ISU, DLC Media agree to three-year broadcast deal
Jul. 30—Indiana State's athletic department has been trying to find the right local broadcast partner and local radio fit for many years. It appears that the stars have finally aligned for the Sycamores.
On Thursday, ISU announced that it has signed a three-year deal with DLC Media to broadcast football, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball games on locally-owned, over-the-air radio stations.
The partnership is the most significant and broad-based local media rights deal that ISU has entered into with a partner in at least a decade. Games in the aforementioned sports will be broadcast on WZJK, 105.5-FM on the dial and branded by DLC Media as Jack FM.
"It's really big for us. There's a contingency of people here in Terre Haute that listen to the radio significantly. This certainly affords them the chance to hear our sports on the radio and that gets me excited," Clinkscales said. "Dave is awesome and I like his excitement and exuberance for ISU sports," ISU Director of Athletics Sherard Clinkscales said.
Clinkscales said there's a monetary investment in the three-year deal ISU had to commit to. Clinkscales declined to provide specific numbers, but said "it was worth it" to invest money in the deal and it "will yield plenty of dividends for us in the next three years."
According to Clinkscales and President and General Manager of DLC Media Dave Crooks, the genesis of the deal came about because ISU wanted to have a stronger local media deal than it had under the previous rights holder, Midwest Communications.
"I got a phone call from Luke Martin [ISU digital media coordinator, who has a background in radio] wanting to know if I'd have any interest in competing for the sports contract at ISU," Crooks told the Tribune-Star.
"After asking some questions, it came to my attention that they weren't that happy with their current partner. Once we figured out they were looking for a more aggressive partner and a better signal to put their games on, we found some common ground and agreed to the plan."
Clinkscales admitted he's no broadcast rights expert, but said he knew a good deal when he saw one.
"Luke [Martin] had said there was a possibility. The conversation began with Luke and Dave. They brought it to me. We compared it to what we had before and what we'd have now. The sheer marketing of our sports and the excitement of wanting to get Sycamore athletics out there was outstanding. It was a no-brainer us. It made a lot of sense," Clinkscales said.
In addition to the games, coaches' shows will be broadcast on 105.5-FM as well as a new weekday feature called Sycamore Sports Today, a 90-second spot produced by Martin for DLC Media. Crooks also said the pre-game and post-game coverage would be more extensive.
"You'll see us be a lot more aggressive with the partnership. I can see a lot more promotion to try to put fans in the stands, giving away tickets and things like that. It's a win-win for both ISU and our radio company," Crooks said.
The benefits of more games on the radio are obvious from ISU's point of view, but what did DLC Media like about the deal?
"I think it elevates our presence in Terre Haute. I'm a big believer in sports on the radio and Terre Haute has been a bit weak when it comes to sports on the radio. The 10 radio stations that are here lean more musically with their formats than they do with sports. My company has been different by giving people those options of having games on the radio," Crooks said.
"When you think about ISU overall, it's Division I with 12,000-plus students and it's kind of got the pulse of the heart of Terre Haute going on everyday. For fans to be able to have a way to pick up these games — it will have a signal and more total coverage — I think for us to partner gives my station and sister stations more visibility. We're excited about it," Crooks added.
DLC Media will control 80% of the commercial inventory, but ISU's own internal marketing deals will be cleared on the broadcasts. DLC Media will also move its Indiana University broadcasts to accommodate it's ISU deal. The Hoosiers will be broadcast on WFNB, 92.5-FM, branded as The Rock by DLC Media.
Crooks said he's already entered into a few agreements with local businesses on partnerships and seeks more. He also would not rule out created a network of interested stations and might extend ISU's broadcasts into the Vincennes market.
"I hope local businesses that want to step up and partner with us and ISU will let us know before the first football game. Hopefully, this will be a long-lasting partnership.
One enticing part of the deal for ISU is that women's basketball and baseball get more of a consistent spot on the radio dial for fans to listen to games on.
"[ISU baseball coach] Mitch Hannahs has done an outstanding job and is the model of consistency and there's also a significant following for women's basketball. This is strong for those who support both men's and women's basketball," Clinkscales said.
Football and men's basketball had been broadcast on the WIBQ family of local stations, owned by Wisconsin-based Midwest Communications, since 2012. Women's basketball and baseball were also broadcast on various area Midwest Communications stations, though not every game.