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Greg Gutfeld to Host Fox News Show Live From Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

BNM Staff
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Greg Gutfeld to Host Fox News Show Live From Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Fox News has announced that Greg Gutfeld will host his popular late-night program from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next month.

Gutfeld! will be on location from Monday, July 15th through Thursday, July 18th in Milwaukee, hosting his show outside Fiserv Forum in front of a live audience alongside Kat Timpf and various other panelists.

Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum are slated to host special primetime coverage of the convention as part of Fox News’ Democracy 24: Republican National Convention coverage. When their special primetime coverage concludes, Gutfeld will host his program at 11 PM ET.

To this point in 2024, Gutfeld! is the highest-rated program in cable news and is in the midst of its most-watched year in program history, as it averages more than 2.2 million viewers.

Dan Dakich: ‘Stephen A. Smith is a Race-Baiter, That’s All He Has’

BSM Staff
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Dan Dakich: ‘Stephen A. Smith is a Race-Baiter, That’s All He Has’

Dan Dakich had a strong reaction to something Stephen A. Smith said recently on First Take. Smith and Doug Gottlieb had a war of words after Smith said black head coaches had contacted him complaining about LeBron James doing a podcast with JJ Redick while his black head coach, Darvin Ham, was on the hot seat.

Smith had said, “Black coaches called a Black commentator to complain about a Black superstar doing a podcast while his Black head coach was on the hot seat before he ultimately lost the damn job. What does that have to do with white folks? Some things are none of your damn business.”

During his Don’t @ Me show on OutKick.com, Dakich did not hold back on his opinion of Smith and what he said.

“Stephen A. Smith told white people, ‘Stay out of it, it’s black people’s business,’ with regard to Darvin Ham being on the hot seat and black coaches allegedly texting and getting ahold of Smith,” Dakich said. “I say ‘allegedly’ because he is clearly a liar. All you gotta do is follow Jason Whitlock and Stephen A. Smith’s bulls**t basketball career and you know Stephen A. Smith is the Joe Biden of television, but he alleges that coaches, black coaches, are mad that a white guy, JJ Redick is doing a podcast with a black guy, LeBron James.

“It upset coaches, black coaches, because their black brother, Darvin Ham was on the hot seat. Well, that’s fine, I get it. And if it happened, so what? They’re upset. Hey, go over in the corner and be upset. But Stephen A. Smith is now taking it to another level. Stephen A. Smith is now saying, ‘Hey man, it’s a black thing. He was upset because Doug Gottlieb on FOX called him a race-baiter. Well, Stephen A. Smith is a race baiter that’s all he has. He has nothing else. He has shown he knows nothing about basketball by being on NBA Countdown, absolutely no personality for a real show. Sure, he’s fine on his yelling and screaming show where he can dominate a guest, act like he knows something, talk over people, but he knows zip.

Dakich talked about having Smith on his Indianapolis radio show once and said he cut him off and ended the interview early.

“He was just yelling and screaming and talking. I get it, that’s his schtick and he’s gonna make a lot of money. But the whole idea of ‘White folk stay out of this’ is complete bulls**t. Then Stephen A. Smith, you stay your ass out of Caitlin Clark, and all of your African American colleagues, stay your ass outta little white girl stuff. Imagine how that would go over if somebody said it. ‘Hey Stephen stay your ass outta hockey, stay your ass outta anything where white people are involved. Stay your ass outta most things.’

“How about, white people stay your ass outta listening to Stephen A. Smith and paying attention to Stephen A. Smith. I put a ban on Stephen A. Smith, but this really pissed me off. Because I can’t stand racism. I just can’t stand it. And I think all of the people like Stephen A. Smith are deep down incredibly racist.”

Isis ‘Ice’ Young Earns Expanded Role with Yahoo Sports

BSM Staff
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Isis ‘Ice’ Young Earns Expanded Role with Yahoo Sports

Yahoo Sports announced some additions to its team around NCAA Tournament time for men’s and women’s basketball. At the time, Yahoo added NBA player Danny Green, three-time NCAA Final Four participant Ros Gold-Onwude as well as three-time NCAA Tournament participant Isis ‘Ice’ Young as analysts. Young has now earned a more expanded role with the company.

