The string of ratings wins continued in 2021 for Denver’s 104.3 The Fan. In the summer book, the market’s top rated brand secured a 2nd place finish in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) courtesy of a 5.0 share. That was up from a 4.9, 5th place finish in the spring book. Year over year the station is down from 2nd. All numbers are for Men 25-54.
Turning to the station’s weekday shows, Mark Schlereth and Mike Evans remained the market’s best performing sports talk show. ‘Schlereth and Evans’ registered a 6.4 share in mornings to finish 1st between 6a-9a. They were also 1st in the spring book with a 6.8 and in the winter book with a 7.8. Their only blemish is a drop from the 2020 summer book when they produced a massive 11.3 share. That’s a pretty good problem to have.
In middays, The Fan’s “Orlando and Sandy” placed 7th in their final book together with a 3.8 share from 9a-12p. Orlando Franklin has since left the show to pursue a career in coaching. Sandy Clough has since moved into The Fan’s evening hours to partner with Shawn Drotar.
The second part of middays,“Stokley and Zach”, which features Brandon Stokley and Zach Bye finished 5th with a 4.6 share between the hours of 12p-3p. The midday duo were up from 6th and a 4.1 in 2020.
In afternoons, “The Drive with Tyler Polumbus and DMac” ranked 3rd for the quarter with a 5.1 share. They slid back from 2nd and a 6.7 share in 2020.
Wrapping up in evenings, “Nick and Cecil” which features Nick Ferguson and Cecil Lammey came in 20th from 6p-9p. “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar” finished 14th in its final book with a 2.0 share. Drotar joined forces with Sandy Clough on September 20th. The fall book will provide the first look at how they perform together.
Elsewhere in the market, the home of the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies, KOA finished the summer book in 23rd in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 1.6 share. The station’s sports programs, “Logan and Lewis” ranked 21st with a 0.7 in their final book, “Big Al and Jojo” finished 26th in afternoons with a 1.2, and “Broncos Country Tonight with Ryan Edwards and Benjamin Allbright” (along with Rockies baseball) came in 19th with a 1.9 share. KOA has since moved Logan into afternoon drive alongside Williams. Those changes went into effect on September 20th so the duo’s first quarterly performance will come in the 2021 fall book.
Meanwhile for Altitude Sports Radio, the station finished the summer in 24th in weekday prime with a 1.3 share. The best news for the quarter came in afternoons where the team of Andy Lindahl and Nate Kreckman popped a 2.1 share to finish 19th. Next up was the morning team of Vic Lombardi, Marc Moser and Brett Kane. The trio ranked 25th between 6a-10a with a 1.0 share. Closing things out in middays were Ryan Harris, Scott Hastings and Josh Dover who delivered a 0.7 to rank 30th.
With the Nuggets and Avalanche back in action and the Denver Broncos generating their usual fall interest, a cume lift should come for all three brands in the final book of the year.
ESPN enters its 20th season of NBA coverage with cross-platform coverage leading up to a prime-time matchup from Madison Square Garden with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics visiting Julius Randle and the New York Knicks. ESPN Play-by-Play Announcer and “voice of the NBA Finals” Mike Breen will be on the call, joined by sideline reporter Lisa Salters and analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. Jackson, who most recently served as head coach of the Golden State Warriors after a 17-year playing career, looked back on how far the broadcast has come since he first joined it in 2006.
“It [has] progressed with the variety of people [who] are covering the game,” said Jackson on a recent conference call. “Across the board, they’ve done an outstanding job of not making us all look and sound alike. I’m honored to be a part of that group.”
An issue prevalent in many sports, most notably Major League Baseball, pertains to pace-of-play. In an attempt to shorten “America’s Pastime” to attract and hold the attention of younger audiences, the introduction of new rules, such as limitations on mound visits, clocks to regulate time in-between innings, and restrictions on when the batter can step out of the box during an at-bat, have had the adverse effect. The average MLB contest lasts three hours and 11 minutes, the highest mark recorded since consistent measurement began in 1946.
While a regulation, four-quarter NBA game is significantly quicker than an MLB contest, Van Gundy, a former coach of 11 years, hopes the league can shorten the game even more to adapt to today’s viewing audience that holds an average attention span of just eight seconds, shorter than that of a goldfish. He suggests modifying rules, such as the length of halftime and instituting a statute of limitations on challenges, to ensure the game remains enthralling and entertaining for future generations.
