Diamond Sports Group, the owner of 18 regional sports networks that is currently working to find a path out of Ch. 11 bankruptcy, was unable to reach a new carriage agreement ahead of the Tuesday deadline. As a result, customers subscribing to the service are now unable to watch local teams play on their respective regional sports network(s). In fact, subscribers who try to view the channel on their services now see a message explaining what is taking place. Both companies issued statements explaining the manner that officially materialized upon the expiration of the existing deal.
“It’s disappointing that Comcast rejected a proposed extension that would have kept our channels on the air and that Comcast indicated that it intends to pull the signals, preventing fans from watching their favorite local teams,” Diamond Sports Group said in a statement. “Comcast has refused to engage in substantive discussions despite Diamond offering terms similar to those reached with much larger distributors of ours.
“We are a fans-first company and will continue to seek an agreement with Comcast to restore broadcasts, and at this critical juncture for Diamond, we hope that Comcast will recognize the important and mutually beneficial role Diamond and RSNs play in the media ecosystem. In the meantime, fans in Comcast regions can access our networks through subscriptions to Fubo, DirecTV or DirecTV STREAM or through our direct-to-consumer offering, Bally Sports+ for the teams for which Diamond retains DTC rights.”
“We have been very flexible with Diamond Sports Group for months as they work through their bankruptcy proceedings, providing them with an extension on the Bally Sports Regional Networks last fall and a unilateral right to extend the term for another year, which they opted to not exercise,” Comcast said in a statement. “We’d like to continue carrying their networks, but they have declined multiple offers and now we no longer have the rights to this programming. We will proactively credit our customers for the costs associated with them — most will automatically receive $8 to 10 per month in credits.”
The outcome comes two weeks after a bankruptcy judge had approved a disclosure statement with $450 million of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, $350 million of which is allocated to pay its first-lien debt holders. As part of the restructuring, Amazon is prepared to invest $100 million into Diamond Sports Group while becoming the primary streaming partner for the company. Moreover, the company was approved to hold a creditor vote on reorganization that the bankruptcy court will take into its decision-making process in a decision regarding restructuring.
Diamond stated in previous court proceedings that 81% of its affiliate revenue comes from distribution agreements with Charter Communications, DirecTV and Comcast. Earlier this month, the company was able to reach a multi-year renewal of its distribution agreement with Charter. This enabled the provider to continue carrying its networks through the Spectrum TV Select Plus package and allows subscribers to stream the network on the Bally Sports app. Additionally, Diamond came to terms on a multi-year carriage renewal with DirecTV as first reported by John Ourand of Puck News on Monday afternoon.
Several basketball fans were blacked out from watching Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic in the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday. The game was aired on NBA TV, but the only way to view the contest locally was through Bally Sports Ohio. Amid Ch. 11 bankruptcy hearings for Diamond Sports Group and carriage disputes, those consumers utilizing services that do not have an agreement with the regional sports network provider were left in the dark. In fact, Diamond did not come to terms with Comcast on a new agreement ahead of the expiration of its deal Tuesday night, resulting in its channels being removed from the service.
Sentiments of frustration from fans unable to watch the pivotal game within the playoff series, a similar scenario to what occurred for Game 2 and Game 3 within the best-of-seven battle. NBA TV, which is operated by Warner Bros. Discovery and majority-owned by the NBA itself, has aired several games throughout the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Games aired on the platform are also televised on regional sports networks, but some consumers were ultimately locked out of both options.
“I think this is dangerous practices from the NBA because if you can’t find a way to get your product to the people, it makes them care less,” Ken Carman, co-host of The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima, said on the Wednesday morning edition of the program on 92.3 The Fan. “Football – you can say what you want to about football. Football can do anything they want – I’m serious, they’re above the law. The NFL is above the law. They can do anything they want; they can play it at any time. It doesn’t matter – they don’t care and you will watch.”
The recent slate of NFL playoff games ahead of Super Bowl LVIII averaged 38.5 million viewers, which represents the most-watched playoffs on record for the league since they started being recorded in 1988. Year-over-year, the viewership figure was up 9% and ultimately led to a Super Bowl matchup that garnered a record-setting average of 123.6 million viewers across platforms. Conversely, the 2023 NBA Playoffs – including the NBA Finals – averaged 5.47 million viewers on ABC, ESPN and TNT, the most-watched presentation of the league playoffs in five years. Carman perceived the discrepancies in the viewership and emphasized that the league is making things difficult on its fans.
