Home Blog Page 2494

The Opportunity For Media Jobs Is In Women’s Sports

Ryan Glasspiegel
-
0
The Opportunity For Media Jobs Is In Women’s Sports

If you work in sports media, you get asked all the time about how to catch a break. When I was fresh out of college, Seymour Siwoff, the legendary late longtime owner of Elias Sports Bureau, advised me to go into accounting instead of this business, but if I insisted on it to have an “angle”. What this meant was to find a niche covering something where either the public has more interest in the topic than is served, or jump in early on a growing space as Elias was decades ahead of the curve in pioneering statistical compilation and analysis. Clearly, gambling is one of those growing spaces, and I discussed last month how the proliferation of the industry has given top talents unprecedented leverage. Furthermore, the next decade will assuredly bring considerable opportunities for aspiring broadcasters and journalists to become stars in coverage of women’s sports. 

Women’s sports are in a fascinating position where they’ve already experienced exponential growth for the past generation, but might still be in the first few innings — there remains ample runway. As female athletes become bigger and bigger stars, media jobs will pop up in their orbits.

Allison Galer, founder of the agency Disrupt the Game, which represents Lisa Leslie, Chiney Ogwumike, Crystal Dunn, Liz Cambage, Chelsea Gray and other women involved in sports, has advice for media job seekers: “Just figuring out how to differentiate yourself and create value, just leaning into what makes you different from everyone else that’s trying to get into sports. Obviously, if someone has an interest in women’s sports they should dive right into it because the opportunities are going to continue to grow.”

Lisa Leslie and Chiney Ogwumike

Sharon Chang, a partner and broadcasting agent at WME whose clients include Taylor Rooks, Cari Champion, Stephanie Ready, and Michele Tafoya, says she is “very bullish” about the future of women’s sports. 

“It will only continue to grow because female athletes are extremely compelling to watch. They’re fierce. They’re now freely speaking their truth. They’re able to use social media to amplify their voices. They’re not afraid to go against the grain and the system.

“As long as female athletes who are vocal continue to authentically share their stories and excite fans with their physical prowess, mental toughness and grace during game play,  then networks, streamers and other media and digital platforms would want to continue to cover them. The popularity of the women playing these sports will help drive it—and the upcoming Olympics in Japan should help as well. I’m very bullish about the future of women’s sports.”

You can see this growth happening all over the place. Without making a value judgment for or against her stance with the media at the French Open, the fact that the Naomi Osaka story is massive news in and out of the sports bubble is a sign of how enormous an international star she is. The College Softball World Series aired on ABC for the first time ever this past weekend. The LA Sparks inked the WNBA’s first ever beer sponsorship, with Molson Coors, in March. Endorsement deals for individual women athletes are all over the place, including many spots airing during NBA playoff games. Barstool Sports recently navigated the NCAA compliance maze and hosted a women’s golf tournament (whether you love or loathe Barstool, you can’t deny that from a business perspective they skate to where the puck is going). Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair main evented a night of WrestleMania. The NWSL is expanding to add a 12th team, in Sacramento. 

“WNBA games actually aired on Lifetime as well as Oxygen in the early 2000’s. Now the league is partnered with ESPN and CBS Sports Network, along with some games airing on broadcast TV nets like ABC and CBS,” the WME agent Sharon Chang noted in discussing how far the league has come in its 25 years.

Certainly, many media members cover women’s sports very well on TV and in print, and it bears mentioning that the site “Just Women’s Sports” raised $3.5 million in funding from investors like  DraftKings and Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures a couple months ago. 

Nevertheless, it feels like there is a massive brass ring to be snatched by someone who wants to be the Woj, Shams, Schefter, Rapoport, or Passan — cover the WNBA, NWSL, and other women’s sports. If you’re in college right now, I’m certainly not gonna tell you that you couldn’t become the next Woj, but I’d reckon it’d probably take you at least a couple decades to accomplish (Shams’ success in his 20s is a huge outlier unlikely to be replicated anytime soon). Contrastly, an aspiring newsbreaker with talent, 24/7 hustle, and also some luck could be a marquee source for WNBA or NWSL scoops by the next presidential election.

Watch the celebs talk about Christian faith – The quotes of WNBA players Essence Carson, Candice Wiggins, Tamika Catchings, and Briann January.
Courtesy: Gospel Herald

“It’s a relationship business, and really an in-person business,” says Disrupt the Game founder Allison Galer. “Even throughout the pandemic you could get on a Zoom or hop on FaceTime. The agents, executives, players, etc. are only going to give information out when it serves a purpose, and to people they trust. And now they have the choice between sharing information with media members or choosing to put out information on athletes’, executives’ or agents’  own social platforms, in their own words. With Woj and Shams what’s been awesome for me to see and learn is that they’re everywhere. They’re constantly talking to people. They make the effort and they hustle. It’s not like they’re sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring — they are out there trying to make it happen.” 

“The WNBA and the NWSL both have some amazing media that are working super hard every day to cover these leagues and athletes,” Galer continues. “As the WNBA and NWSL both continue to grow, I have no doubt there is room for each league to have their own unique versions of media personalities to mirror in a sense what Woj and Shams have been able to do in the NBA, and that ultimately they will work to grow the WNBA and the NWSL with great, honest media coverage.”

I would bet on the WNBA in particular to have an economic boom in the next decade for a number of reasons. There are currently only 12 teams. Big markets like Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Detroit, and Denver don’t have a franchise, nor do states like Wisconsin and Tennessee, which support collegiate women’s sports. The other key is that the increased investment and exposure of the sport has ensured that there is more than enough talent coming up through the youth and college ranks to sustain expansion without going too far in diluting the quality of play. 

Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai reportedly bought the New York Liberty for under $15 million in 2019. Even if the league is not currently profitable, I predict that their TV deals will grow a lot in the coming years. Furthermore, with the way that assets have boomed in the past couple years, there will be a lot of business people for whom the intangible value of owning a WNBA team is far greater than what Tsai paid for the Liberty. I could easily see 12 teams becoming 20, and $15 million franchise valuation becoming $50-100 million, between now and 2035.

But back to the main topic at hand: More women’s sports getting broadcasted across linear and streaming networks, with bigger stars, and increasing athletic talent will create jobs for play-by-play announcers, color commentators, directors, producers, and journalists who are looking to make it in the sports media industry.

Anatomy Of An Analyst: John McEnroe

Andy Masur
-
0
Anatomy Of An Analyst: John McEnroe

“You cannot be serious!” Who could forget that line, which is so synonymous with John McEnroe berating an on-court official? So synonymous that it became the title of his autobiography. The famous line was part of a memorable moment at Wimbledon in 1981. It was in his opening round match, when he approached chair umpire Edward James yelling, “You cannot be serious, man. YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! That ball was on the line, chalk flew up. It was clearly in. How could you possibly call that out!” McEnroe walked away saying, “You guys are the absolute pits of the world.” The outburst cost him a point in that match. Some consider that the top Wimbledon moment of all-time. McEnroe doesn’t agree, admitting later that he felt “terrible” about the incident.

"I hear that about 10 times a day." McEnroe was notorious for arguing with umpires -- here haranguing an official during a semifinal win over Connors at Wimbledon. His famous catchphrase: "You cannot be serious!"
Courtesy: Getty Images

McEnroe never seemed to agree with umpires or linesmen, but it didn’t stop him from becoming one of the best tennis players of his era. The late 70’s and early 80’s belonged to the headband wearing boisterous left-hander. McEnroe was truly one of the most colorful players during his professional career and he’s parlayed that into a successful post-playing career as a television analyst. 

TENNIS CREDENTIALS

McEnroe earned induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999 based on his illustrious career on the court. He finished with 77 singles and 78 doubles titles. McEnroe won seven grand slam singles titles, four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon, and nine men’s Grand Slam doubles titles. His singles match record of 82–3 in 1984 remains the best single season win rate of the Open Era. 

McEnroe became the top-ranked singles player in the world on March 3, 1980. He was the top-ranked player on 14 separate occasions between 1980 and 1985 and finished the year ranked No. 1 four straight years from 1981 through 1984. He spent a total of 170 weeks at the top of the rankings.

