WTLX and WTSO encouraged by reaction to new lineups

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: WTLX and WTSO encouraged by reaction to new lineups : Dennis Punzel, 77 Square | January 14, 2009 : --------------------------- : : In sports it's often said that the best trades are those that help both teams. Apparently, the same goes for sports talk radio. : At least that's the early take for both sides involved in Madison's great sports talk radio swap between WTSO-AM/1070 and WTLX-FM/100.5. Both sides say the initial reaction has been positive to the changes that sent ESPN's national programming from its longtime home at WTSO over to WTLX, a relatively small player in the local market. : "The response has been outstanding," said Tim Scott, station manager at WTSO and the driving force behind that station becoming the area's predominant source of sports radio. "People are going to be disappointed about things, but I expected the worst, and surprisingly, it's been far from that. It's been really, really positive." : While WTSO lost such ESPN stalwarts as "Mike and Mike in the Morning" featuring Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd and "Tirico and Van Pelt" staring Mike Tirico and Madison cult favorite Scott Van Pelt, the station welcomed back two of its old favorites, Jim Rome and Dan Patrick. : "One thing we found out in the last couple years is that we haven't been the same since Jim Rome and Dan Patrick left," said Scott. "It goes back to the fact that 1070 is more than just ESPN. I can't thank ESPN enough for letting us get to a certain point, but at the same time it's not about that. ... It's about great talk programming, getting a great combination of local and national talk show hosts and at the same time surrounding that with news and information about sports." : Scott said his goal since taking charge of WTSO 9 years ago was to make the station the sports equivalent of what sister station WIBA-AM/1310 is to local news. : "When a big story breaks, what do people in this city do?" he said. "They go to 1310. That's what our goal was with 1070 in sports. We're at that point now and our ratings back us up. We've worked extremely hard to get there." : While WTSO was ready to move on without ESPN, WTLX was more than happy become the new local home to the "Worldwide Leader in Sports." It's a big step up for the little underdog station, part of the 11-station Good Karma Broadcasting family based in Beaver Dam. : "We've had an absolute outpouring of congratulatory calls," said general manager Ken Rovak, who estimated that he received 100 calls in the first two days. "It's been a lot of fun to come to work every day. The support has been amazing from the community and the listeners." : That pool of listeners was greatly expanded on Jan. 1, when WTLX began sending its signal from a tower in Madison, rather than its previous tower in Columbus. : "People are excited about our programming," said Rovak, "and they're also excited that they can hear us now in places like Mount Horeb and areas to the west where we didn't reach before." : Rovak said he has been impressed with the attention his little station has received from ESPN. Among the perks that come with that affiliation will be a new Web site, which is still under construction. : "ESPN is building our Web site," said Rovak. "We will control the local content and it will combine local and national video and audio. It will look an awful lot like ESPN.com does now. The video capabilities are just unbelievable. You'll be able to see ESPN shows right on our site, which is not something they were doing previously in Madison or anywhere else in the country. : "We're not exactly New York or Chicago, but they've really been great with us. That's the thing about Madison. It's not the biggest city, but it's always been known as one of the best sports towns and it's great that the 'Worldwide Leader in Sports' recognizes that." : In addition to their national programming, each station maintains its local core of shows. For WTSO that includes "Heller and Murphy" (although co-host Owen Murphy has left the show and a permanent replacement has not been named); the new "Lucas and Lepay" morning show; "On Wisconsin" with Brian Posick and the stable of live broadcasts of Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and University of Wisconsin events that it shares with WIBA. : WTLX's daily local programs include "The World's Greatest Sports Talk Show" featuring Steve "The Homer" True and the "Badger Hour" with Lance Davis. Each station also has weekly prep programs and a mix of weekly features.

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