“I’d love to see the game shortened into a two-hour window,” said Van Gundy. “I think we need to keep finding ways to reduce stoppages of play from timeouts. I would either shorten or greatly modify halftime. I think [the league has] to constantly look for ways to shorten the viewing window and have as much action in that two-hour timeframe as [it] can.”
With ESPN recently launching the “Manningcast,” an alternate, non-traditional broadcast of Monday Night Football featuring former NFL quarterbacks, Super Bowl champions and brothers Eli and Peyton Manning, the world of sports media has undoubtedly taken notice. The broadcast has a similar feel to friends hanging out and watching a football game, except these friends just so happen to have played and reached the pinnacle of professional football, offering unique perspectives and viewpoints shattering the fourth wall between the athletes and the fans. While the NBA on ESPN has yet to do a broadcast at that scale with regularity, it is something that the network analysts are taking notice of.
“When you’re dealing with one of the greatest to ever play the game in Peyton, and a hall-of-famer in Eli, both guys do an incredible job,” said Jackson. “I think it gives an opportunity for viewers who want to see that type of broadcast. I don’t even know how many channels [ESPN has, but] it’s always going to be something against what we are doing… I have no problem with it at all.”
If ESPN decided to produce a non-traditional, alternate broadcast, Van Gundy offered an idea to close out his broadcasting career where the fans would be given the unfiltered perspective of those who have been on the court.
“I want to do one game, NBA on ESPN: The Entire Truth,” opined Van Gundy. “[We would] be able to tell the entire truth — not 90% of it, not 80% of it, but the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I think that would be an outstanding, one-time broadcast as I sign off and finish my career.”
While Jackson and Van Gundy do not cover the NFL, they have not had their heads in the sand. They were asked about the emails from Jon Gruden leaked during an investigation into the culture of the Washington Football Team. Both hold concerns regarding similar issues that may have already occurred or could occur in the future within the NBA, a league that protested racial injustice last summer when playoff games were postponed and nearly cancelled following the shooting of Jacob Blake.
“It’s unfortunate, and I totally agree with the price that Jon Gruden had to pay for the things that he stated,” said Jackson. “My concern is I truly do not believe it is just a Jon Gruden story. There’s more to it, and there’s people being protected. We have to find a way to weave those people out… [and] hopefully we can get better across the board.”
Van Gundy holds an analogous sentiment with Jackson, and has lost trust in the NFL’s stand against injustice and willingness to do whatever it takes to directly avoid bad publicity
“The NFL has always found ways to protect itself from these things, and to deflect their responsibility,” affirmed Van Gundy. “They’ll give you a lot of clichés about transparency; yet, they are always covering and protecting their own. My level of trust for their investigations is nil.”
Aside from the trio of Breen, Jackson and Van Gundy, ESPN’s lineup of on-air personalities and commentators, the latter of whom all plan to appear on-site this season, includes analysts Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter and play-by-play voices Ryan Ruocco, Mark Jones, Dave Pasch, Brian Custer and Beth Mowins. Additionally, sideline reporters for this season of the N.B.A. on ESPN include Malika Andrews, Katie George, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, Cassidy Hubbarth, Lisa Salters and Jorge Sedano. One name, though, that has been within the N.B.A. landscape longer than any of ESPN’s rotation of broadcasters is Naismith Basketball Hall-of-Famer Hubie Brown, who starts his 50th season in the league between coaching and broadcasting.
Jeff Van Gundy, who ESPN recently inked to a multi-year contract extension, does not think his career will have the longevity of Brown’s, but is grateful for the time he has spent with the network thus far, and looks forward to the future of what he calls his “second career.”
“There has to be an award named for [Hubie Brown] somewhere. He’s 88 — that would take me to 2050. I can’t even imagine that,” said Van Gundy. “The upper management of ESPN has changed a lot, but my direct boss in Tim Corrigan has never changed. Broadcasting is good, but broadcasting with friends is great… I’ve enjoyed it particularly because of who I work for and who I work with. I can’t state how lucky I’ve been along the way to have coached as long as I did and to stumble into a second career.”
ESPN’s 20th season of NBA coverage kicks off Wednesday night with the prime-time matchup between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The summer book in Indianapolis produced good news for market leader 93.5/107.5 The Fan. The news was equally rewarding for Portland’s top sports radio brand 1080 The Fan. Let’s take a closer look at what took place during the summer months in both markets.
