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Andrew Williams Named Brand Manager of BetQL Network

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Andrew Williams Named Brand Manager of BetQL Network

Audacy has announced Andrew Williams as the Brand Manager of the BetQL Network, the company’s sports betting platform.

Williams comes to BetQL after working as the Senior Producer for SiriusXM FC. He has also spent the past year as the Executive Podcast Producer for Chicago Fire FC.

“I am delighted and honored to join the BetQL Network and the Audacy family,” Williams said. “The opportunity to join the leaders in Wagertainment is something that I could not pass up. My family and I are extremely excited about this next chapter.”

“Andrew possesses a proven track record of creatively reaching audiences through the creation and development of rich multimedia content, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to BetQL Network as that is one of the core principles of the network,” said Matthew Volk, Audacy Senior Vice President of Sports. “We look forward to welcoming him and his leadership to our brand, which has seen rapid growth across all platforms over the last year, and watching his experience and expertise help continue to grow the network.”

BetQL Network distributes roughly 100 hours of original content per week on the Audacy and BetQL digital platforms, and features shows like BetQL Daily, You Better You Bet, The Daily Tip, and BetMGM Tonight.

Williams will be based in Washington DC and will oversee all producers, talent, and audio content for the network.

Reese Waters Exits The Team 980

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Reese Waters Exits The Team 980

In what appears to be another budget cut from Audacy, The Reese Waters Show on The Team 980 has been cancelled.

“It is in fact true The Reese Waters Show on The Team 980 has come to an end,” Waters confirmed during a video posted to Twitter. Waters went on to thank his producers, guests, and listeners for helping him grow both personally and professionally during his stint hosting the show.

Waters, who told Barrett Sports Media his sportscasting career began by happenstance, joined the station in February of 2021. His show aired from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM daily. He will remain the host of Open Mic on WUSA TV.

Audcay has made several cuts over the last week. Jerry Coleman has departed 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore, while the entire staff of 1250 The Fan in Milwaukee was dismissed.

Audacy News/Talk Reductions Continue

BNM Staff
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Audacy News/Talk Reductions Continue

After a reported directive to cut 10% of their workforce, Audacy has continued to reduce their news talk radio staff in various markets.

The following news talk personnel have seen their jobs eliminated:
WCCO in Minneapolis Late Night with Henry Lake Producer Craig Schroepfer
WCCO in Minneapolis Sports to the Max with Mike Max host Mike Max
WWL in New Orleans News Producer/Digital Content Producer Kenny Kuhn
KJCE in Austin Producer/Public Affairs Director John Zenor
KDKA in Pittsburgh host Kevin Battle

Audacy is currently facing the possibility of being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange due to the price of their share remaining under $1 for longer than 30 business days.

Ryen Russillo: ‘Why Would You Talk About Politics On Your Sports Show?’

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Ryen Russillo: ‘Why Would You Talk About Politics On Your Sports Show?’

Ryen Russillo joined Barstool’s Pardon My Take podcast in studio, and shared an interesting story about a sign at ESPN Radio that shaped what he talked about during his time with the network.

“When I was first at ESPN, so ’06, there was a sign up in the radio department that said ‘If what you’re talking about is not interesting to an 18-45 year old male, stop talking about it’,” Russillo revealed. “For the old rules, why would you talk about religion on your sports talk show? Why would you talk about politics on your sports show? Now people could say ‘Hey this is more important. This is more important than sports’.

“Well, no shit this stuff is more important than sports. But you know what? They don’t talk about sex trafficking on (CNBC). Because that show’s about money. Those shows are about finances and all this other stuff. Is it as important as all these other horrible things that happened? Of course it isn’t. But that’s not what the job is. So that’s where I think again — this is expanding into a much bigger deal — I’d love to talk about some of this stuff, but I know I can’t win no matter what I do.”

Later in the episode, Russillo discussed how proud he was of his Brandon Marshall interview. Russillo had confirmed former Pro Bowl wide receiver and I Am Athlete co-host Brandon Marshall to appear on his podcast. When the interview time rolled around, Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall appeared on the screen. The former ESPN Radio host asked the linebacker a few questions before ending the interview. The podcast aired both interviews with both Brandon Marshall’s.

