Earlier this year in the first quarter, Good Karma Brands began operating 98.7 ESPN New York under a local marketing agreement as part of a larger transaction which resulted in the conglomerate acquiring ownership of ESPN New York 1050, ESPN LA 710 and ESPN 1000 in Chicago. As part of the agreement — which was made official in the first quarter of 2022 — all the newly owned stations continue to operate as ESPN affiliates and air network content, along with other local programming.
As it seeks to better appeal to New York sports fans, 98.7 ESPN New York recently announced a new lineup emphasizing local programming set to take effect on Jan. 3, 2023. On weekdays between 6 a.m. and midnight, the station will carry 16 hours of live and local programming – including the expansion of the DiPietro & Rothenberg morning show to four hours, the shift of Bart & Hahn to a local program, and ceasing airing ESPN Radio’s national morning show Keyshawn, JWill & Max featuring Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams, and Max Kellerman.
“We’re always looking for ways to better serve the sports fans and the listeners,” said Ryan Hurley, program director of 98.7 ESPN New York. “The media world is changing all the time. With the changes that we made… we’re committed to bringing significantly more local programming and content throughout the day in the lineup.”
Since the launch of 98.7 ESPN New York, the station has often lost in key sectors in ratings books compared to its direct competitor in the format, Audacy-owned and operated WFAN. Often heralded for its plethora of local programming, WFAN has been a staple of New York radio since its launch in 1987, featuring prominent hosts such as Mike Francesa, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, Don Imus and Boomer Esiason over the years. Its emphasis on local programming, along with its live game broadcasts of the New York Yankees, New York Giants, and New Jersey Devils and influx of original podcasts have rendered it a trusted, reliable source keeping the voice of the fan in mind.
Contrarily, 98.7 ESPN New York’s The Michael Kay Show gives listeners live and local coverage with broadcasters who are indelible figures in local New York sports. In fact, the show recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, continuing its run as the longest-lasting sports talk radio show in the market. Yet it has often fallen short to WFAN’s afternoon programming, most recently Carton and Roberts, in the ratings despite beating the station in last fall’s book – perhaps because of the lack of additional local programming surrounding it.
“It gives us a little bit more of a chance to show what we have and get into the nitty-gritty of New York sports a little more than we have been maybe,” Hurley said. “There have been some big national stories that deserve focus, but maybe not so much here in New York, that we focus on. Certain national stories that take precedence and are big [are] definitely worth covering – but I don’t know about how in-depth on a certain level depending on where you are.”
Live and local programming in the New York metropolitan area is essential to attracting sports fans amid a media landscape where there are profusely more options than solely radio to discover appealing content. As a result, radio seeks to utilize its nascent ability to connect with listeners to differentiate oneself from digital outlets, regional sports networks and other forms of information and entertainment.
“New York is certainly a different animal,” Hurley expressed. “The amount of different teams that are represented here in the tristate and how many teams there are. Sports fans are craving that New York flavor throughout the day. That’s exactly what we want to deliver to them and that’s exactly what prompted these changes.”
Vinny DiMarco is the New York market manager for Good Karma Brands, meaning he has oversight of both ESPN New York 1050 and 98.7 ESPN New York. He had previously been working at ESPN as the senior director of sales of its audio partnerships division and helped facilitate a digital sales agreement with Good Karma Brands in 2015. The agreement was also extended as part of the transaction reportedly worth $15 million, and the partnership remains stable and strong.
Many people who worked with 98.7 ESPN New York are now with Good Karma Brands, fostering a mutual familiarity and respect between parties. Aside from DiMarco, Hurley works with various other executives at Good Karma Brands, including Founder and Chief Executive Officer Craig Karmazin, President Steve Politziner, Vice President of Content Evan Cohen and Executive Vice President Debbie Brown.
“The synergy between the two entities has been something that’s been existing for a long time in this industry,” Hurley said. “So far with the change that was made, the partnership has been excellent, the input’s great [and] there’s been a lot of people on that side we already do work with and have worked with.”
