The Atlantic 10 Conference announced today new five-year agreements with CBS Sports, ESPN, and NBC Sports for enhanced media and television rights.
A release from the conference states the new agreement will significantly increase national exposure for both men’s and women’s basketball, along with brand marketing, production investment, and rights fee revenue, beginning with the 2024-25 season.
Although financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the conference says this new agreement represents a 40 percent increase in rights fee revenue.
“This media rights agreement is a critical part of maintaining the league’s national position, branding and relevance in men’s and women’s basketball. Our Institutions, student-athletes, coaches, and fans will benefit as the A-10 coverage will continue to be comprehensive,” stated Bernadette V. McGlade, Atlantic 10 Commissioner. “We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with CBS Sports, ESPN, and NBC Sports and to expand these outstanding partnerships. I thank each media company and their leadership as well as Endeavor’s WME Sports and IMG teams for the commitment to the Atlantic 10 Conference.”
The CBS television network and Paramount+ will continue to present the Men’s Basketball Championship final as part of its NCAA Selection Sunday coverage, while ESPN retains the Women’s Basketball Championship final. CBS Sports Network will continue to carry both the men’s and women’s semifinals.
Atlantic 10 schools reside in states that comprise 39.9 million television households, including seven of the top 30 media markets, with the largest being New York (1), Chicago (3), Philadelphia (4) and Washington (8).
During this new contract, the A-10 will celebrate its 50th Anniversary as a Division I conference during the 2025-26 academic year.
Longtime Denver sports radio host Darren McKee — affectionately known as “DMac” — recently joined Altitude Sports Radio after a long run at 104.3 The Fan. In a sitdown interview with Mile High Sports, McKee shared his view that the life of a broadcaster isn’t an easy one.
“I couldn’t be happier where I ended up – could not be happier. I don’t know if “vindication” is the right word. In this business, you’re just so paranoid; it’s almost like relief, not vindication,” Darren McKee said. “The paranoia about being a broadcaster… it’s got to be the most idiotic choice to hang your shingle on and make a life out of. I mean, who would do this? I’m like the guy who’s the bass player who quit his day job, to get in the back of the station wagon with the band. I have not given myself any other choices. Right? This is it.
“I really didn’t want to leave Colorado. With all my years of experience, I suppose I could always get a job somewhere, but I didn’t want to go somewhere else. I love it here. I’ve built up a lot of equity here in the state of Colorado, and literally is my favorite place in the country. I’ve been all over the country, including my hometown of Boston. And I swear to God – this is not just a line – I would never want to live anywhere else.”
When asked about the situation with Altitude Sports Radio — which is owned by Kroenke Sports and Entertainment along with the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Rapids (MLS), and Colorado Mammoth (NLL) — and if there is an edict to steer clear of criticizing the franchises.
“I think it’s about being critical fairly. Right. I’ve been told as long as everything is fair, criticism is fine. I don’t really have a problem with that. I think I can be fairly critical about what’s going on; that pertains to everything. To be fairly critical for me is to be as informed as I can be about the things that matter the most,” McKee said.
“Right now, I’d have to be going out of my way to be overly critical (of the Nuggets or Avalanche); it’s a weird question because (we’re lucky enough to be) talking about an NBA Championship and a team that’s poised to make a Stanley Cup run. I guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when I get to it. I guess that’s a lucky break on my part, that it’s really not much of an issue.”
After joining Altitude Sports Radio, Darren McKee is partnered with Tyler Polumbus and Scott Hastings from 12-3 PM.
As the Seattle Seahawks look to make a playoff push in the final four games of the 2023 NFL season, fans continue to listen to the action on the air with Steve Raible and Dave Wyman on the broadcast. Wyman also hosts an afternoon drive radio program on Seattle Sports 710 where he welcomed his broadcast partner to the air on Wednesday to discuss the Holiday Magic fundraiser. The 35th year of the event benefits Treehouse, a nonprofit organization that focuses on addressing education and enrichment needs of children and youth in foster care around Washington state.
