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The Difference Between News/Talk Radio Programmer and Bureaucrat

BNM Staff
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The Difference Between News/Talk Radio Programmer and Bureaucrat

Let’s talk about the worst aspect of every news/talk radio programmer’s job: commercial stops, those designed traffic jams that occur every ten or twenty minutes bringing your excellent content to a dead halt. And so, you wait, knowing full well that you’re losing a significant percentage of your audience to button pushers looking for a station where talkers are still talking and news is still being broadcast.

The way most news and talk radio stations operate today commercial clutter takes up 20-30 minutes of each programming hour. It would be nice to say that’s because your inventory is sold out thanks to great ratings but we know better. It happens because it’s allowed to happen. Some of that load is likely bonus spots and far too much of it consists of recorded promos that use branding phrases begging the listener to wait through the clutter.

Yes, commercials are necessary but there are some things to consider that might make them less annoying and potentially informative and entertaining.

Warning: old fart flashback straight ahead.

When I was a young program director I had the authority to reject any spots that I didn’t feel met our standards. Yes, I’m quite serious. I didn’t exercise the option often but if a spot was of lousy audio quality, badly produced, boring, or even just plain stupid, I could kick it back to the sales exec and/or ad agency and ask them politely to make it better.

You might think that could result in an impolite opposite reaction. It never did, not once. From time to time I talked with an advertiser or his agent and they always said the same thing: You’re the expert. I want my time and money spent well on your station.

Sales execs could get annoyed but usually went along as good teammates without too much grousing. Besides, schmoozing clients with better ideas is part of their art; the best enjoy it.

Often these conversations would lead to brainstorming sessions with the production director. (Remember that creative and crucial position?) Ideas were tossed around, writing began and a highly effective ad was usually the result.

If you’re a program director or air talent today your mind must be reeling. It has probably never occurred to you that you could have the authority to actually determine all of your news/talk station’s programming, not just the words between the breaks, every blessed minute. Why not? You’re responsible for your station’s content 24/7 though you have no control over half of it.

Most program directors in corporate-owned stations today have been hired as functionaries at the end of a long chain of corporate bureaucrats. Your days are filled with layers of programming and sales hierarchies. Presidents have lieutenants, regional and format V.P.s, who send out the memos and convene Zoom meetings to address general issues with generalized answers.

They dive into recent studies and charts for boilerplate policies, seldom suggesting anything bold or of local significance because they can’t, they don’t know your town. The sad part is these people achieved their high positions by successfully programming actual radio stations to real people in specific markets. They’re smart enough to know that what worked in Boston might not fly in Amarillo – except in a vague, general way.

As a local PD today your log is bloated, your programming is filled with syndicated shows, and your hands are tied. 

Unless you have a creative fire in your belly and the guts to assert it.

Dream up great promotions that will excite your audience in your hometown. Enlist the members of your on-air, newsroom, and production staff. Invite them to a pizza place for some brainstorming. Don’t make it mandatory, suggest it will be fun and exciting because it will. Your crew will be happier and bubbling tomorrow. Before long fresh ideas will start trickling in regularly because everyone is enthused, involved, and feeling appreciated. You’ll all make each other’s great ideas even greater. You’re having fun and it’s contagious.

If you can ignite a spark of excitement and faith from your GM and sales department you might find yourself with the programming reigns in both hands.

You weren’t hired to be a clickbait expert, you are a radio expert. You know more about the stuff that comes out of the speakers than anyone else at the station. And you can identify problems and turn them into opportunities. You need to spend your days refining the product, not in endless meetings trying to implement generalized corporate buzzspeak into local program policy.

Attend the Zoom meetings, be a cheerful good soldier but if called upon speak your mind with truth and passion. It’s infectious.

Explain to your boss why you should be allowed to reduce the on-air clutter by as much as half and that you need to spend most of your time every day with your news and talk talent because they’re your stars. It’s why they pay you. The station and the community are all that matters to you.

Tell her/him you’ll read the interoffice memos faithfully and join digital meetings when you can but that the corporate culture will mostly just have to take care of itself.

And, oh, by the way, you need the authority to reject bad radio commercials.

You may not get everything you ask for but I promise you’ll earn some respect.

