Upon walking into Hall G of the kilometer-long Ernest N. Morial Convention Center along the Mississippi River in New Orleans, the convergence of more than 150 media outlets is hardly inconspicuous. Straight ahead is an alcove of sports talk radio stations from a range of cities, some of which include Boston, Houston and Washington, D.C. The flagship outlets for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, both of whom took the field for Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night, were also present. Yet situated on the perimeter of the space, attendees could find sprawling sets belonging to a variety of outlets at which visual content was being produced and distributed.
On top of that, virtually every table with microphones also contained a camera, lights and a backdrop. Whereas it was previously referred to as “Radio Row” when it first began ahead of Super Bowl XXVII in 1993 from Los Angeles, the space has been renamed “Media Row” and reflects the evolving world of production and distribution that better aligns with consumers.
Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, who broadcast the Mike and the Mad Dog afternoon drive program from the lobby of the Hyatt hotel in Minneapolis, witnessed the inception and growth of the space originally constructed for radio stations. More than 6,000 media members were credentialed during this year’s week of festivities that featured an array of star-studded interviews, unique activations and unparalleled camaraderie. Many companies in the room see value in the remote enterprise, but it has served as a sobering reminder for traditional media to keep pace with digital innovations.
“I think that we can keep up okay,” Russo said. “We get good guests, probably better guests than they will because we’re in our own little location. Somebody doesn’t want to go in there – they’re surrounded – so I think our guests will be a little better. It is SiriusXM – they got a million stations. I don’t know enough about the digital media world, but I think we’ll be okay, I really do.”
Among audio companies in the space, SiriusXM had the largest set at Media Row with four radio stations broadcasting live and a branded lounge in which guests and employees could relax. Furthermore, the enterprise housed a variety of podcasts and shows from other outlets, including SportsGrid Radio and VSiN, along with a golf simulator for attendees to enjoy. Stephen A. Smith, who works with Russo on Wednesday editions of First Take on ESPN, appeared on Mad Dog Unleashed as a guest and was surrounded by other media members capturing content spread across various distribution hubs.
“Well, I think radio’s not going to keep pace,” Smith said. “I think the digital stratosphere is something to be fully cognizant and aware of. I think that the mistake the audio business is making is that there’s not a video component. People don’t care about listening to radio outside of their cars. They want to listen to it while they’re driving, but once they’re stationery and they’re sitting still, they want to watch.”
Through his Straight Shooter Media production company, Smith continued to host and produce episodes of his podcast from an off-site location in New Orleans. Smith, who formerly hosted his own program on FOX Sports Radio, used to work alongside Don Martin, who recently stepped away from his role as executive vice president of sports at the company.
In addition to his job with iHeartMedia, Martin also served as the senior vice president of AM 570 LA Sports, the flagship home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. As he remains involved in the near term with Premiere Networks and FOX Sports Radio, he contends to be more excited about the future of the audio business than ever before. In order to facilitate the evolution of radio though, Martin argues that deviating from the archetypal nomenclature is necessary.
“It’s just content,” Martin said. “It’s audio – guys, it’s audio. Whether it’s on a stream, whether it’s over the air, whether it’s digitally on a YouTube video, whether it’s on a podcast, it’s all the same. So everybody’s hung up on this name ‘radio.’ It’s such an antiquated term.”
Rather than solely focusing on the over-the-air radio broadcast, Martin believes audio personalities need to effectively serve as five-tool players for their audiences and employers. Along with the regular program, shows are disseminated digitally on streams, through video platforms, a standalone podcast and social media content. In this sense, it can be discerned that many outlets are using radio as an alias per se that encompasses several modes of delivery.
“You can’t call it ‘Apple’ – it’s already taken,” Martin said. “Call it ‘Banana,’ I don’t care what you call it, but today, what you’re seeing out here is exactly what it’s supposed to be…. If you’re just sitting down at a desk and saying you’re doing radio, it’s time to pack your bags and go home.”
FOX Sports Radio presented its on-air lineup live from Media Row and has found that it tends to align with large spikes in listenership. Scott Shapiro, the senior vice president of FOX Sports Radio and podcasts at Premiere Networks, explained that advertisers always want to be a part of big events and that it is a great opportunity for the staff located across the country to collaborate in person. With more than 600 affiliated stations airing the national content, FOX Sports Radio assists its various partners and is able to encapsulate the action surrounding the annual championship game.
“What we’ve seen quite a bit in recent years is a lot less local stations are there,” Shapiro said. “It’s gotten very expensive to travel to the Super Bowl, so it’s a tremendous service that we’re providing to local stations around the country to be there – to get the sights, to get the flavor, to be on the ground and have the audience and these stations live vicariously through us – so that’s what we love.”
With digitally-focused brands such as Bleacher Report, Overtime, FanDuel TV, Meadowlark Media, DraftKings Network and Threads in the periphery, FOX Sports Radio presented its shows on a stage with televisions displaying graphics and show titles in the background. Continuing the tradition of broadcasting live ahead of the Super Bowl, the company sought to deliver for its partners and continue providing stellar coverage of the NFL season.
