The 710 ESPN changes continue

With ad revenue declining due to the pandemic, 710 ESPN today announced the departure of John Clayton, Tom Wassell and Jim Moore. The three had been mainstays at the station since practically the start. Clayton, particularly, had been a big ‘get’ for the station in its infancy. These moves follow the departures of Lydia Cruz (and Jessamyn McIntyre to KCPQ) recently. Privately held Bonneville International, 710’s parent, is likely suffering in many of its markets, which are primarily in the western U.S.

Two of the departures are from shows which had three co-hosts, which is always tough to pull off successfully. Yet many sports radio stations continue to try it. Yet that’s one thing that distinguished 710 from KJR, which has not had any shows with three co-hosts recently.

The changes to the lineup aren’t sustainable, and are likely temporary until the station gets through the difficult ad environment. By adding two hours to the afternoon show, one on each end, listeners are guaranteed repeat content in the five hours. And Paul Gallant’s solo 10am hour is an odd fit before the midday show of Stacy and Jake starts, and ends, an hour earlier. This all comes a couple of weeks after 710 promoted their new Saturday schedule, which not only brought back Sports Saturday for a couple of hours, but also extended Clayton’s show to two hours.

These pandemic induced changes happen in the shadow of a fairly big story to come in local sports radio: the future home of the Seattle Kraken. We’re likely to know that outcome no later than the end of the spring, if the NHL is serious about getting the 2021-22 season back to its usual schedule. Though 710’s ratings have generally exceeded those of KJR, perhaps helped by being the flagship to the Seahawks and Mariners, that’s no guarantee of…ahem…reeling in the Kraken.

As the sports media industry struggles to endure the pandemic, 710 will juggle that reality while positioning itself to win the Kraken’s rights. There’s little doubt that this market is big enough for two sports radio stations. But no one ever said it’d be easy.