I appeared last week on Sid Rosenberg’s radio show on 77WABC in New York, and am visiting with Bill Cunningham on 700 WLW in Cincinnati today. Both are very successful in their respective cities, which is supported by their high rankings in the BNM Top 20 of 2024. If you haven’t seen the results, click here.
During my conversation with Sid, he asked a question at the end of our discussion which we could have spent hours on. Sid said he didn’t think radio was launching new stars and shows the way it once did. He shared how Tim McCarthy agreed, and wanted to know if I did too, and if I was concerned.
The easy answer is that digital content creation and interaction appeals more to younger folks than radio. Every executive in the radio industry should be concerned about that. I’m not sure they are though. Radio relies heavily on established voices to win the current quarter and year. Digital brands meanwhile prioritize the long game while also competing in the current climate. Having the benefit of speaking to young people at various schools, they often express greater interest in podcasting, social media, and TV than they do radio.
In ten years, where are you going to find better sports audio and video content? Radio or Digital? TV or Digital? You could argue digital content is already better. The dashboard is the one thing radio still owns but once it starts to resemble your iPhone or the inside of a Tesla, it’s going to be an uphill climb for radio. It’s why apps, smart speakers, cameras, and even brand names are being changed across the industry.
Though changes in technology are forcing operators to meet the audience where they’re at, that’s not the only thing happening. I see three key problems facing the radio business, which aren’t given the attention they require.
Finding and Investing in New Voices
Radio groups are hesitant to invest in young talent the way others do. Major market stars like Boomer & Gio, Mike Valenti, Felger & Mazz are paid well but those are proven voices. What about the next crop of stars? Do brands expect to develop and retain great personalities by investing less than one hundred thousand dollars in them? A solid host can make that themselves on YouTube, and if they have enough of a following, they’ll earn interest and better compensation from digital outlets.
In the past five years alone, sports radio hosts like Danny Parkins, Nick Wright, Joy Taylor, Joe Fortenbaugh, Amber Wilson, and John Middlekauff just to name a few, have moved away from local sports radio. These are the voices who should be featured in cities across the medium for the next decade or two. Instead, they’re leading the charge for TV and digital brands.
Barstool Sports has done as good of a job launching new talent as any brand in the game. The easy hires to highlight are Big Cat, KFC, and PFT Commenter, but Will Compton, Taylor Llewan, Brandon Walker, Frank The Tank, Ben Mintz, Kayce Smith and many others have also become players in sports media while working for the outlet. The reason they’ve done well, they were talented, and given shows, and promotion to cut through.
Watch this video below of Dave Portnoy talking about the financial structure he created for Grace O’Malley. O’Malley recently left Barstool Sports and told Theo Von that she didn’t have a great deal at Barstool. She’s another great example of a homegrown talent who Barstool built up. The company’s approach reminds me of what professional sports teams do with young stars who they hope to build around for years to come.
Once a talent blossoms, they’re going to want more. Pat McAfee, Alex Cooper, Caleb Presley, Jared Carrabis, and others did the same leaving Barstool, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, few will agree that Barstool doesn’t pay young talent well. Knowing what I know of sports media deals, especially for new talent without proven track records and established followings, Grace was compensated well. Radio executives won’t like the Barstool structure because it shows a stark difference in the way they value young talent.
Marketing Our Product
Over the weekend, I saw this post below from Danny Parkins. FS1 recently had Mark Schlereth, Craig Carton, and Parkins take part in a photo shoot in NYC for billboards to promote their show ‘Breakfast Ball’, and Parkins’ performance as the top picker for the 2024 football season.
Danny pointed out that during his entire time in radio, he never had a billboard promote his program. Keep in mind, Parkins led a top rated show in Chicago at The Score, and in Kansas City at 610 Sports. Why is it that FS1 sees value in marketing its new morning show, but local sports radio brands don’t?
By the way, this isn’t just a sports radio issue either. This applies to all radio formats. Ginny Morris, Curtis LeGeyt, and Tim McCarthy have all told me before that radio needs to market itself better, but where is David Field, Bob Pittman, Mary Berner, and every other radio executive on this issue? If we want people to consume radio, work in radio, and most importantly, advertise on radio, we have to show that we put our money where our mouth is. It’s hypocritical to ask advertisers to buy commercials on our airwaves, promising it will grow their businesses, but not being willing to make the same investment ourselves in our own.
