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Broadcast Agents are Focused on Digital Opportunities, Why Aren’t More Radio Stations?

Dave Greene
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Broadcast Agents are Focused on Digital Opportunities, Why Aren’t More Radio Stations?

I have had a fun couple of weeks of interviews. I really enjoyed talking with Phil Mackey and Dan Seeman from Hubbard’s SKOR North in Minneapolis. I also had the chance to talk to two different agents who represent broadcasters, The Weiss Agency’s Heather Cohen and WME’s Josh Levy. I was incredibly surprised that the chats with the agents tied in so well with the feature on Dan and Phil. Yet, there I was spending a lot of time talking digital distribution with all four.

When I ended the zoom with Dan and Phil all I could really do was shake my head. First and foremost, because of what they have built, how it happened and what it turned into. Secondly, I just cannot understand how more people have not stolen the idea and gone for it like they have done in Minneapolis.

Read these words from Seeman, Hubbard Minnesota’s Vice-President/Region about what their 1500 AM signal turned into when they went almost exclusively digital, “This idea was so crazy, it might just work, and it worked, and it is working. I look at revenue and I look at profitability. It works.”

Now, read that again. And again. And again.

Just keep reading it until it sinks in.

If you are in any decent sized market and you don’t have a full digital strategy for your brand, get out now. No other way to put it, get out. Sell. You have zero opportunity to succeed in the future. Your station is what people commonly refer to as ‘Dead Man Walking’.

SKOR North has been doing digital distribution, and doing it well, for several years. The person responsible ultimately for what happens with it is telling you “It works!” so why aren’t more of you listening? How far are you willing to fall behind?

What is it going to take for operators to understand it’s the NOW?

In my conversations with the two agents, both brought up the number of opportunities they are seeing through digital distribution and how they are getting their clients to understand the importance of having that digital presence. And remember, the agents are the ones talking to the networks, talking to the major digital distribution outlets and all of the others, so they generally know what is coming before the rest of us. I can assure you based on what I heard, there is only more and more coming.

And, of course, we are seeing more and more athletes bypass the media and create their own outlets. Do you think they are going to need your sports radio station to help them with that? It will end up the other way around if we aren’t careful enough and they will have the audience that sports talk radio needs.

Marc Cuban had said last year that the business world is now made up of two types of companies – those who have become great at artificial intelligence and then everyone else that those companies passed up long ago.

It’s the same with an all-digital or almost all-digital offering. There are those excelling at it now like SKOR North and some that are getting ready to go all in and then there’s everyone else. Seeing the decline year after year after year but choosing to not change until the last dime has been sucked out of radio.

It will not be that long until many of you will just be left holding your signal license, begging someone, anyone to help bail you out because you didn’t act fast enough and jump in where the water was warm for a long time, but you chose to stand on the deck and watch everyone else swim away.

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The Best/Worst Thing I’ve Heard/Watched/Read Recently

The best thing I’ve heard recently has been any game Kevin Harlan is calling. Whether it is on television or radio, whether it is basketball or football, he is simply one of the best. I feel like almost everyone I talk to that is in the business or connected to it agrees with me. His mechanics, his consistently smooth calls and most of all his passion.

When I listen to Kevin Harlan call a game, especially on radio, I always feel like I am on the emotional roller coaster of the game with him. The ups, the downs, the strange, no matter what is happening I can sense it by the way Kevin is talking.

While I also love Al Michaels for very different reasons, he would be an example of someone that sometimes it is difficult to tell right when you tune in if it is a good game or a bad game based on the way Al is calling it. As he has gotten older, you definitely know when it is a bad game because he usually says so, but the call of the game stays somewhat the same.

Harlan is instant offense to me, and I was glad to see Amazon plans to add him to their NBA coverage. He is one of those people who I hope never retires or we figure out how to clone. His passion during a broadcast should be bottled up and sold.

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In Case You Missed It

Andy Masur recently posted his monthly feature, ‘Anatomy of a Broadcaster’ and this month he featured Noah Eagle. Let’s just be honest about this, Noah Eagle is a superstar in the making. As Andy mentions in the feature, Noah realizes he has had certain advantages because of who his dad is. But if anyone actually thinks he gets hired by NBC and put in the positions they are putting him in because his dad is a great broadcaster is either a complete idiot or is paying no attention at all. Noah Eagle is one of the best play-by-play guys in the business and he just recently turned 28.

