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What Ebro Leaving HOT 97 Has Already Proven

Phil Becker
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What Ebro Leaving HOT 97 Has Already Proven

In December, when Ebro in the Morning wrapped at Hot 97, many saw it as an ending. I saw it as an evolution.

Not because radio stopped mattering. Because radio had done its job.

That’s the part many in broadcasting still miss. We keep treating the station like the product when the station is the billboard/amplifier/awareness machine/daily reminder/habit builder. If done right, radio can have more slashes than Crystal Lake.

After Hot 97 ended the morning show, within days, Ebro, Laura Stylez, and Peter Rosenberg launched The Ebro, Laura & Rosenberg Show as a daily live YouTube show. The show runs weekdays from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., with a subscriber-only Patreon version every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Hot 97 gave them a legendary platform, repetition, familiarity, cultural weight, and a very underrated and funny VH1 reality show. It helped create one of the most recognizable morning show relationships in hip-hop; a show that understands there is no digital sequel without the terrestrial original (sounds like a ship that would be commandeered by Mando and Grogu).

Equity Is Portable

For legacy thinkers still clinging to the idea that the building is the brand and the talent is just lucky to be inside the door, here’s the reality: talent at Ebro’s level was always building portable equity. Every Guru break, every Nicki Minaj Summer Jam no-show, every viral moment with Lil Uzi Vert or Kanye was doing more than serving the station. Those moments built trust, familiarity, and cultural authority in Ebro, Laura, and Rosenberg themselves.

Ebro was never just a New York morning host.

At Apple Music, he is the host of The Ebro Show and Rap Life Radio, as well as the company’s Global Editorial Head of Hip-Hop and R&B. Apple has also positioned him front and center around its Super Bowl Halftime Show coverage, including programming tied to the halftime appearances of Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, and Rihanna. He has also been one of the contributors to Verzuz, the battle series made famous through Apple and Complex.

So Ebro leaving Hot 97 was not some local personality trying to figure out YouTube in a panic. That’s more what I’m doing.

He’s not trying to become digital. He was already living there. Hot 97 just happened to still be the most visible piece of the old structure.

Radio Is the Promotion. Digital Is the Product.

Radio gave him mass awareness. Social gives him audience portability. YouTube gives him archive, discovery, and monetizable passive shelf life. Patreon gives him intimacy, premium access, and recurring revenue.

And hand-selecting his team gives him control over cadence, packaging, clips, messaging, and monetization. That’s not a side hustle until he finds his next station, the next station is the side hustle and lucky to be along for the ride (plus, a radio station wearing sidecar goggles is adorable imagery).

In less than 90 days, the new show has reached 63,000 YouTube subscribers, generated more than 4 million views, produced social clips that have pulled in tens of millions of views, established a direct relationship with listeners through daily podcasts, and built a paid Patreon layer starting at $10 a month.

What we’re watching is not a nostalgia brand merely surviving the jump, it’s an audience being successfully converted into a direct-to-consumer media product.

On the surface, there are shades of Stern going to Sirius or The Breakfast Club expanding to Netflix. But while those were digital extensions through larger company-owned platforms, Ebro, Laura, and Rosenberg are doing this independently.

And, honestly, there’s nothing more hip-hop than that (I think I just titled my debut hip-hop album).

The Opportunity Hot 97 Didn’t Take

The basic lens would say, “poor Ebro,” or “radio is dying,” or “look, another creator economy pivot.” What I see is something deeper. Something preventable. And something broadcasters should study.

Hot 97 had a talent who was not only huge in New York radio, but also globally connected to Apple Music. Hot had a chance to think beyond one market, one daypart, one syndication deal.

Management had a chance to ask a level-201 question: how do we use radio, streaming, digital, and social together to make this brand and the Hot brand even bigger while attaching our name to the upside?

That would have been the expansive move, but companies often confuse expansive with expensive. Vowels, they’ll get you every time. Just ask the contestants on Wheel.

A New Morning Show Model Is the Old Morning Show Model

Now, the show doesn’t have to fit inside today’s terrestrial logic. It doesn’t have to worry about line items, PPM tactics, or overly sponsored features. It can be designed around audience behavior, live video, clipped social moments, searchable archives, direct membership, premium extensions, merch, and community.

That’s not abandoning radio. That’s getting back to the reason radio was built!

Promotion.

Awareness.

Habit formation.

Top-of-funnel power.

Side note: Dyson needs to trademark “top-of-funnel” power.

