If you were at the 2020 BSM Summit, you received a program when checking in. In it included an ad for the upcoming launch of the BSM Member Directory. We planned to launch a paid section on this website on Monday March 16th where broadcasters and aspiring professionals could create profiles and post audio, video, resumes, and contact information for potential employers to discover them with the ultimate goal being to find work. Members would also be notified of job opportunities in the sports media industry.
But sometimes in life, the best of plans have to be delayed. The nation’s focus right now is on a serious issue, battling the corona virus, and given how important it is, we’ve decided to delay the launch of our member section until a later time. When things start to return to normal, we’ll fill you in on our plans to go live. If you have questions about the member directory, feel free to email JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.
As human beings, our first priority is to keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy. Once that’s secure, we turn our focus towards our work. In the sports media industry, we’re blessed to go to a location and interact with groups of people each day who share an interest in talking about subjects that bring joy to many of our lives. The job is fun, and provides unmatched access to special people, teams, and events, which makes taking care of business matters feel like less of a chore.
Our audience is similar. They also work with other people at various places, and they enjoy the world of sports just like us, though their profession may be less glamorous. We’re their in-car and at-work audio companion, the voices they turn to for information, entertainment, and an escape from real life stress and day to day issues.
But when the government declares a national emergency, and lives stand a chance of being impacted, the thought of watching a game or listening to a host debate with a caller over how much money an NFL free agent should be paid feels far less important. Add the removal of all live sporting events, and you can see why listeners may choose to tune out, and those working in the industry may not want to go to work.
The question we’re all trying to answer right now is ‘how do we talk about sports when sports don’t exist?’ We’re dealing with something that no host, producer, program director or executive has a playbook for. You may have ideas of how to navigate the situation, but you don’t know if it will or won’t work. You’re simply trying to make the best of an impossible situation.
Some don’t think that sports radio stations should continue broadcasting at this time. I strongly disagree. Are sports radio brands supposed to shut down each time a crisis impacts our country? Are music stations supposed to do the same? Where do we draw the line?
If this situation spirals out of control, we may have to take that step, but based on the current events, I don’t see any reason why a sports station should stop informing and entertaining listeners. In fact, with no games on TV and people searching for ways to stay entertained and distracted, you can make a case that creating live content is even more necessary.
I asked a number of broadcasters over the past few days to share how they were approaching their shows during this complex time period. There were some cool ideas presented, and a few internal notes that I thought hit a lot of the right notes. I’m going to share some of the ideas I received, as well as pass along a few of my own.
As you look them over, please remember that there’s more to think about than just how to fill 3-4 hours of daily content. It’s vital for all of us to over deliver for our listeners, clients, and sales teams. This situation impacts much more than just folks in programming, so everything we can do to support each other makes a difference.
THE CONTENT
With the entire nation focused on the corona virus and how it could impact their life, you can’t afford to ignore it on your show. Doing so is a massive mistake. The key is finding ways to connect it to your on-air topics. Whether it’s examining how leagues are handling it, how TV networks have operated without live coverage, what the future of each sport’s schedule will look like once this is behind us, which local people, businesses, roadways in your area have been affected, etc., you need to stay informed and relay vital information to your audience.
The second thing to remember is something I’ve said numerous times, people like to hear people talk with and about other people. Whether you’re interacting with callers, conducting interviews, playing soundbites from other shows/guests and offering your opinion on what was said, people like to listen to conversations. Book some notable guests, gather sound that advances discussions, and involve the audience on topics that strike a chord. If you do, people will continue listening.
Aside from the airwaves, what’s your social media strategy? If people spend 30-45 minutes per day with your show, but over 2 hours each day on social media, where do you stand a better chance of reaching them? Most of the world flocks daily to a social media feed, so it’s wise to take over your station’s social media accounts and conduct live chats thru Facebook Live, Periscope, Instagram Live, etc.. If people are forced soon to stay home, they’ll be looking for positive distractions. Seeing your face appear on their timeline, and having a chance to chat with you will help.
Looking around the country, 95.7 The Game in San Francisco has gone into the vault to bring back Golden State Warriors games from 2015-2018. With the Tennessee Titans making moves, 102.5 The Game‘s Jared & The GM have gone full throttle in Nashville on Titans talk. There’s never a bad time to talk football.
Staying in Tennessee, 92.9 ESPN in Memphis is digging into their past by bringing back Horn Lake vs. Harvard trivia. Afternoon host Gary Parrish hails from Horn Lake, midday host Geoff Calkins from Harvard. The station’s midday show with Jason Smith and John Martin also took the corona virus issue and built a creative segment around the question ‘who would you quarantine yourself with?’