Scott McCarthy serves as vice president of business operation and strategy for ESPN Audio and was an integral part of this change. His leadership and expertise in the audio space helped guide all of whom were involved in the decision-making process as the broadcast outlet seeks to position itself for years to come.
“He has really helped and championed a lot of this stuff for 98.7 and has overseen a lot between local and network,” Hurley said of McCarthy. “He has been a real driving force in helping get things moving and helping behind the scenes.”
Hurley has worked with ESPN New York for nearly two decades, and the broadcast outlet has always had active discussions pertaining to how to best improve its standing in the marketplace. At this current predicament, 98.7 ESPN New York believes it is the right moment to go all-in on its commitment to providing local coverage of New York sports.
“This isn’t about, necessarily, the talent [that] is still on our air at the moment,” Hurley explained. “These are all talents that are good and established… broadcasters as well – and professionals that have done great work in their careers. It’s more about being able to deliver that New York content on a more consistent basis. We have that opportunity so this was the time that it presented itself and this is the time we took. We’re excited about it and are thrilled at the opportunity that was given to us here.”
Weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., Rick DiPietro and Dave Rothenberg will go head-to-head with WFAN’s Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti in the sports talk radio morning drive slot. The show has been broadcasting from 5 to 8 a.m. since its launch in January 2021, coinciding with WFAN’s The Warm Up Show featuring Al Dukes and Jerry Reco and two hours of Boomer & Gio. Now extended to four hours and in a new time slot, it seeks to pose stronger competition to Boomer & Gio, which was the number one morning show in all of New York City radio in the summer ratings book.
“What’s coming out of that room every morning has been entertaining [and] a lot of fun, and you’re getting incredible sports opinions and knowledge from two guys that have just worked so hard,” Hurley said. “….It’s just a great listen [and] a good way to start your morning off and we’re excited about it.”
Mike Greenberg’s nationally-syndicated show #Greeny will continue to broadcast in the 10 a.m. to noon slot, and it helps that he is from New York and an avid fan of the New York Jets. Yet over the summer months, Greenberg was rarely present to host his show, leading Pat McAfee to question his whereabouts in late August. Today, Greenberg is back to a regular hosting schedule and has recently had the shifts he missed covered by the national afternoon drive duo of Chris Canty and Chris Carlin.
Bart Scott and Alan Hahn continue to broadcast their show from noon to 3 p.m., but the duo will now be broadcast exclusively at the local level and thus more centered around New York sports storylines and topics. At the national level, ESPN Radio will pair Jason Fitz and Harry Douglas, both of whom have worked together on digital shows, to discuss the world of sports at large. In the ratings, Bart & Hahn has not fared well compared to WFAN’s Tiki and Tierney. However, both Scott and Hahn are beloved voices in the marketplace and also appear on television for SNY and MSG Networks, respectively, giving them a chance to effectively battle to gain larger shares of average quarter-hour persons.
“These are two guys that have been here at 98.7,” Hurley said. “….To be able to have their show and allow their show to fully focus on the New York market and our teams and our storylines [is] a big win for the fans.”
Remaining in the afternoon drive slot from 3 to 7 p.m. is The Michael Kay Show featuring Michael Kay, Don La Greca, and Peter Rosenberg. In the ratings, the show has been struggling to keep up with WFAN over the last year but still has a base of loyal and passionate fans, as evinced by the turnout at its 20th anniversary live broadcast.
As the play-by-play voice of New York Yankees baseball on YES Network and one-half of the KayRod Cast duo during select games on ESPN, Kay is renowned in the marketplace and is one of the original voices of 98.7 ESPN New York.
La Greca, whose voice was the first over the station, has been a mainstay on The Michael Kay Show since its launch in 2002 and continues to contribute to the station with his original hockey podcast Game Misconduct and play-by-play announcing and studio hosting within New York Rangers live game broadcasts.
Rounding out the trio is Rosenberg who brings his background as a music radio host and wrestling personality to the air; in fact, he is a co-host on HOT 97’s Ebro in the Morning on weekdays, pushing the envelope by actively broadcasting in two different radio formats.
