Music radio commemorated the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. Many stations posted on social media sharing memories, audio, and thanks to first responders.
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2024
The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for the Class of 2024, continuing a tradition of honoring those who have played a major role in the progression of the industry both in front of and behind the camera. The group of 10 industry professionals will be inducted as part of a ceremony being held at the New York Hilton Hotel on Dec. 17, maintaining the 18-year practice of honoring excellence.
Every year, more than 150 industry professionals, which includes a group of past inductees and executives across all major organizations and disciplines in the sports media industry, vote to decide on the induction class. The ceremony will support the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund, a charity designed to assist sports production professionals finding themselves in financial need because of illness, disaster or injury.
“We’re excited and looking forward to another wonderful evening on December 17 when we get together and celebrate these exceptional leaders, their contributions, and their legacy,” Ken Aagaard, chairman of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, said in a statement.
Mark Lazarus, the chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, is among the inductees in this year’s class amid a career in sports media spanning more than three decades. Lazarus has oversight over sports properties at the media conglomerate and helped facilitate the agreement of new contracts with the International Olympic Committee, National Basketball Association, National Football League, Big Ten Conference and Notre Dame Football among other sports entities. Prior to his time with NBCUniversal, Lazarus worked for nearly two decades at Turner Broadcasting in executive roles where he oversaw seminal sports rights deals.
Several reporters and analysts are part of the induction class this year, including the legendary Bryant Gumbel. Over his television career that spanned for more than half a century, Gumbel helped establish the assimilation of sports journalism into television media. As the longtime host of the award-winning Real Sports monthly magazine-style program, he and his team explored issues, controversies and personalities in the world of sports.
Former show correspondent Andrea Kremer, who was also the first female producer and correspondent for NFL Films, is also included in this year’s induction class. Kremer is an award-winning journalist who has produced compelling and informative longform content across various entities and has worked on several marquee events, including the Super Bowl championship more than 30 times.
Hubie Brown, one of the longest-tenured NBA analysts of all time on ESPN and ABC, is part of this year’s induction class to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Brown has been involved with the NBA as either a coach or a broadcaster for 50 years, and he has called a record 18 NBA Finals matchups. For a 12-year stretch on ESPN Radio, Brown called the NBA Finals matchups as the games concurrently aired on broadcast television. Before working in broadcasting, Brown was a lauded head coach for teams such as the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks, and he returned to the profession briefly to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to its first playoff berth in franchise history.
Former ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen will be inducted posthumously into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, honoring his legacy and expertise in covering the National Football League. Mortensen was part of the network beginning in 1991 and a regular contributor to SportsCenter and its NFL shows. The award-winning reporter passed away in March at the age of 72 and was mourned by his colleagues and those across the industry.
Among the other inductees into the prestigious Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame is Tommy Roy, an Emmy award-winning producer for NBC Sports; Phil Garvin, the founder of Mobile TV Group; Steve Forsuch, a 40-year veteran of CBS Sports and the US Open; Charlie Carlucci, a seminal professional in graphics creation; and Jim Delany, former commissioner of the Big Ten Conference. All of these industry professionals will be honored in December from New York City at a ceremony that will bring together members of the sports media industry to celebrate their achievements and excellence.
Radio Sees Significant Uptick in Presidential Advertising in 2024 Election, New AdImpact Study Shows
In most election years, radio sees 3% of the total political advertising spent. However, that number has jumped significantly in 2024 as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris make their case for the White House, according to AdImpact.
In 2024, 8% of the total presidential advertising has found its way to the radio industry. While that figure doesn’t appear to be a major total, more than $573 million has been spent on the race with more than $500 million expected to be spent between now and Election Day. Should those projections come to fruition, it will total more than $45 million for the industry.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of presidential advertising has been placed on broadcast television, with 74% of the total spend being placed on over-the-air TV stations. 17% of already aired and future reservations will be spent on cable TV, according to AdImpact.
Vice President Kamala Harris has had significantly more advertising support since entering the race in July. The company reports that more than $375 million has been spent on her campaign, with an additional $333 million expected to run before the election.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has had $288 million of commercial support thus far. His future reservations only tally $164 million, however.
