When Matt Jones was attending law school at Duke University on a full scholarship, he focused on understanding the nuances of litigation and how to benefit his clients. The time he spent both in the classroom and courthouse analyzing jurisprudence engendered a broader understanding to recognize all sides on an issue, along with enhancing his rhetoric, critical thinking and public speaking skills.
As he began practicing law in the state, Jones founded and grew Kentucky Sports Radio, an online blog meant to appeal to sports fans and draw interest towards the teams. Yet his website did not have an initial tie to radio, instead releasing a podcast starting in 2005 and augmenting its reach online through social media platforms and effective marketing. Nearly two decades later, Jones has found a spot on the air and hosts one of the most popular midday shows in the country, appealing to Kentucky sports fans both locally and abroad.
As he was building his brand, Jones demonstrated persistence and searched for a spot in dayparts, soliciting his show to various local radio stations. With complete dedication and commitment to the craft, he ceased legal practice and sought to manifest his goal of creating a radio show equivalent to his blog.
Readership of the website covering the local niche rapidly grew and became a trusted, bonafide source for news about local sports teams, including the University of Kentucky Wildcats. With budding stars on campus including John Wall, Randall Cobb and DeMarcus Cousins, Jones was providing unparalleled coverage through his podcast and blog as he yearned to leap to the airwaves.
“A local radio station would have me host a night a week, and I went to every station in Kentucky and offered to work for free,” Jones said. “I basically was like, ‘Just put me on the air; I’ll do it for free,’ and no one would do it for years.”
In the time when Jones was attempting to determine how to maximize the residual effects of practicing law and his media wherewithal to succeed in radio, he listened to several successful hosts across multiple formats. Howard Stern in particular resonated with him because of the interest the audience had for his personality, genuinely tuning in to hear his opinions and perspectives rather than listening extemporaneously. The other personalities on his program, including Robin Quivers, Gary Dell’Abate and Fred Norris, added to the show and continue to provide a paradigm from which other formats can consider in their operations.
“I think a key to doing radio is to make the audience have an affinity for you personally,” Jones said. “I think that’s where people have really screwed up radio in recent years. They try to do plug-and-play hot sports takes, and ultimately nobody cares. The shows that succeed are ones where people feel a connection to the host.”
As he discovered in law school, the art of persuasion and infatuation can transform casual listeners into zealous, devoted fans with earnest interest in the repartee. Jones mastered this craft early through other mediums before receiving an opportunity to host on a conservative political talk station. Regardless of the station format, Jones was energized and tried to make the most of the opportunity by doubling down on his prudential, multiplatform approach. Rather than acting provincial towards radio and neglecting the rest of his audience, he directed the following he built to the program, in turn expanding its listenership.
Nonetheless, Jones still wants Kentucky Sports Radio to be the No. 1 brand across audio, video and digital mediums in the state and is prepared to adapt to industry alterations. The program was not part of a station broadcasting in the sports talk format until recently when it added an affiliate in Louisville. Instead it is largely concentrated on news talk stations, including WLAP in Lexington, the flagship station for University of Kentucky Athletics. Rather than being surrounded by other sports-focused programs, Jones’ program is beside other news talk shows that may not be as compelling or interesting to sports fans.
“I think in today’s world, there’s so many ways to advertise yourself that if you’re good, you’ll get found,” Jones said, “and being in that sort of sports cycle lineup doesn’t matter maybe as much as it once did.”
While Jones observes that there are more sports talk personalities discussing politics on the air, he does not feel that there is an inherent advantage to having a sports program in the news talk format. The means through which he has been able to survive and subsequently thrive through its many in-state affiliates has been through the fastidious approach to local content and appeal of the hosts. Jones has been anchoring the show with three co-hosts since its inception in 2011, including Drew Franklin and Ryan Lemond, in a setup predicated on chemistry and bringing out each other’s strengths.
“I think that we’re friends in real life,” Jones said. “You can tell when people are friends and when they’re not friends, in my opinion. To me, if you’re going to sit and give your time with somebody every day, you need to know these people like each other. The fact that the four of us would hang out together even if we weren’t on the radio together, and we do, is why it works.”
Deviating from common practice in sports media, Kentucky Sports Radio seldom has guests on its airwaves. Instead, Jones and his staff use the two hours to discuss topics that are interesting to the listening audience, half of which go beyond sports themselves. Eliminating guests also allots the four on-air personalities more time to speak and foster a connection with the audience.
“I think sports shows waste way too much time on guests,” Jones said. “If the hosts are interesting, why do you want to hear a guest? Now that’s different if you have a national show and you can get the big guests, but if you don’t, to me it’s a waste of time.”
The process of topic selection begins the preceding night when Jones conceptualizes 10 to 12 things he would like to mention on the show if possible. Despite rarely finishing the list the next day, the process helps him gather his thoughts and identify a starting point that will captivate the audience and keep them tuned in. At times, the discussion begins with a sports topic, such as a recent Kentucky basketball game or the Super Bowl, while other versions of the show expand on current events pertaining to news, weather or entertainment. There are even times when the program could center a segment on a narrative surrounding a co-host, such as Lemond recently damaging a new car he purchased.
As listeners discover more information about the hosts, they become curious and ask questions that they seek to address on the air. For example, Jones recently earned a three-year civil society fellowship with The Aspen Institute and Anti-Defamation League, a prestigious honor only given to 22 individuals in the country, that has caused people to become interested in the activities and initiatives therein.
“The question is, ‘How do you take what’s happening in sports or life and make it entertaining and relatable?,’” Jones said. “I think the media of sports talk has gotten away from that way too much, and that’s why when people find a show they feel that connection to, they’re loyal to it because so much of the rest of it is just boring. The moment you become nerdy about sports, everyone that isn’t nerdy about sports stops caring, and that’s most people.”