Starting in Indy, The Fan finished the quarter in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) delivering a 7.2 share. For the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid, The Fan scored a 5.4 share. All numbers are with Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.
Among the weekday shows, The Drive with JMV produced the station’s biggest numbers for the quarter, turning in an 8.2 in afternoon drive. Next up was the midday show with Dan Dakich, which recorded a 7.6 share. Wrapping things up was The Fan Morning Show generating a 6.8 share, and the station’s airing of ESPN Radio’s ‘Greeny’, which delivered a 6.9 share.
A few other impressive stories in Indy from The Fan included a strong 6.8 share in weekday prime with Persons 25-54, and a 6.0 share with Persons 18-49. The brand’s best show in other categories for the quarter was JMV’s afternoon show which turned in an impressive 7.8 with Persons 25-54, and a 7.0 with Persons 18-49.
Moving to Portland, the shares were lower than Indy, but for 1080 The Fan, the victories over local market competitors 750 The Game and Rip City Radio 620 were enough to make the summer book a positive one. What made it especially gratifying for 1080 was the fact that the brand’s wins were secured without adding its streaming performance. The station doesn’t total line report, making the numbers strictly an Over The Air performance. Considering that 90% of radio listening in the market occurs on the FM dial, and the station is delivering a big audience thru its app and podcast downloads, if those ever do get added to the mix, it could change the conversation in future books.
Nonetheless, we start with the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) where 1080 snagged a 2.3 share to finish a full point ahead of 750 The Game’s 1.3 share. Rip City was further back at a 0.6. The same story existed in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) where 1080 pulled a 2.4, The Game had a 1.4 and Rip City popped a 0.7. All numbers are for Men 25-54, sports radio’s targeted demo.
Looking at the weekday shows, The Game earned a win in mornings (6a-9a) thanks to The Dan Patrick Show. DP has performed well in Portland over the years, and for the summer book, the show picked up a 2.4, tripling 1080 and Rip City which tied with a 0.8. 1080’s morning show is hosted by Dirt & Sprague. Rip City is represented in morning drive by Rip City Mornings with Justin Myers.
During the 12p-3p hours, 1080 won the quarter thanks to the midday team of AJ & Dusty. AJ McCord and Dusty Harrah reeled in a 2.1 share, which placed them three tenths of a point in front of The Game’s John Canzano. Rip City’s airing of the Doug Gottlieb Show was further back at a 0.7.
In afternoon drive, Primetime with Isaac and Suke, featuring Isaac Ropp and Jason Scukanec, won their timeslow by producing a market best 4.4 share for the quarter. 1080’s program was nearly five times stronger than Rip City’s Chad Doing and Travis Demers, and The Game’s airing of CBS Sports Radio’s Zach Gelb Show.
Wrapping things up at night, 1080 finished in front of the competition with a 1.5 share. That performance doubled the production from The Game and Rip City Radio.
Columbus sports radio was alive and well in the summer book. The market’s leading brand, 97.1 The Fan, enjoyed strong performances across the board. The station finished 1st in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 12.8 share. A 1st place finish was also produced for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) courtesy of an 11.6 share. All numbers in this article are for Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.
The weekday shows produced similar stories. One of the most dominant performances for the quarter came from the afternoon show, Common Man and T-Bone. Mike Ricordati and Jonathan Smith delivered a station best 18.0 share to finish 1st overall in afternoons from 3p-6p. The show also picked up an incredible 3.2 points year over year.
The next best performing show on the station was the midday team of Beau Bishop and James Laurinaitis. Their 9a-12p show also took 1st during the hours of 9a-12p with a 12.2 share. The midday show also grew year over year, gaining 2.5 points and moving up from 3rd.
During the hours of Noon to 3p ET, the station’s combination of Anthony Rothman and Matt ‘Ice’ Hayes produced an 11.8 share to secure 1st place. The only minor setback for the show was the loss of 1.1 points year over year. Given that they’re popping double digit shares and locking up 1st place finishes in the summer of 2020 and 2021, I’m sure they won’t lose any sleep over it.
The one show for the quarter that didn’t finish 1st was the morning show. The Morning Juice with Brandon Beam and Bobby Carpenter came in 5th with a 6.9 between the hours of 6a-9a. The show did though gain two tenths of a point year over year.
