Most of us spent the past two weeks looking at the new ESPN Radio lineup that will take over on August 17th, thinking about what was not there. Tributes to Mike Golic Sr., who has been in morning drive for the network for the last 22 years, poured in from every imaginable outlet, this one included.
There were a number of folks outside of Bristol that either didn’t have time to mourn Senior’s looming departure, or did and had to move on very quickly. Leaders of local ESPN affiliates around the country had to look at the new lineup and figure out what it would mean for their stations.
I wanted honest answers when I asked folks “how do you feel about the new lineup,” so I offered everyone anonymity. Hooray for not having to (in the words of Herm Edwards) “put ya name on it!”.
Everyone on the programming side took me up on the offer. On the business side, the people I spoke with either wanted their name attached to their comments or they simply didn’t want to participate.
So much has been made of the new morning show, which will feature Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams with SportsCenter anchor Zubin Mehenti steering the ship. The departure of a known quantity like Golic Sr, who has hosted in that slot with three different partners, has raised concerns for so many.
“From a listener’s standpoint, it’s always interesting when you have a long time show and then one part of the duo leaves and one part stays,” one PD in the Southeast told me, addressing the rumors that Trey Wingo had expressed a desire to leave radio in the fall. “I always thought it was a tough ask to try and re-create what he and Mike Greenberg had before with a whole new crew. How could the network ask him to do it again so quickly?”
A PD in the Midwest says he sees the good and the bad in the new trio. He praised the injection of diversity into a prime day part, but did have questions about the readiness of the individuals chosen.
“Two of the three hosts have never really done the daily morning radio grind. I will say Keyshawn and Jay can be highly entertaining when teed up the right way, so the pressure will be on Zubin to navigate topics and push the right emotional buttons.”
One person that was willing to go on the record was Brian Maloney, the Vice President of Radio at Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh, NC. The cluster’s sports talker, 99.9 The Fan, saw major success in morning drive with Mike & Mike and still did fairly well with Golic & Wingo. Maloney says that he is less nervous now than he was the last time ESPN Radio made a major change in morning drive.
“We were nervous with the Golic-Wingo change – it worked out great. They ended up dominating our core audience,” Maloney told me in an email. “So, I’m very optimistic about the launch of the new morning show with the new cast members – and we’re partial to Jay Williams given his ties to Duke and the market. Timing is perfect. Sports are back, launching a new show – let’s go. I’m sure people will over analyze this move – as with any – history has shown us. I’m more than confident the show will perform quite well for us!”
Joe O’Neill is another station leader that expressed optimism about the morning show. Being in Albuquerque though, his station, 101.7 The Team, will run the new morning show on a two hour delay. He is very excited about what follows though.
“The remaining schedule that runs in ‘prime’ is loaded with heavyweights and it is particularly nice to see the return of Greeny.”
O’Neill’s excitement about the mid-day lineup was echoed by every single person I spoke with. One PD out West shared O’Neill’s excitement to see Mike Greenberg back on ESPN Radio. He added that Max Kellerman, who hasn’t done a lot of national radio, is still the kind of well-known quantity that will give his station “good star power” to matchup with the local FOX Sports Radio affiliate.
A host on the East Coast, who has the entire national lineup leading into his local show agrees that the star power matters.
“I actually think the Greenberg and Kellerman additions help the middle of the day. They’re both experienced, and good to really good radio guys.”
Beyond the individual talent in mid days, what drew everyone’s attention was three two-hour long shows. The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz is cut down to run from 10a-noon on the East Coast. Mike Greenberg’s show will follow and air until 2 pm when Kellerman takes over from 2p-4p.
For so long, the practice in national radio has been to have mid-days filled by two three hour shows. On the local level it is usually one four how show. A PD in the Southeast told me it is beyond time to shake those models up.
“I think it’s an interesting approach actually, and I’m very interested to see how it does. That is an idea that has piqued my curiosity for some time, just given how the audience behaves now.”
“Honestly, the only reason radio stations run 3- and 4-hour shows is because of budget,” said a PD in the Midwest. He expects that three shorter shows can deliver more compelling content than two longer shows. “Hosts cannot possibly throw fastballs for 4 hours. It’s not a realistic expectation.”
When asked to point out anything specifically they were worried about with the new lineup, most PD’s said it was too early to panic. Outside of the morning show, there is enough tested star power to satisfy local leaders’ minds. Plus, most stations that will carry the full day time line up do a local show in afternoon drive.
That isn’t true for everyone though. That PD I spoke with out West was nervous about the new afternoon show with Chiney Ogwumike and Mike Golic Jr., and the revival of Spain and Fitz in the early evening.
“I would’ve flipped Chiney & Mike Golic Jr. into the slot which will be occupied by the Spain and Fitz reboot, he said in an email. “GoJo has a good energy that I think can play off well for an audience listening later in the day/night. And it provides a great starting slot for Chiney Ogwumike, who is spun right into a valuable radio time slot with very little experience.
“Jason Fitz deserved an opportunity to continue to lead a show, and he’ll lose that taking somewhat of a back seat to Sarah Spain. Plus, as it currently sits, Spain and Company has been inconsistent in creating content that relates to the sports radio listener, exposed a bit more by the current pandemic.”
The big question everyone has, no matter their position in the industry is “will this new lineup make me money?”. Boy, is it a strange time to ask that question about anything.
Both Maloney and O’Neill were optimistic though. It may not be easy to get people to spend money right now, but O’Neill says having something new to show advertisers gives his sales staff a reason to pick up the phone and chat with established clients and maybe even introduce themselves to a few new ones.
“I’ve always felt that the best definition of sales is the ‘transfer of enthusiasm,'” he said. “Having the new lineup will be beneficial regarding sales because it’s gives us a reason to communicate the latest changes at ESPN Radio and explain the philosophy of why they went with the changes they did.”
Maloney thinks there is reason to think his station’s clients will be very receptive to the changes, because the Covid-19 Pandemic have forced them to go through changes too.
“Every business has had time to reflect, regroup, and reorganize, and sports radio is no different. Business owners and those that run a business know more than ever that reinventing is essential. If a business hasn’t adjusted or run a different play yet, I’d be very concerned about that business.”
He says the two things he would tell clients about the new morning show are that 99.9 The Fan has a history of performing in morning drive with ESPN Radio’s nationally syndicated morning show, and the new hosts were handpicked by ESPN, which he understandably refers to as “the biggest brand of sports in the world.”
“Combine those two elements with insane, pent up demand for sports and we have an explosive fresh, new start in a format that we know delivers the most passionate and responsive listeners,” Maloney told me. “Along with the new ESPN morning show on our station, we have added new imaging pieces, digital pieces and re-adjusted our line-up. This is a perfect time to change and begin anew in a very new climate. I hope our industry takes advantage of this pause in sports to reinvent their stations.”
Although no one came right out and said “we’re screwed,” I definitely received opinions that ran the gamut from pure optimism to genuine concern for morning drive. Overall, there does seem to be something of a “wait and see approach.”
The real pressure here is on ESPN. Local station partners are not just looking for big names. The network has seen SO MUCH change over the last five years. It has to prove to local stations that not only has it built its new lineup to perform, but that it has also been built to last for an extended period of time.
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.
After many years, I quit listening to ESPN radio after they started talking politics. Sports is my escape. Yes, politics sometimes creeps in, such as with the Wahington Redskins changing their name, but those stories should be the exception.
This is a lot of corporate BS with no real content.
what has happened to the big drew and jim show?? they were my absolute favorites!!
ESPN radio will be gone in 5 years