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ABC News Presidential Debate Draws Audience of More Than 67 Million

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With the ABC News Presidential Debate airing on a variety of channels and platforms, many questioned how big the audience would be for Tuesday’s event. We now know that answer.

Nearly 57.8 million viewers tuned into the coverage of Republican nominee Donald Trump debating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris Tuesday evening. Across eight networks, it earned a 32.8 rating and a 70 share.

ABC News led coverage of the event with 18.3 million viewers. Nearly 14 million watched the debate across Fox News (8.7 million), Fox Business Network (287,000), the FOX broadcast network (4.7 million), and its plethora of digital avenues. NBC saw the second-highest audience with 9.7 million viewers. MSNBC featured just over 6 million viewers. An additional 5.9 million tuned in on CBS, while CNN featured an audience of 4.1 million viewers during the 9-10:45 PM ET timeslot.

According to early estimates from Nielsen, those results are up 28% compared to the June debate between President Biden and former President Trump that ultimately saw Biden drop out of the race. That June debate saw an audience of 48 million, according to Nielsen. It was the highest-rated program in CNN history with an additional 30 million views taking place on YouTube.

As of this publication, the debate also saw more than 12 million views on the ABC News YouTube channel.

The top 10 markets by share were

Rank Market Share
1 Pittsburgh 44.2
2 Philadelphia 43.4
3 West Palm Beach 43.3
4 Minneapolis 38.7
5 Milwaukee 37.8
6 Detroit 37.4
T-7 New York 36.7
T-7 Kansas City 36.7
T-9 St. Louis 36.2
T-9 Providence 36.2

Gregg Giannotti: Older Sports Talk Guys Like Dan Bernstein Get to a Point ‘Where They’re Just Straight Up Miserable’

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The sports media continues to react to yesterday’s feud between Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and 670 The Score host Dan Bernstein, caused when Bernstein took exception to being called by his last name by Barstool Eddie who was guest-hosting the afternoon show with Matt Spiegel. On today’s Boomer & Gio on WFAN in New York, hosts Gregg Giannotti and Boomer Esiason played the audio clips of the incident and explained the situation to their listeners.

After hearing Dan Bernstein’s now semi-famous response to being called by his last name, “You can call me Dan, or you can call me Bernsy, but you don’t know me like that,” Giannotti seemed as confused as most other people about the reaction.

“All right, so he’s serious,” Giannotti said. “…Don’t call me Bernstein, which his name is Dan Bernstein.”

“You can call him Dan or Bernsie?” asked Esiason. “I guess Bernsie obviously is his nickname.”

“But you can’t call him Bernstein, which is his actual name,” Gio replied. “And at the end of this, there’s a clip where his co-host, they go to break and there’s a clip, his co-host goes, ‘what did he call you?’ And then you see Dan Bernstein go, ‘Bernstein.’ You can’t call me Bernstein.”

Giannotti went on to explain to the listeners a bit of the background and that the Barstool staff says Bernstein has taken shots at them in the past and that “Bernstein has hated Barstool forever. Like that’s one of his things, that he hates Barstool. So, he doesn’t know this guy, Eddie. He just knows he’s from Barstool and he just got angry with the Bernstein thing.”

The hosts talk through what Portnoy had been writing and saying on social media asking his army of supporters to go after Bernstein, “professionally speaking,” by harassing him on social media and calling him by his last name any chance they get.

Giannotti then referenced Bernstein, who is in his mid-fifties, and said to Esiason, “We all know older sports talk guys that get like this, you know what I’m saying? They get to a point in their career where they’re just straight up miserable and anything will bother them.”

Giannotti put on a bow on the topic by saying, “It was amazing. You can call me Bernsie. You can call me Dan, but you don’t know me like that. The show is Bernstein & Holmes.”

Some of Bernstein’s social posts have had several hundred replies to them, mostly with Barstool fans making their presence felt. As of this writing, there has been no mention of the situation by Dan Bernstein on today’s show on 670 The Score.

Both WFAN and 670 The Score are owned by Audacy.

K92.9 Lexington’s Deidre Ransdell Named Karl Shannon Legacy Award

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Deidre Ransdell, PD and midday personality at Cumulus Media’s WVLK (K92.9)/ Lexington, KY, has been named the 2024 Kentucky Music Hall of Fame & Museum’s Karl Shannon Legacy Award recipient.

The Karl Shannon Legacy Award honors the legacy of the late Karl Shannon, who passed away in 2022 at age 62. It recognizes both philanthropic efforts and radio craft.

