CBS Sports will present its final live game broadcast of the National Football League playoffs this Sunday, Jan. 26 with a seminal AFC Championship Game emanating from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs look to move within one victory of becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowl championships, while Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills look to win the conference for the first time since 1993.
The network will feature its lead NFL broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz, analyst Tony Romo and reporter Tracy Wolfson, along with rules analyst Gene Steratore. Furthermore, analyst Jay Feely and reporter Evan Washburn have been listed as being among the game announcers for the contest, which aligns with the crew from last season.
This will be the 27th consecutive year CBS Sports will broadcast the AFC Championship Game, all but six of which have been called by Nantz. The lead play-by-play announcer recently broadcast the 500th NFL game of his career, and he has delivered the Lamar Hunt Trophy to the AFC Champions for the last three seasons. Kickoff for the AFC Championship Game takes place at approximately 6:30 p.m. EST on CBS and streaming live on Paramount+.
The broadcast of the AFC Championship Game last season averaged 55.5 million viewers and a 25.5 rating on CBS, which was the largest audience on record for the game. CBS Sports is coming off having broadcast the most-watched game of the Divisional Round last week, a marquee matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills that averaged 42.2 million viewers on the network. Paramount Global, which is in the midst of a pending merger with Skydance Media as part of a two-step transaction, is in the third year of a 10-year media rights agreement with the NFL, reportedly worth $2.1 billion annually.
The award-winning pregame show, The NFL Today, will be back on the road for this matchup broadcasting live at 6 p.m. EST. James Brown will host the show and be joined by analysts Nate Burleson, J.J. Watt, Bill Cowher and Matt Ryan live from Kansas City. The team will discuss the quarterback matchup between Mahomes and Allen, along with the Chiefs’ defense in an EyeVision segment. NFL Network host Kyle Brandt will also join the show to break down the quarterbacks, and there will be additional contributions from CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
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America’s favorite NBA studio show will remain in tact, thanks to new deals for two of its key contributors. According to a report by Alex Sherman of CNBC, longtime studio analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny “The Jet” Smith are on the verge of re-signing with TNT Sports, cementing them as part of the show’s new era under a sublicensing agreement with ESPN.
O’Neal’s deal was confirmed by CNBC to be a five-year deal, while Smith’s was only confirmed to be a “multiyear deal.” A TNT Sports spokesperson declined to comment on the matter when reached by Barrett Media.
CNBC also reports that both were in talks with Amazon’s Prime Video and NBC to join their studio coverage but ultimately chose to remain with TNT, despite the company no longer airing live NBA games. For now, Smith’s quote of “Inside the NBA will always be around” rings true — at least for a few more years.
Sherman reports that Amazon and NBC have had discussions with former All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony to join studio shows and that both companies are looking at current players who may think about retirement after the season as well. Amazon’s Prime Video has announced its studio program surrounding the games, which will include Taylor Rooks, Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki.
This past fall, the NBA reached a new $76 billion broadcasting deal with ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video, leaving TNT and other Turner platforms out in the cold. The NBA and Turner reached an agreement following a lawsuit from the latter allowing TNT Sports access to the league’s footage and likeness for the next 11 years.
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Last summer, ESPN underwent a reorganization to its content structure that included the promotion of Mike McQuade to executive vice president of sports production. Under his role, he has had responsibilities surrounding sports-specific studio shows and production at the network. There have been some additional changes regarding structure at the company announced by president of content Burke Magnus, including new reports to McQuade, along with previously announced roles being filled. The event and studio directing team, which is led by vice president Scott Favalora, along with the wraps and content integration teams under vice president Jack Obringer, will now be shifting under the sports production team and report to McQuade.
