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Mike “Jagger” Thomas Out At 107.3 The Vibe, Kansas City

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Mike “Jagger” Thomas Out At 107.3 The Vibe, Kansas City

Mike “Jagger” Thomas is a free agent after his Program Director – PM drive position was eliminated at Cumulus Top 40 KMJK (107.3 The Vibe)/Kansas City.

Thomas has been with the station and sister Alternative KCJK (X105.1) since 2021.

Other career stops include WKSS (Kiss 95.7)/Hartford, WHTZ (Z100)/New York, and KHTZ Salt Lake City, as well as stints in New Haven, Mobile, Birmingham, and Youngstown.

Since 2001, he has hosted “The Weekend Throwdown With Jagger” for G Networks. He will continue in that role. Reach out here.  

Corby Davidson: The Ticket Succeeded In Part Because of the ‘Perfect Timing’ of Launch

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Corby Davidson: The Ticket Succeeded In Part Because of the ‘Perfect Timing’ of Launch

The Ticket has not only been a legendary radio station in the Dallas market, but has long been one of the biggest and best sports stations in America. Corby Davidson believes it got off on the right foot due to perfect timing.

While discussing a recent documentary released on the internet group Dude Perfect during The Hardline, Davidson and co-host Bob Sturm agreed that the rise of the trick-shot artists can largely be equated to what happened with the Cumulus Dallas sports radio station.

“It’s perfect timing. It’s probably a lot like The Ticket, to be honest with you,” said Davidson. “As far as when it started, what was going on at the time when it did start. And for us at The Ticket, for those of us who were here near the very beginning at least, it was in the middle of the Cowboy dynasty.”

“But also, and this is important, at the birth of sports radio, nationally,” Bob Sturm added.

“Yes. You had those two perfect things combined,” Davidson agreed.

“So if the Cowboys dynasty and the birth of sports radio doesn’t intersect perfectly, then The Ticket hits differently,” Sturm said. “But it all fell perfectly into place. And I think you’re exactly right.”

Davidson has been with the station for 30 years, and signed a five-year extension to remain with The Ticket earlier this year.

Nicole Auerbach Announces Departure from ‘The Athletic’

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Nicole Auerbach Announces Departure from ‘The Athletic’

Nicole Auerbach has announced that Wednesday is her last day with The Athletic after seven years with the sports digital publication. Auerbach, who joined the company as a senior writer focusing on national college football and college basketball coverage in 2017, has been reporting on swimming this summer throughout the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Outside of her reporting on college athletics, she also works as a studio analyst on the Big Ten Network and a radio host for SiriusXM. Last year, she joined NBC Sports as a college football insider to appear on weekly editions of B1G College Countdown in the company’s first year with broadcast rights to the Big Ten Conference.

Auerbach announced the news on X and expressed gratitude for what the company was able to build from scratch. Furthermore, she conveyed that she had the chance to work with some of her best friends in journalism on a daily basis. Auerbach indicated that she has more to announce pertaining to her future plans soon and is excited about what is to come.

Auerbach joined The Athletic one year after its launch after working as a national college sports reporter for USA TODAY where she engaged in multiplatform reporting work. Before that time, she interned with a variety of publications while majoring in public policy at the University of Michigan. In 2020, Auerbach was honored as the youngest winner of the National Sports Writer of the Year award by the National Sports Media Association. Her departure from the outlet comes shortly before the start of the college football season, which is set to kick off with Week 0 matchups beginning on Saturday, Aug. 24.

Ari Wasserman, Max Olson and Kalyn Kahler have all recently left The Athletic as the publication continues operating under ownership of The New York Times Company. Earlier on Wednesday, the company reported $625.1 million in second-quarter revenue, a 5.8% year-over-year increase, and 10.8 million total subscribers. Nearly half of the 10.2 million digital-only subscribers are receiving more than one of the products that come from the company, including The Athletic, recipes, games and Wirecutter. As a standalone unit, The Athletic diminished its quarterly losses to $2.4 million while growing revenue to $40.5 million, indicative of a 33.4% year-over-year rise due to more subscribers (5.3 million) and augmented revenue from display advertising.

