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Bob Iger: ‘There’s Reason to be Bullish’ on Future of ESPN

BSM Staff
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Bob Iger: ‘There’s Reason to be Bullish’ on Future of ESPN

Disney CEO Bob Iger knows what kind of asset he’s got in ESPN. And the future for The Worldwide Leader, at least in the short term, is a reason for optimism from Iger.

“One of the reasons we’re optimistic is we know the power and the popularity of live sports and we know how attractive it is,” Iger said in a talk at a Morgan Stanley conference Thursday. “Not just to consumers but to advertisers.”

In addition to the linear TV product, ESPN boasts a subscriber base of 25 million for its streaming service ESPN+. Iger said the service has supplemented the network’s brand well and made way for ESPN to become a hub to access any game being live-streamed.

“At this point, [ESPN+] is what I call a flanker business or brand to the main ESPN brand,” he said. “Down the road, at some point, I think it’s inevitable…[ESPN] will become a direct-to-consumer business.”

“There’s a reason to be bullish,” Iger added.

Despite persistent rumors that Disney wants to spin off the network and its related businesses, Iger said ESPN is headed in a good direction.

“We think we’re well positioned,” he said. “And it doesn’t mean that we’re not going to be open-minded about its future, but right now, we’re bullish about it.”

Access to Advertising Data Has Never Been Better

Jeff Caves
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Access to Advertising Data Has Never Been Better

Now is the time for us to find ways to expand on how we prove the effectiveness of our ad campaigns. Advertisers are in part turning to digital advertising for the ability to track their results using various metrics. Some radio groups already have found new ways to prove their worth and the timing couldn’t be better as the digital game is changing. 

One example is Audacy, which uses AI technology to provide better attribution data for advertisers. By tracking broadcast ad exposure and website traffic through Veritone Attribute, Audacy can analyze the results and deliver them to advertisers to show where the results come from by creative, daypart, day of the week, and station. This technology was discussed in a podcast I did with Paul Cramer of Veritone, which is worth checking out to learn more.

Also, iHeart studied 300 auto dealer campaigns over 17 months to prove that radio advertising can lift car dealers’ web traffic. This LeadsRx study is a powerful tool that we can use to convince hesitant auto advertisers of the value of radio advertising.

In addition, suggest that advertisers use surveys to gather listener feedback, track website traffic and sales data to see if there is a correlation with a schedule and monitor website visits and sales during and after a radio campaign. By providing advertisers with audience demographics and listener behavior data, we show campaign value and build stronger relationships with our local advertisers.

As the industry continues to evolve, it is worth noting that your station’s relationship with listeners will become increasingly valuable to advertisers. With third-party cookies being phased out by Google by late 2024, digital advertisers will have to find new ways to target their audiences. You can provide a valuable alternative by leveraging your relationship with listeners to offer targeted advertising opportunities. 

Remind advertisers that Edison Research found that radio ads are the most trusted form of advertising, with 61% of listeners stating they trust radio ads, compared to only 25% for online pop-up ads. There will be increased attention on pop-ups, cookies, and web users feeling violated soon. We build trust with listeners and will have further opportunities to impact consumer behavior significantly. 

While tracking the effectiveness of radio ads may present some challenges, there are many ways to prove value to advertisers. By using new technologies, leveraging existing data, and highlighting success stories, we can build stronger relationships with advertisers and demonstrate the value of radio advertising as a highly effective investment.

Every Game From Men’s NCAA Tournament to Air on SiriusXM

BSM Staff
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Every Game From Men’s NCAA Tournament to Air on SiriusXM

When the NCAA tournament tips off next week, SiriusXM will have listeners covered with broadcasts of every contest from the First Four to the national championship in Houston.

Additionally, fans won’t miss a second of the Sweet 16 onward through the Final Four in Dallas in the 2023 women’s tournament. Sirius will air select games from the first and second rounds.

Each game feed carried by Sirius is provided by Westwood One.

On Selection Sunday, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Steve Torre will be live on Mad Dog Sports Radio from 5-9 p.m. Over on SiriusXM College Sports Radio, Kris Budden and Sean Farnham will have coverage of the bracket reveal starting at 5 p.m. Chris Plank and Nicole Auerbach will handle the women’s bracket reveal.

The official selection show produced by Westwood One will air on CBS Sports Radio (SiriusXM channel 158) starting at 6 p.m. Jason Horowitz, PJ Carlesimo and Debbie Antonelli will cover both bracket reveals.

Legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski will host his show Basketball and Beyond with Coach K twice a week on SiriusXM College Sports Radio throughout the tournament. Coach K will preview games and react to performances by players and teams.

Additional coverage, insight and analysis of both the men’s and women’s tournaments can be heard on all of SiriusXM’s dedicated college sports stations.

Neil Everett Joins Trail Blazers For Two Alternate Broadcasts

BSM Staff
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SportsCenter anchor Neil Everett will be taking part in two upcoming special edition broadcasts of Portland Trail Blazers basketball.

