When Carl Dukes was working in Houston, Texas as an original member of ESPN 790, The Sports Animal, he felt content and satisfied with his career. Having an opportunity to work in a major media market during a prime daypart was something he strived to achieve. Upon receiving word that 92.9 The Game in Atlanta, Ga. was interested in hiring him to help launch the new, sports-formatted station, he did not have genuine interest in the role. After all, he had made a name for himself in Houston and refrained from chasing specific jobs. His agent, however, understood the importance of pursuing this chance and he acquiesced into conversing with CBS Radio management.
Dukes’ family has ties to the Georgia area, and he had been to Atlanta previously to cover events such as the Super Bowl and Final Four. From his perspective, he considered it a place to visit and hang out with the area producing cultural trends in hip-hop and fashion. Regularly working in the city was a completely different proposition, and it was a move he deliberated with his family as the process occurred. Regardless of where he is hosting on the air though, Dukes knows it is a privilege and responsibility to have such a platform.
“I get to do everyday what most people go into their normal jobs and do, which is talk to their friends and family about what happened last night, and they pay me for it,” Dukes said. “So, from that standpoint, this is something that I would be doing with my friends and my boys regardless of if I was not in this industry.”
Carl Dukes is the son of a decorated soldier in the U.S. military and frequently spent time around U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force bases in his youth. Although he was not aware of the accolades and respect his father had attained until he passed away, he did recognize his commitment to his job. Possessing a prudential mentality and an innate ability to push himself, Dukes applies the principles he learned in this capacity while ensuring he maintains a reverence for veterans.
The inherent galvanization pushed Dukes to pursue a job opportunity when he was still in high school, and he was intrigued by radio. When asked by local San Antonio radio host Sonny Melendrez what he wanted to do once older, Dukes replied that he was not quite sure and that he may want to resemble him. Melendrez responded to Dukes by directing him to be at Magic 105.3 the next day at 4:30 a.m., a command that took no convincing to oblige.
“There are a lot of people who want to get into this business, but they want to get in and they want to do all the things that they think they deserve to be doing, and there’s a process,” Dukes said. “It’s not what I did, but there’s a process to get to being in afternoons in New York or Chicago or Atlanta or Dallas. There’s a process; you don’t just walk into it.”
As a high school student, Dukes played football and subsequently matriculated at Texas State University. Following a knee injury though, he decided to move ahead with his radio pursuits and joined WOAI in San Antonio. He contributed to a top-40 morning show, before moving to competitor KTSA where he hosted a sports radio show at night. Both stations primarily broadcast news-related programming wherefore he produced talk shows surrounding politics. Nonetheless, he worked to balance the material he was consuming to remain proficient in both subjects.
“I enjoyed my time being around the political talk folks because they showed me how to put together shows and how to do talk shows,” Dukes said. “All of this at the end of the day, it sounds different because we’re talking about different things, but it’s all the same.”
Upon relocating to Houston, Carl Dukes continued to build his career by hosting a sports talk program and contributing to other mediums. While he was a member of KTRH, which has arguably made a an everlasting impact in news and talk radio, the station tabbed him to appear on SportsBeat, a new sports-focused show. Several years later, he became involved with 790 ESPN Radio, The Sports Animal as a local host. The outlet was ultimately added to the FM dial in 2007 when it consequently rebranded to ESPN Houston 97.5.
By the time he was offered the job in Atlanta, Dukes was not sure if he wanted to move and start anew in a different marketplace. Early in his career, he was focused on pleasing everybody as he tried to ingratiate himself to the listening audience. With more repetitions though, he recognized that people are ultimately going to become fans if the hosts remain authentic.
“I think for me once I got to the point where I was comfortable in my own shoes and didn’t care what people thought about my life or about where I’ve been or what I’m doing,” Dukes expressed. “[When] all that didn’t matter, then that’s when I got really good at this.”
Dukes and his wife were taking a vacation in Las Vegas and discussed the potential new job, along with its associated move to Atlanta. While sitting at a bar at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and conferring on the matter, the song, “Georgia on My Mind” by Ray Charles started playing, one of various external indications related to Atlanta and the state of Georgia itself that had arbitrarily occurred over an eight-week span.
“We both looked at each other like, ‘Really? We’re in Las Vegas, and what are the odds of this particular song coming on while we’re talking about this job?,’”
With a keen awareness about the circumstantial events taking place around him, Carl Dukes made the decision to accept the job because of the challenge therein. Having worked with colleagues in Houston and realizing the vision of commencing an all-sports radio station, he had confidence that the venture would work. Since beginning his show in 2012 – the early iterations of which he hosted with a variety of different partners, including former NFL quarterback Kordell Stewart – Dukes has valued being able to interact with the dedicated, passionate sports fans of the area.
