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72% of 2024 Political Ad Spending Will Go to TV or Radio, New Study Shows

BNM Staff
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72% of 2024 Political Ad Spending Will Go to TV or Radio, New Study Shows

While the 2024 presidential ad market hasn’t been as robust as many expected, both TV and radio can still expect the lion’s share of political ad spending during this election season.

According to a report from research firm Insider Intelligence, 2024 campaign advertising is expected to eclipse $12 billion, representing an increase of 30% compared to 2020. $9 billion — roughly 72% of that figure — will go to broadcast media.

“We still tend to see a lot of broadcast spending,” said Sage Media Planning partner Bobby Mushroe during a webinar with TVNewsCheck last week. “There really is no other medium that can move numbers with the kind of speed that you need for a political campaign. So, broadcast is still getting the lion’s share of the spending except in some of these very expensive markets with tiny districts.”

While the uncompetitive Republican primary put a damper on some analyst’s expectations of eclipsing $16 billion in spending, many in the advertising industry expect the bulk of revenue to come in during the third quarter.

“Presidential spending has been lackluster so far this year, definitely not where we expected it to be,” added NBCUniversal Local Vice President of Political Will Hildebrandt. “But [Trump and Biden] historically have some of the highest negatives when it comes to polling. They’re going to have to spend to combat that. I think we’re going to see a healthy amount of presidential spending, but not yet.”

Deadspin Sold to European Firm; Entire Staff Laid Off With 30-Minute Notice

BSM Staff
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Deadspin Sold to European Firm; Entire Staff Laid Off With 30-Minute Notice

One of the original pioneers of digital sports journalism was just sold to an outside firm — and none of its current staff is being retained. According to now-former Deadspin writer Julie DiCaro, Deadspin was sold to a European startup and the new owners were not keeping any staff members. The entire Deadspin team was locked out of the company Slack channel and its laptops.

According to an email acquired by The Daily Beast writer Justin Baragona, the company was sold to Lineup Publishing, a European firm that contacted parent company G/O Media about purchasing the site to expand its portfolio. G/O Media accepted the terms after consideration, though the email makes sure to note that G/O was not shopping Deadspin. The new company plans to, “be reverential to Deadspin’s unique voice…they plan to take a different content approach regarding the site’s overall sports coverage.”

Sports media members have reacted to the perceived lack of quality from Deadspin over the past few years. In 2021, Sports Hub 98.5 host Fred Toucher said the site “used to be a thousand times better,” while longtime sports radio voice Tony Bruno called the site a “clickbait, dirtbag site” in response to an article critical of his work.

This will be at least the third time Deadspin has been sold, the first as a solo entity. In 2016, Univision Communications acquired Gawker Media, which then established Gizmodo Media Group to oversee operations. 2019 saw Gizmodo Media Group get acquired by Great Hill Partners and rebranded to G/O Media. Later in 2019, the company experienced a mass resignation due to the firing of former editor-in-chief Barry Petchesky.

While many are offering Deadspin staff members condolences, a certain sports media member is celebrating the news as only one Dave Portnoy can, unsurprising to those who know him:

Jay Weber: Social Media Isn’t Real Life, But It Helps Gauge Topic Selection

BNM Staff
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Jay Weber: Social Media Isn’t Real Life, But It Helps Gauge Topic Selection

Many have come to grips with the fact that social media doesn’t always represent the actual feelings of the nation as a whole. While 1130 WISN host Jay Weber is in that camp, he does believe social media can be useful for talk radio hosts.

Weber noted that his social media feeds were full of the same story over the weekend — President Joe Biden mispronouncing the name Laken Riley, the murdered Augusta University student, at the State of the Union.

While discussing the topic, Weber shared that he understands the perception that social media doesn’t reflect real life, he’s cognizant that it can be a helpful tool for choosing the right content on his show.

“We know that social media is not real life. We know that what’s on social media doesn’t necessarily accurately depict what’s really going on in most of America or how most Americans view something,” said Weber. “But social media does at least reflect society. And by that I mean what’s on social media is at least a gauge of what many Americans are talking about or what different segments of society are focusing on.”

The Jay Weber Show host criticized Biden for his regret in using the term “illegal” to describe Riley’s killer, but not apologizing for mispronouncing the victim’s name.