Warner Bros. Discovery Reports Second Quarter Earnings Amid NBA Uncertainty

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Warner Bros. Discovery Reports Second Quarter Earnings Amid NBA Uncertainty

Warner Bros. Discovery reported a decline in total revenue in its fiscal second quarter, dropping 6% year-over-year to $9.71 billion. In the three months ended June 30, 2024, the media company also reported an adjusted EBITDA of $1.8 billion, which is representative of a 16% decline from this time last year. Free cash flow equates to $976 million, a 43% year-over-year drop, while holding $41.4 billion of gross debt with 4.0x net leverage.

The company considers its global direct-to-consumer business as its top priority and obtained 3.6 million net additions for the quarter, bringing its total DTC subscriber count to 103.3 million. Yet it posted a $107 million loss in the DTC segment, a $104 million increase in losses compared to the previous year. Direct-to-consumer revenue declined by 6% on the year to finish at $2.57 billion.

Within its most recent earnings report, Warner Bros. Discovery divulged a $9.99 billion net loss, including a $9.1 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge from its Networks segment regarding the devaluation of its television networks. Furthermore, there is $2.1 billion of pre-tax acquisition-related amortization of intangibles, content fair value step-up and restructuring expenses therein. The rationale for enacting the goodwill impairment came due to the difference between the company’s market capitalization and book value, along with diminished linear advertising and “uncertainty related to affiliate and sports rights renewals, including the NBA.”

Network revenues decreased 9% year-over-year to $2.68 billion on the quarter, while adjusted EBITDA fell by 8% to just under $2 billion. TNT broadcast the NBA Playoffs and Stanley Cup Playoffs, while TBS was the home of Tuesday night MLB games during the quarter. The company also introduced a new programming lineup for truTV including dedicated sports programs, which it will expand in the fall.

In an attempt to retain live game broadcasting rights to the National Basketball Association, Warner Bros. Discovery attempted to exercise its matching rights provision to compel the league to grant it a package of games that had been allocated to Amazon. The match of Amazon’s offer, which was reported to be worth $1.8 billion annually over 11 years, was denied by the league, which asserted that the company did not match the terms of the Amazon offer.

One of these points of contention pertained to whether Warner Bros. Discovery could legally match a package that is exclusive to a streaming platform. Moreover, Amazon reportedly put its first three years of payments in escrow, whereas Warner Bros. Discovery is said to have offered a letter of credit. Upon that denial, the league announced new 11-year media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) and Amazon’s Prime Video collectively worth a reported $77 billion set to begin in the 2025-26 season.

Warner Bros. Discovery and the Turner Broadcasting System filed a lawsuit against the NBA, to which the league now has until Aug. 23 to file answering papers, seeking remedy either in the form of injunctive or equitable relief or monetary damages. No matter what happens, Charles Barkley will be remaining with the network, agreeing to a reaffirmation of a long-term commitment with Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday. Barkley is currently signed to a 10-year contract worth $210 million, he revealed during media appearances last week.

Earlier in the summer, he had revealed that he was retiring from television no matter what happened and would not be speaking on the NBA media rights negotiations any further. Next year is currently slated to be the last season of Inside the NBA featuring Barkley and his colleagues Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny “The Jet” Smith in its current iteration. A report from The Wall Street Journal indicated that the network could look to retain the show as a sports variety program.

Warner Bros. Discovery has picked up sports rights to a variety of different leagues and events over the last several months, including the French Open, Big East Conference and Mountain West Conference. The media conglomerate also entered into a deal to sublicense select College Football Playoff games from The Walt Disney Company-owned ESPN. Warner Bros. Discovery, along with The Walt Disney Company and FOX Corporation, are aiming to launch Venu Sports, a direct-to-consumer joint streaming venture, in the fall. FuboTV, which reported its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, filed a lawsuit against the three companies and participated in the first day of a hearing as well, alleging that the proposed product would restrict competition.

BJ Harris And Jamie White Sign Extension With Alice 105.9, Denver

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BJ Harris And Jamie White Sign Extension With Alice 105.9, Denver

BJ Harris and Jamie White, co-hosts of “BJ & Jamie” on Hot AC KALC (Alice 105.9)/Denver, have signed a multiyear contract extension with Audacy.

