In a few days, we’ll reconvene in New York City for the 2024 BSM Summit. It’s always great seeing friends and familiar faces, but that isn’t what inspires me to build this event. Nor is it the possibility of landing future clients. What motivates me to invest six months of time creating this event is is the opportunity to gather accomplished professionals from all areas of the industry, and share knowledge, ideas and feedback to improve our brands and people.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the way the radio industry has changed over the past decade. A specific area that’s been noticeable is the way executives and programmers promote their brands being multi-platform focused. It makes a lot of sense. Given the rise of social media, streaming, and the consumer’s appetite for visual content, offering our talent and shows in audio, video and print form just makes them more accessible in the places where fans go.
But here are two things that we often forget or overlook.
First, if we’re going to claim to be more than just radio stations, are we built and ready to win larger advertising deals against the best sports media digital brands? If you were a media buyer, would you buy your radio station’s podcasts/social media channels or pods/social influence from Barstool, The Ringer, The Kelce Brothers, The Volume or Meadowlark Media? Which sales teams would you trust to understand and sell digital better? If it’s about maximum reach and return on investment, where would you get the best return for your money?
Secondly, if multi-platform is the focus for building brands, shows, talent, etc., then why are we only using radio ratings to showcase our impact? I understand that there are issues with cross-platform measurement, but challenges with measurement have always existed. What are you doing right now to convince the public, the advertising community and your staff that you’re making a mark across all channels? When marketers see examples like this one below, it makes them want in. Isn’t that something radio should be doing more of?
Too often I hear folks talk about being committed to digital without being able to define what exactly that means. Are you talking about pageviews? Streaming sessions? Social media follower growth and engagement? Podcast downloads and listens? YouTube video views? All of that is digital. Which areas are you focused on? How do you stack up year-to-year or against other brands in the same spaces? Which tactics are you using to reach the goals you set for your team? If you are hitting your goals, is it big enough to make a revenue difference?
We’re operating in a noisy media climate. Being able to showcase our collective results in a way that satisfies advertisers remains difficult. It’s why I believe advertisers are getting better value with audio than ever before. When things get better and the full impact of sports content is presented in a way that everyone trusts more than they do now, many will see that they’ve been undervaluing the sports talk format for way too long.
Until that happens though, it’s imperative to set digital goals and have internal teams focused on hitting them the same way they’ve been pushed to produce ratings and revenue. We should be telling that part of the story too, not just how our quarterly ratings stacked up. At the same time, we need to see things through the lens of the advertiser. Challenge yourself and your people to build and grow brands capable of competing against everyone not just another local sports radio station. If digital is where revenue growth is coming from, why put off what can be done today until tomorrow?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
BSM Summit – Last Call For Tickets:
Today, Monday March 11th is your last shot to buy a ticket to the 2024 BSM Summit. If you don’t have confirmation of being on our list to attend the show, either act today or miss out. We are finalizing all badges today and tomorrow, and won’t be selling tickets on the day of the event or the day prior. To make sure you have a seat at the show, visit BSMSummit.com. If you have any last minute questions, email Stephanie at Sales@BarrettSportsMedia.com.
Thumbs Up:
Caitlin Clark: Interest in women’s basketball has soared with Clark playing a huge role. Last week, she led Iowa past Ohio State, a game which delivered the highest ratings for a women’s regular-season hoops contest since 1999. If she continues this run into the NCAA Tournament, many will be watching to see if she can lead the sport to the best ratings its ever produced.
For the record, since ESPN started televising the women’s championship game in 1996, the record high average audience was 5.7 million viewers in 2002. However, Sports Media Watch previously reported that the best total number for a women’s tournament game was in 1992 when the Final Four game between Virginia-Stanford averaged 8.1 million viewers on CBS. The 1995 championship game between UConn and Tennessee averaged 7.4 million viewers on CBS.
Daily Aus: I watched an interview two weeks ago on YouTube with CEO Sam Koslowski. He talked about the launch of his brand, its creative content approach to attracting young people, and the revenue growth that has since followed. It was excellent. I then signed up to receive the company’s newsletter, despite having no interest in Australian news. What I learned is that the Daily Aus came up with a slick, creative way to engage people online and in the inbox. I’m glad I found it. It’s amazing how much creativity and knowledge exists in this world.
Holsten’s Ice Cream Parlor: Before you ask, I was a huge Sopranos fan. The final scene in the diner is an all-time classic, and it took place at Holsten’s in Bloomfield, NJ. Last week, owner Chris Carley put the famed booth where Tony last sat up for auction. Carley said the furniture was no longer safe and the restaurant needed a facelift. Knowing that original memorabilia meant something to fans, he hoped to raise 10K from selling the famous furniture. 240 bids later, it generated $82,600. It was an offer Holsten’s couldn’t refuse.
Thumbs Down:
NFL Network: The decision to move Good Morning Football to Los Angeles is a head scratcher. The way the network and league fumbled the announcement was even worse. GMFB was enjoying its best run since 2017, up 16% from 2023. Yet a decision was made to move west and put the show on hiatus after March 29th. That means that the month leading up to the NFL Draft, GMFB won’t be on the air.
If that’s not enough to tick you off, the on-air team of Kyle Brandt, Peter Schrager, Jamie Erdahl and Jason McCourty learned of the news shortly before it was made public. The release also didn’t make clear if the crew would remain part of the show. This is how you treat a program that’s gelling and growing audience?
The NFL Network has tried this before. NFL AM didn’t connect the way GMFB did and when the decision was made to switch coasts, NFL Media’s chief content officer Jordan Levin said, “There’s an energy to morning programming. The challenge is compounded when you have people who are literally doing the show in the middle of the night.” Apparently the league learned nothing from that experiment. Here’s hoping they don’t screw up a good show by not thinking things through.
Cam Newton and Shaq: Their conversation was interesting but the discrediting of sports media professionals for not having played the game is tired. What many athletes fail to understand when defaulting to this lame opinion is that their depth beyond the sport they played is often thin. Secondly, they don’t see the world of sports through the eyes of a fan. Third, they tend to hold back when discussing situations they’ve been involved in and people they have history with. We should embrace having multiple perspectives available to viewers and listeners, not knock people for not having played the game.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson: I’m sure Netflix will break records with this debacle but I won’t be one of them tuning in. Are we so bored that we’ll watch anything? Mike Tyson is nearing 60 years old. He’s had health problems in recent years. Jake Paul strategically picks opponents he knows will create buzz and set him up to shine. This is all a money grab.
Netflix knows they’ve got two charismatic people involved who understand how to sell drama. I’m sure Paul and Tyson will do their part to create interest. The placement of the fight is smart too, Saturday July 20th at AT&T Stadium following a week of quiet due to the MLB All Star break. From a promotional standpoint, they’ve set it up correctly. I’m just not going to be the sucker wasting money to watch a spectacle.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
