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Nielsen Needs Cash And That’s Gonna Cost You

Jeff Caves
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Nielsen Needs Cash And That’s Gonna Cost You

During my time with Cumulus media, I have been given a great opportunity to get any ratings questions answered by a Doctor. 

Meet Dr. Ed Cohen. 

Dr. Ed, until recently, was the VP of Ratings and Research for Cumulus. He was a victim of the pandemic downsizing but is professionally comfortable and has a bigger mission. He is the primary caretaker for his wife who suffers from lung cancer. But, Dr. Ed will still answer my questions. 

Ed went into programming and back to school to get his PH.D then dove into the research side of radio. He spent 16 years working for Arbitron/Nielsen on projects like PPM, mobile phone research and diaries. He did it all including measuring listening by Chinese speakers. 

He gets it. 

So, I interrupted  Dr. Ed’s daily walk and NHL podcast from The Athletic to tell me the ramifications of Nielsen dropping the non-subscribing stations from their RLD ratings.

The Respondent Level Data is in the hands of most stations but some, including Cumulus and most importantly ad agencies, don’t buy it. Nielsen is hoping they will now. How can advertisers buy a station that doesn’t even show up in the ratings? Dr. Ed knows why Nielsen is doing this and it’s why we all read this column hopefully.

MONEY! 

Dr. Ed forecasts that a few more owners in diary markets will now subscribe to Nielsen but he thinks nearly all the major radio groups in PPM markets already do so. The ad agencies though have a tougher problem and thus, so do some radio stations. Agencies will be asked to buy RLD data or they won’t see non-subscribing stations’ information. If the agencies stay with the summary data Nielsen sells to them now they won’t see the whole picture. 

Seeing the whole diagnostic picture | ACP Internist

Will agencies pony up in a pandemic challenged economy? I have my doubts. 

But, how will sports radio be affected? 

Dr. Ed thinks that the smaller independently owned sports radio stations will be affected the most. I was once one of those guys. KTIK was a non-subscribing all sports radio station from 1994-2003 until Citadel/Cumulus purchased the station.

At times, we did well in the ratings, at least I heard. If agencies can’t show a client the cost per point or GRPs, will they buy a station that doesn’t show up? Dr. Ed thinks it is logical to forecast agencies just pouring that money into rated Male targeted stations and maybe move on from buying non-rated stations. I realize the out of market agency business isn’t a big part of sports radio revenue, especially for smaller station groups, but if Dr. Ed’s hunch is right, it may never be.

Dr. Ed thinks Nielsen may just be scrambling for more revenue because of the impending split of the company into 2 divisions. The Nielsen Media business will be coming to your inbox in early 2021. And, the new money will at least be coming from the backs of ad agencies and non subscribing stations not the iHeart and Entercoms of the world. 

Nielsen Will Split Into Two Companies Following Strategic Review

And, the Good Doctor Ed is probably okay with that. 

Craig Carton Is Right – This One’s On You, Not Him!

Jason Barrett
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Craig Carton Is Right – This One’s On You, Not Him!

Robert Kraft once said “Envy and jealousy are incurable diseases.” Though I’m sure he was thinking about a situation that related to the New England Patriots or National Football League, he may as well have been referring to the sports media industry.

If there’s one thing that this business struggles with it’s rooting for others to succeed. Media people are competitive and seek positions occupied by others, which makes it common for folks to tear others down rather than extend a sincere congratulations when good things happen to them. They’ll scrutinize an individual’s track record, on-air comments, social media posts, how they connect with co-workers, the way they interact with listeners and advertisers, and seek any advantage possible, convincing themselves that the reason they didn’t earn a shot and someone else did is because the system worked against them.

But landing big jobs in this business isn’t just about talent. It’s assumed that you’re going to have skill otherwise you wouldn’t even be considered for an opportunity. The true X factor is relationships. Many people think that their skills should be enough to warrant a look for the top jobs in the industry. That sounds good in theory but if you don’t have any connection to a local market, and the only time you talk to an executive and appear on their radar is when they have an opening at their station, you’re likely not getting the job.

The question you should be asking and prepared to answer is ‘why exactly would a hiring manager choose you over every other option?’ If it’s because you ‘think’ you’re more talented, get to work on a better answer. What have you done prior to the opening to build a connection with the people you hope to work with? Did you seek feedback on how to get better? Did you interact on social media? Did you congratulate them with a text or email when they had something positive happen to them or their brand? Did you show up and say hello at an industry event or station function?

It takes time, effort, and consistency to build relationships. Without them, the road to glory is full of obstacles. I’ve seen a lot of people bitch and moan on social media, the airwaves or to industry friends when jobs get filled in this industry, and in some cases, they may have a legitimate gripe. More times than not though, people look solely at situations from their own point of view rather than the other side.

Case in point, when Craig Carton was named the new afternoon drive host at WFAN, I saw everything from ‘Why would they hire a convicted felon?’, ‘The fix is in’, ‘Ridiculous’, ‘Chernoff and Oliviero never gave anyone else a fair shot’, ‘There were more talented hosts out there’, etc.. That sounds like a whole lot of sour grapes. Carton addressed the issue last Thursday telling his critics “I haven’t been on the radio in three years. I think Boomer said, 1,150 days. You had plenty of time to get better at what you do. You didn’t. That’s on you. That’s not on me. Got it? Good.”

His critics will lose their mind over those comments suggesting that they may have improved at their craft but didn’t earn strong consideration from Chris Oliviero and Mark Chernoff, the two men responsible for bringing Carton back to WFAN. It’s always more convenient for industry people to distribute blame and seek sympathy rather than give credit and understand why moves makes sense. Let’s look at Carton’s rehiring and I’ll explain why this was a no-brainer decision for WFAN.

Did you see how the majority of WFAN employees responded publicly when it was revealed that Carton was coming back? Most were ecstatic to have him back at the station. Positive additions equal an improved workplace culture, something every manager hopes to create. Secondly, people can take shots at Craig for his mistakes, and Carton knows that comes with the territory, but let’s not forget that this guy took over morning drive in the nation’s largest market on the sports format’s most iconic station, stepped in after Imus left a huge stain on the brand, built one of the most successful shows in the country from scratch with Boomer Esiason, and elevated WFAN to an even higher level. To ignore his massive prior success is foolish. In a business judged heavily by performance, Carton has won plenty.

