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Michael Grady Joins New York Liberty Broadcast Team

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Michael Grady Joins New York Liberty Broadcast Team

The New York Liberty organization has made several additions to its broadcast team for the upcoming 2024 season, including 24 locally televised games broadcast across FOX5 and My9 available for over 7.5 million households in the New York tri-state area. The team has announced that Michael Grady will serve as a play-by-play announcer for the team in the upcoming season, marking his return to the WNBA and Brooklyn, N.Y.

Before being named the television play-by-play voice of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Grady was the sideline reporter for Brooklyn Nets games on YES Network for six years. Grady started his broadcast career in Indiana with 1070 WIBC Radio and landed an executive producer role at 107.5 ESPN Radio. Additionally, he was a sports anchor on WRTV6 and the public address announcer for the Indiana Pacers. YES Network host Chris Shearn will also serve as a play-by-play announcer for the season, continuing his role with the team since the 2019 season.

Zora Stephenson will be back on New York Liberty broadcasts for the 2024 season as a play-by-play announcer as well, which continues her work in the space after previously serving as a sideline and digital reporter for the Milwaukee Bucks. Stephenson is also a member of NBC Sports and is a play-by-play announcer for Big Ten Women’s Basketball on Peacock and sideline reporter for Notre Dame Football and Big Ten Football on the network. Stephenson became the first American-born Black woman to call an NBA game in 2021 when she earned the opportunity with the Milwaukee Bucks. This is the fourth consecutive season that Stephenson will be on the air for Liberty games.

ESPN analyst and former Stanford Cardinal guard Ros Gold-Onwude is returning to New York Liberty broadcasts to work as an analyst. Gold-Onwude worked in a similar role with the team between 2012 and 2017 and has been a part of basketball coverage on ESPN across multiple platforms. In addition to Gold-Onwude, former YES Network analyst Julianne Viani-Braen will return to the broadcasts in the same role.

FOX 5 New York lead sports anchor and reporter Tina Cervasio has been named the courtside reporter for New York Liberty broadcasts this season. Throughout the year, she will deliver the latest news and updates during the game while also continuing to host the weekly Sports Xtra show on Sunday nights.

The New York Liberty qualified for the WNBA Finals for the second consecutive season in 2023, led by star guard Sabrina Ionescu and forward Breanna Stewart. The Liberty will look to continue their success through the 36-game regular season that starts on Tuesday when the team plays the Washington Mystics at 7 p.m. EST on My9. After the opening game, the team visits Gainbridge Fieldhouse to play Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever before returning to Barclays Center for a three-game homestand.

Brandon Sprague: ‘I Don’t Know’ About Crossover Between Netflix Subscribers and Sports Fans

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Brandon Sprague: ‘I Don’t Know’ About Crossover Between Netflix Subscribers and Sports Fans

Netflix is reportedly in discussions with the National Football League about exclusively broadcasting two Christmas Day NFL games, something that is being surmised as a reason behind the delayed release of the NFL schedule. Andy “Dirt” Johnson and Brandon Sprague discussed the latest developments with this story and how consumption habits continue to be altered through cord cutting and the rise of digital media through streaming.

Johnson is supportive of the effort, saying he has Netflix and surmises that the quality will be great. In his remarks, he reminded listeners that Netflix will be streaming a bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson on July 20. As a whole, he is looking forward to what Netflix is doing – which recently included The Roast of Tom Brady – as it engages in these forays into the sports media industry.

“They’re doing more live content is kind of the point,” Sprague said on Friday’s edition of the Dirt & Sprague morning show on 1080 The Fan. “People are kind of upset by this, and I’m kind of confused by it. So, you might say, ‘It should be on standard cable,’ right? NBC, ABC, CBS, rabbit ears to cable boxes, whatever. I kind of feel like we’re at a place where most people who are consuming TV content have Netflix.”

While Netflix is among the most widely used media platforms worldwide, Johnson expressed a sentiment of pause over if it will be able to captivate viewers and grow interest in sports. This discourse came out of Johnson averring that the Full Swing docuseries was rudimentary at points in that it was explaining the definitions behind golf terminology such as a bogey, par and cut.

“I don’t know how much of that is curtailed to the actual sports fan more so of just people like watching documentaries and you’re finding fans who aren’t normally fans of the sport who just happen to be on Netflix who then hopefully end up watching the sport,” Johnson said. “That’s where I don’t know how much of a crossover you have between sports fans and Netflix.”