The two will continue to be heard weekdays from 5:30 to 10 am local time.

Micah Goldberg, Audacy SVP and Market Manager, said, “Audacy and our Denver listeners are ecstatic to have four more years of BJ and Jamie’s amazing content, whether it’s their relatable opinions or hilarious takes. Year after year, the ‘BJ & Jamie Show’ has proven to be a hit, and we’re looking forward to seeing what its extended stay on Alice 105.9 will bring.”

“Jamie and I’ve had an incredible run with the support of our loyal listeners,” said Harris. “This extension marks an opportunity for continued growth, stronger bonds with the Denver community, and additional time to do what I love most. We’re super excited going forward!”

White added, “It’s been quite a ride. I can’t wait to continue this adventure with my buddy BJ and all the awesome people at Audacy Denver.”

White was one of the original Alice 105.9 personalities in the 90s. With additional stops in Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.

Harris joined Audacy in 2012. His resume includes programming and on-air positions in Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, and Tampa.

Mike Salk: I Don’t Need Patronizing Explanations of Baseball Stats From Broadcasters

BSM Staff
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There are many advanced metrics now used in baseball circles that some fans may be unfamiliar with. Seattle Sports 710 host Mike Salk believes some of those stats no longer need explanations.

While chatting with Jason Benetti, the FOX Sports and Detroit Tigers television voice Wednesday, Salk asked how Benetti handles certain statistics and whether or not the average fan understands what they are without further discussions.

“When you’re talking about baseball savant and some of these more complicated stats, I would assume — most of the time — you use them or reference them, you explain what that is, right?” Salk asked of Benetti. “If you were to say WRC+ on the broadcast that you would explain that quickly?

“Yeah. I try to make it as simple enough to be effective while not overwhelming people,” Benetti replied.

“But if you were to reference batting average, you hopefully don’t explain what that is,” said Salk. “You just let that go … Where are you with OPS? Does OPS need to be explained?”

When Benetti — widely regarded as one of the best baseball announcers in the business — responded that in his estimation, yes, the average viewer still might not understand OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging), and added that he believes sharing the league average is still an important part of that discussion.

“You don’t need to. I would reject the word ‘need’, but there is value in somebody learning it for the first time, always,” said Benetti.
“That said, it gets cumbersome. And I don’t do it all the time. I don’t. But if I’m in a deeper conversation about OPS+, absolutely. I don’t think people tune in to want to learn.”

“OPS has been on the television screen for 20 years during every game. At some point, isn’t it like batting average where you don’t have to explain it? And if you don’t understand it still, do you still get to comment? Or maybe you haven’t done enough thinking or observing or watching to have a take on what you’re seeing on a baseball field,” Salk said.

“You’re one of those guys who thinks ‘You should have to take a quiz in order to do blank’ guys,” Benetti responded.

“No, just the very basics,” Salk said, with a chuckle.

Roku Announces Roku Sports Channel

BSM Staff
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Roku Announces Roku Sports Channel

Roku announced the new Roku Sports Channel today which will launch on August 12. The company says the new FAST channel “brings all of Roku’s top-tier, premium sports content into a dedicated, one-click, lean-back experience for sports fans.”

The new channel will feature a variety of sports programming which Roku owns and licenses. Featured content will include live Major League Baseball games with MLB Sunday Leadoff, Emmy-nominated talk show “The Rich Eisen Show,” “GMFB: Overtime,” live races from Formula E, and sports-themed Roku Originals. The channel will also include exclusive partner content, like classic boxing matches from Top Rank, combat sports from Swerve Sports, and high-stakes poker entertainment from PokerGO featuring the game’s most popular players.

“A curated always-on channel that leads our viewer through the wide variety of premium sports content available for free on The Roku Channel, Roku Sports Channel is an exciting addition to our expanding sports offering,” said Joe Franzetta, Head of Sports, Roku Media in a release. “We continue to see audiences enjoy the familiar, lean-back experience FAST offers, especially with sports. Sports is one of our most popular channel genres on The Roku Channel, which makes us so excited to make it even easier for audiences to jump into Roku’s standout programming.”

