The Big Ten Network has announced that it will provide on-site coverage of the quarterfinal round within the College Football Playoff as three teams from the Big Ten Conference look to secure spots amid the final four teams. On-site coverage will begin on Sunday, Dec. 29 when the network will be live from Penn State Media Day at 10 a.m. EST ahead of the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl for a 90-minute episode of B1G Live. Kylen Mills will host with analysis from Dave Wannstedt, Dave Revsine, Matt Millen and Marcel Reece. The Big Ten Network will continue previewing quarterfinal matchups as The B1G Show airs at midnight EST on Sunday.
The broadcast entity will present coverage from media day at the Rose Bowl Game on Monday, Dec. 30 with an edition of B1G Live airing at 11 a.m. EST. On-site from Pasadena, Calif. are several new members of the Big Ten Network, including analyst Yogi Roth and host Ashley Adamson. They will be joined by Urban Meyer and Kenjon Barner for the on-site coverage, which includes new episodes of The B1G Show airing on Monday at 11 p.m. EST.
A special pregame episode of B1G Live will occur on Tuesday, Dec. 31 starting at 5:30 p.m. EST with studio coverage from Rick Pizzo and Jake Butt. Once the matchup between Penn State and Boise State concludes, The B1G Show will take the air to provide postgame analysis of the action and to preview the forthcoming Rose Bowl. For the Ohio State-Oregon matchup, pregame coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 1 leading up to the quarterfinal showdown.
The on-site team, which will include Mills and Griffith in Pasadena, will return with analysis of what took place at approximately 9 p.m. EST on B1G Live: Rose Bowl Postgame. Coverage for the day is expected to conclude at approximately 10:30 p.m. EST with discussion about all four quarterfinal games and the forthcoming semifinals in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Big Ten Network will provide additional coverage through its social media accounts on X, Instagram, Bluesky and YouTube. Moreover, it will continue to provide coverage within the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs, with more details about the schedule being revealed at a later date. The Big Ten Conference and FOX Networks have ownership of the Big Ten Network and collaborate to provide extensive coverage, original programming and live game broadcasts to users on linear and digital platforms. Additionally, FOX Corporation presents Big Ten football games under a seven-year media rights deal with the conference that began in 2023.
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Mile High Radio in Denver is no longer. Company President/CEO Nate Lundy made the announcement recently via his X account saying the focus would now be solely on the digital means of distribution. Mile High Radio started in 2007 and bounced around various signals in the market.
“Tomorrow will be the final day for our radio station, Lundy wrote. “As a 34-year veteran of the radio business it was a bittersweet decision. As much as radio runs through my blood, we have watched enormous growth in our digital offerings, including our YouTube channel and as we focus our efforts in that space it became clear that we no longer needed a traditional over-the-air radio signal 24/7/365.
“It would take me too long to list, but I want to thank everyone who has ever been a part of MHSR for the past 17 years. The hosts, producers, regular guests … it has truly been a family and I’m grateful. Onward and Upward.”
The most recent signal the radio station was airing on was 98.1 K251CV Golden which came from Audacy’s KQKS-HD3. The Denver sports market has two full-powered FMs with mostly local programming and three AMs running national programming.
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I figured I'd drop a quick note regarding @MileHighSports Radio since the news has been out there for a while.
(A Thread…)
Tomorrow will be the final day for our radio station. As a 34-year veteran of the radio business it was a bittersweet decision.
It would take me too long to list, but I want to thank everyone who has ever been a part of MHSR for the past 17 years. The hosts, producers, regular guests … it has truly been a family and I'm grateful.
Audacy New York Market President and head of Infinity Sports Network, Chris Oliviero was the guest of Andrew Marchand on his Marchand Sports MediaThe Main Event with Andrew Marchand podcast. In an episode for members of the podcast, Marchand and Oliviero discussed many topics including Oliviero’s background and how he got into sports radio from the very beginning, his internship with Howard Stern, Mike & The Mad Dog, Don Imus, Boomer Esiason and much more.
