Piers Morgan is often a polarizing figure in media circles, which is why Kara Swisher welcomed the British media star to an episode of her On podcast, which debuted Monday, featuring Morgan taking a shot at former CNN co-worker Anderson Cooper.
While discussing his return to Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp., Morgan said the organization in Britain is a tight-knit group.
“I gotta say — and people can believe this or not — but I find it a very friendly collegiate place to work,” Morgan said. “Everyone’s very nice. When I was at CNN, it could be a lot less friendly than Fox. A lot more back biting, a lot more backstabbing actually in some cases.”
That is when Morgan levied an unspecified accusation at Cooper.
“Don’t wanna mention names, but Anderson Cooper knows where he is. And I found that Fox — I found that Fox is a different atmosphere by contrast.”
It’s not the first time Morgan has levied a shot at Cooper. In 2014, after his CNN show — Piers Morgan Live — was cancelled, Morgan told Politico that his show didn’t have a great lead-in with Anderson Cooper 360, saying “Anderson is a great field reporter, but does he drive big ratings at CNN, outside of a big news cycle? I don’t see any evidence of it. And yet the whole bank was being bet on him at 8 and 10 o’clock.” Morgan clarified in the same interview that he believes Cooper is “good at what he does” but he didn’t drive viewership like Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly did for Fox News, at the time.
Dan Bongino has announced that his national radio show with Westwood One will end when his contract expires.
On Friday’s show, Bongino said Cumulus Media approached him after the death of Rush Limbaugh to fill the timeslot, which he originally declined. After reconsidering, he told listeners “‘You know what? I’ll take it, but for a limited amount of time’.”
He said the decision “really sucks because I spent a lot of time building this and I love it and it’s grown on me,” adding “the first few months were really tough” as he grew into the role.
“Live radio is different. It’ll always be my first love,” Bongino said. “I’ve been doing it for seven years…there’s a different energy to it (live radio). There’s breaking news and the ability to shift on the fly. I’m gonna miss it. A lot. I don’t know where or what will happen after, but if you think walking away from this — and this isn’t a money thing. It’s never a money thing if you’ve got a following. There’s always money to be found out there. It’s a grifter thing, to worry about the money first. But it’s you that makes the difference. And you matter to me.”
The former Secret Service and NYPD officer added he has a year and a half left on his contract, and he plans to enjoy and savor every minute of it.
Bongino’s relationship with Cumulus Media has been a contentious one, which boiled over into public with his strong disagreement with the company’s vaccine mandate. He briefly stepped aside from his hosting role to protest the policy. Bongino did mention that his podcast will continue, as will his involvement on television.
Recently, former ESPN boss John Skipper appeared on the Puck News podcast The Townand insinuated that Apple may have interest in buying Disney. Dylan Byers, who is not part of The Town, but does write for Puck says that is not happening.
“I have it on good authority that that’s not on the table right now,” he wrote in a joint column with Julia Alexander on Friday. “The regulatory climate makes it impossible, of course, and Apple doesn’t want to be in the theme parks/cruise business anyway, much less manage the inexorable decline of the linear assets.”
Disney has been in some turmoil lately. Bob Iger returned as CEO last month after Bob Chapek was let go. That has set off a string of speculation regarding which future projects will be prioritized and which ones will be abandoned.
The idea of Apple buying Disney comes at an interesting time. The tech giant just backed out of negotiations to become the streaming home of NFL Sunday Ticket amid reports that the expectations of the company and the league did not match up. Would Apple really want to take on a portfolio that includes ESPN, which holds a multitude of rights deals with a large number of partners, all with unique demands?
Apple’s TV product is solely digital. Do streaming services have the same needs that linear networks do?
Byers describes football as a “loss leader” in the eyes of traditional media companies, the idea being that the eyeballs football brings to your network will then see what else you have to offer.
He says that model is what led to Apple exiting negotiations with the NFL. There was never a money issue. The company didn’t see the logic in what the NFL was asking for.
Perhaps Apple will still be interested in doing a deal with the NBA next year. Right now, it has kept its circle of sports partners small enough to easily adapt to each one’s needs. Taking on ESPN would complicate things tremendously and force Apple to do business in a way that it has already decided has no appeal.
CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Drew Griffin has died.
The network announced the death Monday morning, as CEO Chris Licht sent a memo to staff honoring the longtime reporter.
“Drew’s death is a devastating loss to CNN and our entire profession,” said Licht. “A highly acclaimed investigative journalist, Drew’s work had incredible impact and embodied the mission of this organization in every way.”