Betting on Himself

Ebro is self-funding this operation, building out a top-tier studio and staffing it with his former co-hosts and people who understand chemistry, storytelling, tone, POV, and product, including former Hot 97 morning show producer Jason Griffin and a broad off-mic team of producers, editors, designers, and video talent.

This isn’t being treated like a hobby. It isn’t a post-radio vanity project. That’s more what I’m doing.

Ebro is approaching this like a product launch, complete with catchphrases, merch, and elevated quality.

On paper, moving from a four-hour terrestrial morning show to a one-hour daily live YouTube venture can sound like downsizing.

It’s not.

Strip music, spots, promos, and service elements out of a morning show, and the actual content core is about an hour. This cast spent 13 years mastering exactly that rhythm.

The Lesson for Those of Us Not Named Ebro (AKA all of us)

This idea resonates far beyond Ebro.

Every talent in radio should be paying attention to this. Not because everybody needs to quit tomorrow. Not because stations are the enemy. In fact, it’s the opposite. And not because every host can pull off what Ebro can pull off. They can’t. I’ve already accepted that Phil-Up Your Nights probably isn’t taking off.

But because the blueprint is sitting right there in plain sight: use broadcast to build demand, then use digital to capture value, data, different revenue streams, and new fans.

And the companies that understand that will build stronger brands. They’ll have higher ratings, more digital relevance, and less dependence on the whims of Nielsen or the pricing structure of an ad agency they can’t control. They’ll also have a better shot at lowering the median age of the audience they serve.

Hot 97 may have ended the show.

But they accidentally unlocked the new business for the rest of us.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

The TikTok Jock: How Josh ‘Bru’ Brubaker Bridges Radio and Social Media

Jim Ryan
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The TikTok Jock: How Josh ‘Bru’ Brubaker Bridges Radio and Social Media

This week I’m introducing you to someone who might be the first TikTok jock. Someone who has millions of followers on social media, yet has an unabashed love of radio. Josh “Bru” Brubaker was just added to the lineup at WNEW in New York this week.

He continues on all of the Audacy CHR stations, led by B96 in Chicago.

Even though his entry into radio happened just 10 years ago at age 18, his early story is like those of a different generation.

Jim Ryan: Let’s start at the beginning. How did you ever get interested in radio and decide to pursue it as a career?

Bru: Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, we had a long drive into school every morning. So we’d listen to the great Mojo in the Morning. There was another show on KISS FM Toledo we liked, and we’d float around to WNIC and Jim Harper on 105.1. My mom, sister, brother, and I built relationships with these people on the radio. It’s one of those things I never really knew was a path or even an option as a career.

My grandpa bought me a little cassette recorder. And I would record fake shows with an iPad for sound effects, use my sister as a contestant, do games, fake callers, and all that. I did that growing up and always had a desire to entertain. It wasn’t until I stumbled across a school in Southeast Michigan — Specs Howard School of Media Arts — that it clicked in my brain that this could be a path. Honestly, at first, my ultimate goal was to end up on SportsCenter, because sports is such a passion of mine.

When I got into that school, they would teach you radio on some days and TV on the others. But there was something about radio — getting to be in the studio and find your voice. That unlocked a different level of comfort and creativity. I love music and people and how the two come together.

I ended up falling in love with that side of things. At 18, I started pursuing internships. Those turned into part-time jobs. I’d then bother every PD I could get in touch with, and began the radio gauntlet of bouncing around. I was lucky to stay pretty close to my home state of Michigan. I eventually ended up in Detroit. That obviously led me to where I am now, 10 years later. It feels like it’s been one year and also 30 — but an absolute blast. I wouldn’t change a thing.

How TikTok Helped

JR: How did social media come about for you? Was it a companion to your radio show, or was it a separate goal to be big on TikTok and Instagram?

Bru: It almost became like a void filler. When COVID hit, it cut a bunch of stuff that we all love so much about radio. I was starting to get my footing in Detroit. So it was my first experience doing promos, going to concerts, interacting with listeners, and putting on our own station shows. I really began to value and love that community we built. Once that was gone, I started looking for a way to continue it and still reach people who were craving the type of connection radio provided.

Social media grew into something even beyond that. I think the very first TikTok I did was about a sleep app recorder I used, and I had some wild response during a nightmare that went nuts. Then I recorded myself talking about it on the radio, and people just became really intrigued with what I was doing.

It felt like a bridge for the next generation that really hadn’t experienced radio yet, or what the medium was. It blew my mind that kids were commenting, “What is this?” or “What is radio?” It snowballed into different series of content. Showing behind the scenes of my job and life. Doing trends with games on air. Or letting followers chime in with words to use on the radio. And it was a great all-encompassing thing that shared my personality while also shedding light on our station and something I was really passionate about.