McQuade retains direct reports such as Linda Schulz and Phil Orlins, and there have also been some additional promotions of management personnel as the company refines its structure. Tim Corrigan, who is in his 38th year with ESPN, has been promoted to senior vice president of sports production, granting him oversight of event and studio productions for the NBA and WNBA. Hilary Guy, who was also promoted to vice president, will report to McQuade and lead NBA and WNBA studio and draft coverage. Coordinating producers Thomas Kintner and Kate Leonard will report to Corrigan as well.
Amanda Gifford has been promoted to senior vice president of sports production, a role that will provide oversight surrounding event and studio production for college football. Moreover, she will lead event and studio production surrounding the UFL, golf, volleyball, lacrosse and gymnastics. Direct reports to Gifford include vice president Bryan Jaroch, who will continue overseeing college football event production plus UFL and golf events, along with vice president Shawn Murphy. Nick Rud, coordinating producer II at the network, will continue working in college football event production, along with college softball and wrestling.
Meg Aronowitz, senior vice president of sports production, will continue overseeing event and studio production for ACC, SEC, NCAA basketball, NCAA Studio and various other properties. Reporting to her are vice presidents David Ceisler and Pete Watters, along with coordinating producer II Andy Green and senior managing producer Dan Kole. Alex Farmartino, who was promoted to vice president of production for ACC Network and NCAA Studio last November, will also report to Aronowitz, along with coordinating producer I Scott Gustafson.
Mark Gross, the senior vice president of sports production, has oversight surrounding event and studio productions for the National Football League. This includes the broadcast of Super Bowl LXI to conclude the 2026 season, which will take place from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. and be presented across platforms of The Walt Disney Company. Andy Tennant has been named the vice president of Super Bowl production after he had previously led the creation of E60 for the last 18 years. Additional employees reporting to Gross include vice presidents Seth Markman and Steve Ackels, along with the aforementioned Gustafson, who also leads MLB and college baseball productions.
In addition to the alterations in sports production, ESPN has announced changes in its original content division under senior vice president Brian Lockhart. Jose Morales will oversee productions for E60 and features and add various new reports, including Vin Cannamela, Mike Johns, Heather Lombardo and John Minton. Furthermore, Marsha Cooke is now responsible for external projects, including the 30 for 30 franchise, and adds Lindsay Rovegno and Kati Fernandez as reports.
Craig Lazarus is going to lead a new team dedicated to business operations, working with Morales and Cooke to utilize talent for storytelling endeavors across brands. Additionally, he will be the executive responsible for working with ESPN and Disney/Hulu partners on content integration and optimization while also taking leadership of the ESPYS. New reports with this role consist of Megan Anderson, Maria Delgado, Cath Sankey, Samantha Surface and Sheena Williams.
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2020 was obviously a transformative year in many aspects. But daily audio consumption is nearing a return to levels last seen in 2019, new Edison Research data shows.
According to data from the latest Share of Ear study update, daily time spent listening at home continued to drop in 2024 from its 2022 peak. The average audio consumption of those aged 13+ in the study showed 127 minutes of listening at home, with 107 minutes taking place in all other locations. That time at home figure has declined from 152 minutes in 2022.
Meanwhile, the category of all other places rose from a low of 91 in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“Though it was perfectly reasonable to wonder whether the pandemic had permanently supercharged our audio habits, the location differential finally started to show signs of cracking throughout 2023,” Edison Research said of its findings. “Now, as the dust settles on 2024, what we see in its wake is a return to normalcy in one way: audio consumption.
In 2019, there was only a two-minute difference in daily audio listening, with 116 minutes happening at home and another 114 minutes taking place elsewhere. The gap grew as wide as 50 minutes in 2021 before shrinking to 47 minutes in 2022, 29 minutes in 2023, and 20 minutes in 2024.
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Brett Andrews confirmed on Facebook yesterday that he is no longer with iHeartMedia.
He wrote, “The Brett Andrews Radio will no longer be heard on BIG FM Milwaukee, Z104 Madison, or KISS FM Chicago.”
Andrews had served as Senior Vice President of Programming for the Milwaukee and Madison markets and as the BIG FM and Z-104 Program Director.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported earlier this month that Dave Michaels will move from afternoons to mornings on BIG FM.