“The NBA has it pretty good, but you better make your product attainable by your fanbase because they will find other things,” Carman said, “and so you better make it attainable, and I think that some people are just going, ‘You know what? I can’t see it; I’m locked out of it. Hopefully you win, but if you don’t win, it’s out of sight, out of mind.’”
Carman does not understand why the league is complicating matters for consumers with discretionary income aiming to spend their money to watch games. Moreover, he asserted that people do not want things synthesized to them regarding how to access the games as if they are a 6-year-old. As evidence of such, he pointed to the NFL Wild Card game exclusively streamed on Peacock that marked the most-streamed event in U.S. history with an average minute audience of 23 million viewers across platforms. A subsequent study by Antenna stated that the platform retained 71% of its sign-ups related to the game seven weeks after it had occurred.
“People are not wanting to splice things together,” Carman said. “They want an easy, simple way that sounds cheap to get your product. That’s what they want – an easy way.”
Comedian Jimmy Failla has found his niche at Fox News, appearing on a variety of programs — including Gutfeld! — and also hosting Fox News Saturday Night.
Failla has climbed the ladder at Fox News after previously working as a taxi cab driver while working on his stand-up comedy routine. But he believes comedy should still be the driving force behind his work, not conservative or liberal politics and policies.
In an interview with Variety, Failla said that his weekend program isn’t as partisan as a casual observer might think of when hearing that it airs on the notoriously conservative cable news channel.
“True comedy doesn’t have a political party. Comedy is a party. And at a party, you don’t ask who they voted for at the door,” Failla said.
Fox News, like others in the genre, features primetime opinion programming slanted toward one side of the political aisle. But Jimmy Failla said his program certainly doesn’t fit into the firebrand category like many others in cable news.
“We are not a call to arms show. We are like a chill the f— out show,” Failla said before adding that the now-partisan nature of late-night TV shows helmed by the likes of Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon is a “frustration” for him. He shared his belief that the late-night genre should be an escape, rather than another avenue for political discussion.
It’s a homecoming for Mike Gallagher, as his nationally syndicated show from Salem Radio Network is joining the station where he got his big break 35 years ago, 98.9 WORD.
Beginning on Monday, May 6th, The Mike Gallagher Show will be heard from 10 AM-Noon on the Audacy-owned Greenville, South Carolina news/talk station.
“This community is where I met my wife, where we raised our kids, and will always be home to me,” Gallagher said. “To return to the same station where my ride began all those years ago is simply incredible. Many thanks to Audacy Market Manager Steve Sinicropi and Ops Manager Mark Hendrix for putting this deal together. I can’t wait to get back on the air there. Who says you can’t go home again?”
Mike Gallagher was previously heard in the market on 94.5 The Answer. However, Salem Media Group sold the WGTK-FM signal — along with two others in the market — in August of last year to Christian broadcaster Educational Media Foundation for $6.775 million.
The program hosted by Gallagher replaces Straight Talk with Bill Frady in the 98.9 WORD lineup. He joined the station in a full-time capacity in the 10 AM-Noon timeslot last March. Frady is stepping into the 12-3 PM timeslot previously occupied by The Erick Erickson Show.
Additionally, 98.9 WORD is adding former 94.5 The Answer host Joey Hudson as an early morning host, anchoring Sunrise Carolina with Joey Hudson from 5-6 AM ET.
“I’m ecstatic to join the team at this heritage station,” said Hudson. “It’s especially gratifying to join my longtime friend and mentor Mike as he makes his triumphant return to the Upstate. As a lifelong resident of the area, I’m fortunate to continue serving the community I love as part of The Voice of the Carolinas. Thank you to Steve Sinicropi, Mark Hendrix and the 98.9 WORD family for welcoming me back to the airwaves.”
The Radio Hall of Fame has announced its nominees for the class of 2024, and news/talk radio saw several names among the options, like Larry Elder, Lee Harris, and John & Ken.
A longtime talk radio host, Larry Elder has been nominated for the honor several times previously. He worked as a nationally syndicated host — first for ABC Radio Networks before moving to Salem Radio Network — from 2002 to 2022. Most recently, Elder has run for Governor of California and launched a 2024 Presidential campaign — both as a Republican — but neither was successful.
Former 1010 WINS anchor Lee Harris joins the list of nominees in 2024. Harris spent nearly 30 years with the New York all-news outlet before departing in 2023 to join NewsNation. He worked as the top-of-the-hour morning news anchor on the Audacy-owned station from 1995 until his exit.