As an attendee moved from the FOX Sports Radio setup, they approached two areas for ESPN, the first of which housed The Pat McAfee Show in afternoons. Situated directly next door was the ESPN Radio Airstream studio trailer, a mobile unit that the company leases through a deal with Roadwerx. ESPN Radio branding was prominent throughout the space.
Making its return to Media Row for the first time in five years, ESPN Radio broadcast its flagship morning program, UnSportsmanLike, from the set featuring Evan Cohen, Michelle Smallmon and Chris Canty. Later in the day, Joe Fortenbaugh hosted with Harry Douglas, and the trailer was also used for other interviews featuring athletes and celebrities. Outside of Media Row, ESPN also captured linear and digital content from Fulton Square with live television programming such as Get Up, First Take and NFL Live.
“Everything is digital and it has to be because we have to be on every single platform,” said Justin Craig, vice president of audio and digital production at ESPN. “Platform-agnostic doesn’t exist. There has to be multiple places for people to find their content, and that’s what I love about it. Media Row has changed so drastically because in the past, you used to see everything was just a table, and now you’ve got these big sets [and] people walking around with cameras [so they can] capture whatever content you can. It’s great. We have to be everywhere for everybody.”
Richelle Markazene, the head of audio for Omaha Productions, was working from Media Row during the week as the entity broadcast shows hosted by Mina Kimes and Kevin Clark from its set. The company has traveled to the Super Bowl over the last few years but learned how to better optimize its time and setup, one alteration of which has been a slightly diminished footprint. The downsizing has not impacted opportunities to land guests for the shows, and the operation has remained efficient and published informative, engaging content in a timely manner.
“We’ve learned that some days are going to be totally packed, and other days might not be quite as packed, so just get out to people early so we can line up guests throughout the day and make sure that the other little things [are taken care of],” Markazene said. “We have our editor here with us, so it makes it faster for her to grab the content and start editing right away. I think we have our routine down a little bit more just having been here a couple of years.”
More digital programs stole the spotlight throughout the week, including a three-hour livestream of Nightcap, the hit podcast from Shay Shay Media and The Volume with Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. During its Wednesday afternoon broadcast, the show elicited a crowd around the set as the two former NFL superstars interviewed guests such as Jayden Daniels, Fred Warner and Denzel Ward. Yahoo Sports, which has also invested in its division with new hires to cover football, basketball and college sports over the last year, recorded shows live on a sponsored set. Sam Farber, the head of content for Yahoo Sports, attributed the augmented presence of digital media to evolution in sports media.
“Everybody used to write stories and send reporters out into the field, which still happens, but I think now with almost every company having a podcasting presence, a show presence, it makes sense when you have the number of guests and the entire football, sports and entertainment world in one place,” Farber said. “It makes sense to take advantage of that and bring all of your shows and all of your talent to capture it in real time. I really think it’s just a reflection of sort of how all of these digital media companies are oriented nowadays.”
Audacy Sports had its own designated area with sports talk radio stations, including the recently rebranded BetMGM Network, and its Infinity Sports Network was headquartered nearby as well. Other audio conglomerates brought stations to Media Row, including Cumulus Media with 1310 The Ticket, Bonneville International with Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan and Beasley Media Group-owned 98.5 The Sports Hub. Most of these locations had video capabilities embedded within the setup and were dispersed among other podcasting and digital arrangements.
“I was joking with my guys [that], ‘We should probably change it from Radio Row to, like, Content Central,’ and we’ve got a digital video setup out here,” said Parker Hillis, program director of SportsRadio 610. “I think if you come out here just as a traditional radio market or traditional radio medium, you’re falling behind. The opportunity, just in the same way that the NFL has grown to multiplatform and multiple different capacities, we have to do the same thing.”
Matt Moscona and the team from Guaranty Media-owned ESPN 104.5 Baton Rouge also made the trip and set up their space in a similar fashion. As the afternoon drive host and program director of the station, he has catalyzed equipment upgrades and also simulcasts his show weekdays on YouTube with a video manager and audio producer. Consolidating elements of the show on multiple platforms is a manner not to fade into obscurity and retain relevance amid a landscape with numerous sources vying for attention.
“Radio can’t just be radio anymore,” Moscona said. “If it is, you’re losing. The amount of people that say to me, ‘I love your YouTube channel,’ or, ‘I love your TikTok,’ it’s just as many people that say to me, ‘I listen to your radio show.’ If you don’t evolve, you die. If you don’t evolve, you become Blockbuster, you become Toys’R’Us. We live in a digital era. You have to be everywhere your audience is, and if you’re not, you’re irrelevant.”
As media professionals travel home after a productive week in New Orleans covering the Super Bowl, the composition and layout of Media Row could change in future years. The Super Bowl next year will take place from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., a destination that could bring more stations and media outlets to the central location for sports media content during the week. Many brands continue to see the venture as a valuable part of their years through the accessibility and distinctive vantage points it yields but are prioritizing content that can thrive on multiple verticals.
“If you’re putting on good content, you continue to get recognized, and I think radio people need to adapt and be digital people as well,” said Zach Gelb, afternoon host on Infinity Sports Network. “Obviously the product on the air is the most important part, but when your show ends, your show isn’t over, and you’ve got to pump stuff out to the digital world, whether it’s coming to events like this or just having a camera on you whenever you’re doing your show.”
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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.
