The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced the American Forces Network (AFN) will cease broadcasting play-by-play sports on radio later this summer. The DoD says the decision is based on a series of worldwide audience surveys which showed a preference to watch sports, rather than just listen to them. According to the DoD, the impact of live sports on overseas local affiliate radio schedules was also factored into the decision.
“AFN audiences prefer to watch the greater variety of sports on television rather than listen to them on the radio,” said Mr. Robert Matheson, director of broadcasting at the AFN Broadcast Center in Riverside, California. “When radio sports coverage comes on, most listeners tune out. Our mission is better served when the largest possible audience tunes in to non-sports programming and spends more time listening.”
As recently as 10 years ago, AFN radio play-by-play sports broadcasts were very popular. But since then, AFN television sports coverage has expanded exponentially. “More and more sports fans have been turning to AFN television for the greater variety of sports,” Matheson observed. “We used to air only one or two TV games a week. Now, since the introduction of AFN-sports and recently AFN-xtra, our multiple AFN television services carry nearly 80 events a week.”
Some motor sports programming will remain on AFN radio’s schedule in order to fulfill agreements already signed. ”We signed agreements with the Motor Racing Network and the Indy Racing League before reassessing our approach to radio sports,” Matheson said. ”We’ll honor those agreements.”
(Source: US Department of Defense/R. Netherlands-Media Weblog)