Sports Radio Advertising vs. Social Media

Jeff Caves
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Sports Radio Advertising vs. Social Media

Increasingly, clients are wondering about the power of radio vs “everybody” on social media. Occasionally, it is a good idea to remind your sports radio advertising clients and yourself of the power your sports radio station has in its audience. While social media is the most popular kid in school, they are not headed for Harvard. You, my sports radio-selling friend, have all the advantages that make you a superior option for advertisers.

Your Audience is Engaged and Loyal

Sports radio listeners in the U.S. are incredibly engaged. According to Nielsen, Americans spend over four hours daily on audio, with a significant portion dedicated to radio. Specifically, sports radio listeners average around 3 hours and 24 minutes per week, as reported by Edison Research for ESPN Audio. Sports radio listeners are loyal, providing your advertiser with a reliable way to reach a dedicated audience who spends plenty of time immersing themselves in the station.

Social Media = Superficial Media

When your clients mention that they are buying social media or that they are impressed with the local influencer who has 50,000 followers, point out the average time users spend on social media platforms per day:

– Instagram: 30 minutes, translating to roughly 9 seconds per account if a person is following 200 accounts (I follow about 235).

– X: About 3.39 minutes per session; with two sessions daily, that’s about 1.35 seconds per account.

– Facebook: 33 minutes, equating to about 13.2 seconds per account if following 150 accounts.

These brief interactions pale compared to the time sports radio listeners dedicate to their favorite hosts and shows. This concentrated listening experience means your clients’ ads are more likely to be absorbed and remembered.

Ad Impact

Unlike social media ads, which can be easily skipped or ignored, endorsement radio ads are seamlessly integrated into programming, making them less likely to be bypassed. Who is paying attention when your favorite Insta model starts pitching another pre-workout drink? Is there ANY credibility? Moreover, the context of live radio commentary, analysis, and discussions enhances the relevance and effectiveness of radio ads, aligning perfectly with the listeners’ interests.

Reliability and Trust

Trust is a vital element where sports radio excels. Radio has long been viewed as a reliable news, entertainment, and information source. This credibility extends to the advertisements heard on sports radio. Listeners are more inclined to trust and act on these ads than social media ads, which often face issues of credibility and trustworthiness. What do we know about social media endorsers besides that they want followers to do ads and make money?

Sports radio’s significant listening time, deep engagement, the impactful nature of radio ads, and the desirable audience demographics all contribute to its effectiveness. While social media is essential for specific campaigns, sports radio’s concentrated and loyal audience provides advertisers with a unique opportunity to connect meaningfully with credibility.

Leverage these advantages when presenting sports radio, especially when you hear that social media advertising is some superior vehicle you can’t compete with. We need to educate the masses!

As History Unfolds, It’s Important for News/Talk Radio to Remain Focused on Playing the Hits

Pete Mundo
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As History Unfolds, It’s Important for News/Talk Radio to Remain Focused on Playing the Hits

The age-old radio adage is to “Play the hits”.

It applies more directly to music stations, but the phrase can also relate to sports talk and news/talk. So, suppose you’re like me, and you’ve found yourself behind a microphone on a news/talk station the last couple of weeks. In that case, you might be having an internal conversation about whether you’ve focused too much on the national political discourse since the unforgettable Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden debate on June 27th.

My short answer is: No, you’re not too focused. 

But in an effort to not stop this column at 100 words, I’ll explain further.

I’ve long advocated for focusing your local shows on your local radio markets as much as possible. It will separate your show from the national syndication that can be piped into any station nationwide. Your local flair is what will build your credibility in your community. It’s what will separate you. Local will win. 

And given that it’s been an unusually predictable few months in the election news cycle, there hasn’t been much to lean into on the national political side. Joe Biden was the unimpressive, octogenarian incumbent going up against Donald Trump, who rolled quickly through a primary and was set to be at the top of the Republican ticket for a third-straight election cycle. It was a rematch of 2020, a period in American history most Americans would prefer to forget, given the state of the nation at the time. Unfortunately for many, they are being forced to relive it. 

However, what happened two weeks ago in Atlanta between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has given a massive jolt to an election season that had been relatively boring. Tens of millions of Americans were tuned in that evening, and given Biden’s debate performance, it has kicked off two weeks of speculation of Biden dropping out, party infighting, replacement conversations, various media reports, and drama that we haven’t seen around an incumbent President in an election year since 1968.