Masur wrote, “His voice is mature beyond his years. He sounds poised, confident, authoritative and much older than he is. There’s a polished quality to his broadcasts that you normally hear from seasoned veteran broadcasters. His voice is smooth, yet commanding, another element to a broadcast usually reserved for those with much more experience. It’s rare that young broadcasters possess more than one of these traits, but that’s the case with Eagle.”

I highly recommend checking out the full feature if you have not already by clicking here.

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.

Power Brokers: Josh Levy Went From the Mailroom at WME to Partner, Head of Sports Broadcasting

Dave Greene
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Power Brokers: Josh Levy Went From the Mailroom at WME to Partner, Head of Sports Broadcasting

Each of the Power Brokers Barrett Media has featured this week all have great stories about how they got into the industry. WME’s Josh Levy might have the best.

Levy initially wanted to be a lawyer. “I thought I was going to be Mr. Jerry Maguire,” he said. “I took the LSAT, I applied to law school, and actually the summer after graduating, before law school, I was in [New York] city, suit-and-tie, copies of my resume in my hands. I couldn’t tell you the places that I was going to. There are a lot of sports marketing and sports adjacent companies that I was interested in working with. At the time I just remember literally typing into my BlackBerry, ‘Sports Agencies NYC’.

“The first place I saw…I just showed up at their front desk reception and said, ‘I have an interview at 2:30 with so-and-so and I need to be buzzed up.’ They buzzed me up, the first person I saw I gave her my elevator pitch. I gave her my whole spiel and she said, ‘That was great, but I’m just the receptionist.'”

Undeterred, Levy said he waited at the elevators until he saw someone walk into the agency. When someone did, it happened to be the Vice President of Broadcasting. Levy walked right up and gave his pitch.

“I stopped her, we had a long chat and two weeks later, she hired me as an intern…at the time, I had no idea TV talent even had agents!”

That was 15 years ago. He would later find his way over to WME in September 2010 and is now a Partner and Head of Sports Broadcasting. His client list includes the likes of Matthew Berry, Candace Parker, P.K. Subban, Jamie Erdahl, Kay Adams, Dean Blandino and Adam Lefkoe, in addition to many other top broadcasters.

His start at WME, however, was in the mailroom, same place it starts for all of the other young want-to-be agents.

“You start and you’re sort of like this Swiss army knife who’s reading scripts and doing tapings and you’re doing these various tasks and projects for different agents and assistants and it’s before you’re really an assistant starting to find your lane. But I knew even at the time, that I really wanted to be in television and that I really wanted to be in sports.”

At the time, however, Levy was unsure if there was really an opportunity for a mixture of the two. Only a few agents then were specializing in sports broadcasters. Times have certainly changed with many agencies now having several people working with both those currently in sports media as well as athletes who want to have a media career after their playing days are over.

Eventually, Levy ended up working as an assistant to Jim Ornstein, who was the first agent in the company to focus heavily on the sports broadcast genre.

“Through osmosis and plenty more experiences and events, I just knew the minute I started working for Jim, this is what I need to be doing,” Levy said.

In what turned out to be incredible foresight, one of Levy’s first clients was Todd Fuhrman, who was making appearances on FS1 as a gambling analyst. Fuhrman had been an oddsmaker for Caesars and when Levy saw him doing something that at the time nobody else was doing, he thought this might be the start of something that could really take off.

Levy said, “I told my boss, ‘This feels like it’s going to be big.'” He sent a cold email introducing himself to Fuhrman and told him he thought he had “something to deliver to a television audience and I want to be along for that ride with you.” Levy continues to represent Fuhrman to this day. “It’s been really cool to work with somebody from just coming on once in a while to helping them build a business,” Levy said.

As he predicted when first signing Fuhrman, it was the start of something that has expanded beyond anyone’s expectations. Gambling and fantasy sports have become part of mainstream sports media, and it has just continued to open up more opportunities for broadcasters in that space.

Levy added, “It feels like we’re in this era where people are watching a game and texting their friends about it, they’re watching a game and checking their fantasy lines, they’re watching a game and tracking their bets – that’s what this generation, this era has become.”

“If the dam finally broke, it was going to be a juggernaut and it’s proven to be, and I get it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s certainly a very complimentary content offering as we watch sports today.”

Not only are we seeing more gambling and fantasy content, but we are also seeing more talent who go far beyond just their primary roles. Some are doing separate podcasts while others are creating entire production companies. While that works for some, it is not for everyone. Levy said there is a saying he has found himself repeating a lot recently: ‘You can’t make somebody into something they’re not’.