When all those things come together, it just works so well. I’ve learned that usually a piece of content or a story that works on the radio will work on social media. It’s about knowing how to reformat it for the right platform. They play off each other, and it’s been working so far.

JR: I think one of your secrets is that you’re very likable and have a lot of charisma. But short of having a great personality, what would you suggest other radio people do to grow their social media presence?

Bru: I think it’s finding the thing you truly love to do — content you can’t wait to make over and over. Not saying it’s always easy, but you’re inspired to do it. It doesn’t have to be focused on radio either. People will be drawn to you.

We can all fall victim to solely doing trends that are just content to throw up online and maybe get a one-off viral moment. But when you find what’s unique to your voice and passion, that’s when the community will come. I look back at old videos I did and think, ‘These are edited so poorly.’ Or ‘These just aren’t best practices for great-performing content.’ But it was so genuinely what I found interesting and entertaining, and people are drawn to that.

JR: How many followers do you currently have across all your platforms?

Bru: A little over five million. TikTok’s the biggest, with about four and a half million over there, but YouTube and Instagram provide great opportunities to try out content as well.

Balancing Social Media and Radio

JR: This week you’re starting on WNEW in New York, a station with a couple million listeners every week. Will that grow your social media platform?

Bru: It’s tough to say in that scope. It’s interesting because I’m lucky to have followers from all over, and certainly some in New York. I think it’ll be a really fun opportunity to work with WNEW’s team — on air and on socials — to connect with the strong audience they already have. I’m ready to help in any way I can. I’m so excited to make content in New York and bring my audience on this journey of being on air in such an iconic city and market. I feel like that’s what people will connect with.

JR: Social media has afforded you so many opportunities to travel the world. Of all the amazing things you’ve done, what is the most memorable?

Bru: That’s probably the thing I’m most grateful for in that aspect of my career. It’s hard to pick one, but the few that immediately pop into my head are: my first-ever international travel, getting to film The Circle with Netflix in Manchester, England back in 2021 — that whole thing still feels like a fever dream. Working with NBC for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where I basically got to live my best Parisian summer life in a dream job. And getting to take my dad out of the country for his first time to Rome to see the Ryder Cup in 2023 with Ralph Lauren. All-time memories.

Defining Yourself

JR: You won Sports Emmys for your work at the Olympics. When you meet someone new, what do you tell them you do?

Bru: I always start by saying I’m on the radio. I always lead with that. People will mention the Netflix show or interviews — people really want to know what Harry Styles smells like, or they’ll say they know me from my girlfriend or from TikTok — but I always say I’m a radio host. Then I’ll say I make some videos on social media.

Radio is my first passion and love. And I wouldn’t still be doing it if I didn’t absolutely love it. I’m so honored to be a part of the stations and brands I’m on at Audacy. I love learning new things and growing and becoming a better on-air talent. Because I think it really does help everything else I’m doing in my career.

I will also say, radio people are some of the best at being multi-faceted. Whether that’s storytelling, hosting, social media, or marketing. Through all the hosting jobs I’ve been blessed to get through social media, when I get client feedback, it’s always about how impressed they are with the ability to interview, hold a conversation, and make someone feel comfortable.

Those are all things radio taught me. Those skills are so valuable. And being able to let them shine in different formats like social media is a way to let the world know how special radio is.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

ABC’s ‘The Bachelorette’ Scandal Exposes What’s Rotten in Network TV

Lauren Ashburn
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ABC’s ‘The Bachelorette’ Scandal Exposes What’s Rotten in Network TV

When an explosive video leaked showing Taylor Frankie Paul — the controversial lead character of ABC’s The Bachelorette — throwing chairs at her ex-boyfriend in 2023 while her child cried nearby, it raised a painfully obvious question. This isn’t just about her spectacular misconduct. It’s about why the network chose to make her a star in the first place.

TMZ posted the 2023 video last week of her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, filming her chasing him in front of her daughter. She was arrested for alleged domestic violence and faced misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief, and domestic violence in the presence of a child. CBS News reported at the time that she faced child abuse charges.

She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and is currently on a three-year probation, while other charges were dropped.

And police just confirmed a current “domestic assault” investigation between Taylor and her ex.

Season 22 of the long-running romantic reality series was filmed and set to debut on Hulu on Sunday. In a rare, last-minute moment of self-preservation, ABC pulled the plug, sending the media, the show’s legion of fans, and the entertainment industry itself into a full-blown meltdown. The network is forfeiting $35 million in advertising, the Wall Street Journal says.

