There’s a saying in life that if nothing changes, nothing changes. In the case of Houston sports radio personality Landry Locker, he needed a change and last month announced his departure from Audacy Houston and the midday show at SportsRadio 610 in order to focus on his YouTube channel “The Locker Room.”
Why was it time for a change?
“I think there’s just a shelf life on every show,” said Locker. “Sometimes decisions have to be made for a number of reasons.”
According to the terms of his contract, Locker was able to retain his personal digital property and that is allowing him to grow the YouTube channel. The midday show was number one in Houston last year, but even with all of that success, Locker felt it was time to focus on his channel and provide his audience with great content.
“I’ve given my life to (sports radio) and I grew up on it so it’s always something I’ve taken joy in,” said Locker. “But I think eventually especially where the business is and how a lot of companies are openly talking about being digital. I think there’s just a balance to it and change is not the worst thing.”
Locker was committed to growing his digital content while doing the midday show, but he never once let the YouTube channel take away from preparing and hosting the radio show.
He was able to find a balance and provide great content on-air and on-line.
“The one thing I take pride in is my radio routine never changed,” said Locker. “Some people get side hustles and they kind of push the radio back as a second, third or fourth priority.”
It’s important to know the timing of Locker’s departure from the midday show. It is June which can be a slow time of the year for sports radio. Had this been during football season, Locker may have felt differently about his decision. He now has some time to get things ramped up before the Houston Texans hit the field for training camp.
“A lot of times when you’re hosting a radio show in June, it’s like God what are we going to get into?” said Locker. “You still try to get the content going but it’s important to know that June is still June.”
When it comes to radio, especially in sports, there are some slow times during the course of the year. There are those who paint a gloom and doom picture for the future of radio, but he still believes that radio, especially from a local standpoint, is still a viable product.
“I think that sports radio right now is in a good place in a lot of the typical areas where fans are conditioned to talk sports radio,” said Locker. “I’m not one of these people who thinks local radio is going to die. I think it’s going to live on for a while.”
As far as working in Houston is concerned and providing content for his listeners and viewers, Locker feels he is in a good place, especially focusing on the digital side and getting ready for the 2024 NFL season.
“I love Houston,” said Locker. “I love covering the teams. I don’t know if it’s underrated but it’s really unique. They were really hurt by the Oilers leaving. That gap of not having an NFL team hurt them.”
While Landry has stepped away from sports radio, for now, he does have an open mind to one day returning to an industry that he is very fond of.
So, what’s next for Landry Locker?
“I would be dumb to completely dismiss any possibility of doing sports radio,” said Locker. “I’m in a good position where I’m not just going to do radio just to do radio. Right now, I just want to grow the channel. I want to expand as much as I can digitally. It’s been a pretty good start the first couple of years. I just want to see how things go and see which direction things fall.”
Locker was part of a very successful midday show at SportsRadio 610. There’s no reason to think that he won’t also make his YouTube show a smashing success.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
