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Megan Marie Adds Midday Duties At 92.3 KRST Country

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Megan Marie Adds Midday Duties At 92.3 KRST Country

Megan Marie, the midday host at Cumulus Country KATC (Cat Country 95.1)/Colorado Springs, has picked up middays on sister Country KRST/ Albuquerque.

She fills the position vacated by the retirement of Eddie Haskell earlier this month. (BMM 8/2).

Marie has worked at stations in Georgia, Florida, Kansas, and Colorado. She is a voice actor and wrote on the station’s website, “I also randomly started going viral with an idea I came up with called ‘Wine Workouts’- and have racked up almost half-a-billion views at last count.  I’ve also had viral videos with my Husky ‘Cash’ who is my forever duet partner, as well as a chance to sing with several working cover bands- most recently Retroactive and Whatever Rocks.”

Mark Lazarus: Venu Sports is an ‘Incomplete Service’

BSM Staff
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Mark Lazarus: Venu Sports is an ‘Incomplete Service’

NBC Sports recently completed an opening weekend of multiplatform broadcasts in the NFL that averaged a collective 25.9 million viewers. Viewers watched the game through NBC and Peacock, along with NBCUniversal and NFL digital platforms. The cross-platform integration of its sports properties is part of NBCUniversal’s strategy to continue eliciting viewership and appealing to consumers as the dynamic media ecosystem continues to evolve. In an interview with Front Office Sports at the company’s Tuned In event, NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Mark Lazarus explained the derivation of the audience amid overall fragmentation and how over 90% of viewers still emanate from linear television.

The company is coming off strong viewership of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 that averaged 30.7 million viewers across two prime time television windows tailored for Paris, France and the United States. On its last earnings call, the company shared that Peacock had 33 million subscribers, down from the previous quarter, and will release updated numbers the next time it reports its earnings in late October. Lazarus discussed the strength of the NFL, a sports entity with which Comcast, parent company of NBCUniversal, is in the second season of a 10-year deal.

“If you look at our last two major rights deals – the Big Ten and NBA – they were centered around broadcast and streaming vocations, and we think that that’s the differentiator for us,” Lazarus said. “We have a strong streamer, we have a very strong growth reach vehicle and NBC [to] market together.”

Comcast’s NBCUniversal subsidiary agreed to an 11-year media rights deal with the NBA that will commence in the 2025-26 season. Under the new contract, the company will distribute up to 100 NBA regular-season contests per league year that will air on linear television and/or the Peacock streaming platform. The company will air six Conference Finals series over the 11-year deal, along with the NBA All-Star Game and other events surrounding the weekend. The new media rights deal marks the return of the NBA on NBC broadcast property, which ceased NBA telecasts after losing rights to the league in 2002.

“We were always interested in the NBA,” Lazarus said. “We, earlier in the year, expressed our interest to the league that should they get out of their exclusive window, we’d love to have a conversation. When they got out of their exclusive window, we went hard and sat on executing the strategy of that kind of thing.”

In considering making a bid for the NBA, NBCUniversal acknowledged that it can help its prime-time television broadcast windows, promote heavy usage of Peacock and bring a culturally relevant, appealing sport to its platforms. Yet ratings for the previous NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks were down year-over-year, but the reported fee for the media rights increased as a whole. NBCUniversal is reportedly paying the league $2.45 billion per year for its package of games, which also includes broadcasts within the WNBA and USA Basketball.

“They’re worth what anyone’s willing to pay for it,” Lazarus said regarding the media rights. “First of all, we’ve been saying for 25 years or 30 years, as long as I’ve been kind of doing these kinds of roles, that the market is about to burst, and it still hasn’t burst. I wish it would, but it hasn’t.

“We have a plan – we know exactly what we pay, and we know how we’re going to get that to that – and we have a rationale for why that makes sense for us. The amount of programming it replaces on NBC, our budgets for Peacock, our ability to work with distributors and affiliates, so we have a plan on why this makes sense for us, and we look forward to getting it.”

Lazarus, who was part of the team that hired Charles Barkley at TNT Sports in 2000, expressed that NBCUniversal would be interested in having a conversation with him should he become available. Barkley and TNT Sports recently reaffirmed a long-term commitment that is expected to continue beyond the 2024-25 NBA season, the final under which parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has rights to the NBA. The award-winning studio program Inside the NBA and TNT Sports as a whole was slated to be part of Venu Sports, a joint streaming venture with The Walt Disney Company and FOX Corporation; however, a preliminary injunction within a lawsuit from FuboTV has blocked the launch of the service.