As Marchand went through some of Oliviero’s background, he brought up that he grew up in Brooklyn and NYU and that he did the internship with Stern. He then asked, “As a kid, how was Chris Oliviero getting interested in radio? Was that the thing you wanted to do? How did that happen?”
“Some kids wanted to play centerfield for the Yankees, I wanted to be on the radio,” Oliviero said. “I was a pretty good ball player. But really what happened, WFAN debuted July 1st, 1987. I was 11 years old, and I was a sports fan. And I just got exposed to it, and I was blown away by this new thing. 24 hours a day, you could talk to them, they could talk to you.
“So, I became a fanboy. I would write letters to the hosts, to Steve Somers, Jody McDonald, and I just became passionate about sports radio. I tried to get an internship at WFAN when I was at NYU and I was rejected. And then…I was lucky enough, 48 hours after that rejection, I got accepted to a Howard Stern internship.”
Oliviero explained at that time WFAN and the Stern show were part of the same company. He said getting that internship with Howard Stern, “Was a blessing and kind of just started my career. So, another door opened with Howard Stern, and it kind of worked out.”
Marchand dug in on what it was like being around Howard Stern and the show at that time.
“I think you’ve got to put it in a context of time, this was the mid-90s,” Oliviero said. “This was pre-technology, pre-internet, pre-streaming. Terrestrial radio was at its height. Howard Stern was at its height. Multiple New York Times bestsellers, hit movie, number one in every major market in America. He was the ‘it’ of all entertainment in the mid-90s. So, to experience that firsthand was just a learning experience you couldn’t get anywhere. I avoided any on-air attention, which I think actually worked in my favor.
Oliviero then spoke of a key relationship he made while doing the internship with Stern’s longtime producer Gary Dell’Abate, known to most people as Baba Booey, who took a liking to his work. “I realized that I was there to learn and not for my five seconds of fame on the air,” Oliviero said. “He took me under his wing and coached me in the business. And Gary was actually the one, it’s like six degrees of separation, who actually then a year later called Mark Chernoff and said, ‘Do me a favor, can you interview Chris? You rejected him a couple of years ago. He’s got some experience now. He’s a good guy.’ because Chernoff used to be Stern’s program director at K-Rock. So, it’s just relationships, knowing people, being in the right place at the right time.”
Oliviero talked about starting out and realizing pretty quickly he was not going to be the next Howard Stern or sports radio superstar on the air. “I dabbled in on air with Sid Rosenberg and Craig Carton at WNEW, with the sports guys as kind of a third mic,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for performers when that red light goes on. They have something in their DNA that I didn’t have.”
Marchand and Oliviero would go on to talk about being in the position Oliviero is in deciding who goes on the air, the New York Yankees play-by-play position and plenty about the history of WFAN. That portion of the podcast is only available to members.
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ESPN will air more than 24 offerings throughout the first-ever quarterfinal round within the College Football Playoff on Tuesday, Dec. 31 and Wednesday, Jan. 1 utilizing its signature CFP MegaCast production. As the network continues airing the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, viewers will be granted multiple options to watch the action taking place around the country.
A variety of presentations will be available, including Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN2 as Ohio State and Oregon face off at the Rose Bowl Game on Wednesday, Jan. 1. McAfee and the cast of the show, including A.J. Hawk, Darius Butler, Connor Campbell, Ty Schmit and Anthony DiGuilio, will be live for the quarterfinal game and be joined by ESPN analysts, personalities and celebrities during the contest.
The traditional broadcast of Ohio State-Oregon will consist of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe and Stormy Buonantony on the call at 5 p.m. EST on ESPN. Viewers can also tune in for coverage on ESPN Radio with Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer and Ian Fitzsimmons. Airing on ESPNU, the network will present its Command Center presentation that showcases up to four different vantage points simultaneously with real-time player and team statistics. ESPNEWS will present the SkyCast angle to demonstrate the alignment on the field in real time. The other quarterfinal games will air the Command Center presentation on ESPN2 and SkyCast on ESPNU. Viewers can also utilize the ESPN App for coverage of marching band performances at halftime.