Elle Duncan: ‘People Need to Pump the Brakes on Tom Brady’
As more and more people give their thoughts on the announcing debut on FOX Sports for Tom Brady, Elle Duncan wanted to remind everyone that it was just one game, and people should slow down on over analyzing it. Duncan and Gary Striewski hit on the topic at the beginning of the latest episode of The Elle Duncan Show.
Duncan said, “Everybody that’s dunking on Tom Brady and they’re like, ‘oh, finally, he’s not good at everything.’ Have you ever seen this man act? We knew he wasn’t good at everything. He’s a horrible actor.” Striewski wanted more of an explanation and asked if Duncan was specifically talking about Brady’s role in the movie Ted.
“I’m talking about every mattress commercial he’s done, that TV show he did…he’s just not a good actor,” she said.
About some of the criticism of Brady, Duncan said, “I think it’s horrible. But people need to pump the breaks on Tom Brady. I get it. It’s fun. He’s more beautiful than you. He’s richer than you. He, at one point, was married to a model. He’s more successful than probably we will ever be. He’s the GOAT.
“This man not only is doing something for the first time, and by the way, friends, people in broadcasting also love these moments, because it’s a big ‘f*** you’ to those of you that think that what we do is that easy. It is a reminder, guys, broadcasting’s not that easy. Calling games, calling color for games, not easy. We make it look easy. We make it look so easy that you, Joe Blow at home, think that you can do it. It’s not that easy.
Duncan then hit on one of the controversies surrounding Brady as an analyst, which is about the restrictions the NFL has put on him as a potential owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
“On top of the fact that it’s not that easy, because of his link to the Raiders and trying to buy the Raiders, there’s a laundry list of things that Tom Brady isn’t even allowed to say,” Duncan said. “So, on top of the fact that you’re doing something you’ve never done before, you’re doing it knowing that they gave you over $370 million to do it. You’re doing it knowing that they pulled Greg Olson off of it to fill you in, something that everyone was upset about because this man just won an Emmy for how good he is. You’re doing all of that with the auspices of also knowing there’s many things that you can’t say, because it’s a violation of tampering or ownership. That is a lot to carry on your shoulders.”
Both Duncan and Striewski saw and heard what everyone else did, but their point was more to take a step back and let’s evaluate it after more than just one broadcast.
“I hate that I am living in a world where I am defending Tom Brady,” Duncan said. “You guys, it’s wild to me. Everyone, like, five minutes into the game, they were like, ‘he is the most dogs*** broadcaster I’ve ever heard, and he needs to get fired.’ It’s wild, you guys. Relax.”
iHeartMedia Study Reveals Consumers Feel Ignored By Advertisers
A new study from iHeartMedia shows that a large portion of American consumers feel they’ve been overlooked by marketers in a growing disconnect.
In conjunction with Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries, iHeartMedia released its second annual “The New American Consumer 2.0” study at its AudioCon 2024 on Tuesday. That study found that 44% feel overlooked by advertisers.
iHeartMedia Chief Marketing Officer Gayle Troberman shared that despite more data being available, more Americans feel like marketers don’t care about their wants and needs.
“We have more data than ever, yet nearly half of American consumers feel ignored,” said Troberman. “We need to ensure our marketing decisions are driven by consumer realities, not our personal perceptions. This study lays out where our perception matches the marketplace and where there are major differences — so we can use that information to make new and better decisions about maximizing the appeal of our products to all consumers, not just those who align with our own perceptions and values.”
In the study, 72% shared they avoid purchasing from brands that ignore them while another 75% said they would spend more money with brands that align with their beliefs.
“Today’s consumers are more aware of the social and economic landscape and hold brands to higher standards,” said Gladwell.
Also noted in the study was the majority of those surveyed sharing they don’t like being tracked by targeted digital advertising, with 67% sharing they disliked the practice. An additional 70% stated they felt the ads were often irrelevant to their purchasing practices.
KUZZ Bakersfield PD Brent Michaels To Appear On ‘Wheel Of Fortune’
Brent Michaels, PD at Buck Owens Broadcasting’s Country KUZZ/Bakersfield, will appear on “Wheel of Fortune” next Wednesday night (9/18). The episode will be one of the first hosted by Ryan Seacrest.
