The definition of a utility player is “a player on a team who has the ability to play in several different positions, and often plays in different positions for their club.”
David Eckstein, Jose Oquendo, and currently Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals are just a few great utility players the game of baseball has seen. Most successful teams, even in today’s game, seem to have at least one guy that can fill any role the team needs, no matter the situation. That’s a dream come true for a manager come crunch time.
But what’s the equivalent of a utility player in sports radio? Does it exist? If there’s such a thing as one, it just may be Chad Brillante of ESPN Pensacola.
If ESPN Pensacola was a baseball team, Brillante would essentially be the manager, shortstop, four-hole hitter and probably even the general manager. From being the sports director, to hosting a show heard and seen in four states, to even selling for the station, there’s nothing he can’t and won’t do.
“Right now I’m doing a ton of the shows and a lot of work,” said Brillante. “I host in the afternoon with a former NFL coach, Kay Stevenson, who coached the Buffalo Bills. I also host a bunch of college shows from 1-2 p.m. because our market is pretty college football oriented with Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida and Florida State. “
Being a host and putting out a quality product every day is enough of a task, but when you combine everything Brillante does for ESPN Pensacola, you gain an understanding of just how important making the most of your time actually is. Instead of having the luxury to spend all morning doing show prep, he may be having breakfast with a client. Instead of getting audio clips ready in the afternoon, he may be attending multiple station meetings that are critical during the infancy of a new station.
So how does one split their time when they’re playing the ultimate utility player role for a station and still need to prep for a show in the afternoon?
“The one thing I do know is that I was blessed with a photographic memory,” said Brillante. “I was the guy in college, where if it was a three-month report, would study two days before, scan the book and be able to get an A on it. Tonight we’re at the Pensacola Interstate Fair in front of about 8000 people and I’ll be able to do a whole show without one single note in front of me. I’ll be able to talk about the starters in the World Series, what Gerrit Cole’s ERA is, I’ll even be able to break down last night’s Monday Night Football game, how many yards Tom Brady had and other fun categories.
“It’s really hard to balance it. Frankly, I run out of time each and every day. At the beginning of a station, because the new ESPN has been up for about a year and a half, there’s a lot of stuff. There’s a ton of moving pieces each and every day. I just try to stay positive and do as much as I can.”
Granted, Brillante isn’t selling as much as he did at his previous station, but he’s still active in helping to bring in money. Before his current stop, Brillante was billing around $15,000 a month and working off straight commission. He wasn’t even being paid as a host for the station. After shows he would grab a drink and hangout with the local car dealers or other business owners in town. That’s the way he did business. Brillante was going to befriend you and you were going to like him right back. He did everything a salesman and a host in a small market has to do to live a comfortable life.
He must have been super successful at it, because when he accepted his new position at ESPN Pensacola, every single one his clients followed him to his new station.
“Every one of them,” said Brillante. “That showed a lot to me. I’ve always just been a guy where, whether we’re talking on air or for an article, or even grabbing a beer and talking at the bar is just as important to me as being on air. I’m the same person on and off the air.”
An extremely valuable asset to any station would be an on-air host that has the skills to sell in a creative manner. Amongst other things, that’s what Brillante brings to the table when approaching a potential client. He’s not going to just try and persuade someone to buy a remote for his show, he’s going to creatively use your business to help create content.
“We have a pest control shop in town and I created a segment that’s called What’s Bugging You Out in Sports,” said Brillante. “Since we’re also on TV you have a flyswatter coming by and will smack a fly against the screen. Instead of walking into that pest control shop and saying, hey, here’s your spot rates, I create that idea for them and say, you know what, what is a budget of $750 a month look like? Stuff like that. And then they’re sold on it.
“With ABC liquors we did a ‘Tackling Your Tailgate Mixology Report.’ So if like LSU and Alabama play, we’ll make a purple and gold concoction versus like Rammer Jammer Slammers or something with like Fireball shots and all, we’ll have taste testers such as some pro athletes that come on the show. Derrick Brooks, Emmett Smith, Bubba Watson they’re all down here and come on the show. What we’ll do is we’ll have them on the show and they’ll try these different concoctions and weigh in on them and we’ll decide who the winner is. But that’s how I normally sell places like that.”
ESPN Pensacola is about to get a whole lot more aggressive with social media. Brillante has taken it upon himself to make sure the station is where it needs to be to help grow the audience. But the station is working with a lot of advantages. Along with a signal that’s the largest in the southeast and can be heard in four states on WEBY, the show is also on simulcast from New Orleans to Panama City from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on television. The show is then replayed from midnight to 2:00 a.m. on a local TV network. All in all, there’s reason to believe ESPN Pensacola can become a mainstay in northwest Florida.
If that happens, many people will get credit, but there won’t be anyone more deserving than Brillante and his efforts to help make the station a success. The former UCF baseball player has turned into the ultimate utility player.
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