Roku Sports Channel is available on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Streamers can access it through The Roku Channel’s Live TV Guide.

Bill Handel: There’s No Longer a ’24-Hour News Cycle’

BNM Staff
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The 24-hour news cycle has been alive and well for decades. Except KFI AM-640 morning host Bill Handel no longer believes that’s the cast.

During his Wednesday show, Handel shared his belief that the 24-hour news cycle no longer exists, and has been replaced by a constantly evolving news wheel.

“I don’t even know why they call it a news cycle anymore,” Handel opined. “It’s no longer news cycles. It’s just news. A lot of it has to do with the fact that we get 24-hour news. We didn’t used to do that until the internet came in, and cable TV. CNN started that entire business and now it’s just gone completely crazy. It’s like fire season. 365 days a year of fire season. I don’t even know if they mention fire season anymore. It should be worse and worser (sic) fire conditions. Or horrible and horribler (sic). It’s just god awful.”

Handel’s co-host Neil Saavedra went a step further, noting that the Friday afternoon news dump — the practice of releasing less than desirable news on a Friday afternoon in hopes that it would not garner as much attention as it would at any other time — has gone by the wayside due to the prevalence of social media. “You can’t do that because of social media. Nothing can be buried,” Saavedra said.

Bill Handel equated the idea of a 24-hour news cycle to building his house, joking that the news is similar to his purchase price. “There were three levels — expensive, punitively, prohibitely expensive, and then ‘Gee, I didn’t know you could pay that much for that.’ That’s where we are (with news).”

CNN Launches New FAST Channel for Connected TVs

BNM Staff
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CNN Launches New FAST Channel for Connected TVs

CNN has announced it is launching a new free, ad-supported television (FAST) channel for connected televisions in both the United States and globally.

The channel will offer programs from the network’s CNN Originals series library. Shows hosted by personalities like Christiane Amanpour, Anthony Bourdain, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Lisa Ling, W. Kamau Bell, Bill Weir, and more will be available on the channel.

“We’re very happy to expand CNN’s FAST portfolio with the new compelling offering of a CNN Originals channel, bringing some of the very best, award-winning long-form content in the business to audiences in this format,” said Phil Nelson, EVP of CNN International Commercial. “This new channel adds to CNN’s current FAST offerings of CNN Headlines in the US and CNN Fast around the world, with additional channels planned to launch in the months ahead.”

The new channel debuted Wednesday and is available on Amazon Freevee, as well as Amazon Fire TV and the Prime Video platform. Other platforms will be added in the coming days, with the network failing to identify which individual platforms will be added.

77 WABC Host Sid Rosenberg Forced to Miss Show Due to Hurricane Debby-Related Travel Issues

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77 WABC Host Sid Rosenberg Forced to Miss Show Due to Hurricane Debby-Related Travel Issues

77 WABC morning host Sid Rosenberg was forced to miss his New York news/talk radio show after travel issues related to Hurricane Debby.

Rosenberg flew to Florida over the weekend for a short vacation with his family when flight delays and cancellations made his return to the Big Apple impossible.

“We thought about renting a car and driving back,” Rosenberg admitted. “I gotta tell you, JetBlue did a really bad job. There were two issues about yesterday. One was, obviously Hurricane Debby coming up the East Coast, I guess battered New York last night. I was in Florida. The other was the plane had mechanical difficulties!”

Sid Rosenberg continued by noting that if his flight from Florida to New York Tuesday evening was canceled or delayed in any way, he would have been stuck in the state until Friday due to logistical issues. However, he was able to take off from the Sunshine State and land at La Guardia Airport around 3 AM Wednesday morning. That time frame was not conducive for him to host his radio show Wednesday morning, so John Catsimatitids and Curtis Sliwa helmed the popular morning show.

The 77 WABC host did joke that while he was waiting in the airport in hopes of returning to New York listeners told him on social media that the Catsimatidis — the billionaire owner of the station — should have sent a private jet for the Rosenberg family to return safely.

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