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Thom Brennaman is Taking Nothing for Granted in Second Chance with The CW

Derek Futterman
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Thom Brennaman is Taking Nothing for Granted in Second Chance with The CW

As the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals were playing the first game of a doubleheader, Thom Brennaman was calling the game remotely from a studio due to health and safety precautions. As the FOX Sports Ohio broadcast was coming back from break in the top of the seventh inning, Brennaman was heard on a hot microphone using a homophobic slur before promoting the pregame show airing ahead of the second game.

The commentary sparked outrage and condemnation among viewers, many of whom demanded his immediate termination from the job, but Brennaman claims he did not know what was occurring. It was when he began working in a cubicle between games and preparing the lineups that he received a text from his boss with the video. Upon reviewing the derogatory, bigoted language he had uttered, Brennaman conveyed that he felt mortified and realized that his career was potentially in irrevocable jeopardy.

The clip continued to circulate online and catalyzed reproachful, apoplectic backlash, but Brennaman still took the air for the first four innings of Game 2. Once he was informed by management that they were going to remove him from the game broadcast, he requested that he try and apologize for his actions.

Bob Castellini, owner and chief executive officer of the Cincinnati Reds, called Brennaman shortly after he was removed from the broadcast and told him that the organization would “stand with you and stand behind you.” As Brennaman was driving home, he contacted his wife and informed her of what Castellini had said, adding that he thought the decision would change by the time he arrived back. Three hours later, the Reds organization announced that it was suspending him effective immediately. One month later, Brennaman resigned from his job with the Reds and FOX Sports Ohio, officially ending his tenure with the entities.

“My kids were going through the whole thing in their high school and hearing it every day and my wife and I just said, ‘That’s enough,’” Brennaman recalled. “I said, ‘You know, we’re stepping away from this thing.’”

Brennaman was also slated to call NFL games for FOX Sports and was removed from the schedule the day after the incident. Brennaman had lost his livelihood and was trying to figure out the next steps in accepting the repercussions, making amends and potentially resurrecting his career.

“There are no words to describe it,” Brennaman said. “Not only was I mortified because of the word and because of knowing that I’ve hurt some people here – a lot of people here – with this, [but] that it was also going to be, at the same time, probably a bumpy road ahead for me personally for sure.”

In the ensuing four years, Brennaman has had more time to spend with his family, watching his children excel in their high-school endeavors both in the classroom and on the field. At the same time, he saw jobs opening up but realized that he was not going to be hired by anyone in the near future.

“I realized that I needed to maybe get an agent, and I called seven different agents and asked them to represent me, and every single one of them said the same thing: ‘We’re not taking on clients right now,’” Brennaman articulated.

“Well that is complete and total B.S. because if I would have called them when I was in the middle of a contract with FOX and I wanted to change my agent, there’s probably a pretty good chance those guys would have been lined up down Park Avenue back when I was, you know, quote-unquote ‘things were going good,’ and now all of a sudden, I literally can’t find one to take [me], and that’s fine, no problem – no problem at all.”

Brennaman eventually came to peace with the fact that he was not going to be hired by another company, assuming that someone within the evaluation process would always choose to avoid potential headaches. In the meantime, he began calling high school football games and hosting talk shows for Chatterbox Sports, a startup sports media brand founded by Trace Fowler. Brennaman and his son continue to host a podcast with the company, titled Dialed In.

“People say, ‘Oh, it’s high school football,’” Brennaman explained. “So what? You know, in Cincinnati, Ohio, high school football is a pretty doggone big deal. For a long time, it was a lot more important than the Bengals, and [Fowler] gave me the opportunity to start doing that and doing a daily sports talk show.”

As Brennaman was trying to find a new role in sports media, he also began to spend time listening to and learning from people in the LGBTQ community about the effects of his commentary and the hardships that they face. Billy Bean, senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion for Major League Baseball, was among the first of these conversations. Brennaman also forged a friendship with Cyd Zeigler, the co-founder of Outsports, a platform that showcases LGBTQ+ athletes.

Ryan Messer, former vice president of the Cincinnati Public Schools Board, invited Brennaman to his home to converse with several of the leading LGBTQ voices in the region. Out of the 14 people who were present for the event, Brennaman estimates that nine or 10 of them were open minded about at least listening and hearing him out.

“The other four or five – they just let me have it man,” Brennaman said. “I mean, ‘You’re only here because you’re trying to check a box to get your career back. This is all B.S. There’s no sincerity in this.’ These are people I’ve never met before, but they came in with those preconceived notions and I’d given them a reason to feel that way.”

One of the attendees in particular, Dan Davidson, a man from Seattle, Wash., told a story that was particularly powerful to Brennaman and allowed him to better recognize the impact of his iniquity. Davidson was on the way to attending a drag show and reached a crosswalk across a two-lane road in the downtown section of the city.