Ransdell came to Lexington in 2021, working on WVLK and the then-Clear Channel station WBUL (98.1 The Bull). She was promoted to Program Director in 2019. Ransdell, a former high school and English teacher, is an advocate for children and veteran organizations

The organization’s board of directors also announced Shannon’s selection as one of the 2024 inductees into the Kentucky Radio Hall of Fame. He will be inducted alongside 11 other honorees at a ceremony on October 26th at the Renfro Valley Entertainment Center in Mount Vernon, Kentucky.

Mike Gallagher: ‘You Never Want Moderators to Be The Story’ After ABC News Presidential Debate

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Many conservatives were unhappy with the performance of David Muir and Linsey Davis during the ABC News Presidential Debate. Mike Gallagher thinks they failed the one test they needed to pass.

During The Mike Gallagher Show on Wednesday, the Salem Radio Network host argued that the job of debate moderators is to stay out of the way and — maybe more importantly — stay out of the limelight. He believes Muir and Davis failed that objective.

“The biggest takeaway from last night’s debate was the moderators. You never want that to be the case,” said Gallagher. “The moderators were shockingly corrupt … A disastrous performance by two hacks who call themselves journalists. They disgraced themselves and embarrassed their network.

“Everybody knows it. I’ve got Democrat friends who were calling me last night after the debate laughing about the ridiculous way David Muir and Linsey Davis refused to push back on anything Kamala Harris said, but they repeatedly fact-checked and challenged Donald Trump. Trust me, even Democrats know how bad it was.”

Gallagher had fellow Salem Radio Network host Hugh Hewitt — who has moderated four debates for CNN and one for NBC News — on his program to take listeners behind-the-scenes of debate prep. He added that had Hewitt been a moderator for the event instead of Muir and Davis, things would have gone drastically different.

WNBA on ESPN Platforms Averages 1.2 Million Viewers in Regular Season

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The regular-season slate of games in the WNBA on ESPN platforms attained record viewership throughout the year, providing momentum heading into the playoffs as the top eight teams battle for the league championship. No WNBA live game broadcast had surpassed an average of 1 million viewers in 16 years, a metric that was shattered within this new season. There have been more than 15 games that have eclipsed this viewership mark throughout the season, several of which aired on Disney-owned networks such as ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.

ESPN platforms averaged 1.2 million viewers across its broadcasts of WNBA games, according to data from Nielsen Media Research, representing a 170% increase from last season’s average. The Walt Disney Company recently signed a new 11-year media rights deal with the National Basketball Association that includes rights to WNBA live game broadcasts, granting it the ability to broadcast postseason games and the WNBA Finals.

ESPN and its affiliated networks aired several marquee matchups during the 2024 regular season, starting with Opening Week doubleheaders featuring the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese were both named all-stars in their first season, and matchups featuring both players garnered strong average viewership across several platforms. ESPN recently aired its final live game broadcast for the 2024 season between the Aces and Liberty from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Preceding these live game broadcasts, WNBA Countdown took the air featuring Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike and LaChina Robinson. The studio-style show attained an average of 508,000 viewers throughout the regular season, a 113% rise above the full-season average from the previous league year.

Coverage of the WNBA on ESPN platforms will continue throughout the playoffs, which could feature up to 27 live game broadcasts. This will culminate with the presentation of the WNBA Finals, the final series of the year which has aired at least in part on ESPN networks since the 2001 season. The Walt Disney Company served as the exclusive home of the WNBA Finals for the first time in 2003 when the Detroit Shock defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in three games. Over the last several years, the lead broadcast team of Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe has been on the call for the championship round action.

Michael Bryan Named Global Head Of Apple Country Music

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Michael Bryan has been named Global Head of Country Music at Apple.

In August 2020, Bryan took on the Director of Apple Music Country Radio role after serving a three-year tenure as an Agent in the music department at CAA, where he also represented various radio personalities.

Bryan has over two decades of radio programming experience. His most recent roles include serving as SVP/Programming for iHeartMedia’s Nashville cluster, PD of Country WSIX (The Big 98), and Executive PD for the nationally syndicated “Bobby Bones Show.”

Additional career stops include Top 40 WXXL (XL106.7)/Orlando and Digital PD for the cluster, as well as Rhythmic Top 40 WNVZ (Z104)/Norfolk and APD of Top 40 WEZB (B97)/New Orleans.

He announced his promotion on this LinkedIn profile:

Yahoo Sports Names Shaheen Al-Shatti Editor in Chief for Ariel Helwani’s ‘Uncrowned’; Adds Additional Talent

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A few weeks ago, Ariel Helwani and Yahoo Sports announced a multi-year partnership to launch Uncrowned, a new combat s media brand which will produce MMA, boxing, and wrestling content. Leading up to its launch in October, the outlet has now added several staff members.

