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MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Tonight Sees Ratings Dip

BNM Staff
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The week ending Aug. 21 was one where, in the cable news world, a new nightly program made its eagerly anticipated debut, and a long-running show ended abruptly.

Alex Wagner, an MSNBC anchor from 2011-15 with stops at CBS and Showtime before returning to MSNBC in 2021 as a fill-in host for such shows as “Rachel Maddow Show,” “All In,” and “Deadline: White House,” had her new weeknight MSNBC program “Alex Wagner Tonight” launch on Tuesday, Aug. 16. It airs Tuesdays thru Fridays in the hour formerly occupied by “Rachel Maddow Show” which has now been scaled back to solely Monday nights.

“Alex Wagner Tonight” debuted to 2.004 million viewers (the 36th most-watched telecast of all cable news for the week ending Aug. 21; 2nd highest among MSNBC shows), including 183,000 in the key 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was the network’s top telecast of Aug. 16. For the week (Aug. 16-19), the program averaged 1.71 million viewers along with 161,000 adults 25-54.

Compared to the respective time slots from one week prior (Aug. 9-12 @ 9–10 p.m.), when the hour was then labeled as “MSNBC Prime,” “Alex Wagner Tonight” was actually down 8 percent in total viewers and off 20 percent in the key demo. Those declines come with the caveat that MSNBC overall for Aug. 8-14 was hugely boosted by initial coverage of the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. From “MSNBC Prime” of Aug. 2-5, “Wagner” was up 35 percent in total audience and up 28 percent in adults 25-54. Bottom line: “Alex Wagner Tonight” got off to a positive start and, like “Maddow,” is already MSNBC’s top prime time program on its respective nights.

Currently, under the ownership of the newly-merged Warner Bros. Discovery, some notable changes are occurring at CNN. This past spring, it swiftly pulled the plug on the CNN+ streaming service that lasted a mere four weeks. And it was during this particular week, that the network abruptly canceled “Reliable Sources,” the Sunday morning news program (first established in 1993) that analyzed the week in American news media. Its final edition, hosted by Brian Stelter (which was his last day at CNN, after nine years) with guest NPR’s Eric Deggans, drew a relatively steady mark of 769,000 viewers. This was CNN’s most-watched telecast on Sunday, Aug. 21. It also outdrew every MSNBC program on that date.

Stelter’s “Reliable Sources” predecessor Howard Kurtz hosts Fox News Channel’s “MediaBuzz.” Airing opposite “Sources,” it posted 1.39 million viewers, including 220,000 among adults 25-54, more than twice of “Sources'” demo delivery (105,000). For most of “MediaBuzz’s” run (since 2013), it had regularly bested “Reliable Sources” in the ratings.

Cable news averages for August 15-21, 2022:

Total Day (Aug. 15-21 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.484 million viewers; 208,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.822 million viewers; 87,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.564 million viewers; 107,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.176 million viewers; 48,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.127 million viewers; 32,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.123 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.107 million viewers; 22,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.104 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (Aug. 15-20 @ 8-11 p.m.; Aug. 21 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.341 million viewers; 313,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 1.360 million viewers; 127,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.750 million viewers; 150,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.235 million viewers; 60,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.182 million viewers; 59,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.169 million viewers; 18,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.140 million viewers; 25,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.060 million viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54
  • NewsNation: 0.057 million viewers; 6,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 8/15/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.598 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 8/16/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.499 million viewers

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 8/15/2022 8:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.432 million viewers

4. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 8/17/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.388 million viewers

5. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 8/18/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.388 million viewers

6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 8/17/2022 8:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.379 million viewers

7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 8/16/2022 8:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.294 million viewers

8. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 8/19/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.160 million viewers

9. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 8/16/2022 9:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.071 million viewers

10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 8/18/2022 8:00 p.m., 60 min.) 3.056 million viewers

14. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 8/15/2022 9:00 p.m., 60 min.) 2.753 million viewers