Michaels announced the news on air and his Facebook profile.
Week 1 of ESPN ‘Monday Night Football’ Averages 20.5 Million Viewers
The season premiere of Monday Night Football on ESPN featuring the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers drew an average of 20.5 million viewers across multiple networks and distribution platforms, marking the second-most watched Week 1 matchup in the 19 seasons of the company. Viewers were able to watch the game on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes, which also included the concurrent alternate presentation of Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli. Former New England Patriots head coach and general manager Bill Belichick joined the broadcast with Peyton and Eli Manning during the first half of the game, something he will do throughout the year as part of his media work with ESPN and Omaha Productions. The two entities agreed to a nine-year deal earlier in the year that will continue the ManningCast and other original content production.
On the traditional broadcast, play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, analyst Troy Aikman and sideline reporters Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge were on the air live from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The matchup fell short of surpassing last year’s Monday Night Football opener featuring the Jets and Buffalo Bills, during which Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers injured his achilles during the team’s first offensive drive, which averaged 22.7 million viewers.
Factoring in all weeks of the Monday Night Football broadcast property on ESPN, which began during the 2006 season, the Jets-49ers game is the sixth most-watched contest in its history. Four of the preceding five took place during the 2023 season when the property averaged 17.9 million viewers, representative of a 7% year-over-year increase. Leading into the game, the two-hour, on-site edition of Monday Night Countdown featuring Scott Van Pelt, Ryan Clark, Jason Kelce, Marcus Spears and Adam Schefter averaged 1.3 million viewers.
This contest aired amid a carriage dispute between The Walt Disney Company and DirecTV, affecting more than 11 million subscribers. The strife takes place nearly a year after Disney and Charter Communications had a stalemate; however, that plight was resolved shortly before kickoff of Monday Night Football. A similar resolution did not occur this time around, and both companies have released statements in which they provide their points of view. In addition to this predicament, Disney was also unable to launch the Venu Sports joint streaming venture with FOX Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery after FuboTV garnered a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against the entities.
‘Nicki G’ Takes Over Mornings At ‘Hot 107.1’ Santa Rosa CA
“Nicki G” Rivas has joined Amaturo Sonoma Top 40 KHTH (Hot 101.7)/Santa Rosa, CA, as the morning host.
She takes over for Jeff Woodworth, who left the station last summer after nearly four years hosting mornings.
For Rivas, it is a return to Santa Rosa. From 2011 to 2016, she hosted middays at Sinclair Top 40 KSXY. She also spent time out of radio working for the state of California.
Rivas launched her career as an intern at Audacy CHR station “107.9 The End” KUDL, where she hosted weekends from 2015 to 2019. During that time, she also held sales and production roles within the station cluster from 2016 to 2019.
Fox News Proposes 3 Dates for Presidential Debate to Kamala Harris, Donald Trump Campaigns
At the conclusion of the ABC News Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Fox News has now offered both campaigns for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, with three dates for a second debate.
In the network’s post-debate coverage, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum revealed that Fox News sent letters to each campaign offering another debate opportunity “while early in-person voting gets underway in multiple battleground states.”
“Senior adviser to the Harris Campaign Brian Fallon sending out, ‘That was fun. Let’s do it again in October.’ To that point, Fox has officially invited both campaigns to a debate in October,” Baier said. “We have sent a formal invitation — as we had before — and we renewed that specifically for a debate to be hosted on Fox News in October. We hope they take it up.”
The dates provided to the candidates were Wednesday, October 9th at an Arizona location, Tuesday, October 15th at a Georgia location, and Wednesday, October 16th at a North Carolina location.
“Seems like the American people would love another opportunity to see these candidates,” MacCallum added. “It’s been such a short window and they deserve as many opportunities as possible. We certainly hope they will take us up on that.”
Fox News had previously pitched a Tuesday, September 17th debate in Pennsylvania when it appeared as if Donald Trump was going to back out of the scheduled event with ABC News. That September 17th date wasn’t needed after Trump reaffirmed his commitment to participating in the event moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis that he originally signed on for when President Joe Biden was still the Democratic nominee.