According to the network, Griffin worked on “hundreds of stories and multiple documentaries” during his time with CNN. Griffin’s reporting on the high number of sexual assault allegations against Uber drivers, which resulted in the company making sweeping changes to its background check policy.
The Chicago native won a Peabody Award and won three National Emmy’s during his tenure at CNN. In 2007, the Atlanta Press Club honored him as their Journalist of the Year.
Griffin joined CNN in 2004 after multiple stops in local television. He was 60.
Welcome to day 6 of our 7 day BNM Top 20 of 2022 series presented by Steve Stone Voiceovers. If this is your first time visiting our website and you missed the prior Top 20 announcements, be sure to catch up on the top National Shows,Major and Mid Market Morning Shows, Major and Mid Market Midday shows, Major and Mid Market Afternoon Shows, and Major and Mid Market Program Directors. The results represent the collective input shared by 44 radio industry programmers and executives from 15 companies in 36 cities. We thank them for making time to be part of this process.
If you’re unaware, the News/Talk radio format is offered on over two thousand stations. The only larger format is country. We try our best to make sure the top shows, hosts, programmers and brands from the News/Talk world are listed for voting consideration on our ballots but we also allow room for our voters to add nominees if for some reason someone isn’t listed. Additionally, though we triple check everything before publishing the lists and hope to present a perfect layout, sometimes mistakes happen. If you notice an error, please let us know. We want to shine the light on the format’s best brands and shows in a way that makes them feel proud to be recognized, not frustrated by an incorrect detail.
One thing to add, we haven’t included NPR brands and shows on our lists. Maybe down the line we’ll change that or add an extra category but for now, terrestrial outlets are our main focus. This series will conclude on Tuesday with a look at the top Original Digital Shows, and then on Wednesday, we’ll have a big announcement from Barrett Media President Jason Barrett. Stay tuned.
As it pertains to the voting, here are a few things to be aware of.
#1 – Our executive voters were asked to pick 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 isn’t a perfect system but it’s the best one we’ve been able to create to showcase the industry’s best. Having done this for seven years for the sports talk format, we’re going to stick with it until another approach makes more sense.
#2 – Our executive panel consists of program directors and corporate executives from a number of top broadcasting companies including Audacy, iHeart, Cumulus, Beasley, Hubbard, Good Karma Brands, Cox Media Group, Radio One, Alpha, Bonneville, FOX News Radio, Hearst, Federated Media, Zimmer Communications, and Westwood One. We involve a large number of people in order to receive feedback from all parts of the country, and to avoid the results heavily favoring one company.
#3 – A total of 52 radio stations appeared on ballots turned in by our radio industry panel.
Which brings us to today’s category – Major Market News/Talk Radio Stations. Congrats to WTOP in Washington D.C. on being voted #1. This was the first time a Major Market category was won by a brand other than KFI in Los Angeles. BNM congratulates Joel Oxley, Julie Ziegler and the entire WTOP team on a well deserved honor, as well as every other station that earned a spot on this year’s list.
Now, here are the full results of “BNM’s Top 20 Major Market News/Talk Radio Stations of 2022!”
Additional Notes:
WTOP won a close contest finishing four (4) points ahead of KFI in this category. The D.C. talk station recorded the most first place votes with seven (7).
Spots 21-25 belonged to WJR in Detroit, WCCO in Minneapolis, 710 WOR in New York City, WRKO in Boston, and KRLD in Dallas.
Our closest contest had KIRO and WBAP ahead of WMAL and KOA by two (2) points.
Of the 52 radio stations to gain votes from our panel, nine (9) received at least one 1st place vote.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BNM Top 20 of 2022.
Tuesday December 20 = The Top 20 Original N/T Digital Shows of 2022
A reminder, BNM will have a big announcement following the Top 20 series on Wednesday December 21st. Make sure to visit the website that day to learn what else we’re up to.
Welcome to day 6 of our 7 day BNM Top 20 of 2022 series presented by Steve Stone Voiceovers. If this is your first time visiting our website and you missed the prior Top 20 announcements, be sure to catch up on the top National Shows,Major and Mid Market Morning Shows, Major and Mid Market Midday shows, Major and Mid Market Afternoon Shows, and Major and Mid Market Program Directors. The results represent the collective input shared by 44 radio industry programmers and executives from 15 companies in 36 cities. We thank them for making time to be part of this process.