“I think being inorganic is probably the worst thing to tell a talent or to encourage a talent to do,” he said. “I just think in today’s day and age being a specialist and owning a space is far more valuable than being this sort of jack-of-all-trades generalist.

“If you can sell yourself or if I can sell you as a talent in a unique way, that you do something either better than anybody else, more uniquely than anybody else, or just come at something with such a different perspective and point of view, I just think that’s such a more attractive sell. We’re just in a new world in a new day and age that I think being a specialist at something personally has a lot more value than ever before.”

As for working with his clients and advising them on which lanes to look in, Levy said the key is to have a clear strategy.

“One shape does not fit all, and I just think we have to be very calculated and honest with talent on how they want to build something and know what the end goal is. If it’s to build a massive media company and have several tentacles to it in terms of broadcasting and production and hosting, there’s a process in a way to do that and more often than not it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s far more advantageous to sit in a room and come up with a plan.”

Levy appears to have the same passion for what he is doing today, if not more, than the kid who was standing at the elevator waiting for someone to come out a decade and a half ago. And if he were that person who walked off the elevator today and spoke to someone who desired to become an agent, he knows what he would tell them, and it would be the exact opposite of something one of the top agents in the game once told him.

“I was on vacation years and years ago and I actually ran into Scott Boras. I remember telling him that I wanted to be a sports agent, and I’ll never forget his response was, ‘Don’t do it.’ … That was the extent of our conversation. It was brief. I almost had 25 follow-up questions of why? But it actually only made me want to be in this business more.

“I say all that to say if somebody young told me they wanted to be in this business, great, the business has never offered more opportunity, between tech companies who are now in our space and betting companies who are now in our space. My only advice to them would be work your ass off because that’s the only way for you to ever cut through and actually build a meaningful business. No one’s going to hand you anything.”

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.

The Pulse: Update Your Disaster Plan, Community Connections, And Radio Industry Happenings

Jeff Lynn
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The Pulse: Update Your Disaster Plan, Community Connections, And Radio Industry Happenings

On September 11, 2001, I was working for Entercom in Madison, Wisconsin, preparing for a morning show meeting. Adam Eliott, my newsman, poked his head into my office and said, “Hey, a small plane just hit the World Trade Center in New York. Do you want me to go back on the air with that?”

That was the first of many judgment calls I would make over the next few days, and they were unprecedented and required me to operate without a playbook. In retrospect, we should have probably anticipated that the day would come when “America would lose its innocence.”

Some of the calls made over those days would later prove just a little illegal. Such as calling my local NBC affiliate, with whom I had a news and weather agreement, and asking if I could rebroadcast their audio, 

The yes they gave me turned out to be a violation, but in those days, no one was going to call their lawyers. The general feeling was to get through this, and we will sort it out later.

Sorting it out later led to a multi-pronged disaster playbook, but even then, we couldn’t anticipate everything. School and mass shootings were not yet at the forefront.

This summer’s hurricanes and the Los Angeles wildfires are stark reminders that your playbook needs to be a living, breathing document. 

A few years back at the Country Radio Seminar, former FEMA Director Michael Brown spoke about having a disaster plan for stations. 

My biggest takeaway, which sent chills down my spine, was when he said, “It’s not IF it happens in your market, it’s WHEN it happens in your market.

There’s more to your plan than just getting the songs that might have an insensitive tone off the air.

Do you simulcast the all-news station?

Do you take contesting off the air?

Does your morning show know how to set the proper tone and not make an insensitive joke?

Do they also know when it’s ok to use humor to give listeners a break from what they are dealing with?

Do you have a plan with your GM or sales manager in case you have decided to suspend commercials? And how do you decide when to return to normal?

There are many other variables, and while it is impossible to anticipate every eventuality, now is a good time to review your plan and make adjustments.

On Monday, we’ll go inside one Los Angeles radio cluster to see how it’s operating during the wildfires and how it’s handled some of the challenges outlined above.

Watch this space.

Community Connections:

Southern California’s Meruelo Media has partnered with the American Red Cross to assist those impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. The efforts will mobilize community support for the hardest-hit areas.

Meruelo media operates Power 106 KPWR, KLOS 95.5. CALI 93.9 KLLI and KDAY 93.5.

Industry Happenings:

In response to the Los Angeles wildfires, the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation is extending the deadline for submissions to the 50th Gracie Awards. The deadline has moved from January 30 to February 6.