139. Don Lemon Tonight “2022 Wyoming Primary – Cheney Loses” (CNN, Tue. 8/16/2022 10:00 p.m., 60 min.) 1.115 million viewers

203. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 609” (HBO, Fri. 8/19/2022 10:01 p.m., 56 min.) 0.814 million viewers

292. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 8/21/2022 11:21 p.m., 35 min.) 0.628 million viewers

363. Forensic Files II “Tell No Tales” (HLN, Sun. 8/21/2022 10:30 p.m., 30 min.) 0.476 million viewers

381. The Daily Show (CMDY, Tue. 8/16/2022 11:00 p.m., 31 min.) 0.427 million viewers

410. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee “Episode 7212” (TBS, Thu. 8/18/2022 10:00 p.m., 30 min.) 0.361 million viewers

416. Varney & Company (FBN, Fri. 8/19/2022 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.346 million viewers

489. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1213” (CNBC, Thu. 8/18/2022 9:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.257 million viewers

549. The Earth Unlocked “(105) Dying Places” (TWC, Sat. 8/20/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.230 million viewers

718. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Thu. 8/18/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.160 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54

1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 8/15/2022 8:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.496 million adults 25-54

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 8/18/2022 8:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.467 million adults 25-54

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 8/17/2022 8:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.463 million adults 25-54

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 8/16/2022 8:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.453 million adults 25-54

5. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 8/15/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.450 million adults 25-54

6. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Tue. 8/16/2022 10:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.441 million adults 25-54

7. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Tue. 8/16/2022 11:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.434 million adults 25-54

8. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 8/16/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.429 million adults 25-54

9. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Wed. 8/17/2022 11:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.407 million adults 25-54

10. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 8/17/2022 5:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.406 million adults 25-54

40. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 8/15/2022 9:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.249 million adults 25-54

46. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 8/21/2022 11:21 p.m., 35 min.) 0.236 million adults 25-54

55. Situation Room (CNN, Mon. 8/15/2022 6:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.227 million adults 25-54

130. The Daily Show (CMDY, Tue. 8/16/2022 11:00 p.m., 31 min.) 0.168 million adults 25-54

164. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 609” (HBO, Fri. 8/19/2022 10:01 p.m., 56 min.) 0.152 million adults 25-54

171. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee “Episode 7212” (TBS, Thu. 8/18/2022 10:00 p.m., 30 min.) 0.150 million adults 25-54

187. Forensic Files II “Telltale Marks” (HLN, Sun. 8/21/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.142 million adults 25-54

280. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1214” (CNBC, Tue. 8/16/2022 10:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.105 million adults 25-54

513. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Fri. 8/19/2022 8:00 a.m., 60 min.) 0.059 million adults 25-54

547. Varney & Company (FBN, Fri. 8/19/2022 11:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.054 million adults 25-54

815. Newsnation Prime (NWSN, Sun. 8/21/2022 7:00 p.m., 60 min.) 0.027 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

Countdown To Coverage: College Football’s Best Local Radio Show

BSM Staff
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Countdown To Coverage: College Football’s Best Local Radio Show

College football season is nearly here.

Forget last Saturday. It’s called Week 0 for a reason. Do you really want to believe the first game of the 2022 season was 3-9 Northwestern and 3-9 Nebraska playing halfway around the world?

Here at Barrett Sports Media, we are celebrating college football from a media angle. All week long, our editors and resident college football superfans, Arky Shea, Demetri Ravanos and Garrett Searight, will be looking at the best the media has to offer in terms of college football coverage.

The entire schedule is as follows:

MONDAY: Best Local Show

TUESDAY: Best National Radio Show

WEDNESDAY: Best College Football Podcast

THURSDAY: Best TV Show

FRIDAY: Best TV Play-by-Play Booth

College football, like all politics, is local. That is why it is important to put a spotlight on the shows that really capture the atmosphere of a fanbase.

Fans across the country know that Ohio State is really good. They know Lincoln Riley is out to prove football isn’t dead on the West Coast and they know every NFL GM is licking his lips and fighting the urge to throw 17 games in order to be in position to draft Will Anderson Jr.