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CNN is set to announce widespread cuts to its worldwide staff as part of a company-wide restructuring that will include a new streaming service, CEO Mark Thompson has revealed.
The company will slash the jobs of 6% of its staff in a cost-saving measure, with roughly 200 employees seeing their time end with the company. It does not appear as if many, if any, on-air employees will be laid off in this round of cuts. The reductions are most likely to affect producers, technicians, and editors.
“The changes we’re announcing today are part of an ongoing response by this great news organization to profound and irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” Thompson wrote.
Thompson added that while the roughly 200 jobs will be cut today, the company doesn’t “expect total headcount to fall much this year, if at all” due to the investment of $70 million into digital plans that will be enacted throughout the calendar year.
Additionally, the network plans a new streaming service that will “develop a new way for digital subscribers at home and abroad to stream news programming from us on any device they choose,” Thompson wrote. “It’s early days but we’ve already established that there’s immense demand for it not just in America but across much of the world.”
Thompson added that CNN will “continue to have a strong presence on Max,” the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform, “but we also believe it is not a complete answer to the future of the great linear CNN experience.”
The network is also slated to debut a “fresh new TV schedule” on Thursday. Previous reporting has shared that CNN would move Wolf Blitzer to late mornings, away from the afternoon timeslot he has held for 20 years, while Jim Acosta would find himself anchoring a new program from Midnight to 2 AM ET. That shift for Acosta was viewed as a way to “throw a bone” to new President Donald Trump, as Acosta has been one of the loudest and most ardent critics of the Republican president.
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Charlotte Wilder has departed Meadowlark Media, announcing on her Bluesky account last week that her final day at the company was on Friday, Jan. 17. Wilder, who hosted the Oddball podcast with Amin Elhassan and contributed to a variety of programming across its portfolio, came to the company after working at FOX Sports for three years. Prior to that time, she was a senior writer and host for Sports Illustrated, and she has also maintained a Substack page titled “The Wilder Things.” Last fall, she launched The Sports Gossip Show podcast with Madeline Hill, which is distributed across several audiovisual platforms.
“Grateful to the folks [at Meadowlark Media] who supported me and a big thank you to the listeners/viewers – I wouldn’t be doing any of this without you!,” Wilder wrote on Bluesky. “Excited for what’s next, and I’ll see you on the internet.”
In addition to her podcast with Meadowlark Media, Wilder appeared on other programming with the digital venture as well, including The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz and Pablo Torre Finds Out. Furthermore, she made appearances on the DraftKings Network show GoJo and Golic, which is coming to an end as the company ends its in-house produced content. This separate transaction affects several hosts at the sports betting brand, including Mike Golic, Mike Golic Jr., Jessie Coffield, Trey Wingo and Claudia Bellofatto.
Wilder is a graduate of Colby College with a bachelor of arts in history and creative writing and has worked in the sports media business for more than a decade. At the moment, she has not divulged information about her next role in media but continues to host The Sports Gossip Show podcast.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
We’re half way through Barrett Media’s Top 20 of 2024 presented by Radio.Cloud. Day four features the Top 20 Adult/Classic Hits radio shows of 2024. We’ve also announced today the Adult/Classic Hits formats Top 20 program directors. Stay updated on all of the results by visiting the website, following BM on X, Facebook or LinkedIn or signing up for our newsletters.
Our Top 20 series has highlighted the Sports and News/Talk formats for years, but this is our first entry for music radio. It’s by far the largest project we’ve ever done. 173 program directors, corporate executives, and format consultants voted in this series. 250+ were invited to be a part of it. Though some brand leaders and company executives didn’t make time to vote and some didn’t respond, I’m ecstatic with our turnout. I wasn’t sure what to expect when this process began given that I’m a new face to some, but many knew our brand, and were excited to participate. It’s been fun connecting with many accomplished radio professionals.