John Kobylt and Ken Chimapou are also nominated this year. John & Ken ended in December after Chiampou’s retirement as what is believed to be talk radio’s longest-running duo. Had the show continued into January 2024, it would have marked 36 years together. The pair hosted the show together in Atlantic City, Trenton, San Francisco, before moving to Los Angeles at KFI AM-640 from 1992-1997 and again from 2001-2023.
Former WAMU host and current podcast host Diane Rehm is also nominated for the distinction. The 87-year-old began hosting at the Washington D.C. public radio station in 1979, before helming The Diane Rehm Show in 1984. The program lasted until her retirement in 2016, when she began hosting a weekly podcast for the outlet.
Lincoln Ware, the longtime host of The Lincoln Ware Show, makes the list of nominees in 2024. He has been on the airwaves for more than 50 years in Cincinnati, currently heard on 120 AM WDBZ The Buzz.
Finally, Phil Hendrie is on the list of nominees. Hendrie worked in the format from 1973-2013, hosting shows in a variety of markets like New Orleans, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Minneapolis, among others. He also has an impressive list of acting credits to his name, including roles on King of the Hill, The Unit, and Modern Family, among others.
“It is an honor to nominate this amazing class of talented individuals and shows that have made their mark on the radio. The 2024 nominees to the Radio Hall of Fame represent one of the most diverse group of talents we have honored with the highest level of recognition one can achieve from the radio industry,” said Radio Hall of Fame co-chairman Dennis Green. “Kudos to the Radio Hall of Fame Nominating Committee for recognizing this year’s class of nominees whose careers only add to the special place radio holds in the hearts and minds of generations of listeners across the country.”
The full list of nominees includes:
Bert Weiss
Big D & Bubba
Big Tigger
Bob and Sheri
Bob Stroud
Crook & Chase
Dede McGuire
Diane Rehm
Free Beer and Hot Wings
Funkmaster Flex
Jaime Jarrin
John & Ken
Johnny Magic
Kid Leo
Larry Elder
Laurie DeYoung
Lee Harris
Lincoln Ware
Mary McCoy
Matt Siegel
Mojo in the Morning
Phil Hendrie
Richard Blade
Shelley “The Playboy” Stewart
“Congratulations to our 2024 nominees for induction! I encourage each industry member receiving a confidential ballot to participate in the selection of this years’ inductees,” added Kraig T. Kitchin, Radio Hall of Fame co-chairman. “It’s an honor and a privilege to see well-established on-air careers recognized with an induction; every vote makes a difference in the outcome.”
Eight inductees from the list will be announced on Monday, June 17th. The class of 2024 will be inducted in a ceremony at the Omni Hotel in Nashville on Thursday, September 19th.
Talk radio in the Twin Cities is alive and well, represented by two respected brands, WCCO and Twin Cities News Talk. The two stations battled for the top spot in several different demographics during the winter ratings period. The latest results from Nielsen paint a picture of a very competitive marketplace.
Beginning with Persons 12+, WCCO saw an 8.0 share during the morning drive (6-10a) daypart, helmed by The Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar and the first hour of the Adam and Jordana, hosted by Adam Carter and Jordana Green. That marked a third-place finish in the market for the Audacy-owned brand. The station also earned an 0.8 (Persons 25-54) and 1.3 (Persons 35-64).
Meanwhile, the morning daypart on Twin Cities News Talk features Jon Justice and the first hour of The Glenn Beck Program. Combined the two shows earned a 2.5 share in the Persons 12+ category, and shares of 0.5 (Persons 25-54) and 1.8 (Persons 35-54).
In middays (10a-3p), WCCO’s pairing of Carter and Green, as well as The Chad Hartman Show from 12p-3p produced a 5.1 share, good for a seventh place tie among Persons 12+. The result was lower with Persons 25-54 and 35-64, with the station recording a 0.7 and 1.0, respectively. On the iHeartMedia-owned Twin Cities News Talk, the station aired the final two hours of Glenn Beck’s program, The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, and the first hour of The Sean Hannity Show during the window. The trio delivered a 3.3 share with Persons 12+, and a 2.5 share (Persons 35-64) and 1.5 share (Persons 25-54) in the key demos.
Afternoon drive featured the tightest battle between the two stations. Both WCCO’s Drivetime with DeRusha led by Jason DeRusha and programs helmed by Sean Hannity and Joe Pags were tied with a 1.1 share with Persons 25-54. When WCCO’s stream is added, the station finishes with a 1.2 share in the daypart. Among Persons 35-64, DeRusha’s show finished with a 1.7 share, while Hannity and Pags earned a 1.5 share. With Persons 12+, WCCO scored a 3.2 share, nine-tenths of a share higher than Twin Cities News Talk, which had a 2.3.