It’s cliche, but we are living through history. And your audience is coming to you for the latest on this unfolding history, with opinions, analysis, and an ability to move the story forward engagingly and entertainingly while also, when appropriate, bringing on guests who will provide them with insight they can bring to their conversations with friends, at the water cooler, on group texts and on social media.

In a perfect world, you can also localize these national stories by getting reactions from local officials, reading/playing their social media reactions on your show, or if you’re in a swing state, your options beyond that are unlimited.

But now that we are in a national news cycle that has been on fire, don’t force yourself into local talk. Find your top local stories that are compelling and impacting your radio listener’s day-to-day lives, and work to blend it with the historical moment we find ourselves living through on the national political stage. And always be working your hardest to think of and find new angles, while moving the story forward.

In the end, just like your local CHR station has to play Taylor Swift multiple times an hour, you need to give your audience what they want and “Play the hits.” We’re living through history, after all.

James Golden AKA Bo Snerdley Relishes New Nationally Syndicated Weekend Show

Krystina Alarcon Carroll
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James Golden AKA Bo Snerdley Relishes New Nationally Syndicated Weekend Show

Radio host, radio executive, producer, author, and a jack of all media trades. Since he was 14-years-old James Golden (AKA Bo Snerdley) has devoted his entire life to the media industry.

The on-air talent’s weekend show —The James Golden Show — just became syndicated through Red Apple Audio Networks.

“I really appreciate having the platform that WABC has provided. It’s a wonderful thing to have a show that’s now in a bunch of different markets and growing! It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun,” he said.

Long before Golden hit the airwaves as ‘Bo Snerdley’ on The Rush Limbaugh Show, he was a teenager visiting his cousin, DJ Gerry Bledsoe, at work. “It was a mind-blowing experience for me. So many things happened that day. In fact, that day was when one of the older guys there, the guy who’s had a reputation as being a real grumpy, curmudgeon type guy, for some reason, took a liking to me.”

He let Golden into the show where Golden learned how to cut tape. “It took me a lot of years before I actually got a job, and ironically, it was at the same station, doing marketing and research, looking at ratings and learning how to analyze ratings and learning how to do marketing. Later on, I moved into the programming side and started doing music research.”

James Golden was one of the first in the country to do music research which led him to WABC. There he worked with the station’s transition from music to their first talk program.

“I think in life you’re given the sort of the things that you need to fulfill whatever destiny you have. I had always been interested in news, politics, and all of it. This dual love I had for music, it allowed me to transition when the station changed format and to become their senior producer of news. And it was at ABC some years later that I met Rush Limbaugh. And of course, that turned into a 30-year relationship.”

The Author of “Rush On The Radio,” recalled the first time the pair met. “So my first day working on his show, I brought him some news stories. I was in the habit of doing that before I even worked on his show. I developed a friendship. When I saw something interesting, that I thought he would be interested in and I would take it to him. So it was a smooth transition for me being rotated on the show.”

It wasn’t before long James Golden became Bo Snerdley. “So I walked in, dropped off some stories, and on the way out he says, ‘Well, everybody on this call screen has got to be a Snerdley, have you come up with your name?’ So The Daily News was on his desk, and it was on the sports page. Bo Jackson was in the news for some of the headlines, but I just wasn’t able watch it. So I just said ‘Bo’ and walked out. Little did I know that for the rest of my life, I’d be Bo. But it’s great and I love it. I’m comfortable with either one.”

Golden recalled the time spent with his friend saying, “No words can ever describe it. He was the best that there ever was to me, or ever will be in the industry. His talent, as he said, was on loan from God. But it was something unique. The incredibly intelligent, incredibly hardworking. 30 years in, he still brought it. Even when he was sick, [Rush] did as much of the work that he could to make sure that his show was extremely well researched and well delivered.”

While working on Rush’s show, James Golden also had his own weekend show. He worked 7 days a week for years. Today, he is back at his radio home. “Back at WABC, doing six days on air with them, and it’s just been a wonderful ride for me.”

Throughout the years, the former executive producer turned host has seen significant change in the industry.

“For some people, it’s not as much fun as it used to be. And I’ll just speak frankly about that. When the bean counters took over because of corporate interest — instead of it being a lot of different families with smaller radio groups, it moved into more of a big business — for a lot of people a lot of the fun was taken out of it, because those decisions that used to be made locally are now being made by regional managers or by national managers, some of whom had more of a background in sales and didn’t understand the programing,” he shared.