Ahead of the Ohio State-Oregon matchup, College GameDay will broadcast live from the Rose Bowl Game from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST. The cast of Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban will be on site to provide insights and analysis ahead of the pivotal matchup. Reporters Jen Lada and Jess Simms, college football insider Pete Thamel and college football betting analyst ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin will also be on the show to provide contributions to the coverage.
ESPN commences its presentation of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Tuesday, Dec. 31 when Penn State faces Boise State in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Kris Budden and Tom Luginbill will broadcast the game on ESPN. Audio coverage on ESPN Radio will include Mike Couzens, Max Starks and Lauren Sisler on the broadcast.
The first game of the Wednesday slate features Texas and Arizona State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at 1 p.m. EST. Before the action commences, SEC Network will present studio coverage featuring Dari Nowkhah, Chris Doering and Benjamin Watson. Commentators for the game telecast on ESPN will consist of play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore, analyst Jesse Palmer and reporters Katie George and Taylor McGregor. The ESPN Radio presentation of the game will include Anish Shroff, Andre Ware and Paul Carcaterra on the call. SEC Network, in conjunction with the Longhorn Radio Network (LEARFIELD), will air the Hometown Audio feed synced up with the SkyCast presentation with Craig Way, Roger Wallace and Will Matthews.
After the Ohio State-Oregon game concludes, ESPN will air the Allstate Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia at 8:45 p.m. EST with a commentary team of Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath and Laura Rutledge. In addition to her reporting responsibilities, Rutledge will host SEC Nation with Marty Smith, Paul Finebaum, Roman Harper, Tim Tebow and Jordan Rodgers from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans at 7 p.m. EST.
Finebaum will also broadcast his weekday talk show live from New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday before an abbreviated show on Wednesday pertaining to SEC teams in the quarterfinals. The Skycast with Hometown Audio will be available on the SEC Network, working in conjunction with the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (IMG College) with announcers Scott Howard, Eric Zeier and D.J. Shockley.
ESPN reached a new six-year deal with the College Football Playoff earlier in the year, granting it rights to live game broadcasts in all rounds, ancillary programming and the ability to sublicense a select number of games. Concurrent with the announcement of the media rights extension, it was also revealed that ESPN and the College Football Playoff amended its ongoing deal to account for the expansion of the tournament.
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AC KRWN continues a four-month growth trend 4.2-5.6-6.1-7.3
Classic Rock KZOK flat at 6.6-6.7
Rock KISW is down 5.1-4.7
#12 Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
Urban WHQT sits atop the market despite being off 9.9-8.7
AC WFEZ up 5.4-6.2
AC WLYF 5.0-5.3
#13 Phoenix
Christmas Magic for AC KESZ up to double digits 8.3-12.3
Classic Rock KSLX off 6.4-5.9
Country KNIX up 3.7-4.3
#14 Detroit
Huge jump for AC WNIC 8.8-13.1
Classic Hits WOMC up a share 6.2-7.1
Top 40 WKQI drops 6.6-6.0
#15 Minneapolis/St. Paul
Classic Hits KQQL up 6.8-10.7
Hot AC KSTP-FM flat 7.1-6.9
Minnesota Public Radio’s AAA KCMP up 4.2-5.4
#17 Tampa/St. Petersburg
Cox Media Group holds the top three spots
AC WDUV leads the way 9.4-9.3
Urban WTBV 6.7-8.5
Classic Hits WXGL up 5.4-6.0
#18 Denver
AC KOSI gets the Christmas bump 7.1-9.3
Classic Hits KXKL up 6.2-6.5
Classic Rock KQMT off 5.1-4.6
#19 San Diego
Classic Hits KXSN off slightly 7.3-7.1 and leads the market
AC KYXY up 4.8-6.6
Country KSON up 4.6-4.8
#23 Baltimore
AC WLIF 6.8-7.7
Rocker WIYY up 6.6-6.9
Urban WWIN loses nearly a share 7.5-6.7
#24 St. Louis
HUGE Christmas month for AC KEZK 5.5-9.6
Classic Hits KLOU drops 8.8-7.9
Adult Hits WARH off 7.4-7.1
You can dive deeper into each market on Barrett Media’s ratings page. Powered by Harker Bos Group.