“We have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” ABC said.

Was the video deliberately leaked to torpedo the program? Mortensen, her ex-boyfriend, has dismissed the idea and has filed a restraining order as he seeks custody of their 2-year-old son, Ever.

A spokesperson for Paul told People magazine, “It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child.”

Paul recently starred in Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. She was cast because her chaotic personal life had already drawn millions of viewers online when she created #MomTok, featuring eight Utah-based influencer moms.

Disney/ABC executives clearly knew what they were getting by hiring Paul as the Bachelorette star. In the first episode of Wives, she was taken away in handcuffs by police for a domestic disturbance. It seems pretty clear the network wanted her crazy antics — no matter how immoral or illegal — to translate into cash. Ratings and revenue have been sagging.

And they know their audience. A contestant on the 24th season of The Bachelor admitted she was “a little bit bummed” the season won’t air because, “I wanted to watch this train wreck.”

In an era when reality television increasingly blurs the line between entertainment and real-life dysfunction, the decision to continue developing a show tied to a figure who faced serious legal trouble feels less like an oversight and more like a cold-blooded calculation. Why? Controversy drives clicks, and clicks drive revenue.

Some networks don’t seem to be vetting characters responsibly and may well be normalizing a troubling new standard.

Reality TV, going back to such shows as Survivor, has always thrived on over-the-top personalities and their chaotic personal sagas. But there is a difference between casting someone who can catfight and casting someone entangled in criminal behavior. Background checks are not optional — they are absolutely essential.

If Paul’s arrest came after production began, the question becomes even sharper: What protocols are in place when a participant’s circumstances change so dramatically? And if the behavior predated the casting, as in this case, the failure by ABC is all the more glaring. Either way, it points to a breakdown — or a deliberate unraveling — of “standards,” which obviously requires air quotes.

Rachel Lindsay, the first Black lead of The Bachelorette in 2017, told NBC: “This is bad for Disney. This is bad for Hulu … because somebody is going to have to take the blame for not vetting this out.” But will they? I doubt it.

This happened in the first week of the new Disney president’s tenure, and he ultimately must have made the call to pull the show, costing ABC a truckload of revenue. Josh D’Amaro had a heck of a welcome. His longtime predecessor, Bob Iger, got out just in time.

In today’s media environment, networks often don’t act until the public forces their hand. That’s not accountability. That’s damage control.

There’s also the repulsive possibility that what we’re seeing isn’t negligence, but strategy. But at what point does documenting someone’s slow unraveling stop being storytelling and cross into sheer exploitation?

Reality TV has long crossed that line. The difference now is scale. Social media turns personal crises into gripping serials before a network even steps in. By the time a show airs, the storyline — and the audience — are already panting for more.

Social media influencers are often paid to promote the program, sometimes without disclosing it. Their value lies in attention. The more chaotic the narrative, the more engagement they generate — the more valuable they become to networks hungry for built-in audiences.

But maybe the most unsettling question is not about the network, but about the audience.

The show’s popularity reveals a cultural appetite for watching people in crisis, even those facing criminal allegations. What does it say about our culture that shows like this are incredibly popular? It’s a vicious circle. Demand creates a powerful incentive for networks to push boundaries further — until their audience, or the media, rebels.

We are no longer just consuming reality TV. We are watching real consequences — not just for stars, but for other contestants, producers, and hired online promoters who put blood, sweat, and tears into the product.

Ultimately, the burden falls on the gatekeepers — in this case, ABC. Networks have the resources and the obligation to vet participants thoroughly and to reassess rather than be overwhelmed by stars behaving badly. As soon as the network knew she broke the law, it should have cut her. And how could it not have known? Her arrest was part of the public record. Their choice not to act prioritized ratings over responsibility.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with airing the trials and tribulations of C-listers and revealing trashy, unbelievable stories. But there is something wrong with airing entertainment featuring those deranged enough to commit crimes while starring in a popular TV show.

Where is the ethical oversight? At some point, networks have to decide whether hiring every viral influencer is worth the risk of not only pulling a show off the air, but ending the franchise forever.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

Will More CNN Personnel Follow Kara Swisher Out the Door When Paramount Skydance Takes Over?

Garrett Searight
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Will More CNN Personnel Follow Kara Swisher Out the Door When Paramount Skydance Takes Over?

Kara Swisher made it crystal clear this week — she’s done with CNN the moment Paramount Skydance completes its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

She’s not quiet about it, either. The question worth asking isn’t whether Swisher means it. It’s whether she’ll have company.

