The Next Round is heading national. Clay Travis’ Sport & State has signed the Birmingham-based show to a three-year, multimillion-dollar deal announced earlier today.
What We Know: Jim Dunaway, Ryan Brown and Lance Taylor left traditional radio in 2021 to launch The Next Round independently. Travis has appeared on the show regularly since then. Thus, extending a relationship with the hosts that began nearly 20 years ago at WJOX. Beginning August 24, the show expands to four hours of live weekday programming. Travis’ Sport & State will distribute its first two hours nationally.
What They Said: Bo O’Neal, President and General Manager of The Next Round: “What Clay is building with Sport & State aligns perfectly with who we are and feels like the natural next step for us. We’re not changing what The Next Round is. We’re giving it a much bigger stage. It’s an incredible opportunity for the guys, our team, our advertising partners and everyone who has played a part in making The Next Round successful.”
Clay Travis, founder of Sport & State: “The Next Round Live is now going to be doing a new two-hour daily show for my new media company, Sport & State. So the four Alabama and Auburn fans who are white dudes for Harris are going to be SO MAD ONLINE. The rest of you will love them being part of the new badass, awesome network of digital shows we have built. And if they suck, blame Dunaway.”
What Remains Unclear: The release doesn’t specify whether other Next Round staff or personalities will join the Sport & State move. Exact financial terms beyond “multimillion-dollar” also weren’t disclosed.
What It Means: The deal signals Sport & State’s continued push to build a national roster of independent, personality-driven shows. For The Next Round, it means a added platform without relocating from Birmingham. It will be interesting to see the growth of the new Sport & State platform in the digital content space. Especially, how content cuts through a saturated content ecosystem.
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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.