Two cars stopped and informed him to walk forward, leading him to begin crossing the road. Once he arrived at the second lane, the driver of the vehicle floored the gas pedal and ran over him, threatening his life and causing a series of injuries.

“When you hear things like that, it makes you pause for a second and say, ‘You know, that’s a word – I thought it was humiliating before,’” Brennaman said. “‘It’s even more so now and hurtful than I had even imagined.’”

This past February, Brennaman received a copy of the Ohio University magazine and discovered that Perry Sook, the chairman and chief executive officer of Nexstar Media Group, had received the school’s highest honor in being named its alumnus of the year. Brennaman, a university alumnus himself, had been awarded an accolade from the school as the Medal of Merit recipient in 2018 and decided to reach out to offer his congratulations. He didn’t expect a reply.

“Well, he got it, and he emailed me back the next day,” Brennaman said. “We wind up talking on the phone the following day, and he said, ‘Look, I’m going to our company board meetings in Chicago for the next couple of days.’ He says, ‘I don’t know if we have anything that you would be interested in, but I can certainly ask around.’”

Sean Compton, the president of networks at Nexstar Media Group and a Cincinnati native, learned of Brennaman’s interest and discussed it with Sook. Compton’s father, Dale Sommers, hosted a popular overnight music program on WLW Radio, which happens to be the flagship station for the Cincinnati Reds on radio. Jason Wormser, the senior vice president of the sports division at The CW, is someone who Brennaman worked with at FOX Sports and was involved in the process as well. 

In the preceding year, The CW had secured rights to present ACC college football and basketball games, televising 50 games per season through the 2026-27 season. The network landed these rights from Raycom Sports, which sublicenses the rights from ESPN. Furthermore, The CW agreed to broadcast 11 of the 13 home football games for the two-team Pac-12 Conference as part of a one-year deal with the unit.

Rob Reichley, the senior vice president and executive producer at Raycom Sports, previously worked in a photography and producing role with WLWT-TV and helped get Brennaman on the air in 1987. With all of these factors presumably working in Brennaman’s favor, he was offered a role to serve as the lead play-by-play announcer for ACC and Pac-12 football as well as ACC basketball during the winter months.

“I said to them, ‘I hope and pray that this will be the last company I ever work for,’ because I can’t be more grateful to a group of people than I am to the people at CW for giving me this opportunity,” Brennaman said. “I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude that there was somebody out there, somebodies out there that were willing to say, ‘Okay, you know, this guy – he’s not a perfect guy. He’s not a perfect announcer.’ I don’t know who is a perfect guy or a perfect announcer – I haven’t met him. ‘But you know what? This is a decision we’re making, and here we go.’”

Brennaman considers himself fortunate that his second chance is coming in collegiate sports and is preparing for the season by learning more about both conferences. Every time he enters the broadcast booth, he will seek to bring enthusiasm and profound gratitude to the telecast. Additionally, he will be working with color commentator Max Browne and sideline reporter Treavor Scales, two former college athletes with an avid desire to learn more about television.

“I just love the energy of being around both of them, and I very much look forward to the whole thing with our entire production team,” Brennaman said. “It’s a really good group with Scott Snyder, our producer, Lonnie Dale, our director, and Rob Reichley, the head guy, and it’s going to be a really, really good group to work with, and I’m really excited about it.”

While Brennaman is receiving a chance to return on the national stage calling collegiate football and basketball, he is not ruling out the opportunity to try and make a return to local baseball broadcasts. Having worked for three teams over his broadcasting career, he acknowledges that there are many great organizations in the league. Having attained a new role with The CW, Brennaman believes that it is possible and would love the chance to return should everything align in such a manner.

“Again, it boils down to the same thing – the same thing being, ‘Why would we hire this guy when…?,’” Brennaman expressed. “So, the only difference is now – and some could argue it’s a significant difference – is, ‘Once one person hires Thom Brennaman, does that mean it’s okay now for me to hire Thom Brennaman?,’ and that’s for somebody else to decide. That’s not for me to decide.”

Brennaman believes that the games his team will broadcast this season within the ACC and Pac-12 conferences will be outstanding and make for an enticing on-air product. He will not take any moments for granted, remembering the lessons he has learned in his pursuit of resurgence and continuing to acquire further enlightenment along the way.

“I love athletics, I love sports, and I like going to sporting events, and if I happen to get the opportunity to broadcast that sporting event, even better,” Brennaman said. “It’s something I’ve done for a long, long time. It’s not who I am – that’s for sure – but it was a big part of my life for a long, long time and I am very, very, very grateful. Thank God that I’m getting a chance to do it again, and I’ve never been more excited about doing it again than I am for this upcoming season.”