Let’s be honest. CNN has never been a place that embraces change warmly. The network’s resistance to editorial shifts is practically institutional at this point.

Remember Chris Licht? He arrived in 2022 with a mandate from Warner Bros. Discovery to recalibrate the network.

He didn’t last two years.

The internal resistance was fierce. Staffers leaked. Critics piled on. The whole thing collapsed under the weight of its own drama. Licht didn’t just fail — he flamed out. Spectacularly. And a big part of that failure came from people inside the building who simply didn’t want what he was selling.

So here comes Paramount Skydance. Here come the Ellisons. Anyone who believes CNN’s culture has fundamentally changed since the Licht era might want to reconsider.

Look at what’s already happened at CBS News. Larry and David Ellison took over, installed Bari Weiss as Editor-in-Chief, and the departures started almost immediately. Layoffs have been enacted. Twice. CBS News Radio — the venerable division with nearly 100 years of history — will be shuttered in May. Anderson Cooper — one of the biggest names in cable news — walked. Others questioned whether the network could maintain editorial independence. It wasn’t pretty. It still isn’t.

If that’s the preview, CNN’s staff has every reason to be watching closely. And from what we’re hearing, they are. Reports suggest the mood inside CNN right now is, to put it mildly, not great.

Kara Swisher is vocal. She’s financially independent. She’s got her own podcast, her own audience, and her own platform. She said it plainly: she doesn’t have to do this. She can walk. And she will. Those factors make her uniquely positioned to be the first name out the door. They also make her somewhat of an outlier. Most CNN staffers don’t have that same safety net.

But here’s the thing: that safety net is also getting easier to build. It’s never been simpler to go independent in media. Substack, podcasting, YouTube, direct-to-consumer everything. The infrastructure for building your own audience without a network behind you is more accessible now than it’s ever been. Kara Swisher herself is living proof. So is Scott MacFarlane, the former CBS correspondent who just landed at MeidasTouch. The exit ramp exists. It’s well-lit. The pavement is as wide as can be. And it’s gotten a lot less scary.

That matters. It means the calculus for a CNN personality weighing whether to stay or go has genuinely shifted. It’s not just about pride or politics. It’s about practicality. For some, leaving will make sense — financially and professionally.

CNN does need to change. That’s not a controversial take. The ratings have been rough. The media landscape has been brutal to linear news. Something has to give. Whether the Ellisons are the right people to engineer that change is a separate debate — but the network can’t just keep drifting.

Change at CNN has been met with resistance from within. That likely hasn’t gone away. The same instinct that torpedoed Chris Licht’s tenure is still present in that building. Editorial shifts that might be welcomed elsewhere will likely be viewed with deep suspicion inside those walls.

Kara Swisher isn’t the biggest name at CNN. She’s a contributor. She matters, but her departure won’t break the network. What would matter — what would be genuinely significant — is if higher-profile anchors and correspondents start making the same calculation she has. Don’t rule it out.

The combination of cultural resistance and newly accessible independence makes for an interesting dynamic. Some will stay and fight from the inside. Some will quietly adapt. But some — maybe more than Paramount expects — will simply decide it’s not worth it.

Swisher’s making her move. I’d bet you she won’t be the last.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt: Broadcast Must Have “Some Level of Consolidation” To Compete for Sports Rights

BSM Staff
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NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt: Broadcast Must Have “Some Level of Consolidation” To Compete for Sports Rights

As the cost of premium sports rights continues to surge and streaming platforms deepen their foothold in live distribution, the broadcast industry is making a renewed case for structural change. National Association of Broadcasters CEO Curtis LeGeyt says he’s pointing to consolidation as a necessary step for long-term viability.

Speaking on The Varsity podcast with John Ourand, LeGeyt framed the current media landscape as one in which local broadcasters face mounting pressure to keep pace with deep-pocketed competitors, particularly when it comes to securing sports rights. He emphasized that maintaining an over-the-air option for viewers hinges on broadcasters building enough scale to remain competitive in negotiations that increasingly favor larger entities.

“If we’re going to compete for those NFL sports rights, especially at the local level, broadcasters need scale,” LeGeyt said. “The only way to achieve that in this environment is through some level of consolidation.”

That urgency has intensified amid reports that the NFL is seeking significant increases in its next round of media deals, with LeGeyt citing industry chatter suggesting networks could face an additional $1 billion annually in rights fees. Consequently, he argued that smaller or fragmented broadcast groups may struggle to remain in contention without strategic alignment or expansion.