As an 18-year-old amateur in 1977, McEnroe won the mixed doubles at the French Open with Mary Carillo. He then made it through the qualifying rounds of Wimbledon, working his way into the field. McEnroe would lose to Jimmy Connors in four sets. At the time it was the best performance by a qualifier at a Grand Slam tournament. 

He played collegiately at Stanford and in 1978, McEnroe won the NCAA Singles title and led the Cardinal to the NCAA team title. Later that year, he turned pro and made it to the semifinals of the US Open, losing to Jimmy Connors. McEnroe won 5 titles that year, including the Masters Grand Prix in which he beat legend Arthur Ashe in straight sets. The lefty would finish ’78 as the fourth ranked player in the world. 

NOT THE MOST POPULAR PLAYER

McEnroe didn’t stand out for his popularity. He didn’t really seem to care either. He played with a fire that burned, a competitiveness that was palpable but he was always arguing. Constantly putting down game officials for what he considered bad calls. 

“I know I can see the ball better than the officials,” he said early in his career. “I can ‘feel’ when a ball is out or not. What’s so frustrating is to know you’re right and not be able to do anything about it.”

When he was just 20, he was nicknamed “Superbrat” by the British tabloids in 1979. “He is the most vain, ill-tempered, petulant loudmouth that the game of tennis has ever know,” The Sun wrote.

BROADCASTING

McEnroe started his broadcasting career with NBC in 1992 as an analyst on the network’s French Open coverage.  In June of ’92 he made his debut as a commentator on NBC’s Wimbledon telecasts. McEnroe has also spent time with CBS, USA, the BBC and now ESPN.

As we’ve seen it a million times, a person’s unpopularity making them popular in the booth, because you never know what might be said. Controversy sometimes makes for great television. Someone willing to “tell it like it is” usually is a fan favorite. Enter McEnroe. 

John McEnroe and conflict of interests in broadcasting - Sports Illustrated
Courtesy: Sports Illustrated

While the reputation for being the “bad boy” on the court, his on-air persona is a little bit different. The man knows the game of tennis and he’s used the knowledge to gain a reputation for being good at what he does. The combination of insightfulness and some outspoken commentary is working for him. He’s often making his point with the natural wit and cynicism he’s been blessed with. I know this will come as a shock, but he’s often willing to say what is on his mind. The only difference between McEnroe the broadcaster and the “Johnny Mac” of tennis fame, he’s much calmer when delivering his commentary in the booth. That makes him a lot easier to listen to and view. 

Many that were able to play the game, whatever sport it might be, at a high level, have a hard time accepting today’s athletes. Some don’t like the way the game is played now, because it isn’t what it used to be. McEnroe is the exception to that rule. He has been known to appreciate and accept the way the game has changed since his era. It’s a quality that isn’t lost on viewers. Who really wants to hear that former great tell you that these athletes of today are “this or that” and not as good as they were when he played? It’s kind of a tired way of commentating. It’s lazy and not entertaining. Good on McEnroe for being “bigger” than that. 

According to an “Awful Announcing” article in 2012, McEnroe is one of the top analysts regardless of sport. It goes on to say, and I’m paraphrasing here, McEnroe gives the broadcast credibility and enhances the coverage of tennis greatly. 

WORKING WITH HIS BROTHER

McEnroe’s brother Patrick was quite the tennis player himself, but was constantly overshadowed by big brother John. Patrick has carved out a nice niche for himself in tennis broadcasting and is so versatile, he’s done commentary, hosting and play-by-play. The latter allowed him to be paired with John on many occasions.  

The New York Times did a piece on the younger McEnroe in 2017 at the US Open in Flushing, NY.

The brothers were ecstatic to work together again on a broadcast. Patrick told the paper that the producers were initially worried about their similar Queens cadence. With Patrick doing the play-by-play and John doing the color commentary, their words often do the job of letting the viewer know who is talking.

The story looked at the two on opening night of the Open, they called a hard-fought match between Alexander Zverev and Darian King that stretched well past midnight. As the 2 a.m. hour approached, something shocking occurred. John seemed to agree with an umpire. Patrick wanted to make sure he heard his brother correctly. “I figured no one was watching,” John shot back.

Pretty cool that they get to work together, listening back to a few of their matches, I’m struck by how at ease both the brothers are. They should be after growing up together, but sometimes that brotherly competitiveness can rear its head. Not in the case of the McEnroe brothers. 

ESPN / US Open Conference Call – John & Patrick McEnroe - ESPN Press Room U.S.
Courtesy: ESPN Images

OTHER APPEARANCES 

John is obviously best known for his play, but he’s recognized for other things as well. McEnroe has been an author and actor in various roles including appearances on 30 Rock, CSI NY, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Saturday Night Live, Anger Management, Jack & Jill, and Mr. Deeds to name a few. His memoir that I alluded to earlier, You Cannot Be Serious reached #1 on the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list in 2001, and was also ranked #1 on the London Times best-seller list.

CONCLUSION

McEnroe has done a nice job of using his past experiences as a dominant tennis player to move into an analyst role and explain the game to his audience. He offers personality and wit, things his fans are expecting of him, in a conversational and expert way. McEnroe could easily be that screaming and angry guy he was on the court, but he realizes that too much of that would turn an audience off. He is able to strike that delicate balance between the player he was and the broadcaster he is, which is not an easy thing to do. 

Jamie Horowitz To Lead WWE Studios & Oversee Original Content

BSM Staff
-
0

The WWE continues to bolster its organization by adding individuals with strong experience in sports television. The latest addition, former FOX Sports National Networks President, ESPN Vice President of Original Programming and Production, and Executive Vice President of DAZN, Jamie Horowitz. Horowitz’s first day on the job is today, June 1st.

The accomplished sports television executive joins World Wrestling Entertainment as its Executive Vice President, Development & Digital. Horowitz will oversee WWE’s original content including scripted and unscripted programs for digital and social media. He will also be responsible for WWE Studios in Los Angeles.

The multi-platform content division, WWE Studios, has been involved in the release of more than 50 films and series, and has partnerships in place with Netflix, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, MGM, Warner Brothers and others. Some of the current programs created by the company include A&E’s The Quest for Lost WWE Treasures, the award-winning A&E Biography which features documentaries on five former WWE superstars, Total Bellas on E! and Miz & Mrs on USA Network. The company also partnered with HBO and Bill Simmons to produce the Emmy-nominated documentary Andre the Giant.

Prior to joining WWE, Horowitz served as Executive Vice President, Global Content at DAZN where he oversaw the company’s original programming, social content and editorial strategy. Under his watch, DAZN put Pat McAfee’s show on television, Adnan Virk was hired to host a daily MLB highlight show titled ‘Change Up’, and the company teamed up with Sylvester Stallone to create the exceptional documentary ‘One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz’. Both McAfee and Virk have since had working relationships with the WWE.

But inside sports media circles, Horowitz is most remembered for two things. First, his influence on ESPN’s talk programming, where he grew ratings by embracing the world of debate, developing First Take and Sports Nation. Second, was his move to FS1 to help launch the network and compete against his former employer. Horowitz used a similar strategy to build FS1 around personalities with an ability to deliver strong opinions and create conversation. His relationships and influence helped the network land Colin Cowherd, Skip Bayless, and Jason Whitlock among others.

Though it wasn’t mentioned in the network’s press release, it’s highly likely Nick Khan’s involvement with WWE helped the company land the sports media executive. The two have known each other and have done deals together over the years. Khan is the former co-head of CAA’s television department and was one of most successful agents, attorneys and deal makers in the sports media industry before leaving CAA to become WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer.

Learn By Doing, Earn By Learning

Jeff Caves
-
0
Learn By Doing, Earn By Learning

Learning on the job is a big part of the radio training process. I have seen many new sales reps get hired and then sit by themselves and study a radio 101 sales training course. Once they pass that, they start shadowing other employees in the building, watching talk shows, observing what the program director does, and spending time in traffic. Finally, the new person goes on calls with other reps for a week or so and then settles into the regular weekly training sessions that the rest of the sales staff attend.