1210 WPHT’s Rich Zeoli Prefers Talking Politics Over Working In It

Krystina Alarcon Carroll
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1210 WPHT’s Rich Zeoli Prefers Talking Politics Over Working In It

He’s developed congressional, gubernatorial, and presidential candidates. He’s also worked on several campaigns and now is hitting the airwaves breaking down the day’s biggest topics which matter most to his listeners. “I love what I do,” said 1210 WPHT host Rich Zeoli to Barrett Media. “I mean, I’m blessed. I’m living my dream job. I’m so happy to do what I do every day.”

“I used to work in politics, and I’ve always loved talk radio, and I wanted to do that. That was kind of my dream job. I didn’t know how to break into radio, but I was fortunate in the fact that I had a very good friend who was a talk show host on my station. He was a doctor and now he’s the CEO of a hospital, and he didn’t want to do [radio] full time, but he helped get me in the door. You need an angel to get you into the industry I think sometimes.”

Zeoli’s four-hour show takes a lot of prep, but the self-declared ‘News Junkie’ doesn’t view it as work. “I’m always paying attention to what’s going on in the news. I try to decompress when I go on vacation and the weekends, and I try to not talk about current events at dinner or anything like that. But, I mean, I’m always just paying attention. I love politics, I love current events, I love the news. So that’s pretty much how I prepare for it. I have a producer. He sends me a lot of stories. I’m always searching for crazy audio clips of insane things people say. There’s no shortage of content, in this day and age, which is nice. Makes show prep a lot easier, that’s for sure.”

The former political operative noted one major difference between politics and radio, less repercussions about what he says. “I like it better because I’m behind a microphone,” he said. “I can say whatever I want. I don’t have to worry about any political blowback, necessarily. But I also don’t have to go to a lot of political events so I can spend more time with my family, because when you’re in politics, you have to go to events all the time. You’re constantly going to some fundraiser or something like that, but when you’re in radio and you’re behind the microphone, you get to enjoy your life a little bit more.”    

While politics is keeping the news cycle full, Zeoli does miss those slow summer Fridays “where we would talk about stuff to do on the boardwalk and people who are rude on the beach. Those topics are great, it’s just hard to fit them in now because you’re talking about presidential assassination attempts and a president in the middle of summer deciding he’s not running for reelection. So, trying to fit in the fun lifestyle topics becomes a little bit more challenging in the current news cycle, that’s for sure.”

This election cycle, Zeoli has taken his show on the road. He attended the RNC in Milwaukee and he plans on being at the DNC in Chicago in just a few weeks. While the energy at the DNC remains to be seen, Zeoli said the feeling at the RNC was “crazy.” He said, “There was a lot of good energy.”

He noted the feelings and connection President Trump’s supporters have are unlike any other politician he’s ever seen. “I’ve never seen in all my years in politics the kind of connection that he has with his supporters,” he said. “It’s just a once in a century kind of a thing. I’ve never seen it before. I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again. He just has such a strong connection with people. And you saw that at the RNC, too. I mean, people just love the guy.”

Having worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign, Zeoli focused on debate prep, an essential part of the political game. “Debate prep has to do, really, with figuring out what your opponent is going to attack you with, and then to be able to prepare for that and handle and respond in a way that conveys your message and staying on message. [It’s also about] just being able to anticipate the kind of questions you’re going to get asked, and to be able to know what you want to get across. Even if you’re asked a question you don’t really want to answer.”

As the news cycle may have many Americans asking to shorten the election cycle (and in turn the election craziness), Zeoli does not foresee that happening because, “ratings and the way advertisements are making money. There’s so much money in politics that I don’t think it’s realistic to say it would ever be shortened because people just are making too much money.”

For those looking to follow in his media footsteps, he believes if you want to cover politics you should first be in politics. “If they want to get into talk radio versus, say, music radio or sports radio, it would be really good to do something in the political realm,” he said “It’ll give you a good perspective and a different way of looking at things, because you’ll actually be in the real world. I mean, that’s why I think athletes wind up becoming sports talkers, because they play the game versus just analyzing it. And I think that there’s something to that in politics, too, where if you were actually in the game yourself, you can look at it from a different point of view and you can think about how the players do. So, I look at it very much like sports in that sense. The politicians are the players of a team. The game is the November election.”

But if you do want to get into politics, Zeoli warns, “You should have your head examined because it’s a terrible life and it’s certainly not something I’d want for my children, that’s for sure. I mean, it’s pretty brutal in this day and age. You’re just attacked constantly. I don’t know if I would want to necessarily be the person on the ballot. But I think being the person behind the person on the ballot is a lot of fun, being the king or queen maker because you can then help drive strategy without having to always be the one that’s the focus of the attacks.”

Zeoli believe the key to his success in radio is simple. “When I’m behind that microphone, I’m imagining one person listening to me, either with their AirPods in or driving in their car,” he said. “But I’m talking directly to one person at a time, and I like that approach. I think I have a very close connection with my audience as a result of that, because of that level of intimacy and that’s why I love talk radio so much.”

