I think the local sports market is what it is as of right now. Only so much coverage you can do for just a college teams.
Down here in Nashville, local sports talk is thriving. 2 stations that both draw good ratings. With the Titans and Predators, it adds another element to keep people interested. Then there’s plenty of Vols, Vandy, MTSU, and Belmont coverage. The MLS team is on the way. The Sounds even get some decent support. Heck when the Grizzlies are good we have some support here for those guys.
Not to mention we’ve hosted NFL and NHL drafts and a Women’s final four. SEC basketball tournament draws well and there’s a big SEC market near the city.
It’s really hard to have enough good content for local coverage when it’s all about college. The Louisville coverage is great, but you can only max that market so much. The reason the UK stuff creeps into the market is because they’re trying to find another element of fans to tune in. There’s a decent segment of people who honestly don’t care that much about college sports.
Adding an NBA, NHL, MLB, etc. would be big for the city. Growing up in Louisville, we are a 10 times better sports town than Nashville, but they have so much more to consume and have drawn people like me down here to live.
I love UofL sports more than anyone, but 7 home football games and a large slate of cupcake basketball games mixed in with 3-4 big games a year just isn’t big for growth.
Having 2 stations discuss “UofL with the big matchup against Akron this weekend” and “we’re hoping to get this 3 star football commit” doesn’t give you much content.