Job shadowing: Increase the effectiveness of your sales team | iConnect
Courtesy iConnect

If you are that newer salesperson in the building, make sure you read this. From here on out, the new salesperson may get additional one-on-one training with the sales manager until the manager gets too busy with calling on their accounts, attending their meetings, and plenty of other things. 

So, then what? Well, to me, that new sales rep either continues to learn independently, starts earning money, or leaves. 

The learning process a new sales rep goes through really never stops. Radio sales reps are constantly learning about new packages to sell, new software they need to use for orders and production and, of course, digital platforms.  So, if learning about new products to sell and how to use the latest Facebook application or Workday program floats your boat, you may want to change careers. It would help if you spent more time learning those applications and then experiencing how to apply that to clients. You may tire of sales and become a corporate trainer for new systems or software and find your calling in another industry, in my opinion. But, if you want to excel at sales and move up to Sales Manager, General Manager, and maybe even Regional Vice President, you better change your tactics at learning and earning.

Try the 3 E’s: Experience, Exposure, and Education.

Leon Purton was a Chief Engineer with the Royal Australian Air Force and wrote about leadership, growth, and personal development and is a good resource. He reminds us that to get ahead in a company, you must remember learners are earners. Purton now works for Northrup Grumman, one of the world’s largest weapons manufacturers and military technology providers. This Fortune 100 company tells employees that they need to spend 70% on experience, 20% on exposure, and 10% on education if they want to get ahead.

Home | Leon Purton
Courtesy: LeonPurton.com

Applied to radio, they would say that sales reps should learn by doing. Take on different projects like digital or an NTR event and understand how it works by examining it up close and advocating for your clients. By going through the frustration of learning new systems or sales platforms, you will develop a skill set that will serve you well whenever faced with a new initiative to sell. Once you understand, say, geo fencing, come up with how to propose that to your clients to solve their problems and make them more money. Of course, you will learn by being around others in the office and listening to how they do things, and there will always be formal training in meetings to educate on new procedures and products to sell. 

Learn to earn! And, if you aren’t learning or earning, leave. 

Chris King’s Side of the Radio Keeps Hockey Fans Listening

Derek Futterman
-
0

Chris King has been on the radio for New York Islanders broadcasts since 1998. In that time, King has brought thrilling moments for fans of the orange and blue to life. However, it wasn’t until 2020 that the man they call “Kinger” had to transition to calling home games in an arena without a crowd, and road games in a small studio in Hempstead, NY. While the Islanders radio voice is finally back on the road for the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, albeit independently (due to NHL COVID-19 protocols), he hopes that next season will be a restoration of normalcy in terms of fans being in arenas and broadcasters traveling with the team.

“Just from an emotional and energy standpoint as a broadcaster, I do hockey and baseball, and the crowd is a big part of [the game],” said King. “The difficulty of calling the game off of a monitor [is that] you are limited to what the [television] director shows you, as opposed to being at the event. In hockey, things happen away from the puck all the time, and I need to look there to see what plays are being set up, especially late in close games.”

With the Islanders making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and securing another playoff trip this year, King’s preparatory process centers around learning about the opponent. He says it’s something that can be especially difficult during a regular season filled with traveling.

“During the regular season, it’s a little more difficult than the playoffs,” described King. “Let’s say the Islanders are playing the Rangers on Tuesday. All the way leading up to that, I’m trying to learn about the Rangers for 48 hours leading up to the game. As soon as that game ends, I have to learn the next visiting team.”

King said preparing for the playoffs is less strenuous than doing so in the regular season, comparing it to baseball, a sport he has called for the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks over the last 20 seasons, where teams play series against one another.

“[In the playoffs], you ramp-up [and learn the opponent], then you get 3-4 broadcasts out of it,” said King. “I had a tremendous ramp-up to get up to speed on the Penguins, but once [the series] begins, it’s that same opponent [for the whole series]. In that aspect, it’s much easier than the regular season where you’re constantly changing opponents and, during a normal regular season, location as well.”

Another part of King’s job that he credits as being an integral part of the broadcast is his collection of sound from the coaching staff and the players to intersperse throughout the broadcast. Using a device for audio playback, King provides the listener with insight from the team on their matchup, and what they need to do to win the game.

“A large portion [of my job] is recording and editing audio,” King explained. “On our broadcasts, I drop in a ton of sound because I think it adds to the broadcast. Instead of hearing just myself and my broadcast partner Greg Picker, you’re also hearing 5-6 players, head coach Barry Trotz, etc..”

88.7 WRHU-FM Radio Hofstra University has been the flagship station of the New York Islanders since 2010. The station produces and distributes the radio broadcast to several other prominent commercial stations which comprise the New York Islanders Radio Network, including 98.7 WEPN-FM and 1050 WEPN-AM and 103.9 WRCN-FM. While WRHU-FM is in fact a non-commercial, student-run college radio station, it operates as a professional outlet worthy of airing NHL games, winning numerous prestigious awards from the National Association of Broadcasters and the Academy of Radio Arts and Sciences of America. King says the large quantity of aspiring media professionals working on the broadcast throughout the season has helped augment its quality, aligning more with the law of increasing returns than its polar opposite; that is, with the key cogs in the system remaining constant.

“At WRHU, we have a producer, an engineer, someone cutting highlights and someone doing updates,” said King. “On any given night, I’d say our team [consists of] between 6-10 people. I’ve done so many broadcasts where it’s one person operating the board back at the radio station, and you can’t get that much more help. The fact that we’ve been on [WRHU] for 11 years now is one of the reasons we have one of the best broadcasts in the NHL.”

The National Hockey League recently agreed to broadcast deals with both ESPN and TNT that gives both networks rights to air league games through the 2028-29 season. Both deals are centered around distribution of hockey onto various multimedia platforms, and aspire to further grow the game of hockey around the world, something King is enthusiastic about.

“I think [the deal] will be great for the league because ESPN is the number one brand name in the world as far as sports are concerned,” said King. “For all the students doing broadcasts on WRHU, being broadcast on ESPN Radio lets them know that their work is worthy of being carried on a monstrous sports radio station with the name behind it.”

As sports broadcasts evolve with changing consumption trends, King sees the impact sports betting has had over the airwaves. The voice of the Islanders doesn’t enjoy its implementation into the broadcast, but he recognizes the foothold it has rapidly taken before, during and after the game.

“I tape every game and watch it back the next day… and MSG Networks is taking a pretty good portion of their pregame show talking about sports betting,” said King. “It’s not my favorite thing, but the bottom line is money, and if the money is coming from those companies, they’ll [talk about it].”

King, a seasoned broadcaster in his own right, says that radio, however it is disseminated, is a unique platform for sports broadcasting because of its absence of video, requiring the announcers to provide that feed to the mind of the listener.

“The broadcast can be whatever I want it to be because I’m the one in charge — and I hardly ever get recognized because they don’t see my face,” explained King. “The broadcast is what I want it to be every single night. On television, it is good to be a part of a team, [but] because you are a small pawn of a larger operation… the broadcaster is being told what to do from the director and producer [based on their vision].”

With commanding the broadcast comes criticism, and for King, most of it is derived from listening back to how he did his job each game, another part of his preparation that keeps him ready and helps him improve his on-air skills every time the Islanders are on the ice. For himself, he says, though, the act of judging his performance is difficult to quantify or qualify; he just “kind of knows.”

“My philosophy is that it has to be fun on our side of the radio for it to be fun on the other side of the radio,” said King. “I judge it more on if we brought the excitement and the energy, and if we conveyed what was going on in the building. The people who are not there need to be able to follow the game based on my words. The other side of the game is letting them know how crazy the building is.”

As the New York Islanders look to advance far into the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, King is excited to be back in the arena with the roar of the crowd behind his signature goal calls. As for his takeaways from calling the game from a remote site away from the team, his answer, much like the Islanders fans’ signature chant, came in the form of “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

“Was it difficult at first? Yes. Did it get better? Yes. Do I hope to never do it again? Yes.”

Meet The Market Managers – Tim McCarthy, 98.7 ESPN NY & ESPN LA 710

Jason Barrett
-
0
Meet The Market Managers – Tim McCarthy, 98.7 ESPN NY & ESPN LA 710

When you think about New York City, it’s easy to form a mental picture of the city’s landmarks, bridges, skyscrapers, and traffic. Maybe you’ll even think of the large melting pot of people, the amazing food, the yellow taxi cabs, the area’s sports teams or the numerous politicians who chase cameras and microphones on a daily basis.