“They are going to anchor that afternoon drive as they always have and it definitely helps having that credibility and the byplay between shows,” Hurley said. “The guys are all actually very tight and familiar with each other throughout the dayparts. It’s huge.”
Following the departure of Chris Carlin from the nighttime 7 to 10 p.m. slot to host afternoon drive with Chris Canty on ESPN Radio’s national network, 98.7 ESPN New York began an extensive search process to find its next host. While WFAN recently hired Keith McPherson — a podcast personality with no previous major market radio experience — to host from 7 p.m. to midnight, 98.7 ESPN New York opted for someone who had been within its walls for several years in promoting Dan Graca.
In 2003, Graca joined ESPN New York as an intern and was hired as a part-time employee just one year later, initially screening calls for The Michael Kay Show. For the last 12 years, Graca has worked with SiriusXM on Mad Dog Sports Radio, but came back to the station in 2018 on weekends to host New York Jets pregame and postgame shows.
Throughout his career in sports media, Graca has also worked in news at both WBBR Bloomberg 1130 and 1010 WINS in New York along with contributing and hosting on SNY. He returned to 98.7 ESPN New York in August to take over hosting duties on the station’s nighttime show.
“It was a tough search because there were a lot of great candidates that we spoke with,” Hurley said. “….We spoke to a lot of people but Dan has been a voice and has a tie to 98.7 and 1050 obviously for years. When it came down to it, it was a great choice that we made and he’s been doing great work for us.”
Larry Hardesty and Gordon Damer will continue on Hardesty & Damer from 10 p.m. to midnight, concluding the day of local programming. Yet there are times when these nighttime shows are preempted so the station can honor its media rights agreements and carry live game broadcasts. As the flagship home of live game broadcasts for New York Knicks basketball, New York Rangers hockey and New York Jets football and an affiliate of New York Islanders hockey, ESPN New York provides extensive coverage of these teams within and surrounding the live game broadcasts for fans to consume.
“It’s a conduit for us directly to the listeners with their favorite teams and obviously it’s providing entertainment content,” Hurley said. “[It is] not only just the actual games themselves, but the ancillary programming that comes with that and the relationships that are built with these teams is very important.”
While radio pundits and industry insiders will surely look at the Nielsen ratings to determine the success of this new, largely hyperlocal lineup, Hurley will deduce its effectiveness in other ways both quantitatively and qualitatively. In this method, he aims to divulge a more complete view of how the station is performing compared to its competitors in all sectors of media.
“Seeing the reaction from fans and listeners is what’s most important and just the feeling inside the building and studios as well,” he said. “It’s about the content – always – and you know when that’s off. You just know; you know when that’s off and it’s not working. We don’t feel that at all. We feel we have some excellent, excellent shows on our air and listeners and fans let us know that every day in how they consume and the feedback that we get.”
Keeping listeners captivated and absorbed in the programming is effectuated through the means in which content is delivered. The dynamic nature of production and distribution requires media outlets like 98.7 ESPN New York to actively evaluate its own practices and adapt to changes in the marketplace. At the same time, Hurley, as a program director, is responsible for recruiting and evaluating talent and his thoughts on the progeny of today’s generation of sports radio relates to more than just knowing a surfeit of facts or communicating a deluge of opinions about sports.
“Obviously sports knowledge is important here but it’s about entertaining here as well,” Hurley said. “The main focus of what you want to do is you want to make people feel like they’re missing out on being with people they want to be with. Every day, you want to become part of their routine and it’s important the talent can be entertaining and have that hook.”
Once the Times Square New Year’s Ball drops and signals the playing of the iconic “Auld Lang Syne,” 98.7 ESPN New York will nearly be set to unveil its new local lineup. Perhaps you could call it the station’s “New Year’s Resolution” to better serve its listeners as it affirms a commitment to live and local content. Nevertheless, the station will usher in the New Year looking to grow its audience and subsequently improve its standing in the marketplace.
“We’re here for the fan and the listeners and the New York sports hardcore consumer,” Hurley siad. “….We’re going to give it all we have – 100% like we always do – but this is a great opportunity for us as a station and [for] these shows.”
Derek Futterman is an associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
