Week One of the NFL was back this past weekend in all its glory.
Being the radio nerd that I am, I often spend my Sunday mornings and late afternoons/evenings flipping between various local pre and postgame shows around the country.
While I was impressed by a few, I was sadly disappointed by many. One host sounded so disinterested, it felt like he didn’t even want to be on the air. Another show consisted of three guys rambling about the game and offering no useful information. Another was doing a show from a crowded bar, and you could hardly hear him amongst the background noise. Another host spent half a segment trying to figure out how the phone system worked because calls kept dropping.
One of the most telling things that explained the prevailing attitude towards pre and postgame shows was said by a former GM of mine.
“These shows exist for one reason, to sell remotes and run extra commercials,” they said.
Based on the litany of programs I listened to on Sunday, that philosophy continued to ring true.
I’ve long been of the belief that, more than any other sport, during NFL season, pregame and postgame shows MATTER.
NFL Sundays have long been national holidays. If you’re a sports station you have 17 of them every season (and if you have a decent team in town, even more). You need to treat these days like you’re covering a special, all-day event…BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT IT IS. You have a window of opportunity to grab the attention of listeners in your market ALL DAY, EACH WEEK for SIX MONTHS. This is a golden opportunity and needs to be treated as such. You can’t do that being low rent.
Pregame shows really set the tone for the day. Sure, you want to talk about the game at hand and get in any last-minute info that’s relevant before kickoff. But SO much more is needed. Now more than ever, there is a real THIRST for information from listeners. People spend their Sunday mornings getting their fantasy football lineups, picks, parlays, and teasers set. The onus is on programmers and content managers to set these up the right way and with the right people. Make the pregame show a one-stop shop for all this info so consumers don’t have to flip between different shows to get it.
Postgame shows can be the ultimate destination once a game goes final. Fans need a place to celebrate, vent and grieve. They want to hear instant analysis and relevant info on the game that they hadn’t heard before. Not just the stats (which they can get from any number of apps), but the anecdotal; the WHY. They want to hear what the coach and starting QB and other relevant players had to say…not just in their pressers but on their social media channels.
It’s so easy to be successful producing quality NFL pre and post-game shows. I’ve always tried to go by four principles.
1 – HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE
In my many years as a PD, I’ve consistently used my best weekday talent on pre or postgame shows. NFL Sundays are PREMIUM days, and you should use PREMIUM talent. Sometimes, that requires you to pay more. So what? It’s worth the investment. Your hosts and contributors need to be worth tuning in for.
Are they proven fantasy football winners? Can they make me money and help me beat the spread? Do they know things about the team that other people don’t? Do they have a passion for the team they’re covering and can generate can’t miss content? These are all questions you need to answer honestly before you set your gameday lineup. You can’t just throw a bone to the afternoon show producer because he or she will do it on the cheap.
2 – DISH OUT THE RIGHT INFO
Have your segments drawn up and run them TIGHT. This is not a day where you want to be caught rambling or taking bad phone calls. You need to get out all the info that listeners are clamoring for and push them out as fast as you can on your things that matter, and you need to make sure that all this info is being pushed out both on-air and on all your social channels.
At a MINIMUM:
Pregame
- Fantasy Football info
- Gambling info
- Live check ins-from the stadium
- Last minute “insider” info
- Repurposing of any GOOD coach/player audio from the week
Postgame
- Instant analysis and reaction
- Coach/player pressers
- A look at what players are posting on their social channels
- Listener calls and texts (quality over quantity)
- Highlights from the game
3 – KEEP IT IN STUDIO
I have long had an absolute hatred of remote broadcasts. Yes, I realize that they are often low-hanging fruit when it comes to generating revenue. But in most cases, the actual quality of what comes out of the speaker goes right down the toilet.
If you MUST do a pregame and postgame show on-location, do everything you can to set it up for success. Make sure that you have a dedicated hard-wired broadcast connection and that said connection is installed and tested in advance of EVERY show. Always have a backup in the event that the broadcast line goes down (because at some point, it will). Make sure your hosts are in a location where they can do their jobs and not be bothered by drunk patrons. Most importantly, set up your broadcast in a spot that shelters them from too much ambient noise, so listeners won’t have an unpleasant experience when they tune in.
4 – TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE AUDIENCE
If you’re the flagship, you need to be sure to highlight all the access you get that the other outlets don’t. You should have exclusive audio from the head coach and starting QB teed up after the game.
If you aren’t the flagship, you still need to act like you OWN the fan base. It doesn’t take much energy for a listener to push a button if you give them a reason to do so. Your hosts need to beat the drum that their show is the place to be before and after the game.
Some of the best pre and postgame shows were on outlets that didn’t carry any actual games. If you have the right hosts and contributors in place, you can put together programs that can gain loyal fanbases every week.
Ryan Maguire is a columnist for BSM, and a longtime sports and news radio program director. He has managed KIRO-FM in Seattle, WQAM in Miami, 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, 610 Sports in Kansas City, and 105.7/1250 The Fan in Milwaukee. Presently, Ryan serves as the Executive Producer of Chicago White Sox baseball on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. Originally from Michigan, Ryan still holds out hope that the Detroit Lions will one day deliver a Super Bowl title. He can be reached on Twitter @RMaguire1701.