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Stephen A. Smith, featured commentator and executive producer of First Take on ESPN, is currently in contract negotiations with the company ahead of the expiration of his existing deal on June 30, 2025. There had been reports pertaining to his deal being worth $120 million; however, Smith denied that monetary figure during a recent appearance on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. While speaking with ESPN and First Take colleague Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo on Mad Dog Unleashed, Smith explained that the discussions have been “constructive and beneficial” but there has not currently been an agreement reached.
Smith has stated on multiple occasions that he does not discuss his contract matters in public, but he provided some context during the recent radio appearance. In addition to First Take, Smith also works as an analyst for NBA Countdown and has his own company, Straight Shooter Productions, that produces his eponymous podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, and other projects. Russo exclaimed that if Smith left, he would leave as well, and subsequently implored him to sign the contract.
“The money does matter, but the money is there,” Smith said. “That’s not the issue. ESPN and I don’t have an issue with the money. For me personally, there are a lot of other things that I want to do, and I want the freedom to do it. We live in a different world, and being able to diversify your portfolio and do things outside of that one job that you may have is incredibly important to me, and so because that is of importance to me, that’s the kind of thing that we have to work out.”
In the report from Andrew Marchand of The Athletic of Smith’s deal being for $120 million, it states that most of the deal would be paid by ESPN but would have smaller components from Disney Entertainment and a gambling company. The deal could include first-look provisions for any projects that could be developed. Smith has also expressed a desire to contribute to Monday Night Football and potentially host late-night programming, previously filling in as host of an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and previously hosting a late-night style show on ESPN+, titled Stephen A’s World.
“They’ve been receptive to what I’ve had to say,” Smith explained. “I’m receptive to what they have to say. Hopefully we’ll reach an accord and I’ll be there for years to come, and if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out.”
Smith started his second stint with ESPN in 2011 where he hosted a local show on ESPN Radio in New York, and he also had a local program in Los Angeles for one year as well. In 2012, he joined First Take where he debated sports topics opposite Skip Bayless for four years as the show boosted in the ratings and became more popular. Smith worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer for 16 years where he was a general sports columnist, and he is a graduate of Winston-Salem State University. Smith also formerly hosted a radio show on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio for several years before it moved to the ESPN SiriusXM channel and was later simulcast on television.
Rubber City Radio Group’s Classic Rock 97.5 WONE-FMAkron will celebrate its 40th anniversary on Wednesday, January 1.
In celebration of the milestone, current morning show hosts Matt Spatz and Amanda Casey will present a special broadcast at noon. The program will begin with the station’s original sign-on and feature a countdown of the 40 favorite songs as voted by listeners, marking the station’s first 40 years.
The countdown will showcase highlights and memories from current and former staff members and tributes to artists from Northeast Ohio.
WAEZ-FM, which was easy listening, transitioned to a Rock format, and WONE-FM at 6 AM on January 1, 1985.
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Don Imus, a staple of morning drive for WFAN for nearly two decades, passed away five years ago today at the age of 79. Imus, who had a broadcasting career spanning more than 50 years, brought his irreverent and oftentimes controversial style to the New York City airwaves and is widely seen as a key contributor to the growth of the sports talk-formatted radio station.
One year after the launch of WFAN in 1987, Imus joined the radio station and brought his signature program, Imus in the Morning, to the sports outlet. Although the offering included elements of sports talk, including updates, the format centered more on news, entertainment and politics. Imus brought the audience he had built over two stints with WNBC as the station signed off the 660 AM frequency and concluded its 66-year run. WFAN moved to the 660 AM frequency in October 1988 after it had launched on 1050 AM during the previous July, and it quickly established a schedule featuring Imus in morning drive and the duo of Mike Francesa and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo in afternoons.