“It’s an incomplete service in that it doesn’t have all sports,” Lazarus said. “It has three company sports, but that leaves out us and Paramount and Amazon, who [have] major sports portfolios or growing sports portfolios, and multitudes of other places that sports come in, so that the consumer will have to decide, from our point of view.”

Andy Roth Named Director of Programming for Sports Radio 680/93.7FM The Fan

BSM Staff
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Andy Roth Named Director of Programming for Sports Radio 680/93.7FM The Fan

Dickey Broadcasting Company has announced the hiring of Andy Roth as Director of Programming for Sports Radio 680/93.7FM The Fan. Roth had been Brand Manager for 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland since it signed on in 2011. Roth has also had stops in Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and Buffalo and worked with Major League Baseball.

“We are thrilled to welcome Andy Roth to the Dickey Broadcasting Company family,” said David Dickey, President of DBC in a release. 

“His extensive experience and strategic acumen will be instrumental in driving our programming and content-creation strategies forward to provide Atlantans and the region’s sports fans with the best shows, insight, and analysis.  We are very confident that Andy’s experience and leadership will help us achieve new levels of consumption and listener engagement for our listeners, our team partners, and our great sponsors.”

“I’m thrilled to join the staff of this heritage radio station,” said Roth.  “David Dickey’s team has been an important part of Atlanta’s sports scene for over 3 decades, and I can’t wait to experience everything from the Atlanta Braves to the crowning of a college football champion in Atlanta as the calendar turns to 2025!”

Randy ‘Mudflap’ Wilcox Exits ‘The Cat 99.3’ Florence SC

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Randy ‘Mudflap’ Wilcox Exits ‘The Cat 99.3’ Florence SC

Randy “Mudflap” Wilcox has exited Community Broadcasters Country WWKY (The Cat 99.3)/Florence, SC. He had been with the station for 12 years and partnered with Ed Palmer, who will continue to do the morning show solo.

“Due to this glorious economy, staff cuts have led to the end of my time at Cat Country. Thank you to all of you who have been with me on this radio ride for the last 21 years in Florence.”

Wilcox suffered a minor stroke in the occipital lobe of his brain in 2021 during a live broadcast. He continued doing the show, not missing a day.

Before joining WWKY, Wilcox and Palmer hosted morning cross-town at iHeartMedia’s Country WEGX (Eagle 92.9). They were replaced in 2017 by the syndicated “Bobby Bones Show.”

Reach Wilcox here.

NAB: California Deal with Google, Big Tech Bad for Local Journalism

BNM Staff
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NAB: California Deal with Google, Big Tech Bad for Local Journalism

A recent deal between Google and the State of California has caught the ire of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).

In an agreement between Google and the state, the tech company has agreed to pay millions of dollars to local news organizations. However, critics of the deal have argued that it’s a political maneuver to avoid paying larger dollars should the state have passed legislation requiring tech firms to support local news outlets.

In a post authored by Senior Vice President of Communications Alex Siciliano, the NAB says the deal “sets a dangerous precedent that could cripple trusted news outlets and lets big tech off the hook as they continue to siphon advertising dollars away from local broadcast stations and other news publishers while not offering fair compensation for our content.”

“It also makes abundantly clear that the need for federal action is now more urgent than ever. It is past time for Congress to pass the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), a bipartisan bill that would give broadcasters and other news publishers the power to come together and negotiate fair terms with Big Tech for how their content is used online,” Siciliano continued.

The NAB asserts that the JCPA will “level the playing field, allowing TV and radio stations to continue their vital work in producing trusted, fact-based journalism.”

The organization is advocating for the passage of the bill, arguing that “our democracy depends” on its approval.

Burke Magnus: ESPN Wants to ‘Redefine What Covering the Super Bowl Looks Like’

BSM Staff
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Burke Magnus: ESPN Wants to ‘Redefine What Covering the Super Bowl Looks Like’

ESPN aired the season premiere of Monday Night Football as the San Francisco 49ers hosted the New York Jets from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Burke Magnus, the president of content at ESPN, took a redeye flight back to New York City where he participated in a panel from the Tuned In event by Front Office Sports where he discussed a range of topics surrounding the current state and future of the company. Over the next several seasons, the network coverage of the NFL is leading up to its first Super Bowl broadcast to conclude the 2026 season.

Magnus recently announced a reorganization to its content structure that created a full-time position overseeing coverage of the Super Bowl. The game is approximately two-and-a-half years away, and the date is already embedded within the mindset of Magnus and his colleagues. Part of the rationale for creating the new position is because of how busy those within the NFL on ESPN property are during the year, along with the fact that many people work across multiple sports. Despite not broadcasting a Super Bowl in the past under the ESPN brand, Magnus feels that it provides a key opportunity for the company to establish its image in being the television home of this event.

