Could a National Network Get By Without a Morning Show?

If the reports of Keyshawn, JWill, and Max’s demise are true, ESPN Radio is about to embark on its fifth morning show in six years. With those figures in front of you, it’s clear that the morning drive timeslot has been in flux for the Worldwide Leader. They’re not alone in that “national network replacing a morning show” department. FOX Sports Radio and CBS Sports Radio have each featured new morning shows since Mike & Mike’s run atop the sports radio world ended.

It is not unreasonable to note — no offense to the potentially former ESPN Radio show, nor Damon Amendolara, Jonas Knox, Brady Quinn, and LaVar Arrington — that the strongest programs on ESPN Radio, FOX Sports Radio, and CBS Sports Radio aren’t featured in morning drive.

So I ask a simple question: Do national sports radio networks need a morning show anymore?

On the surface, that’s a stupid question. Of course, they need a morning show. The station’s foundation — and in turn, the network — is built on the morning show.

Except I just showed you that that’s not true.

I’d contend that a national network’s morning show now plays second fiddle to midday offerings. ESPN Radio hangs its hat on Greeny, CBS Sports Radio on Jim Rome, and FOX Sports Radio on Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd. Greeny and Dan Patrick would air in morning drive in the Pacific timezone, but otherwise, everything else is showcased from 9:00 AM-3:00 PM.

So, if you’re looking at the future of ESPN Radio — which trickles down to the future of local sports radio — wouldn’t the network be better served to put more eggs in the midday basket than trying to replicate its past glory with a Mike & Mike style show?

ESPN Radio — in my humble opinion — would be better served focusing on markets that don’t need a morning show from the network. Focus on stations and markets that need a strong midday show because the budget doesn’t allow for a locally-focused lineup from 6:00 AM-7:00 PM.

Now, the small market stations that run the overwhelming majority of ESPN Radio’s content — which I used to program — would still need a morning show. Additionally, Bristol makes a significant amount of revenue from the morning show, and scale is a part of that.

Is a clock similar to a news/talk morning news wheel format something ESPN Radio could explore? Could a SportsCenter All Night style morning show work? With the way we consume sports information, news, and analysis, I’d argue no, a format like that doesn’t work in morning drive, but every option has to be on the table now, right?

Could a show similar to Get Up — or even a direct simulcast of the Mike Greenberg-helmed show — be better than a traditional ESPN Radio morning show?

These are questions the folks in Bristol should be asking themselves, and finding answers for, over the next few days and weeks.

National sports radio networks have operated in the complete opposite model that news/talk shows have worked for decades. In the news/talk space, there really aren’t any “national networks” anymore. Programmers are piecing together lineups show by show, distributor by distributor. You’re not just signing up for the entire MAGA News Network or whoever is going to try to out-conservative the next group. It’s show by show.

And I wonder if that model could work in sports radio. As a sports radio programmer needing a collective of shows, would you rather sign up for an entire network and take shows you’re not crazy about and know aren’t going to do well in your market, or would you rather an al a carte offering, and have more freedom in your selections? I know which one I’d take, but that option doesn’t really exist right now.

At the end of the day, I just believe ESPN Radio is better served by putting its diminishing resources towards flamethrowing midday shows rather than stretching itself to cover a 24/7 lineup that no one is gaga over.

Also, if the network were to take that approach, it puts the onus on stations to invest in themselves. Put together a local morning show. Create jobs and return your local station to the roots that helped originally establish it. Or it allows for more regional or national syndication in morning drive. And what does ESPN Radio care? Those shows aren’t going to be competitors! The move can help stations return to their local roots, and who believes that can be a bad thing?

ESPN Radio isn’t alone in having questions in morning drive. The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand has repeatedly mentioned that with Craig Carton’s departure from WFAN to FS1, there have been rumblings about simulcasting his television show on FOX Sports Radio. We’ll see what becomes of that.

Ultimately, if you’re not doing a phenomenal job at something — and Keyshawn, JWill, and Max isn’t likely getting canceled because ESPN Radio is thrilled with it — don’t you have a duty to examine everything and ask the tough questions? My stance is: hell yeah you do. And if ESPN Radio isn’t doing a phenomenal job at morning drive, I think it’s worth asking: Are we better served without this?

It might not be a fun conclusion to come to, and it might fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but you have to do what you have to do to win. And sometimes the easiest path to victory is admitting your defeats.

Garrett Searight

Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.