Brett Favre is the executive producer of the documentary “Shocked: A Hidden Factor in the Sports Concussion Crisis.” Shockedwill premiere Thursday, January 11th at 6:30pm ET, on the multiplatform sports network, Stadium.
Shocked will be available via Stadium’s broadcast television channel, along with their digital platforms watchstadium.com, Twitter (@WatchStadium), the Stadium apps on iOS, Android and tvOS.
Partnered with KMG Media, the documentary will share personal stories from Favre’s 20 year career which ended with a concussion in 2010. Shocked will also depict Gracie Hussey, a 17 year old girl suffering from post concussion syndrome caused by head-to-turf injuries when she was 13.
“Now I’m thinking, wow…if I only knew” says Favre in the Shockedtrailer.
On Wednesday, Favre joined the Rich Eisen show to promote the upcoming documentary, “I would much rather be a caddie for (my 3 grandsons) in golf than watch them play football,” said the hall of fame quarterback.
Preceding the premiere of Shocked on January 11th, Favre will join Stadium’s studio show, “The Rally,” at 6pm ET to discuss the documentary. The documentary will re-air on the Stadium network throughout the month of January.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
“Tom vs Time,” a six episode docu-series about Tom Brady, will premiere on Facebook Watch at season’s end.
The series follows Brady on and off the field for his 18th season in the NFL as the 40 year old quarterback attempts to win his sixth Super Bowl ring. Episodes will show him preparing for games and spending time with his family.
“I have thought for many years how cool it would be to show fans other aspects of my life and interact with them in a different way,” Brady said in a prepared statement. “The docu-series is intimate, in-depth and more personal than anything I’ve released on my social channels, so I think it will be a great way of extending my reach to people on Facebook Watch.”
The series is being created and developed by Religion of Sports, a media company founded by its executive producers, Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Gotham Chopra. Chopra is a filmmaker whose work has been featured on Netflix, ESPN, Showtime and other platforms.
“My goal working with Tom — who has truly achieved unprecedented success on the field over the course of the last 18 NFL seasons — was to understand the anatomy of that greatness,” said Chopra.
According to Mark Leibovich of the New York Times, Gillette Stadium and the Patriots’ facilities are barely seen in the documentary. Patriots’ spokesman Stacey James said the team knew a project was in the works and provided Chopra with credentials on a few occasions, but was vague as to how much Bill Belichick and others in the organization knew about the documentary.
The docu-series is another indication of Facebook’s desire to spend money on original sports content. Each episode’s length will fluctuate, but should be around 15 minutes. A specific date for the series’ release is undefined because coverage from the Patriots playoff run will be added.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
The daily grind to crank out compelling content can be exhausting. Hosts and reporters are under constant pressure to locate superb material that will instantly drive clicks, views and listens which will become top of the mind discussion that can breathe life into the next day. More times than not the industry succeeds, but every now and then we’re handed a lemon.
In that pursuit for locating relevant stories worthy enough of the audience’s attention, we stumble across a few questionable characters. The thought of dedicating content time to them turns our stomachs but they also serve a purpose in generating buzz and higher ratings. We may question our own standards and journalistic integrity when highlighting a rotten apple but as long as the public is eating it up, we keep putting it on the plate and telling ourselves it’s a good meal.
But while there are plenty of people willing to sell their soul to generate an extra tenth of a ratings point, there are also a large number of hypocrites sitting on the other side of the fence.
By now you’ve heard the name LaVar Ball so much that it’s likely caused you to increase your purchases of Tylenol or Advil. The more people pay attention to the sounds pouring out of this man’s mouth, the more he pushes the envelope to increase his celebrity. He may make your blood boil and cause you to question the media’s rationale for giving him air time but what he’s doing is nothing new. It’s what sold a lot of fights for Muhammad Ali. The only difference, Ali had real talent, Ball doesn’t.
As foolish and outrageous as LaVar may be, my issue isn’t with him as much as it is with the hypocrisy I’m seeing in sports and media. Let’s start with the folks who have a problem with Ball being given exposure for his ridiculous commentaries.
Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle was upset after learning of Ball’s criticisms towards Lakers head coach Luke Walton. The president of the coaches association said, “I view the recent ESPN article as a disgrace. They should look at their sources and do a better job of determining whether they have any merit or validity. Printing an article where the father of an NBA player has an opinion that is printed as anything like (it’s) legitimate – it erodes the trust we’ve built with ESPN and our coaches are upset because Luke Walton does not deserve that. To have to deal with these kind of ignorant distractions is deplorable.”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also had a problem with the story. The leader of the NBA champions added, “Somewhere LaVar is laughing at all of us. People are eating out of his hands for no apparent reasons other than he has become the Kardashian in the NBA. That sells. That’s what is true in politics, entertainment and now in sports. It doesn’t matter if there’s any substance involved with any issues. It’s just, ‘Can we make it really interesting for no apparent reason?’
“This is not a ESPN judgment. It’s a societal thing more than anything. We’re going away from covering the game and getting closer to sensationalized news. It’s really not news. It’s complete nonsense. If you package that irrational nonsense with some glitter and some ribbon, people are going to watch.”
Taking it one step further was Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy who said the article upset him so much that he was going to offer less access to ESPN when the network aired his team’s games.
“I don’t have a problem with LaVar Ball. He’s a grown man. He can voice whatever opinion he wants. I got a problem with ESPN deciding that’s a story. I’m not meeting with their announcing crew before the game, I’m not doing the in-game interview. I’m not going to participate in the thing.”
Van Gundy’s brother Jeff, who works as ESPN’s lead analyst on NBA games agreed with the three coaches and took his own employer to task.
“Instead of focusing in on the real issues, Jeff Goodman and ESPN got what they wanted,” said Van Gundy. “They started a little fire and now everyone’s talking about it. The whole process is wrong when you write an article that doesn’t have one attributable quote — like the Patriots story.”
Upon hearing the reactions of multiple NBA head coaches, ESPN reporter Jeff Goodman, who wrote the Ball story, defended his piece.
“News has changed. I’ve been covering it for a long, long time now. What’s news today is not what was news five years ago, even two years ago. It is completely changed, and now, LaVar Ball saying what he did about Luke Walton is newsworthy. Nobody can doubt that.”
Goodman made it clear that he disagreed with Ball’s assessment of Walton and understands the public’s perception of him being a jackass, but that doesn’t mean his comments aren’t newsworthy.
“I understand thinking that LaVar is a buffoon, and that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But I’ve seen it a lot with college basketball and NBA coaches. They always protect their own. Do they have any more knowledge of the Lakers situation, and whether Walton has lost that team, than LaVar does? The answer is no. LaVar could be dead on, we don’t know that.”
Having now absorbed the information, I have a few thoughts I want to share on both sides of the issue. Let’s start with the defense of Ball being given air time and whether or not his comments are newsworthy.
The last time I checked, this is a free country right? We’re all entitled to freedom of speech and Ball just happens to speak a little louder than most. In some ways, he’s doing what so many talk show hosts strive to do each day – deliver a strong opinion, make a connection and generate a reaction. You may not like what he’s saying but if it wasn’t of interest to people it wouldn’t be given the frequency of air time that it’s received. By the way, we also have the choice about whether or not to pay attention to him or tune him out.
Secondly, when did we rewrite the rules to only feature credible individuals and hard hitting news on sports media shows and websites? I must have missed that memo.
Just this morning I’ve seen multiple media outlets run stories on Dr. Dre talking to Golden State Warriors players. Was that really newsworthy or were brands simply using the popularity of Dre’s name to drive clicks?
On Tuesday afternoon I was driving to pick up my son from school when I landed on Stephen A. Smith’s show on ESPN Radio. What Smith said about the situation was right on point. It’s worth your time to listen back to it. I even convinced my fifteen year old to pay attention for a whole segment without checking Instagram, YouTube or Snapchat. That’s a whole other column though.