Raible explained the history of the fundraising event, which started on the 12 p.m. news at KIRO-7 alongside Susan Hutchinson. The on-air anchors and staff would compel people to donate either something that a child wanted or needed. People would write letters into the station to make their donations before the advent of technology, and the event has steadily grown over the years. The fundraiser closed auction packages throughout the day on Wednesday with on-air hosts revealing the winners.
“It is such a wonderful event and a great opportunity,” Steve Raible said on Seattle Sports 710, “and to see what it’s become after all these years [is great.]”
Both Raible and Wyman are former NFL football players who have esoteric knowledge from their days on the field that they are able to equip within the broadcast booth. Every week, they prepare and cover the team and have been working together on the call for games since 2018. The anticipation leading up to a game is energizing, preparing them to watch the team and make the calls, but there are different ways in which they are able to express themselves over the course of a broadcast.
“I don’t know if you saw this the other day, [but] I was this close to throwing my binoculars out the window,” Wyman said. “The binoculars probably weigh, what a pound-and-a-half?…. I was so excited or pissed – I can’t remember which one – and I went, ‘Oh!,’ like that and [it] kind of came out of my hands and I grabbed it and I went, ‘Oh my gosh.’”
Wyman was a linebacker and frequently brought additional zeal and intensity onto the field, but he finds himself in a different role serving as an analyst. Conversely, Raible is able to indicate his sentiments based on his calls over the course of a game.
“I have the opportunity to kind of let it loose,” Steve Raible said, “because I’m the guy who does all the yelling and carrying on.”
The location of the press box at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. is slightly above fan seating, permitting spectators to yell towards the broadcasters over the course of the game. Although Raible does not hear as much of what is said because he is frequently announcing throughout the game, Wyman is more privy to the comments. There have been times where Wyman has wanted to go into the stands after the game, something that Raible has to restrain him from doing.
“That energy [and] that nastiness and all that stuff, that just sort of stays built up in him,” Raible said of Wyman. “I admire that he can control himself like that.”
Dan Le Batard, equipped with hindsight, would have done things a bit differently when starting Meadowlark Media.
During an episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Le Batard broached the subject of Stephen A. Smith and his budding media empire outside of ESPN. Dan says that, if given the chance to do it over again, he would have built his own media company the way Stephen A. has — while still employed at the Worldwide Leader.
Dan Le Batard, equipped with hindsight, would have done things a bit differently when starting Meadowlark Media.
During an episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Le Batard broached the subject of Stephen A. Smith and his budding media empire outside of ESPN. Dan says that, if given the chance to do it over again, he would have built his own media company the way Stephen A. has — while still employed at the Worldwide Leader.
“He has conquered everything in this business and now is doing an infomercial on First Take that builds his next business where he’s just selling the next thing he’s going to do,” Le Batard said. “I wish I had been as wise to not be as emotional in that circumstance when you realize everything is falling around you, I wish I’d been more calculated that I could’ve decided that, ‘okay, you’re going to do that to Chris Cote? Okay, I’ll wait 18 months and build it on your dime.’
For the uninitiated, the “final straw” amidst Le Batard and ESPN’s crumbling relationship was the firing of longtime producer Chris Cote in 2019. Chris is the son of Greg Cote, a co-host, friend, and mentor to Le Batard for decades. At the moment, Le Batard was furious and decided to leave ESPN mere months later. However, he admits he should’ve played the long game with the company rather than “start a business during a pandemic” as he often says.
Executive producer Mike Ryan also heaped praise onto Stephen A. and his team. “The dude is using ESPN as he grows his brand, as he becomes synonymous with his brand, but also trying to distance himself a little bit in the video aspect of his next step. That’s how you do it. We did that somewhat with audio and I have my regrets on not using the video power and trying to have as much foresight on digital video as we did on digital audio.
“He is presently being able to use the power of ESPN’s platforms to promote his own unique YouTube page and side podcast in which he can give you opinions on things he can’t necessarily give you on cable television…It allows us to see a different side of him while he is still the tentpole of their daytime programming. It is being so expertly done by him and his team that I am so certain he’s not going to be exclusive to ESPN in the ways that he is for much longer, because he is definitely plotting another avenue.”