Next, ‘The Michael Kay Show’ has been rolling, and winning the afternoon drive ratings battle. WFAN knew it had to make a bold move to try and energize the audience to reclaim the top spot in afternoons. Whether you like Craig or not, he’s a unique talent who makes people talk and listen, and he gives the station a stronger chance to regain NY radio ears and dollars than any other talent who’d have been available. You might be crushing it in another city or be the next big thing to lead the format forward, but this is market #1 where the stakes are high, and WFAN isn’t going to bet on potential when a proven commodity is there to be hired.

An underrated aspect of Carton’s game is that he’s also very good at getting the most out of his partners. Chris and Mark will be counting on him to do that with Evan Roberts. I admit I was surprised that Chernoff and Oliviero chose this pairing because Roberts felt like a strange fit, but if there’s one thing these executives do well, it’s put together winning combinations. When you combine Craig’s track record of success with his personal and professional history with Mark and Chris, you can see why the station rolled the dice to bring him back. I’d have done the same exact thing if I were in their shoes.

If you disagree with WFAN’s decision, that’s fine. This isn’t Chris and Mark’s first rodeo. They can handle the heat. But don’t forget, 97.5 The Fanatic was interested in Craig too. Had Carton been interested in relocating, I’m sure other stations would have entered the mix as well. That’s a reflection on how he’s viewed as an on-air performer.

When it comes to making decisions, programming executives will always face an army of critics firing bullets in their direction, and others praising their choices when they make a hire. These are high profile jobs sought after by hundreds if not thousands of people, and though there may be 50-100 truly worthy of the opportunity, there’s only one job to give. Results ultimately determine if a station got it right or not, and if a show succeeds, the executive in charge usually earns more trust and pay. If they fail, they risk being replaced.

Why Carton’s addition has anyone angry though is surprising to me. We talk about sports on the air every single day, examining players, coaches and executives and whether or not they deserve 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th chances while others with talent get pushed aside. Many times we even side with the franchise, crediting them for betting on the best talent and being willing to look past individual issues. Case in point, Antonio Brown, Kareem Hunt, Alex Cora, AJ Hinch, Tony La Russa, Carmelo Anthony, Ron Artest, Dennis Rodman, Darryl Strawberry, Jose Canseco, the list goes on and on.

Go look at some of those names and look at the franchises they’ve been connected to and who was in charge. Why did Tony La Russa land the White Sox job over other candidates? Because Jerry Reinsdorf had a relationship with him. Why did Antonio Brown go to Tampa? Tom Brady and Bruce Arians. Who lured Kareem Hunt to the Browns? John Dorsey, the former Browns GM who previously drafted Hunt in Kansas City.

It’s not much different in radio. Just like the world of sports, radio is a results driven business. Executives have a ton of pressure on them to win, and they’re not going to pass on adding an elite talent to their roster, regardless of red flags, especially if they have a good prior relationship. Many brand managers also have certain philosophies and priorities that influence how they build their station lineups, and nothing you say is going to change that. It’d be like a football player telling Bill Walsh during the glory days of the 49ers to move away from running the West Coast offense. That player may continue playing in the league but he’ll be wearing another team’s jersey before Walsh abandoned his coaching philosophy.

For example, maybe a program director doesn’t believe in hiring out of town talent. Maybe they place a premium value on feedback from other execs and when checking into your background they learn of a number of bad experiences others had working with you. Maybe they think the person being considered for the job has the wrong sound, attitude or financial expectations to fit inside their building. Or maybe they just don’t think much of your talent level and believe someone else is better.

Decisions will continue to be scrutinized and celebrated, but complaining doesn’t get you anywhere. In fact I can argue that doing it in public circles will only make other managers more hesitant to call you in the future should they have needs to fill.

The real issue you should be thinking about is what Craig said on the air last week – ‘You had 3 years to take the seat he now holds, so why didn’t you?’ Better yet, why were Evan Roberts and Bart Scott mentioned as the two leading candidates to work with Craig, and your name not included? Is Craig supposed to not take a job just because you don’t think he deserves it? Give me a break.

Before you tell me WFAN didn’t have a need or that it was impossible to get their attention, let me remind you that there have now been 5 different afternoon shows on the station during the past 3-4 years (Francesa, CMB, Francesa part 2, Joe & Evan, and now Carton & Roberts). If Carlin, Maggie, Bart, Joe and Evan could earn a shot, why couldn’t you? If you have elite talent, and a connection to New York, and let 1,150 days pass without building a professional relationship with Chris Oliviero and Mark Chernoff, you already know the answer why you were never in the mix. As Craig Carton said last week, ‘that’s on you’.

Inside A Baseball Broadcast Booth During Covid

Andy Masur
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Inside A Baseball Broadcast Booth During Covid

It was a regular season unlike any other. A pandemic is raging and things had to change for us to be able to broadcast a baseball season. Was it ideal? No. Was it necessary? Yes. Was it challenging? Yes. Did we manage to make it fun and entertaining? Yes, we most certainly did. 

As I look back at my first season as the play-by-play announcer for the White Sox, the thing I’m most thankful for is health. Not just mine and my broadcast partner Darrin Jackson, but for the players we talk about every day. The White Sox had a couple of cases of COVID, but they were before the Summer reboot took place. I’m amazed that with all that happened to the Marlins and the Cardinals, the season was completed in its entirety and in competitive fashion.   

White Sox loss "A tough one to swallow'

However, there were pitfalls from the broadcast standpoint. Trying to get used to calling some games off a television monitor and some with live action in front of us wasn’t something we could prepare for. Broadcasting a road game from a dark stadium with absolutely nothing going on was extremely strange. Sometimes even though the game was not in our home park, the first foul ball straight back would cause us to flinch as if the game were right there in front of us. We couldn’t help but laugh. 