Eavesdropping: Pardon My Take

Dave Greene
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Eavesdropping: Pardon My Take

When searching for a show to feature for this week’s piece, I used a tried-and-true method for how to find something that a lot of people are interested in. I went on the Apple Podcast app on my phone, clicked ‘Top Charts’, chose ‘Sports’ and looked at what the top show was. To nobody’s surprise the top show listed was Pardon My Take from Barstool Sports. As luck would have it, I was getting in my car to drive my oldest daughter to college, a short hour and forty-five minutes from our house, which happened to be the exact length of the August 2 episode of PMT that I ended up eavesdropping in on.

If you don’t know about Pardon My Take, where have you been? If you haven’t listened to the show, you’re really missing out on a fun listen that probably sounds more like the proverbial ‘guys sitting around talking sports’ than you normally find on terrestrial sports radio. One, you can’t cuss on traditional radio and two, most sports talk radio shows cover a few topics and that is what takes them through their few hours on the air. With this show, you get a potpourri of topics, many takes on those topics and a lot of fun and humor along the way.

From the time Eddy Grant’s Electric Avenue kicks off the show until A-ha’s Take On Me ends it, the show is like walking in on a group of fraternity brothers having a conversation about sports, their lives and more. The format of the show generally follows the same format of hitting current topics, set segments and a featured guest.

On this episode you had the main hosts, Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz and Eric Sollenberger who is simply known as ‘PFT Commenter,’ recording the show the night before as the NFL’s first preseason game was taking place from Canton for the Hall of Fame game. ‘Big Cat’ was watching the game and ‘PFT Commenter’ was somewhere he couldn’t see it, so you had Katz doing some play-by-play of what was happening including the very first kickoff under the new NFL kickoff rules.

“The Hall of Fame game means absolutely nothing, they’ve completely bastardized it where you don’t even get the first stringers playing for a second, but I am not going to let anyone yuck my yum today,” Big Cat said in pointing out that the bottom line is it is August and that means football is back and that makes all right with the world.

The football discussion ranges from new preseason rules to the safety Guardian helmets some of the players wear during training camp to the size of Peyton Manning’s forehead on his Hall of Fame bust and more. Olympics talk focused on how Steve Kerr has used his lineups in men’s basketball to the AI Al Michaels which gives Olympic recaps to why the USA is not better at shooting as well as the French brothers who played each other in table tennis and one of the main Olympics topics, which has been about the women’s boxing and whether or not some of the athletes should be allowed to compete.

This topic is another good example of why this show works so well. The women’s boxing topic is a tough one and could be something that gets hosts in a lot of trouble. There has been a lot of misinformation about the topic and frankly I am someone who can readily admit that I don’t know enough about the background to speak on it. And as ‘juicy’ as this topic could be, these guys pretty much said the same thing. They didn’t know enough of the story to really talk, or joke about it and so that is what they said. While acknowledging it is something people are talking about, they just didn’t want to get into something they didn’t fully understand.

From that topic to the Mt. Rushmore of ‘Dumb Things We Used to Think.’ This is the brilliance of the PMT content. The big sports topics have been hit and now it is on to something completely different. Something that will make the audience think, laugh and if they were like me, they were playing along trying to guess some of the things that would be said and throwing out things like ‘oh, man I forgot about that one!’

Things like Santa Claus, the ability to dig to China, kissing equaling sex, clouds popping water if you touched them, watermelons growing in your stomach if you ate the seeds, the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow and what the meaning of the sign ‘Blind Drive’ means were some of the things that came up. Fun topic and again, one where you know the listeners are playing along and having as much fun as the hosts.

Speaking of fun, the featured interview on this particular episode was a big one. While it was recorded several weeks ago, the guys had the chance to talk with actors Matt Damon and Casey Affleck about their upcoming Apple TV movie The Instigators. The PMT guys of course had some fun with having the guys on in the first place, even though it was part of a press junket where the stars were doing several interviews with various outlets to promote the movie. “You guys have been doing a bunch of interviews today…you’re like ‘these two idiots are now interviewing us?’ We don’t know how we got this interview but we’re happy to do it,” ‘Big Cat’ said.

The interview showed the strong reach and love people have for Barstool Sports and Pardon My Take as Damon and Affleck seemed as excited to be on the show as the guys were about having them on. Doing a bunch of interviews in one day is most likely not a whole lot of fun for the actors who are answering the same questions over and over again. With PMT, they clearly had fun, were asked about different subjects and they got to talk Boston sports which as most are aware, gets right to the heart of things for Damon and Affleck.

Whether it was their thoughts on The Dynasty about the Patriots and Bill Belichick, the Tom Brady Roast, the future of the Chicago Bears with Caleb Williams or other topics, the interview was great promotion for the movie and also was a cool way to hear Damon and Affleck be just like most of us when talking about their sports fandom. I found it especially interesting when they wrapped up the interview that again, it almost seemed like the actors were more thankful to the hosts than the hosts were to the famous actors. “Love your show,” Affleck says and Damon affirms as they finish.