In weekday prime (M-F, 6a-7p), the stations jockeyed for position depending on demo. In Persons 12+, WCCO earned a 5.4 share, good for eighth. Twin Cities News Talk finished with a 2.8 share. However, in the Persons 25-54 demo, the outlet bested WCCO with a 1.0 share, compared to a 0.9. Similarly, in the Persons 35-64 demographic, the iHeart-owned brand pulled a 2.0 share, compared to a 1.2 from WCCO.
Finally, the full week ratings (M-Su, 6a-12a) saw WCCO earn a higher share in Persons 12+ with a 5.0, compared to the 2.2 share garnered by Twin Cities News Talk. But, just like the weekday prime sector, Twin Cities News Talk rebounded in Persons 35-64 with a 1.8 share, compared to a 1.5 for WCCO. In Persons 25-54, WCOO’s number was a 1.1, compared to an 0.9 by its competitor.
All numbers reported include both over the air and streaming. Ratings data for Salem Media Group’s AM 1280 The Patriot and Freedom 1570 was not available this quarter.
Ratings reports and analysis are written by BNM and sponsored by Crowd React Media, a division of Harker Bos Group. Learn more about the different ways media research can benefit your station and cut through the noise by clicking here.
The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act appears as if it is going to cross the finish line in a major victory for broadcasters, the radio industry, and advocacy organizations.
The proposed legislation had already received bipartisan support on the Senate floor after its introduction by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). But late Tuesday, an additional 12 Senators signaled their support for the bill, with more than 60 now expected to vote in favor of passing the bill.
“Democrats and Republicans are tuning in to the millions of listeners, thousands of broadcasters, and countless emergency management officials who depend on AM radio in their vehicles,” Cruz and Markey said. “AM radio is a lifeline for people in every corner of the United States to get news, sports, and local updates in times of emergencies. Our common-sense bill makes sure this fundamental, essential tool doesn’t get lost on the dial.”
If passed, the bill would allow the Department of Transportation to mandate that new vehicle models have the ability to receive AM Radio signals as standard equipment. Those who failed to comply with the mandate could face fines or be slapped with a warning label for consumers stating the automobiles are not equipped with the feature.
The announcement of the support needed to pass the bill was welcomed by National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt, who played a pivotal role in advocating for the legislation.
“Broadcasters are grateful for the overwhelming bipartisan support for the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act in both chambers of Congress,” LeGeyt said in a statement. “This majority endorsement reaffirms lawmakers’ recognition of the essential service AM radio provides to the American people, particularly in emergency situations.”
Is NBC getting played, or is the NBA actually considering a seismic shift?
As always, the money will answer.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, executives at NBC Sports have prepared a massive broadcasting rights offer to the NBA in hopes of shoving out longtime hoops home Turner Sports. (Yes, TNT is the home of the most popular and successful studio show in the known sports universe, Inside the NBA.)
NBC’s reported bid of $2.5 billion per year more than doubles what TNT is paying the league under its current deal. That isn’t an offer, it’s a shark attack. And it shifts the attention to Turner’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, to see how close it’ll come to matching.
Prediction: Not that close, since Warner CEO David Zaslav was quoted in 2022 as saying, “We don’t need the NBA,” and has been on a cost-cutting jag across the company’s various entertainment divisions for years.
But where does that leave the rest of us?
First: It doesn’t really matter. We talk all the time about game productions and play-by-play kings and top analysts, but the reality is that every major player in the sports media world has a roster of talent capable of being adapted to fit a need – in this case, the NBA on NBC.
As it happens, as noted by Front Office Sports, NBC already has Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle under contract. Both have extensive hoops broadcasting experience, including the NBA, and Tirico is the voice of the network’s most significant sports ventures, period.
Beyond them, I wouldn’t waste a moment wondering whether NBC would commit two and a half billion dollars a year to the NBA and then fail to assemble a rock-solid game-day crew, from production through to talent. That isn’t going to happen.
If the Comcast-owned company wins the NBA bid, you will see a thoroughly finished NBA product. Maybe – over time – that product would include some of the voices you now associate with the Turner crew, people like Kevin Harlan, Brian Anderson and Ian Eagle. Top talent usually finds its proper home.
It also matters less than it ever did where we happen to go to consume our sports content. We’re more nimble as viewers than we used to be – not necessarily by choice, but certainly by adaptation.
If the league powers suddenly moved the NFL off of, say, FOX Sports, I’d be a little baffled as to why, but I’d have no trouble locating the games wherever they did land. Same with the NBA and Turner/TNT, despite their long history together.