If you’re unaware, the News/Talk radio format is offered on over two thousand stations. The only larger format is country. We try our best to make sure the top shows, hosts, programmers and brands from the News/Talk world are listed for voting consideration on our ballots but we also allow room for our voters to add nominees if for some reason someone isn’t listed. Additionally, though we triple check everything before publishing the lists and hope to present a perfect layout, sometimes mistakes happen. If you notice an error, please let us know. We want to shine the light on the format’s best brands and shows in a way that makes them feel proud to be recognized, not frustrated by an incorrect detail.
One thing to add, we haven’t included NPR brands and shows on our lists. Maybe down the line we’ll change that or add an extra category but for now, terrestrial outlets are our main focus. This series will conclude on Tuesday with a look at the top Original Digital Shows, and then on Wednesday, we’ll have a big announcement from Barrett Media President Jason Barrett. Stay tuned.
As it pertains to the voting, here are a few things to be aware of.
#1 – Our executive voters were asked to pick 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 isn’t a perfect system but it’s the best one we’ve been able to create to showcase the industry’s best. Having done this for seven years for the sports talk format, we’re going to stick with it until another approach makes more sense.
#2 – Our executive panel consists of program directors and corporate executives from a number of top broadcasting companies including Audacy, iHeart, Cumulus, Beasley, Hubbard, Good Karma Brands, Cox Media Group, Radio One, Alpha, Bonneville, FOX News Radio, Hearst, Federated Media, Zimmer Communications, and Westwood One. We involve a large number of people in order to receive feedback from all parts of the country, and to avoid the results heavily favoring one company.
#3 – A total of 79 radio stations appeared on ballots turned in by our radio industry panel.
Which brings us to today’s category – Mid Market News/Talk Radio Stations. Congrats to WLW in Cincinnati on being voted #1. This was the Cincy station’s 4th category win in this year’s Top 20, tying KFI for most total victories. BNM congratulates DJ Hodge, Scott Reinhart, and the entire WLW staff on a well deserved honor, as well as every other station that earned a spot on this year’s list.
Now, here are the full results of “BNM’s Top 20 Mid Market News/Talk Radio Stations of 2022!”
Additional Notes:
WLW defeated KLX by nine (9) points in this category. The Cincinnati talk station recorded four (4) first place votes, the most among all stations to emerge victorious.
Spots 21-25 were occupied by WOWO in Fort Wayne, KLBJ in Austin, WOAI in San Antonio, 105.9 KNRS in Salt Lake City, and WRVA in Richmond.
The closest race in this category saw KDKA, WBEN and WTAM all separated by one (1) point from each other.
Of the 79 stations to earn votes from our panel, twelve (12) received at least one 1st place vote.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BNM Top 20 of 2022.
Tuesday December 20 = The Top 20 Original N/T Digital Shows of 2022
A reminder, BNM will have a big announcement following the Top 20 series on Wednesday December 21st. Make sure to visit the website that day to learn what else we’re up to.
Broadcast rights to major events like the World Cup are expensive for a reason. They bring eyeballs that can be used to generate revenue from advertisers and promote other programming on the network carrying the games.
FOX got its money’s worth out of the tournament in Qatar. Michael Mulvihill, the network’s Head of Strategy & Analytics, told Front Office Sports that the 2022 event outperformed expectations.
“Across English and Spanish coverage, Americans are going to spend more time watching the World Cup than they did watching March Madness.”
One of the biggest factors in FOX’s success is the return of the US Men’s National Team to the competition. While ratings are down from the team’s last appearance in 2014, FOX has enjoyed more viewers this year than it did in 2018, when the USMNT failed to qualify for the tournament.
Another major factor? Star power. Both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé found the net multiple times in a tightly contested final that saw Argentina defeat France on penalty kicks.
“There aren’t many better narratives in sports than a matchup of generational talents competing for a championship,” said Mulvihill. “We couldn’t have asked for a better matchup, and I suspect broadcasters all over the world feel the same way.”
In less than a hundred days, the BSM Summit will return to Los Angeles for two-days of networking, learning, laughing, and celebrating. The conference hasn’t been held on the west coast since 2019, and we’re looking forward to returning to the city of angels on March 21-22, 2023, and bringing together sports media professionals at the Founders Club, located inside the Galen Center at the University of Southern California.
