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Meet The Bettors: John Jastremski, The Ringer

Demetri Ravanos
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Meet The Bettors: John Jastremski, The Ringer

New York sports fans have known John Jastremski for nearly a decade. First, it was as a regular on WFAN. Now, they can find him on The Ringer, where he hosts New York, New York, East Coast Bias, and The Ringer Gambling Show. 

I first met JJ on the same day I met a fellow Meet the Bettors star, Ariel Epstein. I led a panel they were featured in during the 2022 BSM Summit in New York. What struck me instantly about him is he knows how to command a microphone and he has just as many opinions about the business as he does the games.

JJ has been gambling since before that was a-okay by the state of New York. He has seen not only practices change, but attitudes and conversations around sports shift too. It all makes him an ideal candidate for the final Meet the Bettors column of the season, presented by Point to Point Marketing.

During our conversation, JJ and I were both trying to find air conditioning to combat the heat waves we were dealing with in New York and North Carolina respectively. We talk about what is new on boards across the country, why we will talk to kids about spreads and totals in the future like we do trades and lineups now, and so much more. 

Demetri Ravanos: When you are recording, whether it’s New York, New York or the gambling show, what sort of is the attitude or the goal for gambling content at The Ringer? 

John Jastremski: It’s a great question. I would say for me and what I’m trying to do with the particular pods I have is I try to make the gambling talk that we do as relatable as possible to any common man or woman that’s out there. I know that’s going to sound cliche. I know it’s going to sound obvious, but I think there’s a sentiment in your audience that is very novice when it comes to gambling. That’s okay. I mean, it’s a new phenomenon across our country and really within the Tri-State Area over the last 5 to 6 years. It’s just become far more commonplace.           

We try to have fun with it. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, whether it’s me by myself or me with [Joe] House and Raheem [Palmer], we want to get things right. I think there’s definitely a little pride that comes in, but the biggest thing is we have fun talking about the games, educating the audience, and letting it rip in the best way possible. 

DR: I did a session with Mina Kimes at the BSM Summit last year, and we were talking about gambling. She said, “Obviously it is not the core of what I do, but the way I understood how it mattered to me is lines were a good way of understanding just how much better people thought one team was than the other.”           

Do you find that people that maybe don’t start out listening to you, interested in hearing your take before they put their money down, can still find value that way? It’s almost a different way of explaining analytics to people. 

JJ: No doubt about it. For me, when I’m looking at games and all of a sudden, the point spreads come out, if I’m kind of like looking at it and saying, “Yeah, I think Kansas City should be a seven-point favorite against Miami,” and all of a sudden, they’re a three-and-a-half-point favorite, and I’m off by a considerable amount. The oddsmakers in the way they kind of set this up from a power rankings standpoint, are usually not wrong.          

Kansas City might not be the best example because they were underdogs, I think, in three consecutive playoff games and ended up winning the Super Bowl, for goodness sakes. So maybe that’s the wrong example there, but in general, when I look at a game and have like a general idea of what I think the spread is, you’re usually not going to be that far off.           

I think, a good way for a whole lot of folks to kind of look at it where you see why you think somebody is a touchdown favorite, but they’re only three-and-a-half-point favorite, is to ask “What am I missing here?”           

I think the lines, without question, tell a story. Like if you think a team should be no way, shape or form an underdog and they are, usually Vegas and the oddsmakers aren’t wrong about that sort of stuff. 

DR: You mentioned that gambling is pretty new to the Tri-State area. It has been a theme that everyone I’ve talked to in New York has complained about the differences in restrictions between New York and New Jersey and Connecticut. So, I wonder what restrictions has New York specifically put on bets and gambling that just don’t make sense to you? 

JJ: Now, listen, I’m not going to be able to speak to whatever the high rollers are dealing with, you know what I mean? I’m not sure what they’re not allowed to do and whatnot, but I’ll say this. From like, a state-by-state basis, I know it’s especially annoying for a lot of folks in the New York area being unable to bet awards, MVP or Cy Young in baseball. You can’t bet on that stuff in the state of New York. If you go to Jersey and you go to Connecticut, I think you can bet on it there. Why that’s the case? No idea. That’s something that I think is a bit frustrating. But, you know, that’s kind of above my pay grade as far as why they made that decision.

DR: Listen, that is the majority of what the complaints have been. The things that just aren’t on the board in New York. Speaking of what’s on the board in New Jersey, any interest at all in betting Car-Jitsu?

JJ: You have to explain to me what it is. I don’t even know. 

DR: I stumbled upon this the other day because a bunch of people were talking about it on Twitter. It is basically like a street fight, but inside of a car. New Jersey just made it legal to bet on this thing. 