NBC has plenty of its own history with pro basketball, having held rights from 1990 to 2002. It also knows how to sweeten the deal: In addition to wanting regular season and playoff games, the bid includes plans to broadcast in prime time twice a week. You can do that when you still own a network.
Warner Bros. Discovery has the contractual right to match any third-party bid, but that may not matter. The company also had an exclusive negotiating window in which to strike a new deal with the NBA, but that window closed last week without a contract.
And, really, what we’re talking about is simply a rich redistribution of the NBA’s assets – the same thing that is happening all across the sports media landscape. The NBC deal, if it happens, will include streaming rights through NBCUniversal’s Peacock app, which adds to the NBA’s exposure through ESPN/ABC and its likely new streaming partner Amazon Prime.
For all these reasons, it’s easy to take NBC’s interest in the NBA seriously, and to understand why the league would in turn negotiate in good faith. If Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t have the stomach for such a huge uptick in its rights fees, NBC and its related apps make for a soft landing and a prime-time destination.
Again – back to us. The truth is, a move like this would leave most of us wondering only one thing: What happens to Inside the NBA.
Bad news there: The reality is, by contract, that show belongs to TNT, not anybody else. If Charles, Shaq, Ernie and Kenny wanted to take their show on the road, they’d have to have some serious lawyering done. And Turner has other sports properties, like the NCAA tournament, the NHL and NASCAR.
Chuck on NASCAR? It could work. First, though, we’ll have to see if the money talks – and what it says.
When Shae Cornette hears the synonymous introduction associated with the SportsCenter program, it functions as a point of no return sans the negative connotation. Since she has been working as a full-time anchor for the ESPN flagship program over the last several months, Cornette has worked to come into her own on the show through delivering sports news, analysis and highlights to a global audience.
Cornette is part of a lineup of SportsCenter anchors that continue to keep the program relevant and safeguard it from becoming regarded as an anachronistic relic of the past. Although viewers can receive highlights near instantaneously through digital media platforms, the tradition of SportsCenter and innovation taking place on the show has allowed it to continue to thrive in the current media ecosystem.
Cornette regards the role as a genuine dream job, especially as someone who grew up watching the show and had an early penchant for sports. There are several hosts who adeptly integrate their personalities into the program, but it took time for Cornette to reach that point where she can speak without a teleprompter as a parachute.
“In the beginning when I first started filling in on SportsCenter, I did not ad-lib very much at all,” Cornette said. “I’ll be the first to admit it – I was afraid. I didn’t want to be the one to blow up SportsCenter. Now I have a little bit more ownership on the show obviously because it’s my full-time gig and I truly am now a SportsCenter anchor, so I feel more comfortable and I have a little bit more liberties to be able to say things or ad-lib.”
Displaying personality to the viewer and giving them an incentive to tune in that spans beyond highlights or the heralded SportsCenter Top 10 has resulted in success for the property. In fact, ESPN recently reported year-over-year viewership growth across all the editions of the show. Part of that can be attributed to the relatability of the hosts, some of whom have decided to openly express their allegiances to certain sports teams. In essence, the people working on the show are legitimate fans of what they are covering, demonstrating passion and dedication to the craft.
“I’ve said multiple times on air, ‘Hey guys, this is a few good months for me and my Bears fandom to actually shine because after the NFL Draft, I don’t really know where it’s going to go,’” Cornette said. “I can make those kinds of jokes now, and I think that’s why SportsCenter has evolved in such a cool way where personalities can be shown, and I love that.”
While Cornette has always been a sports fan, she did not initially realize that it would be at the center of her professional endeavors. Instead, she originally wanted to be a marine biologist until taking a public speaking class at Indiana University. After giving an ad-lib about a chair in the classroom for more than four minutes, her professor recognized her propensity for conversation and suggested she consider pursuing a career in broadcast journalism. At the same time, Cornette became interested in college basketball where she regarded the game as resembling a religion, and everything gradually began to fall into place.
“I went around asking students what they had thought about what was going on with Kelvin Sampson, and I sent it into Big Ten Network and they ran it because they just didn’t have a lot of talent,” Cornette said. “They were brand-new; it was a boots-on-the-ground situation. I’m sure I was horrible, but it was something that they could use and they could run.”
