Fred Toucher is wrong. He said everyone in Boston is talking about who will replace Rich Shertenlieb as his co-host in mornings on 98.5 The Sports Hub. That’s incorrect.
Everyone in sports radio is talking about who will replace Rich Shertenlieb as his co-host in mornings on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Including fellow hosts at the station.
I can’t help but notice the similarities between the search for the successor to the Rich chair and Barstool Sports.
Most sports radio talent searches take place behind closed doors with strict vows of secrecy. But 98.5 The Sports Hub isn’t like most sports radio stations. And the station has turned the search into content in a very Barstool-esque way.
Barstool Sports has many detractors. What you can’t deny, however, is its ability to turn every single thing into content for the outlet. The interoffice drama and politics is part of the allure of the brand. It has brought fans behind the scenes in a completely unfiltered manner.
Which I think has played into some of the decisions made by Sports Hub hosts.
Last week, Kendra Middleton revealed she had a self-described “courtesy interview” to replace Shertenlieb. That followed comments from Big Jim Murray who revealed he had no interest in the job.
“I’ve had a conversation with my agent about it. I told him I’m 100% not interested in what I’m comfortable with where I’m at,” said Murray in November after Shertenlieb’s departure. “Maybe I’m an anomaly like that…I’m about being comfortable and happy. So yeah, it doesn’t really matter what the money is. It’d be nice, but I’d be miserable.”
I’m not chiding anyone for talking about the situation. Frankly, I wish more stations and hosts would follow this pattern after a high-profile exit. KNBR followed a similar playbook recently after different departures. Your audience isn’t dumb. They know when someone vanishes from their favorite station. Talk about it. Be open and honest about it. The parent company may not like it, but it goes a long way in building a relationship with your listeners.
Which is what Barstool has mastered. They know that a large portion of their audience cares about what happens in the office. Truthfully, I have virtually no idea who does what at Barstool. Their talent roster is a scattered mess outside of Pardon My Take and some other shows with KFC, Feitelberg, etc…but I know their names. I know who they like and dislike in the office. Hell, depending on the day, I know what they had for lunch, what they did that weekend, and who used fake spray paint to piss Brandon Walker off this morning.
I hope Barstool continues to change the game in the sports radio space, and 98.5 The Sports Hub is just an early adopter of taking fans behind the curtains of who truly has unfiltered opinions on their place of employment and their colleagues. We’ll all be better for it in the end.
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.
Not like most stations? Most stations keep personnel decisions top secret? You must not have noticed EEI also parted ways with a morning show host and had about 6 months of on-air tryouts to find the replacement. It was basically the only topic of conversation on the show the entire time. So what 98.5 is doing is not at all unique and isn’t even inspired by Barstool but in fact their main rival.