Imus was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1989, and his show achieved massive popularity throughout its years on WFAN. After making racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women’s college basketball team in 2007, Imus was fired by CBS Radio effective immediately. Imus joined WABC a few months later and continued broadcasting until March 2018, leaving early when Cumulus Media was in the midst of a restructuring under Ch. 11 bankruptcy. Imus passed away on Dec. 27, 2019 in College Station, Texas after he had been hospitalized a few days earlier.
Barrett Media recently asked about Imus’ legacy and his impact on WFAN with several executives who have or currently work at the sports talk radio station. Please note that answers are edited for length and clarity.
How important was Don Imus to the rise and growth of WFAN?
Jeff Smulyan – Chief Executive Officer, Emmis Communications
“Absolutely critical. I don’t think a lot of people realize that, and a lot of things came together all at once. Moving it to 660, [and] shortly after that, Mike and the Mad Dog, but Don really — I’ve always said Don was really the key because Don brought in a different audience and he was the darling of Wall Street, and he brought in a lot of male decision makers who sort of didn’t know they liked sports, but discovered it because they were listening to Don.”
Rick Cummings – Former President of Radio Programming, Emmis Communications
“EVERYTHING is the simple answer. He taught us the key to successful ‘sports talk’ was ENTERTAINMENT, not an endless stream of information and drivel.”
Mark Chernoff – Former Program Director, WFAN
“Imus just made [a] huge difference at the radio station because FAN, being an all-sports station, Imus is not all sports. Yes, he did sports, and we had Mike Breen doing sports on his show, but the priority was Imus to be Imus, and he brought people the radio station in the morning and allowed the station to grow immensely.”
Chris Oliviero – New York Market President, Audacy
“Imus was like the big free agent signing that an expansion team might make to bring instant star power to the club and send a message to the marketplace that they are serious about competing. That was Don in 1988.”
What did Don Imus do that specifically helped the brand elevate to a different level?
Jeff Smulyan:
“I think he gave it credibility. I always said one of my favorite bits of all time was his sign off, where he said, ‘This ends the entertainment portion of today’s programming. For the next 24 hours, you’re going to hear mindless drivel from morons about sports. Tune back in tomorrow morning for more entertainment,’ but everybody rallied around it. Everybody knew that he brought something the station didn’t have. He took his listeners and got them interested in FAN. The combination of the better frequency and Imus, and then the growth of Mike and the Mad Dog just put it over the top.”
Rick Cummings:
“His brand of irreverence and his humorous means of calling BS on all manner of things widened our appeal dramatically. You no longer had to be a Mets fan steeped in player stats to love FAN. NON sports fanatics loved the station too. Don taught us the formula, which we spread to other dayparts like Mike and the Mad Dog (more sports-centric but with that leading edge of entertainment).”
Chris Oliviero:
“First Imus bought WFAN much needed time and breathing room in the early days to figure out exactly what the rest of the 19.5 hours of the broadcast day should sound like for this new uncharted format of sports radio. And second, he helped make stars of his new teammates by shining a light on them to his audience, most famously Mike & The Mad Dog. In wrestling parlance, he put them over.”
Mark Chernoff:
“Before I got there, he did a switch with the Connecticut governor, Lowell Weicker, where Imus was governor for a day in Connecticut, and I think that set him up to understand and have politics becoming a part of his show. And in, I guess it was ’92 when Bill Clinton ran for president, Bill Clinton back then would even say Imus made a huge difference in his campaign. It humanized Bill Clinton, and Imus became an important person in the world of politics, and I believe it was in TIME magazine that Imus was voted one of the 25 most influential people in America, and a lot of it had to do with getting Bill Clinton on his show and making a name for himself in the world of politics. He started having guests from that world, besides the world of entertainment [and] an occasional sports guest.
“When Boomer Esiason came over, he was on with Imus back then as the Jets quarterback, but they could talk more than sports. But Imus became an important player, not just being a shock jock anymore, which is what many people thought of. ‘Oh yeah, Imus is a shock jock.’ Well, it’s not that he didn’t do comedy. He did, and he could be outrageous some of the time, but he also now had a different kind of a following or an additional kind of a following because he was so wrapped up in what was going on in the world as well.”