But at the center of everything lies one key word – competition.

Think about the way the big apple has been presented to you over the years. The concrete jungle. Market #1. The city that never sleeps. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Only in New York. Add them all up and what does it mean? You better stay focused, hungry, and continue evolving every single day because the moment you don’t, might be your last.

For Tim McCarthy, that’s never been a concern. Thirty plus years of passion, drive and success in the nation’s largest market managing some of the biggest brands and personalities buys you not only a little bit of breathing room, but also a front row seat to New York radio history. As much as he’s enjoyed the view though, Tim’s also made sure to leave his prints on the talk radio scene. From Sean Hannity to Stephen A. Smith to Michael Kay and others, McCarthy has played a role in helping launch some of the city’s biggest personalities on both the local and national stages.

Today, you can find Tim in New York doing what he’s always done – using his experience, love for radio and ability to connect with people to deliver results for 98.7 ESPN NY. Sure, his job may include the task of leading ESPN LA 710’s staff from three thousand miles away, and the added challenge of trying to satisfy local fans and clients while doing what’s best for the world’s largest national sports media company, but if this is what life’s biggest problems have become in 2021, McCarthy is more than happy to sign up and deal with it well into the future.

In a city where sports radio ratings stories get shared by multiple newspapers on a monthly basis, McCarthy appreciates that people care enough about his industry to cover it thoroughly. We spoke for forty five minutes last week about the New York sports radio scene, the challenge of serving two masters, the status of the ESPN Radio network, the future of sports betting, challenges with Nielsen, and much more. Tim’s candor and confidence stood out during our conversation, which reminded me that it’s OK to enjoy the ride even in a competitive city like New York. Given all that Tim’s experienced, it’s been one fun, fulfilling professional journey.

_____________________________

Jason Barrett: Before we dive into your experiences in sports radio, let’s go backwards for a minute and educate folks on where your radio journey began. Where did you get your start?

Tim McCarthy: It started at WPLJ in New York. I was lucky enough to start in retail sales. At the time, WPLJ wasn’t what most knew it to become. It was doing horribly and changing its formula it seemed every other day. The economy wasn’t great either. We had a bunch of revolving morning shows, Archer, David Haney, Rocky Allen and then eventually Scott and Todd. I sold there for three years and then the local sales manager job came open at WABC. Although we were on the same floor it was two different countries. The brands were different, ratings were different, the Yankees were on ABC and not very good, and I pitched myself for the job. I remember 78 people applied for the job. I was lucky enough that Don Bouloukus, who was running ABC Radio at the time, took a liking to me. I guess he liked that I did things a little different, and so I went over to WABC.

JB: So was the move to WABC what opened the door to a run with ESPN? I’m guessing that’s where you crossed paths with Traug Keller right?

TM: I crossed paths with Traug at WABC because I eventually became GM there. I was in that position for 8-9 years. I was Traug’s client because we ran the ABC Radio network. Traug would negotiate those deals with me or call me up and say ‘you’ve got to carry this show, you’re killing me’. What changed was when we got Hannity. We took him from Atlanta and put him on at night. Then Bob Grant left and we thought ‘this guy’s pretty good’ and we moved him into afternoon drive. He was young, in his 30’s, and it clicked, so Traug, Mitch Dolan and I got together and said ‘we can syndicate this on all of our stations and force feed the audience.’ Which is how it should work. We made that move on September 10, 2001, the day before 9/11 hit. Talk about timing.

So how that leads to ESPN, I was running WABC and Radio Disney. We got the news in August 2001 that we had picked up an ESPN station. It was going to be all network and we had to put that on the air in 30 days. We went on the air with the station the week before 9/11. That’s how I got involved with the brand.

JB: So the ESPN station you’re referring to is 1050. That station would soon employ Rob Astorino, Wally & The Keeg, and Brandon Tierney among others.

TM: We did in fact have Senator Astorino there. Wally and the Keeg were the only show we aired that wasn’t from the network. Then we added Brandon to host shows at night.

JB: I remember BT would turn the sports updates into :60 to :90 second talk shows. He definitely belonged hosting a show, updates were not his cup of tea.

TM: BT definitely had a lot of personality and he’s gone on to have a very successful career. I’d love having him back in our company someday. So sadly, everything with 1050 happened around 9/11. We took over this station, and nobody paid much attention to it for the first few months. It had been a Jewish radio station before we took control of it. We started simulcasting WABC on both signals first. That was what most people cared about. That put us kind of behind the fray for the first two years in terms of building the 1050 brand.

JB: You mentioned earlier that you started your career in sales. I know many though who’ve worked with you who say you’ve got a lot of strong opinions on programming. You’ve worked with a number of smart programmers including Justin Craig, Dave Roberts, Kevin Graham, Ryan Hurley, Mike Thompson, and Aaron Spielberg just to name a few. Given you have such a strong interest in content and talent and an important voice in shaping ESPN’s major market brands, how did you develop your programming instincts?

TM: Honestly, it was at WABC. I just love the talk format. The more I got into it and listened and heard things whether it be from a caller or someplace else. We had a caller named John Batchelor. I heard John one Friday night while I was driving home from the city, and I called the producer on Monday and asked ‘who was that guy you had on the air on Friday night?’ He said, ‘that was John Batchelor and Paulie who worked with Bloomberg Digital or Bloomberg Magazine.’ I said ‘those guys are really interesting’ and I went to Phil Boyce and said ‘we should put him on more’.

I think I just got better with understanding things over time. At first, people are like ‘yeah OK buddy, you don’t know what you’re talking about’, but over time when things become more successful, you kind of earn your keep. John’s show became a huge hit and we wound up syndicating it. Hannity was another who I felt strongly about as the replacement for Bob Grant. Then we brought John Gambling over, and added Curtis & Kuby and Warner Wolf, so for me it’s all about seeing something grow from here to there. Look at Stephen A. Smith. He was on 1050 and is now a rockstar and I couldn’t be happier for him. In the old days, as a PD you would try someone out at night, listen to how they do, see if some numbers pop, and if they showed something you might move them to middays. Then if that kicks, you consider AM or PM drive. It’s harder to do that these days and I think that’s one of the bigger problems we have in the industry right now.

JB: I’ve always thought it’s silly to assume that someone who’s worked in sales can’t add value to a programming conversation and the same with programming folks not being able to make a difference in revenue discussions. That’s something I pride myself on and I know other programmers in the format who do as well. Ultimately creating must-listen programming comes down to having people on the air who are unique, talented, and interesting. It’s easier when you see someone like Michael Kay or Stephen A. and can look at their body of work and feel comfortable trusting them with a prime spot on your radio station, but you’ve helped elevate folks like Rick DiPietro, Chris Canty and Peter Rosenberg too who also had talent but didn’t walk in the door with lengthy sports media resumes. When it comes to identifying a talent to contribute to one of your radio stations, what is it you’re looking for?

TM: There are a few things. First, what role are they going to play? John Batchelor is probably a little different, but Peter, Chris and Rick, what role are they going to play within a show to add something different and help us win? I think that’s important. Not everyone can do it. Sometimes guys overpower each other and it doesn’t work. You mentioned Michael Kay, Michael has evolved incredibly over the years. I told Michael a long time ago ‘being the Yankees guy is not going to be good enough’. You have to be more than that and remember that it’s about the entertainment and sports not sports and entertainment.

So I think it circles back to roles, and then secondarily, if it’s a singular role and not part of a team, how can I develop this person to be different than anything else that’s out there. That’s kind of what made Peter a great fit for us. A lot of people thought I was nuts at the time for bringing him in, including myself, and I remember going to see Michael at the stadium and tell him ‘you’re not going to like this but here’s what I want to do’. He said ‘isn’t that the disco guy on Hot 97?’ I said ‘if everyone knows the role they have to play on a show it’ll work because the entertainment value will be better.’