One other topic that was brought up during the interview I found incredibly compelling was when Damon talked about an idea he had where Academy Awards are given out 20 years later versus the year films come out. Damon’s point was that we should wait and see what really sticks with an audience and makes an impact over time as opposed to a somewhat immediate reaction. This way, films that catch on well after release or develop a cult like following can get recognized.

The programmer in me thought that might make for great content with other sports shows. Go back and look at awards given out in 2004 and see if they still hold up today.

To end this particular episode the segment was ‘The Fyre Fest of the Week,” which basically is about the bad things that happened to you similar to the disaster that was the Fyre Festival. Then, before shutting it down for the week they finish with their game where they pick a number between 1 and 100 and use a lottery ball machine to select a winning number. This is a tradition done since late August 2020 when ‘Big Cat’ first put the machine in the studio.

Pardon My Take moves quick. It is hilarious and while there are things that you have to listen a lot to understand, a majority of the show you will pick up on immediately. Just some guys having more fun than you can imagine, talking in a relatable manner about subjects that matter to the audience.

If you need a visual for the show, picture the movie ‘Old School’ come to life as a thrice weekly sports and entertainment podcast. That is what Pardon My Take is and why it is consistently at the top of the podcast charts.

Report Says Danny Parkins Could Join New FOX Sports 1 Lineup

BSM Staff
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Report Says Danny Parkins Could Join New FOX Sports 1 Lineup

Back in April Colin Cowherd had 670 The Score host Danny Parkins as a guest on his podcast. In the introductory segment before he welcomed Parkins to the show, Cowherd said about Parkins, “A really talented guy. I really hope you will listen to the next hour with Danny Parkins, Chicago radio host. And the most talented sports talk radio host I think out there right now at his age…” With Skip Bayless having done his final show for FOX Sports 1 last week, changes are forthcoming and one name that has been mentioned is Parkins.

In a story from Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy, he names two people the network is high on with Parkins being one of them and the other being another Syracuse grad and a good friend of Parkins, Nick Wright. Wright is a current member of the First Things First show which airs daily from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

Following Cowherd’s praise of Parkins on his podcast, he was tapped to fill in on Cowherd’s TV show for two shows on July 8 and 9. Following his time on the show, Parkins said, “It was incredible. It was a bucket-list thing. I mean, he is one of the best sports radio hosts in the history of the medium. The show is a massive operation. Their crew is great. By far, the biggest platform that I’ve ever fronted. It was really, really cool.”

McCarthy says in his story, “I’m hearing FS1 could completely revamp its current lineup, canceling Bayless’s Undisputed, moving talent around to different or new shows…” and “According to my sources, FS1 executives believe First Things First star Nick Wright is the future of the network.”

Something else of note for FS1, which McCarthy mentions in his piece, is that Colin Cowherd’s contract expires early next year. With the success of his The Volume platform, many have wondered if Cowherd will choose to sign another contract or go out on his own. That same conversation is being had about Stephen A. Smith with ESPN, whose contract is also expiring soon.

Bill Simmons Reportedly Having Conversations of Launching a New Platform with Spotify Deal Up Next Year

BSM Staff
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Bill Simmons Reportedly Having Conversations of Launching a New Platform with Spotify Deal Up Next Year

A report from Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post says Bill Simmons is busy trying to work out what his future will look like when his agreement with Spotify ends in early 2025. Spotify acquired The Ringer for $250 million in 2020 and named Simmons the Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at the parent company.

According to Glasspiegel’s report, Simmons has had “exploratory conversations with other companies about the possibility of launching a new platform.” He did note a spokesperson for Simmons denied the report.

When the deal with The Ringer was signed, Spotify had been making large investments in podcasting, which included a deal with podcasting superstar Joe Rogan. Rogan signed a second deal with Spotify earlier this year which was said to be worth around $250 million.

Simmons announced the launch of The Ringer on February 17, 2016. The site went live on June 1, 2016.

Rob Gronkowski: I Think Tom Brady Will Be ‘Very Successful’ As a Broadcaster

BSM Staff
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Rob Gronkowski has been a member of the FOX Sports broadcasting team for several years, contributing to its coverage of the National Football League throughout the season across studio programming. Gronkowski, a former NFL tight end who won four Super Bowl championships across time with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, famously teamed with quarterback Tom Brady to form one of the most dynamic duos in the history of the sport.

Brady is joining FOX Sports this upcoming season to begin the first season of a contract that is reportedly worth $375 million over 10 years to serve as the lead color commentator within NFL on FOX broadcasts. He will work alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt, sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi and rules analyst Mike Pereira.