Yahoo Sports president Ryan Spoon posted the announcement on his LinkedIn saying, “Ahead of tomorrow’s NBA Draft, we are thrilled to welcome Isis ‘Ice’ Young to an expanded role at Yahoo Sports. Ice will now serve as a Yahoo Sports host & analyst covering men’s and women’s basketball. She will also host our NBA Draft live show.”

Young spent three years at Syracuse along with stops at Florida, Fordham and Siena. In her graduate year at Siena, she led the MAAC in scoring at 18.8 points per game. She also played pro basketball in Greece and has worked with the Connecticut Sun’s broadcasting team as a color commentator.

Young previously worked as a reporter, analyst and sideline reporter for the ACC Network, and was an on-screen producer for the Women’s Sports Update show about women’s sports at Syracuse.

Young comes from an extremely athletic family. Her mom played field hockey in college, her brother plays professional soccer in Germany, and her sister played college soccer.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson: We Wanted to Return Debates to ‘Simple, Classical Format’

BNM Staff
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CNN CEO Mark Thompson: We Wanted to Return Debates to ‘Simple, Classical Format’

CNN is scheduled to host the first 2024 presidential debate Thursday night, and CEO Mark Thompson wanted to return debates to a more simplistic format.

“I wanted a return to a very simple, classical format,” Thompson told The New York Times while mentioning the famous 1960 televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon as inspiration for the network’s decisions on rules and format for the high-profile event.

During Thursday’s debate between former President Donald Trump (R) and President Joe Biden (D), the microphones of the non-answerer will be muted. No live audience will be in attendance. CNN is also bucking decades of precedent by featuring commercial breaks during the 90-minute debate. During those breaks, candidates will not be able to consult with their campaign staff.

Many conservatives have questioned why Trump would agree to a debate with such rules, and have also questioned why he would welcome a debate on a network like CNN. Charges of political bias have been lobbied against the network since his rise to the presidency in 2016.

Thompson said that while he’s happy both campaigns agreed to the debate, the network plans to let Trump and Biden be the stars of the show.

“The fact that we got it was something of a moment for us,” Thompson said. “Much of the reaction of the public, the rest of the media, and other politicians is going to depend on President Trump and President Biden, who are the stars of the show.”

Chris Curtis: It’s Obscene How Announcers Think Someone Else’s Achievement is About Them

BSM Staff
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Chris Curtis: It’s Obscene How Announcers Think Someone Else’s Achievement is About Them

The city of Boston just went through a championship win with the Boston Celtics taking home the NBA Championship this year. But it was the championship won by the NHL’s Florida Panthers, their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, that had The Greg Hill Show on WEEI talking this morning. Hosts Greg Hill, Jermaine Wiggins, Courtney Cox and producer Chris Curtis had talked about the game earlier, but later got into the final call by the Panthers’ radio announcers and Chris Curtis was not a fan of it at all.

“Can we just get to this unbelievable sound?” Curtis asked. “…I really think we should rip someone that doesn’t work with us.”

Curtis then played the audio of the last ten seconds of the broadcast with Panthers broadcasters Doug Plagens and Bill Lindsay.

“Ten seconds left, 2-1 Panthers,” Plagens said. “A dream 30 years in the making is real. The Florida Panthers have won the Stanley Cup.” This was followed by Lindsay yelling, “Lord Stanley is coming hoooooome.”

“Stop it right there,” Curtis said. “First of all, Lord Stanley, if he was cryogenically frozen like Ted Williams, would never return to a place he never visited, which is Sunrise, Florida. There is more hockey in Sudan than there is in Southern Florida. It is obscene how these people all across radio, mostly Syracuse ‘johnnies’ that think someone else’s achievement is about them.