“What I saw at the time when I took this opportunity – and now I’m pretty proud of the fact that I’ve been in afternoon drive here since we started and helped grow this thing to what it is – but I always felt like this was a hidden gem,” Dukes said. “I always felt like this was a city [that] was clamoring for the kind of radio station that 92.9 The Game has become, and I felt like if it was done right, we could own the city – and that’s what’s happened.”
Mike Bell joined the afternoon program on 92.9 The Game in 2014, officially beginning a partnership Dukes had sought to attain for several years. Dukes and Bell met one another for the first time at the Super Bowl in 2001 and had interest in starting a show together. When Dukes first began on 92.9 The Game, Bell was hosting in afternoon drive on 790 The Zone, meaning he and Dukes were up against one another in the daypart. Later on, 790 The Zone shuttered its programming en route to ceasing operations, leading the stars aligned to pair the hosts together.
“I felt like this is what the show needed to really take off and take off to the next level,” Dukes said. “It’s been challenging, but it’s also been fun at the same time which is great, and I think that makes a great partnership for Mike and I. We dig each other; we like each other [and] he’s a good dude.”
In the most recent Nielsen ratings book, Dukes & Bell earned a 7.3 share in the Men 25-54 demographic and finished third-overall in the marketplace within the daypart. For Dukes, trying to garner high ratings and shares is the way in which the program is measured against its competition. Because of this, he approaches his craft cognizant of the metric, but he judges the program based on several different factors akin to a talent evaluator at the NFL Draft Combine.
“It’s the connection with the community and the happiness; [that is] really what the success is,” Dukes explained. “When you say, ‘We’re going to be somewhere,’ and hundreds of people show up, I can’t tell you what that’s like unless you’ve experienced it. When you have people who’ve driven an hour or two to come hang out with you because there’s a connection, that is success. That is what people when this show is long gone or we’re on to other things is what people will remember and I’m proud of that.”
As the only host from the station’s original programming lineup, Dukes looks back at his tenure and is aware of the genuine authenticity he has provided to the listening audience. Every time something occurs in the world of sports, there is palpable interest in what he and Bell are going to say about it.
“I’ve never claimed to be the smartest guy in the room, nor do I want to be, but I understand what the audience wants and I understand how it should be delivered,” Dukes said. “I think from all of those things is what you get with this show, and that’s why the show has had longevity and success.”
Working under Audacy senior vice president and market manager Rick Caffey and brand manager Mike Conti, Dukes is grateful for the ability to be himself. There is a culture at the outlet where personalities are allowed to play to their strengths. Criticism levied in the direction of programs is oftentimes constructive in nature, and the trust that has been fostered prevents things from being grasped in an adverse manner.
“I’m very fortunate I have bosses that respect my opinion and believe in me, which has allowed me to do a lot of the things that we’ve done and flourish in them,” Dukes said. “I am a big believer – and I think our bosses are too here – [of] you hire the right people and then you let them do the job, and if we need to collaborate on something or do something together or we need to talk about something, we do that.”
Despite fluctuations in the programming lineup at the station over the years, Dukes has been a steady presence in the afternoons. There were several quarters in the ratings where their program significantly boosted key metrics for the station, such as shares in prime hours and full-week numbers. With a slate of programs that appeals to the Atlanta fan base throughout the day, Dukes is proud to be part of a station committed to its audience and making the improvements necessary to carry out its goals.
“There was a time, just plain and simple, where we carried things,” Dukes said. “We were carrying it, and now everybody’s doing great. It feels good, so I believe that that’s all you can do is focus on you.”
As innovations in technology and alterations in consumption patterns challenge industry norms, Dukes is confident that hosts and authenticity will always be within the modus operandi. Being able to cultivate invaluable connections with members of the community is evidence of the medium remaining strong within the total content landscape.
Outside of radio, Dukes has had other opportunities to demonstrate his versatile abilities in sports media, including as a play-by-play announcer for NBA G-League games and guest commentating on WXIA-TV’s Sports Extra program. Even so, he remains committed to the medium and is enthused about its future. There is a deluge of discussion surrounding the local sports teams regardless whether or not they are in their seasons, and Dukes remains committed to delivering for the audience day in and day out. Every time he takes the air, he earnestly enjoys what he is doing, starting and contributing to the comprehensive dialogue.
“If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life,” Dukes said. “I know how lucky I am and that is what motivates me.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