For those of you who haven’t purchased your ticket(s) yet, BSM is having a special Holiday SALE this week. From today (Monday) through Friday 11:59pm ET, individual tickets are reduced to $224.99. If you’re planning to come, and want to make sure you’re in the room, take advantage of the extra savings and secure your seat. To buy tickets, reserve your hotel room, and learn more about the Summit’s speakers, click here.
We’ve previously announced twenty one (21) participants who will join us on stage at the 2023 BSM Summit. Today, we’re excited to expand our lineup by welcoming four (4) more additions to March’s industry spectacular.
First, BSM is thrilled to have two accomplished sports radio programmers contributing to the event. Jimmy Powers of 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit will make his Summit debut in L.A.. Fresh off of a Marconi victory earlier this fall, The Ticket’s brand manager will share his insights on the present and future of sports radio on one of our programming panels. Also taking part in that panel will be the leader of 104.3 The Fan in Denver, Raj Sharan. Raj appeared on stage at the 2022 BSM Summit in NYC, and we look forward to having him return to lend his voice to an important sports radio programming discussion.
But programming won’t be the only thing we invest time in out west. Growing a business, more specifically, a digital business will be part of our conference agenda as well.
When it comes to maximizing digital revenue, few brands understand the space better than Barstool Sports. Charged with growing the brand’s revenue is Senior Vice President and Head of Sales Matt Berger, and we’re looking forward to having Matt join us for a conversation that will focus on monetizing digital opportunities. Before joining Barstool, Matt sold for Bleacher Report/House of Highlights. He’s also worked for Warner Brothers and the Walt Disney Company. We’re excited to have him share his wisdom with the room.
Also taking part in our digital sales panel will be John Goforth of Magellan AI. John knows the radio business well from having served previously as a sales manager and salesperson. Since leaving traditional media and joining Magellan AI, John has studied the podcasting advertising space and learned who the top spenders are, who’s making big moves with their podcast advertising budgets, and which publishers are best positioned to benefit. Having his expertise on stage will help many in the room with trying to better understand the digital sales space.
There are other speaker announcements still to come. We have some big things planned, which I’m hoping to reveal in January and February. I want to thank ESPN Radio, FOX Sports, Showtime, and Point to Point Marketing for coming on board as partners of the 2023 BSM Summit. The support we’ve received heading into Los Angeles has been tremendous, and we greatly appreciate it. If you’re looking to be associated with the Summit as an event partner, email Stephanie Eads at Sales@BarrettSportsMedia.com.
That’s all for now, but be sure to take advantage of the Summit Holiday Sale. You have until Friday night December 23rd at 11:59pm ET to take advantage of discounted tickets. Happy Holidays!
Talk show host Sharon Osbourne was released from the hospital Sunday after she suffered a medical emergency. According to TMZ, Osbourne was shooting a television show in California when the incident occurred.
“Sharon fell ill on the set of the unnamed show at the Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula, California. It was not clear if the cameras were rolling,” the website reported.
Earlier This year, Osbourne teamed up with Fox Nation on a four-part docuseries called “To Hell & Back.” The show offered a glimpse into her life following the events of her dismissal from “The Talk” and her experience with the cancel culture.
Jack Osbourne said Sunday that his mom was back at home and resting. He said she will share exactly what happened on her own time and terms.
Previously, Osbourne held roles on several television programs, including NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”, “X-Factor”, and “The Celebrity Apprentice.”
Osbourne has managed several musicians, including Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Electric Light Orchestra, Smashing Pumpkins, and Motorhead.
Syndicated radio host and best-selling author Bill O’Reilly joined WABC Radio’s annual effort to raise money for Tunnel to Towers Foundation last week.
The radiothon helps the organization build mortgage-free smart homes for the most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. Each home is designed to address the unique needs of everyone.
Tunnel to Towers’ Frank Siller created the foundation to honor the sacrifice of his brother, firefighter Stephen Siller, who risked his life to save others on Sept 11, 2001.
O’Reilly appeared with Sid Rosenberg during the fundraiser. He reflected on where he was during the 9/11 attacks and what charity means for injured veterans.
“I was living in Long Island, I tried to get into the city, but everything was blocked off,” he said. “I went to Woodbury; we had a studio there and I covered the story from there and then subsequently I did what everybody else did and that’s to help the victims.”
O’Reilly said he has seen firsthand the suffering that goes on with family members caring for people who have been catastrophically injured in combat.
“When you give to a certain charity to help the vets, basically you are helping all of the people associated with the vets,” O’Reilly said. “People who love the vet, who live with the vet, and all who are related.”
