If you ask Tim Spence what the biggest objective has been during his first week on the job, he can’t point to just one. That’s because the new Director of Sports Operations for San Antonio’s Sports Star is trying to familiarize himself with everything, both inside and out of the building.
“It’s like drinking from a fire hose,” laughed Spence. “All of it was expected. I’ve got a good group of people here and I’m going to wrap my arms around the radio station and figure out what I can do to help to move this thing to the next level.”
This past Tuesday marked one week since Spence started his new role in San Antonio. That time was spent trying to understand where San Antonio’s Sports Star is as a station, whether it’s talent, sales, or the overall needs in the building. Frankly, that’s how the rest of his first 30 days on the job will be. And his initial message to the staff has been clear: He wants to help everyone in the building be the best version of themselves.
“The first thing is finishing the listening aspect of where the radio is, understanding the talent, understanding the needs, sales, the old adage of ratings and revenue is still in play, even in 2022,” said Spence. “How do we move this thing forward? Well, before you get into that next visionary aspect of the coming months and years, I have to figure out exactly where we are as a radio station.”
“Leading up to this, there was some listening but it’s not near like the first 30 days. There’s one, listening and figuring out who the staff is and who the talent is. We have a small staff but a very productive one. And how to best use the tools that we have. That can’t be done over a short window of time, it’s probably in the first 30 days.”
Spence seems like the perfect person to take San Antonio’s Sports Star to the next level, because of his vision for the station and extensive resume in the radio business. Having to adapt and understand a new market isn’t new to him. He did the same thing in 1995 when he moved to Denver and enjoyed decades of success in the market. Now, he’s in San Antonio, where he’s trying to understand the city and what makes it tick.
“Coming out of a very long timeframe in Denver, I think anyone that’s going through this situation is saying ‘What do I know? Where have I been? And how do I utilize it?’,” said Spence. “There’s a lifestyle here that’s all about having fun. There are ways to maximize that. When I was interviewing for the position, you look at the website, talk to people and there’s not one person that didn’t say ‘Wow, I really loved my time in San Antonio’.
“There’s so many things to do and be a part of. That’s part of my learning curve is getting used to the culture and relying on the guys here to help me better understand what it means to be part of San Antonio. That’s the same thing I went through in Denver when I got there in 1995. Ok, what does the Mile High City really need? That’s what I’m doing now in San Antonio.”
It’s an interesting line to walk when you enter a new station in a role such as Director of Sports Operations, when the talent may not be familiar with you at all. The initial conversations with your new talent can be very important. Spence knows that. Even though he has multiple things to do on a daily basis, outside of managing talent, those conversations have begun.
“I’ve had conversations with them, such as who they are and what their goals and objectives are,” said Spence. “What their challenges are and their victories. My job is to help them on every level at whatever they’re doing. You can look at talent, producers, board ops, sales, me coming in, this is what I said from day one, I’m here to help. I’m here to help move this radio station on a multitude of levels so we are even more productive from both a company and personal standpoint.”
Spence has programmed music, political talk, and sports stations in his radio career. He’s seen, and been a part of what successful stations do to stay on top. But sports radio is so different from music or political talk. That’s one of the reasons Spence loves the format of sports radio so much.
“I think anyone who sits in sports, any conversation or iteration, it comes down to it’s in your DNA,” said Spence. “I’ve done music and news talk but when it comes to sports, sports talk is fun. If you’re going to have fun, then why not have fun on the radio? That’s the magic formula that’s always driven me to be the best I can be and help whoever I’m leading to understand that, first and foremost, we’ve got to have fun. You have fun on the air, everything takes care of itself after that.”
San Antonio’s Sports Star is big with Spurs content, which is the biggest sports entity in town. There was a time when seeing the team in the NBA Finals was the norm, but it’s been a while since the Spurs were in contention. In fact, they’re in a rebuild. Regardless, the Spurs are still the most popular team in town and San Antonio is very much an NBA market. Does the success and failures of the team affect Spence’s drive to take his station to new heights?
“I expressed this to management when I was going through the interview process,” said Spence. “Is it nice to be the flagship station for the Spurs? Yes it is. It comes with a lot of grandiose positions and so forth. It can also be beneficial to not be the flagship for the San Antonio Spurs.
“We’re also the affiliate for the Dallas Cowboys in San Antonio. Those are the two-biggest teams going on. If I have a relationship with one, you can almost say I’m the flagship for the Cowboys and not for the Spurs, I can live in both arenas very easily, because I’ve done it and I know how to interact and be a part of it.
“Regarding the Spurs, yes, this is very much an NBA town driven by the Spurs. I hope that this radio station, whether we ever become the flagship station or not, turns into the home for San Antonio Spurs news. We have plenty of people that have been for 20-plus years and know the history of the Spurs and the infrastructure of the organization. We can own that position.”
So while the most hectic time Spence may ever experience at the station is now, he’s hoping this time is paving the way for even more success in the future.
“When it’s all said and done, it all circles back to the format we’re in,” said Spence. “There are things we can do to really galvanize this radio station and I think sometimes, to an extent, we don’t get lazy or tired, we get comfortable. I think this radio station is probably in a comfortable position.
“We need to move it to the next level and how do we do that? By infusing a fun, energetic, atmosphere that begins and ends with the community. How do we interact with our listeners, community and sponsors, those things are the next level of this radio station. I told someone the other night, I hope in three, six or nine months we’re all going to look back and say, wow, look what we just did.”
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.