As you review these results, please remember that they represent the collective feedback shared by our industry voters. I do not vote in this process. My role is to assemble the group, collect their votes, and present the information. At the conclusion of the series, Jeff Lynn and I will record a video for the Barrett Media YouTube page sharing our takeaways from the series. Be sure to subscribe to the page so you’re notified of when the video goes live.
Given the size of Music Radio formats, we are presenting the Top 20 shows and programmers from ALL markets. This includes Major Markets, Mid-Markets, and syndicated programs. The best of the best if you will. Some formats are combined due to similarities such as AC/Hot AC, Adult/Classic Hits, and Rock (Active/Modern Rock). There are also a few shows, hosts and/or programmers who appear on lists in multiple formats due to their stations featuring music and programming that crosses over.
Important Information
#1 – Music radio is a massive space, and stations don’t always provide or update information. That makes it hard at times to issue credit to deserving programmers or hosts. We’ve tried to be accurate with the spelling of names, shows, brands, cities, and positions, but we’re human, and mistakes happen. If you see an error, please email Jason@BarrettMedia.com so we can make a correction.
#2 – We’ve asked the voters to supply photos and logos to avoid headaches. Some comply, but most don’t. That’s consistent with voters in our sports and news/talk series too. It forces us to spend a lot of time digging for images to highlight everyone. For that reason, there are no photo changes unless it involves a mistake. Thanks in advance for understanding.
#3 – This series specifically focuses on United States terrestrial music radio shows and programmers. Shows and brand leaders with Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, SiriusXM, YouTube, podcasts and programming outside the United States are not included.
#4 – 72 Adult/Classic Hits radio shows appeared on ballots turned in by our voters. Executives were asked to rank their Top 10 selections using the following criteria: Quality of Show (ear test), Originality, Ability to Entertain-Inform-Connect Across Multiple Platforms, Ratings Success, Clearance (national shows) and Industry Buzz. A 1st place vote equals 20 points, 2nd gets 18, and it goes down by 2 each time until reaching 10th and earning 2 points. Remember, our voters live in different cities, have individual tastes, work for different companies, and value certain factors higher than others. This is not a perfect system but it’s one we feel good about using to showcase the industry’s best.
#4 – 27 broadcasting companies are represented in this series. Among them include iHeartMedia, Audacy, Cumulus Media, Townsquare Media, Beasley Media, Hubbard Radio, Bonneville, Meruelo Media, Radio One, Cox Media Group, Alpha Media, Connoisseur Media, Saga Communications, Hearst Communications, Rubber City Radio Group, Cromwell Media, Press Communications, Pamal Broadcasting, Lotus Communications, Shamrock Communications, Midwest Communications, Seven Mountains Media, Summit Media, Buck Owens, Local Media San Diego, Colorado Springs Radio Broadcasters, and Milwaukee Media Group. Another 18 consulting groups were involved as well. We involve people from different groups and cities to make sure balance is provided.
#5 – Though we have a total of 173 voters in this series, the number voting on each format is lower. This is by design. We wanted experts from each format to vote on what they know best. This means that 38 programmers, consultants, and executives voted on the Classic Rock category, not managers from other formats with less knowledge of Rock radio’s best shows and leaders.
I want to thank Dylan Barrett for doing an excellent job with our graphics, and Stephanie Eads for helping with the voting process. I’d also like to thank every single voter who made time to participate. Now without further delay, here are the Top 20 Adult/Classic Hits Radio Shows of 2024.
Additional Notes:
Broadway Bill Lee enjoyed a comfortable 54 point win over runner up the Gary Bryan Show. Lee also led the way with a category high 7 first place votes.
Spots 21-25 were held by Kristen Hermann, Joanna, Jason & Ben, Rene Taylor, Moose, and Joe Rosati.
The closest battles saw Billy & Judi and Murphy, Sam & Jodi hold off JT Springer, and Jones and Company by 1 point each.