Cornette spent time materializing connections and capitalizing on professional opportunities, interning at both Showtime and MTV while she was a college student. Moreover, she served as a production assistant for Chicago Bears games broadcast on CBS. Upon her graduation with a dual degree in journalism and kinesiology, Cornette spent time seizing any opportunity she could land, including as a field reporter for football games on the Big Ten Network. Additionally, she was a correspondent for The Chicago Huddle Bears pregame show on ABC7 Chicago and both hosted and reported for Campus Insiders and 120 Sports.
As time went on, Cornette began to cover the Bears on a variety of different platforms, including becoming the first woman to host a show predominantly about the team on FOX 32 Chicago, which was called Bears Unleashed. The station named her its beat reporter for the team where she appeared on newscasts to discuss the team and also hosted pregame and postgame coverage. During her formative years covering the day-to-day occurrences of the team and being in the locker room, she worked to gain respect from her peers and make her voice heard.
“I remember when I first started going into locker rooms or being in scrums and things like that, and I would try to ask a question, and 85 dudes who have been writers for 50 million years would speak over me, and I used to get so frustrated,” Cornette said. “You think that happens now? No way. Maybe one person will speak over you if you’re new just to get you acclimated, but it’s much more, ‘You’ve got a question. You go next.’”
At the same time, Cornette also met her future husband, former Notre Dame basketball player Jordan Cornette, while they were both working at Campus Insiders. Jordan was the co-host of Kap & Company on ESPN 1000, but he eventually relocated to Bristol, Conn. to work at ESPN on television. Shae ended up being selected to assume the co-host role and began co-hosting the afternoon program alongside David Kaplan in 2018. The invaluable experience spending time on an audio medium contributed to her evolution as a broadcaster and ability to connect with the audience.
“You can’t hide in radio,” Cornette said. “If you don’t know what you’re talking about, everyone will know in five seconds. It just allows you to be able to have a more open dialogue about things that you’re maybe not as comfortable talking about.”
Shae Cornette eventually made the transition to host on ESPN Radio’s national platform after working on SiriusXM NFL Radio throughout the week. Aside from the ability to speak to an audience en masse, Cornette valued the opportunity to work alongside her husband, Jordan, on GameDay during the football season in afternoon drive. Becoming the first married couple to co-host a national ESPN Radio program, there were inherent advantages to the job related to preparation and chemistry. The audience was hearing something different, a partnership that had been cemented through friendship and subsequent matrimony, and became enamored with their dynamic on the air.
“Whenever anyone asks us about working together, it’s what everyone thinks it is,” Cornette said. “If we’re fighting in real life, we’re fighting on the air and everyone knows it. You can’t hide it, and that’s okay – we’re married – it’s fine, and I think it actually just made us a little bit more relatable.”
As her career continued to flourish and led to a daily television show with her husband, SportsNation on ESPN+, Cornette utilized her versatility and ability to adapt in order to thrive. Along with her early repetitions in sports media, she had also explored the world of entertainment and taken part in several ventures within the space. Some of these included filling in on Morning Dose on The CW and hosting for Celeb.TV. With her hosting endeavors across various ESPN platforms, she was cognizant of the fact that the sports media company does more than solely inform its viewers about the latest events in sports.
“ESPN is not just sports; we’re there to entertain as well,” Cornette said. “So if I can draw parallels to anything that is going on in the entertainment world or phrases that people are saying nowadays, I think that keeps us relevant.”
Over her four years at ESPN, Cornette has filled in on several of the network’s radio and television studio programs in addition to its coverage of college sports. During her time with the company though, she has not reported as much as she had on other events in the past. The dichotomy between the two occupations became more clear to her while in Chicago, and she ultimately gravitated more towards hosting programming.
“I love reporting, especially for a team that I’m passionate about or an event,” Cornette said. “I really like it – I like being the eyes and ears of the viewer [for] things that they can’t see and do – but with hosting, I feel like you have a much greater opportunity to show personality, show knowledge [and] give unique perspective. And look, I know SportsCenter isn’t the most personality-driven show, but I’m trying really hard to inject that where I can, and there have been a lot of people that have paved the way for that.”
.@SethOnHoops says we could see Duke win the NCAA championship ????
"They showed a championship DNA, a championship identity in the last five minutes of the game that could propel them to a championship in Coach K's last season." pic.twitter.com/ofB2H0zKCM
Cornette was recently named a full-time SportsCenter anchor and is intrigued by the unpredictability of her days in the studio. Since the program covers all sports, she and the production team need to remain aware about events happening in real time. Additionally, the SportsCenter Top 10 provides a lens into leagues and games that gives them time to shine in the spotlight. The key for Cornette is simply slowing down, feedback she has been told for years and has worked to implement.