The best local shows are the ones that are going to give you three entertaining, uninterrupted hours on the local team that’s fighting for an invite to the Sun Bowl! They know College GameDay and Big Noon Kickoff will have the top ten matchups covered.

Which shows do that best? Here are our picks.

OFF THE BENCH – 104.5 ESPN IN BATON ROUGE by Garrett Searight

This will sound like a sales pitch for Guaranty Media, but I found Off The Bench while looking for radio shows utilizing video streams of their shows. I found myself watching Off The Bench daily.

Off The Bench is one of the rare radio shows that isn’t “radio guy paired with former player”. It’s former player paired with former player as former LSU greats Jacob Hester and T-Bob Hebert. Their ability to talk about college football’s — not just LSU or the SEC — biggest topics sets them to the top of my list. They’re fun, energetic, knowledgeable, and most importantly entertaining. I’ve always found it’s more difficult than you think to sound like two dudes having a conversation that a listener is eavesdropping on. Hester and Hebert do it flawlessly. The pair are rising stars in the industry.

THE OG – 99.9 THE FAN IN RALEIGH by Demetri Ravanos

College football, whether we will admit it or not, is mostly about misery. There are 131 teams in the FBS and at the start of each season; roughly 128 of them have no shot at winning a national championship. Every team in the state of North Carolina is amongst those 128, so it makes sense that no one has more fun with that misery than Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio on 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh. It’s a show that sounds like the market it serves when talking about college football.

Where else can you go from hearing about one host’s private texts with UNC’s athletic director to taste-testing unopened cans of baby blue Carolina-themed soda and neon red NC State-themed soda from the 1980s? The show is subversive as hell, but it is the kind of subversion that is only possible if you really love the institutions and people in your crosshairs.

MCELROY & CUBELIC IN THE MORNING – JOX 94.5 IN BIRMINGHAM by Arky Shea

There simply isn’t a more fervent market for college football, and only college football, than Birmingham, Alabama. The show that talks it best is on Birmingham’s flamethrower WJOX. McElroy is the former Alabama quarterback Greg McElory and Cubelic is former Auburn center Cole Cubelic. What these two do goes beyond sticking two players from in-state rivals on the same radio show and expecting great talk. WJOX is fortunate to have two extremely smart analysts who also double as traveling television analysts during the season. They take real playing experience and mesh it beautifully with what they see every single week on the road during the Fall.

The show, though very driven by college football, doesn’t get stale because the two show hosts aren’t sitting on past laurels. Every day is a chance to watch film of draft picks, current college production superstars and future names you are going to want to know. No one uses their access to better accommodate their show with college football knowledge and frivolity than McElory and Cubelic. They bring on top-notch analyst guests thanks to their well-earned relationships throughout the country and have the pull to grab any college football coach they desire to the salivating Magic City football capitol. No stone is left unturned to bring you more football information because they want it for themselves too.

Why Hasn’t Big Ten Network Created Their Paul Finebaum?

Garrett Searight
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Why Hasn’t Big Ten Network Created Their Paul Finebaum?

After the appetizer that was Week Zero, college football gets into full swing this week. As a resident fan of a Big Ten school, who lives near the middle of the Big Ten’s heartland, I can’t help but ponder one question: Why hasn’t the Big Ten Network created their own Paul Finebaum?

I’ll turn on the Big Ten Network Saturday to watch North Dakota play Nebraska — just to see how long it takes bewilderment to come across Scott Frost’s face — and it will be the second time I’ve turned on the channel since Friday, March 11th and the Big Ten basketball tournament’s quarterfinals. The only other time the channel has been at the forefront of my mind was when USC and UCLA made the jump to the conference earlier this summer.

That’s it. Five and a half months without even entertaining the idea of turning on the channel, outside one of the largest college sports stories of all time.