“Folks, Biden got Laken’s name wrong, and then apologized to her killer instead of her family! This isn’t the sort of thing that I would normally hop onto, as all of the other conservative talkers and influencers have. It’s the sort of emotional angst that some talking heads and conservative organizations only want to focus on.

“But the reaction this series of flubs Biden made over the last few days has not only gone viral, it has hit a level that we may need a new term for. It went super-viruses. It went ‘pandemic.'”

Kevin Kisner Returns as NBC Golf Analyst for Telecast of the 50th Players Championship

BSM Staff
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Kevin Kisner Returns as NBC Golf Analyst for Telecast of the 50th Players Championship

Could we have a leader in the clubhouse for the vacant NBC golf analyst position? NBC announced a name previously featured in its 2024 PGA Tour coverage would return for another event — Kevin Kisner. The former Tour champion will call NBC’s coverage of the 50th Players Championship from The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

Since late last year, NBC has held “tryouts” for its vacant analyst position following former analyst Paul Azinger’s departure from the network last November. Kisner assumed the lead analyst role for NBC’s first two events of 2024 and would be the only analyst the company has used to return for more work. Other names who have signed on for work at NBC include Luke Donald, Brandel Chamblee, and Jim “Bones” Mackay, among others.

“Kevin did a great job in the booth with Dan Hicks earlier this year and his work with Smylie Kaufman on the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open made for great TV, so we’re happy we can once again pair Kevin with Dan and have Kevin join Smylie at the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass next Friday,” said Tommy Roy, NBC Sports’ lead golf producer in a statement.

NBC Sports’ coverage of the 50th anniversary of The PLAYERS Championship at The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla, airs across NBC, GOLF Channel, and Peacock from March 14-17.

NBA Opens Exclusive Negotiating Window With Disney & TNT Sports; Pair Could Split ‘NBA Cup’ Tournament

BSM Staff
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NBA Opens Exclusive Negotiating Window With Disney & TNT Sports; Pair Could Split ‘NBA Cup’ Tournament

The NBA opened the exclusive negotiation window with Disney and TNT Sports before the league’s media rights agreement expires following the 2025 season. Interesting notes from a report from Sports Business Journal reveal the potential broadcasting home of the Emirates NBA Cup, formerly the In-Season Tournament, the Play-In Round, and more.

SBJ’s Tom Friend reports that negotiations between the NBA and its two existing broadcast partners are about 75 percent there. Among the new wrinkles could be the NBA Cup being split amongst ESPN and TNT Sports platforms, where many expected Amazon, Apple, or Netflix to step in and acquire rights to a portion of the contest. While Amazon and Apple may not be in play for the NBA Cup, they may still be in play for different NBA options.

According to Friend, Amazon has its eyes on the league’s national streaming rights, while Apple will pursue a “mystery” event, which Friend says could be a bid for the SoFi Play-In Tournament or some sort of singular NBA event, like a Christmas Day game or something in the vein of the NHL’s Winter Classic — a regular season game with additional levels of flair added to it.

There may also be a third broadcast partner in play — NBC. Friend suggests NBC could take a portion of the NBA national broadcasting rights depending on what Disney and TNT Sports’ deals look like. We speculated that CBS could be a potential destination for the NBA due to its existing basketball portfolio and a new NBA-themed podcast. However, NBC presents a sentimental pick for NBA fans of a certain age who want to hear Roundball Rock once more and offers the same level of digital presence as CBS with their Peacock streaming app.

NBA team execs believe a final overall NBA media rights deal will be worth between $60 and $72B — 2.5 to 3 times larger than its previous arrangement in 2014. However, local rights fees may take a hit. Friend explains:

“One of the more complex aspects of the deal will be the juxtaposition between Amazon’s expected streaming rights deal and local team broadcasts. Franchises value local rights fees — even though the Diamond bankruptcy has led to a 16% reduction in fees for the 15 Bally Sports teams this season — and negotiations after April 22 are expected to formalize how many local broadcasts will be lost to Amazon and whether the deal with Amazon will be lucrative enough to appease individual teams.”