Stephen A. mentioned that he didn’t particularly like that ESPN was covering the Ball’s in Lithuania but he took issue with Kerr, Carlisle and Van Gundy over their criticisms of the network’s decision making on news stories. Smith reminded them that they’ve been very outspoken on the political climate in our country which has zero to do with basketball. Yet when they’ve had something to say, ESPN has covered them. Some fans may agree with their political views but others don’t and would rather see them focus on basketball and avoid creating division.
Continuing on, Smith pointed out that whether you like it or not, LaVar Ball is the father of the number two overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft who is now the starting point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers. He may be obnoxious, annoying, distasteful and classless but what he said about head coach Luke Walton is newsworthy. Smith even made the point, if LaVar went on the record tomorrow saying that Lonzo wanted to be dealt from the Lakers because Magic Johnson is inept at his job, would that not be something ESPN should share with fans?
We may agree that Kerr, Van Gundy and Carlisle have much more professional credibility than LaVar but that doesn’t mean his comments aren’t news. The Lakers knew this was a potential issue when they drafted Lonzo and when the outspoken and arrogant father goes on the record suggesting Walton isn’t good enough to lead the Lakers to success, that’s a story worthy of airtime. It’s certainly much more relevant than some of the examples I mentioned above.
I also think Jeff Van Gundy is way off track on this issue. I’m a fan of Jeff’s analysis and candid style, and I loved when he coached my beloved New York Knicks but if all stories required attributable sources the entire sports news cycle would be drastically altered. Off the record conversations happen frequently and are vital in addressing problems and creating solutions. Using the Tom Brady story as an example, it would be professional suicide for any member of the Patriots organization to go on the record blasting the greatest quarterback of all time.
However, in the case of the Ball story, LaVar did go on the record. The disagreement from these coaches stems from their belief that he shouldn’t be given a platform. The media outlets get to make that call, not the head coach of a basketball team with no knowledge of a brand’s content strategy and no personal investment in the success or failure of the company. Their one option is to choose whether or not to read and react to it.
So that’s one side of the discussion. Now let’s flip the script and look at the other side.
If you’re sitting in your studio or office defending the coverage of LaVar Ball and citing the ratings spikes, web clicks and Facebook views as your evidence, stop it right now. Seriously, stop it. Remember this and never forget it, the media has a HUGE influence over people. If you feature someone repeatedly on television, radio and online, and tell the public they should care about it, eventually they start to follow it. The expression of the world being full of sheep and following the media’s message isn’t exactly untrue.
Case in point, think back to the coverage provided towards Tim Tebow’s quest to be an NFL starting QB, Brett Favre’s problems with the Packers, Barry Bonds’ steroids allegations, Mike Tyson’s fights and real life problems or the latest case, the world according to Lavar Ball. When networks and websites sink their teeth into coverage of an individual or issue, they don’t let up until they squeeze every last drop out of it. That doesn’t mean the public is salivating over it, it means they’ve been beaten down enough to pay attention to it.
Do you honestly think one hundred thousand people would give a rat’s ass about watching a basketball game in Lithuania on Facebook featuring LaVar’s kids if the media wasn’t firmly behind it? In the words of Chad Johnson, child please!
The reason LaVar draws huge interest from the public is because he’s bombastic and flamboyant and the media loves to showcase personalities who operate that way. If an individual is willing to say controversial things which entertain us and cause mixed reactions, there’s always going to be a reporter on standby with a microphone, camera or pen.
How many times have you put on a radio station and heard a new song that you didn’t like? A few days later after hearing it five or six times your opinion switches to ‘maybe I rushed to judgment, it’s not that bad.’ After a couple more days, you start to actually like the song and tell others about it, and before you know it you’re either buying it on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify or in a store. The reason that happens is because the exposure to the content eventually wears you down. Whether it’s been LaVar Ball, the NFL’s TV ratings, Anthem protests or Colin Kaepernick being blackballed, if a story is told over and over again on every platform, eventually the public interest grows.