During an appearance on the new edition of Good Morning Football Friday morning on NFL Network, host Jamie Erdahl asked Gronkowski how his former teammate would perform in the broadcasting booth. Brady and Gronkowski spent 11 NFL seasons together, collaborating on 93 touchdowns over 141 games.

“I think Tom Brady is going to absolute dominate in the booth,” Gronkowski said. “He’ll definitely have his ups and downs. Of course, anyone entering a new gig in life, you’re going to have to have some lessons that you’re going to have to learn, but overall, I think he’s going to be very successful.”

Brady has been practicing color commentating throughout the year with Burkhardt and has had numerous conversations with industry luminaries to receive advice on how to approach his new job working in sports media. The Week 1 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Sep. 8 at 4:25 p.m. EST will be Brady’s broadcasting debut. FOX Sports will broadcast Super Bowl LIX from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La. to close the 2024 season, marking Brady’s first appearance as a commentator on the league’s championship game.

“The advice I would give him is don’t overthink and just be yourself,” Gronkowski said. “Go out there and share that gift that he was born with, and that gift is the knowledge of football that he has, and he has the most knowledge for the game of football that any ex, any former player out there, so just go out and share that knowledge with the world, and he will absolutely dominate.”

Over the last two seasons, Greg Olsen has been the color commentator in the lead NFL on FOX broadcast booth, working alongside Burkhardt, Andrews and Rinaldi across the regular season and postseason. As part of changes to the broadcast teams this season, Olsen is expected to begin working with play-by-play announcer Joe Davis and sideline reporter Joe Davis on the network’s second team. In the years preceding his role with FOX Sports, Brady has co-hosted the Let’s Go! podcast on SiriusXM alongside Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.

“I would never put anything past him, and he has all this time to prepare, and when he has time to prepare, he will always be on his A game,” Gronkowski said of Brady, “so Tom Brady’s going to dominate, and I can’t wait for it.”

Adam Silver: NBA Media Rights Deal Ensures Reach, Accessibility, Discoverability

BSM Staff
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Adam Silver: NBA Media Rights Deal Ensures Reach, Accessibility, Discoverability

The National Basketball Association agreed to 11-year media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video) reportedly worth a collective $77 billion. These deals, which begin with the 2025-26 season, ensures that the league continues its widespread dissemination through a variety of broadcast, cable and digital verticals. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was involved in the negotiations for these contracts and expressed within the announcement that the partners would help “transform the fan experience over the next decade.” Leading up to the media rights deal, Silver had acknowledged the growth of streaming and the league’s desire to add a partner in the space.

The ongoing media rights deal with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT/TBS) was signed in the early stages of streaming growth, but throughout the deal, the viewing functionality has augmented in popularity and engagement. In the last several years, the pay TV penetration rate has declined with a paradigm of cord cutting taking shape around the United States, resulting in approximately 55 million U.S. households still paying for traditional television. The annual decline, which equates to over 7% according to data from MoffetNathanson, has precipitated alterations in the sports media ecosystem as the programming attains high ratings and viewership.

Amazon’s Prime Video has been making inroads in the sports media business for several years, underscored by the success of its Thursday Night Football package with the National Football League. These game broadcasts averaged 11.86 million viewers in its sophomore season on Prime Video, a 24% year-over-year increase, and the platform is preparing to broadcast an exclusive NFL playoff game for the first time next season.

In addition to the NFL, Amazon’s Prime Video also broadcasts WNBA games, select New York Yankees contests and has premiered several acclaimed sports documentaries. Streaming accounted for 40.3% of total day television viewership among Persons 2+ in the month of June, according to data from Nielsen Media Research, its highest share of television usage in the history of the company’s Gauge report.

“[To] begin with Amazon Prime, I think it has 200 million subscribers globally, well over 100 million in the United States,” Silver said during an interview on the CNBC Squawk Box program Friday. “Peacock has a huge push to grow through sports, and of course ESPN is ESPN, and I think that the accessibility and reach now of streaming service far exceeds traditional cable, and then there’s broadcast, and broadcast television, of course with NBC, is still critically important. In fact in this deal, we’re going from 15 regular-season broadcast exposures to 75 in the United States, and cable’s not going anywhere any time soon.”

Streamlining the location to find game broadcasts within the NBA App was an important point for the league to which all three partners agreed. Being in the New York metropolitan area, Silver finds that he almost needs to search which networks are broadcasting different sporting events because of the amount of providers.

Warner Bros. Discovery, which broadcasts games primarily on TNT and are available to stream on Max, is not a part of the next media rights deal despite exercising a matching rights provision in its existing deal. The league declined its entreaty to match Amazon’s offer, which was reportedly worth a total of $1.9 billion for NBA and WNBA rights, thus officially awarding the rights to the third party.