In an ever-increasing “war” for college football media rights, marketability, notoriety, and publicity, I just can’t fathom why the Big Ten Network hasn’t tried to create their version of The Paul Finebaum Show. Having nothing of note on your television channel for five months, in a college sports landscape where your largest competition is programming relevant hours daily, seems like malpractice.

As just a general sports fan, I’ll turn on The Paul Finebaum Show on the SEC Network periodically just to see what the talk around the SEC is that day or week, hear what the callers believe, and generally enjoy the conversation. I’ll also dial up Marty & McGee, as fun as a radio/TV simulcast can be, which also airs on the SEC Network.

Meanwhile, on the Big Ten Network, they’re airing Big Ten Classics of Nebraska games that happened while the school was a member of the Big 8 and StudentU broadcasts of field hockey.

I understand the summer programming, to a point. There are 168 hours in a week you have to have some moving pictures on the screen, but it’s easy to take a nice 20 hours out of each week with a radio/TV simulcast that features strictly talk about your — now 16 — institutions.

I have a difficult time believing it wouldn’t benefit the conference, the cable network, and radio stations in the Midwest, and now both the Eastern and Western seaboards. I’d be hard pressed to think 101.7 The Hammer in West Lafayette or KXIC in Iowa City, or WLVN in Olney, Illinois wouldn’t love to air the Big Ten’s version of The Paul Finebaum Show.

Paul Finebaum, who Brady Quinn recently called an “SEC Thumper“, has been the sports radio show in the South for more than two decades. There are few radio stations in the south, sports or not, that wouldn’t love to have his show air on their station. It’s simply a matter of fact. And yet, the Big Ten Network, apparently, has no interest in building something similar.

Maybe I’ve misjudged demand. One of the biggest gripes Big Ten fans have with the SEC is their motto of “It Just Means More”. And it’s easy to see the grudge. 50% of all college football fans follow 16 schools. Four of those schools — Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and Wisconsin — are in the top 16, according to a study commissioned by the NCAA. Now in full disclosure, seven of the 16 schools are in the SEC, but the point still stands. There’s obviously a demand for constant college football and basketball talk.

Maybe I’ve misjudged the lack of a slam dunk talent to host the show. An obvious choice doesn’t stand out to me at the moment (if Francois McGillicuddy is reading this, have your people get in touch with my people). Maybe the Big Ten East and Big Ten West are such drastically different divisions that a conference-wide show wouldn’t work 12 months out of the year.

Maybe I haven’t considered that FOX Sports — majority owner of the Big Ten Network — and iHeartMedia’s ability to work together to create a radio/tv simulcast that would air in Big Ten markets and also air on the cable network. They’ve worked together, obviously, in other areas. Why not this one?

Maybe I haven’t considered the Big Ten Network’s appetite for creating a relevant show. Maybe it’s just not something they want to add to their programming. Whether it be budget related, whether it be a behind-the-scenes effort they don’t want to undertake, or maybe they just don’t believe such a show would be profitable. That sounds like you don’t care about your audience or the programming you put together, but it’s their network. They can do as they please. But letting your chief rival own a portion of the media, and the all-important narrative, sure feels like a missed opportunity.

Or maybe, all things considered, the beauty of The Paul Finebaum Show is that it isn’t that easily recreated. Maybe it isn’t necessarily Paul Finebaum alone that makes the show great. Maybe it’s the listeners, the viewers, the callers, the coaches, the players, and Paul himself all in unison that make The Paul Finebaum Show what it is.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s the reason why the Big Ten Network hasn’t created their own Paul Finebaum.

Freezing Cold Takes Not A ‘Gotcha’, Just Ask Fred Segal

Peter Schwartz
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Freezing Cold Takes Not A ‘Gotcha’, Just Ask Fred Segal

Going back to 2015, Fred Segal has been the man behind a very popular social media feed called “Freezing Cold Takes” where he discusses things written and said by members of the sports media. A retired attorney, Segal — who told BSM in 2020 that he’s just a regular guy with a family — has been a guest on many national radio and television shows along with podcasts and has been chronicled in major publications like The Athletic and USA Today.