Registration is opening for the 2025 NAB show in Las Vegas.  Register and get more information here. 

Jacobs Media is offering a webinar highlighting insights from the 2025 Consumer Electronic Show. Registration for the free webinar is at Jacobs Media here.

Add ons:

United Stations is now representing and distributing “Liveline” with Mason Kelter.

“Sunday Night Slow Jams” hosted by Randy ‘R Dub’ Williams passed the 200-station mark with the addition of nine new affiliates.

Tony Lorino’s “Throwback Nation Radio” has a new syndication deal with Orbyt Media, allowing Canadian Broadcasters access to the Classic Hits formatted show.

Compass Media’s “Anna & Raven” picked up four new affiliated including Q102” WQTU Rome GA, “107.3 The Beat” KWCQ Kennewick WA, “Wowie 97.9” KWOE Maui,  and “101.7 The Point” WQLK-HD2 Richmond IN.

Bit Of The Week:

Hit me with your best. The Pulse wants to include your show with the “Bit Of The Week.” If you want to be featured, please send me an mp3 of your best, most recent bit to jeff@barrettmedia.com.

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.

Rod Ryan Has Been Rockin’ Houston For 20 Years At ‘94.5 The Buzz’

Charese Fruge
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Rod Ryan Has Been Rockin’ Houston For 20 Years At ‘94.5 The Buzz’

Rod Ryan celebrated twenty years with 94.5 The Buzz in Houston in 2024. He started 2025 without Co-Host Tessa Barrera, who announced late last year that she was leaving the show to focus on her TV career as Co-Host of KPRC 2 “Houston Life” with Derrick Shore. (BMM 12/17/24)

The main priority for “The Rod Ryan Show” right now is to find a replacement for Barrera. So, according to a recent Instagram post, “It’s just the Boyzzz’ for the next few weeks.”

And they aren’t in a hurry. “I just want to get it right,” said Ryan in a mikemcguff.com blog post. “That leaves Ryan, Alex Middleton, 3rd mic and Sports Director and Producer, Chile, behind ‘The Buzz’ morning show microphones” right now.

Ryan got his start in radio after graduating from Buffalo State College with a degree in Broadcasting and interning all through college, which led to his first full-time gig hosting 3-7 pm at WEDG Buffalo in ’96.

“I thought it could never get any better than that,” said Ryan. “Living and working on my favorite radio station in my hometown! Then New Orleans came calling, and I left for a very fuzzy eight years, four of which were hosting mornings.”

New Orleans is where I met Ryan for the first time. I worked at B97, and we were considered major competitors. But Ryan was the kind of guy everyone wanted to have a beer with, and I was a massive fan of his and his station 106.7 The End.

I vaguely remember one night after a Duran Duran concert, hanging out with him at The Dragon’s Den on Esplanade and shooting Sake for the first time in my life. By the way, we both had to work the next day, and I had a thesis to give at UNO the next day as well.

Needless to say, we were both struggling, but I still got a random call on the request line the next day from Ryan, making sure I was gonna be able to pull it off. Thank God for hangovers. It turns out, just like in radio, in college, hangover days are some of your best days because you just don’t care what comes out of your mouth.

My point is that Ryan is 100% authentic, kind, and self-deprecating, and I am still a big fan of his show. Fun fact: we share the same birthday (August 26th), and back in the day, he had a MASSIVE crush on Hoda Kotb (whom I worked with in TV at the time). It was right before she left to go to New York, and the one time I got her to call him before she left, he did not pick up the phone. She did, however, leave him a voicemail message, and he played it on the air over and over again.”

After New Orleans, Houston called, and “The Rod Ryan Show” Era at 94.5 The Buzz started on January 02, 2004. He hasn’t looked back since. Celebrating twenty years last October with a big anniversary party featuring Brent and Zach of Shinedown, Jakob Nowell of Sublime, Justin and Ryan of Blue October, Tyler, Dave, & Joe of Theory of a Deadman, and Scott Stevens from the Exies.

Ryan and The Buzz gave back to their loyal listeners by giving away tickets to the show. The only way to get in was to win.

Like many in the radio industry, Ryan got into the business because the band thing didn’t work out. “I am a failed musician like so many others,” he says. “I played in a bunch of local bands in and around Buffalo and always thought it was cool any time I had interactions with local radio. I literally said, ‘If I can’t be in a band and do radio interviews, maybe I can get on the radio and interview bands.’” 