Warner Bros. Discovery and the Turner Broadcasting System has filed a lawsuit against the NBA claiming breach of contract and seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent the licensing of these rights to any third party. Should this injunctive or equitable relief not be granted or deemed insufficient, the company looks for remedy in the form of monetary damages.

Silver is unable to comment on the pending litigation, but he was asked about the statement released by Charles Barkley in which he articulated, “It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans.” While Silver pointed out that Barkley did not say that but rather expressed it in a statement, he did not believe it was a fair comment to disseminate.

“Of course the economics are a component, and 50% goes to the players as Charles well knows, but reach and accessibility, discoverability are critical issues as well, and so we look for an intersection of all those issues,” Silver explained. “But as I said particularly for our young fans and the morphing of all fans to streaming, that was a critical component of these deals, as well as our ability to reach more people through traditional broadcast television.”

The WNBA is included within the NBA media rights deal and will reportedly receive $2.2 billion over the 11-year term. Yet there are additional programming deals the league can negotiate as well, along with a reported ability to reevaluate the cost of rights after the 2028 season. Silver believes that the league is at an inflection point with the new media deal representing an approximate six times increase. At the same time, he reflected on how far the league has come in its 28 years of existence, explaining that it is not just an overnight sensation with the emergence of Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.

“I remember in the early days of the WNBA sitting with Val Ackerman, the original president of the WNBA, [and] of course David Stern, and we’d be talking to media members practically begging for coverage, and in those days, the media truly were the gatekeepers of coverage and the internet didn’t just disrupt virtually every industry that you and I can think of,” Silver said, “but what it did in terms of the sports industry is it democratized it in many ways, and now fans – and they’re not just women who are fans of women’s basketball – but people can demand what they want.”

John Kincade: Mike Missanelli Has Always Been a Cornerstone of 97.5 The Fanatic

BSM Staff
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John Kincade: Mike Missanelli Has Always Been a Cornerstone of 97.5 The Fanatic

97.5 The Fanatic announced the return of longtime host Mike Missanelli to its lineup Friday, with morning show host John Kincade celebrating the move.

During Kincade and Salciunas Friday, the hosts welcomed Missanelli to the program to introduce that he’ll be taking over the 10 AM-2 PM that was previously held by Bob Cooney before he departed the Beasley Media Group-owned station earlier this week.

Kincade — a Philadelphia native — joked that his brother’s favorite radio host in the city was back on the airwaves. “My brother … is probably celebrating that his favorite talk show host in the history of this city — his own brother will never reach those levels — is on the microphone.”

John Kincade continued to welcome Mike Missanelli back to the station by sharing his opinion that the longtime host has been a foundational piece of the Philadelphia sports talk station.

“It is good to see you. So the key card worked?” Kincade joked. “A new chapter,” Kincade said of the upcoming new show, “of a place — I know that I told you this when I chose to come here — you helped build. You were literally a cornerstone of this place.”

Missanelli spent 15 years at 97.5 The Fanatic, going back to before the station utilized the brand when it was heard only on the AM dial. The Mike Missanelli Show will return on Monday, August 12th.

Music Radio Stations and Personalities Among 2024 Marconi Nominees

BMM Staff
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Music Radio Stations and Personalities Among 2024 Marconi Nominees

The National Association of Broadcasters has announced the finalists for the 2024 Marconi Awards, which will be presented on October 9 in New York.

Music radio stations and personalities among the nominees are:

LARGE MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WCKX-FM Columbus, Ohio
  • WWRM-FM Tampa, Fla.
  • WWLI-FM Providence, R.I.

MEDIUM MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WHKO-FM Dayton, Ohio
  • WTIB-FM Greenville, N.C.

SMALL MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR

  • KKHJ-FM Pago Pago, American Samoa
  • KQRQ-FM Rapid City, S.D.
  • KNDE-FM Bryan College Station, Texas
  • WALJ-FM Tuscaloosa, Ala.

AC STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WSB-FM Atlanta, Ga.
  • KOIT-FM San Francisco, Calif.
  • WTMX-FM Chicago, Ill.
  • KSTP-FM Minneapolis, Minn.
  • WTVR-FM Richmond, Va.

CHR STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WBZZ-FM Pittsburgh, Penn.
  • KMVQ-FM San Francisco, Calif.
  • KTXY-FM Columbia, Mo.
  • WBLI-FM Long Island, N.Y.
  • WXKB-FM Fort Myers, Fla.

CLASSIC HITS STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WGRR-FM Cincinnati, Ohio
  • WMGK-FM Philadelphia, Pa.
  • WOGL-FM Philadelphia, Pa.
  • WCBS-FM New York, N.Y.
  • WOMC-FM Detroit, Mich.

COLLEGE RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WKCR-FM, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
  • WOLF Radio, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Ga.
  • WPSC-FM, William Patterson University, New York, N.Y.
  • WMSC-FM, Montclair State University, Montclair, N.J.
  • WGCS-FM, Goshen College, South Bend, Ind.