Laughing was a common occurrence. As professionals, we certainly like to get every call correctly, but this year, being at the mercy of a television crew, that became difficult in some instances. Rather than get upset, we’d laugh it off, constantly reminding each other of a gaffe or a misidentified pitcher or batter. Our collective thought was not to complain about it, but to keep it light. After all baseball was being played, we were calling games and that’s really all that mattered. 

So, how did it go? Pretty well. There were things from a play-by-play standpoint that were unusual when calling a game from television. On radio we usually try to call the action as it’s happening, but it was difficult to do when not everything could be seen. The biggest thing to get used to was “laying back”, taking more time to make calls when our team was on road. It wasn’t easy, but it had to be done. I’d say about 75-80 percent of the time, I did it, but sometimes fell back into the uncertainty of what I was seeing. 

We were very dependent on the ability of a TV crew in the opponent’s ballpark to provide us with clean shots and timely cuts. Some crews were terrific, some were a little less than terrific. 

As frustrating as it got sometimes, I had to remember that this is new for everyone, not just me and my fellow broadcasters. MLB made sure to listen to the concerns of each club’s broadcasting departments and made changes as the season went along. 

Coronavirus: Can we restart sports? Not so fast, experts say - Los Angeles Times

As the year went on, we were given a little more consistency from ballpark to ballpark in the way our alternate feeds measured up. It was important for us to have a full view of the field at all times. We were provided with a “tiled” monitor that featured an “All-9” camera angle. This was a static shot from high above home plate. Why was this helpful? To see if a runner was trying to steal a base. Being able to see where a ball in the gap was going and how the runners that weren’t pictured in the live television shot were going or where they stopped. Was there a shift on for a batter? This angle helped to answer the questions for us. Also, on the alternate monitor was a shot of both bullpens, the between innings clock, the scoreboard and sometimes the program feed as well. 

All things considered I think baseball broadcasters were well-served by MLB and the various crews around the league. Our sport, probably more than the others that were calling games from afar, is more set up for this oddity of not being there. Baseball is a slower moving sport with bursts of action, so as long as we could identify the pitcher, batter and balls and strikes we were doing ok. With public relations crews for each team being on site, we were texted substitutions, who was up in the pen and scoring decisions. I can’t imagine how it must have been for several other sports where the game is faster paced and substitutions are not readily announced. 

My radio station in Chicago also is the flagship home of Chicago Blackhawks Hockey. The broadcasters, John Wiedeman and Troy Murray, were set up in a conference room at the station with a barrier between them for social distancing. They had two huge monitors in front of them and a smaller one located near the play-by-play position. As you know in hockey, players are jumping on and off the ice all game long. There is no stoppage of play to announce the new players on the ice. Oh, and yeah, the lines constantly change during the game, so a line that started the game together may not finish the game together. To be able to identify all the players on the ice consistently from a monitor with the game broadcast on it, is something at which I marvel. 

The puck moves at such a high rate of speed, it’s a challenge every night for these guys when they are actually in the arena. To be dependent on a TV crew is probably frightening for most, but these guys are terrific at what they do and all made the best of whatever their situation was.

I’m not sure how they and the other hockey guys on radio were able to do this, but in the case of the Chicago crew, they made it sound as if they were at the arena. I listened and pretended I didn’t know they weren’t on location, it sounded terrific. 

Basketball is a little different, because most of the action is happening in that confined space of the half court. Television crews usually stay on the wider shot and with that, both the play-by-play announcer and analyst can really see what’s going on at all times. This is usually the kind of view announcers are used to ‘seeing’ when doing games from the venue. That’s the area of concentration and where most of, if not all of the action in a sequence takes place. 

It was still a challenge, I’m sure, with not being able to see some of the other things happening at the arena. Is there a coach working an official after a no-call, did a player trip or get hurt coming back down the court or is there a player walking down the tunnel with a trainer? You can’t possibly know if you aren’t there. 

Chicago is Masur's kind of baseball town

I learned a lot this season. I realized how critically important it is to have a mutual respect between play-by-play and analyst. This year we had to really protect each other, be good partners because the circumstances really demanded it. In the end, we were all in the same boat. Sometimes it felt like there no paddles, but somehow the boat navigated the waters of this crazy pandemic shortened season and we wound up in the right place. 

Where Did All The Campaign Cash Go In Radio?

Jeff Caves
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Where Did All The Campaign Cash Go In Radio?

Here comes the election. And there goes the political billing that came with it.

Political Ad Spend to Reach $6 Billion for 2020 Election - eMarketer Trends, Forecasts & Statistics

So, what happened? I spoke with some sales executives in South Carolina, Florida and medium sized cities in the West to get a feel for how the political ad spending season went. Did they get bought, how did they get the business and what will be the election outcome impact on future billing? 

Recently, Bloomberg wrote a story about how YouTube was literally sold out of avails for political advertising. Nielsen piled on suggesting that 40% or more of all tv ads in South Palm Beach, Las Vegas, Portland, Charlotte and more cities were political spots. So, how did sports radio clusters do? Here is who I spoke with:

  • Ken Brady – General Sales Manager, Seven Bridges Radio 1010 XL/92.5 FM in Jacksonville, FL (All Sports)
  • John Sheftic – Market Manager, DBC Radio in Myrtle Beach, SC (cluster does NOT include Sports)
  • Mystery Manager – Mid-Size market out West (Cluster includes a Sports station)

How would you describe the effect political spending had on your revenue during the pandemic?

Brady: We have not had any political and or issue advertising during this election cycle.  We normally do not receive much of either but having none has been a surprise to me considering the amount of money being spent this cycle.  From my observations the sports format has been knocked down in terms of formats in the mix.

Mystery: It definitely helped. However, we don’t typically get Presidential campaigns to spend here. We saw some local and state money in during the primary and we are seeing some spend for congressional race. 

Sheftic: It has been a huge shot in the arm considering the challenges the market has with a slow down in tourism. We also have WRNN which is conservative talk and WYAV which is Classic Rock. Both have huge signals and dominate in the 35-64 voting demo. The Lyndsey Graham/Jaime Harrison race is setting record spending levels.

New poll has Jaime Harrison leading Sen. Lindsey Graham by 1 point in Senate race | WCIV

Do you pursue political business? If so, how? 

