Radio Row at the Super Bowl was a muted affair in 2020. That probably wasn’t what the NFL or Westwood One wanted, but with so many stations slashing budgets and pinching pennies, it wasn’t hard to find an empty table to sit down and catch up with friends from another market while inside the Miami Convention Center last week.
The question that a lot of companies are asking right now is “Is it worth it to be on location for the Super Bowl?”. For Chad Boeger and his staff at 810 WHB in Kansas City, the answer is almost always yes. The fact that the hometown Chiefs are playing in the big game this year is just an added bonus.
“We had a terrific week of broadcasts this year. This is our 22nd straight year of broadcasting live from Radio Row. We had our hosts and reporters with the Chiefs at the team hotel and broadcast all shows from the Miami Beach Convention Center (home of Radio Row).
“The difference this year, is our coverage of the teams in the game. We balanced our coverage with an enormous amount of interviews and coverage of the Chiefs with the special Radio Row guests.”
Mike Gill of ESPN 97.3 South Jersey echoed that sentiment. Even without a home team in the game, his station thought being live on radio row was important because the Super Bowl is the hub of the American sports and pop culture universe for a week.
“There is news all over here from many sports, its not just football, its UFC, its entertainment, its one of the most relateble events in not only sports, but pop culture,” he told me in an email. “Its an event that is bigger than music award shows for music stations and any other award type show. It’s a week of content that if done right will make your station grow, stand-out and gain credibility.”
Everyone on radio row is chasing down former and current NFL stars. WWE’s The Big Show and his handlers were hounded by producers trying to get just five quick minutes. If you’re on in Atlantic City though, Gill says that anyone that can talk about the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers from a gambling perspective is just as important.
“We discussed the impact of Sports Gambling with guys like Darren Rovell and Chad Millman of the Action Network. ESPN’s Doug Kezarian and Draft Kings CEO Jason Robins all discussed the game, sports gaming and betting in AC.”
The biggest setups on radio row were reserved for the biggest names in the sports media business. For the first time, ESPN Radio wasn’t isolated from other stations. Every show on the network’s 6a-6p lineup broadcast from a set on the convention center floor.
“By having all of our weekday shows on Radio Row, we were able to seamlessly provide sports fans with the flavor and pageantry of the biggest sporting event in the country,” ESPN Radio’s Senior Director of Programming and Operations, Justin Craig, told me. “Having everyone in the same location also allowed us to better utilize the guests and personalities that come through radio row more than anywhere else in Miami, in terms of concentrations. Perhaps the greatest benefit was the natural cross show conversations that took place as show units were prepping or wrapping their respective shows to create fluid and organic flow between shows, which creates a seamless connection point for our audience.”
Being on Radio Row also gave Craig a chance to meet and mingle with ESPN Radio affiliates from around the country. He said he got just as much out of visiting their sets as the local affiliates got out of venturing over to the ESPN Radio set.
“One of the greatest benefits of having all of our shows in one place was being able to spend time with our partners. Sure, affiliates were more than welcome to come by our set but the real value was seeing what they were doing on radio row. Walking around, spending time learning from everyone there has such a tremendous long term benefit, that’s what I valued the most. Meeting producers and talent that you normally don’t get a chance to see on a regular basis, is the real bonus. When you’re sharing the same space, it only creates a better working environment.”
Fox Sports Radio was a little more spread out. The network had a huge stage right in the middle of Radio Row. It came complete with a rotating sign that found its way into other networks’ live shots.
Colin Cowherd wasn’t there though. Fox’s biggest radio star did his show on South Beach from an amazing set that allowed fans to hang out and watch some of football’s biggest names come by and chat about their careers and the upcoming game. The roomier set also allowed the TV simulcast of The Herd with Colin Cowherd to maintain the quality fans expect when the show is in its LA studio.
“We are constantly asked why we build such an elaborate Broadcast Center at the Super Bowl, the simple explanation is that we are a national sports network and our talent and shows are cleared on local affiliates all over the country,” Don Martin, Senior Vice President of Sports for Premier Networks and Fox Sports Radio, told me. “We put our best foot forward to show all the PD’s and GM’s in the building that we have the preeminent national sports talk lineup in the game today and we don’t cut corners. So when you need/ want a great show, think Fox Sports Radio first.”
