What’s the most important thing to know about rebranding a station? It’s a simple question but a complicated answer, seeing as multiple things go into changing a station’s identity, lineup, name, and much more.
Chase McCabe, program director and brand manager at 102.5 The Game in Nashville, recently took on the task of rebranding 94.9 The Fan, formerly ESPN 94.9 The Game 2, which falls under the umbrella of Cromwell Media. McCabe had several ideas for the rebrand of the station, but most notably, he wanted to bring back voices to the Music City such as Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd, as well as Outkick 360 with Jonathan Hutton, Chad Withrow, and Paul Kuharsky.
Truth be told, as much as he wanted Patrick and Cowherd back in Nashville, getting Outkick 360 back on the air in the city was something that had been on his mind since he took over as PD at The Game in December of last year
“It had been something on my mind when I took over as program director,” said McCabe. “I knew they were available and I wanted to explore options to see if there was a way to put them on with us.”
“It was the number one question we received when we were asked about the show,” said Hutton of Outkick 360. “‘When are you guys going to be back on the radio in Nashville?’ It was a skipping record we knew we had to remedy.
Finding contact info for the trio at Outkick 360 wasn’t difficult for McCabe, seeing as Hutton, Withrow, and Kuharsky hosted a show together at 104.5 The Zone in Nashville as recently as 18 months ago after a nine-year run at the station. The trio left the station to explore an opportunity with Outkick, which took the show from the radio to streaming.
But at The BSM Summit earlier this year in New York City, McCabe expressed his interest in bringing back Outkick 360 on the airwaves.
“When they were at the BSM Summit we ended up going out and talking and it started from there,” McCabe said.
“Chase was the first PD we chatted with because of how important it was for us to make sure he knew what we were doing and what was available,” said Hutton. “ I think we started with a toast to him recently being promoted to the PD position before we floated some ideas around the table. Really, all of us wanted the same thing, it was more about getting to the end result and what was needed to make it happen. The Game has other valuable partnerships and contracts they needed to consider, and honestly we assumed some of those could present a hurdle, but I give Chase all of the credit for the end result.
“He understood what our partnership could become and we knew the momentum their stations were making in local ratings. We went to work on making it happen as soon as we got back to Nashville that following week. I never thought meeting for dinner and drinks in NYC would be the conduit to Music City, but it definitely paid off by unlocking doors and keeping other options cracked open for us down the road.”
The process took some time, along with the rebrand of 94.9 The Fan, but on June 13th, Outkick 360 was officially back on the air in Nashville from 2-5 p.m. Since the launch, just over a month ago, the reaction has been positive.
“They have a huge following that was sad to see them go, but are excited to see them back,” McCabe said. “Obviously when you make changes you’re going to have people that don’t like them, and they’re typically louder than the people that do like the changes. I think mostly it’s been a positive reaction to have them. Dan Patrick, too. He was missed in the Nashville market and being able to do both of those things, along with Colin Cowherd, I think it’s been pretty positive.”
Getting Outkick 360 back on the air was just one part of the rebrand at 94.9 The Fan. Granted, it was a big element, but there were several other things that needed to go into a successful rebrand.
“It takes a lot of meetings and a lot of phone calls,” laughed McCabe.
One of the biggest things was the name change of the station. McCabe thought a rebrand needed to mean a complete name change from The Game 2. Thus, The Fan was born.
“Yeah, that was actually one of the biggest things,” McCabe said. “When it was The Game 2 there was this perception that it was little brother and it was the catch-all for things that couldn’t be on The Game. In this rebranding, we wanted 94.9 to be viewed as its own station and to stand on its own. Even though we’re under the same roof it’s pretty much its own identity. We’re trying to build it that way. That was the thought process. We realized Game 2 didn’t carry the same weight as ESPN 2. That’s why we went with The Fan.”
A station rebrand is not an easy task. Like McCabe said it was mostly filled with several meetings and phone calls that were time consuming. That was on top of his daily duties of being an newly-appointed PD at 102.5 The Game and even a host of Chase, Willy and D-Mase at the station every weekday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He’s got a full plate but successfully pulled off an incredible rebrand of the station while balancing several other duties.
“It’s a lot,” laughed McCabe. “Especially as we get into the fall, the most important time of the year. I want to manage my talent on 102.5 to make sure we’re in the best situation to succeed. We’ve adjusted some things in the mid-day, bringing back Derek Mason, former wide receiver to add to our coverage. It’s definitely day-to-day and it’s difficult and I’ve really had to balance my time between prepping a show, hosting and programming two stations. And then also trying to have a personal life.”
102.5 The Game has been incredibly successful in the Nashville market. Undergoing a station rebrand meant creating a unique identity for 94.9 The Fan that was completely separate from The Game. McCabe saw an increase in sports betting as a way to program unique content on the station.
“I think the biggest thing is, in addition to Dan Patrick, Cowherd and Outkick 360, we’ve put the VSIN Network on there, so we’re doing sports betting and really taking advantage of it,” McCabe said. “I think that’s important in this market, because it’s really taken off since it became legal.”
Getting back on the airwaves is huge for Outkick 360. In fact, it’s seemingly caused a chain reaction as the show is now being simulcasted on stations in Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky. The good thing for McCabe is there’s consistent communication between him and Outkick 360, something that’s very unique when you have national shows on one of your stations.
“Hutton and I talk quite a bit, as well as Chad,” said McCabe. “That’s mainly who I deal with. We’re texting a couple of times a week and trying to get together and talk about things. The communication between us and Outkick 360 has been great.”
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.