JB: What I find fascinating about this is that doing that with one group in one building is hard enough. But then you factor in that you have to also oversee ESPN Los Angeles, a brand in the 2nd largest market in America, and then oh by the way, make sure that anything you do also keeps the bosses in Bristol happy because they too have certain things they want to see happen with your local stations given that they own them. How do you balance trying to appease both the local and national overlords?

TM: It’s not easy. Norby Williamson who we report to gets it. He understands the value of ratings and personalities. What I think is important is that the PD’s understand the symmetry from show to show. Network and local can work really well together if everyone understands the symmetry and connections. That includes updating creative promos, getting the network talent on the local shows and the local hosts on the national shows.

The other thing too we’ve done, if we feel a local show is stronger we’ll take all of the network elements and run them in the local show. We may have to cut back on our local inventory but now we’ve served the network in the hopes that we can get a higher rating that benefits everyone. In LA it’s a little more difficult due to the time change. We actually just added two local hours to the lineup.

The challenge is the same, it’s getting everyone to believe in the same thing, and understand the common good. Listen, sometimes local may have to take it on the chin because it’s better for the company.

JB: But I know you, and you’re a very competitive guy. So too are some of the people you manage. You go back to last year, and 98.7 ESPN NY was rolling. The Kay Show was especially strong in afternoons, and then a number of national changes were made, the station expanded to six shows during a 13-hour period which I’m sure like most operators you had to have questions about, and soon thereafter the momentum slowed down. I understand that sometimes you have to give up some ground to do what’s best for the overall business, but you also have to deal with those folks on the inside who are going to look at you and say ‘Timmy, we’re right there, and now you want us to take our foot off the gas?’ How do you handle that?

TM: I get those questions all the time. You’re right, our guys are very competitive, as am I. The honest answer is that when you work for a great company like ESPN, there’s the benefits and the things you have to adapt to. I would say that our benefits far outweigh the other things that some may have an issue with. As a manager, I try to make that clear to people.

Here’s an example, if we have the World Series and the Yankees are in it, we may not have the local rights but now all of a sudden we love running the network. Listen, it’s not easy, but again, there’s a bigger play here. The company provides us with great promotion and opportunity and it works. I think in some ways, and I hope folks understand what I mean when I say this, but the local ESPN stations in some ways are a minor league system for talent. We’ve got Alan Hahn, Chris Carlin, Bob Wischusen, and Bart Scott all doing stuff for us. That’s a good thing for the station, the talent, and the company. So again, sometimes you take it on the chin, but the overall benefit is positive.

My goal is to get people to a better place. Chris Canty did First Take last week. I gave him the week off to focus on that show because he hasn’t done it. Ryan and my sales team were ticked, and rightfully so. They should’ve been mad at me. But I said to them ‘For the good of Chris and the company, I’m going to give him the time off. Our guy is there. He’s in the Olympics. We have to give him the shot to perform. If we lose ratings or revenue for this one week because of it then shame on us. Then we didn’t do something right to make up for him being away.’

JB: Having spent time focusing on the juggling act between local and national, I want to pick your brain on the network. As you know, hundreds of stations take the company’s programming. The identity of ESPN has always been strong, but anytime change takes place, folks are going to have questions. As you look at ESPN Radio today, what do you see as its biggest advantages, and what are some things you believe need to be improved?

TM: The biggest strength of course is the ESPN brand. Affiliates want that brand association. I also believe our play by play is a big strength of ours. Take for instance a game like Clemson-Georgia to kick off college football. That’s a huge game and we have it. Those are I think huge strengths.

In the past, we’ve done a great job developing talent, and right now it’s a work in progress. The network folks are trying different things and seeing what works, and look, it’s hard. We’re a multiplatform company that likes to do multiplatform things, so the question becomes ‘how can we serve our entire audience the right way, satisfy our affiliates, and still generate ratings?’ That’s really hard. I’m a big believer that you always have to be filling the pipeline. But you also have a year and a half of Covid and pipelines cost money. So that’s a challenge too, where do we invest our money? It’s not perfect but I know the network is looking really hard at different things and hopefully it pays off in the long run.

JB: I’ve talked to Dave and Justin before, and both want to deliver for the affiliates. Yes the brand is massive, and that association with the network is worth some of the trade offs for stations when the network is going thru changes. Stations may bitch because they want certain things but they partner with ESPN because they know those four letters have value. That said, I’ve been critical of one thing which I know frustrates affiliates and that’s the inconsistency with the network’s weekday lineup. Change is OK. Everyone goes thru it. But when it happens multiple times in less than a year, it’s going to lead to folks becoming impatient. If you were running a local brand not owned by ESPN and asking local advertisers to support you and local people to listen to you, it’d be hard to expect them to stay loyal when every few months you have to report back with news of another change. Eventually they’re going to be less enthusiastic because stability is important. As a GM, and someone who deals with affiliates and speaks their language, how do you alleviate their concerns that better days are ahead for the network?

TM: Change is never good or easy. There’s always pain with change and we have to all be willing to accept that. By the same token, we have to take chances and one of the challenges we have is that we run our programming on both TV and radio. We may be killing it on TV but not on radio and for the overall good, that’s a win. You look at bringing Mike Greenberg back to radio, that’s a homerun. I don’t care what his ratings are, he does a great radio show. I tell our salespeople all the time, if you can’t sell Greeny and the type of show he does then shame on you.

I would tell affiliates to keep wrapping their heads around the brand. We’re going to keep looking for ways to improve. They’re taking ESPN Radio for a reason. If they felt they had something much better they’d probably not be taking us. We’re glad they do, and it’s not perfect, and change is not easy for everyone, but we’re making moves to try and provide better programming to help everyone.

JB: Let’s move away from the programming discussion for a second and talk about the personal challenges you and many others in leadership positions were forced to navigate over the past fifteen months. Traug left the company, you took on Los Angeles along with New York, and then weeks later the pandemic hits, the industry gets rocked financially, ESPN goes thru some changes on-air and in key leadership roles, and all the while you’re trying to lead staffs while dealing with limitations caused by governments installing measures to try and keep people safe. What has that been like for you?

TM: I’ll tell you what’s been really frustrating, is the fact that I can’t be in LA. I was going out there every other week and I really like our team there. I was excited that the three months before we were building momentum and felt we were going to do some really great things and then the pandemic hit. I’ll tell ya Jason, it’s really hard to manage people over Zoom. We’ve gotten used to it and made the most of the situation but the challenge is ‘how do we motivate people and keep their heads in the game this way?’ Let’s face it, anyone who says ‘I’m working 10x harder than I ever did’ probably isn’t.

I think the quality of certain things have gotten better. The conversations have definitely been better. The advertising side has been really frustrating. Our business, regardless of how much it changes, is still going to be ‘meet, greet, trust’, all those things that matter. Particularly on the retail side. Let’s say you’re meeting with a car dealer, they’ve been with you, you’re going to put a plan together, he or she trusts you, and you both feel good that it’s going to work. But now, we have situations where automobile can’t get cars. The beer business can’t get cans. So what happens? We’re not going to advertise right now, we’re going to push it off. Sports betting fortunately has been tremendous. But you throw all those other factors in, while not being able to see people to sell them, and it’s been nothing but a challenge.

As we come out of it, and I’ve had this discussion with my team, how do we keep motivating our staff and our advertisers? I believe radio is going to come back stronger. I don’t think people are going to be jumping on a bus or train anytime soon. You see it with the traffic in New York. The in-car experience is going to be really important. We’ve done a lot of Zoom events with clients in both NY and LA. We did one with the NY Jets, another with AROD, and we did an NFL Draft show. Engagement, engagement, engagement is very important. Our sales manager Pete Doherty had a great idea, we had these 98.7 ESPN NY speakers ‘listen at home’, and we sent them out to our clients. We’ve got to get our call letters in front of everyone because the number of meters that are out there haven’t increased.