“Our member companies need scale if we’re going to compete for that type of dollar to maintain this must-have programming,” he said. “Scale and consolidation are essential if we’re going to continue serving viewers in a meaningful way.”

At the same time, federal regulators have begun to examine the shifting dynamics of sports distribution. The Federal Communications Commission recently opened an inquiry into the migration of live sports to streaming platforms, prompting input from stakeholders across the media ecosystem.

LeGeyt welcomed the move, describing it as a critical opportunity to reassess policies that were crafted long before streaming became a dominant force.

“We want to ensure policymakers understand the benefits of broad consumer access to premier sports through broadcast,” LeGeyt said, referencing networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX Sports, along with their local affiliates. “Many of these laws were written when broadcasters were only competing against other broadcasters. Streaming didn’t even exist. I think these lawmakers and these agencies are right to ask the question as to whether this legal framework is enabling outcomes that are consumer friendly. Broadcast is going to be a big part of that”

LeGeyt added that the FCC’s inquiry represents a meaningful first step in evaluating whether current regulations still align with consumer interests, particularly as leagues balance revenue growth with audience reach.

“I think the FCC has taken a really important first step here by asking questions around the state of the current media marketplace. How those consumers of sports are being impacted by the significant changes that are going on the media side, with regard to the sports leagues,” he said.

Despite the rapid evolution of distribution models, LeGeyt maintained that traditional broadcast continues to deliver unmatched audience engagement, noting that viewership trends still favor widely accessible platforms for major events.

“Consumers are actually showing up with their eyeballs. Demonstrating that they do have a preference in continuing to access their games through broadcast,” he said. “Companies are telling to the leagues they’re in the game of not just getting the highest dollars in terms of revenue and sports fees. But also ensuring that they’ve got a product that they can engage with the fans. There’s no better game in town than broadcast as it relates to fan engagement.”

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

WFAN’s Craig Carton Hopes Ongoing Gregg Giannotti, Brandon Tierney “Fight” Continues

BSM Staff
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WFAN’s Craig Carton Hopes Ongoing Gregg Giannotti, Brandon Tierney “Fight” Continues

WFAN afternoon host Craig Carton is taking a measured approach as a highly publicized dispute between morning show co-host Gregg Giannotti and former WFAN personality Brandon Tierney continues to gain traction. Carton says he’s choosing to observe rather than participate while acknowledging both the entertainment value and professional realities that come with sports radio feuds.

Speaking Tuesday on The Carton Show with Craig Carton & Chris McMonigle, Carton made it clear he has no immediate plans to join the back-and-forth between former WFAN teammates.

“I’m gonna watch this one from the sidelines for a good majority of it,” Carton said on WFAN Tuesday. “As things evolve, and hopefully they do, I want the fight to continue! I’m enjoying not being involved and just being an expert witness or commentator.”

While Carton has built a reputation over the years as a host unafraid to engage in on-air battles, he suggested that his current mindset reflects a more deliberate and restrained version of himself. One that balances his competitive instincts with a broader perspective on how those conflicts can impact both individuals and programming.

“I’m trying to be more mature these days, but I do have a history,” he said. “I am ‘Rocky Marciano’ when it comes to radio wars. Case in point, the last guy I got into a silly little tussle with woke up this morning unemployed. Another win for me in that regard.”

Carton pointed out that criticism and confrontation are embedded in the sports radio format, requiring personalities to develop a level of resilience that allows them to handle both playful jabs and more pointed commentary without losing their footing.

“If you’re gonna do this for a living, you got to be able to take some shots and have a sense of humor,” Carton said. “Let’s be honest, we do it to everybody all day. We criticize people all day, every day. So, if we can’t take a little good-natured ribbing, well, shame on us.”

At the same time, Carton drew a distinction between lighthearted exchanges and more serious personal attacks. He noted that while humor and debate are essential components of engaging sports radio on WFAN, there are moments when a response becomes necessary depending on the tone and intent behind the criticism.

“If it goes beyond good-natured ribbing and it’s a personal attack, then I think you have to respond in kind,” he added. “The only difference between me and the guys involved in this one, is that when I do it, it’s full on nuclear. There’s no bodies left.”

As the WFAN Giannotti-Tierney feud continues to unfold across radio and digital platforms, Carton’s decision to remain on the sidelines offers a contrast to the increasingly loud discourse, highlighting a strategic choice to prioritize perspective over participation.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

ESPN Chicago To Stream ‘Waddle & Silvy’ on YouTube, Twitch During Weekday Chicago White Sox Afternoon Games

BSM Staff
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ESPN Chicago To Stream ‘Waddle & Silvy’ on YouTube, Twitch During Weekday Chicago White Sox Afternoon Games

As sports radio stations continue navigating the balance between live rights commitments and daily talk programming, ESPN Chicago is embracing a digital-first solution to maintain consistency for its audience throughout the upcoming baseball season.

