Premiere Networks has a strong delegation of its hosts live on location in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, Jesse Kelly, and Ben Ferguson are all in Milwaukee providing extensive coverage. Network President Julie Talbott believes it’s an imperative piece of their mission.
Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, Sean Hannity, Jesse Kelly, Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty, and Ben Ferguson are all in the Wisconsin city for the convention as they host their nationally syndicated programs and gather news for affiliates. Talbott told Barrett News Media the network hosts will always be where the action is.
“These are the playoffs of the Super Bowl and when you’ve got a personality like a Donald Trump, anything can happen and certainly the unimaginable did happen. We’ve just got talent that need to be where the action is, to be able to report back to all of their listeners,” Talbott said. “If you’ve ever been to any kind of awards (show), our listeners need to have a story. They want people to be there and give us the color of what’s happening down on the floor.”
Premiere Networks is affiliated with hundreds of radio stations across the country. And Julie Talbott believes it is the company’s duty to provide outstanding coverage to those stations and listeners.
“We represent a lot of radio stations. And it’s an expensive proposition. So for us, it’s just wildly important that we can share this experience with 500 radio station listeners. So it’s part of our responsibility to be able to provide this type of coverage.”
“Listen, we have two sets of clients — one are radio stations and two are radio listeners,” she later added. “And it is incredibly important for us to be there and to be able to provide back what’s what it feels like, what’s going on, and to get the perspective of the many Representatives and Senators that are walking the floor.”
But sending its hosts to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention is deeper than just hosting radio shows from the media center. The event allows hosts who are based all over the country — like Sexton, Travis, and Kelly — to spend time with one another. It also allows the company to have its hosts interact with current and prospective advertising clients.
The four-day event for Premiere Networks is ultimately the culmination of several months of planning, investigating, trial and error, and creating a system that allowed each host what they needed to succeed while broadcasting remotely from the Wisconsin city.
“This is a six to eight-month process. We had to build an entire platform. We have big talent down and big talent needs a big platform. So card tables don’t work for us,” Talbott joked. “So building platforms and ensuring that broadcasting facilities are there is a very long process. (iHeartMedia Executive Vice President News, Talk, & Sports) Chris Berry has been our boots on the ground. He’s been a great leader for us and all of our efforts and it’s just taken an enormous amount of time and energy from everyone.”