JB: You just struck a nerve because that is a conversation that we could spend hours on. The sports radio format in my opinion remains largely underrepresented. It’s maddening because the programming not only reaches way more people than it gets credit for, but the framing of the format as a niche space rather than as one of the most important places an advertiser can put their business in is foolish. For instance, I produce quarterly ratings stories on this website. We show how stations in the format perform from city to city and most do pretty well. However, these numbers don’t show the true power of their streaming sessions, podcast downloads, TV simulcasts, content created or promoted on social media, etc.. We’re positioned as this niche format that performs for one specific demographic and the results are based on what 8-10 people carrying this antiquated device do yet sports is one of the most important parts of society and one of the last true content destinations where people have to listen live. I know our full reach and influence is greater than the story we present but at the same time, as an industry, that’s partly our fault because we’re the ones who’ve signed up for this service and accepted it, knowing that it doesn’t reflect what we’re delivering on a daily basis.

TM: Exactly. The audio business is very large. I’ve said this all along, Nielsen can not play Switzerland. They have to actually make statements. They can’t allow folks who sell their stream in a different advertising space to combine their streaming numbers and throw it out in the marketplace. It’s no different than me taking Michael Kay’s TV numbers on YES and throwing them into a sales plan when I’m not running the same commercials. I think Nielsen has to embrace all of these platforms and come up with a real measurable way to say here’s a true number. If they’re not going to increase meters, they need to deliver all this stuff. We have radio shows that are offered in multiple locations yet we don’t get radio credit if people consume it on social media or television. How much are we losing because someone says ‘I love the show but I’m going to watch it on TV?’

Once again, it drives down this editorial from the press that radio is going this way while podcasting is going the other way. Podcasting is a radio station in short form. We need to start getting credit for the things we do and whether it’s Nielsen, ourselves or the industry as a whole, we need to come up with a solution because we’re doing a lot of the right things but don’t have enough to show for it.

JB: Before I got on a tangent over ratings, you mentioned earlier how important sports betting business has been to radio. I want to dive deeper into that space for a minute because everyone recognizes that the category is hot right now and being able to seize the opportunity is important. But where does this road eventually lead to? Do we eventually have an ESPN The Bet? Does Betcasting around live games become more mainstream? Do we one day have a surplus of national sports radio betting networks the way we have a flood of sports television programming on television? How do you see this shaping up?

TM: It’s not going to go away. It’s always been here. It’s always been part of our lexicon in the sports world. The only difference is it wasn’t allowed to be broadcast or pushed and now it is. You have these great companies like DraftKings, FanDuel and others doing it and our format is where the fish are. We consume it, bet on it, and live it. Do I think it’s going to be a bigger content play? I do but I don’t think it’ll ever replace great personalities. If a great talent can provide strong entertainment value you won’t have to worry about it because you’ll drive ratings and revenue.

Will sports betting content become a bigger part of other areas whether it’s weekend shows, nighttime shows or vignettes? Yes. I think that’s going to grow. But I don’t think it’s going to grow to the level where you’re replacing shows like Michael Kay’s afternoon program or SportsCenter simply because it’s more focused on betting.

JB: Let’s wrap up on a few New York sports radio items. Each day you wake up and you go to work representing the bigger brand in sports in the nation’s top market, facing the brand that started the format, WFAN. You’ve taken your hits from them, and you’ve also caused them some real headaches along the way. What is the best and worst part about the daily grind of going head to head against The Fan?

TM: First, our biggest challenge is whether or not the radio is off. Next, our competitor isn’t WFAN. It’s any male brand that can take our audience away. The challenge I love is the everyday battle of how are we going to do things better, faster, younger, etc..

Listen, The Fan is a great radio station. They always have been. Their brand is huge. They got good people there. I know their market manager Chris Oliviero. He’s a great guy. I love the fact that they never give up and it’s always a head to head battle. It’s Curry vs. LeBron. I remember when I was on the AM band starting out, it wasn’t the same. Now, everyone is always adapting. That’s good. It keeps everyone on their game. We have the ESPN brand, and all the things we do around that brand are important. Simple things such as ‘what promos are we creating to build up interest in the Knicks playoff game and the shows on Monday?’ That’s the stuff I drive Ryan crazy over.

The downside is that it never ends. As good as you are, you’re always pushing that rock up hill. If we beat The Fan, great, that’s now, what’s next? They’re not going to give up. They’re going to make changes. They brought in Craig Carton, we knew that was going to happen, and they keep coming so what are we doing to stay on top of our game?

JB: You mentioned Craig. I don’t know if you saw this, but Michael was on JJ’s podcast and he mentioned being more concerned competing against Craig than he was with Mike Francesa. Those prior battles against Francesa drew a lot of attention, and the road ahead vs. Carton should provide more of the same. When you hear that, what do you tell Michael?

TM: I tell Michael, Don and Peter all the time, keep doing the show you’re doing. They’ve been successful for a reason. They’re a morning show in afternoon drive. I listen to that show for the camaraderie, storytelling, the bits and connection they have with their audience. Don’t worry about Craig or anyone else. The listeners will seek out what they want. You can’t adapt to them. I tell them ‘Guys, you’re doing a great job, don’t worry about it. When Ryan or I hear something that’s off, we’ll tell you. We don’t hear that though so keep rolling.’

JB: The last thing I have for you is ‘what keeps you motivated to do what you’re doing and are there any goals you haven’t accomplished yet that you still hope to achieve?

TM: I love working with the talent and helping them get to the next level. Whether it be someone like Chris Canty earning a bigger role on TV or something else. This is going to sound kind of lame but my job is to help people get to that next place. That keeps me engaged. I’m also proud of the fact that a lot of people have stayed with this radio station in New York for a long time, all the way back to when people were making fun of us when we were on 1050AM. Now they’re not making fun anymore. They care about this brand and the people involved in it. That keeps me energized.

And the same with LA. I was out there eight years ago and now I’m back involved and we have a really good group that gives a crap about radio and what we do every single day. Whether it’s a call on a Friday night or the weekend, I have no problem taking those calls because they care. As I tell everyone at the station, listen more. If you hear something that doesn’t sound right, let us know about it. I like taking on challenges and helping brands and people improve. We want our products to be the best they can be. Just being able to make things a little better keeps me motivated and engaged.

4 Steps For Turning A Call In Into A Closed Deal

Jeff Caves
-
0
4 Steps For Turning A Call In Into A Closed Deal

The Call in. Or, in today’s times, the in-box lead. Hell, now that I think about it, do new clients even bother with reaching out to a station or do they just search “how to buy radio advertising without a salesperson?” Whatevs. Let’s just say when a new client reaches out to the station that they want to buy advertising it is a “call in”. 

What do we do with it? 

If you are a sales manager, my money is on you giving all call ins “to the new person.” And, if you have a few new account executives, you probably rotate them. I should have added a section about call ins in my letter to young sellers . I would tell them to discuss call ins with their manager and discuss the types of clients that are just perfect for their style.

Of the 4 types of clients a salesperson will deal with, 1 of them will hate the rep, 1 of them will love them, and the other 2 are up for grabs.  By communicating up front, you will hopefully eliminate the 25% of clients who you will never really click with and should have never been assigned to you in the first place. Now, let’s get back to you sales managers and how to better deal with clients who reach out to be sold. Brian Carroll has a lead generation company called Markempa. He had some great tips for handling inbound sales leads. I adapted for sports radio. 

#1 SET UP EXPECTATIONS

Establish how long you have to assign the lead and how long the seller will have until contacting the advertiser. How and when will the seller get back to you to brief you on what they learned?   

#2 QUALIFY THE LEAD

Make sure you contact the client yourself first. What could be more important in your job than meeting a new client? Make sure they are “sales ready”. Did they really need a salesperson or are they just fishing for something else? Your experienced q and a will set up the direction the seller should go with a prospect as well as anybody.

 #3 GIVE DIRECTION

After you vet the call in, give the seller a strategy. Should they email the client, call them or drop by? You can be a big help to your sellers by offering a strategy they don’t have to think about. Keep their mind clear for the actual SALE.

You could even prepare a few ways to deal with call ins in advance. Do they need a CNA? Are they looking at other station groups in the market? Do they need help with why they should advertise? Could the sales assistant handle the initial CNA over the phone and then assign a rep? 

#4 DISTRIBUTE WISELY

Give baseball fan clients to baseball fan sellers. Allow sellers who do a lot of business downtown with white collar professionals to take the leads that call in from downtown corporate types. Send potential long-term clients to experienced sellers. Send short term promotional flight clients that don’t need much servicing to newer reps.  