Tuesday, ESPN Chicago host Marc Silverman revealed that Waddle and Silvy will stream on YouTube and Twitch whenever the station’s afternoon schedule shifts to accommodate Chicago White Sox radio broadcasts.

The announcement signals an effort to ensure that one of the station’s cornerstone programs remains accessible despite unavoidable programming interruptions tied to live sports rights.

“Many people have said if I’m not a Sox fan and want Waddle & Silvy in my normal two to six timeslot, can you get that one day. I recently teased that it might happen one day, and now that has happened,” said Silverman.

Silverman framed the move as part of a broader evolution in how the show is produced and consumed, pointing to recent upgrades that position the program beyond the traditional radio format. As for the White Sox broadcasts, Danny Zederman, Director of Content at ESPN Chicago, says nothing will change as far as access to those broadcasts as they have in the past.

“Our fans will still get the same amazing play-by-play from Len Kasper and DJ [Darrin Jackson] on ESPN 1000, 100.3 FM HD2, and across our stream,” said Zederman to Barrett Media. “At the same time, we’re giving fans the opportunity to watch Waddle & Silvy live on YouTube and Twitch.”

The move showcases how stations increasingly view video not as a secondary extension of radio, but as a primary content channel capable of standing on its own. Particularly as audience habits shift toward on-demand and visual platforms.

“This is a great move for our partners, teammates, and most importantly our fans,” said Zederman to Barrett Media. “When you’ve built studios designed for high-quality video and have access to multiple platforms, the question becomes why wouldn’t you use every platform available? This is about maximizing everything we have to better serve our partners, support our teammates, and give our fans more ways to connect with the content they love.”

By leaning into YouTube during White Sox afternoon games, ESPN Chicago is effectively ensuring that its programming ecosystem remains uninterrupted, even when its primary distribution channel is committed elsewhere.

“As you know, we are the proud home of the Chicago White Sox,” explained Silverman. “We love having the White Sox on our station. We’ve had them on our station for a long time. In addition to having White Sox games, you will also get Waddle & Silvy even when the White Sox are playing during our timeslot.”

The Chicago White Sox have not commented on the decision by the radio station.

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Maggie Gray on ‘CMB Show’ WFAN Tenure: “People Just Really Wanted To Hate Us”

BSM Staff
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Maggie Gray on ‘CMB Show’ WFAN Tenure: “People Just Really Wanted To Hate Us”

Former WFAN midday hosts Maggie Gray, Bart Scott and Chris Carlin offered a candid reflection on their time together at WFAN. The trio revisiting the short-lived CMB Show that followed Mike Francesa’s first retirement at WFAN and remains one of the more debated programming eras in the station’s history.

Appearing on ESPN New York’s Bart & Carlin, Gray suggested that external perception played a significant role in shaping the show’s reception. She said that the trio entered an environment where audience expectations had already been firmly established before they ever went on air. In particular by the shadow cast by Francesa’s departure and the emotional attachment listeners had to his presence in the coveted midday slot.

“We got hired to replace Mike Francesa,” Gray said. “It was a big deal at the time, and I think people just really wanted to hate us, but it turns out we are three un-hate-able people… They had already made up their mind that they didn’t like us, and then obviously Mike came back.”

Gray continued by emphasizing the natural chemistry among the hosts, arguing that personal likability ultimately clashed with a narrative that had already been written by listeners unwilling to embrace change. Especially as speculation and eventual confirmation of Francesa’s return further complicated their ability to gain traction with a skeptical audience.

Carlin, however, pushed back on the notion that the show failed outright. He pointed instead to early ratings competitiveness that suggested CMB had begun to carve out a foothold against established competition, including Michael Kay, who CMB competed with across town.

“We lost by a tenth of a point to Michael Kay,” Carlin said. “We were three months on the job, and [Mark Chernoff] put on the Islanders on President’s Day, 0.0, and it just buried us.”

That context, according to Carlin, underscores a more nuanced reality in which the show demonstrated measurable progress despite external programming decisions and the broader turbulence surrounding WFAN at the time. That included shifting leadership strategies and the looming return of Francesa, which ultimately reset the station’s lineup.