But there’s only so much you can do in terms of discussing a sports take in 280 characters on Twitter.

So, Segal has written a book “Freezing Cold Takes NFL”, where he dives deeper into some of the most controversial takes from sports writers and broadcasters in NFL history.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Segal. “I spent a long time on it and the response so far from people who have read it has been good. It’s something that people who love NFL history really like.”

The book is a great look at some of the most interesting stories in NFL history and the way that the stories were covered. It’s easy for a journalist to get credit when they are right about something they write or say, but it’s always fun to go back and take a look at takes or predictions gone wrong.

But piling on a journalist wasn’t the impetus for Segal writing the book. He just wanted to compile a unique look at NFL history.

“It’s another way to do what I do on the feed but just in the way that it’s story form,” said Segal who has over 598,000 followers on Twitter.

“I don’t think the purpose of the book is to “gotcha” somebody or to keep them honest. I think it’s just a great way to look at NFL history and it’s a great way to explore things that happened. It’s just another sports history book. People talk about my feed as accountability. It’s really not accountability professionally…it’s more accountability ego wise.”

In the book, Segal delves into 14 memorable storylines from NFL history. During our chat, we discussed a handful of them including a take that was so hot in 2000 but may just have turned out to be the most “Freezing Cold Take” in NFL history.

“THE PATRIOTS WILL REGRET HIRING BILL BELICHICK” (2000 New England Patriots)

When Bill Parcells was hired as head coach of the New York Jets in 1997, he brought Bill Belichick on board as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Belichick had also been on Parcells’ staff with the Giants from 1979 to 1990 and they won two Super Bowls together with Big Blue. After the 1990 championship, Parcells retired and Belichick became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

When Parcells stepped down as head coach of the Jets after the 1999 season, Belichick, by contract, was elevated to head coach. One day later, he resigned and he was eventually hired by the Patriots after a trade with the Jets.

But there were many that questioned why the Patriots would be so eager to hire someone who just quit after one day on the job with the Jets and an unsuccessful run as head coach of the Browns.

“If you think about it without knowing anything else, you can’t believe it,” said Segal.

“But, if you go back and you about the story and what actually happened, it’s not really implausible to understand why people thought that. He had just left the Jets after one day as their head coach and his previous tenure as head coach was with the Browns for five seasons and made the playoffs once and had an overall losing record. So, you’re thinking why are the Patriots going after this guy so much?”

And that brings to another famous trade and the largest transaction in NFL history.

“THE VIKINGS FLEECED THE COWBOYS TO GET HERSCHEL WALKER” (1989 to 1993 Dallas Cowboys)

In February of 1989, Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys and immediately fired legendary head coach Tom Landry when he bought the team in February of 1989. He hired his old college buddy Jimmy Johnson as head coach. Johnson had been the head coach at the University of Miami and combined with Jones, the new hierarchy of the Dallas Cowboys had zero NFL experience.

And then on October 12th , 1989, the Cowboys traded away their best player at the time, running back Herschel Walker, to the Minnesota Vikings. Along with a transaction involving the San Diego Chargers, the deal involved 18 players and draft picks making it the largest trade
in NFL history.

Many thought the Vikings had fleeced the Cowboys, especially after a Walker’s Vikings debut when he rushed 18 times for 148 yards.

But the Cowboys used those draft picks to build a Super Bowl championship team.

It was not a term used back then, but basically the Cowboys plan was to tank in order to eventually win.

“They traded Herschel Walker who was their best player at that time for a gazillion draft picks but at that time, draft picks weren’t really something that people valued as much as they do now,” said Segal.

“The Cowboys acquired four average players that if they cut within a year, they would turn into more draft picks. Really on the face of it, it looked like the Cowboys were getting these three or four players and a bunch of draft picks and everyone is like what are they getting? Nobody understood the concept of tanking back then. If that trade happened now, people would at least understand what they’re doing.