COUNTRY STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WFMS-FM, Indianapolis, Ind.
  • KATI-FM, Jefferson City, Mo.
  • KCYY-FM, San Antonio, Texas
  • WXTU-FM, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • KCLR-FM, Columbia, Mo.

ROCK STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WPLR-FM, New Haven, Conn.
  • WAQY-FM, Springfield, Mass.
  • KQMT-FM, Denver, Colo.
  • WXTB-FM, Tampa, Fla.
  • WIYY-FM, Baltimore, Md.

URBAN STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WHUR-FM, Washington, D.C.
  • WPZE-FM, Atlanta, Ga.
  • WBTJ-FM, Richmond, Va.
  • KBXX-FM, Houston, Texas
  • WDAS-FM, Philadelphia, Pa.

LEGENDARY STATION OF THE YEAR

  • WLS-AM Chicago, Ill.
  • WLW-AM Cincinnati, Ohio
  • WIVK-FM Knoxville, Tenn.
  • KYGO-FM Denver, Colo.
  • WHTZ-FM New York, N.Y.

NETWORK/SYNDICATED PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

  • Enrique Santos, iHeartMedia, Miami, Fla.
  • Erica Campbell, Reach Media/Urban One, Dallas, Texas
  • D.L. Hughley, Reach Media/Urban One, Dallas, Texas
  • Rickey Smiley, Reach Media/Urban One, Dallas, Texas

MAJOR MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

  • Karson & Kennedy, WWBX-FM, Boston, Mass.
  • Rachel Ryan, KSCS-FM, Dallas, Texas
  • Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison, WMMR-FM, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • Patty Jackson, WDAS-FM, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • Sean Valentine, KBIG-FM, Los Angeles, Calif.

LARGE MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

  • Sean Copeland, WYXB-FM, Indianapolis, Ind.
  • MIX Mornings with Kyle, Bryan and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh, N.C.
  • Josh Holleman, Rachael Hunter and Steve Grunwald, WYCD-FM, Detroit, Mich.
  • Dan Mandis, WWTN-FM, Nashville, Tenn.
  • Jason Matheson & Alexis Thompson, KTMY-FM, Twin Cities, Minn.

MEDIUM MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

  • The Doc Show with Chewy, WGGY-FM, Pittston, Pa.
  • Marc & Laura, WNCT-FM, Greenville, N.C.
  • Andy Beckman & Kat Walburn, WAJI-FM, Fort Wayne, Ind.

SMALL MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

  • The Morning Shag w/ Shags and Trevor, KCMQ-FM, Columbia, Mo.
  • Kat Mykals, WGBF-FM, Evansville, Ind.
  • The Cosmo and Kat Show, KTXY-FM, Columbia, Mo.
  • Ian Rambo, KQRQ-FM, Rapid City, S.D.

Established in 1989 and named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi, the NAB Marconi Radio Awards are given to radio stations and outstanding on-air personalities to recognize excellence in radio.

Steve Addazio Joins ESPN as College Football Analyst

BSM Staff
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Steve Addazio Joins ESPN as College Football Analyst

Steve Addazio is joining ESPN as a college football analyst, adding to the network’s roster of commentators calling live game action across network platforms. Bringing more than three decades of coaching experience at nationally recognized programs, including serving as head coach of Boston College, Temple University and Colorado State University football teams, he will make his debut on ESPN during Week 1 alongside play-by-play announcer Clay Matvick.

“We are excited to welcome Steve Addazio to our talented roster of analysts,” Amanda Gifford, vice president of production at ESPN, said in a statement. “Steve’s vast experience and enthusiasm for college football make him a perfect fit for our coverage and we look forward to having him join us in the booth this fall.”

Addazio was most recently the offensive line coach with the Texas A&M football program and also completed assistant and associate head coaching ventures at Syracuse, Indiana, Notre Dame and Florida. While working within the University of Florida program, he helped the team attain two BCS National Championships. Addazio is making his debut during Week 1 of the college football season, and full commentary assignments and plans for the upcoming season will be revealed by ESPN in early August.

“I’m honored to join ESPN and share my love for college football with viewers across the country,” Addazio said in a statement. “I’m eager to utilize my coaching experience in a new way and bring my perspective and passion to the commentary booth.”

ESPN recently revealed that Max Olson was rejoining the company after working with The Athletic for the past seven years and will focus on expanding the network’s coverage of the transfer portal utilizing perspectives of storytelling and analytics. Earlier in the week, the company revealed changes to its NFL coverage team that included the additions of Ben Solak and Russell Yurk in analyst roles. ESPN also announced that MJ Acosta-Ruiz was joining the network in a multifaceted role encompassing sideline reporting for ESPN Deportes’ Spanish-language coverage of Monday Night Football and anchoring SportsCenter from Los Angeles, Calif. on ESPN.

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