“We want to redefine what covering the Super Bowl looks like, and we have, in many ways, the luxury of not having sort of an imprint on people’s mind of what that might look like because we haven’t ever been there,” Magnus said. “…[There is] no doubt we will do some version of a megacast, if you will, but it’s much more beyond that. It’s everything leading up to the game, it’s the coverage that has our stamp on it, and I’m excited to see where it goes over the next two-and-a-half years as it develops.”

Earlier in the year, ESPN and Omaha Productions agreed to a nine-year contract through which the companies will continue working together on content production, which includes the continuation of Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli, colloquially known as the ManningCast. In addition, the Super Bowl broadcast will likely contain elements of the megacasts seen over the years in the College Football Playoff. Magnus confirmed that there would be a version of this broadcast for Super Bowl LXI, but he is focused on the week leading up to the contest with its programming.

“The other networks certainly do a tremendous job with the game, with gameday, oftentimes the day or two before,” Magnus said. “We’re looking at it from sort of the moment that the championship games are over until probably the day or two after the Super Bowl itself is over as a massive window.”

ESPN is currently having conversations with Stephen A. Smith, featured commentator and executive producer of First Take and analyst on NBA Countdown, as his contract nears its expiration. Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, has previously stated that he hopes to remain in business with Smith, a sentiment that was echoed by Magnus. Reflecting on his work with the company, he explained that Smith is a bonafide superstar and has created a juggernaut with First Take, which continues to attain year-over-year growth on a monthly basis. Outside of ESPN, he also operates his media company, Straight Shooter, and hosts his own video podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show.

“He’s got his own other activities that he’s continuing to delve into,” Magnus said. “He’s made his aspirations very clear, and frankly, he should. He deserves it – he’s a very creative and talented person that we hope to be in business with for a very long time.”

Magnus explained that he could see Smith contributing to Monday Night Countdown, a property in which FOS reported earlier in the week that Smith could have interest in joining. In explaining the plausibility of such an assignment, Magnus cited how Smith recently interviewed Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on his own podcast and had an interesting conversation, along with his ability to excited and energize sports fans. While the network is set for the current season, it is something that makes “total sense” to him and foresees it being part of the conversation.

“You can see this already developing,” Magnus said. “The philosophy that we put our biggest names and our biggest talent on our biggest properties and biggest shows is really, to me, a recipe for success. That’s what was behind Scott Van Pelt joining Monday night; that’s what was behind Greeny on Sunday. There’s nothing more important to us than the NFL on all of the content that surrounds not just Monday Night Football, but the NFL in totality. We have a huge digital business, a social business [and] fantasy business, [and] NFL content is at the absolute top of the game. And so why wouldn’t we want our best people and our biggest personalities working on that?”

Rachael Gray Signs Long Term Agreement With 105.3 HOT FM Grand Rapids

BMM Staff
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Rachael Gray Signs Long Term Agreement With 105.3 HOT FM Grand Rapids

Cumulus Media has re-signed Rachael Gray to a long-term agreement as the AM Drive host on Cumulus Top 40 WHTS-FM (105.3 HOT FM) Grand Rapids.

Gray has hosted the “The Rachael Gray Show” on 105.3 HOT FM for 13 years. She co-hosts the live show alongside Rob Sparks weekday mornings from 6 to 10.

Rob Sparks, WHTS Program Director, said, “I’m so glad we’re continuing to grow HOT FM with Rachael holding down mornings! Rachael has been a driving force for both Cumulus Media Grand Rapids and 105.3 HOT FM for the past 13 years. To be able to continue this success for the foreseeable future makes me very happy!”

Gary added, “I am incredibly grateful and honored to continue waking up with this amazing city every morning. For the past 13 years, it has been a privilege to share stories, laughs, and moments that matter with our listeners. This new contract is a commitment to my role and a deep appreciation for the community that has supported me throughout my time in West Michigan. Thank you to my General Manager, Steve Holm, and Cumulus Media for believing in me and to our loyal listeners for making every morning special. I look forward to many more years of connection and creativity on the airwaves in Grand Rapids!”

Listen to “The Rachael Gray Show” here.

Bomani Jones: Sports Media Commentary on Tyreek Hill ‘Had a Lot More to Do with Football Than Anything Else’

BSM Staff
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Bomani Jones: Sports Media Commentary on Tyreek Hill ‘Had a Lot More to Do with Football Than Anything Else’

As commentators from various genres weigh in on the situation that took place on Sunday with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Bomani Jones took to his podcast to offer his thoughts. While not necessarily jumping in the pool to pile on either the police or Hill, Jones focused more on what the reaction was from the media on the story. Jones believes from what he saw, sports media was more interested in how this affected the Dolphins and less on the way Hill was treated by law enforcement or the larger issue of excessive force by police against minorities.