JJ: Oh my goodness! I mean, listen. Unless I can get some insider information, maybe you can make me a box. I love betting on sports, don’t get me wrong, but this is a hard pass for me on this one, Demetri. I’m not gonna lie.

DR: We see eye-to-eye here. This felt like one of those “did New Jersey find the end of the Internet?” situations. Are they so bored with every other sport?

JJ: Hey, listen, you put it up on FanDuel, you’ll find somebody who’s taking action. 

DR: Do you think gambling will be a part of how you experience sports with your kids? Maybe your toddler isn’t asking you to put money on the Yankees’ over, but do you think it would be part of the conversation about how the game is played? 

JJ: Yeah, I think it’s inevitable at this point. And it’s not just me and how I’m doing content and how I’m doing shows. Think about just watching The Bottom Line on ESPN now. Every single game features a spread and a money line. So, it’s kind of inevitable that if you’re going to have your ten-year-old son or daughter say, “Hey daddy, why are the Yankees -165? What does that mean?”.           

It’s like anything else that becomes so much more mainstream. You have to do it responsibly. You have to have limits and whatnot, but I think we’re in a culture now with sports and gambling where it’s just so intertwined, and I’m sure that’s going to be true for a whole lot of young people.          

You can’t escape it, but you know, it was always a part of the fabric of sports. Point spreads have always been a thing. It’s not like they came out five years ago in the NFL, but now it’s bigger than ever before, and these mainstream brands have made it part of their vernacular more than ever before. 

DR: With it becoming so much a part of the mainstream, how do you as a gambler feel the odds projection content on pre-game shows has been handled? Do you feel like you’re getting served? Do you feel like it’s too dumbed down for someone like you to get anything from because it’s catered to inexperienced gamblers? 

JJ: For the experienced gambler, they’re going to want numbers. They’re going to want as nuts and bolts as you’re going to find and sometimes that’s just not entertaining. I totally understand that, and that’s why, to me, it’s a fine line on how you discuss it and how you present it, at least from my end.           

I think we try to present numbers but be as conversational and as fun as you possibly can be, because if you just start throwing out a zillion numbers at your audience, you’re going to lose them. It’s going to become way too complicated. It’s just bad content.           

I think the experienced gambler, to be perfectly honest, they’re going to make their opinions and do their homework, research without the help of us. You know what I mean? You could have a sharp and as hardcore X’s and O’s type of show, but I think for the hardcore gambler, they’re going to trust their research. They’re going to trust their models and homework and whatnot and kind of go from there. 

DR: Can you imagine the sports content at The Ringer without the gambling element? You mentioned yourself and your partners on the gambling show, but you also have Cousin Sal. You have Bill. Everybody there looks at sports through a gambling lens it seems. 

JJ: No doubt. And that was always something that was very appealing to me when it comes to working with Bill. When he called me back in 2012, he had been doing this on his podcast with Sal, geez, since I was in college. I mean, going back to when people didn’t even know what a freaking podcast was!          

2006, 2007, they’re guessing the lines on the NFL games, so it’s definitely a big part of what a lot of us are doing on our specific shows. It’s obviously a big part of what I’m doing. I kind of look at my New York show and my gambling show in two different lights. I’ll do some gambling on the New York show, but it’s going to be more content driven, and we take it from there.         

Our podcast, East Coast Bias, with House and Raheem, is far more “Hey, let it rip. Here’s what’s going on in the country and sports. These are lines for NFL, NBA, college” and kind of take it from there. But yeah, it’s a big part of what we’re doing across the board and it’s definitely a big part of what I’m doing. So, I guess to answer your question, no, I could not imagine our platforms and what we’re doing with, you know, the FanDuel partnership and whatnot without gambling being a thing, dude. No doubt. 

DR: Let’s talk about sites like Prize Picks. They kind of reframe the old daily fantasy model, and obviously that particular site has had success. But for you, I wonder if it’s possible to mine that kind of stuff for content, or as long as books have prop bets available, will daily fantasy always kind of be behind the eight ball in that way?

JJ: I kind of get the sense that, yes, they’ll be behind because the books are just so good now when it comes to the props, and it’s become such a big part of what kind of takes place in the gambling space. I’ve always been a sides guy. Like, I was never a guy that really got involved with betting guys to hit home runs or taking the over on strikeouts and points.           

But, you know, what ends up happening is you’re doing daily content or weekly content, and we’ve got to put together a four-leg same game parlay on a Yankee game. So, I’ll end up finding myself looking into that market a lot more than I used to. You know, you kind of hit the end of the NBA season where, “Hey, we have a pod that we have to do.” Well, you have one game that you’re talking about, so, you know, you can’t just rely on saying, “all right, who do you like?” You got to kind of look into Derrick White three-pointers made or you got to look into Al Horford rebounds or whatever.          