A few other nuggets from the book worth passing along. The Fan’s full week production among Adults 25-54 placed them 4th with a 7.0 share. They were also 3rd for the full week with Persons 12+ with a 6.9. In weekday prime, the station tied for 3rd place with an 8.2 share with Adults 25-54 and came in 3rd with Persons 12+ with a 7.7. Even more impressive was the performance of Common Man and T-Bone with both of those categories. The show was 1st overall in afternoons with an 11.6 with Adults 25-54, and 1st overall with Persons 12+ with a 9.0 share.
Kevin Graham picked a great time to arrive in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Giants delivered the best record in baseball, excitement for the 49ers has been elevated due to the 1st round draft selection of Trey Lance, and the return of Klay Thompson to the Golden State Warriors lineup is just around the corner.
When those type of events are happening, enthusiasm among local sports fans increases. Those fans then seek more conversation on the teams, players and issues that are capturing their attention, and for the summer book, the majority flocked to The Sports Leader, KNBR.
For the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid), KNBR finished 1st in the market among Men 25-54 with a 5.1. The station also produced a 5.1 in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) which placed them 2nd. An even better highlight for the brand was their September performance which included a 6.3 for the full week, and a 6.1 in weekday prime. With the 49ers playing regular season games and the Giants locked in a tight playoff battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the October monthly should provide even better results.
Looking at the station’s weekday shows, Murph and Mac delivered the best performance among weekday prime shows for the quarter. The morning show produced a 6.1 share to capture 1st place. Their share grew to 6.7 during the month of September.
In middays, John Lund and Greg Papa rode a 4.0 share to a 6th place finish. Papa and Lund improved to 5.4 and 4th place during the month of September.
Switching to afternoons, Tom Tolbert, Larry Krueger, and Rod Brooks popped a 5.3 share to snag 2nd place. Their September performance saw them elevate to 1st with a 6.4.
Wrapping up at night (M-F 7p-12a), the combination of San Francisco Giants baseball, 49ers pre-season action, and Mark Willard’s evening show (Mark has since moved over to 95.7 The Game) helped The Sports Leader finish 2nd with a 7.7 share. Similar to the daytime shows, evenings grew in September to an 8.9.
For 95.7 The Game, the story was the afternoon show featuring Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto and Matt Kolsky. The Bay Area trio produced a 4.7 share for the book, finishing 3rd, only six tenths of a point behind Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks. The show pulled within five tenths during the month of September thanks to an increase to 5.9. One item to be aware of moving forward, Kolsky has since moved to evenings. This means the afternoon show’s fall book results will be determined by Bruce and Ratto.
The next best performing show on The Game for the quarter was the midday show featuring Matt Steinmetz, Dan Dibley, and Daryle ‘The Guru’ Johnson. Steiny, Guru and Dibley pulled in a 3.3 share to finish their timeslot in 10th for the book. Their September number was the same as their rating for the full book.
Starting off the day, The Morning Roast with Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky recorded a 2.3 share which placed them 14th. Similar to the midday show, the September number was even with the rest of the book. Evenings were far back in 24th place with a 0.6. Once the Warriors return that number should improve.
Overall, The Game finished 10th for the book in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 3.7 share. The station was also 16th for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 2.5 share.
Entering the fall book, The Game has revamped their lineup. The station now features The Morning Roast from 6a-9a, Mark Willard and Dan Dibley from 9a to Noon, Steiny and Guru from Noon to 3p, Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto from 3p-6p, and Matt Kolsky and Company from 6p-10p.
Recently, after 20+ years of management, sales, and radio broadcast operations experience, Dave Greene moved on from his job as GSM at Audacy in St. Louis. He said Audacy was going in a different direction on LinkedIn, and he didn’t like it. You can connect with Dave here.
During his radio career, Greene held various positions. Owner, Market President/CRO, VP/Market Manager, and GSM. He co-owned KFNS in St Louis and worked for Townsquare Media, Cumulus, and Audacy. He also handled St. Louis Cardinals baseball sales and wrote for Barrett Sports Media about sports radio sales.
Dave is excited to be his own man and is now the President & Director of Sales for the Podcast Heat Network, a new venture for pro wrestling fans. I asked Dave a series of questions about the future of radio sales and what advice he would give to those of us still in the business primarily working for large corporate entities.
JEFF CAVES: What advice would you give new and experienced sports sellers?
DAVE GREENE: Advice for new sellers is to find the highest-earning seller in your office who is willing to spend time with you (so likely the third best-seller in the group, the top two have no time for you). Watch them, ask to ride with them, ask to watch them put a proposal together, ask to go to meetings with them. Soak it all up; they have done something or some things right, follow their lead.