Jason Rantz: MSNBC, CNN Analysts Taking Orders From DNC On How to Classify Biden’s State of the Union Speech

BNM Staff
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Jason Rantz: MSNBC, CNN Analysts Taking Orders From DNC On How to Classify Biden’s State of the Union Speech

President Joe Biden delivered his annual State of the Union address last Thursday, with reaction being mainly divided along party lines. 770 KTTH host Jason Rantz was suspicious of reactions on MSNBC and CNN, questioning why they sounded so alike.

During The Jason Rantz Show Friday, the Seattle-based host discussed the President’s address, before noting that the reaction was very similar on CNN and MSNBC.

“I have to give a shoutout to pretty much all of the folks on the radical left in and out of media who just raved about the State of the Union,” said Rantz. “And if you noticed — I said this earlier — everyone’s using the term ‘feisty.’ It’s almost as if they were told, ‘Hey, maybe we ought to use this word. This is a good word to use. People will like it.’

“They’re looking for what was the opposite of ‘sleepy’ that doesn’t scare people too much a little feisty because there’s a little bit of fun in that word. And so they’re saying ‘feisty.'”

Rantz added that the messaging likely fell flat, with so many people not watching the President’s speech.

Mo Egger: “Our Show Will be Suspending FC Cincinnati Coverage for the Next Two Weeks”

BSM Staff
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Mo Egger: “Our Show Will be Suspending FC Cincinnati Coverage for the Next Two Weeks”

Mo Egger, host in afternoon drive on Cincinnati’s ESPN 1530, has posted on his X account his show will not be covering FC Cincinnati for the next two weeks “or until Laurel Pfahler gets her access returned.” Pfahler, who has an independent subscription site, Queen City Press, has covered FC Cincinnati since they started in 2015, but told her readers this weekend, her credential to cover the team had been supsended for two weeks. She did not offer a specific reason why she was suspended, but in a post on her Patreon, she wrote, in part:

“While I do not want to get into details of why my press credential has been revoked, I want you to know I vehemently disagree with the club on this decision,” she wrote. “The club has not accused me of violating any guidelines listed in the MLS Notice of Credential Use Conditions. I stand by my reporting and ethics. I have covered the Cincinnati Bengals for the Dayton Daily News since 2015. I can say with confidence another professional sports team would not have revoked a credential in this case.”

Pfahler previously worked for The Athletic, ESPN and Cincinnati ABC station, WCPO. She aslo covers the Cincinnati Bengals for the Dayton Daily News. She wrote she will keep covering the team during the suspension as best she can during the suspension.

Pfahler has received a lot of support from those in the soccer community, including one post from Ben Wright of Backheeled.com, who wrote, “MLS wants to be a league of choice that is relevant in the American sports landscape with informed, passionate fans, but doesn’t seem to want independent media who push clubs and don’t shy away from reporting hard truths. You can’t have it both ways.”

ESPN 1530, owned by iHeart Media, is the flagship station for the team, an agreement that runs through the 2025 season.

Stephen A. Smith: “I Want to be Recognized as Arguably the Greatest Sports Commentator Who Ever Lived”

BSM Staff
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Stephen A. Smith: “I Want to be Recognized as Arguably the Greatest Sports Commentator Who Ever Lived”

Stephen A. Smith, who will be speaking at the BSM Summit in New York later this week, spoke during a panel at the Sports Track of the SXSW culture festival in Austin, TX. Smith was asked what he wants his professional legacy to be and he replied, “I want to be recognized as arguably the greatest sports commentator who ever lived.”

Smith continued and talked about all of the content he has plans to create and how he will get there. “I want to be an impact player, one of the preeminent voices, on any level, that this nation has ever seen. When I say voice, that voice comes in a multitude of ways. It comes with me in front of the microphone and the camera. It comes with me behind the scenes as an executive producer, I have a docuseries coming out in a month.”

Smith then added more about a project he has spoke of recently, but still cannot quite announce, when he added, “It comes with me as a content creator as an executive producer and a creator of a drama series that just got picked up that I am not at liberty to announce for about about another two or three weeks, that I am doing in concert with John Legend and Michael B. Jordan.”