Looking back five years after Don’s passing, how should his legacy and connection to WFAN be remembered?
Jeff Smulyan:
“Don — and the way things ended, and of course, [that] was long after my tenure — but Don was an American original, and I thought the world of him. He was challenging. We always had a great relationship, but he was challenging to manage. I always kidded Randy Bongarten. Randy managed Howard Stern and Don, and he said, ‘Howard could do whatever he did on the air and cause you all sorts of problems, and at 10:00 in the morning, he could clinically discuss what he had done.’ He said, ‘Don was Don 24 hours a day. Sometimes good, sometimes challenging.’
“I was an Imus fan long before I owned that radio station, and I told the story when we were buying NBC and I met with Mike Lynn, who was his agent, and we laughed and I said, ‘Mike, let me see if I get this right. We’re talking about putting Don on the air, so we’re going to have a radio station which is losing record amounts of money, we’ve got an anchor of a baseball team that has more drug problems than you could imagine, and we got a guy who’s just come out of rehab, and we’re going to put them all together. What could possibly go wrong?,’ but it all worked, and I always thought that in any Hall of Fame of broadcasting, Imus is right at the top.”
Rick Cummings:
“Imus was supposed to be one of the original ‘shock jocks.’ But he morphed into the ultimate power broker in the tri-state area. When Bill Clinton campaigned, Imus was a mandatory stop. Every major banker and Wall Street decision-maker not only listened, they insisted on buying commercials (at very high rates mind you) in his show. If you wanted to be seen or heard, you HAD to have Imus.”
Mark Chernoff:
“He was a game-changer — very much a game-changer for the radio station. Even Mike Francesa and Chris Russo will say that without Imus, the station may not have grown to where it grew. Imus talked up Mike and Chris — he made fun of them some of the time and had fun with them some of the time — but by certainly introducing them, because they both had done sports on his show, not together, but he really helped them out because he had such a big audience back in those days, and he brought a lot of other people to the table. It also helped that we had the Mets, but much more important was how much Imus meant for the radio station.”
Chris Oliviero:
“You cannot write the history of WFAN without Don Imus. He was the foundational cornerstone that all the future decades of success was built upon. He also made WFAN a national brand from the cover of TIME Magazine to MSNBC to making his studio a must visit for the nation’s biggest political heavyweights. But you also must write the whole WFAN story, the beginning, the middle and the end, which of course was sad and painful for so many. Though not at WFAN, Imus did go on to try to rewrite a new ending of amends. Simply, I would say his legacy is complicated that needs to be studied in totality.”
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Some of you may know I have been in the podcasting space for several years. What started out as a side hustle grew into more than 20 shows, some of which were sports focused, some comedy shows and even an entertainment show with Melissa Joan Hart (aka Sabrina, the Teenage Witch). However, what we specialize in is pro wrestling nostalgia. Who knew this would be a major category in the podcast space?
When you think about it, however, a big part of podcasting is storytelling and if you can mix that with behind-the-scenes information that gives your listeners or viewers a peek behind the curtain, you have the makings of some strong content. Pro wrestlers told stories for a living, so they are trained in how to keep the audience engaged and also how to tease things that could be coming next.
I am saying this to segue into my topic for this column, which is that I am not sure who the MVP of sports broadcasting was this year, or the Comeback Sportscaster of the Year, but I can tell you who wins Rookie of the Year, in fact, it is a tie – the co-Rookie of the Year awards go to Nick Saban and Bill Belichick.
Let’s go back a year, to when everyone was making predictions and wondering what the media careers of the two might look like. I think most people believed Saban would be pretty good, however, several wondered if he would have the personality to go along with the knowledge. I thought it became pretty obvious from the get-go that Saban was a star in the making.
Many of the great coaches are terrific orators but sometimes when it comes to talking about the game of football, they can’t simplify it. They just cannot talk about it in a way that makes a lot of sense to the average fan.