Brady: Based on lowest unit rate rules we made a decision not to pursue candidate advertising and only take the federal that we have to if asked.  The election cycle is in the middle of football season where we have higher demand and get premium rates.  What we have tried to go after is issue and PAC money, but we have not had any luck.  The stations that show up better in the ratings or are attached to larger broadcast groups are receiving those dollars.  We are a locally owned and operated stand alone and this year it seems it has been tougher to get ears to listen to reps tell our story and act.

Mystery: Yes, we get a list of all open seats, candidates and any potential issue money and then begin to contact them all.

Sheftic: We do pursue the business. We purchase a list of candidates and contacts. We email and call long before the election to share demos, formats and general station information.

Do all AE’s sell political or do you consolidate down to a few reps?

Brady: I handle the potential candidate advertising.  I have spread the issue and PAC business exploration throughout my staff.

Mystery: We don’t limit it, but it ends up being just a few of our local sellers that really go after it. Most of the federal races and issues come nationally. We did see an increase this year in Presidential money being spent via network advertising in syndicated national news talk shows.

Sheftic: I have a designated manager who handles all political. This ensures all correct detail and information in the public file.

How much will election results impact future revenue in your area?

Brady: There is always some “wait and see what happens talk“ in every election cycle, but that always fades.  I think a lot will depend on how the stock market reacts to the election results.  When stocks go up or stay steady it seems consumers are more comfortable spending on big ticket items and projects.  If stocks go down and stay down there is always a bit of anxiety that impacts consumer and advertiser spending.  It works its way out as consumers become comfortable with their new pay, savings and retirement fund dynamic either to the positive or negative.

Let's break down the numbers - Marketplace

Mystery: That’s difficult to predict. However, the ultimate outcome of this year’s presidential race could take days even weeks before we have an outcome. Due in large part to absentee voting and the fact that each state has their own rules with regards to deadlines for mailing ballots. Some states absentee ballots have to be received and validated prior to the polls closing. Other states aren’t that way. This will create uncertainty and disruption. Just how much that will affect the ad community, we won’t know until we get there.

Sheftic: It won’t affect anything moving forward other than helping 4th quarter budgets.

Women in Sports Radio Should Not Be An Anomaly

Jason Barrett
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Women in Sports Radio Should Not Be An Anomaly

I contributed a few thoughts and pieces of information to a story The Athletic published earlier this week titled Why Do So Few Women Work in Sports Radio? If you haven’t read it yet I encourage you to do so. The research done by Lisa Dillman and Sean Fitz Gerald was fantastic.

As I read the piece, I saw example after example of why this issue should be a thing of the past, and as the social responses began flooding in I thought ‘good for them, make your voices heard‘. Most involved in the conversation shared why women deserved better treatment in a format that’s largely ignored them, and just seeing the issue receive attention was a positive reminder that our business has a lot of room for improvement.

But then it hit me. It’s a great read, a valid question, and an issue which should produce far greater results in 2020 than it did in 2000 or 2010, but having traveled down this road many times before I’m not sure much is going to change anytime soon.

I saw the same public reaction to similar stories I wrote in recent years. I heard the same frustrations from women in the industry who I’ve talked to throughout the years. I’ve led on stage discussions on this topic with women and industry leaders, and the results are always the same – the problem is acknowledged but no plan, strategy or commitment is made to change it.

This may rub a few of you the wrong way. If it does, I don’t apologize. The truth hurts sometimes. In a format with nearly seven hundred stations, it’s inexcusable to have such little involvement from females. Spare me the excuses, show me the results.

Any woman who loves the sports radio industry enough to want to pursue a career in it should be welcomed with open arms if they have the talent to do the job. All these ladies have sought is a chance to prove they too love sports and can contribute to daily conversations while connecting with audiences. Yet there are programmers who fear the idea of a woman’s voice chasing away listeners. Others who don’t have the balls to take a risk and try something different. And some who just lack the ability to scout talent, resorting instead to hiring retread after retread because it’s easier.

Lineups across the country look similar to the way they did a decade ago. Sure there’s been a little progress when you see women like Sarah Spain, Amber Wilson, Joy Taylor, Jen Lada, Kayce Smith, Maggie Gray, Kate Scott, Michelle Smallmon, Sandra Golden, and Amy Lawrence occupying on-air roles on top stations and shows, but if sports radio leaders think hiring 15-20 women in a format that features hundreds of male voices represents a firm commitment to address the issue they’re sadly mistaken.

Answer me this, why is it that we don’t have one single sports station in this country featuring an all woman lineup on it? How many brands exist with a full roster of male talent? Hundreds would be the correct answer. Are you going to tell me that stations offering sports talk content that produce less than a 1 or 2 share couldn’t be used to try something different to actually create buzz and a potential new approach? What’s the worst that could happen, it fails? Isn’t that what a 1 share radio station is in the first place? By the way, you could raise the same question about no stations existing that feature a full roster of minority voices but I’m trying to keep this column focused on women.

And how about on the programming end. Why is it that I can count all of the women who oversee sports radio brands with less than ten fingers? Women can coach and referee men’s sports, excel on television and in podcasting, guide some of the largest media companies in the world, and run for the highest office in the land, but they can’t hold a prime position on a sports radio station?

I’m not naive, I recognize that the majority of the audience is male, and guys are more interested in sports radio than women. Ladies may not want to hear that but it’s true. Having run stations for a decade and spent the past five consulting brands and managing this website, the interest level is significantly higher among men seeking opportunities in the industry than it is of women. But it’s better now than it was ten years ago, and it could be even better in the future if we actually invited them to the party instead of telling them it’s an invitation only event.

The other side of the conversation that those advocating for change don’t like to hear about is that radio is first and foremost a business. If a sports station has 6-7 male personalities on the air producing strong ratings which help the station earn high revenues, why would they change it? Just because someone thinks they should have more on-air balance? If the numbers are strong and the dollars are coming in, radio groups aren’t going to mess with a winning formula. We can talk all day about being agents of change but if you’re running a business and it’s doing well, you’re going to be less focused on other issues because the current strategy is working.