I think the prop markets now, for all of these sites, they’re such a big part of what they’re going to do. I don’t get the sense that’s going to go away.  I know, for me, it’s become a bigger part of what we’ve discussed because listen, it’s no days off with this now, you know? You have a show to do. You’ve got to do good content. So, the audience is counting on it from you in that respect. 

DR: Have you thought about, how you are going to handle the Olympics from a gambling perspective? 

JJ: That’s a good question. I haven’t. I’ll be honest, the basketball I know I’m going to be into. The other sports, I’m not going to have the slightest idea of what I’m doing.           

Maybe I get into the golf, maybe I’d consult a buddy of mine on the tennis, but, you know, I’m not going to pretend that I’m the master of handicapping swimming or track and field. I don’t even know if they’re putting lines on them. I’m sure they are putting lines on that stuff, but how to read it and how to play it? I mean, I couldn’t tell you what’s what.           

So, you know, the way I look at it is, “Hey, Olympics are in a couple of weeks.” We’ll see what’s in front of me, and we’ll try to navigate sport by sport what we want to get involved with and what we should probably avoid. 

DR: I am going to need a text message if you decide to put some action on Olympic breakdancing this year. 

JJ: Oh, yeah! Absolutely, I gotcha!

To learn more about Point-To-Point Marketing’s Podcast and Broadcast Audience Development Marketing strategies, contact Tim Bronsil at tim@ptpmarketing.com or 513-702-5072.

The Worst Time of the Year for Sports Radio Can be a Great Time for Sales and Marketing

Dave Greene
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The Worst Time of the Year for Sports Radio Can be a Great Time for Sales and Marketing

Well, here we are again. The NBA and the NHL have wrapped up their seasons, college baseball crowned a champion and the proverbial ‘countdown to football’ has begun. Yes, we still have baseball, and the Olympics will happen, but most sports radio stations look at this as the slow time of the year.

Tune in around the country and you will start to hear your ‘5 Best Cereals’ or ‘Top Sports Movies of All-Time’ segments as the hosts scour the internet for something, anything interesting to talk about. If only they had prepared for this time they knew was coming.

The funny thing about the sports calendar is that it rarely changes. You have things like the Olympics or your team doing well in a particular postseason which can change up the schedule a bit, but for the most part, we know when things will be heavy and when they will be light.

This is where it is important to plan, and the time to do that planning was towards the end of last year. If you woke up at the end of June and decided to first think about what you will spend July and August talking about, you’re already dead. Keep searching the internet and social media, perhaps you will get lucky.

If you planned properly, this can be a great time to do some specialty programming, features or events that can be a hit with the sales team and the bottom line. Programming segments don’t typically cost anything, yet advertisers love being tied in with special programming and getting some great frequency in a short period of time.

Are you in a market where football is not only King, but Queen, Prince and Princess as well? What about a list of top players from the area or the top games ever played? Perhaps something you could have listeners weigh in on through a poll or a nomination process, something to get them engaged and something that gives the sales team a digital product to sell in addition to an on-air sponsorship.

I have talked a few times in this space about nostalgia. It hits. This would be a great time to play into the nostalgia of your local sports market and have programming geared towards highlighting former players, coaches, broadcasters and more.

Take a page out of what SportsRadio 610 did in Houston did recently and pick a day to look at the history of your radio station and bring back old voices. Or look at what ESPN Chicago has coming up with their event to kick off the football season with Adam Schefter and Field Yates in attendance.

Or look on TV and see what ESPN does on the SEC Network with their SEC Takeovers.

It’s summer, people are looking for activities and always love to interact with your station personalities. Do you have a summer event, or something planned that brings your audience closer to your station personnel? These things become harder to do as the fall rolls around and football gets underway.

Heck, it could even be just a simple ‘Countdown to Football’ that could be sold and turned into an on-air segment each day. The point is, there is time to do some out of the box ideas and drive some additional revenue.

In situations like these, I would always like to gather my staff together and have a brainstorming session with programming, sales and marketing all included. Get creative and figure out what fits the market, figure out where there is a hole that needs to be filled. If a great idea comes out of it, start testing it by pitching it to advertisers and get their reaction.

I was always a big believer in getting buy-in on things like this early. If the programming and sales teams had something to do with the brainstorming and coming up with the idea, they will be that much more likely to support it the way something like this needs to be supported. If it becomes something where programming management came up with an idea and the sales and programming teams were simply told what the station was doing, there is a greater chance it flops.

This to me is where we separate the good from the great people in our industry. It’s easy to figure out what the station will talk about when football is going on and the other sports get ready to get started. It’s when it is ‘dead time’ that real thinking and creativity needs to happen.

