The search for a new co-host to join Fred Toucher in morning drive on 98.5 The Sports Hub has commenced, which took place after Rich Shertenlieb departed the top-rated program earlier in the month.
On the air, Toucher shared that he has been receiving messages from prospective co-hosts looking to state their case as to why they should be considered to fill the position. However, he is not involved in reviewing résumés and conveyed that there is nothing he can do about it. The conversation started when station anchor and reporter Dan Roche asked Toucher if anyone had contacted him to inquire about the role.
“Not to insult anyone, but there have been people that have no background in radio whatsoever who have reached out to me with the sincere belief that they were qualified for the job due to the fact that they like sports, which makes me really think how little people think of this whole medium now,” Toucher said Tuesday morning. “People are just like, ‘Yeah, I like sports. I’ll just come on and do it. Why not? It’s Boston; I’ll just jump on the old Boston morning show and just do whatever I want.’”
At the moment, Fred Toucher is working with a variety of members at the station as the outlet searches for a new permanent co-host and felt bad for making fun of the prospective employees while on the air.
The aspect of the situation that concerns himr is the sentiment being perpetuated from people that anyone is able to work in radio. After the program yesterday, he revealed that he told station staff members that terrestrial radio had recently grossed around $12 billion annually, a figure that was down from the numbers before the COVID-19 global pandemic. In contrast, Fred Toucher asserted that podcasts generate $2 billion and cannot be monetized because of the deluge of different niche programming in the marketplace.
“So what big radio companies said was, ‘Alright, we’re going to acquire all these stations, and what we’re also going to do is move into podcasting,’” Toucher shared, “but what they realized was they couldn’t monetize podcasting.”
Toucher stated that he listens to the Rich Roll Podcast, a wellness program that implements guests from different industries to engage in conversations designed to inform and empower the listening audience to discover their most authentic selves. Although he enjoys the program, he questions how many people want to listen to a spiritual advisor discuss topics such as mindful meditation for two hours.
Within his commentary, he cited iHeartMedia and elucidated how the company has been unable to make any money based on its podcasts. Maintaining a reverence for terrestrial radio and the impact it continues to have within a dynamic media ecosystem is something Toucher seems to hope his next co-host will possess, propounded by depicting a hypothetical scenario symbolizing the mindset referenced therein.
“It’s kind of like picking up a baseball bat and walking into Fenway [Park] like, ‘Throw me a fastball,’” Toucher suggested. “You’ve got to at least intern somewhere or do something.”
At the beginning of the month, Beasley Broadcast Group – the parent company of Beasley Media Group – recorded quarterly net revenue of $60.1 million, which, in the three quarters of its fiscal year, totals $181.4 million. The company, however, reported an operating income loss of $85.5 million for the quarter, something it attributes to the impact of non-cash impairment losses totaling $88.8 million. Its net income finished at a $67.5 million loss, which equates to $81.5 million through its first three fiscal quarters.
Within its quarterly revenue, digital accounted for 18.6% as the company continues to remain focused on attaining its goal of the sector accounting for between 20% and 30% of total revenue. Toucher shared additional information about the role of 98.5 The Sports Hub within those earnings that had not been previously divulged.
“This station is… responsible for like 18% of the revenue for the whole effing company,” Fred Toucher said. “If you don’t want to own this station, you don’t want to be in radio. That’s kind of the thing. If you own The Sports Hub – you just own The Sports Hub; you bought The Sports Hub and you ran it, you’d get an incredible return on your investment.”
Not only is Fred Toucher unaware of the contents of specific résumés, but he is not interested in negotiating deals, an endeavor he claims is above his head. He knows what it takes to succeed in the marketplace and is excited for the next iteration of the program, which is set to be revealed at the beginning of 2024.
“All I can tell you is that it is what it is,” Toucher said. “If you think you’re coming in here and making a ton of money, you’re not. It’s up to them.”
