I’ve often written in times of layoffs that the most important metric sports radio overlooks is people. There are many ways to quantify what people could mean to the success or failure of a sports radio brand. With people, you’re likely to produce more live and local content both on air and online. Without them, we all know the result. In every case, the power of people continues to sway business decisions more than anything. That’s what happened last week with Jimmy Kimmel.
When Kimmel was ripped from the air, the people spoke. News anchors covered the event. Reporters asked valid questions to those in power. Over 400 celebrities signed an open letter in defense of free speech. Many in the media shared their outcry for the First Amendment.
None of that mattered in the end. What did matter was how people made their voices heard through the click of a button—a lesson that all in sports radio should learn now more than ever.
Following the events of Kimmel’s removal from ABC television, along with Nexstar and Sinclair’s decisions to pull the programming altogether. I wrote a piece called Sports Radio Talent Should Heed the Warning Sent Last Week.
It was a warning shot to sports radio broadcasters to understand how you are not as protected as you may think. I shared my own personal clauses in my former contract with iHeartMedia as an example. Plus I wasn’t an air talent. It shed light on how you could be in the line of fire by providing the example the nation was shown with Kimmel.
That wasn’t the only lesson to be learned.
That Magical Time Of Year
We’re getting to that time of year when sports radio talent begin to dip their heads into the executive offices. Pondering with their management team how “things are going.” There is always an eerie feeling in the hallways as the holidays approach because the axe is coming.
Too many examples exist every year for any broadcast company to believe otherwise.
Instead of the uncomfortable conversations around the Mr. Coffee in the office lounge, sports radio talent need to reset their focus. The goal now is to begin rounding up your flock and ensuring those relationships are up to standard or above. If they’re not, get them there.
What I mean by that is dissecting the example of Jimmy Kimmel. It was reported that during Kimmel’s absence from television, over 1.7 million people decided they were done with The Walt Disney Company in some capacity.
Cancellations of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN by everyday ordinary people put a dent in the pocketbook of the place that employed Kimmel and his staff. It was a reported 436% above-baseline subscriber churn. Despite an ill-timed announcement by the company of a price hike, the wave of people providing their voices to the moment shook a giant company to cave to public pressure.
No letters from celebrities or news coverage demanded change like the voice and action of the people—a forgotten metric by many.
There is a lesson in this for sports radio talent. The most powerful voice you have is not your own. The most powerful voice you have is the people you connect with and the clients you partner with. Cume and currency will protect your standing with a radio station more than any contract legalese you sign.
In Kimmel’s return monologue, he didn’t waste time in thanking the people within the first few minutes who supported his right to free speech. He also read a prepared statement from “Disney Management” about re-instating their Disney+ or Hulu account.
What does a good comedian do? Own the moment and jab the establishment.
The Power Of YOUR People
Kimmel’s example showcases that cume and currency were the metrics that mattered most in Disney’s decision to bring him back. It’s happened in television, and it’s also happened in sports radio. If you recall the story of KXNO in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2020, where iHeartMedia cut six employees due to “corporate changes” (a.k.a. layoffs), the people spoke up. Less than a week later, everyone was re-hired and there were apologies made.
It’s no secret that the companies who keep you look at numbers before anything. Ratings are no longer the metric that sway decisions when layoffs are approaching. I’ve witnessed and discussed this with too many people in too many places that make these calls.
Revenue before ratings. Digital reach before ratings. Ratings have shelf lives shorter than most fruit at the grocery store and can change by a single person swaying the forecast. They’re not sustainable nor trustworthy.
Long-term partnerships with clients and a devoted following will keep you in-house much longer than a good ratings period. Kimmel’s ratings have dipped significantly since COVID because people have adapted to other ways of consumption or moved to something else. That’s no different than the story for a great majority of sports radio talent and stations.
A Sports Radio Gameplan
The game plan? Make a call to every advertiser who owns a spot in your daypart. Strike up a conversation. Ask how business is going and what you can do to help them get more return on their investment in you and your daypart.
If you’re a sports radio talent who hasn’t embraced your digital audience or thought about a content piece outside your show, you’re late to the party. This is a great time to begin that process—the entry fee is as low as it’s ever been. People outside just your local market are the new targets for advertisers if you can build and enhance a digital following.
Why waste time with the same exercise every year—providing small talk with the market manager or finding out who has access to streaming audio statistics you don’t understand? Following Kimmel’s example proves that connecting with people in any way possible and re-enforcing that loyal following leads to a wall of protection no contract can provide.
At the end of the day, the clearest message from the Jimmy Kimmel saga isn’t about contracts, corporate clauses, or even content—it’s about connection. Sports radio talent who prioritize relationships with their audience and advertisers build a safety net stronger than any ratings book.
When people believe in you, they’ll fight for you. And as we’ve seen time and again, in sports radio and beyond, it’s the people—not the paperwork—that ultimately decide who stays behind the microphone.
Welcome to Q4.
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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.
