The Jacksonville Jaguars

[edjax]

The Jaguars are dropping their affiliation with radio station WOKV 690 AM and will sign a multiyear deal to have all their games broadcast on WJXL 1010 AM and WGNE 99.9 FM, a league source said.
An announcement could be made as early as Tuesday regarding the first change in radio coverage of Jaguars games since the team started play in 1995. The deal will be for three or four years beginning this fall.

In addition to a new radio partner, the Jaguars will have a new affiliation on the television side. WJXT TV-4 will replace WTEV TV-47 as the official TV station of the Jaguars, carrying all of the preseason games other than those contracted for a national network telecast.

While all of the parties involved with the radio change declined the Times-Union's request for a comment, a league source confirmed that the deal had been reached and would be made public within the next day or two.

WOKV is one of the stronger stations in the Jacksonville area. It is a 50,000-watt station in the daytime. The Jaguars' contract with WOKV expires at the end of this month. The team entertained bids the past several months, with WJXL making the strongest pitch for the radio package. The station had bid on the radio coverage in the past, but it did not have an FM affiliate at that time.

WJXL is a 50,000-watt station during the day, but it is a directional signal and does not have the vast coverage area of WOKV.

WGNE-FM is a 48,000-watt non-directional station, which enables it to send a stronger and more versatile signal than that of WJXL's AM or FM stations. The Jaguars' concern about losing the powerful signal of WOKV is one of the reasons WGNE-FM was signed to simulcast the games with WJXL AM and FM.

Several issues remain unresolved until a new deal is reached. The Jaguars produced three midweek radio shows last year, including the "Gus Bradley Show," all of which appeared on WOKV. The status of those shows remains in limbo. All would likely be carried by WJXL on both AM and FM stations if they are renewed. The station could also add several of its own Jaguars shows.

The broadcast team must be determined. Brian Sexton has been the Jaguars' play-by-play announcer for 19 seasons, having called all 392 games the Jaguars have played. Last season, he was joined by analysts Jeff Lageman and Tony Boselli and field reporter Brent Martineau. The station and the Jaguars will mutually agree on the broadcasters.

Awarding the TV rights to WJXT brings the station back into the Jaguars mix for the first time as an independent station.

In addition to the preseason games, WJXT will also carry an official Jaguars show on Monday nights and will be granted on-field and postgame locker room rights for exclusive access.

Bob Ellis, vice president and general manager at WJXT, also declined to comment on the story until the Jaguars make an official announcement.



This is the article by Jeff Elliot.

[copperfiend]

You won't hear me complain about either move.

CBS47 always seems like a poor quality product. In the past, when they have shown Jaguar preseason games they regularly spell a player's name incorrectly or put up the wrong picture. They've botched telecasts before. Their preseason games have become somewhat of a crapshoot. I like WJXT. I think they are a professional outfit. I am not a huge Kouvaris fan but I can tolerate him.

The move to 1010XL makes sense as I think they can devote more time to the team than WOKV could. 1010XL is almost all local programming and is very football heavy to begin with. As long as they don't mix in some of the station clowns like Lamm, Hacker, Prosser and Chadd Scott into Jaguar programming I will be ok with it.

[I-10east]

The move to 1010XL makes sense as I think they can devote more time to the team than WOKV could. 1010XL is almost all local programming and is very football heavy to begin with.

+1

Whether people like the varying 1010 personalities is a matter of opinion, but the most important thing is that 1010 XL is a sports station, and WOKV 690 never was. It was so weird and out of place having the Jaguars radio programming on a political station. I agree with Edjax that CBS did good job; Nothing against Channel 4 overall, but anything with Sam Kouvarvis at the sports helm is a downgrade IMO. Love the radio move; the TV station move, not so much.   

[KenFSU]

Just curious, as I've heard it a lot, what's the beef with Kouvaris?

[mandy6488]

I have mixed emotions about the TV move.. I thought it was really piss poor where it was, but...well, we'll see. I'm going to try and think positive.

The 1010XL, I'm really not a fan of this move because they have some horrible radio personalities..they have made many homophobic statements and ugh, just are annoying but I'll give it a chance.

I'm a season ticket holder anyway so it will only hurt when we're away..

[mandy6488]

Just curious, as I've heard it a lot, what's the beef with Kouvaris?

He thinks he's God's gift to sports while spouting off moronic commentary and sometimes not getting players names/info right. He's horrible.