Craig Carton Details ‘MMA Uncensored Live’ Demise to Dana White

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UFC President Dana White appeared on WFAN’s Carton & Roberts Wednesday, which allowed Craig Carton the opportunity to tell White how he was partially responsible for the demise of Carton’s short-lived television show MMA Uncensored Live.

“I was not the biggest MMA guy, but I knew Dana and I knew the guys at Spike real well,” Carton said. “Spike decided to get in bed with Bellator, which was just a stupid decision because the UFC’s everything, right? So, Dana, you don’t know this story, I don’t think. About, maybe, 10 shows into it, Kevin Kay — the former President of Spike — comes to me and says ‘Listen, from now on, you can’t talk about the UFC’. And I go ‘Wait a minute. The name of the show is MMA Uncensored Live’. It was on Thursday nights. All we’re doing is talking UFC. And he says to me ‘I’m not putting any more money in Dana White’s pockets. F*** Dana White’. And I go ‘Then I quit. I can’t do the show’. Because it’s about the UFC.

“So he goes ‘Alright. I’m gonna compromise with you’. And the compromise was you can talk about a fight from last weekend but you can’t promote the fights that are happening in 48 hours. Which made no sense to me. And then when the poop hit the fan, I went on MMA Uncensored Live and I said, on the air, Joe Rogan is the best sports analyst of any sport on any network. And two weeks later, the show disappeared. So thanks, Dana. Appreciate that.”

White, who made headlines for calling an ESPN reporter a “scumbag”, then went on to detail how a Viacom executive — the parent company of Spike — who calls himself “Philippe Doo-mond” was one of the most “arrogant, pompous, goofy” people on the planet. White said “His real name is Phil Dauman. He’s from Jersey,” before detailing how Dauman thought Viacom had built the UFC into what it was at the time. Those ineptitudes, in White’s eyes, made the show’s cancellation unsurprising.

Big Ten Finalizes Largest Media Rights Deal in College Sports History

BSM Staff
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Per a report from Sports Business Journal‘s Michael Smith, it’s official: The Big Ten has secured and finalized the largest media rights deal in college sports history.

The conference will earn more than $8 billion over a seven-year deal with CBS, Fox, and NBC. It will generate $1.1 billion per year. Its previous deal with Fox and ESPN garnered the conference $440 million annually. The soon-to-be 16 schools in the conference, after the additions of USC and UCLA, will receive nearly $70 million annually from the deal.

The contract also sees the Big Ten’s women’s basketball tournament championship game migrate to CBS.

As for the perceived overlap between the SEC and Big Ten during the 3:30 PM ET window on CBS, Warren said the conference was more than willing to work around prior contractual obligations.

“I made up my mind early on that I was not going to put CBS in a position where they had to say no because they had to break the SEC contract,” Warren told Sports Business Journal. “It wasn’t the right thing to do. So we just had to get creative.”

Peacock will become the conference’s streaming home, and NBC has agreed to a $100,000 advertising budget with each conference member to promote their academic institutions. NBC will have 16 games per season in primetime under the terms of the newly signed deal.

Fox’s package of Big Ten games will grow from 24-27 to 30-32 games through the end of the deal in 2029.

Each network will air the Big Ten’s football championship game during the lifetime of the deal. Fox will air four, CBS will air two, and NBC will air one.

Sources told SBJ that while ESPN was not included in this media rights deal, there’s a possibility talks could continue to bring ESPN a smaller package of games than previously negotiated.

Dustin Fox: Adam The Bull ‘Challenged Me Every Day To Get Better’

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Dustin Fox: Adam The Bull ‘Challenged Me Every Day To Get Better’

After the April exit of Adam The Bull for Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan, he and Dustin Fox shared an emotional on-air goodbye. The pair had worked together for 11 years, and Fox said he learned plenty from his now departed co-host.

“I learned a lot from him,” Fox told Crain’s Cleveland Business. “To do good radio, you can’t just be sitting there and not taking a stance. He taught me to be tough. Early on, he ran roughshod over me because he’s born to do this. He challenged me every day to get better.”

Fox added when you were taking constructive criticism from your co-host for so long, eventually you’re going to elevate to their level.