“You are the conduit to the audience to enjoy…Maybe there are a handful of people that grew up watching the Panthers. Yesterday meant a lot to them. Allow the call to stand for what you are celebrating don’t make the call about you.”

Then, Curtis really went in and started with a local announcer who does something similar to what he was describing the Panthers’ announcers did.

“Sean Grande does this all the effing time,” Curtis said. “He writes out soliloquies. Sean, you didn’t do anything, you’re just telling us what they did. It’s not about you, you dullards. Bill Lindsay screaming on Doug Plagens of course Syracuse master’s degree, that’s where you learn to talk like someone who sounds like someone you have never met in your life while they’re trying to be relatable.”

“He went to Newhouse, Curtis,” Hill chimed in.

“If you need to go to Newhouse to get a job, you’re not that good,” Curtis said.

Wiggins disagreed a bit with Curtis’ take saying, “I like a homer broadcaster who feels the emotion of getting into it. The color guy who played for the team who gets emotional when you win.”

Stephen A. Smith Reportedly Looking for a ‘Pat McAfee Agreement’ with ESPN

BSM Staff
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Stephen A. Smith Reportedly Looking for a ‘Pat McAfee Agreement’ with ESPN

Last week John Ourand of Puck reported the news that negotiations had begun between ESPN and top personality Stephen A. Smith, host and Executive Producer of First Take. The report said ESPN had made an initial offer of 5 years and $90 million which would make Smith the top paid talent at ESPN. Yesterday Ourand reported the deal Smith is looking for is similar to the deal ESPN has with Pat McAfee which brought his The Pat McAfee Show over from Fan Duel.

Ourand writes, “…Smith covets the blockbuster deal that the network used to persuade McAfee to decamp last year from FanDuel. Notably, ESPN pays McAfee’s production company, which operates his talk show, $25 million a year—a fee that covers all its operating costs: salaries, insurance, fixed costs, etcetera. ESPN has also offered him about $5 million a year to appear on College GameDay, sources told me. (McAfee has yet to sign the deal.)”

Some in the media have responded to the story about Smith’s contract and point to how much work he is already doing for ESPN and how often he appears on the network. According to Ourand, Smith isn’t looking for less work, he may in fact be looking for more.

Ourand wrote in his subscription newsletter, The Varsity, that he has been told Smith and his agents with WME have said Smith would like to be more involved in production, appear on more of its NFL programs and be available for anything needed by the advertising and affiliate relations departments.

Smith has not commented on the current negotiations, but when asked by Clay Travis recently if being the highest paid person at ESPN is important to him, Smith said:

“Yes. I’m not stuttering. Hell yes. I’ve mastered my own business. In the world of sports television, Clay Travis, I’ve been number one for twelve years…not only have I been number one every year I’ve been number one every week and every month of every year for the last twelve years. You don’t get to say that about too many people…I am so honored to have the colleagues I have…I’m the one that’s been No. 1 and at the end of the day, it would be nice one day for this man to stand before everyone and be like, ‘I’m No. 1 and this says I’m No. 1.”

CNN Launches Podcast Mini-Series Hosted By John King

BNM Staff
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CNN Launches Podcast Mini-Series Hosted By John King

CNN has announced a new podcast mini-series hosted by former Inside Politics host John King.

All Over the Map with John King is a three-part podcast series looking at what voters in 2024 battleground states are prioritizing as the presidential election approaches.

“We started All Over the Map to track the campaign through the eyes and experiences of the voters who will settle who wins,” said King. “Everyday Americans are too often left out of the conversation. But we are learning so much as we visit them and the counties and towns that will be decisive come November. It’s a more thoughtful, more personal, and more nuanced conversation than you get from the politicians.”

In the first episode, King speaks with two Republican Pennsylvania voters who still support Nikki Haley instead of the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The podcast will be available in the same feed as The Assignment with Audie Cornish.

X to Require Premium Subscription to Live Stream on Platform

BNM Staff
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X to Require Premium Subscription to Live Stream on Platform

X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, has announced plans to require a premium subscription to stream live video on the app.