That’s even more important in 2020 where this pandemic has created a lot of economic pain for radio operators. We can talk about diversity, the financial benefits of changing personnel, expanding the audience, and a whole list of other reasons of why it makes sense to consider adjustments, but we’ll be blue in the face before things take a different turn because profitable businesses don’t change until they’re forced to.

But that’s not the situation for the majority of brands in the format. For every 98.5 The Sports Hub, 97.1 The Ticket and KFAN that dominates its market and reserves the right to say ‘sorry guys, we’re thriving here and not screwing with it‘ there are plenty in need of a jolt to put ears and dollars on their airwaves.

One brand that does a great job elevating women is 1010XL, the sports radio leader in Jacksonville. The station has the rights to the Jaguars, features strong personalities who’ve been with the station for over a decade, and delivers results without subscribing to Nielsen. They could embrace the ‘it’s working so leave it alone‘ approach, yet they’ve consistently made it a priority to feature women on their airwaves. Lauren Brooks, Lauren Rew, Jessica Blaylock, Amanda Borges, Jordan DeArmon, Donna Murphy and Taylor Doll have all been part of on-air shows on the station and guess what – the predominantly male audience continues to listen to the radio station. Incredible right?

Let me give you another example. This one may surprise you even more. By most accounts, sports betting is seen as a male dominated space. Have you seen how many women are already contributing to sports betting brands? Go ahead and look them up – Ali Burns, Minty Bets, Lisa Kerney, Anita Marks, Lauren Joffe, Alyssa Rose, Ariel Epstein, Kelly in Vegas, Danielle Alvari, Jessie Coffield, Erin Kate Dolan, Rachel Bonnetta, Sara Perlman, and Chelsa Messinger. Sports betting content has grown in popularity over the past 5-6 years, and already groups like VSiN, DraftKings, FanDuel, FOX Sports, ESPN, SportsGrid and others are involving women faster than sports radio has.

Just thinking about this issue, and the prior work I’ve done examining it frustrates me. The solution to this problem isn’t going into every sports radio station and blowing out every male who occupies a spot. Many are doing their part to produce ratings and revenue. But there are certainly a lot of people who’ve been given numerous chances despite poor results, simply because they’re familiar to those in hiring positions. It’s fair to say that if a woman performed poorly for the same period of time as a male host, the likelihood of her getting a second opportunity to get back behind the mic and prove she could be successful is much lower.

If we’re going to make this situation better, Market Managers have to be more involved during the hiring process. How many have ever asked one of their PD’s ‘which women are you talking to for this position?’ I never had a GM ask me that question as a PD. They simply trusted me to do what I felt was best. I’m also embarassed by how little we see of women and minorities in PD roles. How does that change if GM’s and executives don’t prioritze it? Maybe you think the current results are acceptable. I don’t see it that way.

Continuing on the PD front, you guys in charge of brands also have to ask yourself if this situation really matters to you or not. I’m not sure everyone cares enough about it even if they publicly claim to be bothered by it. I am hardly ever asked by today’s programmers ‘are there any strong female hosts out there I should be looking at? and I rarely hear anyone mention female talent when on-air openings arise at their station. I did see Mitch Rosen in Chicago bring in Leila Rahimi for auditions with Dan Bernstein and Danny Parkins, Jen Lada was added in Milwaukee to ESPN 94.5 by Brad Lane, and Matt Nahigian hired Kate Scott to the morning show on 95.7 The Game. Those examples should be normal, not an anomaly.

Women also have a responsibility in this process too. Being relentless in the pursuit of opportunity is on you. Most PD’s aren’t going to come find you, and not every agent is going to call with news on your next gig. For every female who applied to one of my sports radio stations, I’d see 500-1000 emails, resumes, and applications from men. Since going on my own and launching BSM, the level of interest from females writing here compared to men is also very low. I was lucky to find Chrissy Paradis and previously had a female social media director, but the desire to work in the industry is higher among men, so women who want to be part of it need to be ready to knock on doors, dial phone numbers, and litter inboxes until they’re given the opportunity to chat. It’s fair to say you’re under represented. I agree with you. But that doesn’t excuse a lack of persistence.

As far as companies are concerned, executives need to put a higher priority on talent, and decide if they want to be great or just live quarter to quarter worrying about the bottom line. In the talk business, you’re nothing without unique talent striking a chord across multiple platforms. You can ask your morning host who runs a 4-hour radio show to write a daily blog, cut a weekly video, produce an original podcast and meet with current and potential advertising clients, but that’s not a path to long-term digital success. All you’re doing is stretching someone thin and attempting to play in a space you deem important without committing any real resources to it.

Our brands can create and distribute radio programs, original podcasts, social video, and online written content, but to do it effectively you need people. I’m sure there are many women who’d love to contribute to your digital content, but if stations won’t spend money to develop digital talent, and tomorrow’s radio stars, what are women supposed to think? You’re telling them the path to opportunity in sports radio doesn’t exist.

If there’s one thing I was good at as a programmer it was finding talent. I didn’t hit homeruns every time, but I never stopped scouting and looking in different places. I also wasn’t afraid to roll the dice and live with the results. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I lose a job? If you program in fear, I question if you should be managing the brand. Too many people look at what could go wrong rather than what could go right. I’d rather go down trying to create something special than stay afloat being lost in the noise.

Case in point, I hired Joe Fortenbaugh to be a host on the morning show in San Francisco depite never previously hosting a radio show full time. I did the same hiring John Middlekauff, Aubrey Huff, and Rick Venturi as hosts. I went to smaller markets to hire Guy Haberman and Zach McCrite, watched videos of Anna Kagarakis on YouTube to hire her as an update anchor, named Tony Softli a Rams Reporter/Host the week after he exited an NFL front office, and after studying San Francisco’s demographics and the lack of minority voices that existed on-air, I launched a promotion ‘Lucky Break’ in San Francisco to give an unknown person a chance to become a host. The final 4 contestants were a mix of Black and Hispanic voices, and the two Hispanic guys (Rudy Ortiz and Brandon Santiago) went on to host shows in the market, and the winner, Daryle ‘The Guru’ Johnson, is now in middays on 95.7 The Game and is one of the best people and talent in the market.