With Saban, you also realize part of what made him such a great coach is that publicly he said very little. Saban’s old school and he is looking for every advantage he can possibly find and that includes not giving away any information you don’t have to give up. Now that the shackles are off and he doesn’t have a team to protect, he can talk freely about the game, and he is really good at it.
Additionally, we really didn’t know, nor could we have known how Saban would mesh with the team on College GameDay. I think anyone who has seen the show knows it has been better than anyone could have hoped. Pat McAfee brought some new energy to the show last year and Saban has brought another dimension this year, which is on pace to be the show’s best year ever.
Belichick was a little bit of a different story. There was concern about his personality, too, but it was more about if he actually had any. Lo and behold, turns out Bill Belichick can relax and have a really good conversation about football and even mix in a little fun every now and then. As far as I’m concerned, everything I’ve seen Belichick do has been above expectations.
Everyone had an opinion, and some were educated opinions from people who had spent time around Belichick. But when Tom Brady spoke on the subject at the beginning of the season and said that one of the things that made Belichick so special as a head coach was that he simplified things. Brady said while other coaches were known to make everything incredibly complicated, Belichick would make things about stopping the other team’s best players and laying out a very direct game plan which everyone knew very well.
You see that whenever Belichick is on with Pat McAfee, the Mannings or any of his other regular appearances where he really hones in on a few particular things and nothing he says is every really over complicated. This man knows more about the game of football than anyone alive and he has the ability to communicate it to the public – a terrific combination in the roles Belichick has had.
Sadly, for football fans outside of North Carolina, Belichick is headed back to the sidelines to coach in college for the UNC Tar Heels. I wrote about this after that announcement was made, but now we wait for Belichick to get the coaching out of his system, with the knowledge of how good he can be as an analyst. Belichick also knows there will be people lining up for his broadcasting services when he is ready to come back, so we will see what happens, but I predict we see Belichick back as an analyst sooner than later.
Regardless, for 2024, these two are (by far) the top newcomers in the broadcasting game. Saban and Belichick have exceeded expectations all around early in their broadcasting careers and it has been an incredible year learning from two of the brightest minds in the game’s history.
The Best/Worst Thing I’ve Heard/Watched/Read Recently
Like many of you, I spent a lot of Christmas Day with Netflix. Not just watching the games, but also taking note of the personalities used, the sets, the graphics and whether or not I kept a strong connection and didn’t spend the day with the system buffering like for the Tyson-Paul fight.
Fortunately, all went well on my end as far as the technology. I also liked the mix of talent used and was especially impressed by Kay Adams. Leading a desk of analysts is not an easy task for someone who doesn’t do it on a regular basis. I thought she handled it well and did a great job bringing the energy.
I met Kay when she was first starting out in the business and had recently graduated from Mizzou (MIZ!). Even then, in her early 20’s, you could tell she was going to make something of herself in this crazy business. She was determined and even at such a young age, you could see the ‘It Factor’ with her.
Well, fast forward about 15 years and she is starring on one of the biggest moments in modern day broadcasting, with the NFL debuting on Netflix. Congrats to her on all of the success she has had to this point, and I am certain she is just getting started.
You can check out Kay Adams each weekday at 11 a.m. ET on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams from FanDuel TV by clicking here.
I usually try and point out something written by one of my colleagues in this space, but this week I am going to promote something I wrote for the site. I am not doing so because I wrote the story, I am doing it so you don’t miss out on reading what Infinity Sports Network’s JR SportBrief is doing with AI.
While others in our space are trying to hide from AI, thinking it will eventually replace humans needed to do our jobs, JR SportBrief is looking for ways to embrace it. The truth is, most of what AI will be able to do in our industry is enhance it, add things we may not otherwise be able to have because it calls for an additional body and salary.
JR Jackson, aka JR SportBrief has partnered Morgan State University and Google on a project which will allow his voice and personality to be used, virtually, for things like a postgame wrap up of a sporting event.
