Jane Goldstrom, media director for MGH, an advertising and marketing agency in Owings Mills, points to another tier of Baltimore media that thrives with the return of the Ravens: pre- and post-game shows on radio and TV outlets other than WJZ.
"Something like the Ravens, a highly rated program, is very desirable, but it's pricey," she says. "There are, though, ways of buying around the games, post- or pre-game or radio. So you get some of the excitement and you get some of the exposure. It's a way to be affiliated with the Ravens but not spend the huge dollars."
Along with the cable channel MASN, several radio stations have pre- or post-game shows.
The CBS-owned sports-talk station 105.7 The Fan is one of the venues that offers a variety of Ravens-related shows throughout the week and on Sundays.
"In essence, the whole premise of the radio station, The Fan, is to be all about what's going on in the world of sports," says Robert Philips, senior vice president for CBS Radio in Baltimore. "And obviously, that means being current on everything with the Ravens."
Baltimore's two Hearst-owned stations, WBAL-AM and 98Rock-FM, are a bedrock of Ravens on the radio - with WBAL carrying the games as well as post-and pre-game shows.
Each station offers its own live pre- and post-game show tailored to the "lifestyle of the audiences," according to WBAL general manager Ed Kiernan, who, like WJZ-TV's Newman, reports strong ad sales for Ravens-related programming.
Though the Ravens are lifting many media partners on a tide of rising sales, even team officials privately wondered earlier in the year how the brand was going to be affected by the recession.
"Absolutely, we had concerns about having a harder time this year because of the economy," says Mark Burdett, senior vice president of business ventures for the Ravens. He is the executive through whom all TV, radio and Internet partnerships with the Ravens are made.
"To say we're pleasantly surprised might be an understatement," he adds. "What we're seeing is that the brand is strong and people believe in it. It turns people's attention, and we hopefully translate that to people's advertising campaigns, to stations' news audiences and to radio shows and print publications."
In these troubled times, Burdett and others believe the Ravens offer a jolt of optimism - and even joy to the city and state.
"It comes down to the experience and the sense of community," he says. "Where else would you hug a complete stranger because of a touchdown? The Ravens experience helps define a community. It gives them hope. It gives them a chance to forget the problems of their lives, and really celebrate on a weekend and have some fun."
In the stands, or in front of a radio or TV.
Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Vozzella contributed to this article.
TV ratings by city
Here's a comparison of ratings for top AFC cities during the 2008-09 season. Each ratings point equals 1 percent of area homes with TVs:
KDKA: Pittsburgh Steelers: 43.4 Rtg
KCNC: Denver Broncos: 31.3 Rtg
WBZ: New England Patriots: 28.7 Rtg
WJZ: Baltimore Ravens: 26.2 Rtg
WFOR: Miami Dolphins: 20.3 Rtg
WCBS: New York Jets: 14.2 Rtg
Source: CBS television