Outside of his ESPN responsibilities, Stephen A. owns his own production company, Mr. SAS Productions, which produces his ESPN+ show Stephen A’s World. He also hosts The Stephen A. Smith Show, a web series produced by his company that allows Stephen A. to touch on sports but also other topics such as dating, current events, music, and more.
He’s also made numerous appearances on Fox News and even guest stars on ABC’s General Hospital as Brick, a lawyer and confidant of one of the show’s main characters, Sonny.
Tucker Carlson recently launched a subscription-based digital network. 710 WOR host Mark Simone believes it’s likely to be a success given Carlson’s history.
During his New York midday show, Simone noted that Tucker Carlson has experience in bouncing back from being fired by a cable news outlet, after departing both CNN and MSNBC before joining Fox News, before exiting earlier this year. Simone compared Carlson’s post-Fox plan to that of a similar former network star.
“This is kind of what O’Reilly does. He’s going to do the same thing, which is good. You’re your own boss,” Simone said of Tucker Carlson. “He’ll have a website up there will be the TV show up there will be everything, you know, the columns, the TV, it’s just kind of like what O’Reilly does. Tucker is going to try to do that.”
Simone added that the play to launch Tucker Carlson Network is similar to the former Fox News host’s previous digital endeavors.
“Tucker has been fired a few times in his career. He had been at MSNBC, he had been at CNN, and a while back when he got fired, he left and started a website called The Daily Caller, which is a very good news site. He started that,” said Simone. “I guess he has nothing to do with it anymore, but it’s still a great site. So he’s got a history of leaving, starting great businesses that do very well and last for years and years and years.”
KFI AM-640 afternoon host Tim Conway Jr. was named the top major market afternoon show in the BNM Top 20 Wednesday, topping 95.5 WSB host Eric Von Haessler. However, he credits Von Haessler for getting him into the business in the first place.
While discussing his ranking in the BNM Top 20 Wednesday, Von Haessler noted the finishing order and told his producers to get Conway Jr. on the phone.
“I am one of the people that got this guy into radio, and now I’m number two?!,” Von Haessler joked during The Von Haessler Doctrine. “I was looking in my phone, and I don’t have his number anymore. Call KFI. I want to get Tim Conway Jr. on the show to congratulate him, number one. And to also to get him to let people know that he would not be in radio if I had never been born. I want some sort of acknowledgment.”
After linking up with Conway Jr., who was driving to the station, he gave Von Haessler credit for getting him into the business.
“If it wasn’t for you and your partner, Larry Wachs…I would not be driving to work right now on KFI. And I mean that,” Conway Jr. said. “There are about four or five people I can turn to in life and say — you and Larry are one of them, and there are three or four others — but if it wasn’t for you guys, I definitely wouldn’t be in radio right now, and I wouldn’t be driving to work at KFI. It’s a true story.”
Von Haessler then noted that Conway Jr. had what he considered the first internet radio talk show in 1995. That is when Conway Jr. revealed he gained plenty of notoriety for the show after lying about its audience size. As a result of the lie, he was featured in stories in Time, People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and 60 Minutes.
“I think lying is very important, and the kids need to know that,” Von Haessler joked.
The two then joked about former co-workers, with Tim Conway Jr. joking that he worked with David Letterman, and a pair of colleagues that eventually became TV writers.
“They are millionaires living in Beverly Hills. I live in Burbank and I’m just coming home from Walmart,” he said with a laugh. He did call radio “the greatest business in the world”, because you get a small taste of the money without much of the notoriety.
As the interview concluded, Von Haessler joked that he was responsible for the top two positions on the BNM Top 20 list. Conway Jr. then revealed that he named his son Eric in honor of Von Haessler, which the Atlanta host appreciated.
Sean Baligian has departed Cumulus Media-owned station WJR 760, ending his time hosting the evening program for the outlet. The show, Sportswrap with Lomas Brown and Sean Baligian, aired from 6 to 7 PM ET. The program was relaunched over the summer in June and will continue to be hosted by Brown, a former offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, who joined the show last month.