“So there’s always that schism. And so for a lot of people in the industry, I have friends who have left the industry because it just was no longer fun for them.”

Another big difference? You no longer have to work your way up through the markets.

“You had to work your way up through lower markets to get to a higher market. You don’t have to do that now. People that are just good at what they do, if they have very good communication skills, you can learn how to become [one of the] best radio hosts. There’s only one best radio host and [Rush] passed away, but it is still about your ability to tell a good story. To understand and to I think it really is how much you are in love with the medium yourself.”

Frank Cusumano to Join KTRS, Ending 30 Year Run on St. Louis Sports Talk Radio

BSM Staff
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Frank Cusumano to Join KTRS, Ending 30 Year Run on St. Louis Sports Talk Radio

Frank Cusumano, who has held down the mid-morning slot on St. Louis sports radio for nearly 30 years, has decided to join the team at News/Talk station KTRS. KFNS, the station Cusumano had been working for and where he spent most of his radio career, shut down local programming at the end of June and is now airing FOX Sports Radio and local play-by-play.

Cusumano said he had conversations with other outlets and ultimately found the best fit at KTRS. Cusumano, who is also the Sports Director at NBC affiliate KSDK, will work with Wendy Wiese from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. CT beginning August 5.

Cusumano joined former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz on his show, The Press Box, in the mid-90’s and through the years and a few different stations, had kept the name of the show. The show became well-known for the opening monologue which Cusumano would write out on a daily basis.

On what was his final show on KFNS, his monologue included the line, “this is the medium where you get to know the person more than any other medium.”

He added, “Radio was my first love. I was the nerdy kid who listened to KMOX Sports Open Line religiously.”

Cusumano talked about his parents who were in the restaurant business in St. Louis. He said his father would record the radio show on cassette tapes for his mother to listen to when she finished work.

He ended the final monologue saying, “…Take your best shot…don’t waste the audiences time. Take your best shot every day. I think my mom and dad know I’ve taken my best shot for KFNS. This will be my last day at the station, but you’ll hear from me down the road, maybe sooner than you think.”

Prime Video Greenlights Scripted Series About Muhammad Ali, ‘The Greatest’

BSM Staff
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Prime Video Greenlights Scripted Series About Muhammad Ali, ‘The Greatest’

Prime Video announced it has ordered ‘The Greatest,’ the first authorized scripted series about the life of Muhammad Ali. The series is said to have unprecedented access to Ali’s estate. Lonnie Ali, the widow of the late legend, along with Authentic Brand Group’s Corey Salter, Marc Rosen and Matthew Gross, will serve as executive producers on the series.

Jaalen Best is set to play the role of Ali in the series. Lonnie Ali said about Best, “We have uncovered a soulful gem. He is such a talented young man who not only embodies Muhammad, but exudes his resilience, courage, charisma and confidence.”

“Muhammed Ali defined commitment and passion for multiple generations of Americans. His journey is best told in full by a team whose dedication reflects that example,” said Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon MGM Studios in a release. “Ali’s is an awe-inspiring story of one of the most significant global figures of the 20th century. We are proud to work with Ben [Watkins] alongside Outlier, Roc Nation, Polygram, Grace, Authentic Brands, Lonnie Ali, and the very talented Jaalen Best, who we know will do a remarkable job bringing The Greatest to life for our global Prime Video customers.”

“It’s been a longtime dream to tell Ali’s remarkable life story as a television series, which is the only way to truly capture his greatness, and I’m grateful to Lonnie and the assembled team who also share my passion for getting The Greatest to the screen,” said executive producer Josh Wakely, who secured the life story rights to Ali and brought the project to Amazon.

No date has been set for the release.

Charles Barkley: I Think Warner Bros. Discovery Has Lost NBA Media Rights

BSM Staff
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Charles Barkley: I Think Warner Bros. Discovery Has Lost NBA Media Rights

TNT Sports analyst Charles Barkley announced that he would be retiring from television next year no matter what happens with the National Basketball Association media rights negotiations. With recent reports stating that deals with The Walt Disney Company’s ESPN, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Amazon’s Prime Video are finalized, indications are that Warner Bros. Discovery will likely lose its broadcasting rights unless it decides to match an offer.

While there is reported ambiguity surrounding the breadth of these rights, Warner Bros. Discovery would aim to target Amazon’s package, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Moreover, the report stated that Inside the NBA could potentially continue without live game rights or move to another network altogether; however, it is unknown how any of those hypothetical resolutions could alter Barkley’s decision.