The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery recently revealed that they will be creating a bundle with the Disney+, Hulu and Max streaming services to be released this summer. Both companies will also be part of a joint streaming venture that includes FOX Corporation led by chief executive officer Pete Distad. While the offering is scheduled to debut in the fall, the entity is facing an antitrust lawsuit from fuboTV that argues the joint streaming venture would control at least 54% of U.S. sports rights. A hearing date for the preliminary injunction within this antitrust lawsuit has been scheduled for August 7.

“I don’t know what to do, and I feel like I have double purchases of these streams that are existing, and then it’s, ‘Hey, we’ve partnered,’” Sprague said. “They’re basically reinventing cable every week.”

Johnson and Sprague then listed all of the streaming services those in the Portland area need to watch sports, enumerating a total of seven to eight depending on if the Trail Blazers release its own proprietary streaming service next year. Although there is a risk that sports fans could become unwilling to search for games and neglect to watch, Johnson is cognizant of the fact that the NFL could be somewhat immune. Last year, the league garnered an average of 28.7 million across its slate of three games on Christmas Day, a 29% year-over-year increase. Additionally, the Christmas Eve game between the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins averaged 31.5 million viewers on FOX. 

During the NFL postseason, an exclusive Wild Card round game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins presented on Peacock secured an average minute audience of 23 million, the most-streamed event in U.S. history. A related study from Antenna found that Peacock retained 71% of subscribers whose sign-ups were attributed to the exclusive contest seven weeks later. Amazon Prime Video will reportedly stream an NFL Wild Card game for the first time this season, coming off an average of approximately 11.9 million viewers across its 16-game slate of Thursday Night Football games.

“The NFL doesn’t really care about this either way though,” Johnson said, referring to viewership of potential games through Netflix on Christmas Day. “Netflix is throwing a butt-ton of cash at them, and they’re going to say, ‘Sure, here you go. Take two Christmas Day games.’ They don’t care if they get 12 million; 19 million; 21 million – they’re just taking the money and running and laughing.”

Chris Cuomo: The Daily Wire Stopped Potential Candace Owens vs Ben Shapiro Debate Out of Fear

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Chris Cuomo: The Daily Wire Stopped Potential Candace Owens vs Ben Shapiro Debate Out of Fear

Last month, a social media spat between The Daily Wire co-founders Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing against former employee Candace Owens led to a debate challenge. It hasn’t happened, and NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo feels like he knows why.

While appearing in a podcast interview with Patrick Bet-David, Cuomo argued that The Daily Wire doesn’t want Shapiro to debate against Owens because the company is fearful he will lose.

“The Daily Wire doesn’t believe that Shapiro wins the debate with Candace Owens,” Cuomo said.

“You think they believe that?,” the podcast host asked.

“One hundred percent, otherwise there’s no reason to do it. If this is working for you, you let it go, right? … That’s what Ben Shapiro has been saying. Everybody’s going to understand that Candace Owens has positions that are not just incorrect, but morally wrong in a way that Ben Shapiro says matters,” Chris Cuomo retorted. “He’s not just another corporate guy. It’s not just another company now, but in fact, it is just another company. And the company decided we lose if he goes toe toe-to-toe with Candace Owens. So shut her up and they have the right to do it because of the contract.”

The conversation stemmed from a recent suggestion from Glenn Greenwald that The Daily Wire utilized a clause in Owens’ used an arbitrator to secure a gag order against her, preventing a debate.

John Ourand: ‘Looks Like’ Netflix Will Carry Two NFL Games on Christmas Day

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John Ourand: ‘Looks Like’ Netflix Will Carry Two NFL Games on Christmas Day

As Boomer Esiason speculated about earlier this week on WFAN, it looks like football fans will be spending their Christmas Day with Netflix. John Ourand of Puck is reporting the NFL schedule release has been held up as the league and Netflix hammer out the details of the streamer carrying two games on December 25.

Ourand says several sources say this is likely to happen although he notes, “the two sides still have to clear some hurdles before any deal is announced.”

Ourand addresses whether this means Netflix plans to jump headfirst into live sports broadcasting, and he says they will continue with a “dabbling strategy” which includes their agreement with WWE for Monday Night Raw, tennis, boxing and more events such as the recent roast of Tom Brady.

It is not known what Netflix will pay for the right to own Christmas or who would produce the games. The NFL has said it will release the schedule on May 15, so answers should come sooner rather than later.