Turns out Plan B worked out pretty well for Ryan who says it’s been a good run so far.

“Being on morning rock radio in the early 2000’s was pretty wild! Every week, we just pushed the envelope as far as we could, and in New Orleans, that is easy to do. I think we are all pretty lucky very little of that stuff was on the internet and thank God it was before social media. But I do wish I had more than a picture or two from when we strung ‘Bras Across The Mississippi’ for breast cancer awareness. We hooked bras together the length of the Crescent City Connection, a bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the city to the West Bank.”

“Outside of the wild antics, concerts, and interviews it’s the interaction with the listeners that makes me the happiest. We have worked with our listeners doing lots of local charity events. I established ‘The Rod Ryan Show Cares Foundation’ 501 c 3, raising over 3 million dollars over the years here in Houston.”

“We do a lot of charity work throughout the year. I have two golf tournaments each year. One for Texas Adaptive Aquatics in the Spring and my ‘Boobs Rock’ tournament in October for breast cancer research here at MD Anderson. We also raise money all summer to buy filled backpacks for kids working with Houston Children’s Charity. And we work closely with The Houston Furniture Bank, Houston Food Bank, St. Jude, and several smaller organizations.”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the public service ‘The Rod Ryan Show’ provides when the city experiences hurricanes and flooding, which happens a lot in Houston, providing the public with school closures, road closures, safety information and a general sense of community when these natural disasters take place.

Sometimes, getting this kind of information is a lot easier to digest when you’re getting it from “Your brother Rod.” I know it was for me when I lost everything I owned in a storage unit when Hurricane Harvey hit there. It’s much better than getting the info from a bunch of uptight politicians and officials who spend most of their time placing blame rather than expressing and feeling true empathy.

Don’t get me wrong. They aren’t breaking down and doing special reports and newscasts. They’re just living everyday life on the air in a manner that the average person in the Houston area can relate to and sometimes, when appropriate, bring a little humor to the situation. And that is the perfect combination for a great morning show and why Ryan has been so successful (in one place) all this time.

Follow The Rod Ryan Show on Instagram @rodryanshow

Apply for the Co-Host position here.

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.

How TV Networks — From Fox News and CNN to ABC News and NBC News — Are Planning to Cover the Inauguration of Donald Trump

Garrett Searight
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How TV Networks — From Fox News and CNN to ABC News and NBC News — Are Planning to Cover the Inauguration of Donald Trump

Presidential inaugurations are a once-every-four-year opportunity. So outlets like Fox News, CNN, ABC News, and NBC News are pulling out all the stops as Donald Trump gets set to re-take the White House.

Coinciding with Inauguration Day is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, which should only increase the amount of viewers available for the midday ceremony as Trump takes the oath of office.

Here are the coverage plans for each network that has announced its intentions as of this publication.

Fox News

Fox News will see — as usual — anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum leading its coverage of the event. The network will air live programming from 11:30 AM-5 PM ET on Monday, January 20th.

The overwhelming majority of the Fox News programming that day will originate from Washington D.C., beginning with a special edition of FOX & Friends at 6 AM ET.

America’s Newsroom — hosted by Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino — and The Faulkner Focus with Harris Faulkner will also be in Washington D.C. for the festivities.

The primetime lineup of shows hosted by Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will also host their shows in the nation’s capital.

Fox News will begin its coverage of the Trump inauguration on Sunday, as its weekday stars like Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones, Hemmer, Perino, MacCallum, Jeanine Pirro, Gutfeld, and Jessica Tarlov, will all be included in special program on the day.

Additionally, on the FOX broadcast network, Shannon Bream and John Roberts will helm coverage from 11 AM-5 PM ET.

CNN

CNN will begin its main coverage of Inauguration Day at 7 AM ET as Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper will lead programming for the network until 2 PM.

The two hosts will be joined by Dana Bash, Kaitlan Collins, John King, Abby Phillip, Jamie Gangel, and Audie Cornish, as well as a panel of political experts to share their insights and analysis during the day.

At 2 PM ET, Erin Burnett will anchor the network’s coverage of the inaugural parade. Morning host Kasie Hunt will join, as will Michael Smerconish and David Chalian. Cooper will continue his coverage during the afternoon portion, too, and will moderate discussion by the network’s group of contributors.

During the 4 PM ET hour, Tapper will return to host alongside Bash and Wolf Blitzer from outside the White House.