“I want to thank WJR for my time there, and I wish them all nothing but the best moving forward,” Baligian said in a statement posted to Facebook. “I’ll miss a great group of co-workers. Now onto the important thing. Who is hiring?!”
Before working on Sportswrap, Baligian was the co-host of the morning program on the station. Moreover, he has worked at various other radio stations in the area over the years, including WDFN The Fan, News Radio 1370 WSPD and 96.1 The Game. Baligian also hosted the morning show at WMGC-FM when it operated in the sports talk radio format. WMGC-FM officially flipped from Detroit Sports 105.1 to 105.1 The Bounce in 2016, currently airing classic hip-hop music. The station endured an ownership change when it was sold to Beasley Media Group in the same year as part of its acquisition of Greater Media and 21 associated stations for $240 million.
While on the air with WDFN, Baligian was the host of the morning drive show It is What It Is and a fantasy football program titled Fantasy Sports Geekly. The morning show was later rebranded to Sean, Terp and Killer with Ryan Terpestra and Tom Kowalski, which Baligian left in the fall of 2011. While he was with WJR, Baligian participated on the morning program with Paul W. Smith and co-hosted a show with Darren McCarty on Friday nights.
Outside of his radio hosting responsibilities, Baligian is an avid fantasy football player and has written on the subject for MLive Media Group, FOX 2 Detroit and The Detroit News. Additionally, he is a two-time champion of the CBS Sportsline Experts fantasy league representing the Detroit franchise in a top-market bracket. Baligian also continues to serve as the radio play-by-play announcer for the Wayne State University Warriors football team.
Normally, Santa Claus decides who is on the naughty and nice list. This year, syndicated radio host Mark Kaye is taking some of the duties off of Santa’s plate.
Kaye has reserved the top two spots on his list for President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. For his “prize”, Kaye will send 23 pounds of coal to the 46th President.
“There has been a ton of bad behavior this year,” explains Kaye, “and we felt that Santa shouldn’t have the final say. After all, we live in a democratic republic. Everyone’s voice should be heard.”
Listeners of The Mark Kaye Show have been invited to submit their votes for the list at naughtylist2023.com, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and others receiving votes. Voting from listeners will end on Friday, December 22nd.
“At this point, Joe Biden’s lead seems insurmountable,” Kaye joked. “It’s the best showing in any poll he’s had all year. With the First Lady holding down second place, it seems that either way The White House will be getting a big, huge bag of coal this Christmas courtesy of the American public.”
The National Retail Federation claims Los Angeles is the top city in America for organized retail theft. That led KNX News to host a town hall to study and understand the issue.
Mike Simpson and Charles Feldman moderated Smash & Grab: Stealing the Season, a one-hour special, and welcomed a panel of experts to discuss the topic.
Panelists included:
Todd Spitzer, Orange County District Attorney
Marc Beeart, Director of Fraud & Corruption Prosecutions at the L.A. County District Attorney’s office
Lt. Sergio Perez, Coordinator of the California Highway Patrol Retail Theft Task Force
Tinisch Hollins, Executive Director, Californians for Safety and Justice
Charis Kubrin, Criminologist, UC Irvine
The National Retail Federation recently retracted claims that organized theft was responsible for $94 billion in annual losses. However, panelists at the town hall said actually calculating the figure is a difficult exercise.
Law enforcement officials attempted to impress upon KNX News listeners just how serious the problem is.
“Every single time an individual goes into a business and creates this level of havoc, they need to be prosecuted,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
“You can’t really get a handle on how to solve a problem until you know what the extent of the problem is,” added Charis Kurbin, a Criminologist at UC Irvine, “these are the numbers, how widespread it is, and all of that additional information which is not just noise, but a precursor to solving a problem, in my opinion.”
The second annual Barrett News Media Top 20 series is taking a break from focusing on local shows to turn our attention to the national circuit. Today, we reveal the Top 20 National News/Talk Shows for 2023. If you missed the Morning, Midday or Afternoon Show lists, click here for the Top 20 section to get caught up. To avoid missing out on the rest of the series, please bookmark our website, follow BNM on X at @BNMStaff or on Facebook at Barrett News Media or sign up for our daily newsletter, ‘The Rundown‘ by clicking here.