Of the 72 shows to receive votes, 11 received at least one 1st place vote.
Barrett Media Top 20 of 2024 in Music Radio Upcoming Schedule:
Friday January 24 = BMM Top 20 Country Radio Shows and Program Directors
Monday January 27 = BMM Top 20 Urban/Hip-Hop Radio Shows and Program Directors
Tuesday January 28 = BMM Top 20 AC/Hot AC Radio Shows and Program Directors
Wednesday January 29 = BMM Top 20 CHR/Top 40 Radio Shows and Program Directors
We’re half way through Barrett Media’s Top 20 of 2024 presented by Radio.Cloud. Day four features the Top 20 Adult/Classic Hits radio shows of 2024. We’ve also announced today the Adult/Classic Hits formats Top 20 program directors. Stay updated on all of the results by visiting the website, following BM on X, Facebook or LinkedIn or signing up for our newsletters.
Our Top 20 series has highlighted the Sports and News/Talk formats for years, but this is our first entry for music radio. It’s by far the largest project we’ve ever done. 173 program directors, corporate executives, and format consultants voted in this series. 250+ were invited to be a part of it. Though some brand leaders and company executives didn’t make time to vote and some didn’t respond, I’m ecstatic with our turnout. I wasn’t sure what to expect when this process began given that I’m a new face to some, but many knew our brand, and were excited to participate. It’s been fun connecting with many accomplished radio professionals.
As you review these results, please remember that they represent the collective feedback shared by our industry voters. I do not vote in this process. My role is to assemble the group, collect their votes, and present the information. At the conclusion of the series, Jeff Lynn and I will record a video for the Barrett Media YouTube page sharing our takeaways from the series. Be sure to subscribe to the page so you’re notified of when the video goes live.
Given the size of Music Radio formats, we are presenting the Top 20 shows and programmers from ALL markets. This includes Major Markets, Mid-Markets, and syndicated programs. The best of the best if you will. Some formats are combined due to similarities such as AC/Hot AC, Adult/Classic Hits, and Rock (Active/Modern Rock). There are also a few shows, hosts and/or programmers who appear on lists in multiple formats due to their stations featuring music and programming that crosses over.
Important Information
#1 – Music radio is a massive space, and stations don’t always provide or update information. That makes it hard at times to issue credit to deserving programmers or hosts. We’ve tried to be accurate with the spelling of names, shows, brands, cities, and positions, but we’re human, and mistakes happen. If you see an error, please email Jason@BarrettMedia.com so we can make a correction.
#2 – We’ve asked the voters to supply photos and logos to avoid headaches. Some comply, but most don’t. That’s consistent with voters in our sports and news/talk series too. It forces us to spend a lot of time digging for images to highlight everyone. For that reason, there are no photo changes unless it involves a mistake. Thanks in advance for understanding.
#3 – This series specifically focuses on United States terrestrial music radio shows and programmers. Shows and brand leaders with Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, SiriusXM, YouTube, podcasts and programming outside the United States are not included.
#4 – 49 Adult/Classic Hits radio program directors appeared on ballots turned in by our voters. Executives were asked to rank their Top 10 selections using the following criteria: Quality of Show (ear test), Originality, Ability to Entertain-Inform-Connect Across Multiple Platforms, Ratings Success, Clearance (national shows) and Industry Buzz. A 1st place vote equals 20 points, 2nd gets 18, and it goes down by 2 each time until reaching 10th and earning 2 points. Remember, our voters live in different cities, have individual tastes, work for different companies, and value certain factors higher than others. This is not a perfect system but it’s one we feel good about using to showcase the industry’s best.