Josh Klingler: Indiana Fever Preseason ‘Was Great,’ Invited People to Watch

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Josh Klingler: Indiana Fever Preseason ‘Was Great,’ Invited People to Watch

The arrival of Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso and other rookies in the WNBA, combined with the existing star power in the league, has generated a deluge of interest from sports fans ahead of the 2024 season. No WNBA game has averaged more than 1 million viewers in 16 years, a trend that figures to change based on the trajectory of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament and the subsequent WNBA Draft averaging 2.45 million viewers on ESPN. With the Fever playing a preseason game ahead of the start of the regular season next Tuesday, 610 Sports Radio host and University of Iowa alumnus Josh Klingler found himself watching the contest.

Klingler, co-host of Fescoe in the Morning, acknowledged that there were questions surrounding if the success realized by women’s college basketball could translate to the WNBA. Throughout the most recent iteration of March Madness broadcast by The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), the Final Four averaged 13.8 million viewers, rendering the two most-watched semifinal games on record.

The National Championship Game between Iowa and South Carolina averaged 18.7 million viewers, which represents the most-watched basketball game since 2019 and most-watched sporting event, excluding football and the Olympics, since 2019. Viewership for the game, which is the second most-watched non-Olympic women’s sporting event on record, was up 89% year-over-year and 285% from the 2022 iteration of the contest.

Despite the success of Clark, who broke the NCAA Basketball all-time scoring record in her senior year, Klingler did not think he would be in for WNBA games this season. When his wife began asking about the Fever and when they would be playing, in addition to following the WNBA Draft with her daughter, he was initially unable to answer her question.

“She’s like, ‘Well, when do they play?,’ and I’m like, ‘I think it’s coming up but I don’t know,’” Klingler recalled, “and so I look yesterday and they were going to be playing in a preseason game, the Fever, and so we downloaded the WNBA app and watched the game last night.”

Co-host Bob Fescoe asked Klingler if the platform was better than the Bally Sports app, which has been a topic of discussion on their show because of the glitches it has experienced and its utilization amid uncertainty with Diamond Sports Group and cable providers. The show recently discussed how Diamond Sports Group and Comcast were unable to reach a new carriage deal, thus removing the regional sports network from the service. Klingler replied that everything worked well and that he utilized Fire TV. From there, Fescoe criticized Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve for complaining about the promotion of Clark and the Fever, posting on social media about her team’s game using a hashtag that read “#theWismorethanoneplayer.”

“If [Clark] brings more people to the party, it is your job then to promote the other ones that are already at the party, and that’s what this broadcast did. It was great,” Klingler explained, referring to the Fever local broadcast. “They were discussing a whole bunch of people, and they kept saying, ‘Well, we probably have a bunch of Iowa Hawkeye viewers tonight,’ and they were kind of going in depth about the team lineup, and I’m like, ‘This is pretty cool.’”

Klingler felt as if the broadcast was inviting people to watch the game and working to retain them as the season commenced. The Fever will open their season on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+ when they face the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST. On the call for the contest is play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco, analyst Rebecca Lobo and reporter Holly Rowe.

Ahead of the season, Tegna has broadened the local distribution of Fever games in Indianapolis and 11 additional markets. Fescoe did not understand the problem with the popularity of Clark and how she is helping to grow the game, later comparing her to Tiger Woods and how he created an overall windfall for the game of golf.

“Quite honestly, nobody’s really cared about your league, and now that Caitlin Clark’s in there, you got people that are caring about your league and you’re playing the jealousy card,” Fescoe said. “It’s embarrassing – it really is. If you’re associated with the WNBA and that coach for the Minnesota Lynx complaining about it, go kick rocks. Go kick rocks because she’s benefitting you.”

Whereas Klingler did not prognosticate that he would be watching WNBA games before, he figures to be invested in the Fever this year. In the end, his entire family ended up watching the preseason contest as the Fever secured an 83-80 victory.

“It was amazing,” Klingler said. “I was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t think I’d be here,’ so now I got the alerts. I get the alerts when they’re playing, [and] I think I’m in, at least for a year.”

Salem Media Group First Quarter Revenue Drops 8.3%

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Salem Media Group saw a decline in revenue during the first quarter of 2024, with the company believing that advertisers are questioning the “effectiveness” of radio.

The company saw a net revenue of $58.6 million in the quarter, a drop of 8.3%. Broadcast revenue fell to $46 million, down 4.6%. Digital revenue, however, was on the rise, up to $10.7 million. That is an increase of 1.9%.

“Revenue growth from the sale of broadcast airtime is negatively impacted by audiences spending less time commuting, certain automobile manufacturers removing AM radio signals, increases in other forms of content distribution, and decreases in the length of time spent listening to broadcast radio as compared to audio streaming services, podcasts, and satellite radio,” the company claimed. “These factors may lead advertisers to conclude that the effectiveness of radio has diminished.”