“Starting soon, only Premium subscribers will be able to live stream (create live video streams) on X,” the company shared. “This includes going live from an encoder with X integration. Upgrade to Premium to continue going live.” 

The timing of the implementation of the new policy was unclear. However, should the platform choose to put that policy in place, it would be the first social media app to require such a subscription.

Currently, X offers premium subscriptions for as low as $3 per month for the basic package. The premium tier costs $8, while Premium+ will cost users $16 per month.

Give Me Less College GameDay, More Game

Demetri Ravanos
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The fate of Pat McAfee, as it relates to College GameDay, is uncertain. McAfee has his pride and almost certainly didn’t enjoy being nitpicked by fans for every little thing last season. The show does not absolutely have to have him, but I do think he is more of a net positive than negative for the show. Plus, as I have written before, the network put an awful lot of effort into building rapport between him and Nick Saban last year. It’s hard to imagine ESPN doesn’t find a way to ensure they are working together this season.

McAfee’s drama is what has fans and industry types speculating on the future of College GameDay right now, but there’s something else I have been thinking about lately. Let’s give McAfee a break. Lord knows he has spent enough time as the focus of everyone’s College GameDay criticisms for the last two years.

I want to know how much longer the show intends to stay at three hours. That’s too much pregame show. If you cut out all of Desmond Howard’s and Kirk Herbstreit’s fake laughter, you probably only have 90 minutes of content stretched out to twice that length.

College football is one of my favorite things in the world. It’s an easy thing to say when Bama is your alma matter, but I don’t just watch the Crimson Tide. I watch EVERYTHING on a Saturday and I still don’t think I get enough.

So I have a radical two-part proposal. In the morning, I need less GameDay and more games. I think the average fan would be just fine with a one-hour pregame show, but I don’t expect ESPN to cut a valuable property down that severely. Instead, let’s settle on a two-hour show. The party can still start at 9 am, just stop at 11 instead of noon.

For that last hour? Start an East Coast game an hour earlier. It shouldn’t be hard for the network that controls all of the SEC and ACC inventory. Just be fair about it. Make sure all of the home teams are in the Eastern time zone and none of the visitors are from the West Coast or Rocky Mountains.

Think of the list of teams that gives you access to: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee from the SEC, the entire ACC outside of the three new additions, and Cincinnati, West Virginia and UCF in the Big 12. 

Even if ESPN wanted to accommodate playoff contenders like Georgia and Tennessee, there’s still a rich inventory of games they could offer at 11 am. Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech will probably be a top 25 matchup, but it is Power Four conference football. Plus, those are schools that should be happy to be on TV at all, so if you are offering them a spotlight time slot on ESPN, who are they to complain? You can swap those names for just about anyone in the ACC or Big 12 and it still works.

There’s a big difference between star power and mass appeal. McAfee and Saban have star power. Football has mass appeal. GameDay cannot deliver the numbers live football can.

On top of that reality, there’s the fact that it’s a decided advantage ESPN has over it’s top competitor. FOX may have the most valuable league in college sports, but they have spent years branding their coverage around the noon hour. Big Noon Kickoff, Big Noon Saturday. That network could not make the same move to 11 am kickoffs without spending huge money on a new marketing campaign. 

Now, let’s talk about part two of this idea. Take Rece Davis, Saban and Howard and give me a meaningful, insightful recap show after the final game of the night on ESPN comes to an end. That, I think, would have even more value to fans than GameDay.

The NFL is and always will be king, but there is a very large population that isn’t ready to jump into fantasy advice the second we wake up on Sunday. Pro games don’t kick off until 1 pm on the East Coast. Why can’t we keep the college conversation going until like 10 am?

College Football Final is fine, but it isn’t at all dynamic. Think of it this way, that replay that’s looped on ESPNU Sunday mornings, if you’re just flipping around, are you more likely to stop if you see Dan Mullen offering an opinion or Nick Saban?

