Topic: Marshall has been with IMG College/ISP for 2 decades

[HerdEcon]

I saw someone mention the IMG affiliation with Marshall in another post and thought it deserved its own thread.

Marshall has been affiliated with IMG (or its predecessor ISP) since at least 1998, prior to Hamrick.  The current contract with IMG expires in 2026.  Prior to IMG Marshall contracted with ISP.  ISP was bought by IMG. 

Other than scoreboards what has IMG done for Marshall since the last contract was signed in 2017? 

IMG oversees exclusive management of the Thundering Herd IMG Radio Network, in-venue signage and promotions, video board features, hospitality, game day displays, digital solutions, television coaches' shows and specials, publications, social media platforms and the right to grant use of Marshall Athletics marks and logos.

Radio coverage has taken an especially big hit.  Several years ago if you were traveling up I-79 north of Charleston you could listen to Herd games on the FM radio.  That is no longer the case.  Now radio coverage goes out before you drive out of Kanawha County on I-79. 

Marshall has no presence north of Charleston up the I-79 corridor which is the only part of our state that is growing.  Not a single FM radio station in Kanawha carries Marshall games and there is not a single radio station, AM or FM north of Charleston that carries the Herd games.  The only radio station that carries Herd games north of Charleston is 950 AM in Charleston.  Only 11 radio stations in WV carry Herd games:  3 in Huntington (FM & AM), 2 in Beckley (FM & AM), 1 in Charleston (AM only), 1 in Lewisburg (FM only), 2 in Logan (FM & AM), and 2 in Parkersburg (FM & AM).   

George Smalley has been the ISP and IMG associate manager or general manager responsible for IMGs Marshall properties since 2010.

[Flat Tire 2]

I don't know who owns the radio stations in WV. But if they could sell advertising for MU games and make money then I guess they would carry the games. Maybe MU will have to subsidize the games to get coverage?

[Flat Tire 2]

I believe IMG is now called Learfield. Check out the below link to find the colleges they represent. Everyone from Abilene Christian College to Ohio State, VA Tech; wvu and JMU.

https://www.learfield.com/schools/

[miltonherdfan]

I wonder if the fact they now control wvu media as well (recent development) has hurt our radio footprint?

[herdfan129]

Radio???

LMAO....I'm not worried about radio.

I do wish we could get back on local TV though.

[Flat Tire 2]

I wonder if the fact they now control wvu media as well (recent development) has hurt our radio footprint?

I think they have partnered with wvu since around 2015. I would think Learfield would promote MU to radio stations since it increases their revenue. I hate to say it, but wvu has more fans than MU around the WV and the state is losing population (less radio listeners).

I seem to remember when Lee Moon was the AD, he put together a nice radio network around the state. Some of the stations didn't carry all the broadcasts but I recall MU stations in Lewisburg; Martinsburg; Kingwood; Beckley and one small station in the northern panhandle pretty much covered the state.  We even had a station in Portsmouth, Ohio in that era.

[HoPPy785]

I believe they own Sidearm Sports, which develops our Herdzone app. I always have issues with the app stoping audio randomly while listening to games. Anyone else have that issue?

[miltonherdfan]

I believe they own Sidearm Sports, which develops our Herdzone app. I always have issues with the app stoping audio randomly while listening to games. Anyone else have that issue?

i always use 93.7's app, i've never had an issue with it

[yogiherd]

I wonder if the fact they now control wvu media as well (recent development) has hurt our radio footprint?

It looks like they really hurt our tv package since the Thundering Herd Network vanished.

[HoPPy785]

i always use 93.7's app, i've never had an issue with it

Good idea. Didn't think of that option. Thanks!

[coalherd]

There is a AM-FM station in the Bluefield-Princeton area that primarily has religious programing.  The do carry HERD games but the coverage is sort of hit and miss.  A very powerful FM station in Pikeville, KY, use to carry all HERD games.  It is one of several stations owned by East Kentucky Broadcasting, which easily covers a lot of eastern KY counties along with quite a few in WV, Boone, Logan, Lincoln, Mingo, Wyoming, Mercer, McDowell, etc., on down into SW Virginia.  Gave MU a lot of coverage and exposure in 3 States!  Unfortunately, a couple years ago, they switched the MU broadcasts onto a much smaller out station, power wise.  Now doubt if Herd games can be Herd much beyond adjacent Mingo County and Williamson!

Doubt very much if Mr. Smelly, Smalley, whomever, has even noticed the decline in Herd coverage.  IMG or whatever it is called has been lax, less than diligent in the duties it was supposed to be doing regarding promoting MU sports, especially beyond the Huntington area.  Obviously, this was quite alright with Mr. Hamwreck.  New AD and others in the school's administration want to know what the problems are with declining attendance, declining attendance, declining enrollment.  They can start with this aspect.  No coverage, no exposure, etc., leads pretty soon to "NO INTEREST"!  Recent leadership at MU has apparently been quite ok with MU being the "Invisible Man" in West Virginia's Higher Education.  The result is just what we're seeing in Sports attendance, enrollment dropping, etc.  "Out of sight, out of mind" still applies!

[MUther]

Radio???

LMAO....I'm not worried about radio.

I do wish we could get back on local TV though.