CNN correspondents Phil Mattingly, Pamela Brown, Jeff Zeleny, Manu Raju, Lauren Fox, and Cornish will be stationed throughout Capitol Hill throughout the day as the ceremonies unfold.

Evening hosts Abby Phillip and Laura Coates will host their programs from Washington D.C. as the inaugural ball for Donald Trump takes place, following primetime coverage of the day’s events on CNN.

NewsNation

NewsNation will host a special two-hour broadcast at 9 AM ET hosted by The Hill’s Blake Burman.

From 11 AM-3 PM ET, the network will broadcast the swearing-in ceremony of Donald Trump, with coverage anchored by Chris Cuomo, Chris Stirewalt, Elizabeth Vargas, and Leland Vittert from Washington D.C.

At 3 PM ET, Connell McShane and Vargas will each host special editions of their NewsNation Now and Elizabeth Vargas Reports programs from Washington, followed by The Hill at 6 PM ET, before the network returns to its regularly scheduled programming, which will originate from the capital.

Vittert will recap the day’s events in a one-hour special from 10-11 PM ET, following a special two-hour edition of Cuomo’s primetime show from 8-10 PM ET.

The network will rely on contributors like George Will, Mick Mulvaney, Scott Bolden, Lauren Wright, and Chris Hahn throughout the day to share their perspectives on the day’s events.

ABC News

ABC News will host Good Morning America from Washington D.C., before transitioning coverage at 9 AM ET to anchor David Muir, who will helm the network’s coverage.

In addition to Muir, ABC News will also feature anchor Linsey Davis, chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, and chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz prominently in its coverage of the day.

ABC News will also host a primetime special, “The Second Inauguration of Donald J. Trump – An ABC News Special,” on Monday at 10 PM ET. Muir will anchor the broadcast that will be available on Tuesday on Hulu.

Between the network television channel and its streaming platform — ABC News Live — the outlet will produce more than 17 hours of coverage surrounding the event.

NBC News

TODAY will begin at 7 AM ET in the nation’s capital before co-host Savannah Guthrie will join Lester Holt at 10 AM ET for the special coverage for NBC News.

Holt and Guthrie will be joined by TODAY hosts Craig Melvin and Al Roker, as well as Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, NBC News senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson, and chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander throughout the network’s coverage of the day.

Additionally, Lester Holt will anchor NBC Nightly News from Washington D.C. at 6:30 PM ET on Monday, January 20th after Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President.

NBC News will have correspondents stationed around the capital, the National Mall, the White House, and Andrews Air Force Base to supplement its coverage of the day’s ceremonies.

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.

Ratings Roundup: NBC Nightly News Sees Highest Audience in 5 Months, Newsmax Jumps Into Top 25 in Primetime

Garrett Searight
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Ratings Roundup: NBC Nightly News Sees Highest Audience in 5 Months, Newsmax Jumps Into Top 25 in Primetime

The Lead

ABC World News Tonight continues its lead over NBC Nightly News, but the program helmed by Lester Holt continues to cut into that lead.

During the week of January 6th, the show averaged 7.4 million viewers for the week. That marked the highest average for a week since the first week of August last year. At that time, the network was in the midst of a ratings bump provided by coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

In the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic, NBC Nightly News averaged 1.2 million viewers during the week.

The ABC News program anchored by David Muir led the way with 8.9 million viewers in total, with 1.3 million viewers coming from the Adults 25-54 demo.

Meanwhile, CBS Evening News averaged 5.2 million total viewers. The program — anchored by Norah O’Donnell before she exits the show later this month — earned an average of 743,000 viewers in the key demographic.

Newsmax Cracks the Top 25 in Primetime

As the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump nears, Newsmax is experience a ratings bump that has propelled it into the top 25 cable news networks in primetime.

During the week of January 6th, the network saw an uptick of 18% in the 8-11 PM ET timeslot. The conservative cable network averaged 277,000 viewers for the week, placing it as the 23rd most-watched network on cable TV.

That growth is a five-place jump for the network compared to the previous week in the overall cable television rankings.

The Fox News 500

The news that MSNBC and CNN have experienced a ratings downturn since the presidential election isn’t anything new or groundbreaking.

However, new data shows just how dominant Fox News has been since Donald Trump secured the presidential election win.

Since Wednesday, November 6th, Fox News has scored more than 500 of the top ratings broadcasts, according to figures from Nielsen.

CNN’s highest broadcast since the Wednesday following the election was the 4 PM hour on that day after Trump secured victory. The network averaged just over 1.9 million viewers in the hour.

