Snyder Is Getting Radio Active

Zier and Snyder say that shouldn't be a problem. Combined, they say the three stations reach farther and with better reception than WJFK. "We're going to be a vast improvement over sports radio in the Washington area now," Snyder said.

The comment is as much a shot at the Redskins' old station as the station that Triple X will compete against most directly, WTEM. "SportsTalk 980," as the station is known, is one Zier knows intimately: He oversaw its founding in the early 1990s, and was its top executive before being lured to Snyder's venture earlier this year.

Since then, Zier has raided the station for talent and programming. He snatched the ESPN shows and made a string of hires from WTEM, including program director Tod Castleberry and on-air reporter Bram Weinstein. The moves weakened WTEM, which was already reeling from the loss of one of its biggest draws, Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser, who left to become a color commentator for ESPN's "Monday Night Football."

The ESPN programs -- including "Mike & Mike in the Morning" and "SportsCenter" host Dan Patrick's show in the afternoon -- form the bulk of what listeners will hear. This, too, could prove problematic. Sports radio thrives on local sports talk, with hometown teams and personalities in the crosshairs of the call-ins and opinion-slinging. But outside of Riggins's program from 3 to 7 p.m. and an hour-long Redskins show at noon, the stations will be carrying nationally syndicated fare. As a result, local listeners seeking the latest on the Redskins are likely to find themselves tuning in to discussions of the Dodgers' pitching woes or the Indianapolis Colts' rookie prospects.

The two competitors will be fighting over a relatively small audience -- essentially, the adult men who are the most faithful sports-talk fans. WTEM captured an average of just 2 percent of the radio audience during the most recent three-month segment tracked by Arbitron Inc. -- and that was with the field all to itself. The station was the 15th most popular in the area, ranking just ahead of Spanish-language pop music on WLZL (99.1 FM) and classic rock on WARW (94.7 FM).

WTEM generated $7.7 million in revenue last year, which put it in 20th place among local stations, according to BIA. Sources close to the station put the number higher, around $10 million. By contrast, WTOP, the area's highest-grossing station, had estimated sales of $41 million last year, BIA said. (The Washington Post supplies radio programming to a station owned by WTOP's owner, Bonneville International Corp.)

For Redskins game broadcasts, Snyder is keeping the popular team of Sonny Jurgensen, Sam Huff and Larry Michael. In addition to the Riggins show, other current and former Redskins players, coaches, owners, cheerleaders and other members of the Redskins family are likely to be part of the programming, all almost certainly pushing Snyder's message.

"What you are able to do is control the message, not just during the game but in shoulder programming in days between the games where many fans keep the radio station on their radio dial and listen between the games," said Marc S. Ganis, president of the Chicago-based firm SportsCorp Ltd. and a consultant who follows the NFL closely.

This raises an obvious question: Can a radio station owned by a team be a fair critic of its owner, its team and the league?

"Talking Redskins works in sports talk every month of the year, but being a team-owned radio station prohibits you from being unbiased no mater what you may hear," said Dave Pugh, who replaced Zier as regional manager of the Clear Channel stations, including WTEM. "We've gotten calls from Redskins management regularly because of not only the fans speaking their minds but our [broadcasters'] perception and opinion as well."

Last year, for example, the Redskins demanded that WTEM change the hosts of its weekly chat with Coach Joe Gibbs after objecting to the tough questioning of former hosts Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin. The station complied, subbing in Weinstein.

Zier insists, however, that no holds will be barred, and that he is his own man, bolstered by an ownership stake in Red Zebra. He said he will have final say over the stations' content.

Riggins, who has often been a tough critic of the Redskins since retiring from the team 21 years ago, doesn't seem to be holding back. Is Snyder, his new boss, thin-skinned, he was asked during an early-morning interview at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown last week.

Riggins considered the question for a moment: "He's like tissue paper. He's a very sensitive guy. He reacts to things." But, he allowed, Snyder may also be misunderstood. "He made a lot of things happen at an early age," Riggins said. "If I had done many of the things he'd done, I would have been very confused."