The team announced Thursday that Everett and Blazer fan favorites Antonio Harvey and Terry Porter will have coverage of the LegendsCast on Root Sports Plus against Boston on March 17 and against the Clippers on March 19.

Several former Trail Blazers players will also be making appearances throughout the night sharing stories from their playing days and opinions on this year’s team.

Everett, a Portland native and Blazers fan, said these two broadcasts will go a long way in continuing to allow fans to connect with alumni.

“The Trail Blazers are and have been so vital to Portland as a whole,” Everett said. “It’s important that connection with former players never be lost. LegendsCast is a big step in that direction. Plus, I get to hang with some of my heroes.”

The traditional broadcast for both games featuring Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd, Brooke Olzendam and Cory Jez can be seen on Root Sports.

Founder of DC’s First Sports Talk Station Joins Bid For Commanders

BSM Staff
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With discussions taking place over the potential sale of the Washington Commanders, a short list of finalists has emerged. And a D.C. sports radio pioneer is part of one of the groups in contention to take ownership from Dan Snyder.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday that Mitchell Rales and Josh Harris, who owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils, have placed a bid. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta are also in the running.

Mitchell and his brother Steven Rales co-founded WTEM in 1992. The Team 980, as it’s now known, was Washington’s first all-sports radio station.

Rales is a native of Bethesda, Maryland, a D.C. suburb. He is a co-founder of Danaher Corporation, and his net worth is believed to be in the $5 billion-$6 billion range.

Snyder’s asking price is reported to have been $6 billion. It’s believed the bid Rales and Harris have put in is short of that $6 billion price tag, but could potentially get closer to that number with minority investors.

Sean McManus: 2023 NCAA Tournament ‘Bittersweet’ for CBS

BSM Staff
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The 2023 NCAA Tournament will be the final one for CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz, and that fact means its time of several emotions for CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus.

During the March Madness media preview conference call, McManus shared that Nantz has been instrumental in the network’s coverage of the event.

“It’s a bittersweet tournament for us,” McManus said.  “This is Jim’s 32nd — if you can believe it — Final Four and Championship Game as lead play-by-play announcer. His first was in 1991 with Billy Packer. Jim, as everyone on this call knows, has meant so much to the game of college basketball, to CBS Sports, and to the growth in popularity of this great event. Fitting another good storyline, he’ll be able to sign off from Houston, and on CBS. And he can’t root because he’s an objective broadcaster, but if the Houston Cougars happen to be in Houston that weekend, that would be a pretty cool storyline for Jim also.”

Nantz is a University of Houston alumnus, and mentioned the school holds a special place in his heart as his broadcast career began there.

“A lot of people don’t know that the basketball program really was my entrance into the business,” Nantz reminisced. “I was completely tied to the Houston basketball program, more than anything else, to get me launched. Back as a kid, I was the public address announcer, I was the host of The Guy Lewis Show — our Hall of Fame coach — his television show that ran on the NBC affiliate. I was just a kid living in the dorms.”

The 2023 Final Four is scheduled for Houston, with the Cougars ranked as the #1 team in the country. Nantz said it’s too early to discuss the team making that run, but it would mean a lot to the venerable broadcaster.

“Houston, if they made it to the Final Four, if they won the national championship, then this would be right up there as one of the top two moments of my career.”

Colin Dunlap: Fans Seeing RSNs Collapse Have Nothing to Worry About

BSM Staff
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Colin Dunlap: Fans Seeing RSNs Collapse Have Nothing to Worry About

AT&T SportsNet — owned by Warner Bros. Discovery — is exiting the regional sports network space. After giving teams the ability to negotiate until the end of the month to take their rights back, there have been no updates on the progress, leaving fans in limbo. While there may be anxiety, 93.7 The Fan morning host Colin Dunlap believes fans have nothing to worry about.

“Maybe it’s a refusal to believe it could actually happen — perhaps it’s that, that I’ve talked myself into the business of television and…the payments and this and that — but I just don’t believe that there will be a time when I turn my television on and the Penguins and Pirates won’t be on,” Dunlap said.

“I find it hard to believe that with all the money involved, somebody’s not gonna find a way to broadcast these games,” co-host Chris Mack said. “Both the Pirates and Penguins.”

“I don’t know a world or a lifetime that that wasn’t the case,” continued Dunlap. “Whenever they’re on, they’re on. In all my years, I’ve never known that, so until I see that happening, it would solely be reactionary…maybe it’s naive on my part, but I haven’t even started to walk down that road.”

He then mentioned that station host Andrew Fillipponi had a long discussion about the situation that included well-researched alternatives. Dunlap admitted that while the topic eventually went over his own head due to Fillipponi’s intelligence level, he said he continued coming back to “Come on. They’ll be on TV someway”.

AT&T SportsNet outlets in Denver, Houston, Pittsburgh currently hold the television rights to four MLB teams (Astros, Pirates, Mariners, and Rockies), three NBA teams (Trailblazers, Jazz, Rockets) and three NHL teams (Penguins, Kraken, and Golden Knights. The networks are reportedly offering the teams back their rights with no cost.

