For those who are unaware (and, ashamedly, I was unaware until a couple of days ago), the San Francisco Giants Spanish-broadcast affiliate KTRB 860 AM was bought out a year ago, and as of July 1st, began broadcasting as a news channel, and not as ESPN Deportes San Francisco.
The radio station posted an update indicating they are working on finding a new station to broadcast on, but in the meantime, the San Francisco Giants are no longer available in Spanish. Not just on the radio, but also no longer online, either.
According to Andy Baggarly, the decision to stop the Spanish broadcasts was a station decision and not a team decision:
Station was sold and it was the station’s decision, not the team. But #sfgiants absolutely must make this a priority https://t.co/sWkseGEqXn
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 8, 2016
I know there are a lot of people who won’t get too up in arms about a minority part of the Giants fanbase, and that is a shame. The Giants have always been a leader in reaching out to their very diverse fanbase, and their connection with Latin America, as well as the strong base of Hispanic fans, are part of the reason this team is so great.
The Giants have had the Spanish broadcast on 860 since 2012, and had signed an extension with ESPN Deportes in the spring of 2015, which should have carried them through 2019.
Finding a radio station is not easy, especially in today’s market. Hell, increasingly it’s getting harder to find a radio for my bedroom that offers AM bands (due to the AM interference with smart phones, and how many people use their radio as a charging base). I’d love to see more stations switch to FM, such as KNBR. (My other main AM listen, KCBS 740, already has an FM simulcast.)
But, regardless of that, at least find our Spanish-speaking fans a streaming radio home. I’m sure advertising deals can be worked out in the interim, until ESPN Deportes finds a new home over the air. But please, Giants, find our fans, ALL of our fans, a place they can enjoy the team we love.
No one wants to miss an even year.
(Special thanks to former SFDugout.com teammate Chris Martinez with the translation on these!)