“Not in a negative way, but it’s like playing your older brother in basketball. You want to get better and that’s what happened with us. He brought out the best in me, and that made the show really good.”

Adam “The Bull” Gerstenhaber left 92.3 The Fan on April 1st. He now is the host of The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show on YouTube, which streams daily between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM.

Dustin Fox also had high praise for his current co-host, Nick Wilson, who joined the program on July 18th.

“He’s ready for this and he’s perfect for what I was looking for. When we auditioned people and I gave input on who we interviewed, I wanted someone similar to Adam. I wanted somebody with a strong voice, someone where you’re going to have fun together and have a good rapport. A lot of good candidates auditioned and we could have done the show with anybody who reached the final stages of the audition, but I’m happy Nick’s back.”

Penn National To Acquire Barstool Sports In Full

BSM Staff
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Penn National To Acquire Barstool Sports In Full

Penn National Gaming made its initial investment in Barstool Sports in 2020, paying $161.2 million for a 36% stake in the content factory. Just a few years later, the casino company will acquire the remaining shares.

The relationship with Barstool has had ups and downs for Penn National.

A Business Insider report dropped in December accusing Barstool founder Dave Portnoy of sexual misconduct with multiple women caused serious headaches for Penn National. Portnoy denied any wrongdoing, saying all of the incidents detailed in the piece were consensual. He has also filed a defamation suit against the publisher.

Jay Snowden, the company’s CEO, encouraged investors to be patient. That didn’t stop the reaction though. Penn National lost over $2.5 billion in value and drew the attention of regulatory boards in Nevada and Indiana.

Still, the relationship with Barstool is one the casino company wants to keep. The company has found value in using the brand’s name to attract a younger audience to its sportsbooks. The Barstool name has been used on other venues and products inside of Penn National’s casinos as well.

Barstool podcasts and videos give Penn National a valuable, proprietary means of advertising. Plus, the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl and the Barstool Classic in Philadelphia, put Penn National in the live sports business.

Penn National has an option to acquire the rest of Barstool for another $387 million. Bloomberg reports that the two step process will be completed by February.

Laura Ingraham Slams The Atlantic Writer Over Rosary Piece

BNM Staff
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Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticized a writer for The Atlantic  Tuesday after she claimed he attempted to “villainize” people who pray the rosary. 

In the article, Daniel Panneton asks why AR 15 rifles are showing up besides rosary beads online. 

“Just as the AR-15 rifle has become a sacred object for Christian nationalists in general, the rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or “rad trad”) Catholics,” the article read.

“I am looking at the glass half-full,” Ingraham said. “Just because they demonize the rosary that must be something I should be doing more of.” 

Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo chimed in, offering that Christians have been praying the rosary for centuries adding the writer is probably,” filled with religious animus” and that “he’s afraid of faith.” 

Ingraham pointed out that The Atlantic has since changed the title of the article from “How the Rosary Became an Extremist Symbol” to “How Extremist Gun Culture Is Trying to Co-opt the Rosary.”

James Golden Excited for the Future of News/Talk Format

BNM Staff
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Former Rush Limbaugh producer James Golden aka Bo Snerdley believes there’s a bright future ahead for the news/talk format. 

Golden appeared on WFMD’s “Morning News Express” Wednesday to discuss talk radio in the post-Rush Limbaugh era. He also discussed the many talented hosts that have stepped in to fill major voids left by Limbaugh’s passing.

“We have such talent in this industry, and we have so many interesting people,” Golden said. He referenced numerous hosts who are heard both regionally and nationally.

Golden praised Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, Dan Bongino, and Dana Loesch who he said are passionate defenders of free speech. 

“I think talk radio can be very, very healthy for generations to come,” he said. This is where American conservatives meet, on the radio. The left in this country has done a really good job of holding onto their legacy networks, although we are making inroads there too.” 

Golden is carving his own path in the talk radio game. Following Limbaugh’s passing, Golden authored a book and produced a series of podcasts about Rush. 

Currently, he hosts a daily show on 77 WABC in New York City. 

“We have so many hosts spread across the country, whether they’re in local markets or doing national shows, talk radio to me is a healthy vibrant business that will continue to flourish for decades to come.” 

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