[tufsu1]

^ he's far better than Dan Hicken

[copperfiend]

I have mixed emotions about the TV move.. I thought it was really piss poor where it was, but...well, we'll see. I'm going to try and think positive.

I think the TV product can only improve in terms of quality. CBS47 is terrible.

[I-10east]

^ he's far better than Dan Hicken

I'm not really big on Hicken but one thing that I can say, he sticks up for Jacksonville; Unlike the seemingly endless backstabbing Priscos' and Brunnells' of the world. 

[duvaldude08]

^ he's far better than Dan Hicken

I'm not really big on Hicken but one thing that I can say, he sticks up for Jacksonville; Unlike the seemingly endless backstabbing Priscos' and Brunnells' of the world.

Now now I-10. TISK TISK TISK LMAO 

[Wacca Pilatka]

I've seen Prisco defend Jacksonville and the fan base several times in national CBS Sports articles.  Did I miss something with backstabbing?

After 690, as the official Jaguars' station, invited people to discuss why they were now Patriots fans after the Patriots briefly signed He Who Shall Not Be Named, I was hoping they would lose their Jaguars affiliation for this reason.  Even if it is to an outlet with some irritating personalities.

[I-10east]

^^^For a very long time, Prisco has unrelentingly been on that "the Jags are going to eventually move to London" bandwagon. To this day, he is very obsessed with some team relocating to London. He said it many-a-time on his Sports radio 930 show that he was fired from. Prisco silently sorta backtracked with the 'Jags are Moving to London' talk, and switched it to the Bucs; On June 3, 2013 he wrote an article 'Why not the London Bucs, Don't Assume the Jags are Moving" on cbssports.com.

One time on the CBS Sports Network in 2013, he was talking on a panel about the Jags (I forgot the subject matter) then out of nowhere, he just had to say that the Jags are eventually moving to London; Even the national media panel thought switching to that subject was weird. I wish that I could find that video. It wouldn't surprise me if he says it again any day now. Here's the discreetly backtracking article on the Bucs below; Prior to then, everything was about the Jags being moved to London.

www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/pete-prisco/22357404/why-not-london-bucs-dont-assume-jaguars-are-moving

[pierre]

I don't recall Prisco pushing the Jags moving but I may have just missed it. He has been one of the biggest Jag defenders in the national media. I get the criticism under Weaver and Gene Smith. But with Khan and Caldwell, the team is moving in the right direction. But some of the national writers still act as if it's the same ol' Jaguars. Guys like Lacanfora and Breer. They are clowns.

[duvaldude08]

I don't recall Prisco pushing the Jags moving but I may have just missed it. He has been one of the biggest Jag defenders in the national media. I get the criticism under Weaver and Gene Smith. But with Khan and Caldwell, the team is moving in the right direction. But some of the national writers still act as if it's the same ol' Jaguars. Guys like Lacanfora and Breer. They are clowns.

I totally agree. You know actually the national media has silenced. For the first time in years, I rarely hear anything negative about the franchise, and the talk about our "attendance woes" seem to have taken a back seat. You can only sell the same story (lie *cough cough*) for so long before it gets old. They actually have turned to bashing the raiders now. LOL Now when it comes to the every day football fan, they still talk about us like a dog. Im still amazed at some of the comments people leave on those discussion boards. Talk about a breeding ground for ignorance.

[I-10east]

I listened to Pete Prisco religiously when he had his 930AM show. He was on that Jags moving to London bandwagon for a very long time; The latest being around 2013. If yall never heard him say it, there isn't any way that you all listened to his show on a regular basis. Here's an old bigcatcountry article back in 2009,

www.bigcatcountry.com/2009/2/6/751598/the-london-jaguars-pete-pr

Don't let that old article fool you (just because it was way in 2009), he said it consistently throughout the years later also. The reason why info is so scarce on what he said is because 930AM fired him, and the station basically fell off the face of the Earth, and cbssports.com & CBS Sports Network privatize their videos. When he said that crap on a CBS Sports Network panel (cable) in 2013 which was basically along the lines of..."People keep saying that the Jaguars are moving to LA, not so fast, look the other way over in London" I instantly wrote him off as anyone defending Jax. He said that quote SO MANY TIMES on 930 AM. He's not gonna say it now because he knows better with the stadium renovations etc; I still won't put it past him though. Him as a 'Jacksonville defender' has about as much credibility as Benedict Arnold. I used to like listening to this guy; I'm not just saying all of this for the fun of it...