Ultimately, I don’t expect the decision makers at ESPN will consider my idea. Maybe they will, but they’ll dismiss it. It’s always easier to stick with business as usual, and to be fair, the current way of doing things has been very profitable for them, so who the hell am I, right?

However, this is sort of a continuation of the piece I wrote last week about how the network is approaching negotiations with Stephen A. Smith. If you’re building a media company for the future, you have to focus on getting more meaningful games on TV more often. They are the only things that truly move the needle. Football will always be more valuable than football talk.

Seller to Seller: Sales Meeting

Dave Greene
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Seller to Seller: Sales Meeting

C’mon in everyone. Hope your week is off to a great start and you are excited for this week’s sales meeting. Chances are, you’ve already taken advantage of our topic today, which is technology. Some of you probably took out your phone today, looked at the weather forecast to figure out what to wear, or maybe you pulled up the Starbucks app and ordered your morning coffee, which you then paid for with Apple pay.

I still marvel every time I am watching my home cable system, through my phone, with a beautifully clear picture. I am old enough to remember my family having a small television in our kitchen with rabbit ears and sometimes you would have to smack the side of it to hope the picture got better. Now, I can whip out my phone, pull up anything I want in the universe to watch and see it clearly, even on an airplane.

Technology is great. Except for when it comes to sales.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are things about technology that have helped those of us in sales greatly. No more recording the ad on a reel and driving it over to the other station or ad agency that needs it. Just get it in your email and send it on over, or you can even text it over.

The problem is, like a lot of things when it comes to electronic forms of communication, too much gets lost when you are not face-to-face, and the worst part is the person on the other end can’t tell at all if you are passionate about what it is that you are selling. And that has been a huge negative when it comes to trying to communicate with people through email and text or by sliding into their DMs.

The biggest challenge most sellers face is setting appointments with new prospects. We used to call it cold calling but somehow a lot of places let the ‘calling’ part slip away and it became a game of how many emails and LinkedIn messages you could send in a day. And as we all know, the chance you have of someone getting back to you about a first-time meeting through one of those channels is slim. So, why waste the time?

Some would argue that people do not want to be cold called any longer and they would prefer you reach out to them electronically. Of course, that is because it’s easier for them to ignore you or say no to the meeting without actually talking to you. Which, when you think about it, is the exact opposite of what we as sellers want. We want to be in front of them.

So, this is where it gets challenging, but also where we separate the good sellers and the great sellers, or more importantly, the ones who make ok money and the ones who make big money. It is clearly much, much harder today to get that yes to that first meeting. So, we have to work that much harder to get it. And if you want to be successful in this industry, you have to be putting yourself in positions to be in front of people as often as possible.

Whether it is a networking group, Chamber of Commerce event, stopping into businesses, going to games and events or any other way you can be in front of a group of people, if you aren’t doing these sorts of things on a regular basis, you are missing out on a ton of new relationship opportunities.

If you have determined that you are going to meet your financial goals by emailing and sending LinkedIn messages all day, it is going to be a short career for you, and you might want to start looking up new ways to season your Ramen noodles. This is a people business and not many people stop by the studio or office to say hello and ask if anyone is in that can sell them some advertising.

The biggest part of this is the passion with which you sell your product. I believe that you have to have that passion to really make it big in the sports media sales business, and let’s face it, that is why most of us are in the business in the first place. We love it. Many of us eat, sleep and breathe sports. That passion comes out when you talk about what you do and how you can help a local business with the tools and resources you have at your disposal using sports radio as the catalyst. That passion can get you meetings, it can get you sales, it can get you referrals and it can make you rich.

Let people see it. Make a promise to yourself that you’re going to do x number of things every month to increase your time in front of the business community in your area. That is where you will make new connections.

Sales managers, I would encourage you to ask your team weekly in one-on-ones about this time and figure out who is putting in the work to really go out and make new relationships and who is doing the equivalent of ‘sitting by the fax machine waiting for orders.’

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