By the way, if you’re wondering, my answer in no order is: Crunch Berries, Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, Fruity Pebbles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

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The Best Thing I Heard/Watched Recently

Am I allowed to pick Sean McDonough two weeks in a row? I suppose since last week was an interview and this week was a call of a game, I can do it just this once.

I didn’t watch most of the Stanley Cup Final, just popped in here and there. Game 7, however, I was all over. Not much else in sports can compare to the most important hockey game of the year. McDonough was up to the task and then some. After being sick for part of the series and getting ripped for a lack of energy because of the illness, McDonough shut everyone up and had a banger of a broadcast.

Andy Masur chronicled McDonough’s Game 7 in a column and you can listen to the final moments of the game by clicking here.

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In Case You Missed It

Earlier this week, Derek Futterman had the chance to catch up with the great Jim Nantz to talk golf, football, basketball and life. In the feature you learn how much longer Nantz wants to call The Masters, you learn his thoughts on this year’s Super Bowl call by he and Tony Romo and much more.

“I can’t quantify it any other way than just the kindness that comes in my everyday life from people that want to say ‘Hello’ or say something nice or take a picture or whatever it might be,” Nantz told Futterman. “I’m touched that it means something to them because I long for nothing [and am] grateful for everything, but when I was a little boy, this was the life I wanted. This was the life that I obsessed and prayed for, and I’ve been given that chance and I will never take it for granted – never.”

You can read the full feature by clicking here.

How Your News Operation Can Become the Local Authority

Perry Michael Simon
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How Your News Operation Can Become the Local Authority

If you’re old enough to remember the days when newspapers actually meant something to the community, you might remember the power of the local crusading columnist, the writers who would keep an eye on local politicians and alert the public to corruption and malfeasance, usually with a combination of wit and anger. Most big city papers had news columnists like that. A few – Mike Royko, Jimmy Breslin – became well-known outside their markets. But the bottom line was always that readers knew someone was on their side, watching, commenting, and not letting the politicians and bureaucrats get away with anything.

Those days are mostly gone, and the rough equivalent of the crusading columnist tends to be someone with a Substack or social media account. That’s not the same thing, because some writer with a Substack doesn’t have the audience the old-time columnists have. A look at the polls right now should tell you a lot about how little the public knows about what’s going on, even as the internet allows for an unlimited amount of information to flow. The problem is that there’s too much to process, and too much disinformation, and too few trusted news reporters and analysts to go around.

But that’s not to say that someone can’t fill those shoes. I can point to KUSA-TV Denver’s Kyle Clark as one example, a local reporter who’s building a national reputation for several reasons, not the least of which is how he handles debate moderation. Perhaps you saw the clips of his debate evisceration of Lauren Boebert on social media, but he’s also known for being tough on Democrats as well as Republicans.

He asks the tough questions, which tend to be those simple and obvious points from which other reporters and anchors shy away, and doesn’t stand for non-answers. (I’m writing this the day before the presidential debate, and I hope the right questions get asked and non-answers aren’t tolerated. We’ll see.)

He’s not alone. WFOR-TV Miami has Jim DeFede, a former Miami Herald and Miami New Times columnist and reporter who mines the spectacular corruption in local politics. Maybe you have someone like that in your market, someone who knows where the bodies are buried and isn’t afraid to go after the powerful.

Or maybe you don’t, which means there’s an opportunity, even for radio, newspapers, and podcasts. What’s missing in news coverage and talk radio are the reporters and hosts who don’t parrot conventional wisdom (or, worse, political party talking points) and instead take on the powerful and privileged, standing in for the audience, unconcerned with access. Anyone can commit talk radio, talking about the election exactly the way every other host does it.

It takes a particular talent to do the work of networking, research, and compiling the deep knowledge of local politics and customs and turn that into entertaining content.

Here’s your test: Who’s the news media personality whose name is synonymous with your market? If you can’t come up with anyone, that’s your opportunity. Go find that person. If that person works for another outlet, try and hire them away. If you can come up with that name and it’s someone on your staff, promote the hell out of that. And if that name is yours, congratulations, and keep doing what you’re doing.

You wanna attract an audience even though people are telling you that your medium is dead or dying? Make content that people in your market absolutely have to listen to, watch, or read to know what’s really going on in your area. There’s a huge opportunity to become the local news institution. Why not you?

Now is the Perfect Time for News/Talk Radio Hosts to Experiment and Evolve

Peter Thiele
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Now is the Perfect Time for News/Talk Radio Hosts to Experiment and Evolve

Retooling your news/talk radio show this summer is a worthy pursuit. Ok, I am not a fan of tossing the baby out with the bathwater, but this is the perfect time of year to try things. This is especially true if your show is on top of the ratings and revenue. I am going to give you some tools that you may find helpful. 