I’m not bringing up those examples in search of credit. I raise them to explain that one person with vision and confidence CAN make a difference. Nobody told me I had to improve the station’s diversity, hire unproven talent or dig thru YouTube looking for interesting people. I did it because my job was to look anywhere and everywhere to find people to build a great radio station. I see people out there today that fit this bill too but more times than not, the names and faces hired in sports radio look and sound the same.

This notion that female personalities can’t be successful in sports radio is nonsense. Many who see the business that way are out touch and unlikely to evolve. Rather than listening to someone who’s living in the past and lacks the spine to do something different, maybe take a chance to try and do something epic. Who knows, it might just strengthen your job security. But that’d require thinking about what could go right, and welcoming women to a party they’ve been given limited access to.

Dave Greene Is Always Trying To Reach More People

Jeff Caves
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Dave Greene Is Always Trying To Reach More People

Dave Greene is one of the General Sales Managers at Entercom St Louis. The 5-station cluster is handled by 2 GSM’s. Dave has a team of 8 account execs and handles all station events, title sponsorships and St Louis Cardinals play by play packages.

If the name sounds familiar it’s because Dave wrote about sales here at BSM until he moved to St Louis from Kansas City. I thought he would be a good person to speak to about the challenges of today’s sales department. Especially in digital.

Speakers • NSEMC 2019 – College Broadcasters, Inc.

It seems like there are sellers who will do it, won’t do it and everything in between. Dave doesn’t think those efforts will cut it. He compared it to a person interviewing to cook at McDonalds who says they will cook everything but chicken. They would not get hired.

“That just doesn’t work, you’ve got to cook it all.”

Greene sees selling digital elements as an obligation to his clients, “If I don’t try to sell you whoever and wherever your target market is, I am not doing my job.”

Dave can tell who the players are on his team by who jumps on the digital train and who does not.

“If the seasoned rep is fighting selling digital, you can see they are just waiting for the end, the other pros want to keep doing this for a while, so they dive in.” 

One of the challenges of selling digital is that so much of it is not exclusive to a station. Anybody can sell geo fencing!

Greene instructs his sellers to incorporate the campaign into the digital elements, like having endorsement talent do Facebook ads. In the end, it’s the salesperson that makes the difference.

“Clients don’t have to use multiple vendors, they can use somebody they trust,” he says. “The first part of added value needs to be YOU.”

In the end, Greene has a simple philosophy for his account executives: DO YOUR JOB.

Your job is to sell digital, radio and whatever else you are asked to do. DO IT. There are six basic things he asks his sellers to do in order to be successful.

  1. Prospect
  2. Cold Call
  3. CNA
  4. Present
  5. Close
  6. Service 
Cold Calling: Motivate Your Sales Team to Achieve Record Profits

“You have to have people who want to do this every day, all day who want to be there and not people who can tell you every reason why they can’t find new business,” Greene says. “It’s always because they aren’t reaching out to enough people.”

Greene thinks most sellers fail because they are not prospecting and cold calling. There are a lot of options for making that first contact these days. Greene encourages his staff to cold email or hit folks up on various social media platforms. All that matters is that someone hits ‘em up! 

You’ve Got 6 Weeks. What’s Your Game Plan?

Jeff Caves
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You’ve Got 6 Weeks. What’s Your Game Plan?

We cannot spend enough time discussing ways to improve our prospecting for new sports radio business. We all realize how much tougher it is right now. My hope is to inspire you to go out with a new enthusiasm for more business from your current clients and new business from clients you do not know yet. The CEO of Sapper Consulting Jeff Winters recently wrote a piece in the Harvard Business Review about B2B selling during a pandemic. He makes some great points about prospecting. 

But first, let us set a plan on how we can gain new business the last 6 weeks of 2020. 

2020 is almost over! We're in the home stretch!!" The home stretch: - iFunny :)

We have 3 weeks of sales activity to generate new business for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and end of year New Year’s sales. If you put a plan together by 10/19, you would have 15 business days to prospect, present, close and execute on new business by 11/6. You will need some lead time to get those avails reserved between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Tell prospects what you are doing.

You are looking for clients who want to impact their bottom line the last 6 weeks of the year. You will need to present to as many clients as possible to get this done. That means more time prospecting. As Winters points out, nobody has sold in a pandemic before, sales are remote, not in person, so give yourself some slack and room for trial and error. Be honest and tell prospects you are trying to end the year with a bang, and you want to know if they want to feel the same way.  The NFL and your local college football team are in playoff/conference title chases and the bowl season will be in play. Your audience is looking for your sports conversation about the most important time of the year. 

Playoffs, bowls, Christmas, and New Year’s! Oh my! 

Give yourself a goal of activity for those first 2 weeks. Say 2 prospecting activities and 2 new presenting opportunities a day for 2 weeks. The moment a prospect wants to see the proposal, do it asap. If they say yes to the proposal, book it and execute asap. Then, move on to the next one. Just leave 4 thirty-minute blocks a day open. Fill them with prospecting or presenting for the 6-week sale. You have a deadline of 11/6 and first in the boat will get the opportunity.  

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The most important part of the new business process is identifying qualified prospects. Winters has good advice. Think about which clients can buy NOW vs later. 50% of our advertisers are cutting back or eliminating advertising spending especially in travel, event promotion, bars, and restaurants. But if your prospect list is heavy on home services clients, technology, or e-commerce they are looking to advertise and expand. 

And, if you are a S.T.P. seller, you better read this.

Plenty of AE’s rely on the power of their persuasion in person when it comes time to prospecting, presenting, servicing, schmoozing, and closing. It is how they maintain a relationship. 

See The People sellers will need to up their remote prospecting game. They will need to continue to monitor clients/prospects social media posts, thank them with handwritten notes and offer unique gifts.  And also increase email marketing, texting and social media posts in reply or original thought. 

