Nick Kostos, host of You Better You Bet on the BetMGM Network, will bring his sports talk to the newly launched Westwood One Sports network starting Monday, marking a significant step in his career and a new direction for the program.
Speaking Wednesday on his BetMGM program, Kostos said he welcomed the opportunity to move into an early-morning timeslot, allowing him to focus on the show and balance his personal life.
“I like the idea that I get to get up early and focus on the show,” Kostos said. “I get paid well to talk about sports. Now, I get to get up, get to come to the office. Get to do my work. I do the show. I’m probably gonna have a bunch of other stuff I have to do after the show, which is cool. Then I get the piece out. Go to work out. Hang out with my daughter, hang out with my family, very cool. It’s a good thing, and I’m jacked for it.”
Monday, Westwood One Sports relaunches You Better You Bet with Kostos leading the program on the new network. In October, Audacy and Cumulus Media announced the merger of Infinity Sports Network and BetMGM Network as extension to the partnership between Audacy and Cumulus Media’s Westwood One, the sole distributor of both Audacy owned networks.
Under this new partnership, Westwood One will assume programming and distribution for the majority of the lineup of syndicated sports programming. Audacy will continue to produce popular BetMGM Network programs moving to the new network with BetMGM remaining a presenting partner and the exclusive sportsbook partner of those programs.
Kostos also described the honor of joining a network with such a storied history.
“I grew up like I’m sure a lot of people did—you listen to NFL games on the radio, college basketball Final Four, huge sporting events on the radio. It’s Westwood One. In my industry, in my field, that name, that brand carries a lot of weight and gravity and respect,” he said.
The host admitted he is allowing himself to fully embrace the excitement of being selected for the new network.
“I’m going to allow myself to be really happy about it. It’s ridiculously cool that these people that I respect, and you can question decisions that they’ve made, I’m not going to argue that. The fact that these people, many of whom are like legends in this field. Not that they’re perfect, neither am I, have seen something in me to identify me as someone worthy of and capable of and good enough to anchor a three-hour solo show Monday through Friday. I can’t put it into words what that means for me,” Kostos said.
Looking ahead to the debut of his Westwood One Sports show, Kostos expressed confidence in the program and its content.
“I think we’re going to come out of the gates on Monday, and the show is going to be awesome. It’s going to be great. I mean that. And if I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t say it. I certainly wouldn’t say it on the air. I’d probably say it off the air to the crew, like, ‘Hey, I think we’re in trouble here. We got to do something.’ I think it’s going to be great. The one thing that I can promise everybody is you, our audience, you are going to get my absolute best effort every single day,” he said.
Westwood One Sports weekday schedule is as follows:
- 6am – 9am: Drake C. Toll
- 9am – Noon: You Better You Bet with Nick Kostos
- Noon – 3pm: Chris Bleck & Adam Abdalla
- 3pm – 6pm: The Jim Rome Show
- 6pm – 11pm: BetMGM Tonight with Brad Evans and Pat Boyle
- 11pm – 3am: WWO Sports Tonight — Lynnell Willingham (Mon-Wed), Josh Graham (Wed-Fri)
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I’m not. No interest in any of this shows. Nice hair tho.