If your show is working well, it is very easy to ignore signs of fraying. Tiger Woods, when he was just destroying the competition, changed his swing at least three times in his career. Why? I am guessing that Tiger found his swing inefficient. He tried new things. Tiger hired coaches. It was his desire to be better.

Are you trying to get better? When was the last time that you were airchecked? If your Program Director is not great at coaching, or you have adopted all of his/her suggestions and don’t feel like the show is fresh, you may need another coach.

If you work for a large broadcast radio company, ask for a critique from another program director in the company. Always go through your PD. Don’t go to a format captain without the PD’s permission. If you work for a smaller company that does not have the resources to coach you, find a PD who has either retired or is on the beach. Offer to pay that program director a couple of hundred dollars. That PD may waive the fee to do the coaching. Don’t expect anything for free.

You may learn a lot from the interaction. Over the years, I have coached many hosts. I remember being in with a talent who was not cooperating on a point to improve his show. I asked a simple question: when you follow my advice, what happens? He thought for a moment and said, “It works.” I retorted, “So why are you so suborn?” He followed my advice and improved his already very good show. Change your swing.

Your program director is invested in your success. They get bonuses from high ratings. Likely, your deal has some ratings bonuses attached. If you get bonuses, the program director gets extra money as well. Believe in them. If you have a new program director, there is a reason why that individual was hired. Listen to them. Showing buy-in is better for you and better for the station long-term.

Evaluate special features. I have heard hosts defend horrific segments that they have done for five years. The host will say that the listeners expect and love the segment. Really? I have had a talk show host move on and have never received a comment about how a segment is missed. The listeners will miss the personality but never the bit, theme, or feature. Don’t marry your career to a feature that has no legs.

I find that hosts who have been in a market/station for a long time will keep adding on things. It’s like hosts have become hoarders of bits. Shed things. Less is more. Remember my first commandment: The worst lie that you can ever tell is the lie that you tell yourself. I can’t answer that for you. Are you telling the person in the mirror the truth?

Change can be scary. But there is always room for change and improvement. You must adapt. Humanity has always been adaptable while also being creatures of habit. Human nature also states that being able to adapt is usually connected with the impulse for survival.

If you have not changed your show in years, I suggest you carefully evaluate what you are doing. The competitive environment that radio and quite frankly all media is experiencing necessitates an honest review of your presentation, content, and execution.

How is your theme song? Has it worn out its welcome? Is your bumper music from 40 years ago? Is your monologue tight? Are you telling stories? What is your glue for the listener? Are you welcoming new people to the party or is it a slowly diminishing insider’s club? Have you ever been invited to join the Lion’s Club or those rascally Rotarians?

A lot of these community organizations are dying out. It is not because the groups are not doing great work for our society and world. They are dying because they became an exclusive club. The members became older. The group became insular. I have a hobby and I drove to a meeting once of people who enjoy the same pastime that I do. I didn’t know anyone. The club members were very good friends of each other. I could not have a conversation with anyone. These individuals never introduced themselves to me. I felt like I was an outsider.

Is your show like this? Are you inviting new people to the party? I recently moved to a new area. I am like many radio people: an introvert unless I am performing. It can feel like you’re an alien if you have attended community events and social gatherings. Don’t make new listeners feel unwelcome.

Your show is a living breathing entity. It is a community. Every area needs to grow. Sometimes a building needs to be knocked down to create a better way for the community to be connected. What buildings do you need to smash?

600 KOGO Afternoon Host Lou Penrose Might Have the Most Unique News/Talk Audience in America

Garrett Searight
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600 KOGO Afternoon Host Lou Penrose Might Have the Most Unique News/Talk Audience in America

As part of a new contract with iHeartMedia, 600 KOGO afternoon host Lou Penrose is making a slight alteration to his timeslot on the San Diego news/talk station.

Instead of hosting from 3-5 PM, he’ll now be heard from 4-6 PM. And while that shift in the timeslot isn’t a massive change, it does put Penrose in a position where he’ll be speaking to more people.

You see, San Diego is a hub of activity for the United States military. There are three Naval bases, three installations for Marines, and a U.S. Coast Guard sector to boot. And with that influx of servicemembers leaving the premises around 4 PM, that leads to more listeners for Penrose.

“Afternoon drive is a much different animal here because of the military base. So five o’clock is drive time for civilians, four o’clock is an hour for military,” he shared. “Our traffic reports will prove that we have a very, very, very busy afternoon with very different audiences.”

It is no secret that most news/talk listeners are conservatives, most often White males who are a little more on the older side of the demographic.

But San Diego is an international city, with a portion of the city resting directly against the U.S.-Mexican border opposite Tijuana. Meanwhile, the city’s airport features arrivals and departures for international flights from cities like London, Montreal, Munich, Tokyo, and Toronto, among others.