For experienced sellers, it’s the same thing I always say, DO THE JOB, the whole job. The day you think you have reached a point where you can skip steps in the sales process is the day your income starts to decline.
JC: What’s one thing salespeople don’t do that they should?
DG: Be better listeners and sell someone what they need to solve their problems, not what you or your manager or company wants to sell them.
JC: How can a cluster seller thrive, not die?
DG: In my career, I have seen clusters run both ways. Either the team sells everything or are divided by station(s). While both have advantages and flaws, I absolutely despise having multiple sellers from one company selling to the same client. If you are worried that someone isn’t a strong enough seller to sell your cluster, GET RID OF THAT SELLER!
If you are a cluster seller or sell specific stations in your cluster, the advice is the same – get to know the talent! Take them out for food and drinks and get to know them, what they do, and what they need. Show interest in helping them make money through endorsements, play to their ego and see how much it helps you down the road!
JC: What’s the best way to get noticed to be promoted to a manager position at a large corporate company?
DG: First of all, make sure you want to be a manager. Outstanding salespeople will have to take a pay cut, and your schedule will not belong to you. More of your time will be taken up with garbage meetings than you can imagine.
However, if management is really where you want to be, get ready to pucker up and drink some serious Kool-Aid. The hardest part of being a manager is that you have to suppress all of your emotions and always put on a positive face; as a whole, media sellers are a very negative, nervous bunch. Are you someone who can be positive while others complain incessantly? Then management might be for you.
JC: What’s the biggest myth about selling radio for a chain?
DG: Selling any format for a big chain is challenging because you don’t know what stupid initiative is coming down from above next. To thrive in the big corporate radio world, you have to tune out the nonsense – and there is a lot of nonsense. Especially in Q4, when you go through the circus of budgets for next year, you are given some ridiculous quota based on what the company needs to hit and not what is doable (read this on budgets). Excellent sellers realize this same circus comes to town every year at this time, so buckle up and get ready for the ride…but guess what? Your job doesn’t change. Do the job and push through.
The summer ratings books in Baltimore and Memphis gave each market’s leading sports radio station a reason to celebrate. Audacy’s owned and operated brands 92.9 ESPN in Memphis, and 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore both enjoyed stellar growth. Congratulations goes out to the on-air and management teams in both cities.
We’ll start in Memphis, where 92.9 ESPN remained dominant for the quarter. The station came in 1st in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 13.2 share. Another 1st place finish was earned for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) thanks to a 10.7 share. All numbers in this article are with Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.
Turning to the individual shows, the top performance this quarter came from the Geoff Calkins Show. Geoff produced a 17.8 during his mid-morning timeslot to finish 1st overall. Calkins performance over the past year has him ranked 1st overall with a 14.9 share. Outstanding.
Next up was the Gary Parrish Show. Parrish crushed once again in afternoons, finishing 1st with a 17.6 share, just two tenths behind Calkins for the station’s best performance. Parrish does gain bragging rights over Calkins when sizing up the full year. He has a station best 15.0 share, also making him 1st overall.
Coming in third was the mid-afternoon team of Giannotto and Jeffrey. Mark Giannotto and Jeffrey Wright finished 1st in their timeslot with a 13.7 share for the quarter. They’re also 1st overall for the year with an 11.8 share.
The fourth best show finish came from Jason and John. John Martin and Jason Smith delivered an 8.8 share to secure 1st place during their midday slot. For the full year they’re sitting in 3rd with a 7.8 share.
Not to be forgotten, ‘The Six’, the station’s hourly recap program from 6p-7p which is part of the overall weekday prime schedule came in 2nd with a 12.6. ESPN Radio’s Keyshawn, JWill and Max, which airs 5a-9a on the station, generated a 2nd place 10. share during the prime hours of 6a-9a. For the full year, the ESPN Radio trio are 3rd with a 7.7 share.
Moving northeast to Baltimore, the news was once again positive for 105.7 The Fan. The market’s leading sports radio station turned in a strong summer book, pulling in an 8.2 share in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) to finish 3rd.
The station enjoyed a big performance at night from Baltimore Orioles baseball and Sports with Coleman. The Fan’s 11.1 share placed the brand 1st overall in the category.
Moving to mornings, the ‘Big Bad Morning Show’ with Rob Long, Ed Norris and Jeremy Conn took 1st overall with a massive 12.5 share. The show was strong in other demos too, popping a 16.1 with Men 18-34, and a massive 20.5 with Men 25-34.
