in Zagreb, during a football match between Građanski and Hašk ( 4:2 ) The broadcasting was done from an open lodge, which created an acoustic atmosphere and was quite special. The announcer had only one microphone, the wind was blowing and there was a telephone down on the field.
At the moment, Croatia does not have a sports only radio station. Many of the stations don’t cover ANY sports as all. Not even in the news part of their program. Radio Cibona used to cover a lot of sports and had some of the top sports journalists in Europe. Today – none of that, just music and entertainment. There is barely any place on air for young athletes to tell their story.
Radio is not dead (ball)
People love listening to the radio, and on average in the US they spend 12 hours a week listening to music and news. Generation X (aged 35 to 49 years) spends 14 hours a week on average listening to broadcast radio, and Baby Boomers (aged 50 to 64 years) spend an average of 14.5 hours . Radio is reaching nine out of 10 people aged 12 years and up. In Croatia, in every moment, one of every five people is online, listening to the radio. They are literally one click away from interacting with you.
If a tree falls down in a forest, does it make a sound? If your team scores a goal, does it make a sound? Sure it does!
And that is why radio will never die. Because you can like or dislike music throughout the years, but love for your favorite team, and their success is – till death do us part. Lets not allow that death to be the silence from our radio. The microphone is a powerful weapon, and in the right hands it can be that fine line between an amateur and a professional. Sport has always been a huge part of our culture, and if we claim that it belongs in the newspaper and TV, why have we excluded it from the fastest media?
PHOTO: Valencia CF