Barkley, who joined CNBC’s Closing Bell program on Thursday, was asked about the current situation surrounding the company. In the last few months, he had been candid about his thoughts with the negotiations and questioned the aptitude of Warner Bros. Discovery executives as to why no deal was completed within the 90-day exclusive negotiating window for incumbent rightsholders. Upon making the announcement about his retirement, he stated that he was not interested in discussing the matter any further.

“Well, I really feel bad for everybody at TNT,” Barkley said. “All the people I’ve been working with for the last 24 years, they’re like family to me, and I really hope we match. I honestly, in my heart, I think we have lost the package. That’s just my honest opinion, but I really hope we get a last-minute reprieve for the people at Turner.”

Within his discourse, Barkley conveyed that the reason he discussed next season being his final year on television was because he would not feel comfortable working for another network. Although there has been reported interest by ESPN, NBC and Prime Video to hire Barkley, according to Marchand, Barkley expressed that he was unsure if he would want to go to another place and start over at his age. As a follow-up question to his answer, he was then asked whether a lucrative financial offer would lead to him potentially changing his mind.

“Hey, if I don’t have enough money by now, I’m the biggest idiot [and] fool in the world,” Barkley said. “Hey, seriously, if I don’t have enough money by now – I’ve been so lucky and blessed. I played in the NBA for 15 years. I’ve been on television for 24 years. If I don’t have enough money by now, I’m the biggest loser in the world.”

The National Basketball Association had expressed its desire to approach these media rights negotiations with a multifaceted approach towards linear television and streaming. In this new deal, it is reported to have prime time games every night during the week and is nearly tripling its total media rights revenue to a collective $76 billion over 11 years.

Warner Bros. Discovery introduced its B/R Sports Add-On streaming tier last year on the Max streaming platform, but it did not televise any NBA games exclusive to that outlet. Instead, the offering included access to all games on linear television in addition to studio programming and other digital content. The growth of streaming in sports, Barkley feels, is because of “greedy players and greedy owners” who do not care about anything but making the most money possible.

“Everybody can’t afford streaming,” Barkley said. “There’s nothing wrong with streaming, but when you start just going to the highest bidder and you’re not on regular television, I think you do a disservice to the fan.”

Freddie Coleman Remembers Stuart Scott Ahead of ESPY Awards

BSM Staff
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Freddie Coleman Remembers Stuart Scott Ahead of ESPY Awards

Ten years after Stuart Scott was honored at the ESPY Awards with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, his legacy and message to “Fight like hell” continues to endure and inspire people around the world. The V Foundation for Cancer Research is commemorating the anniversary of the speech by matching all donations up to $75,000 to benefit its Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Fund. V Foundation chief executive officer Shane Jacobson also revealed Wednesday on ESPN Radio’s UnSportsmanLike that there would be a “record-setting announcement” made by host Serena Williams in the spirit of Stuart Scott during the ESPY Awards on Thursday night.

ESPN Radio host Freddie Coleman has worked at the company for 20 years and recalled walking out of work with Stuart Scott on the ESPN Campus in Bristol, Conn. on Thursday’s edition of #Greeny. Coleman had just finished his radio show and Scott had completed an edition of SportsCenter, and both hosts were preparing to leave the area. It had been a while since Coleman had seen Scott, leading him to start a conversation and ask about how he was doing, realizing that he was battling cancer and still coming into work.

“He said, ‘I’m hanging in there. I’m fighting, I’m fighting, I’m fighting, you know, but I’m not going to give in and I’m not going to give up on this battle,’” Coleman recalled Scott conveying. “And I said, ‘No matter what my friend. You know we got you. Just stand on your shoulders,’ and he said, ‘I know that. It means the world to me to know that I got so much support from people because to know that I have their back and they have my back means the world to me.’”

Before they left the campus, Coleman remembers giving Scott a big hug and not wanting to let him go. He wondered if it would be the last time that he would see him and thought if he would have to do work from somewhere else. Yet he did not realize that when someone is fighting cancer and has been able to beat it, it does not guarantee that they will continue to do so.

“I didn’t realize how sick he was until I saw him on stage at the ESPYS three months later after that,” Coleman explained. “I said, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe he had that kind of strength’ that he was willing to come in because the work meant a lot to him; being around people meant a lot to him; having people see him meant a lot to him, and it wasn’t a vanity thing; it wasn’t an ego thing – it was just who he is.”