SiriusXM has launched a channel (121) that offers health tips and updates on the latest news involving the corona virus. Some sports stations have also added corona virus news updates or taken reports from national news outlets. All make sense at this point in time.
Pat McAfee used comedy to help his listeners take their minds off of the chaos created by the virus. His team produced two great bits, a video showing how to connect with one another, and a live call in from COVID-19. Both took a serious issue and added some levity to it.
I saw a number of personalities use social media to get a better read on what listeners want to hear. Steak Shapiro at 680 The Fan in Atlanta, Mark Willard at KNBR in San Francisco, Chris Carlin at 98.7 ESPN in New York, and Phil Mackey at SKOR North in Minneapolis all posted questions or polls to get a better read on what their listener’s wanted to hear. Clay Travis has also been active on social media relaying information, articles, and his personal opinions on how the issue is being handled. Sean Salisbury shared how he’s approaching the issue as well.
Sports Radio 1310/96.7 The Ticket and ESPN 103.3 in Dallas have kept their focus on Dallas Cowboys free agency, the impact the corona virus is having on the local community, and everyday conversations. 103.3 is also in the process of launching the ‘Sports Distraction Bracket‘ which will feature four regions “Books, Movies, Video Games, and Netflix/Streaming’. That should make for fun on-air chatter.
Speaking of brackets, John Michaels created the Atlanta sports radio bracket. It’s already produced a ton of reaction. That should give local hosts extra material to work with. Some smaller market stations have also built unique brackets around high school sports, and favorite local landmarks and shops.
ESPN Milwaukee PD Brad Lane and Good Karma Brands VP of Content Evan Cohen did a nice job updating their imaging, and adding updates on how the corona virus is impacting everything. The station’s shows have also been encouraged to talk about issues that matter to local people ranging from the Packers/Bucks, social distancing, working remotely, TV shows being watching due to no sports, future changes to the sports calendar, etc..
In Tampa, WDAE has built on-air content around subjects such as this day in history, where were you when this moment happened, favorite sports movies and TV shows, and local feel good stories. Mike Gill and the folks at 97.3 ESPN used some of their time time to talk up local bars, restaurants, and solicit craft beer recommendations.
I have a few ideas I’ll pass along as well. For starters, maybe you take a day or two to mix up your host combinations or connect one of your shows with another popular program broadcasting in a different city. It could spark some additional interest. So too would utilizing former hosts who are no longer on the air. If you can do it remotely, even better.
Depending on local relationships and availability, maybe you work with your local team(s) to explore having a player, coach or executive do an hour or full show on your airwaves or social media channels. If you can involve the audience that’d make it even more exciting for your listeners.
If you really want to create buzz, and send a message of unity while generating curiosity and chatter, consider joining forces with your local competitor or rival network to feature talent on each outlets airwaves. Imagine if you were in Dallas and heard hosts from The Ticket and The Fan appearing on each other’s shows or if Colin Cowherd and Dan Le Batard did that at ESPN Radio and FOX Sports Radio. Mike Francesa and Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo did it before during Mike’s first retirement tour. Why not do something unique to bring people to the dial?
Because stations and individuals represent different companies it probably won’t happen, but sometimes it pays to do big things. Companies don’t mind when hosts working at station’s under their control appear on each other’s shows, but having the rock station’s morning host on the sports radio host’s morning show doesn’t change audience behavior the way two sports radio rivals coming together would.
By the way, do you think some of these competitors aren’t friends away from the airwaves? Ask them if they’d be up for it. I’m sure many would welcome the opportunity. It’d be cool and likely generate press and tune ins. There will be plenty of other days left to compete.
I mentioned the other day on social media that this is a time where you find out who has the ability to entertain when nightly results and lit phone lines aren’t available. Carrington Harrison of 610 Sports in Kansas City reached out and asked ‘How can you be worried about what to talk about when the answer is anything you want?‘ He’s spot on. If you’re a content creator, this is your chance to take a blank canvas and paint a masterpiece. Welcome the challenge rather than run from it.
THE LISTENER
One mistake that many make is looking at content thru their own lens as opposed to how it matters to the audience. A producer and host can create a topic, bit, book an interview or share a personal story, but is it relevant and important to those listening? It’s like a band playing a concert and featuring the songs they enjoy but not the ones their fans paid to hear.
Since many sports radio stations target the 32-40 year old male, I’m going to build a custom example for you. I want you to picture a 40 year old male sports fan, we’ll call him Jim. Jim is a P1 sports radio listener who watches his local favorite team’s games at night and on the weekend, has a wife, 2 kids, a nice house, good job, and commutes to and from work 40-45 minutes in each direction.
Despite his family’s concerns, and the uncertainty surrounding the corona virus, Jim continues driving to work. He could work remotely, but he likes his routine, and doesn’t want to stop living a normal life, especially since the virus hasn’t affected anyone or anything close to him.