In middays, ‘Vinny and Haynie’, which features Bob Haynie and Vinny Cerrato, secured a 4th place finish with a 4.9 share. Fourth place was also where the afternoon show ‘Inside Access with Jason LaCanfora and Ken Weinman’ finish. They produced a 6.0 share during the hours of 2p-6p.
Atlanta’s summer ratings book provided good news for both 92.9 The Game and 680 The Fan, the market’s two sports radio brands. Each improved their year to year performance, thanks to a mixture of quality talk shows and increased enthusiasm for the market’s local sports teams.
Starting with 92.9 The Game, the station finished the quarter 3rd for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 7.5 share. The two stations ranked ahead were 97.1 The River, and news/talk station WSB.
Among the weekday shows, The Game enjoyed a 2nd place tie in mornings thanks to the team of John Fricke and Hugh Douglas. The duo popped a 5.6, placing them in a dead heat with Q99. WSB finished 1st.
In middays, Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael delivered a 3rd place finish, producing a 7.8 share. The two stations ahead of the show were WSB (1) and 97.1 The River (2).
The Game’s afternoon team of Carl Dukes and Mike Bell delivered the station’s best performance for the quarter. Dukes and Bell finished tied for 2nd with The River in PM drive with an impressive 8.5 share. WSB was 1st overall during the hours of 2p-7p.
For 680 The Fan, this was also an excellent book. The station made lineup changes on July 19th, so the book isn’t a full three month snapshot of what the new crew produced. It also takes time for local listeners to develop routines with new program. That said, the first look included a number of positives, which had to please the folks up top.
Starting in middays, the folks up top had to feel good about the performance turned in by Nick Cellini and Chris Dimino. The longtime on-air partners finished the quarter tied for 5th during the hours of 11a-2p with a 3.2 share. Buck Belue, who also hosts in the midday window from 10a-11a, grabbed a 2.3 share during his one-hour show to finish tied for 11th.
In the drive times, Chuck and Chernoff recorded a 5th place tie in afternoons with a 3.4 share. Their 5th place tie matched Cellini and Dimino for the station’s best performance for the book. In mornings, ‘The Locker Room’ which features John Michaels, Brian Finneran, Hutson Mason, Joe Hamilton, and Brandon Leak finished 15th with a 2.2 share.
The one area where 680 gained a victory over The Game was at night. A strong season and playoff push from the Atlanta Braves had much to do with that. The Fan ranked 3rd at night with an 8.0 share. The Game was just one spot behind in 4th with a 5.7 share.
The Fan’s August & September monthlies showed increases across the entire 6a-8p lineup. If that holds true during the upcoming months, the station could close the year by gaining more ground during the fall and heading into 2022 with nice momentum.
The Game on the other hand will add cume from the Atlanta Falcons, and massive interest in the Atlanta Hawks due to the franchise advancing last year to the Eastern Conference Finals. That should set the station up well for another strong 4th quarter.
When a city is loaded with teams contending for titles it tends to have a positive affect on sports radio listening. No brand knows that better than Tampa’s sports radio leader, WDAE.
The radio home of the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rays, Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and AL East division winner and annual playoff contender the Tampa Bay Rays enjoyed a summer book full of increases. Audiences tuned in for coverage of the Rays postseason push and discussion on the team’s stadium plans, Bucs training camp and pre-season, the Lightning’s upcoming defense of their second straight Stanley cup title and good ole fashioned sports radio entertainment.
Overall, WDAE finished the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) in 6th place with a 4.3 share. Even more impressive, the station picked up a full share from the Summer 2020 book, and climbed seven positions during that same period of time.
During weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p), WDAE also finished in 6th with a 4.3 share. That was up from 11th at the same point last year thanks to picking up a full share over the past twelve months. Additionally, the Tampa sports station has now registered a 7th or better finish in all three books in 2021.
The station’s best performance for the quarter came during the evening hours. Thanks to a strong Tampa Bay Rays team, WDAE ranked 2nd among Men 25-54 with a 6.4 share. The story is even more impressive if you look at Men 35+ or Men 35-64. The station finished 1st in each of those demos delivering better than a 10 share with 35+.