When you combine all of those factors, it makes for a truly unique audience for Penrose.

“Most cities kind of measure themselves on ‘Are we a small town? Are we mid-size city? Or are we cosmopolitan?’ San Diego is a small town, but it’s worldly. I mean we literally have the world visiting us at any given time,” he said. “It’s our obligation to serve the people of the town of San Diego but also bring them up to speed on what’s going on in the world.”

He added that the large military installations make foreign matters that might largely go unnoticed in other markets sometimes a top story of the day in San Diego.

“Because it is a military town, international affairs matter. During the day, the folks that serve the military, that work there in the military, and serve in the military, they’re aware of what’s going on everywhere. At the same time, they’re still San Diego natives and they want to know what’s going on in their own town.”

Subjects that are of importance to military members and their families often rise to the top of the show sheet for Lou Penrose, because he knows those topics are of the utmost importance to listeners in the market.

“When there is a national top story or there is a discussion or debate on international affairs or things like that, we cannot discount that because the people listening, it’s on their mind and it’s on their family’s mind, what’s happening around the world,” Penrose said. “So, some days it might sound kind of BBC-ish, you know, but, at the end of the day, we are a tight community. So the fact that we’re live and local in the afternoon (on 600 KOGO), I think it’s really, really smart.”

Not only is Lou Penrose a seasoned radio professional, he’s also well-versed in the inner workings of Capitol Hill. He spent time working under Rep. John Campbell (R-CA), Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), and Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA) during his tenure in Washington D.C.

And while that experience is vital to his career now hosting afternoons on 600 KOGO, Penrose said it can be both a blessing and a curse.

“When you work on the Hill as long as I have … you get an insight that few in America get. I remember somebody explaining to me how lucky I was to be a staffer for a member of Congress — and I wanted to be a staffer, I applied for the job. There are more positions in the NFL than there are staff on Capitol Hill. That’s how selective and how exclusive this little universe and club is,” he shared.

“It’s the ultimate ‘inside baseball.’ When the audience reads the headline that ‘Social Security cuts are imminent. Big fight on The Hill.’ It’s like it’s dramatic for the rest of the world, but those of us that have worked there are kind of ho-hum about it.

“You get jaded. It’s hard to extend the drama of politics when you’ve been in politics. Because you kind of know where it’s going, but it’s too in the weeds to communicate on the air. I have to be careful because it will come across on the air that I don’t care that they’re cut social security.

“But it’s like ‘Yeah, they’re not cutting social security.’ … You get very jaded from the drama of the political world. I have to hand it to these guys on TV news, because they are there in D.C. — and most of them know this is all political gamesmanship — but they need to do the clickbait, headline-grabbing things … The bad is that you do not get as emotionally charged from the day.”

However, the flip side of that makes Penrose a great guest for other shows and programs.

“If I’m doing a guest hit, I can be like ‘Let me explain to you how this is gonna work. Here’s what’s going to happen.’ And I can bring the audience behind the scenes. I’m so confident that it’s gonna happen that it gives me credibility because it then happens exactly the way I said it and people are like ‘Wow, how did he know that?'”

Lou Penrose was incredibly complimentary of his afternoon cohorts on 600 KOGO, pointing the expertise of hosts like Mike Slater, Mark Larson, and Leland Conway on various topics, allowing the hosts to insulate themselves on a variety of subjects and interests, creating strong bonds.

He concluded by noting that the current state of the news/talk industry and the political climate is the perfect time for him to work in the business.

“I could not be more excited about being in this contract now with iHeart and KOGO, specifically in San Diego just because I really think our most exciting days of talk and discussion are ahead,” Lou Penrose said. “I was a young talk show host when they impeached Bill Clinton. And oh my God, ‘Boy, I really need to step up. That’s never gonna happen again.’ And I have now been on the air during two presidential impeachments.

(The debate) is going to be off the hook to talk about. This summer is going to be off the hook. And this sentencing hearing is gonna be off the hook. I can’t wait to get into it and have fun with it and talk about it … I couldn’t be more excited to be where I am in my career right now. We’re in America, in this great city to talk and get a great audience, and I couldn’t be happier.”

590 The Fan KFNS To Cease Local Operations in St. Louis

BSM Staff
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590 The Fan KFNS To Cease Local Operations in St. Louis

Multiple sources have confirmed to BSM that 590 The Fan KFNS owner Dave Zobrist has notified staffers the station in St. Louis will shut down local programming at the end of the month.

KFNS has been owned by Zobrist’s company since they purchased it from Randy Markel in 2021. Markel had bought the station out of bankruptcy in 2015 and returned it to the all-sports format it had run from 1993 until late in 2014.