When news involving the corona virus breaks during the day, Jim’s wife texts him to make sure he’s aware. He talks with co-workers about things they’re hearing, checks his social media accounts often (they’re flooded with a mixture of memes, posts and news articles related to the corona virus), and the one thing (sports) that used to provide a daily distraction, is no longer an option since the majority of leagues have stopped playing.
But Jim is still in his car each morning and afternoon, and the sports station he loves is still first in his presets. He wants to listen, but the stress of this situation has his mind in a million places. How are you convincing Jim to continue spending two segments per trip with you?
Remember, he wants to be distracted from his daily stress, but the corona virus has affected everything around him. Does he want to hear you talk about a game from years ago that has no current relevance? Will he listen to a discussion about the Netflix documentary you watched while trying to fill the gap created by a lack of sports? Is he interested in learning where the best place locally is to get a great hamburger or taco?
Maybe he’ll listen to all of that, some of it, or none of it. We really don’t know. People who tune into sports radio shows come for the hosts, conversations, and mental break from serious issues, but when critical matters warrant their attention, behavior changes.
If you stand in Jim’s shoes, you’d see that although he’d rather the corona virus not be a topic of conversation, he knows he has to stay updated on what’s happening. Will he and his family be OK? If they catch the virus, where do they go and what do they do? When can they expect life to return to normal? How long until sports are back? Are the on-air hosts and listeners going thru similar things? If so, how are they handling it? What is he supposed to do for entertainment in the meantime?
Jim’s first instinct is to listen to your show, but real life is tapping him on the shoulder telling him to turn elsewhere. To keep him invested, you’re going to have to connect by talking about the things that matter most to him. If you address that first, he’ll stick around for the rest. If not, he’s likely to change the dial.
THE RATINGS IMPACT
If you’re a market manager, corporate executive, CEO or owner, and haven’t braced yourself for a potential dip in the ratings with your sports station(s), you may want to prepare yourself for it. If you don’t lose any audience during this uncertain point in time, congratulations. That’s a big win. If you do though, get over it. March isn’t usually a big ratings month for the format as it is, and dealing with a global pandemic is bigger than a ratings book.
If people work remotely more, it could result in less listening. Some could choose to not listen at all. Others will put on news/talk or news/television because they want to stay informed. The rest will invest time in reading articles, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos or TV, and engaging with others on social media. It’s why having a strong social strategy is just as critical as having a sound radio plan. People will still be on their phones following your talent and brands. This gives us an opportunity to continue reaching them.
Sports hosts will be challenged to stay up to date on what’s happening with this virus. They may not be excited by news content, but this issue is bigger than anything else. What’s vital is to make sure they’re fully informed and not relaying misinformation that can cause unnecessary stress. They’ll likely have to introduce topics that have a connection to the issue, and though it may not be as fun as other things we talk about, when our listener’s lives are affected, it’s our job to make sure we’re there for them.
THE REVENUE EFFECT
These are unfamiliar times for our stations, staffs, and partners. If people don’t leave their homes and continue spending money on products, it could result in advertisers reducing their marketing budgets. Maybe it’s only for a few weeks or a month or two, but if the economy weakens, our brands could be impacted.
What you hope isn’t forgotten by your partners is the importance of a long term strategy. The strength of the relationship between the radio station and advertiser will also come into play. Both sides will experience peaks and valleys during the course of the partnership, so helping each other in times of need is important. We’re also going to get past this crisis at some point, and when we do, advertisers are going to need media partners to help them regain customers, and make up for lost earnings.
One thing to keep in mind, if your station has the rights to an NBA or NHL team or the NCAA tournament, you’ve regained commercial time on your airwaves due to games being cancelled. Though you may not like to do it, if giving up some of that regained inventory helps keep an important partner or two on the air thru this situation, it’s worth doing so to retain business.
I want to pass along a great letter I saw on social media from Townsquare Tuscaloosa Market Manager David DuBose. I thought David hit all the right notes in reaching out to station advertisers. If you run a cluster and haven’t done this already in your market, I’d encourage you to do so.
CLOSING:
These are unfamiliar times for all of us. The world of sports has shut down, concerts, schools, bars and restaurants are following suit, and the routines we enjoy are being altered by something beyond our control. It’s scary, stressful, and the lack of knowing what lies ahead has many people on edge.
The best thing we can do at this time is be there for our listeners. In doing so, it helps us too. Sports may be less of an option on TV, people may listen less in a car or office, and the content we’re creating may not be up to our usual standards, but sometimes just being available is enough to help people get thru a difficult time. Given what we’re all going thru, that matters more now than ever.
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.