Winters also reminds us to consider our prospect’s customer’s financial health. If we understand how our prospects’ customers have been affected by the pandemic, we will know if they are a great prospect for the last 6 weeks of the year. In other words, if you are selling a promotion to the local minor league hockey team, who wasn’t letting in many fans for games, you may not get a sale by 12/31/20. You could wait on pitching that deal. But, if you were talking to a home office furnishings company, they may be ready to close out their 2020 inventory for Xmas gifts and 2021 home office set ups for white collar stay-at-home workers. Sports Radio reaches plenty of that demo and you need to load up on those prospects.   

Winters also suggests we have end of year spot price discounts, flexible payment options or buy an on-air schedule and get a digital promo for free type offer. If our offer corresponds to the needs of the buyer, they will do it! 

Winters reports it is what 69% of buyers want now. 

We also need to show ROI. When we do our CNA make sure we know how much profit can be generated by selling x amount of home office systems for example. Also, if you are taking ad budget from a higher priced radio competitor, tv station or digital platform, tell them how much money they will be saving to move the same or more amount of goods in 6 weeks. The person who makes that decision may need to tell others involved the cold hard ROI facts. 

Return on Investment (ROI) Definition & Formula | InvestingAnswers

We have time. Let’s sell the hell out of the last 6 weeks of the year! 

Meet Danny C – The Top Dog On WFAN’s Sales Staff

Jeff Caves
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When I set out to do a profile on the #1 sports radio salesperson in the USA, I started to look for the top dog at WFAN radio in New York. Through the years, WFAN has been the top billing sports station, and a Top 10 overall billing station in the country.

I contacted Sean Argaman, the WFAN General Sales Manager. Sean explained that while Entercom encourages their sellers to market any of the Entercom cluster stations, he knew of one salesperson who sold the most WFAN. He recommended I speak to Danny C.

“Passion & Supreme Confidence,” Argaman answers when I ask him what makes Dan Chozahinoff, or “Danny C” so special. “Danny possesses an important & underrated skillset which is his ability to make conversation with anyone. I’ve never worked with anyone who exudes more passion for selling audio, especially sports radio.”

Dan Chozahinoff is the self-proclaimed Director of Strategic Marketing for Entercom New York. He is also a master storyteller. Danny C not only tells great stories to inform you but he also makes you feel good about yourself. He is just that kind of guy.

You want him selling for you and, if you are a client, you want to be sold by him. He is gregarious, has great gratitude for his job and stations all in the face of COVID-19 breathing down his Long Island neck. He also has a 2 hour commute each way to Entercom from his Melville, New York home. 

“The majority of Danny’s billing is developmental, but he also is well versed & skillful in servicing transactional business,” Argaman says. “While a large percentage of his clients are local in nature, he does handle several accounts on a national level through multi-market programs. He is consistently ranked in the top tier in our company amongst sales people when it comes to overall billing & one of our top performing sellers of our sports audio properties. He sells multi million dollars annually.”

I wanted to talk about rates, ratings, copy, promotions, digital advertising and other typical radio sales things with Danny.

Danny C? He wanted to be creative, fill my needs and tell a story. Here’s what I found out. 

First, HE NEVER STOPS PROSPECTING!

Sales Prospecting Tips | Lucidchart Blog

When he watches tv, drives around, listens to other stations, reads or breathes, he is always thinking about how he can sell somebody something. When he gets the idea, he just contacts them.

“70% in prime time, little less in am drive right now because of COVID-19, the rest nights and weekends,” Danny C says when I ask him about the schedule he recommends to clients. “I also believe in 10-20% in digital with a custom idea.”

If you ask Danny why he loves direct business, he will tell you about one particular client. A large, national company put their trust in Danny and he made it pay off not just for himself, but for Entercom as a whole.

“I represent this large direct client and started with them running on one station when they had about $2 million in revenue, I now have them on 25 Entercom stations across the country and they do $47 million in revenue.  When we went from CBS to Entercom, they wrote a letter to my bosses telling them I was the reason their business grew and do not mess with me. I get about 80% of their radio budget and bless the other 20% to competitors because I care about them. That is why I love direct business, I take pride in it, you help people, make them money and they know it.”  

Danny says that kind of performance has allowed him to do business the way he wants. Entercom trusts him to deliver results.

“Entercom is big on letting me handle business outside of New York. I do a lot of my business outside of New York. It fits well with what I wanna do and what I have done all along. I’m most proud of the back of my baseball card, the consistency, 30 HR 100 RBI year after year for the last 16 because every year you start from scratch.” 

If you ask Danny C what he likes about sports radio, chances are his answer will sound familiar. He loves the sports radio audience for the same reason people on the programming side of the business do. Fans are used to dedicating themselves to something fully.

NYG Super Fan 'License Plate Guy' Upset With No Fans Policy, 'I'm Devastated'

“I sell sports most importantly because the listener listens with their heart. They are actively listening and on top of that with their heart. And listeners will buy from advertisers in sports. Make sure your clients understand that.”

If a young sales man asks for Danny’s advice for getting on an ad buy, he doesn’t offer any profound words of wisdom. His advice shouldn’t be a surprise since you already know that this is a guy that can carry on a conversation with anyone.

“People will not buy from you if they don’t like you. They won’t do it!” he says. He adds though that if an ad rep is doing their job right, it isn’t hard for a business owner to like them and want to work with them.

“What happens when you make a client money? THEY LOVE YOU. You made him money. Everybody who walks into his office costs him money, not you, cause if they know you made them money, he loves you.”

Another good way to get clients and potential clients to form a bond with you, Danny says, is by being a part of their lives. If you buy advertising from Dan Chozahinoff, you aren’t just going to talk business with him.

“I believe in good karma. I wanna be healthy, help people in the same way, I want good things to happen. I’ve lost 25 pounds because I am not at all the baseball and football games drinking. I love to schmooze. I do not give tickets to clients; I go with them. I wanna go drink beer and have dinner with them. It’s why I form relationships and direct business, if you make them money, they love you, you are fun to hang out with…WOW!”

“Never be satisfied and always be hunting,” is the first thing Sean Argaman says when I ask what he wants other sellers to learn from Danny C. Then, the list just keeps going on.