#4 – 27 broadcasting companies are represented in this series. Among them include iHeartMedia, Audacy, Cumulus Media, Townsquare Media, Beasley Media, Hubbard Radio, Bonneville, Meruelo Media, Radio One, Cox Media Group, Alpha Media, Connoisseur Media, Saga Communications, Hearst Communications, Rubber City Radio Group, Cromwell Media, Press Communications, Pamal Broadcasting, Lotus Communications, Shamrock Communications, Midwest Communications, Seven Mountains Media, Summit Media, Buck Owens, Local Media San Diego, Colorado Springs Radio Broadcasters, and Milwaukee Media Group. Another 18 consulting groups were involved as well. We involve people from different groups and cities to make sure balance is provided.
#5 – Though we have a total of 173 voters in this series, the number voting on each format is lower. This is by design. We wanted experts from each format to vote on what they know best. This means that 38 programmers, consultants, and executives voted on the Classic Rock category, not managers from other formats with less knowledge of Rock radio’s best shows and leaders.
I want to thank Dylan Barrett for doing an excellent job with our graphics, and Stephanie Eads for helping with the voting process. I’d also like to thank every single voter who made time to participate. Now without further delay, here are the Top 20 Adult/Classic Hits Program Directors of 2024.
Additional Notes:
Chris Ebbott notched a 46 point victory over John Foxx, supported by a category best 8 first place votes.
Spots 21-25 were held by Keith Kennedy, Dan Hardee, Larry Morgan, Michael LaCrosse, and Jonathan Suttin.
The closest battles saw Leigh McNabb,Jim Fox and Chris Sargent all separated by 1 point each.
Of the 49 program directors to receive votes, 10 received at least one 1st place vote.
Barrett Media Top 20 of 2024 in Music Radio Upcoming Schedule:
Friday January 24 = BMM Top 20 Country Radio Shows and Program Directors
Monday January 27 = BMM Top 20 Urban/Hip-Hop Radio Shows and Program Directors
Tuesday January 28 = BMM Top 20 AC/Hot AC Radio Shows and Program Directors
Wednesday January 29 = BMM Top 20 CHR/Top 40 Radio Shows and Program Directors
Tim Montemayor loves radio. I mean he really loves radio. In fact, he recently said, “I am in love with radio today as much as I’ve ever been.”
However, you won’t find Tim Montemayor, who most know simply as ‘Monty’, anywhere on the radio dial. You’ll find him on YouTube. Each weekday he’s live from 3p-6p MT on a channel he and his son have built out. That channel now has over 130,000 subscribers.
Monty has been in talk radio for a long time. Way back in 2000 he was a producer at Fox Sports booking guests for the likes of Jim Rome. He did evenings in Sacramento at KHTK, spent time at KTRS in St. Louis, followed that with a stint at Sporting News Radio, then headed Cumulus San Francisco, followed by a move to Salt Lake City as PD and morning show host at KFAN. A land sale ended the run for that station after two years, leaving Montemayor to figure out what was next.
Fortunately, Monty was able to do some work on the national level again with ESPN, but also, he had his son Jake telling him YouTube was the place he needed to be at. So, while he did national work for ESPN Radio, he started diving into YouTube. The rest as they say is history.
“I just have a little bit of a different perspective from my experiences now,” Montemayor said. “Not working in radio and doing YouTube and podcasting, it’s given me a completely different perspective that I don’t know that I could have had when I was working inside of radio. It just makes me realize how much I love the game.”
“What happened with Cumulus in Salt Lake was a real eye-opener for me,” Monty explained. “That experience really changed me because I got to work for Bruce Gilbert, and my market manager was a guy named Terry Mathis. They were just really supportive, strong individual leaders. We had just had our first ever million-dollar year, and done some really great things. But the business was just upside down for Cumulus.”
He continued, “I got really lucky that we started doing YouTube and everything kind of snowballed from there. I’ve had opportunities frankly, but radio is not the same anymore. You can’t count on performing as a barrier to whether or not you keep your job or your contract gets renewed. You can be number one in your market, make the company money, and have ratings and revenue, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to keep your job. I’m fortunate that I have great listeners and supportive sponsors, and it’s really helped me make the transition to where we are now.”
Monty said when the money started to follow the amount and quality of the content they were putting out it was a momentous occasion for him and his family.