Additionally, that was also the highest-rated broadcast since election day for Fox News. The conservative cable channel saw an average of 7.3 million viewers.

The 4 PM ET hour on Wednesday, November 6th is when Democratic candidate Kamala Harris made her concession speech, making her first public comments since Trump won the election the previous night.

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.

How News/Talk Radio Stations Can Localize Syndicated Hosts, And Why Those Hosts Should Want to Do the Same

Pete Mundo
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How News/Talk Radio Stations Can Localize Syndicated Hosts, And Why Those Hosts Should Want to Do the Same

2025 is off and running, and news/talk radio stations are making plans for the upcoming year. As is the case all over the country, in most markets, radio stations are trying to do more with less than they’ve had in recent years.

Some stations didn’t have any significant changes. Still, some saw severe cuts, unfortunately, due to the ever-changing media landscape that media companies of all stripes are trying to work through daily. 

One thing I’ve addressed in this column is the renewed focus by all stations to make up some of the lost spot revenue with events, which continue to make a comeback and are great ways to continue to build brand loyalty from listeners. There are ticketed opportunities, sponsorship opportunities, and more for stations to leverage and, depending on the event, make some good money.

Enter: Syndicated hosts. 

While some stations are still fortunate with several live and local hosts during prime and even non-prime day parts, many stations have had to figure out how to fit more syndication into their lineup.

And several syndicated hosts are doing a great job for their affiliates. Just look at the list from Barrett Media’s Top 20 National News/Talk Radio Shows. There’s a tremendous amount of talent on this list, and many of these hosts have done great work for their stations. 

While some of these hosts are serving hundreds of stations, others are only on dozens of stations, with plenty of room to grow in the years ahead. These shows have opportunities to build strong relationships with their affiliates while also doing everything in their power to gain more through a willingness to embrace some travel and helping their affiliates make money with appearances and events.

I’ve recently seen Erick Erickson promote himself to potential affiliates by noting how he does live events in-market at his own expense for stations that air him live. He also has actively promoted himself as willing to do local ads for any station and willing to meet with sales staff around the country. 

Guy Benson has shown a willingness to do the same thing for KCMO Talk Radio since his addition to the lineup in October.

These things are huge benefits to stations during a time of need. And there isn’t just the revenue angle; there’s the age-old benefit of getting to shake hands and kiss babies with the hosts that listeners loyally follow.

Radio’s edge over TV in this category remains mostly consistent. Occasionally, you will see national morning TV shows traveling and meeting listeners out in the field. FOX and Friends does an excellent job of this. But most shows avoid this and miss out on great opportunities.

We often talk about how personalities must be everywhere possible, not just on traditional media. That means social media platforms across the board. Creating opportunities to make memories with fans to keep them loyal at a time when it’s easier than ever to “cheat” on your favorite personalities by sampling a new TV show, different radio show, finding a different podcast or YouTube channel, or anything else in the rat-race that is the content space with an infinite number of options.

So, while syndicated hosts can’t possibly please every station, we know that’s impossible; targeting smart opportunities, using appearances as leverage to add stations, and creating memories to drive rating and revenues in key markets is a can’t-miss opportunity for long-time syndicated hosts, or newer ones hoping to grow their brand around the nation.

Programmers can use their leverage and explore the best fits and opportunities, while hosts can do the same, creating a win for the station and the listener. And ultimately, the bottom line. 

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.

Laura Dickerson Adds APD/Middays At Q99.7 Atlanta

BMM Staff
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Laura Dickerson Adds APD/Middays At Q99.7 Atlanta

Laura Dickerson has been promoted to APD/Middays at Top 40 Q99.7 Atlanta.

Dickerson, located in Atlanta, will maintain her role as Music Director for Top 40 104.1 KRBE, Houston. She will also continue to host “H-Town Nights with Laura.”

Leslie Whittle, VP of Top 40, Hot AC and Rhythmic CHR, Cumulus Media, and Regional Content Director, Cumulus Houston and Atlanta, said: “It was obvious the day I met Laura four years ago that she’s a star. Her pop culture fandom is unparalleled, as is the energy, knowledge, enthusiasm, and creativity she brings to any team she is a part of. She’s always looking for “what’s next,” and this is a huge, much-deserved “what’s next.” I’m beyond excited to continue to partner with Laura in Houston and to launch our Atlanta journey together.”