We live in a different world now when it comes to sports journalism and reporters sharing opinions. Back in the day, you had read about something the next day in the newspaper or get just a quick mention of it on the local news and eventually the reporting grew larger with outlets like ESPN SportsCenter.

But today, the takes come fast and furious on social media.

The immediacy of the internet also gives reporters a chance to backtrack and provide new takes.

“It makes it less memorable for sure,” said Segal. “I think now it’s totally different. You’re not going to remember them as much. It doesn’t have as much value. It doesn’t pack much of a punch. Now, it’s par for the course. You’re just going to laugh for a second and move on.”

With Segal’s new book, it makes you wonder what would have happened if Twitter was around for some of the most memorable moments in NFL history.

Burke Magnus Says the Longhorn Network Will Fold Into the SEC Network

BSM Staff
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ESPN president of Programming and Original Content Burke Magnus spoke recently with John Ourand and Andrew Marchand about ESPN’s outlook on future collegiate programming. In that conversation, Magnus mentioned that when the Texas Longhorns land in the SEC, their institution-centric network, the Longhorn Network, would merge with the SEC Network.

Currently, Texas and Oklahoma are slated to join the SEC in 2025. As part of the recent media deal negotiations, it appears Texas is prepared to depart with their channel. On The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media podcast, Magnus detailed how that would look:

“Ultimately, that (LHN) will be folded into the SEC Network,” Magnus said. All that content that you find on the Longhorn Network is sometimes called third-tier, sometimes called institutional. It is the content that, like any other SEC institution, would be expressed through the SEC Network. So what we don’t know there is the precise timing on Texas and Oklahoma. Obviously, if they run their course, which we’re perfectly fine with, it’s 2025. If it’s something before that, that has to change your timing on that process at well. But at its essence, those two things come together.”

Dorin Dickerson Added to Pitt Football Radio Crew

BSM Staff
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93.7 The Fan morning show co-host Dorin Dickerson has been added as a sideline reporter for the University of Pittsburgh’s football radio broadcasts.

A Pitt alum, Dickerson joins play-by-play announcer Bill Hillgrove, color analyst Pat Bostick, and sideline reporter Larry Richert for all Pitt games this season.

“Bill, Pat and Larry do an incredible job, adding Dorin to the team will give fans insight into the game at field level like never before,” said Audacy Pittsburgh Senior Vice President and Market Manager Michael Spacciapolli.

Dickerson, who was added to the Fan Morning Show in August, was an All-American tight end with Pitt in 2009. The first game of the 2022 season for Pitt is September 1st against heated rival West Virginia.

93.7 The Fan is the flagship home of the University of Pittsburgh athletics.

WEEI, NESN and Audacy Raise Over $3.5 Million for Cancer Research

BSM Staff
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This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon in which the Boston Red Sox, WEEI, NESN and Audacy team to raise money for cancer research. The final total was revealed on Friday and it was massive.

The media partnership helped raise over $3.5 million for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. That marks a total fundraising effort of over $65 million raised since the radio telethon’s inception.

“This was the 20th anniversary of the Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, and our listeners and sponsors came through like never before,” said Audacy Boston Senior Vice President and Market Manager Mike Thomas. “To hear the doctors talk about the progress that is being made, the clinical trials that are ongoing and to hear from patients about how Dana-Farber saved their life will forever be in our hearts and minds. There really is nothing like the two days of this fundraiser.”

WEEI was part of a 36-hour live broadcast during The Greg Hill Show, Gresh & Keefe and Merloni, Fauria & Mego on August 23 and 24.

Howard Kellman to Fill-In For John Sterling on September 2

BSM Staff
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Howard Kellman, the longtime voice of the Indianapolis Indians, will get his call-up to the majors for the New York Yankees/Tampa Bay Rays game on Friday September 2.

Kellman, who is in his 46th season as the voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates Triple-A affiliate, is making his third trip up to call a major league game. It will be his first chance to do call a major league game since 2014.

