Oakland Athletics: Time for a return to radio

The Oakland Athletics currently are not being broadcast on radio. This should change in the wake of the coronavirus pause.

It is one of the best feelings in the world. A warm summer evening, a cold beer, and the sounds of a baseball game over the radio – the perfect way to relax after a long day at work or during the weekend. Even on the return drive home, listening to the game before tuning in on the television can be one of the great joys of the summer.

However, it is not one that Oakland Athletics fans will be able to enjoy. They have decided to do away with traditional radio for the 2020 season, with fans left to stream their contests instead. This is not only the first time in the history of the Oakland portion of the franchise that the A’s will not be on the radio, but also marks the team as the first to rely entirely on a streaming platform for their games.

One can certainly understand why the A’s are taking this direction. The games would be streamed through a free app controlled by the team. Any advertising revenue would go straight to the ballclub, and could potentially be worth more than the broadcasting rights given by the radio station.

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But that was the plan back in February. In the two months since, the world has changed, and changed dramatically. While the A’s had to expect that they would be beginning their quest to return to the playoffs and dethrone the Astros in the AL West, they are instead faced with an indefinite suspension of the 2020 season.

With that suspension, the A’s will have to rethink certain plans. An expanded roster would create more opportunities for players to get a look. If the season is shortened, innings limits would go out the window. Every game would count even more, making a particularly bad stretch fatal.

One of those plans should be to forgo having games broadcast on the radio. With social distancing, if the season starts up again, it will be important to have additional avenues for the fans to tune in. The free streaming app is a great idea, and may well be the future, but this is not the time to rely solely upon that platform.

The Oakland Athletics had intended to do away with radio broadcasts this year. However, it might be worth rethinking that idea.