Clock runs out on "38 Sports Spot"

Well, you hate to see this, because it's so rare that a television program originates from a local TV station that does not have the following:

1. Two pretty anchors

2. telling you "we have breaking news!"

3. usually involving stuff they heard on the scanner

4. and weather every six minutes.

"38 Sports Spot" had none of those -- right down to its down-to-earth, buzz-cut-sporting anchor, Jack Harry. And yet, it lasted five years, an eternity in local TV, as the nation's only prime-time broadcast television sports show.

And now, it's all over.

This summer, when "38 Sports Spot" marked five years on the air, the publication of the Radio-TV News Directors Association marked the achievement with a feature story.

"It's been probably one of the most unique branding elements on television," KSHB-KMCI general manager Craig Allison told me late today. "The guys did a great job with it. They get the reward for creativity and resourcefulness. But the bottom line is the economic realities of our business dictate this move."

"The guys" -- two employees assigned to the program -- have been offered other positions in the KSHB newsroom, Allison said.

"38 Sports Spot" eked out a respectable 1.0 Nielsen rating on average in its 7 p.m. time slot on KMCI, and was one of the higher-rated programs on the station, which is not affiliated with a network.

"When we started this thing five years ago, they told us if we could get 1.0 rating, that'd be good," Harry told the Star in July. "And there are times, depending on the subject, when it spikes much higher.

"We wanted to start the show at 6:30 but we've got 'The Simpsons' then and obviously that does well. And starting the show at 7 is tough because you go right up against live sporting events. But we've hung in there."

KSHB does a lot of things right. I know I don't write much about them except when things like this happen, but finding a way to keep this show going was certainly one of the things they can be proud of.

Comments

[andrew]

Now who is going to tell us about Carl Peterson and rising ticket prices every three days???

[Sean]

I was sad to learn that this show was ending. I really enjoyed Jack Harry and the guests he would bring on his show.

[Jondy Britton]

Do you think this may have anything to do with the talk of a 24-hour sports channel replacing the NBC Weather channel?