The NFL Draft has been on a cross-country road trip since the National Football League decided to take the annual event on the road dating back to 2015. After eight destinations visited in the last nine years, the city of Green Bay, WI, is set to host the draft and its massive following of football fans eager to see the single biggest reality show in sports come alive.
Green Bay is home to the four-time Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, whose roots in the game of football date back over a century. The town’s population of just over 105,000 people, according to a 2023 Census Bureau study, ranks Green Bay as the smallest market to house an NFL team. With an expected attending crowd of over 250,000 people for the NFL Draft weekend, the event will serve as a great opportunity for local radio to capitalize on the uniqueness of the draft being housed in Green Bay.
For some perspective, I reached out to sports radio programmers in three previous markets that hosted the NFL Draft to gain their insights on the event and what it meant for the revenue and listening experience of the station. With less than two weeks until the draft arrives in Green Bay, I also talked with Tim Scott, who programs iHeartMedia’s 97.3 The Game, which serves as the Packers’ flagship station, to see what they have planned for the event.
“There is a buzz about it, no doubt about it,” Scott said when asked about the attention the market is getting with the draft coming to Green Bay. “People are kind of letting it sink in that this is actually happening here in Green Bay.”
The NFL Draft does a lot of things for the markets in which it calls home each year. This year the event will take place on the Lambeau Field campus and the Titletown District that surrounds the football stadium. The NFL Draft Theater will be where each of the 257 selections occurs, while an 800,000-square-foot NFL Draft Experience will be free and open to all fans in attendance.
How Local Markets Approached Coverage In The Past
Matt Fishman, who programmed ESPN Cleveland in 2021 when the NFL Draft was held in the home of the Browns, says it was important to capture the moment for a once-in-a-lifetime event like the draft.
“A city like Cleveland doesn’t always get the biggest events coming through like a New Orleans or Indianapolis does,” said Fishman. “I think it all tied together to create excitement, and it was incumbent upon us to create some special programming, sponsorships, and try to do the best we could with something that was different for us.”
While different cities aim for different things when it comes to big events, every great programmer gets creative with crafting something different to drive additional revenue with events like the NFL Draft—from added vignettes and guest appearances driving sponsorships to a schedule of added live broadcasts surrounding the big event.
“For that week we were able to be at multiple locations, and that’s the beauty of what we do,” said Q Myers, who programs the Las Vegas Sports Network, recalling the added live broadcast opportunities that the NFL Draft brought when it visited ‘Sin City’ in 2022. “We had big draft parties as well. We were at those as well at different clubs and stuff. With everything, the stars kind of lined up for us. It was a perfect storm.”
Stephen Spector, who programs 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City, said that when the NFL Draft came to the ‘Chiefs Kingdom,’ it provided a unique opportunity to spread to many different places around town, bringing the NFL Draft experience to the listeners.
“What we pivoted to on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday was being at the draft,” Spector said. “In the past we’d obviously be in studio hosting all our draft coverage. We made it a point to try and be at all the spots around the draft.”
Spector also recalled how he was able to work out an arrangement with the Kansas City Royals—whose flagship station is 96.5 The Fan—where the Royals game on night one of the NFL Draft would air on another station, allowing The Fan to bring the action and excitement of night one to the listening audience.
“Our programming didn’t change, but our philosophy of being out in the public changed a lot,” said Spector.
Pivoting Programming In All Aspects Of The NFL Draft
While 97.3 The Game is preparing for the draft weekend, Scott detailed how his station has pivoted from deep Packers analysis to an informational outlet for fans on what to expect with the massive crowds that come with the event.
“We really have switched. Instead of saying ‘Hey, here’s who the Packers may draft,’ it’s more along the lines of ‘Here’s where to park,’” noted Scott. “Here’s where to dine, this is what’s going on. Right now, the big message is about the OnePass app. The draft is free, but you must download the OnePass app to gain admittance to the draft.”
Scott also said that the station will be adding specific traffic and information reports surrounding Green Bay, albeit the radio station itself is based in Milwaukee, about 83 miles from Lambeau Field.
“Everybody’s going to Green Bay,” said Scott. “We’ve rented a house that is two blocks off of the draft site. That’s what is cool about Green Bay—it’s a neighborhood. So we’re renting a house. Don’t ask me how much it is.”
Taking a page from his fellow programmers, Scott has plans to have his entire on-air team on the road for NFL Draft coverage beginning Tuesday of next week through the end of the event on Saturday afternoon.
“On draft night, we’re working with the Green Bay Packers. We’re going to put statewide draft coverage up on the Packers Radio Network,” Scott explained. “We will broadcast live from the inside level field. We will be on radio row. We will be at Buffalo Wild Wings, and we will be on the plaza in the midst of all the people there—about 200 yards from the main stage.”
Recalling Missed Opportunities With The NFL Draft
The spectacle of the NFL Draft continues to create buzz and challenges for local media to capture the moment as their home market is broadcast to a worldwide audience. While every programmer has the highest goals in mind to capitalize on the moment, not everything can come to fruition, leaving some lessons to learn for events in the future.
“I wish we would’ve done more shows specifically at the draft or celebrating the draft somewhere,” Fishman said. Cleveland hosted the NFL Draft the year after the league held the draft off-site due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I would’ve tried to have been in more places with everything we’re doing on the air from a professional standpoint and a digital standpoint.”
Myers, recalling the draft in Las Vegas, wished for a little more collaboration with the league itself.
“I think the only thing that we could’ve done or even should’ve done a little bit more is try to collaborate with the NFL, knowing that we’re, you know, one of 32 cities that actually has an NFL team,” said Myers. “That probably could’ve given us an extra boost that we didn’t get, but it’s something to learn from and try to build off the next time that we get this opportunity.”
With every traditional radio station trying to play better in the digital world, the NFL Draft provides an opportunity to take your local following behind the curtain and show how big the spectacle is without being there.
“I wish we would’ve done more organic social content,” Spector said of the NFL Draft experience in Kansas City. “I think visually we could’ve probably done a better job. That’s a big part of video and social, and I think that was not a missed opportunity, but we could’ve been better there.”
Spector also noted that he felt the station could have had their own event instead of tying the station to several events around town with the NFL Draft. However, he noted that looking back, with the number of events in town already, he pondered if it would have even made an impact.
Excitement For Draft Weekend In Green Bay
As Tim Scott prepares his team and his station for the challenges of what’s to come next week, he noted he talked to a few people while attending this past Super Bowl in New Orleans about how they approached the NFL Draft in their market. He took notes, did the research, and is looking forward to a once-in-a-lifetime event coming to Green Bay.
“Biggest goal? To make sure that everything works,” joked Scott. “The Packers have allowed us to have access to the Packers Radio Network. They’re a strong partner of ours going into our fourth season together, and we’re really excited about that opportunity. We’re treating this like a game. It’s like a Major League Baseball playoff series—that’s kind of the way we look at this.”
As the kickoff of the NFL Draft nears for Scott and his iHeartMedia team with 97.3 The Game, they are looking forward to providing another example of how sports radio can own the experience of the NFL Draft.
“We’re just excited to get this thing going,” Scott closed.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