Now let’s start answering the phone, what if it’s a new client?! 

Anatomy of an Analyst: Jeff Van Gundy & Mark Jackson

Andy Masur
-
0
Anatomy of an Analyst: Jeff Van Gundy & Mark Jackson

They’re names are synonymous with the NBA and basketball in general. Now it’s their voices that make you think of big games in the NBA on both ABC and ESPN. Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy bring their knowledge of the game and personalities to the top announcing team alongside the new Hall of Famer, Mike Breen. The crew is getting ready to call the NBA Playoffs.

Analyst: NBA making 'huge mistake' on Christmas - The Boston Globe

Each of the analysts grew up around basketball and were bitten with the bug early in life. Each played high school and college basketball. Jackson with a little more success than Van Gundy in the playing department, but they were each able to parlay their respective successes into coaching jobs and top broadcasting gigs. 

Van Gundy grew up in California but played his high school ball in New York. As a high-school point guard, Van Gundy was a two-time All Greater Rochester selection in 1979 and 1980, leading Brockport Central to the Class AA finals. He continued his basketball playing career at Nazareth College, where he earned All-American honors, while leading the Golden Flyers to an NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1984. Van Gundy then attended Yale University, where he was a classmate with 2-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster. 

Jackson was born in Brooklyn, NY. He was regarded as one of the nation’s elite point guard prospects while attending Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn. Jackson gained a reputation as a street baller in New York and a college hoops star at St. John’s University. While at St. John’s, he played alongside Olympian and NBA All-Star Chris Mullin for two seasons. He credits Mullin with teaching him the importance of rigorous practice work in the gym. 

NBA CREDENTIALS

Both left their mark on the NBA. Van Gundy as a head coach with the Knicks and Rockets. In a career that spanned 11 years and 748 games, he went 430-318, making the playoffs 9 times, reaching the NBA Finals in 1998-99, losing to the Spurs 4 games to 1. After getting fired from the Houston job in 2007, he joined ESPN as a guest analyst and has been with the network ever since. 

Jackson was drafted in the first round (#18 overall) by the Knicks in the 1987 NBA Draft. In a 17-year career he played for the Knicks (twice), Clippers, Pacers (twice), Nuggets, Raptors, Jazz and Rockets. Jackson was an All-Star in 1989, led the NBA in assists and assists per game in 1996-97. For his career Jackson averaged just under 10 points a game and 8 assists per contest. He spent 3 seasons as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, going to the playoffs in all but his first year. After he was fired after the 2014 season, Jackson returned to ESPN/ABC to rejoin Breen and Van Gundy. 

BROADCASTING

I’m not usually a fan of the three-man booth. Sometimes too many cooks make for a bad broadcast. There are some exceptions along the way, and this group is one of them. The elements are all there, two well versed NBA analysts and a now Hall of Fame broadcaster. Just because all the ingredients are in place, it’s got to fit together or the food is still spoiled and tastes horrible. There is a chemistry between the three, it’s pretty much evident in every broadcast. There is a unique bond between the two analysts as well. 

The banter and comradery between them go back to when all three were with the Knicks. Because of their familiarity, the disagreements at times could sound heated on the air. But what you have to understand is that friends can take these liberties with each other and know exactly where that line is, and never cross it.

“I think because Mark took me under his wing early on, taught me a lot about the NBA, this deep friendship developed, that we can be honest with each other, we can disagree without being disagreeable,” Van Gundy told the Associated Press in 2019. “We’re real fortunate that we can talk honestly and not feel inhibited that we may be hurting each other’s feelings.” Jackson knows that too, Jackson knows that too, and told the AP “The same thing I would say at dinner, I would say courtside.” 

Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy explain their on-air chemistry

Personalities such as these need to be big and bold. Neither of the analysts went to school to broadcast, so it’s been a work in progress for both. Van Gundy may be just 5 foot 9, but his presence is much larger. It’s come to be that NBA fans realize it’s a game of magnitude when he and Jackson join Breen on the call. Van Gundy has opinions and you will hear them during the game, that’s for sure. Sometimes it’s based on what he’s seeing in front of him, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the game at all. Van Gundy is not a fan of the modern statistics that have taken over sports in general, which doesn’t sit well with every fan. He also has a propensity to side with a coach when it comes to a margin call. But why wouldn’t he? 

Jackson is the guy that seems to egg Van Gundy on, encouraging him to continue whatever rant he may be on. Especially when it comes to things non-basketball related. But at the end of the day, Jackson brings a perspective to the proceedings. Having been a point-guard of note, there’s things he sees, that others may not. His play-by-play guy, Breen verbalized it better. “He sees the game like very few others,” Breen said to the Associated Press in 2019. “When he was a player, he had great court awareness. When he came back from coaching it gave him a different perspective and the ability to show what was going on with 10 players on the court.”

The two men play off each other well, they seem to balance one another out. Calling each other out on things and eventually getting back to the game they’re watching. They’ve been known to take things on a tangent or three during a game, which kind of leaves Breen to fend for himself. Having to try and bring the game back to the action, is not always easy. But that’s the job of the play-by-play guy for better or for worse. Van Gundy is usually the one that needs a little more reeling in, but what’s a guy to do?

“First off, I have no control to stop him,” Breen said to the USA Today. “I will fully admit that there have been many times when I’ve lost complete control of the broadcast or telecast. He [Van Gundy] loves to have fun. He loves to entertain himself, he loves to entertain me and Mark and he loves to entertain the audience”, said Breen. “So, he knows what he’s doing. And he knows when it’s time to concentrate on basketball. He has such a respect and love of the game that he knows when it’s time. And when one team’s up 35, that’s not the time.”

CONCLUSION

The duo of color commentators isn’t everyone’s cup of coffee. Some have compared them to Statler and Waldorf, the Muppets that sit in the balcony and offer up grumpy opinions and heckle the rest of the cast. There is some grumpiness in the analysis and on occasion there’s a heckle or two. If you are a basketball fan, there is a way to look/listen beyond the extraneous observations and appreciate the information.

Statler and Waldorf and the Gift of Now | John Boyko

The broadcast does offer a nice balance. Jackson and Van Gundy “police” themselves if you will and Breen has an incredible way of actually bringing it back to the action. It works, in a unique way. Sometimes you have to be able to read between the lines. But, after all, in the television world it’s all about entertainment, right? Whether you like them or not, you talk about them and tune in to watch. That’s a win for the broadcast. 

Five Goals: Jorge Sedano

Ryan Glasspiegel
-
0
Five Goals: Jorge Sedano

This month’s subject of five goals is Jorge Sedano, who co-hosts afternoon drive on 710 ESPN Radio in Los Angeles. He also contributes in myriad ways to ESPN’s NBA coverage, including as a sideline reporter. Keep an eye out for him in the NBA Playoffs!

In his own words, here are five goals he seeks to accomplish:

1. Empower the Latino community

At this stage of my life, one of my priorities is to highlight the beauty and importance of the Latino/LatinX community in our business and our country. This is in no way to minimize the importance of diversity as a whole or the plight of other communities, but to show pride in the unique nature of the Latino/LatinoX experience. The community has faced challenges because it’s not a monolith. Whether you’re Mexican, Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Honduran, etc… you may have had different upbringings or experiences, but at its core the experience has many commonalities. 

You had to navigate your way through two worlds. One world generally included honoring a different language and customs. The other included assimilation into this country we all love and desperately want to be a part of. By nature, many first-generation immigrants want their children to do what they did. Put their head down and work. Don’t make waves. However, the nature of second and third generations is to make progress, to expand upon the footprint that those before us laid out. This is why it’s of the utmost importance to me that the stories and voices of the Latino/LatinX community be heard — that this community that represents nearly a fifth of this country’s population be represented in a more profound manner both in the entertainment space and across all the facets of our lives.

2. Provide guidance to up-and-comers.

I have been unbelievably fortunate in my career to have incredibly kind, talented and knowledgeable friends to lean on for advice. This business is full of pitfalls and isn’t easy to navigate. Over the years, I’ve been quite active in paying it forward and feel that doing even more of it is necessary. It’s really been an emphasis of mine throughout, because at a young age I saw that not everyone in this business is going to be willing to help you. As a matter of fact, in a lot of cases they’ll push you aside in order to maintain their own stature. 

