I have a very strong opinion on the moniker “News Radio”. There are very few “news radio” stations. The majority of “news radio” stations in reality are ultra-conservative radio stations that only talk about politics, which they consider “news”. There’s a difference.
I think “Sports Radio” is starting to wade into similar waters. It isn’t so much “sports radio”, depending on the market, as much as it is “NFL radio“.
I’m not naive enough to think anything other than the NFL is the most popular sport in America, and I certainly realize that it drives ratings not only on TV but on radio, too. But, man, there are other topics out there.
If you punch up a sports radio station at any given time, there’s a really good chance the hosts are talking about the NFL. And I get it, to a point. “Play the hits”, right?
But oftentimes, the hits are not the deep dives I hear so frequently. There are conversations and then there are dissertations, and I’m hearing a lot of really in-the-weeds football conversations on sports radio recently. If you’re using terminology diehard football fans might not understand, you’re alienating your audience. If you think your audience only cares about the NFL, you’re missing a gigantic segment of potential listeners. There are so many other things to discuss outside of whether or not your team should be a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. When you start talking about cloud coverages, wham concepts, and how wide receivers aren’t built to run a 9 route, you’re missing the forest for the trees.
I know this is anecdotal, but I’ve shared in this space before about a friend of mine who had a cup of coffee in the NFL with the Detroit Lions. On a bachelor party in Michigan, we went to the bar/restaurant next to the house we were staying in. While there, a Lions fan recognized him, came over, and asked if he was who he was.
No one in our group thought “That’s a really dedicated fan! He knew who a practice squad tight end was!”. We all thought it was borderline psychotic behavior. And there’s a really good chance that if you’re spending significant portions of your radio show discussing anyone other than the quarterback, coaches, or players who are in the headlines for off-the-field reasons, you’re having borderline psychotic conversations on the air.
If you were to talk down to the local bar and listen to the conversations sports fans were having, I’m here to tell you they’re not talking about whether or not the left guard is up to snuff or not. It’s just not happening.
It’s not engaging, it’s repetitive, it’s not all that entertaining, and it’s not all that informative. You’re talking about what you want to talk about, and that’s fine, but you’re doing a disservice to your audience by only talking about the NFL.
Can we push ourselves to do better than “Hey, it’s Friday, so here are my NFL picks for the weekend” radio? Can program directors push their talent to not have the same conversations the show just before it had? Is it possible to watch, dissect, and be knowledgeable about another sport or topic? The answer to all three should be a resounding “Hell yes”.
Branch out. There’s more to sports — and sports radio — than the NFL.
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.
I wanted to jump on this thread regarding Garrett’s comments. Garrett is correct in many ways.
There is another side to this coin, though.
What has happened in Denver with the FAN and Altitude battle currently on-going is example one,
when it comes to prioritizing around “what the listener really wants to talk about.”
Back when the Broncos were good, the FAN had a stranglehold on the Men numbers due to their 100%
on-air coverage of the Broncos. It worked. Why? Because research told them what the listener
wanted to truly talk about. Now, the Avs have been consistently good, but the Nuggets and Rockies
have not. That is until the Nuggets won their first NBA Championship.
What has happened with the listeners and now, with the ratings, is exactly what Garrett’s referencing.
The FAN got caught with their guard down and as a result Altitude Sports beat them most recently in
the ratings. Altitude is the radio home of the Nuggets and Avalanche. In case you didn’t know, the
FAN has a 91k watt signal that blasts the front range, Ft. Collins to Colorado Springs.
Altitude’s signal, is suspect south of Denver.
Now, to be fair, Denver is and always will be a Broncos town. I can remember vividly, the former
PR Director of the Avalanche telling me, “the Avs season doesn’t start until the Broncos season
is over.” Things have definitely changed, though.
Also, the FAN has tried to make serious inroads with both the Nuggets and Avalanche. The difference
though, is the fact that the ship (Altitude) and in particular the listeners already set sail with
the Nuggets, the Avalanche and with Altitude Sports.