Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 1, 1994 TAG: 9405010037
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Tour organizers had the option of making one station in the market the "official" outlet. The local organizers and Medalist Sports chose more extensive coverage on more than one station.
So, when the Tour rolls into Central and Southwest Virginia next weekend, Roanoke's WSLS (Channel 10) and Lynchburg's WSET (Channel 13) will carry live coverage of the nation's premier cycling event.
Roanoke's WDBJ (Channel 7), which had sought exclusivity to air the race in this market, failed in its bid.
That's news in itself. TV history in these parts says that when WDBJ has wanted something, it usually has gotten it. WSET is the "official" station of Stage 4. WSLS has that designation for Stages 5-6.
Medalist Sports of Richmond, the Tour organizer, worked with WSET last year when the race had a finish in Lynchburg for the first time. Steve Brunner, Medalist's vice president and marketing director, said the Lynchburg organizing committee "wanted a station to call its own, and WSET had done this before."
That meant WDBJ wasn't going to receive the exclusivity Brunner said it sought for stages in Lynchburg, Roanoke and Blacksburg. The choice between WSLS and WDBJ for the Roanoke time trial on May 9 was made based on the live air-time commitment Channel 10 made in its bid proposal.
WSLS will televise live the Roanoke time trial from 11 a.m. until its conclusion. The WDBJ bid was for a half-hour live show from the start at the Salem Civic Center, extended coverage during the noon newscast and either a one-hour show at the finish or five-minute cut-ins to CBS' soap-opera programming.
"Having the whole event on live, from start to finish, and allowing people throughout the Roanoke Valley to see it was the biggest factor in picking Channel 10," said Pete Lampman, director of public relations for Cycle Roanoke Valley Inc. "We felt like that made Channel 10's bid better."
Brunner said Medalist liked the WSLS bid because "live coverage is a large part of the element we're looking for. The local organizing committee, the local sponsors want the most air time available. . . . WSLS also came forward with a pretty creative bid. They were willing to do some extra things with the organizing committee."
That includes the half-hour Tour DuPont and Stage 5 preview shows WSLS will air today (11:30 a.m.) and May 8 at the same time. WDBJ was offering one preview show.
On May 10, for the Lynchburg-Blacksburg stage, Channel 10 will televise the start live, then do live updates every half-hour through the conclusion, which could occur during the 5 p.m. newscast. WSLS also will air nightly updates after the 11 p.m. newscast. Sportscaster Justin Ditmore will cover the race in WSLS newscasts from the start Wednesday in Wilmington, Del.
According to the WSLS and WDBJ bid proposals obtained by the Roanoke Times & World-News, Channel 7 offered extended coverage of out-of-town stages in its 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts, planned to have its Richmond bureau cover the Fredericksburg-Richmond stage and do live coverage of the Richmond-Lynchburg finish in a one-hour show, plus cover the Tour to its finish in North Carolina.
The Channel 10 bid offered "to give assistance to Cycle Roanoke Valley in contacts and leads for securing local sponsors" and do extensive coverage until the tour reaches the Virginia-North Carolina border.
It certainly didn't hurt WSLS that its news co-anchor, John Karlin, is an avid cyclist who had several contacts on the local organizing committee.
"WSLS offered more air time," Brunner said of the bids, which do not include a rights fee.
The WSLS bid proposal estimates the value of coverage and promotional support from the station to the Tour as $77,000.
The Medalist Sports executive and Cycle Roanoke Valley committee members realize WDBJ is unhappy. Channel 7 did not send news staff members or videographers to either of the last two local Tour news conferences.
"We certainly didn't want to offend WDBJ," Brunner said. "The decision was made based on the bids offered."
Mike Stevens, WDBJ's sports director, said Channel 7 hasn't covered the two news conferences "because we've had conflicts and they haven't been news. They're hype."
"We will cover the race as we did last year, with the exception of the 15-minute wrap-up shows [which WDBJ has dropped]," Stevens said. "We'll cover the Tour extensively in our newscasts. Our bureaus in Richmond, Lynchburg and New River will be involved, and we plan to do a lot of live things, too."
WSET's two-hour live coverage of Stage 4 on May 8 begins at 2:30 p.m., with Channel 13 sports director Dennis Carter as anchor and Medalist-affiliated Davis Phinney as the analyst.
At the Roanoke time trial on May 9, Medalist and WSLS will combine for seven-camera coverage. That coverage also is what viewers at the finish in downtown Roanoke will see on the 10- by 14-foot screen at the City Market.
Karlin will anchor for WSLS with Phinney. Sports director Greg Roberts will handle interviews, and weather forecaster Bill Meck, also a cyclist, will be doing color from the Wasena Bridge. Ditmore will work the descent from Mount Chestnut.
WDBJ will air Tour coverage from CBS in the network's "Eye on Sports" anthology shows on May 8 and 15. James Brown and Phil Liggett will do the commentary on the packaged segments.
ESPN will air a same-day, half-hour taped wrap-up of the Tour after each stage. The Richmond-Lynchburg stage will air at 6:30 p.m. May 8. The shows of the Roanoke and Lynchburg-Blacksburg stages won't air until 12:30 a.m., an hour that won't yield much viewership, except perhaps on the West Coast.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***