“This is a great honor, and I am most thankful to both WFAN and the Yankees for this opportunity,” said Kellman, who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. and graduated from Brooklyn College. “George Steinbrenner let me practice my play-by-play in vacant broadcast booths at old Yankee Stadium which helped me in getting hired with the Indianapolis Indians. I am thrilled to call a Yankees game again!”

Kellman has broadcast nearly 6,600 games in his career with Indianapolis. Kellman will partner with Suzyn Waldman for the broadcast.

Dan Mandis: Podcast Movement Exaggerated Ben Shapiro Reaction

BNM Staff
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Dan Mandis: Podcast Movement Exaggerated Ben Shapiro Reaction

SuperTalk 99.7 WTN morning show host Dan Mandis is defending conservative radio host and podcaster Ben Shapiro after Podcast Movement issued an apology to seminar goers after The Daily Wire co-founder appeared in the expo area of the event.

“Ben Shapiro shows up at this thing, and people are triggered,” the Nashville’s Morning News host said. “So triggered that the expo issued an actual apology because Ben Shapiro was there. Real danger to society, isn’t he? The video is literally Ben Shapiro walking around, taking pictures, and shaking peoples hands. The podcast people are apologizing. They’re not apologizing, they’re being crucified for exaggerating,” Mandis said after airing a video created by The Daily Wire showing attendees interacting with Shapiro.

“How ridiculous does that sound? A couple of people may have been triggered by Ben Shapiro,” Mandis admitted. “You know what I love? Shapiro is walking around this thing shaking hands with hundreds if not thousands of people and nobody, as far as I can tell, walked up to Ben Shapiro and had a problem with his presence. They didn’t have the testicular fortitude to go up to Ben Shapiro themselves and say ‘Hey, I don’t like you here’. Because Ben Shapiro would outsmart them in every way. So they just go and they complain to Podcast Movement.”

Rich Eisen Nearly Returned to ESPN

BSM Staff
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While Rich Eisen has not been at ESPN since 2003, there was apparently a time where he almost brought The Rich Eisen Show to ESPN, which would have pleased a lot of people that grew up watching him and Stuart Scott on the late night SportsCenter.

Eisen was a guest on the most recent episode of The Ariel Helwani Show and he mentioned that he was ready to take the show to ESPN on two different platforms at the same time (12 Noon-3 PM ET) as his show recently announced it will leave Peacock for Roku. He would not say when those talks took place.

“That’s as far as I’ll go. I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I was ready to go for this show. Potentially both TV and radio, same time.”

Despite that not happening, Eisen holds no ill will towards ESPN and loves all the people that are there.

“I have no animosity at all. I love that place. I love the people there. My children exist because I met my wife there. I watch it all the time. The number of guests I have on the show who I used to work with or still work there. I have no problems at all with my relationship with ESPN.”

While people still go up to Eisen and mention to him that they loved watching him on SportsCenter, he is not mad that ESPN is still associated with him and he mentioned to Helwani that he enjoys connecting with a different generation.

“When I hear the SportsCenter theme hummed to me in the airport as happened about a month ago or people call me that they watched me at ESPN and I inform them it’s been 19 years, they’ll apologize thinking they’ve offended me, but it doesn’t offend me at all. I just love the fact that I have a connection to a whole different generation than my age. That’s a treasure. It really is.”

Eisen has enjoyed hosting his own radio show and he told Helwani that having a show allows him to do two different things that he is unable to do at NFL Network and was unable to do while he was at ESPN.

“My dream jobs were to be a sportscaster or late night TV show host. I got to combine both here. This allows me to stretch my legs and interview people for an extended period of time as opposed to hosting a show where I’m setting up my analysts and then 3 minutes into a terrific conversation, I hear in my ear, move on. The other thing I love about this program is when I do what I do for a living on NFL Network or what I did at ESPN as rewarding and incredible as that is, the one thing you don’t get to do on a show like that is talk to fans. Talk to people. I take phone calls and I meet people. I talk with them. I hear that opinion and mix it up with them.”

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