The demise of AT&T SportsNet also comes at a time when Bally Sports-branded networks are facing uncertainty. After missing a scheduled $140 million debt payment last month, many observers expect Diamond Sports Group to declare bankruptcy.

Courtney Cox: What Else Could NFL Network Do Than Suspend Michael Irvin?

BSM Staff
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Michael Irvin has been involved in a he-said-she-said battle with an accuser after an interaction in an Arizona Marriott that saw the Pro Football Hall of Famer removed from Super Bowl coverage by NFL Network. The latest development shows the hotel chain has yet to relinquish a copy of the video showcasing the interaction, and WEEI morning host Greg Hill questioned why.

“It seems to me — these are words. At what point does Michael Irvin get to defend himself?” Hill asked Thursday morning. “He didn’t lose his life, he’s not being thrown in jail, but what could have happened?”

“He’s gonna get a big bag because he lost a lot of money obviously and his name is sullied in the sense of as soon as this all went down they were like ‘Oh, Michael Irvin, he’s a predator’ because remember he’s had some issues in the past, and then boom,” co-host Jermaine Wiggins added.

Co-host Courtney Cox countered by saying NFL Network’s hands were tied.

“What else could have NFL Network done, though? You get a report that this went down, and you’re doomed if you do and doomed if you don’t,” argued Cox. “I think they would rather have dealt with it this way and it come out that it was a nothing-burger than the opposite; them not do anything, this video comes out and it’s terrible.”

Wiggins rebutted by saying that is guilty until proven innocent, and that it isn’t outrageous to expect the company you work for to stand beside you, especially in a time of potential turmoil.

FOX, WWE Have Not Spoken About Renewing SmackDown TV Deal

BSM Staff
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FOX, WWE Have Not Spoken About Renewing SmackDown TV Deal

What does the future hold for the relationship between the WWE and FOX? Neither side knows. Lachlan Murdoch has said his company is ready to negotiate an extension to the TV rights for SmackDown, but the WWE has yet to come to the table.

“From a rights point of view, we’re focused on the rights renewal,” the FOX CEO said Thursday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference according to Fightful. “We haven’t engaged with them on the rights yet, we’re ready to engage with them when they ask and they’re ready. Ultimately, our appetite for renewal depends on what happens with the rest of our sports portfolio.”

What is keeping the WWE away from the negotiating table right now is an effort to sell the company. Vince McMahon is said to want $9 billion. In January, WWE President Nick Khan told Bill Simmons that a sale would have to close before the company begins discussing its next contract with FOX.

FOX has been the home of WWE SmackDown on Friday nights since 2019. Murdoch says that FOX has been happy with the relationship and hopes that it will continue after the company is sold.

“They have been great partners,” he said. “They’ve been great partners throughout our relationship. If they ultimately sell the business, I hope the acquirer will be as great as they’ve been. I hope the management team stays intact there. They’ve done a tremendous job.”

Other media companies have been mentioned as potential suitors for the WWE. Should Comcast or Disney end up acquiring the company, it stands to reason that it would want to move SmackDown off of FOX and on to one of their respective networks.

Mike Florio: NFL Network ‘May Have Some Liability’ In Michael Irvin Case

BSM Staff
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Yesterday, lawyers for Michael Irvin shared that hotel chain Marriott has yet to share the video of the NFL Network analyst’s interaction with a woman in an Arizona hotel that led to him being suspended by the outlet, even after a court ordered the surrender more than two weeks ago.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio — a former attorney by trade — told 105.3 The Fan’s Shan & RJ that Irvin has to feel exonerated by what he has seen in the video, and that NFL Network could be subject to further litigation from the Pro Football Hall of Famer, should he choose to go down that route.

“Somebody overreacted,” Florio said. “Somebody instigated, with NFL Network, a complaint that got Michael Irvin pulled from the Super Bowl week coverage. And the one fact that I think is very important here: Marriott is a longtime sponsor of the NFL.

“My guess is that the NFL was willing to jump when they got a complaint from ‘Proud Sponsor of the NFL’, and this is what you learn in the discovery process: How high up the chain at Marriott did this go? How high were the alarms sounded? How high up NFL Network’s ladder did it go? NFL Network may have some liability here if Michael Irvin chooses to pursue it.”

Florio continued by stating that Irvin is likely entitled to some compensation after being removed from the network’s coverage of the Super Bowl prematurely.

“It sure feels like somebody dramatically overreacted based on the representation of what’s in that video and the accounts of the eyewitnesses that Michael Irvin had participate yesterday…I feel horrible for Michael Irvin because I feel like somebody made a rash decision, acted on it prematurely, and now the question is can the legal process be engineered in a way that gets him a fair amount of compensation for what he — by all appearances — endured.”

During the news conference yesterday, Irvin lamented his inability to defend himself due to Marriott’s refusal to turn over a copy of the video.

“It just blows my mind that I have no opportunity to defend myself. I don’t even know what I’m defending,” said Irvin. “To not listen to the court, Marriott is above the law. I still haven’t seen this tape.”

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