The drop in broadcast revenue can be attributed to a decline in local advertising, as the company dropped $1.1 million in the category. Salem Media Group shared that it is still heavily reliant on its stations in Los Angeles and Dallas for large portions of its local ad revenue.

“Our broadcast advertising revenue is particularly dependent on advertising from our Los Angeles and Dallas markets, which generated 15.3% and 18.4%, respectively, of our total net broadcast advertising revenue during the three-month period ended March 31, 2023, compared to 15.1% and 18.7%, respectively, of our total net broadcast advertising revenue during the three- month period ended March 31, 2024.”

Revenue from its nationally syndicated programs fell $800,000 in the first quarter when political advertising wasn’t factored in. The company did see an increase of $400,000 in that particular advertising category.

Audacy First Quarter Revenue Up 1%

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As more and more radio broadcasters reveal their first-quarter revenue results, Audacy is one of the few reporting a gain during the first three months of 2024.

Revenue for the company reached $268.1 million, up 1% compared to the $259.6 million it saw during the first quarter of 2023.

While radio advertising revenue dropped 2%, digital revenue rose 10% to make up the difference. The company made significant decreases in its operating losses. In the first quarter, Audacy lost $400,000, compared to $12.2 million during the same time period last year.

“The Audacy team is very much looking forward to a bright future, emerging as a scaled leader in the dynamic audio market, distinguished by our best-in-class balance sheet, our top positions across the country’s largest markets, and our exclusive premium content highlighted by our unrivaled leadership in sports audio,” said Audacy Chairman, President, and CEO David Field.

The company’s Adjusted EBITDA was $9.6 million for the quarter, seeing year-over-year growth of 173% compared to the $3.5 million figure it featured last year.

“We expect another quarter of substantial EBITDA growth, enhanced by our continuing work on expense reductions,” revealed Field.

WWE SmackDown Returns to USA Network on September 13, A Few Weeks Earlier Than Expected

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WWE SmackDown Returns to USA Network on September 13, A Few Weeks Earlier Than Expected

WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings and USA Network parent company NBCUniversal worked out a five-year media rights deal for WWE SmackDown to air on Friday nights late last year. Originally, it was said the deal would start in October, but the official start date has been moved up to September 13.

Earlier this week it was revealed in the TKO earnings report that WWE Monday Night Raw would remain on USA Network through the end of the year before it moves exclusively to Netflix to kick off that 10-year, $5 billion deal. The short-term arrangement was needed due to the current Raw contract ending in October. The 3-month agreement came with a discounted $25 million price tag.

In a release, NBCUniversal said, “Starting in September and through the end of 2024, USA Network will serve as the exclusive linear home of the WWE’s two tentpole franchises, “WWE Monday Night RAW” and “WWE SmackDown,” which returns to the network on Sept. 13 as part of a new multi-year partnership.”

WWE SmackDown previously aired on USA Network from January 2016 until October 2019 when it began airing on Fox.

Gabe Ramirez Out at 670 The Score

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Gabe Ramirez Out at 670 The Score

Gabe Ramirez, who was brought over by 670 The Score in Chicago two years ago, has not had his contract renewed by Audacy and is no longer with the outlet or sister station B96. In total, Ramirez had been with the cluster for 15 years.

Ramirez posted the news on his X account in response to a fan asking where he had been in the evenings on The Score. The last podcast posted of Score Evenings with Ramirez on it was on April 18.

“Unfortunately no longer with B96 & 670 The Score after 15+ years with the company,” Ramirez wrote. “Contract was up and the business is the business. Open to new opportunities and looking forward to continuing this journey in media, soon! Thanks to everyone that’s reached out.”

Ramirez is also a contributor to FOX 32 and their Chicago Bears programming.

Overall Podcast Ad Revenue Growth to Hit Double Digits in 2024, New IAB Study Says

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Overall Podcast Ad Revenue Growth to Hit Double Digits in 2024, New IAB Study Says

While podcast revenue growth slowed in 2023, a new Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) study says it will return to form in 2024 with big gains.

Last year, overall podcast advertising revenue slowed to an increase of 5% to $1.9 billion after consecutive years of double-digit growth. However, that number will return to its double-digit success for the next three years according to the projections from the IAB.

Revenue is forecasted to reach over $2 billion this year, up 12% overall. The sector is projected to reach $2.6 billion by 2026.

“While a few of the largest podcast companies maintained double-digit growth, mid-tier companies hit a speed bump,” said IAB Vice President of Industry Insights and Content Strategy Chris Bruderle. “But revenue is already bouncing back.”

Consumer goods and retail brands saw their advertising buys grow to 4% and 5% respectively since 2022.

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