In late June, the word started to trickle out: ESPN Radio was shaking things up. Then, word came down just how much shaking would happen.
Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams, and Max Kellerman were out in mornings. Jason Fitz was out in middays. If your name wasn’t Mike Greenberg, you were moving somewhere in the new ESPN Radio lineup.
As soon as the rumors started swirling, so did the questions about another major shakeup in the genre’s largest national player. Now that it’s been nearly six months to the day of the massive bloodletting at ESPN and ESPN Radio specifically, I wonder what really been changed at the Worldwide Leader?
There were — what I would classify — two somewhat major issues with the previous iteration of ESPN Radio.
The first was the biggest: the lack of radio people in the lineup. While Max Kellerman and Keyshawn Johnson each had radio backgrounds, I don’t know that they would place the “radio guy” label on themselves. Add in Jay Williams, who really only had a TV analyst background, and it was easy to see why the show never really took off.
On a quick sidebar, I remain steadfast that in about 95% of cases, a two-person morning show is the way to go. If familiarity breeds ratings, it’s much easier to be familiar with two people rather than three, or in the case of some morning shows (I’m looking at you The Power Trip Morning Show and The Sports Junkies), like 30 people. I know everyone needs to balance more than just their strictly radio audience these days, but if you’re working in just the audio medium, I think in most cases, two people works better than three. And I think ESPN Radio would have been better off with a Keyshawn & Max rather than Keyshawn, JWill, and Max, but that’s just me.
If you’re going to build your radio lineup, it makes sense to build it around radio talent, right? That’s a logical thought process, and ESPN Radio did that with the addition of Evan Cohen, Chris Canty, and Michelle Smallmon on Unsportsmanlike. The network took the exact opposite approach from its previous iteration. Instead of trying to assemble the three largest, most recognizable names it could get, it paired three radio talents. While still sticking to the ideals of diversity, it put together an experienced group of radio hosts who not only understand the medium, but understand working on a national platform.
I give ESPN Radio credit for the move. I can’t imagine it’s an ultra-secure feeling telling the person who will sign off on the move “We’re going to take the guy from SiriusXM, the girl from St. Louis, and the former NFL player turned NY radio host and slap them all together in the marquee daypart, that we once absolutely dominated”, and expect that person to be a-ok with the decision. The network took a chance, and I think it is one that will ultimately be viewed as a positive decision.
On the flip side, one problem still persists, in my estimation. This isn’t necessarily an original thought, as it’s one my colleague Demetri Ravanos pointed out nearly a year ago to the day. ESPN still lacks a “flamethrower” in its lineup.
Think about it: CBS Sports Radio has Jim Rome. FOX Sports Radio has Colin Cowherd. ESPN has…Mike Greenberg? Chris Carlin? If you’re hanging your hat on Mike Greenberg — who can fairly be labeled as the Ryan Seacrest of sports media — to be your go-to guy, I think you’re lacking in that department. Now, to be fair, Greenberg has completely re-invented himself since getting Get Up off the ground, and has shifted away from the milquetoast reputation — in my opinion — that he once held. But he still doesn’t pack the punch that others in the medium, both nationally and locally, do. It just isn’t really his style, not his brand, and it isn’t his lane.
Chris Carlin does have a bit of that sour New Yorker, but I don’t know that he’s on the same level as Cowherd and Rome as true “I’ll say whatever I’ll damn well please, and if you don’t like it, come at me” radio hosts.
Now, do I think “flamethrowers” grow on trees? I don’t. But they are grown. You saw it with Cowherd. He was put into a prime window for growth — middays on a national network — and the audience grew with him.
And I think ESPN Radio needs to prioritize the 10 AM-3 PM daypart, to develop that area that’s lacking. Even if it isn’t the fiery, “I’ll say anything” host, and it’s more along the lines of what Dan Patrick or Tony Kornheiser once offered in the timeslot, it can still be a driver of affiliates, listeners, and advertisers.
So while ESPN Radio has addressed some issues in its lineup, one major problem still persists. I don’t believe its current lineup was ever going to be viewed as the end-all, be-all of ESPN Radio, but it did shore up some areas that needed addressing.
Finally, I think the jury is still out on how committed to radio ESPN remains. You could strongly argue the restructuring of its lineup had nothing to do with an emphasis on radio talent as much as it was about slashing as much payroll as possible. And you’d probably be right, but if you’re put in that situation, I think the powers that be did a fine job in making a meal out of a crap sandwich.
But what is ESPN’s commitment level to radio right now? I think it’s a fair question, and one that those inside the Bristol offices likely don’t want to have to confront because the answer might not be pretty. Despite that question, I will remain skeptical that — for an organization that has viewed its mission as serving sports fans wherever they consume content — radio would be one of the first mediums to fall by the wayside.
Let’s see what the Worldwide Leader does with ESPN Radio in 2024. I hope it isn’t as doom and gloom as many thought it seemed earlier this year.
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.
