The sports media world never stops making news and we’re here to make it easier for you to consume all of it. A quick reminder, if you have a story, promotion, personnel move or valuable piece of information to share, you can pass it along via email at JBarrett@hvy.tcp.mybluehost.me. Now on to the news we go.
Stephen A. Smith has changed agents, dropping Headline Media in New York City for CAA in Los Angeles. Smith re-signed with ESPN last year for a little more than 3 million dollars per year. CAA, which represents Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd, and helped both men land deals with FS1 for more than 5-6 million annually, are being tasked with helping SAS earn a bigger payday.
The sports radio scene in Nashville continues to be dominated by 104.5 The Zone. In the September book, The Zone delivered a 13.3 in mornings, 14.3 in middays, and 12.2 in afternoons. All three of their shows, the Wake-Up Zone, Midday 180 and 3HL finished #1. Local competitor 102.5 The Game was far behind in the ratings but the station recently underwent lineup changes which they hope will make a bigger difference in the future.
In Boston, the battle between 98.5 The Sports Hub and WEEI remains a tight one. The Hub won the summer book (July-Sept.) with Men 25-54. All of their weekday shows finished 1st overall and popped double digit ratings. They sit comfortably ahead by 2-3 ratings points in each weekday slot. WEEI was 2nd in morning and afternoon and 4th in middays. However, WEEI finished ahead of The Hub with Men 18+, Men 25-64, Men 35-54 and gained 26% with Men 25-54 year to year. The Hub lost 12% with Men 25-54 during the past 12 months. The Hub though was 1st overall with Men 18-44 and Men 25-44. The two stations continue to thrive and make Boston the top rated sports market in America.
101 ESPN continues to go through the audition process searching for a third host for their afternoon show “The Fast Lane“. So far a number of talented individuals have received a look. Former football players Isaac Byrd, Cam Davis, TJ Moe and Michael Young, former hockey player Cam Janssen and broadcasters Katie Felts and Jonathan Platek have all been in. Chris Rongey is in this week for a couple of days and a few others will appear in upcoming weeks before the station makes a final decision. “The Fast Lane” is consistently one of the top rated spoken word programs in the St. Louis market.
Kent Sterling has been elevated to Program Director of CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis. Sterling, currently hosts afternoons on the radio station. He’s previously programmed 101 ESPN in St. Louis and 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis.
It’s the end of an era in Atlanta. Entercom has sold radio station AM 790 (WQXI) to Atlanta Radio Korea for $850,000. Over the past two decades, 790 The Zone broadcast sports talk on that signal and became a very successful brand. Led by Steak Shapiro and Andrew Saltzman, the radio station produced big revenues and launched successful talents including Shapiro, Chris Dimino, Nick Cellini, Mike Bell, Matt Chernoff, Chuck Oliver, David Pollack and the 2 Live Stews. The station was eventually sold to Lincoln Financial who then sold it to Entercom. The station most recently simulcasted programming from Star 94.
Sports Radio 94WIP has added a new producer. Ben Livingston has been added following a successful run producing 93.7 The Fan’s morning show in Pittsburgh which features Colin Dunlap, Jim Colony and Josh Miller. Livingston is originally from Philadelphia.
97.1 The Fan in Columbus has a new Web/On-Air Producer. Brandon Beam has been tasked with producing “Tim and Beanie” and overseeing the management of The Fan’s web and mobile sites. He’ll work with the staff on creating fresh stories, video, and podcasts, along with providing analytics.
Hockey season is just around the corner and TSN 1050 in Toronto is strengthening their coverage with the addition of Patrick O’Sullivan as a Maple Leafs analyst.
Derek Fogel has left 103.5 ESPN in Southern Illinois to join Sports Radio 610 KILT in Houston as a sports anchor and weekend/fill-in host. Fogel will also write for CBSHouston.com.
College Basketball Insider Jon Rothstein is following in the footsteps of Jon Heyman and joining the FanRag Sports Network. Rothstein will write and report for the website. Although he will no longer write for CBS Sports, he will continue to appear on the CBS Sports Network’s studio shows and serve as a sideline reporter on game broadcasts.
Evan Daniels has signed on with FOX Sports and FOX Sports 1 as the network’s new College Basketball Insider. Daniels began his new role on October 1st.
The folks at 1500 ESPN in Minneapolis have added a new podcast. Phil Mackey confirms he’ll be hosting “Hardball Society“, a baseball themed podcast focusing on stories and opinions from baseball insiders. The first two episodes feature Aaron Boone and Jim Brower as guests.
Jake Brown has launched a new podcast on CBS Radio’s Play.It network. “The Jake Brown Show” will feature a mixture of sports and entertainment.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