Analyzing the weekday talk shows, Ronnie & TKras, featuring Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi, produced the best results for the book. The morning duo turned in a strong 4th place finish in AM drive with a 5.1 share, up from 8th last quarter, and 6th during the same period last year. The month of September was especially strong, with the morning show finishing 2nd with Men 25-54 with an impressive 7.4 share.
In afternoons, Ian Beckles and Jay Recher turned in a stellar 5.2 share, up from a 3.5 during the Summer 2020 book. Pat and Aaron also improved year over year, climbing from a 3.4 last year to a 3.9 this year. Both shows look even more impressive in the 35-54 and 35-64 demos, with middays above a 5 share, and afternoons in the 6’s.
It’s never easy being a pioneer. When you are among the first to ever do something, people will undoubtedly question you and wonder why things need to change. Fans get so used to the way a television or radio broadcast is done, that anything different really stands out. A new scorebug, graphics package, camera angle, and yes, broadcasters, spark an immediate reaction. Right or wrong, it’s the way fans are conditioned. They want comfortable and familiar. Ok, but even those they are comfortable and familiar with were once new and different, correct?
Beth Mowins is living that life as a pioneering broadcaster. Mowins was born in Syracuse, New York. She was a basketball, softball and soccer player at North Syracuse High School. Mowins was captain of the varsity basketball team for two seasons at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. She was a three-time all-conference selection and 1,000-point scorer, and she is still the school’s all-time assists leader with 715.
Courtesy: Lafayette College
After graduating from Lafayette, Mowins earned her master’s degree in communications from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School in 1990. In 2014, Mowins accepted the CoSIDA Jake Wade Award for outstanding media contributions covering collegiate athletics, joining previous honorees Robin Roberts and Christine Brennan. Then in 2015, Syracuse honored her with the Marty Glickman Award for leadership in sports media, joining the likes of Bob Costas, Marv Albert and Sean McDonough.
But like with many broadcasters, both men and women, the dream started early. She told MLB.com in March of 2021 that she would call play-by-play while playing sports with kids in her neighborhood. Then she saw Phyllis George working as a sportscaster for The NFL Today show on CBS.
“That kind of lit the spark,” Mowins said. “I just turned to my mom one day and said, ‘Hey, can I do that?’ And of course, my mom, in all of her greatness, said, ‘Yes, you can.'”
Mowins gives her mom, who passed away in 2010, and her dad, a ton of recognition for making her the person and broadcaster she is today.
“I give her a lot of credit for allowing me to be bold and ambitious,” Mowins told MLB.com. “And just being super supportive and encouraging me in all my endeavors. And then my dad was there for the pat on the back or the kick in the butt to get out the door and go get it and not wait for it to come to you.”
CAREER
Mowins’s began her career in 1991 as news and sports director for WXHC-FM Radio in Homer, New York. She joined ESPN in 1994, covering college sports including basketball, football, softball, soccer and volleyball. She has been the network’s lead voice on softball coverage, including the Women’s College World Series.
Beth Mowins began calling college football for ESPN in 2005. She currently works on both ESPN and ABC doing a variety of sports, including college football and basketball. Mowins also holds down several other jobs, including working part-time for the Marquee Network in Chicago, the network that broadcasts Cubs games, and on occasion she pops up on CBS, working NFL broadcasts.
FIRSTS/RARE AIR
Mowins has had the distinction of busting the glass ceiling for women sportscasters many times. She’s joined some rarified air, following some others in calling major American sports.
The firsts started in September of 2017, when she was tabbed to call ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader with Rex Ryan. She did the game and, in the process, became the first woman to call a nationally-televised NFL game. It also made her just the second female play-by-play announcer in NFL regular season history. Mowins joined Gayle Gardner (Sierens), who broadcast a game in 1987 for NBC Sports.
Courtesy: ESPN Images
Also in 2017, Mowins became the first female play-by-play announcer to call NCAA Men’s Basketball, the NBA and the NFL for CBS Sports. She became the first woman in the 58-year history of the network when she called a Cleveland Browns/Indianapolis Colts matchup with Jay Feely.
The firsts didn’t end for her in 2017. Mowins was named as a fill-in play-by-play announcer for Chicago Cubs games on Marquee Sports Network. On May 8, 2021, she became the first woman to call a regular season game for the team.
With this assignment she joined a rare club. Gardner (Sierens) established it in 1993 when she called a Rockies-Reds game. Jenny Cavnar did play-by-play for a Padres-Rockies game in 2018.