“We started to understand that we were in control of our own destiny. Now we didn’t have to worry about our program director getting fired or our sales guy having a bad month.”
Montemayor says he and his son learned everything the way most people do, by trying. You succeed at some things, and fail at others. But as long as you learn from failures, everything should be ok. Figuring out why some posts hit and why others didn’t was one of those learning curves.
“I dove all in on YouTube SEO and never until that moment, I had no idea how important your title and tag was and had no idea that YouTube transcribes your show. Until I dove headfirst into it, and got into the SEO part of it and started doing custom thumbnails every day, titles, tags. Understanding that SEO is not just tags that it’s the words you’re actually saying that’s really where we kind of turned the corner and started seeing our YouTube recommendations go way up.”
Montemayor and his son have formed a great partnership. Monty handles everything on the business end and the SEO while Jake does all of the video production.
“I’m making sure that I keep up with trends and shorts and it is challenging,” Monty said. “I’m fortunate that I’m also in the YouTube research pipeline. We do research and surveys with them pretty much every month. Once you get into their community and you get into their pipeline it really can help.”
Montemayor has helped other hosts who want to go out on their own, but mostly he will talk to anyone that wants to know more, and potentially control their own destiny. Monty says getting started is simple. “Pull out your iPhone and start recording yourself,” he said. “A lot of people are not comfortable with it – it doesn’t matter, you have to do video.”
The other thing Montemayor discusses with hosts who express interest in going the digital route, is whether or not they realize the time commitment to doing it right. He says some come in with all of the right intentions, but don’t want to put in the time and the effort or aren’t willing to stay on top of the latest technology has to offer when it comes to distribution.
“You’ve got to treat it like a gig,” Monty said. “You have to get up every day, get dressed, and go to the office no matter where that is. One of the first lessons you learn is this is a job, and it is not easy.”
Seeing many people in the radio business getting laid off recently, Montemayor posted on his LinkedIn that he was willing to offer his services, free of charge, to anyone who had been affected and wanted advice on how to start up on their own.
“I get so much more out of helping people and giving back,” he said. “I spent so much of my radio career not understanding the value of relationships.”
Monty said he expected maybe a couple of people would reach out in reply to his LinkedIn post, however, he was surprised when it was many more than that. “I probably talked to 25 people, I was really surprised how many people reached out.”
He said he told them all something that is very important and key to their success in digital: Do not care what other people think.
“It’s the number one mistake that people make,” he said. “You’ve got to do it for you. That’s where your passion and enjoyment are going to come out.” He said people in our industry have a tendency to worry about what others may say, and his point is, you are the one doing it, so continue to do it how you want to because you only have to answer to yourself.
As far as who he sees out there that he thinks is doing a great job with digital media, he first points to an old boss – Jim Rome. “Jim Rome is crushing it,” Monty added. “That’s my dude. Jim used to have an open door, and he would allow me to come sit in his office and just talk to him about the business. If I could go back in time, the resource that that man was for me and to see him evolve and to see him doing FAST channels is amazing.”
Monty would later mention 670 The Score in Chicago, 95.7 The Game in San Francisco Brand Manager Matt Nahigian and John Kurtz, who does college football coverage out of Kansas City, as a few he sees thriving with digital content.
“There’s so many people in sports and news/talk today who should be doing it, and they’re not. There’s not a lot out there that is great in my opinion.”
As for what’s next for ‘The Monty’ show and his digital empire, he said 2025 is all about expanding their reach. “We just got back from CES and had some great meetings there with a lot of important people. We’re certainly working on better distribution. You have to find people where they live. We have a lot of people who watch our show on a TV already, more than half of our viewership is on a television and the other part obviously is on a telephone or smartphone, so our goal in 2025 is to grow that distribution.”
As much as ‘Monty’ loves radio, he is also a realist. Being out in front of the content revolution happening on YouTube has paid off more than he ever could have imagined.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