The current daily lineup for the station is all local with Cam Janssen, Charlie Marlow and Jim Hayes in morning drive, followed by Frank Cusumano who has hosted the late morning slot since the station’s early days. Kevin Slaten and Nate Lucas host different shows in the mid-afternoons and former longtime St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Bernie Miklasz has been doing afternoon drive.

In May, Bob Ramsey left the station and joined talk station KTRS. He had told Dan Caesar of the Post-Dispatch, “A lot of it has to do with security,” when he was asked about his decision to make the change. “…It’s just that this is an opportunity at a station that has made its mark. The security at 550 seemed like it made more sense for me short term and long term.”

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Zobrist is trying to find a buyer for the radio station. As he pursues a sale, KFNS will air national shows on the station starting Monday July 1st. The Fox Sports Radio lineup will be utilized to offer programming to local listeners.

LIV Golf TV Partner Caffeine Shuts Down

BSM Staff
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LIV Golf TV Partner Caffeine Shuts Down

Caffeine, a streaming platform which began in 2018 and had raised over $140 million, shut down today. “All good things come to an end,” it says when you log on to their website.

Earlier this year, Caffeine announced an agreement to be the Friday home of LIV Golf. It had also been carrying live sports from the World Surf League and the Women’s National Football Conference.

21st Century Fox had been a major investor at the start of the project, investing $100 million.

A message on the website said, “We’re at the point where we are still not quite profitable, so we’ve made the decision to end the service as of June 26th as we figure out our next steps. It has been a wild ride, with quite a few achievements along the way.”

The post then noted the platform had grown to 61 million monthly users and 4 million per day and that they were aggregating 200 sports partners across 17 categories of sports.

Dan Bernstein on Al Michaels A.I.-Generated Voice: ‘We Could Create A.I. Anybody’

BSM Staff
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Ahead of the beginning of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Peacock has revealed a new daily Olympic recap feature on the platform, a personalized experience that will complement the NBCUniversal coverage of the games. Utilizing generative artificial intelligence (A.I.) and artificial intelligence voice synthesis technology, the “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock” will feature an A.I.-generated version of Emmy Award-winning Hall of Fame announcer Al Michaels narrating the experience. The company unveiled the voice during the One Month Out press event and divulged that it was trained utilizing Michaels’ past appearances on NBC programming.

“Peacock continues to introduce unique customer-first features that strengthen our unmatched leadership in live streaming,” Kelly Campbell, president of Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer for NBCUniversal, said in a statement. “With these recaps alongside interactive elements like Peacock Live Actions and Discovery Multiview, we’re bringing the best of sports together with the best of technology to deliver fans a personalized Olympics experience in a way that’s never been possible before.”

“When I was approached about this, I was skeptical but obviously curious,” Al Michaels said in a statement. “Then I saw a demonstration detailing what they had in mind. I said, ‘I’m in.’”

Dan Bernstein and Laurence Holmes learned of the news from producer Rey Diaz Wednesday afternoon on the Bernstein & Holmes show on 670 The Score. Diaz outlined additional details of the announcement, one of which is that there will be nearly 7 million personalized variants of “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock” that could be streamed across the United States during the Olympics. He remarked that the innovation was interesting but weird on its face, to which Holmes replied that he did not like the venture.

Diaz cited a comment under a post from Awful Announcing on X in which a user stated that no A.I.-generated voice could accurately replicate Michaels, calling him the greatest of all time. The post ended with R.I.P., leading Awful Announcing to reply that Michaels was still alive.

“Now this was 11 minutes ago, so I thought we would provide a public service for our Score listeners because what happens inevitably on the internet, as we know, is people will read a comment and then just assume it’s real and run with it, and other people will say, ‘I didn’t know he died, R.I.P.’”

Michaels recently completed his second season calling Thursday Night Football games on Prime Video, including the first NFL game to be played on Black Friday. Before moving to the streaming platform, he was the voice of Sunday Night Football for 15 years and has also worked nine Olympic Games for ABC Sports and NBC Sports. Michaels made a memorable final call of the Miracle on Ice from the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics as the United States defeated the Soviet Union to advance to the gold medal game.

“We don’t always have the chance to do this when these death rumors start,” Diaz said. “We just want to let people know Al Michaels is alive, even though an A.I. version will be available for the Summer Olympics if you are a Peacock user, but he ain’t dead, but it’s still weird as hell.”

Last month, award-winning actress Scarlett Johansson has threatened to take legal action against OpenAI after the company introduced a voice titled “Sky” that sounded similar to her own. OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman said in a statement last month that the voice was not intended to represent Johansson and that the company cast the voice actor beforehand. Out of respect to Johansson, the company paused using the voice within its products, and he apologized for not communicating better.

“This idea that no broadcaster then could really ever leave us if we wanted,” Bernstein said. “We could create A.I. anybody.”