Identifying a ‘Hit’ and ‘Star’
Lack of opportunity, and marketing are two real issues, but so is creating GREAT programming. How many programmers today are hunting for new talent, and creating content that can’t be missed? Are you bold enough to make decisions that put a bullseye on your back? More importantly, can you identify what a ‘hit’ or ‘future star’ is? Hiring people is one of the benefits of being a programmer. However, not everyone is good at it. Some are also too stubborn to admit they need help.
The funny thing about hiring talent is that when corporate gets involved they chase resumes. They want what’s safe and easy for sales rather than betting on something that could be big. It’s why the Frank The Tank’s of the world aren’t launching today in sports radio. Many are more concerned about job security, and handling the flood of responsibilities they’ve been given. They’re also hesitant to challenge bosses for more resources due to the instability with radio’s larger companies. They’re essentially doing the best they can with what they have, and trying to stay under the radar.
The problem with that is that other mediums are getting better while sports radio becomes stagnant. Who believes that sports radio is stronger in 2025 than it was in 2015? How about in 2005? This format used to launch the biggest and best shows in the business. From ‘Mike and the Mad Dog’ to ‘Felger & Mazz’ to the ‘Razor and Mr. T’, ‘2 Live Stews’, etc., originality, new voices, and powerful hosts dominated the airwaves. Many made fortunes off of it. Now, how many ‘hit’ shows exist featuring talent under 35 years old?
Guys like Mark Chernoff, Andy Roth, Spike Eskin, Mike Thomas, Mitch Rosen, and Ryan Maguire did excellent work identifying, developing, and building hit shows around new voices. It was a strength of mine as well. When I hired Joe Fortenbaugh and John Middlekauff in San Francisco despite never having hosted radio shows full time, both were under 35. Others like Guy Haberman, Sean O’Connell, Zach McCrite, Daryle ‘Guru’ Johnson, Brandon Tierney, John Lund, Bob Stelton, Chris Duncan, and Damon Bruce were either under 35 or just above it. Bruce Gilbert preached at ESPN Radio to program to the 32-year old, and it just made sense that if you hoped to reach the middle of the demo, you needed people who related to them, and could grow with them.
The Long Game
I listen to a lot of sports radio across the country, certainly more than most people. As a consultant, I’ve helped hire or develop talent and shows in Charlotte, Houston, Denver, Jacksonville, and other cities that needed time to grow, but are now established and doing well. It’s what makes the work rewarding. You’ve got to protect the present while building for the future. If you ignore the outside noise and internal bullshit, trust your gut, and focus on the long game, more times than not things turn out OK if you’ve done your homework. A personality can have all the tools to succeed, but they still need a leader who’s willing to bet on them.
If you swing and miss on a decision, is your life going to end? No. Is your family going to disown you or label you a failure? No. So what exactly is there to be afraid of? Losing a job? Those can be replaced. Making decisions on behalf of an audience requires bold leadership not a yes man or woman.
Many look at what could go wrong, rather than what could go right when hiring people. But to create special content and memorable shows, you need unique, emerging talent, and a leader willing to roll the dice. That requires scouting, and trusting your eyes and ears. A brand leader has to find original voices, feature them, promote them, coach them, and work with the sales team to sell them. Anyone can fill out a lineup card. Not everyone can find the right leadoff and cleanup hitter, and win the game.
If radio hopes to compete against the best sports content brands in the media industry (not just radio), finding new stars, and providing opportunities will be critical. With 7-days per week and 24-hours per day of air time available, not to mention social media platforms, websites, and podcasting channels, showcasing new voices should be simple. For the past 5-10 years, GM’s and corporate bosses have been giving program directors less budget and time to find and develop new programming. If you’re not investing in your future, you’re just existing, and waiting to be replaced.
I hear a lot of fine, solid, and good programming, but not enough great, memorable, appointment level content. Especially from talent under 35. Many I talk to across the industry feel similar. Maybe we’re all old, and out of touch, but I think there’s a real concern here. Building hit shows and creating must-listen content is a brand leader’s most important responsibility. Without it, your monetization opportunities decrease. Few remember the programmer who scheduled clocks great, analyzed ratings sheets or turned in everyone’s paperwork on time. They never forget the hit makers.
If history has taught us anything, if we don’t create opportunities, invest in talent, and market our programming, others will, and they’ll beat us at our own game. Maybe then we’ll take these threats more seriously.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