Any discussion of going to the Super Bowl tends to be a series of questions and answers to determine if it makes sense for a company or a station to invest the money. If you’re not aware, Entercom decided against letting stations from outside the home markets (the two teams in the game and the host city) broadcast from Miami.
“It’s such a great week of interviewing so many incredible people you never get to have on the rest of the year, if not ever again. Being on radio row isn’t always about the guests though,” one unnamed PD from within the company told me. “It’s bringing the atmosphere and experience to your listeners.”
He also said that it isn’t just content his station missed out on by not being in Miami. A sponsor that paid for a radio row advertising package agreed to keep their money with the station despite not being represented by any live shows in Miami. The PD told me, “they stayed on and sponsored our weekday coverage, but what we missed out on was the potential to tie in more clients in a variety of ways for the week.”
“I am not here to spend anybody else’s money or to tell them how to allocate their resources,” Martin said when I asked what he would say to big companies that chose not to send stations to Miami. “What I can say is the experience is like no other sporting event. The guest list is extensive and the branding for your station and networking can be invaluable.”
He also offered an idea of what we could see those companies do in the future. “What I would recommend is that larger companies should pool their finances and have a presence feeding multiple markets. The Super Bowl speaks for itself.”
Jason Minnix hosts the afternoon show at ESPN San Antonio. He also sells for the station. Being on Radio Row for the Super Bowl is something his station’s clients count on every year.
“We talk about it with clients throughout the year but ramp up the efforts October-November when planning Q1 or their annuals,” he told me when I asked how far out they start selling Super Bowl sponsorships. “Our Super Bowl radio row sponsors do it every year in addition to what they normally do with us. We don’t give it away or bonus the Super Bowl.”
Minnix knows in order to make the most money, you have to generate the most content. That’s why he plans more than just a radio show when heading to the Super Bowl. The station is constantly streaming content to Facebook Live. Interviews aren’t just recorded for the air. They also make their way to Instagram and YouTube. All of those platforms are somewhere else to put a sponsor’s message or logo.
“Work hard play hard,” Minnix says. “We get to radio row early in the morning and are there all day but at night, we certainly enjoy the Super Bowl city. It’s a fun week.”
“Obviously, when your hometown team makes the Super Bowl, it has a dramatic impact on your revenue,” Boeger told me when I asked what the Chiefs’ success had done for 810 WHB. “We sell our Radio Row coverage well in advance of knowing who will be in the Super Bowl. With the Chiefs in the game, we created a number of additional opportunities for our advertisers. It definitely has paid off for everyone.”
When I asked these folks why being on Radio Row mattered, many of them answered that it felt like a sort of responsibility. You’re job is to talk about the sports topics your listeners are interested in. What is more interesting to American sports fans than the game that we have built a pseudo-holiday around?
“We feel that after New York, and then the Eagles being in the Super Bowl in Minnesota, that this was going to be a part of our brand and who we are,” Mike Gill said of ESPN 97.3 South Jersey. “We are the No.1 show with men in the market, and this validates that. We are the Super Bowl station in Atlantic City, and being at the Radio Row is an extention of that, our listeners expect the coverage, its our duty to deliver it.”
The Entercom PD I spoke with isn’t pessimistic. He is sure he will get the chance to take his station back to Radio Row sooner than later. “I believe in the value of the week as far as content goes and the opportunity to make even more sponsorship money.”
Making money. It is the answer to every question about why a station or company does or does not send shows to the Super Bowl to be a part of Radio Row.
Maybe it is biased to end this column with a quote from Chad Boeger, who’s company Union Broadcasting is based in Kansas City. Of course he sees the value in being on Radio Row in a year when the team most of his listeners care about are the favorites to win the game.
Remember though that this wasn’t a spur of the moment decision for 810 WHB. The station has been on Radio Row for each of the last 22 Super Bowls.
“We all have budget constraints. I understand that. Everyone has to run a business. You need to determine what is most important to your business to be successful. Regardless of what teams are in the Super Bowl, we will continue to broadcast live from Radio Row. It’s important to our listeners, and our listeners come first. I believe great programming results in strong revenue performance.”
If you are a host or a programmer that wants to be at the Super Bowl next year, you have to be strategic in your pitch to your GM or corporate bosses. You need advertiser support. They need reasons and means by which to advertise. Radio Row has morphed into Media Row, so you need to shift your thinking. The more content you can produce, the more sales opportunities there are, and the more sales opportunities there are, the more likely you are to get your way.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