“I knew Morgan State had a journalism program that I was fond of, and I knew they just started a brand-new AI Program,” he said “I reached out and I told them what I was doing. I wondered if there was a way we could work together on this where I could work with an HBCU, give back and have this be beneficial for everybody. After talking for a few months, the answer was yes. I reached out to Google, and they paid for the completion of this project.”
Super cool story happening I hope people will read about and you can do so 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.
Day One of Nielsen PPM Markets arrived on December 23. If those trends indicate things to come, and they typically do, it will be a win for stations that went all Christmas.
Among the highlights, iHeartMedia’s flagship AC WLTW New York jumped 7.8-9.7, with the company’s WLIT Chicago nearly doubling its share month over month 5.5-9.8.
KOST Los Angeles was up 4.7-8.3
In Dallas Ft. Worth, KDGE jumped 3.9-7.1.
In San Francisco, KOIT was up 5.4-7.2.
I had expected and written that my feeling was that, coming off a highly contested election with an extremely divided country, Christmas music would provide a safe listening space and perform well.
It did. But is it as strong as ever, and did it live up to expectations?
Looking at the above stations year over year, the trend is developing.
WLTW posted an 11.3 in December 2023, the station’s highest December number, eclipsing its previous high of 9.7. This year’s 9.7 is off 1.6 year over year.
WLIT scored 12.3 in 2023; this year’s 9.8 share leaves them 2.5 shares off year over year.
KOST posted a 10.1 in 2023, and this year’s 8.3, leaving them nearly two shares off the previous year.
KDGE jumped over two monthly shares when they posted an 8.6 in 2023, off this year 1.5 shares from the previous year.
KOIT was double digits last year 10.1, and this year’s 7.2 is off nearly three shares.
Looking narrowly at Day One PPMs, it appears Christmas Music is still a winning formula, but the peak may have been reached.
As the remainder of the PPMs continue…Watch This Space.
Community Connections:
Z102.9 KZIA, Cedar Rapids, IA, afternoon hosts Destiny Loney, and Taylor Martensen wrapped up their second annual “Stuff the Waggin'” campaign to support the Cedar Valley Humane Society. Over five weeks, the pair broadcast their Monday shows live from the back of their station vehicle, actively encouraging listeners to contribute to the care of local animals in need.
98.5 KTIS Minneapolis marked the third anniversary of its Christmas Blessing initiative, a program aimed at providing hope and support to individuals and families in need during the holiday season.
This year, the initiative awarded grants to 11 deserving recipients throughout the Twin Cities, each navigating their unique challenges, including health crises and the struggles of single parenting.
NEW 102.7 WNEW in New York exceeded its goal for the annual “Karen Carson’s 10,000 Toys for Girls & Boys” campaign, collecting 11,017 toys this holiday season. This charitable initiative supports Children’s Aid NYC and is dedicated to spreading holiday joy to foster children throughout New York City.
Hot 98.3 FM WGCO Savannah, GA, recently hosted its 4th Annual “Jared and Katie’s Breaking and Entering Christmas” event to uplift a family facing challenges in Southeast Georgia. Since the beginning of November, Hot 98.3 has been encouraging listeners to nominate families influenced by recent storms or other significant life events.
This year’s initiative garnered a record number of nominations. Morning hosts Jared Pike and Katie Tesh carefully reviewed each submission, ultimately choosing a family of five from Hinesville who suffered the loss of their five-year-old daughter earlier this year.
Industry Happenings:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that new rules regarding the limited use of FM booster stations to deliver geotargeted content will take effect on January 13.
These updated regulations include new or modified information collection requirements still awaiting approval from the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The effective date for these changes will be communicated in a future notice. Additionally, the FCC’s Media Bureau plans to issue a Public Notice to confirm the implementation of the remaining rule changes at that time.
Add ons:
Media Monitors list of top ten advertisers for the week of December 16-22.
Lowes
Verizon Wireless
Progressive
Skyrizi (prescription medication)
T-Mobile
PayPal
Vicks
eBay
Kohls
Viome
Bit Of The Week:
In future weeks, The Pulse will include 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.