This year’s series focuses on six categories; Major and Mid market news/talk radio morning, midday, and afternoon shows, program directors, radio stations, and the format’s best national talk shows. Major Markets represent shows, stations, and PDs operating in markets #1-#20. Mid Markets cover markets #21 and below. Not included are NPR brands and shows. Maybe in the future we’ll change that or add an extra category but for now, mainstream news/talk radio outlets are the main focus.
As you review the results, please remember that they represent the collective opinions of fifty four (54) news/talk radio programmers and executives. We try our best to make sure the top shows, hosts, programmers and brands are listed for voting consideration. Industry decision makers are then asked to vote on categories based on where their stations/shows operate. BNM’s role in the voting process is to gather the feedback, add it up, and present the results.
I want to thank Barrett Media’s Digital Director Alex Reynolds for doing an awesome job on this year’s graphics, as well as each PD and executive who participated in this process. We had representation from fourteen companies and forty different cities, which was even better than last year. For those who didn’t vote and were invited to do so, I hope you’ll change your mind next year. It’s good for the format if you’re involved, and depending on the final votes, it can benefit your staff, sales team, and company, and excite your audience and advertisers.
Moving on to the voting, here are a few things to keep in mind.
#1 – Our executive voters are asked to rank their Top 20 selections for each category based on a few key factors; quality of show (ear test), originality, ability to entertain-inform-connect across multiple platforms, ratings success, clearance (national shows) and industry buzz. Remember, our voters live in different cities, have different tastes, work for different groups, and value certain factors higher than others. This is not a perfect system but it’s the best one we’ve come up with to showcase the industry’s top performers. Having done this for eight years with the sports talk format, we’re going to stick with it until a better option arises.
#2 – The executive panel consisted of program directors and corporate executives from a number of top broadcasting companies including Audacy, iHeart, Cumulus, Hubbard, Cox Media Group, Townsquare Media, Salem Media Group, Radio One, Alpha Media, Bonneville, FOX News Radio, Westwood One, Federated Media, and Zimmer Communications. We involve a large number of people in this process in order to receive feedback from all parts of the country, and to avoid the results heavily favoring one group. Given the variety of people in this process, it means there’s no guarantee that last year’s success will be repeated this year.
#3 – A total of 62 national shows were eligible for voting consideration in the National News/Talk Shows category. Many of these programs air nationwide on hundred’s of radio stations. They help brands deliver ratings and revenue success while elevating the station’s relevance in the process. Many on our list are vital to the format but only one can be crowned the category winner, so let’s get to the results.
Last year, Sean Hannity claimed the top prize. In 2023, that top honor goes to Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. The Premiere Networks tandem ranked 2nd in 2022, and moved up one spot to knock off Hannity by thirty nine (39) points. Clay and Buck launched their show in June 2021, stepping into Rush Limbaugh’s former timeslot. To earn this recognition two and a half years into their run speaks volumes about how well the show has been received by industry decision makers. BNM congratulates Clay, Buck, Julie Talbott, Peter Tripi and the Premiere Networks team on the first place finish, and every other show that earned a spot on this year’s list.
Now, here are the full results of “Barrett News Media’s Top 20 National News/Talk Shows of 2023!”
Additional Notes:
Clay & Buck won the afternoon category by thirty nine (39) points over Sean Hannity. The two shows were tied for the most first place votes in the category with nine (9).
Spots 21-25 were claimed by Michael Knowles,Michael Smerconish, Bill O’Reilly, Our American Stories, and Markley, Van Camp & Robbins.
The closest contests saw George Noory hold off Mark Levin by five (5) points, and Hugh Hewitt edged Charlie Kirk by six (6) points. Todd Starnes also held a slim seven (7) point advantage over Michael Knowles for 20th place.
Of the 62 shows to receive votes, fourteen (14) received at least one 1st place vote.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BNM Top 20 of 2023.
Friday December 15 = BNM’s Top 20 Major/Mid Market News/Talk Program Directors of 2023
Monday December 18 = BNM’s Top 20 Major/Mid Market News/Talk Radio Stations of 2023