  • Lean on your existing relationships for referrals. 
  • Invest time in developing relationships with your on-air talent and know your station inside & out.  
  • Become a great storyteller and take tremendous care of your clients. Clients appreciate it when they feel like they have access to information about our stations/on-air talent that the public does not. 
  • Try to always have fun!

Wow! It all sounds so easy when Danny C is involved!

Debate Moderators Should Follow Marty Glickman’s Example

BNM Staff
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“The only person who tunes into the game to hear the broadcaster is his mother,” proclaimed immortal sports broadcaster, Marty Glickman.

Think about it. Have you ever tuned in to a sporting event to hear the broadcaster? Of course not. You flip on the television, radio or device for one reason – to watch the game.

If only Glickman was moderating this year’s first presidential debate.  

The great Marty Glickman was a pioneering voice of sports play-by-play, beginning his career in 1940. He practically invented the art form and quite literally became the standard. The basketball term “swish,” when a player makes a basket without hitting the rim, was a Marty Glickman creation. He also invented much of the basketball court geography we still use today – such as “elbow”, “key”, etc. And aside from his broadcasting accolades, Glickman later went on to become the world’s preeminent sportscasting coach. His generosity and impact on the world of sports broadcasting were equally immeasurable. 

But the thing that made Marty Glickman the world’s top play by play broadcaster, even more so than those technical inventions, was his philosophy. He had a simple mindset  to which he believed every play by play broadcaster should adhere when calling the action of a live event. 

The underlying premise behind everything Glickman taught was simply this – people tune in for the game.  Whether in sports or news, viewers tune in for the event. It is never about the broadcaster. 

The sports radio play by play broadcaster’s job is to describe the action, or “paint the word picture,” so the listener can see the action in his or her mind. On television, the broadcaster should complement the action the viewer can already see. But in either case, the game is the one and only focus. The broadcaster is simply the conduit to bring the listener into the action.

Before last week’s presidential debate, the debate’s moderator, Fox News host Chris Wallace, said his goal was to become invisible. He said he wanted viewers to forget he was even there.  Indeed, Wallace was channeling his inner Glickman, as if he had just spent a critique session with the Dean of radio play by play. In voicing this pre-debate strategy in the lead-up to the highly-anticipated event, Wallace gave the country a tremendous amount of hope. As a professional, we expected him to deliver on the promise and give us, the viewers, what we wanted.  Specifically, we expected a clear, unfiltered view of the two verbal combatants. 

It only took minutes before our hopes were dashed. 

From his first interruption of the president, Wallace was continually in the middle of the action. Rather than a mono-on-mono between President Trump and Joe Biden, viewers were bombarded with what often became a two-on-one. Regardless of the fact that he seemed intent to join Biden in trapping Trump, he should not have been in the scrum to begin with. Not one of the millions of viewers tuned in to hear Chris Wallace!

So how, then, could the moderator have done what he obviously felt was his duty, to maintain order and control? Perhaps early in the debate, when the two men were interrupting and speaking over one another, Wallace could have said, “Gentleman, you are obviously disregarding the debate rules and jumping in when it is your opponent’s turn. But my role is not to play kindergarten cop. If you two want to continue with these tactics, I’m going to be here and our viewers can make their own judgements.” In that way, Wallace could have re-stated the ground rules, to viewers and the participants, while not becoming the story. In other words, he would have trusted viewers to make up their own minds.

But far too often, that is not how elite news journalists see their role. Many of them, in fact, have very little confidence in the American public to make up its own mind, without the journalist setting the premise. Their inherent belief is that they, as the smartest folks among many, need to explain what we should think. Whether during debates or otherwise, many journalists just can’t miss an opportunity to tell us what to think or how to view an argument. 

Much has been written about the content of the questions, and why Wallace seemed to pick sides early in the debate. Why did he ask the president a pointed question about white supremacy, when just four years ago he asked the same question and received an unambiguous answer from then-candidate Trump. Those angles of Wallace’s performance have been covered extensively elsewhere over the past week. 

Our focus here is simply directed at Wallace’s philosophy of handling the debate, both in  his pre-event resolution and then in the actual outcome.

Why did we tune into the debate in the first place?

To hear Trump and Biden, or to hear Chris Wallace?

His plan was the right one. It was Marty Glickman.

On execution, however, he became part of the story and the resulting aftermath.

Here’s hoping that viewers get the contrary approach they deserve next time.

Make It Easy For Clients To Say Yes To Signing Long Term

Jeff Caves
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Make It Easy For Clients To Say Yes To Signing Long Term

I think it is great to ask for long term business. It is even better to know what you offer a client who agrees to a long-term contract. Often we are told to sell annual business or 6-month contracts. Why? Because we make more money and it is better for the advertiser to get results through consistency and total audience exposure. So, we pitch a better rate maybe for 6 months or a year and tell the client that staying consistent is the best way to get results. And we do it over and over with mixed results.

PODCAST ADVERTISING CONTRACT: What to include | TRUE NATIVE MEDIA

I think we should do more and get more! 

Think about it from the client’s point of view. What will you do for them during the contract? That would require us knowing what we can and will do. And we do more than we think.

We can schedule client meetings to consider copy, get briefed on how the business is going, and stay on top of collections. This should be monthly.

When we write the proposal, we can include brief copy points, promotions we will include them in and remotes. Explain how we will tie them into key holidays or station events. I build a 6 month or annual marketing calendar for the client. 

We are also creating expectations for the client on how we are going to perform for them vs. how other reps will flying by the seat of their pants.

It seems like a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be. Just build a bullet list by month and give a brief description. Put some thought into it, ask your PD or Promotions Director for input. And don’t worry if the client says no, you now have a great template for another client who could say yes, and you don’t have to put as much work into it. Often in fact, I have built enough trust with the client that they will cut me off before I finish the presentation and they say yes and let me execute the details. 

And don’t forget to preset the meeting a month before the contract expires to give them an exclusive extension period. At this meeting you will have a special offer for them to renew for another term that will be good for 24 hours only. Yes, they can sleep on it but that is it.

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By controlling the meeting flow, you really have the best chance of gaining the client’s trust and preselling the idea that the client needs to be prepared to make decisions. Try it, you will like it. 

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