A preponderance of sports media content seeks to blend information and entertainment in a manner to sustain and grow its audience. Kentucky Sports Radio, however, eschews explicating the events or storylines. With the diversified nature of media that grants consumers a bevy of choices to gather information, Jones knows that there are other outlets that discuss the action in this manner.
“Sports is not like science – it’s just opinion,” Jones expressed. “If you get bogged down in breaking down the blitz coverage, 80% of your listeners don’t care, so to me it’s all entertainment. The moment you’re not trying to entertain, you are wasting your time, and again I think this is where sports talk radio goes off the rails. That’s why podcasts are so ascendant; it’s all about people’s personalities.”
Kentucky Sports Radio continues to produce original podcast offerings, and its radio program is also available to consume on demand. Emanating from that background in the audio space, Jones wants to safeguard against his show instantly becoming obsolete when it concludes to augment the relevancy of the podcast.
“I try to never repeat anything that way the audience has an incentive to listen to all two hours,” Jones said. “If they want to get all the jokes, they can’t have missed any of the shows the last few days or they won’t understand them. You can’t do that if you have a four-hour show, but if you have a two-hour show, I think you could do it.”
Jones affirmed that the midday time slot used to be perceived as one of the worst times to broadcast, but he enjoyed it since his bosses did not pay much attention to the content itself. Over the years, the slot has become more popular and contains several prominent hosts across the country at the local and national level.
After 16 years of operating Kentucky Sports Radio with his business partner Andrew Jefferson, Jones made the decision to partner with On3 as the network’s first fan website. The college recruiting and digital media company retained the Kentucky Sports Radio staff as part of the transaction, including Jones as a consultant. The website established itself as an independent brand, but Jones was able to evince the benefits of forming such an alliance to make sure it continues to thrive going forward.
“In five years, every major college sports website that’s the best in their college market will probably be with On3,” Jones prognosticated. “I think that’s where it’s headed because Shannon Terry, who runs that, is brilliant and has done an amazing job.”
Before partnering with On3, the Kentucky Sports Radio website was purchased by Stuart McWhorter, an entrepreneur and business associate of Terry. Even though he no longer owns the website, Jones continues to contribute content and remains an integral member of the radio program. Yet he has larger aspirations for the local brand, hoping that he can find a way onto the national stage with a daily program of his own.
Jones hosts a Sunday NFL preview show with Myron Medcalf during the season on ESPN Radio, an endeavor he first started in 2018 that also included ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky. Adding the national platform to his slate of responsibilities was challenging at first, especially since much of the show was predicated on discussing the nuances of sports.
“I just decided I’m just going to do my [Kentucky Sports Radio] show but do it on ESPN, and once I did that, it clicked,” Jones said. “Myron and I are friends in real life, and the only difference is instead of saying, ‘What does a Kentucky fan care about?,’ on Sunday mornings I say, ‘If I’m an NFL fan or if I’m a sports fan, what would I want to talk about today?,’ and then that’s what we do.”
Although his local show is not imbued within the greater sports talk format, Jones realizes that the industry is embracing podcasting and personality-driven programs. Following a year of sizable layoffs in media that have persisted through the ongoing fiscal quarter because of modifications in consumption proclivities and technological outputs, the power of audio as a means of dissemination is conspicuous.
“I actually think as the country gets more and more nationalized – meaning everything becomes more corporate and everything becomes more the same across the country – local sports talk is now more important and potentially successful than ever because it’s their connection to where they live or where they used to live,” Jones said, “so I think this is actually a really good time to be in sports audio.”
Aside from observing engagement on the midday radio program, website and social media as a whole, Jones sees the enthusiasm and synergy Kentucky Sports Radio has cultivated with the community firsthand. Once per week, the radio broadcast is done remotely from different locations and businesses in the state of Kentucky, frequently replete with audience members. By being firmly ingrained in society, Jones and the staff can effectively discern which topics resonate with the audience and others to avoid. Moreover, it facilitates strengthened rapport and communication with the consumers, in turn warranting communal promotion and gratification.
“The people who are good at radio – they connect with their audience,” Jones said. “The day you stop connecting with them, in my opinion, is the day you’ll stop being good at it.”
Kentucky Sports Radio recently received an honor from Barrett Sports Media as the No. 1 mid-market midday show in the country. An executive panel consisting of 58 program directors and corporate executives from different broadcasting companies were involved in the voting, with the results being revealed last week. Jones and his program were named in the top spot for the second consecutive year with a 26-point victory over Buck Reising on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, Tenn.
“I’m not going to act like it doesn’t [matter] because Kentucky gets forgotten,” Jones said. “People don’t think about this state as being something that matters, but the people in the industry clearly realize the show works, and that’s why I think it’s gratifying is that people in the industry are the ones voting on it. I’ve always known that we connected with our audience, but to have people in the industry; people I don’t even know recognize the success the show’s had, I think is very gratifying for all of us.”
The honor of qualifying for the list, let alone finishing at the top, is of monumental importance to Jones and his colleagues. When Kentucky Sports Radio did not place first in the rankings, the program would use it to generate content by listening to the show that finished one spot ahead of them live on the air and discussing what made them better. The goal is to remain on top of the apex, something he looks to actualize by continuing to create engaging content with a perspicacity towards innovation.
“It’s a lot better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big one because when you really are connecting with an audience in a city, it’s the best feeling,” Jones said. “It’s the best – that’s why you get into this. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to go to bigger cities, but I don’t ever think I would because when you have a show or a program that matters to people where you are, that’s a lot cooler than knowing millions; tens of millions of people could listen to it but don’t.”
Derek Futterman is an associate 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, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