“I naturally have a fast energy about me, which can be good and can be bad, but I definitely try and be a little bit more casual and conversational,” Cornette said. “Ultimately, I want that to be relatable.”
For the last several months, Cornette has co-hosted afternoon editions of the program and is rarely behind the desk alone. The preparation process leading up to a typical program involves watching games, reading articles, searching social media and reviewing statistics. Cornette also implements sports talk radio into her daily commute to the SportsCenter studio and listens to a variety of different marketplaces.
“That’s how I kind of soak it in,” Cornette said, “and then when I get into work and I look through my rundown, I’ll go back and re-watch highlights if I haven’t seen something.”
There exist moments where SportsCenter anchors have to forsake the rundown in order to cover breaking news. Cornette recently announced the death of former NFL running back O.J. Simpson. The show broke its regular programming with a breaking news bumper where Cornette relayed the information and read a statement from the family. SportsCenter then continued the discussion with Outside the Lines host and ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap. While Cornette did not foresee this moment taking place during her program, she did her best to handle it with poise and aplomb.
“When the unknown comes in and keeps you on your toes, it keeps me constantly having to know what’s going on obviously in the sports world [and] constantly having to understand every sport, which can be difficult sometimes,” Cornette said, “but I think that’s what makes us good at our jobs.”
Conversely, there is news that does not always break amid an edition of SportsCenter that she hopes comes to light while she is hosting. As a Chicago Bears fan and former reporter covering the team, she was hoping that news surrounding quarterback Justin Fields would end up breaking on the show. While the topic was evidently discussed on SportsCenter upon his trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers, information surrounding the transaction was not divulged while Cornette was hosting.
“There’s days where you just hope for that kind of news because it’s so fun and invigorating,” Cornette explained. “You get to, in real time with the viewer, share the excitement of this breaking news and what’s going to happen, and we’re all learning it together.”
Advances in technology and alterations in consumer habits have required different companies to evaluate their performances in the marketplaces and make necessary adjustments. Cornette understands that SportsCenter cannot be a show that is all highlight driven; rather, there needs to be an incentive to tune in that goes beyond its initial premise.
“It’s just not your average sports show that is niche,” Cornette said. “It covers a little bit of everything for everyone, and I think that’s why people tune in because they want to hear what is going on in [various sports]. The fact that SportsCenter continues to stretch its wings over so many sports while also having personality and also still having its core fundamentals – those highlights and whatnot – is what makes it, I think, a special program.”
Cornette feels motivated to give extra effort and perform at a high level from her family, but she also feels she is proving herself on a daily basis. Whenever she is slated to anchor an edition of the program, she tries to represent herself and ESPN with professionalism and proficiency. As she continues working as a full-time SportsCenter anchor, Cornette looks to remain dedicated to the program and convey relatability to the audience. Beyond the SportsCenter property, she aspires to host live event coverage within the large rights portfolio that has been amassed and maintained by ESPN over the years.
“I would love to have that same sort of live television feeling at a live event now through the ESPN channel,” Cornette said. “So I’m hoping that that maybe will be something that comes in my future, but for right now, I’m just trying to nail the daily grind.”
As the lights turn on and eminent jingle resonates with the audience, Cornette continues to carry the legacy and credibility of SportsCenter that has been built and retained over generations. Every day she takes part in the show, she appreciates the ability to highlight stellar performances, uncover meaningful stories and exhibit the breadth of ESPN’s portfolio in the sports media space.
“I feel like I’m proving to myself every day that I can do this,” Cornette said. “…[T]his really was a dream job of mine, and every day that I come out of that studio feeling like I did something better or did something brand new and I did a good job at it is really a fulfilling feeling.”
Tom Tradup is Vice President of News & Talk Programming for Dallas-based Salem Radio Network. He has written extensively on media for TOWNHALL.com and the Jerusalem news site All Israel News.
Two recent media stories—about the news industry—caught my eye over the weekend because, in their combined messaging, they say a lot about the sorry state of American journalism in 2024.
The first was a blaring headline in The Hollywood Reporter trumpeting: “DAN RATHER RETURNING TO CBS NEWS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BITTER EXIT 18 YEARS AGO.”
Rather—the native Texan who annoyed us for decades covering Election Night returns with hokey phrases like “Ronald Reagan is cutting through the middle of America like a hot knife through butter” and “The Senator’s tongue is wagging like a blind dog’s tail in a meat market,” eventually rose to become CBS’s White House correspondent and rudely confronting President Richard Nixon throughout the Watergate scandal.
