Thursday, 2 December 2010

The Ticket, Elf on the move

It's old news, but still worth noting.

The Ticket, along with its sister stations, are moving to Victory Park, the semi-failed development in the general vicinity of the American Airlines Center.

Will it improve their signal south of I-20 past dark? No. But still, that development's been a colossal failure from the onset and it's a big reason why you shouldn't equate economic development with sports stadiums and arenas.

Businesses have come and gone. Mostly gone. It is starting to make that area extremely media-heavy along with WFAA Channel 8 being in the same complex. Of course, The Ticket is affiliated with WFAA through its connection with The Dallas Morning News. By the way, why is Tim Cowlishaw, a DMN columnist so affiliated with The Ticket's "competition," The Fan?

Speaking of, The Fan added another Ticket guy: Mark Elfenbein. Underutilized at The Ticket (if you consider his knowledge and opinions) stuck in the Sunday morning slot, Elf probably doesn't mind the opportunity to ply his craft from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. everyday on The Fan along with former Texas Rangers play-by-play guy Josh Lewin.

The Fan needs a direction and I think they're headed that way. I don't know if it'll make a dent in the ratings or anything. The Ticket is still king. However, I don't know if copying The Ticket is the answer, nor is going outside of Dallas-Fort Worth for talent. It's a thin line. Elf is probably a good choice: A guy who is extremely knowledgeable and who's been in the Metroplex for forever. He has fun, but he's not full of bits. He leaves it to those who can pull it off well.

In the end, Elf plays to his strengths and I don't think those strengths aren't something The Ticket needs as much as The Fan does.

Elf joins Greg Williams as Ticket alum to join The Fan, which includes Ben & Skin, who've already moved onto ESPN.

Elf, for all intents and purposes, seems like the sweetest guy in the world and it'd be impossible not to wish him the very best, no matter what you think about The Fan.