ESPN Not Locked Into Any Particular Format With Lead NBA Broadcast Booth

BSM Staff
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ESPN Not Locked Into Any Particular Format With Lead NBA Broadcast Booth

Earlier in the week, JJ Redick was officially introduced as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in a press conference. Redick was added to the lead NBA on ESPN broadcasting booth following the departure of Doc Rivers during the regular season to become the new head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Entering the season, Redick was part of another broadcast team with Ryan Ruocco and Richard Jefferson. Burke Magnus, the president of content at ESPN, recently sat for an interview on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast and outlined the situation that took place over the last year.

Magnus acknowledged that it was difficult to let go of Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, who had worked alongside Mike Breen to form a trio that called 15 NBA Finals together. Looking back at the decision ESPN made, he believes they revamped the NBA on ESPN team in an innovative manner and had its best studio show in many years. Rivers’ departure, which came after he gave the network a three-year commitment and signed a contract where it was written that he was not going to return to coaching, presented a challenge for ESPN within the year.

“I thought JJ really stepped up and filled in at a very high level,” Magnus said. “By the way, if he ever wants to come back and be a broadcaster after coaching, I think we all know; I think the world knows now that he’s a great basketball mind, and he certainly has a bright future in our world if he ever finds himself in it again.”

ESPN has utilized a three-person broadcast booth for the NBA Finals in every year since 2014; however, it is not a construction towards which the network needs to adhere going forward. While Magnus acknowledged that Breen, Jackson and Van Gundy executed the games at a very high level for a sustained period of time, the network is not necessarily tied to the idea. Magnus conveyed that it depends on the personalities that are involved as it pertains to how many people are involved in the broadcast booth.

“We’re going to look at everything,” Magnus said. “I mean, with the only exception – I’ll give you this breaking news right now – Mike Breen’s not going anywhere, right, so that position is filled and now we have to work, and Mike will have a seat at the table in that conversation too because chemistry is an enormous part of it, so no, we’re not locked into any particular format there.”

The NBA is reportedly formalizing media rights contracts with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), NBCUniversal and Amazon’s Prime Video, according to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. While no announcement has been made at the moment, the deals are reportedly expected to be worth $76 billion collectively over the term of the agreement. Magnus discussed the NBA on ESPN earlier in the podcast, conveying that the network feels good about its position within the negotiating process.

“Obviously I can’t confirm anything, which probably doesn’t surprise you at all, but I can say that the team has been working really, really diligently over a long period of time at this point, and based on the existing relationship that we have with the NBA over many years and also the current state of it, which I would say is very, very good and strong, positive, productive, great two-way street, great collaboration with Adam and his team,” Magnus said. “We feel relatively confident about our future with the league as they work to finalize everything with all of their partners.”

Magnus stated that he recently read that it has been nearly two months of saying that the deals will be complete in two weeks. As everyone awaits a resolution, there are still questions surrounding the breadth of the matching rights clause within Warner Bros. Discovery’s contract and how it could be used to attempt to potentially keep the NBA intact. ESPN reportedly came to a handshake agreement on a deal during the 90-day exclusive negotiating window for incumbent rightsholders, which, if finalized, would extend its media rights with the league that resumed in 2002.

“I don’t know – it’s no secret they have a lot of things to work out with various facets of the deal, many of which don’t impact or involve us, so I know, or at least I’m confident having spent some time with them at Finals and games and playoff games along the way, that they’re just as anxious as the rest of the world and the industry to finalize this so we all can move on.”

Audacy Promotes Jeff Sottolano to Chief Programming Officer

BNM Staff
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Audacy Promotes Jeff Sottolano to Chief Programming Officer

Audacy has announced it has elevated Jeff Sottolano to the role of Chief Programming Officer as part of a multi-year extension keeping him with the radio giant.

“I consider myself so fortunate to work with our programmers, talent, anchors, reporters and producers who, together, build incredible brands, entertain and inform, and make a difference in the lives of millions of consumers every day,” said Sottolano. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to do so at Audacy and believe that our best days are ahead of us. I am grateful to Susan Larkin, David Field, and so many others for the privilege of doing what I do and calling it work.”

Sottolano has worked for the company since 2001, rising to the role of Executive Vice President and Head of Programming in 2021. In his new role, Sottolano will be responsible for content strategy of the company’s local radio brands and will also work with the streaming and podcast distribution platform teams.

“Jeff has a track record of success. He and our programming and brand leaders have executed market-winning content strategies and initiatives that deliver for our listeners and advertisers,” said Audacy Chief Operating Officer Susan Larkin. “Jeff’s leadership has been instrumental in elevating our performance across all platforms, and this promotion underscores our confidence in his ability to continue growing our best-in-class brand portfolio.”   

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