Radio is a huge part of the fan experience.  If I go to the game or watch it on TV, I still turn on the radio or get it on the internet to hear the postgame stats and commentary.  Listening to the pregame at a tailgate is also a big part of the experience.  A lot of people, especially elderly, who can't get to the game and can't find where it's aired, can't afford cable/satellite, or just don't know how to navigate facebook and don't want to pay for ESPN+, etc, just listen to it on the radio.  It's how they grew up following the sports. 

I recall being at my grandmother's house on the weekends when I was very young and if she wasn't at the game, then the radio was on blaring, and you did not talk to her during the broadcast, til the commercial break.  She did that till she died at age 95.  She and that radio are the reason I'm even a fan of Marshall sports.

[coalherd]

Radio is a huge part of the fan experience.  If I go to the game or watch it on TV, I still turn on the radio or get it on the internet to hear the postgame stats and commentary.  Listening to the pregame at a tailgate is also a big part of the experience.  A lot of people, especially elderly, who can't get to the game and can't find where it's aired, can't afford cable/satellite, or just don't know how to navigate facebook and don't want to pay for ESPN+, etc, just listen to it on the radio.  It's how they grew up following the sports. 

I recall being at my grandmother's house on the weekends when I was very young and if she wasn't at the game, then the radio was on blaring, and you did not talk to her during the broadcast, til the commercial break.  She did that till she died at age 95.  She and that radio are the reason I'm even a fan of Marshall sports.

Not to mention, MUther, that radio listeners are a large component of those traveling by road.  If there are 70,000 or so people in the stands at WVU and MU games on a fall Saturday, there are probably several times that amount of State residents out of our 1.8 million population who are DRIVING around our 55 counties at the SAME Time!  That's a lot of potential HERD fans, potential future HERD fans who could be developed into customers, students, fans who are being MISSED due to the fact that our Radio Network coverage area is so pathetic!!

If someone is driving around in their car WATCHING a HERD game somehow, I hope and pray that I am nowhere near them on the same highway!  :D

[goherd24]

George is a good guy, wrangled more money for Marshall out of my pockets than i initially wanted to spend. We are on the radio, not sure why anyone has trouble listening to the pre or post game.

[MUther]

There's no contention that we are on the radio here in Huntington.  The problem is our state and regional radio presence is shrinking.  Places where our games used to air are no longer being aired.  That loses a lot of fans statewide.  I do not, however, know if that is due to Marshall or just a general loss of radio customers and/or advertising.  I know a lot of people use XM instead of FM/AM these days, too. 

[svherd]

I wonder now if we would have been better doing everything in house - THN for TV, setting up our own radio network like we used to. Seems like we sold out soul to IMG/Learfield for two football scoreboards and one for baskteball but got MUCH less coverage on the radio and TV. Be interesting to see if any cost/benefit analysis has been done.

[Flat Tire 2]

If I remember correctly, THN TV was a victim of being in a conference that had a TV contract with ESPN? When we were in the SC, they didn't have a TV package. All the TV rights were controlled by the conference with the TV programmer. The conference took over the TV rights. I wish Dan was still alive, I could text or phone him to get the history.

[herdfan129]

I can listen to 93.7 radio broadcast from pretty much anywhere in the world. We have much bigger issues than worrying about coverage on an AM station in other parts of the state.

[Huffnagel]

With the technology changes and everyone with smart phones, more people including myself use apps for local radio stations versus changing the dial. This way they can focus on a few radio stations that get the most play and largest audience and not have to put as much effort into broadcasting the games.

[yogiherd]

I wonder now if we would have been better doing everything in house - THN for TV, setting up our own radio network like we used to. Seems like we sold out soul to IMG/Learfield for two football scoreboards and one for baskteball but got MUCH less coverage on the radio and TV. Be interesting to see if any cost/benefit analysis has been done.

I think after IMG took over they started raising the media rights on THN. I think  I read something about WSAZ's Gray saying the fee they wanted would for the rights was way overboard. He said the their advertisers  would not pay for that big of an raise and before you know it --THN is history.

[goherd24]

I can listen to 93.7 radio broadcast from pretty much anywhere in the world. We have much bigger issues than worrying about coverage on an AM station in other parts of the state.

Amen. This is equivalent to complaining that we don't produce our games on VHS everywhere.

Listening to us is an app or a website away for anyone that cares to find what they want. Not like families are gathering around the radio box and having more coverage for someone randomly turning the radio dial for the latest casual listening party is going to add fans for us.

[elginherd]

Amen. This is equivalent to complaining that we don't produce our games on VHS everywhere.

Listening to us is an app or a website away for anyone that cares to find what they want. Not like families are gathering around the radio box and having more coverage for someone randomly turning the radio dial for the latest casual listening party is going to add fans for us.

That's true.
However, internet is not available to all plus not everyone has large data limits on their phone plans.

[coalherd]

Now we have the same excuse makers coming up with lame excuses for IMG, etc.  Just like is done for Danny D's pathetic state of "Hillbilly Ball"!  Laughable.

[herdfan129]

I?d be pissed if our leadership was concentrating on radio with all the technology that?s out there today. As 24 said, that?s like saying we should film our games on VHS.

No one is randomly surfing AM stations looking for games to listen to. If they are listening to our game on the radio in the year 2022 then they are already fan. If they are already a fan willing to search and find the game to listen to then they can easily listen to it through the internet.