“Hey, do you remember when we used to care about the police beating people up and killing them?” Jones asked on The Right Time with Bomani Jones. “You remember that? Because it used to be like a really big thing. But it dawned on me. August 9th of this year was the 10th anniversary of Mike Brown being killed in Ferguson, Missouri…But from the way that we are acting about [the situation with Tyreek Hill], because I find that by and large, the way that I’ve seen the commentary about this is sports media had a lot more to do with football than anything else.”

Jones also talked about how Hill’s teammates reacted to the situation including ones who went to the scene to try and check on Hill and see if they could deescalate the situation.

“Calais Campbell, by my estimation, risked his life to go inquire what was going on there. And you know why I say he risked his life to go inquire what was going on there? Because that dude is six foot eight and three hundred and something pounds. And I my first thought would be, ‘they are going to lay his big ass down’, like that was my number one thought there…I was scared to death in hearing that, that could easily wind up happening to him because those are what the stakes are.”

Jones continued, “We had all this talk for all this time about police violence generally and specifically against Black people. But we had all this talk about this. It is my understanding that the numbers around those things are roughly the same.

“So, I get back to the question, do we still care about the police roughing people up? And if we do still care about police roughing people up, like what are we supposed to do at this point? Because what seemed to happen was people just kind of ran out of energy. A lot of people ran out of energy and this is a big one that you can’t lose sight of…But this made me stop and think back to 10 years ago, what a major thing something like this would have been and how the sports media at that time was very well equipped to have people get on television and get on everything else and talk about what went on.

“And we were talking about it in these macro levels. Now, I think a few things happened. One, I think especially after COVID, people’s capacity for outrage and their energy for it is a lot lower and they don’t really have it in them to dial it up and be charged up, at least not about things that matter…I don’t think people have the energy really to get invested in the things that really matter anymore. But it was hard to ignore the difference in the way that we would treat such a thing.”

Jones thinks the fact that Hill was not arrested and did not miss any playing time factored into the way people chose to react to the story. He believes sports media would have been much more vocal had the story been different and Hill would have had to miss the game.

“This is a Hall of Fame football player being stopped on the way to a game. Maybe it’d be treated differently, and we’d look at it differently, if it had been something that stopped him from actually being able to compete. Maybe we’d go about it a little bit different if the person getting hemmed up by the cops was a little bit more of a sympathetic figure. I think that all those things maybe go into it. But I think it is hard to look at this and not stop and look back and be like, we kind of gave up.”

WFEB Sylacauga AL Flips To Classic Rock ‘100.9 The Mountain’

BMM Staff
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WFEB Sylacauga AL Flips To Classic Rock ‘100.9 The Mountain’

Over the Labor Day weekend, Lake Broadcasting transitioned the format of radio stations AC WFEB (B101)1350-100.9 W265DV/Sylacauga, AL, to Classic Rock, as “100.9 The Mountain.”

As “East Central Alabama‘s Classic Station,” WFEB continues to provide play-by-play coverage of the University of Alabama and Sylacauga High School football and Atlanta Braves baseball.

A listen to middays included music from Styx, AC/DC, Genesis, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, Bad Company, and Journey.

Check out the new format here.

FOX Sports Averages 23.8 Million Viewers for Tom Brady Broadcast Debut

BSM Staff
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FOX Sports Averages 23.8 Million Viewers for Tom Brady Broadcast Debut

The broadcast debut of FOX Sports lead analyst Tom Brady in a matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns on America’s Game of the Week drew an average of 23.8 million viewers. Despite the 33-17 margin of victory for the Cowboys, the game was up 46% from last season’s opener and ranks as the most-watched Week 1 NFL telecast for FOX Sports since 2020. Moreover, the game is the most-watched telecast of any kind since the NFC Championship Game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers. This matchup peaked with approximately 25.7 million viewers as well, according to data from Nielsen Media Research and Adobe Analytics.

This year’s Week 1 schedule is the first time in four years that FOX and CBS did not air competing doubleheaders, according to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. When FOX aired a broadcast that had to compete with a CBS doubleheader, the network was outdrawn in head-to-head coverage. The game also marks the first time in which the NFL on FOX lead broadcast team of Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi all worked together on a regular-season game broadcast.

FOX Sports will broadcast Super Bowl LIX in its second season of a 10-year media rights deal with the National Football League worth an estimated $2.25 billion annually. The company has been broadcasting NFL games since 1994 and is celebrating the 30th season of its NFL on FOX property. The lead broadcast team is slated to call another Dallas Cowboys game in Week 2 as the team hosts the New Orleans Saints for its home opener from AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

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