Gray maintained that, beyond ratings or perception, the show itself delivered a product that differed intentionally from WFAN’s traditional tone. Leaning into humor and personality in ways that may have been ahead of audience expectations for the format.

“I’ll stand by this,” Gray said. “It was a great show. People just didn’t want to like us. We were too early. We were silly. That was it.”

Carlin echoed that sentiment while taking a more personal view of the experience. Noting that despite its relatively brief run, the show remains a defining chapter in his career both professionally and emotionally. In particular given the internal benchmarks the program achieved during its tenure.

“I know one thing, we got some ratings bonuses after that,” Carlin said. “We did pretty damn well, and I will continue to be very proud of that year and a half that we were together. I know it wasn’t that long… But I will always be the most proud of that in in my career”

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Brandon Tierney: WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti is the Most “Thin Skinned Person” in the Business

BSM Staff
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Brandon Tierney: WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti is the Most “Thin Skinned Person” in the Business

The back-and-forth between Brandon Tierney and Gregg Giannotti took another sharp turn Tuesday. Tierney delivered his most pointed critique yet during the latest episode of his BT Unleashed program.

Responding to another on-air jab from Giannotti on WFAN, Tierney questioned Giannotti’s credibility as a sports talk host. He argued that his co-host’s appeal is rooted more in personality than substance. He also suggested that listeners don’t tune in for his thoughts on major New York teams.

“I don’t know anybody that actually tunes in to Gregg [Giannotti] to hear about the Yankees or the Mets or the Jets or the Giants,” Tierney said. “I don’t know anybody that actually respects Gregg’s sports acumen. I’m not sure that Gregg likes sports anymore, if he ever did. Gregg uses WFAN. What is his arsenal?”

Tierney went further. He asserted that Giannotti has drifted from core expectations of his role, given WFAN’s prominence in the sports media landscape. He described the morning host as someone who has not evolved with the demands of delivering consistent, opinion-driven content in a competitive market.

“You’re a host on the biggest sports station in the world, and you can’t even talk sports,” Tierney said. “Do you think that anybody gives a f**k what you think about sports? Nobody does, nobody has, and nobody ever will.”

The criticism did not stop there. Tierney labeled Giannotti “thin-skinned,” accusing him of freely taking shots at colleagues while struggling to handle similar criticism directed his way. He described that as a defining characteristic of Giannotti’s on-air persona and broader approach to the medium.

“The shots that he’s taking at me, they are coming from somebody who is the most thin-skinned person in the business,” Tierney says. “When anybody takes a shot at Gregg [Giannotti], now it’s the end of the earth. Gregg’s never had an issue taking jabs at everybody, and I mean everybody at the station. That’s his game. That’s his meal ticket.”

At the same time, Tierney indicated a willingness to move on from the public dispute. Though he paired that sentiment with a clear warning that he will continue to respond if Giannotti keeps the exchange alive.

“I’m prepared to move on, and if you react to this tomorrow, then I’ll react. I’ll just keep going. I really will, I’ll keep going,” he said.

Perhaps most notably, Tierney challenged Giannotti’s long-term viability without longtime partner Boomer Esiason. He questioned how Giannotti would perform in a solo setting and whether his current success is tied in part to that established pairing, a dynamic that has helped define WFAN’s morning programming for years.

“Let’s see what happens when Boomer retires,” Tierney said. “Let’s see how you float on your own.”

Earlier this morning, Giannotti took another shot at Tierney on WFAN. He claimed his text messages were full of Tierney’s former producers celebrating his Monday rant which began this back and forth.

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WVOM Morning Host George Hale Exits

BNM Staff
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WVOM Morning Host George Hale Exits

WVOM morning co-host George Hale will not be part of the Bangor news/talk station going forward, the Blueberry Broadcasting outlet has announced.

Hale has co-hosted morning drive alongside Ric Tyler since 2004. The 94-year-old has spent the past 70 years in broadcast media, including a long tenure serving as the radio play-by-play voice of the Maine Black Bears.

On Tuesday, Blueberry Broadcasting Vice President Bruce Biette revealed that Paul Wolf will replace George Hale on the WVOM morning show.

“There is one notable departure as the show transitions and that is George Hale,” Biette said. “George has been a part of this show for over 20 years. His contributions to the community go beyond the show. Simply put, George has had a magnificent radio career. He’s the reason a lot of us chose to get into this business. We here at Blueberry Broadcasting appreciate everything he has done for VOM.”

Hale — who was on vacation in Florida when he was informed that he wouldn’t be a part of the show any longer — told WABI-TV that he was offered a “farewell show” but is unsure if he’d like to host such a program.

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