(After Nixon addressed the American Newspaper Publishers Convention, Dan arose to announce he was “Dan Rather, CBS News” at which point the room erupted in thunderous applause. Nixon asked “Are you running for something, Mr. Rather?” to which the response was “No sir, Mr. President…are you?”)
That rude confrontation with a President of the United States (decades later honed to perfection by CNN’s Jim Acosta sparring with Donald J. Trump) was enough to propel Rather into the anchor seat on the CBS Evening News, along with the title “Managing Editor.” But under Rather’s “management,” the once-dominant network newscast slipped into third place in the national news ratings.
In 1986, Dan Rather was allegedly attacked on the streets of New York City by two thugs who reportedly asked “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” as they punched him out. Then in September 1987, Dan got peeved that CBS Sports coverage of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament ran past the start of his news broadcast, so he just yanked off his microphone and left the studio; CBS News affiliates around the nation were fed a black screen and dead air for six minutes.
The hits just kept on coming, and in 1993, CBS tried a ratings stunt by pairing Rather with Connie Chung as his co-anchor in a bid to turn around the former crown jewel of its news division. Viewers voted thumbs-down by tuning to other channels. And finally, in 2004, Rather and CBS News—at the height of President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign—ran a questionable story about Bush having gone AWOL while serving in the Texas National Guard.
(An independent investigation concluded that “fundamental journalistic principles” had been ignored by a CBS News producer and her “Managing Editor.” Rather departed CBS two years later.)
A photo of Dan Rather and Tom Tradup at the 2016 Republican National Convention (Photo: Tom Tradup)
All this came rushing back to me as I read that Hollywood Reporter headline that Dan Rather was “returning to CBS News.” But, alas, like local TV newscasters teasing a cat stuck in a tree coming up after the weather, it turns out 92-year-old Dan wasn’t actually suiting up for the anchor desk again: he was just the subject of a puff piece on Jane Pauley’s CBS Sunday Morning program, recapping his career and hyping a new Netflix documentary about the guy who ended each CBS Evening News broadcast by staring into the camera and uttering the maudlin word “Courage.”
A second headline this weekend was the news that Poppy Harlow—co-captain of the cable TV version of White Star Lines Titanic when she set sail on the ill-fated CNN This Morning with Yeoman Purser Don Lemon and ship’s activity director Kaitlin Collins—will be departing CNN this week. (Full disclosure: Having tried dozens of times over the years with mixed success, I concede it is hard to “create chemistry” in broadcast teams. This one was doomed to be shipwrecked like the S.S. Minow as ratings continually sank and tempers and egos were on full display…but without the entertainment and class of professional wrestling.)
In a farewell e-mail to colleagues at CNN (later “leaked” to the media), Poppy Harlow disclosed that her immediate plans are to walk her children to school and pick them up each day. Oh, and “to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the humanity in it.” (Italics mine.)
What exactly would the “humanity” in today’s journalism be? Would it be folks like the insipid Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC—an alleged “news” network—introducing literally every story relating to Donald J. Trump by saying here’s the latest news “about-the-twice-impeached, four-times-indicted, found-liable-for-sexual- assault-and-facing-91-felony-counts-disgraced-former-President”?
Or is the “humanity” found in the Associated Press, which refused to cover the debut of This Week On The Hill, a weekly news program launched last month by Salem Media Group and featuring weekly appearances by Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, because—in AP’s pathetically comic response—”We do not normally write stories about news shows being launched by other organizations.”
As Executive Producer of TWOTH, I had to point out to AP executives that this isn’t like The Bachelor or a new season of Family Feud with Steve Harvey….it is a regularly scheduled news program with the man two heartbeats away from the presidency taking his agenda directly to the American people on radio without having it run through the deflavorizer of the AP, or MSNBC, and any other gatekeepers in what we laughingly refer to as journalism.
There was once a time in America when journalists were respected as truth-tellers and reliable sources of information. That was before so-called “advocacy” reporting reared its ugly head, and reporters were given the greenlight to inject their personal views into articles and broadcasts. Alas, no more “just the facts.”
Today it is open season on the truth. So now America’s strongest ally in the Middle East —Israel— is regularly portrayed in the media and in violent campus demonstrations as the aggressor taking on Hamas “freedom fighters.” (AKA the terrorists who rape hostages, behead teenagers, and burn babies alive.)
Hate to break it to Dan Rather and Poppy Harlow, but if playing fast and loose with the facts and sacrificing truth on the altar of political correctness is where the “evolution” of journalism is taking us, sorry. To quote Sam Walton, the dogs don’t like the food.