Coleman never discusses Scott in the past tense, instead maintaining him in the present tense because he is always going to be present. When ESPN held a memorial service on its campus following Scott’s passing, he was surprised to see how many people he knew. It was during that time when he had a chance to meet his brother, to whom he expressed his condolences and stated that Scott means a lot to them. His brother then told him that he and Scott used to always get into arguments about things Coleman was saying on the radio. Moreover, he was told that Scott was both a fan of him as a person and a fan of his on the air.

“You just never know what people are going through or people and who they are,” Coleman said, “but it’s the measure of a person that people talk more about him outside of what he did, being an influential SportsCenter anchor and ESPN host and about the man Stuart Scott was, and that was one of the more vivid memories for me that I had a chance to know the man behind the microphone, behind the TV screen, and those memories will always stay with me regarding Stuart Scott.”

Civic Media Admits Earl Ingram Interview with President Biden Was Edited At White House’s Request

BNM Staff
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Civic Media Admits Earl Ingram Interview with President Biden Was Edited At White House’s Request

After the controversy surrounding WURD hosts admitting they were fed questions by the team for President Biden, Civic Media in Milwaukee has admitted a recent interview with the commander-in-chief and Earl Ingram was edited.

The Milwaukee radio host interviewed President Biden on Wednesday, July 3rd before airing it on his morning show the following day.

However, on Monday morning, the company was notified that after the interview, someone affiliated with the Biden campaign asked for edits to the interview, which Ingrahm and his producers enacted.

“Immediately after the phone interview was recorded, the Biden campaign called and asked for two edits to the recording before it aired. Civic Media management immediately undertook an investigation and determined that the production team at the time viewed the edits as non-substantive and broadcast and published the interview with two short segments removed,” the station said in a statement.

The station says that the portions that were edited out of the published interview included Biden’s statement that he has “more Blacks in my administration than any other president, all other presidents combined,” and another that referenced former President Donald Trump called for the hanging of the Central Park Five in the last 1980s.

“With a high-profile interview comes a listener expectation that journalistic interview standards will be applied, even for non-news programming.  We did not meet those expectations. Civic Media disagrees with the team’s judgments in the moment, both with respect to the handling of the interview questions and the decision to edit the interview audio,” the statement from the company continued.

“Civic Media unequivocally stands by Earl Ingram and his team. Earl is an invaluable voice for Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and remains a crucial member of the Civic Media organization. The decision to make the requested edits to the interview was made in good faith. While we disagree with the decision, we stand by our team. This has been a learning experience and we will do better moving forward.”

The admission that the interview was edited comes on the heels of Earl Ingram admitting to ABC News that he — like WURD host Andrea Lawful-Sanders — accepted questions from the Biden White House in exchange for the interview.

After the controversies were uncovered, the Biden campaign and White House has claimed it will no longer suggest questions to potential interviewers.

SiriusXM Announces MLB All-Star Week Programming

BSM Staff
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SiriusXM Announces MLB All-Star Week Programming

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week will take place in Arlington, Texas next week. SiriusXM will once again offer subscribers full coverage with live broadcasts of the MLB Draft, the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game itself.

On Sunday, SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio channel will offer live coverage of the first round of the MLB Draft starting at 6 p.m. ET. SiriusXM listeners will hear the live selections of each team in the first round. Coverage will be hosted by Dani Wexelman and Grant Paulsen while former MLB general managers Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette will provide analysis.

On Monday, on-site programming will begin at 1 p.m. ET with a Media Day show hosted by Dani Wexelman, Jim Duquette and Mike Ferrin. At 5 p.m. ET Grant Paulsen, Jim Bowden and Kevin Frandsen will be on the field to host SiriusXM’s pre-game programming. The MLB Network Radio channel will air ESPN Radio’s broadcast of the Home Run Derby starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Before the on-site programming, MLB Network’s show Power Alley will be co-hosted by Justin Morneau, winner of the 2008 Home Run Derby.

On Tuesday, MLB Network Radio’s coverage from Texas begins at 5 p.m. ET with an MLB All-Star Pregame Show hosted by Wexelman, Duquette and Frandsen. The pre-game show will lead into ESPN Radio’s play-by-play broadcast of the All-Star Game starting at 8 p.m. ET.

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