Dickerson commented: “I am thrilled to step into this new role at such a legendary brand as Q99.7. I can’t wait to get to know Atlanta while continuing to build upon the strong foundation Leslie Whittle and I have created together at 104.1 KRBE in Houston. It truly feels like the best of both worlds!”

Dickerson added: “Thank you to Brian Philips for this incredible opportunity to grow within Cumulus Media and to Alex Cadelago and Melissa Forrest for their collaborative efforts during this transition to what will be a dynamic and prosperous partnership between both markets.”

Dickerson joined Cumulus Media and 104.1 KRBE in 2021 as an On-Air Host on weekends. She earned the station’s Music Director position the following year, in 2022.

Before her time at KRBE, she served as the Midday Host for Houston’s Top 40 Radio Now 92.1, where she was promoted to Music Director in 2019.

Additionally, Dickerson was on-air in Phoenix from 2012 to 2017 at Hot 97.5/103.9 Hot AC. She began her career at Top 40 Kiss 108 Boston.

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.

Red Apple Audio Networks to Produce One-Hour Inauguration Special

BNM Staff
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Red Apple Audio Networks to Produce One-Hour Inauguration Special

Red Apple Audio Networks has announced plans for a one-hour radio special to commemorate the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Talent from the company like Greg Kelly, Roger Stone, Dick Morris, Noam Laden, and James Flippin, among others, will appear on the special.

The group will also feature insights from historian and author Ryan Walters. Walters, a Presidential historian, wrote the book The Last Jeffersonian: Grover Cleveland and the Path to Restoring the Republic.

The one-hour special from Red Apple Audio Networks, dubbed Inauguration: 2025 is available for stations to run at their convenience through Monday, January 20th.

Donald Trump is scheduled to be sworn in as President on Monday at Noon. He will become the 47th President and, like Grover Cleveland, will become just the second president in U.S. history to serve two non-consecutive terms.

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.

Travis Kelce: ‘You Got to Be Able to Set Yourself for What Happens After Football’

BSM Staff
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Travis Kelce: ‘You Got to Be Able to Set Yourself for What Happens After Football’

Travis Kelce, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, and his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center and Super Bowl champion Jason Kelce, have been hosting the New Heights for parts of the last four years. The show, which launched with Wave Sports + Entertainment, has become a hit among listeners and won several awards among other podcasts. Last August, the Kelce brothers signed an exclusive distribution and advertising sales deal with Amazon’s Wondery that reportedly spans three years and is worth more than $100 million.

During a recent interview on The Stephen A. Smith Show, Travis Kelce was asked about the impetus for starting the podcast and the impact that he and his brother are having outside the world of football. As Kelce prepares to try and help the Chiefs become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowl championships, he has not lost sight of the growth of the podcast and has enjoyed having conversations with his brother. Kelce records the podcast on a weekly basis and discusses a range of topics, including football, pop culture and family life.

“I think that’s been the goal for a lot of football players in this league is to set yourself up because we know this game, it isn’t forever, and you got to be able to set yourself for what happens after football,” Kelce said. “And me and Jason, to be honest, we missed each other. We hadn’t had those conversations every single week, and now we have two hours set aside every single week to talk football, catch up on things and just be brothers.”

Kelce expressed that people did not realize how close he and Jason were before the podcast began, and he believes people can see the similarities when they hear them talking as if they are at the dinner table. Having followed his brother throughout his entire life, Kelce wanted to exhibit the bond they have and the support for one another. In fact, Kelce enjoys talking about his upbringing and how he worked to become a professional athlete.

“I think having ex-players come on, having the stars of my childhood and Jason’s childhood come on and talk about what made them great and just the stories of what they went through,” Kecle said. “I think that’s the funnest part is just being able to just talk to Jason about our childhood and tell the fun stories about being in the Kelce household, as well as the things that we loved to do as kids and now as adults.”

Smith surmised that the podcast is not going away as the audience grows and was curious about how Kelce will approach being critical of people out there when they are not doing their jobs. Coming from the perspective of two Super Bowl champions, he asked whether or not they are prepared to deal with what comes with giving criticism. In reply, Kelce highlighted that having that ability is what makes people like Smith good in their roles and identified it as a talent unto itself.

“Me personally, I like to shine light on everybody and everything,” Kelce said. “I don’t really like to take too many shots at people unless I’ve been truly disrespected, so it has been a bit of a challenge being able to call things out and be confident and try and be critical without chopping somebody down, but it’s definitely something that I’m working on for sure.”

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.

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