Also, the landscape in media is changing by the moment. That makes it even more important to guide each other as best we can and focus on helping the people that are along for the ride with us — not to mention, lend a hand to those coming behind us. Remember, the people you will see on the way up are the same people you will see on the way down. Your relationships with those people will factor into how your career trajectory will go. Also, it doesn’t hurt to just be a good person.

3. Maintain work/Life balance & mental health. 

So this one is definitely a work in progress. We all get consumed by what we do for a living. It’s not always the healthiest path. I’m sure plenty of companies offer this kind of support, but this is where working for a company like Disney is paramount. They really stress striking the proper balance between work and life. They provide tools for us to seek help if needed. 

I’m going to try to make this as brief as possible to not bore you with the details. Plus, every single one of us has our own mental and emotional baggage. I’m going to try to explain mine in a way that hopefully let’s anyone out there that needs to hear this — that they’re not alone. It begins nearly 20 years ago. My father, who has since passed away, became very sick. While most people in their early 20’s are trying to figure out who they are, I had to also become the parent to my parents in a lot of ways. 

I turned down lucrative opportunities to take care of them and keep a watchful eye over them — something I would still do 100 out 100 times. Life has had its ways of rewarding me many times over, both personally and professionally. Fast forward to 2013 after years of flirting my dream job opportunity of working at ESPN comes about. With the blessing of my parents and consulting with my wife, I moved to Connecticut and subsequently Los Angeles years later in pursuit of my professional dreams. 

It always weighed on me (still does) that I wasn’t more present in their daily lives, particularly as my father’s health deteriorated. Sure, I could hop on a plane a few times a year to see him, but it’s not the same as hopping in my car to see him any time I wanted to. This is when my bouts with anxiety and depression really accelerated. I was somewhat familiar with the feelings of anxiety previously. I’ll never forget the first time I had a panic attack. It was shortly after my dad’s initial health battle. 

I was at a restaurant in Miami, having dinner with some friends and my heart was racing so fast and there was this pressure in my chest so intense that I thought I was having a heart attack. I reasoned with myself and went to the restroom to catch my breath and pour some water on my face before returning to the table. I drank a couple of glasses of wine like they were water to calm me down. It worked, for the moment. 

Years later, when I moved to LA, my father’s health continued to deteriorate. My mother was also growing older and had her own sets of challenges to deal with as well. Those infrequent episodes of anxiety and depression became more common. In retrospect, it affected everything I did and all my relationships to an extent. My wife was dealing with the brunt of this — mostly, because I was too stubborn and felt that I could handle it. 

This was life and I just had to deal with it. Stop being such a baby, I’d say to myself. Man up! Well, eventually I did, “Man Up!” This is where I sought out help. Disney has an EAP program for all its employees to seek guidance for mental health therapy. That’s where I met the fifth most important woman in my life (behind mom, wife, daughter and sister), my therapist Vanessa Fierstadt. 

Over the last five years she has been an important voice in my life to keep me grounded:

– Helping me understand myself and my emotions. 

– How to release these feelings and tension in a more productive manner. 

– Helping me find that proper work/life balance, including finding some daily time to check in with myself. 

– Give myself the proper space and boundaries in all aspects of my life. 

Again, it’s definitely still a work in progress and those bouts with anxiety and depression don’t go away simply because you seek help. However, life is about managing. The sessions I have with her allow me to manage and create those boundaries to allow me to try to be the best version of me. Seeking help is helping me to continue to try to reach that goal.

4. Live more in the moment. 

This coincides some with the part where I discussed work/life balance and mental health. However, I think it deserves its own category. We all have unique experiences in our lives. We should do a better job of enjoying them as they’re happening. The example I like to use is, whenever I’m about to go on the air on tv or radio I take a breath and I look around. I’m ridiculously blessed to do something for a living that I love — whether that’s hosting a show or working a game. 

I never used to just soak it in because I was so hyper focused on the job at hand. The pandemic has taught me that nothing is a given. Therefore, whether it’s my personal life and I’m taking the kids to the beach or whether I’m covering a playoff game, I try my best now to really look around and observe every little detail. We live in a world where we like to document everything with our phones. The best camera in our possession to create memories is the one in our head.

5. Try something new.

Every year I try to begin a new journey of sorts. For example, during the pandemic I decided I was going to give myself a better understanding of finance, cryptocurrency and investing. I had basic knowledge. However, I wanted to be literate in a way that I could understand the nuances of it. 

12 common crypto terms which you need to know about in 2021 - UKTN (UK Tech News)

I read a lot, listened to a lot of podcasts and chatted with my friends in that industry to gain a better grasp of it. I grew up the son of Cuban exiles that worked multiple jobs when I was a kid. Eventually, I settled into a more “traditional” life. Nevertheless, there was mostly no understanding of how IRA’s or 401k’s work. I felt it was important, not just for me, but to eventually pass along that knowledge to my kids. My parents gave me plenty of unique gifts. This could be just one of the ones I could pass along to mine. Next year, I want to tackle a new language. If anyone has any suggestions — I’m game!

Want To Sell Digital? Know How It Works For The Client!

Jeff Caves
-
0
Want To Sell Digital? Know How It Works For The Client!

If you have been in radio sales long enough, you will have sold not only radio but plenty of other side dishes. NTR events, direct mail pieces, fund raisers with clients, and now, digital.

I read with great interest how Dan Bennett, the General Manager of Cumulus Dallas, described how his staff sells digital advertising. Bennett pointed out that it is sold in tandem with radio but at the same time in his market it isn’t more than 17% of his total business. The radio ad, or live/testimonial read, is king for his top performing cluster.

Meet The Market Managers: Dan Bennett, Cumulus Dallas | Barrett Media

What he did do is lay out the reasons we all should be adding digital into the mix. It is a great way to take away your clients’ radio objections like, “radio is too fractured”, “radio isnt enough”, or “everybody is on their phone now.” Let’s look at what we are really selling here, what we don’t sell and some misconceptions around selling digital as a radio seller. 

Let’s start with the basics: what the hell is digital? 

I think the best explanation we can offer our clients is that we live in a wired world- not electricity or cable- but internet connectivity. Our pc, tablet, phone, car, and home devices like Alexa are all part of the digital world. But that’s not what we sell.

We sell streaming ads, video pre roll, google display, geo fencing, and display ads on our web site. Make sure you define this for your advertiser, so they clearly understand your digital elements other than on air commercials. And make sure you drag them through the conversation about surrounding our listeners. There are so many ways listeners interact with our stations, make sure your client’s story is not only told in the car but on their phone, computer, etc.  

We all have sold the classic display ad in our radio packages forever it seems, mostly on our own, often low-trafficked web sites. But what we really are best at selling is a marketing plan. Think about it. When we lay out an annual contract to a client it includes spots and dots of course but also promotions, both station and client sales oriented, copy strategy, demographic study, etc. We need to commit the same time to becoming a digital consultant as well. When we get at the whys of what makes the digital solution best, we are addressing the most important part of the sales process. If you can describe a radio strategy like reaching more white-collar men 35-54 between 7am-8am on your morning show, than you need to apply that same lingo to your digital presentation. It really is no different. It’s just that you can also say if they want to reach more white-collar men 35-54, do it with geofencing while those men are shopping at your clients competitor!  

Don’t be scared to apply some trial and error to your digital selling. You weren’t perfect when you started selling radio. Don’t forget the remotes that didn’t work, the NTR booth you sold where the client didn’t get any leads or the direct mailed coupon that wasn’t redeemed. It happens.

5 Most Common Trade Show Mistakes - Iconicdisplays.com

Just spend some time getting to know the 3-4 digital assets that make the phone ring, produce inbound emails or move customers from a competitor to your client’s business. Take a digital seller with you on some calls. Ask your best direct clients about their digital marketing. If they are clueless and have outsourced it, offer to look it over with them. You may find an opportunity there. The investment you make in yourself will pay off for years to come. And think about what will happen if you don’t do it? 

1...2,4932,4942,495...2,614Page 2,494 of 2,614