Yankees radio announcer Suzyn Waldman did play-by-play for local TV games in the 1990s and has been a full-time radio color commentator since she joined John Sterling in 2005. Jessica Mendoza is also a part of the club, having done color commentary for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN from 2015-19.
CHALLENGES
As I mentioned at the beginning of the column, it is never easy being among the first, or the first to do something. Some fans just aren’t used to a woman being in the chair and calling a “man’s” sport. Many won’t even afford the female play-by-play announcer a chance to prove that she can handle it and call the game at a high level. Mowins can and has proven it time and time again.
Most of us that call games for a living have to have thick skin. We know that we are going to take some shots from listeners/viewers. We know that not everyone is going to like us or the job we do. Mowins and her female counterparts already realize they are going to take their fair share of criticisms, warranted or not.
I found an article written in the Buffalo News in September about Mowins. It was announced she would call a Bills/Texans game alongside Tiki Barber for CBS. Alan Pergament, the TV Critic for the paper printed some of the reactions he saw on Twitter, from some of his followers, about Mowins doing a Bills game. Now mind you, this is even BEFORE she called the game.
“Oh my (expletive deleted) god. Do the networks really hate us that much?” replied one follower.
“For a team that’s supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, we’re sure not getting any respect from the networks,” wrote one.
“God. Help us,” wrote another.
“She’s awful,” wrote yet another.
There were some that stuck up for Mowins in the article.
“It might be unpopular, but I like Mowins,” wrote one follower.
“She’s good actually,” wrote another.
“I see a lot of woman sports announcers hate here,” wrote another. “She’s good in everything she covers.”
“She’s good because she makes it about the GAME, not her,” wrote another.
Pergament assessed the criticism in this way: clearly, Mowins is polarizing. It says as much or more about many viewers’ acceptance of women announcers than her performance.
Mowins biggest detractor seems to be her voice. Some won’t allow themselves to get past it. To me, it’s part of the overall equation, but it’s not the only thing broadcasters should be judged upon. Does she know what she’s talking about? Is she familiar with the players? Does she provide great descriptions? Is she someone that works well with her color commentator? The entirety of the broadcast is ultimately what Mowins and all other broadcasters should be judged on.
Courtesy: Los Angeles Times
Unfortunately, it just proves that in the world of men’s sports, female announcers have to work that much harder to be accepted.
WHY IS SHE GOOD?
I recently watched Mowins broadcast a College Football game on ESPN. She did the Syracuse/Wake Forest contest last weekend with Kirk Morrison. I could tell right away how much of a grasp she had on the telecast. She was very smooth in setting up the key players to watch on both sides.
I could immediately tell that she did her homework. She mentioned that Wake Forest’s offense was much better overall than in years past. Mowins added that the Deacons were having issues in the red zone, cashing in on touchdowns. Sure enough, Wake Forest drove the ball to the Syracuse four-yard line but had to settle for a field goal.
Her play-by-play was very steady, working in stories about the players and coaches involved in the game. Clearly, she had a good handle on what was happening in front of her and there really wasn’t much to nit-pick in her ability to call the game. Mowins worked well with Morrison and they played off each other nicely during the broadcast.
During the baseball season, I got to watch Mowins quite a bit here in Chicago when she filled in on Cubs games. It took a little time to get used to another new voice in the booth, but she was able to assimilate herself nicely into the role. It’s never easy as a fill-in voice of a baseball team. The constant nature of the sport lends itself to someone being there all the time, home games and road games.
What really makes her a good broadcaster in my eyes, is her versatility. Mowins has the ability to call multiple sports and to call them well. It’s not an easy task to maneuver through baseball and football broadcasts within the same weekend. That ability can test many a broadcaster’s skill and she handles it in a professional manner.
CONCLUSION
Mowins is a talented broadcaster. Not only has she created opportunities for herself in this male-dominated field, but she’s opened doors for other women. There has been a surge in female voices across multiple sports in recent years and Mowins is partially responsible. While she fully acknowledges those that came before her, others are quick to mention her now in accepting full-time jobs in the industry.
Courtesy: Marquee Sports Network
Mowins paved the way for broadcasters like Lisa Byington, who was just hired as the television play-by-play voice for the Milwaukee Bucks. Also, there’s Kate Scott, who will take over as the lead play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers this season and Holly Rowe is becoming an analyst for the Jazz game night broadcast. More and more women are starting to work for men’s professional teams these days. It’s not quite the norm yet, but it’s getting there, thanks to talented people like Beth Mowins.
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