He also hit on a future project which he didn’t say what it would be, only who it is he will work with on it. “It comes with projects that I am working on with the great Antoine Fuqua who has done Training Day and Olympus Has Fallen,” he said “…One of the great, great directors and producers this world has ever seen and he is a personal firend of mine, and my aspiration is to do something with him, coming down to one path and that is being a preeminent voice, a mover and shaker, an impact player of epic proportions and that is what I intend to do.”

Smith was also asked about his upcoming negotiations with ESPN during the panel and Sportico reports his response was, “I will never say I’m more valuable than a $22 billion business. What I will say, however, is I am incredibly valuable. I’m No. 1 at the network, and that matters. I contribute to the bottom line; I don’t bleed it. That doesn’t make me worth more than them, but it doesn’t mean I need them in order to survive and to prosper. There are other ways to prosper. I am not a prisoner to the ESPN/Walt Disney family.”

Smith was also asked about his relationship with ESPN teammate Pat McAfee. Last week a story surfaced that the two exchanged a heated phone call. “Me and Pat McAfee are fine,” Smith said. “And even if we aren’t, I’ll never tell. It’s true I’ll cuss your a** out , that’s me if you deserve it. After I said what I said, we are fine. With Pat McAfee, we are fine.”

Chris Cuomo Tells Tucker Carlson ‘You Cherry-Picked’ January 6th Footage

BNM Staff
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Chris Cuomo Tells Tucker Carlson ‘You Cherry-Picked’ January 6th Footage

NewsNation is set to air a one-on-one conversation between Chris Cuomo and Tucker Carlson Monday, featuring Carlson’s first return to cable news since his April 2023 ouster from Fox News.

In anticipation of the debut, the cable network has released excerpts from the conversation including one in which Cuomo calls out the former Fox News host.

While discussing Carlson’s unveiling of footage from the January 6th Insurrection, Chris Cuomo argued that the former primetime host knowingly acted maliciously in his broadcasts about that day.

“Your approach — and the approach of other people, ‘Hey this was just, you know, these guys were in the wrong place, the wrong way, but that’s all it was,’ — I don’t agree with that. I think it was a riot,” said Cuomo. “And I think they were way over the line, and I think they were motivated to go over the line, in part by the President of the United States.”

Tucker Carlson agreed that “parts of it” were a riot, before questioning why there hasn’t been a figure released noting how many federal agents were in the crowd that day.

After Cuomo said he loves “transparency” and wanted an answer to that question as well, Carlson shared that we don’t have that number.

“It is the opposite to what we have, and there are thousands of hours of tape, and the release of which will not jeopardize the security in the Capitol,” the former Fox News host said.

“You cherry-picked that tape, by the way,” Cuomo said.

“I aired what they sent me,” retorted Carlson.

“You cherry-picked it, though,” insisted Cuomo.

In another snippet, Chris Cuomo and Tucker Carlson sparred over the recent interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Don’t you feel that if you are gonna go and sit with someone like that, you have to hold them to account for things that matter?,” Cuomo asked.

“I did,” Carlson responded.

The first part of the conversation will air on NewsNation at 8 PM ET Monday.

Donald Trump: Megyn Kelly ‘Making a Career by Pretending She Likes Me’

BNM Staff
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Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump had a famous back-and-forth at a 2015 Republican presidential primary debate, and the 45th President hasn’t forgotten.

During a campaign speech Saturday evening, the former President brought up the debate Kelly moderated.

“They asked me that horrible, horrible question. Remember? And I said, “Oh. Am I dead?’, that’s the first question I ever got,” Trump said.

In that 2015 debate, Kelly approached Trump by prefacing her question with the statement “You’ve called women you don’t like ‘fat pigs,’ ‘dogs,’ ‘slobs,’ and ‘disgusting animals,'” before Trump retorted “Only Rosie O’Donnell,” which earned hearty laughs and applause from the crowd.

“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. In my opinion, she was off base,” Trump told CNN after the debate. His campaign later attempted to claim he said “out of her — whatever,” and argued he meant her nose, rather than insinuate anything else about the then-Fox News host.

On Saturday, Trump joked about Kelly again, saying “Megyn Kelly, may she rest in peace,” Trump said. “She’s sort of making a career by pretending she likes me.”

In September, Donald Trump sat down with Kelly for an interview that aired on SiriusXM. It was the first time Megyn Kelly had questioned the former President since that 2015 Republican debate.

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