Shaheen Al-Shatti has been named the Editor in Chief for Uncrowned. He has previously worked for MMA Fighting and The Athletic. Al-Shatti is a three-time MMA Journalist of the Year nominee.

“It is one of the great thrills of my life to announce I have accepted a position as Editor in Chief of Uncrowned and Manager of Editorial at Yahoo Sports,” Al-Shatti posted on social media. “What a dream. Truly, thank you to everyone who has ever supported us and continue to do so on this crazy adventure. You mean everything. You are quite literally why we can do what we do. We just hope to repay that trust with something special.”

Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes were also added to the team. Both will cover MMA, boxing and wrestling. Mindenhall has previously written for The Athletic, MMA Fighting, The Ringer and ESPN. Fowlkes, who has been with Yahoo Sports, also has co-hosted the Co-Main Event MMA podcast since 2012.

Other talent added to the Uncrowned team includes Keith Idec to cover boxing and Cameron Hawkins to cover wrestling.

Ahead of its official launch in October, Uncrowned is hosting a special show this Friday live from The Yahoo Sportsbook at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

Audacy’s ‘I’m Listening’ Broadcast To Be Hosted by Carson Daly And Katie Neal

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Radio personality Carson Daly, co-host of NBC’s “TODAY” and “The Voice,” and Audacy’s nationally syndicated Country host Katie Neal will return this year to host Audacy’s “I’m Listening” Mental Health initiative.

They will be joined by psychologist, author, scientist, and founder of the mental health nonprofit, The AAKOMA Project, Dr. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble, and AFSP’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Christine Yu Moutier.

Developed in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Audacy’s annual “I’m Listening” broadcast special continues its efforts to raise mental health awareness, enlisting the support of artists, actors, medical professionals, and others. It will air on September 25th at 7 p.m. (Local Time) on your local Audacy station.

The “I’m Listening” initiative encourages those dealing with mental health challenges to know they are not alone. If you or someone you care about is struggling with depression, anxiety, or thoughts of suicide, help is available. The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7 support at 988.

Donald Trump: I Want Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters, or Laura Ingraham – Not Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum – to Moderate Fox News Debate

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Fox News has pitched another debate to the campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It proposed Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum would moderate, but Trump says he’d rather see Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters, or Laura Ingraham asking the questions.

Trump was a guest on FOX & Friends Wednesday morning, and was asked about a potential rematch with Vice President Harris. He said “I wouldn’t want to have Bret (Baier) and Martha (MacCallum),” before stating “I’d love to have somebody else other than Martha and Bret. I’d love to have, frankly, Sean (Hannity), or Jesse (Watters), or Laura (Ingraham). You know, somebody else. Let’s give other people a shot.”

Donald Trump has previously taken issue with lines of questioning from Fox News anchor Bret Baier during sit-down interviews as well as debates. He also denigrated the job Baier and MacCallum did Tuesday evening in the network’s post-debate coverage.

“I didn’t think Martha and Bret were so good last night. Jesse was fantastic last night. What he said, Jesse, really got it. Jesse said to Trump once that debate was over, we won that debate by a lot. And I wouldn’t want Martha involved.”

FOX & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade stepped in to defend his colleagues after Trump’s comments.

“I will say this: I think that Bret and Martha would do a phenomenal job, and they wouldn’t be bringing up Obamacare when and not talk about inflation,” said Kilmeade. “And I think you would find them extremely fair. I know you’ve dealt with both of them before.”

Neither Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, or Jesse Watters have moderated a presidential debate previously. Meanwhile, Baier and MacCallum have continually helmed similar events for Fox News.

Hugh Hewitt Questions If Disney Business Interests Limited Questions During ABC News Presidential Debate

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Many conservative news media pundits were not thrilled with the performance of David Muir and Linsey Davis during the ABC News Presidential Debate Tuesday. Salem Radio Network host Hugh Hewitt wonders how much of The Walt Disney Company’s business interests limited the questions.

Observers argued that Muir and Davis were overzealous in their fact-checks of former President Donald Trump during Tuesday’s event. Hugh Hewitt — who has moderated presidential debates in the past — took issue with the questions asked by the ABC News pair rather than their conduct during the debate.

“There were zero questions on China. Zero,” Hewitt reiterated in a social media post. “I posted about it last night. Have discussed with guests. So incredible to discuss ridiculous stuff but not China.”

That is when a listener broached the idea that The Walt Disney Company — the parent company to ABC and ABC News — has theme parks in China, which led Hewitt to question the TV network’s motives.

“Did Disney demand ABC not bring up China? Disney has two parks in China etc. Like the NBA, no one talks about China,” he stated.

According to the ABC News transcript of the event Tuesday evening, the word “China” was never mentioned by David Muir or Linsey Davis, and was only broached by the two candidates.