The other issues which are much more complex are determining what is news, what your professional standards are, and how much you’re willing to allow the pressure of increasing ratings to shape your editorial decisions.
I’ve spent time inside a number of radio station sales departments and I’ve often heard them say they don’t sell ratings. What’s ironic about that is the people in the programming department inside the same building are working under the assumption that the ratings are vital to the station’s success. What you discover as you go along is that some brands can make a ton of revenue without numbers, some enjoy ratings wins but can’t scratch two nickels together, and others are exceptional at both.
During the first ten years of my career I never went to work thinking about the ratings. That changed when I became a programmer. My focus then was to use my time and energy to develop topics, book guests, create production, events and ideas, meet the expectations of my bosses, and concern myself with what mattered most to my station’s audience. I didn’t stress over the sales department meeting their budget, the company needing to grow its stock price or anything else unrelated to content.
I suspect that there are many of you working in your station’s programming department reading this who operate the same way. If your program director never discusses the ratings and says they’re irrelevant to your performance, don’t build your show and make your daily content decisions based on whether or not they’ll generate a higher number. Do what feels right and interests your host and audience. If the ratings are a huge internal focus and a content strategy has been developed to help you be successful, then follow that game plan, ask questions, and analyze what is and isn’t working.
The reason that’s important is because the brand vision will influence how you make your editorial decisions. In the case of the LaVar Ball story, there are many outlets featuring his antics because it helps them capture an audience. Those brands have made it clear, the ratings DO matter. But you can also ignore the story and focus on other things and still have success. If you go that route though be consistent. Otherwise you’ll be called out for being hypocritical. That was the case this week with The Athletic who claimed to have a policy of ignoring LaVar Ball yet have wrote about him on multiple occasions.
I think it’s important to remember that disagreement is an essential part of life. There’s a growing problem in our country where we want to hear what we like and silence what we don’t rather than educating ourselves, welcoming an opposing view and increasing dialogue. There’s a need for both sides of a story to be presented. Steve Kerr, Stan Van Gundy and Rick Carlisle may not like LaVar Ball and ESPN’s decision to feature him, and they’re entitled to feel that way, but nobody forced them to read it or watch it. It’s not their place to dictate what ESPN should cover, and given the amount of money spent by the network on airing NBA games, I’d be all over the commissioner’s office if I were a Bristol suit making sure problems with the Pistons are solved before airing their next game.
The beauty of covering sports is that the majority of the content we work with focuses on things that most of us love or find interesting. We watch and attend games, talk to high profile people, and dissect what those individuals say about newsworthy material. We then form our own conclusions about the information we have at our disposal and invite further conversation with others over it. In that process we laugh, learn, love and loathe, and are left with something to think about before reconnecting.
There are many who will change the channel when LaVar Ball and his family get mentioned. Others will turn up the volume to hear what he has to say. Personally I could care less about Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo or if they have distant cousins named La Bamba, La Familia, and La Cucaracha.
Rather than trying to decide who deserves air time, we should be thinking more about our brand’s identity and content strategy, and if the story fits and is one we can get behind consistently. It’s easy to sell the flavor of the month for a quick ratings surge but eventually a lack of substance will wear you out.
The power you wield sitting behind that microphone is strong. People will invest their time in your content if you tell them it’s relevant, worth their time, personally important, and in line with your brand’s standards. It’s the process of arriving at that point that’s complicated. Good luck finding your solutions.
According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Daily, the NFL’s TV ratings decline continued into the start of the playoffs. Each game this past weekend experienced a double digit drop as compared to last season’s wild card round.
The Titans Chiefs matchup on ESPN/ABC drew a 14.7, down 11% from the 16.6 garnered by Texan’s Raiders. NBC’s Falcons Rams broadcast received a 14.9, falling short by 10% when compared to the 16.5 in last year’s Lions-Seahawks game. The rating for Jaguars-Bills on CBS was a 17.2, a 10% dip from Steelers-Dolphins in 2017. The most entertaining game of the weekend, Saints-Panthers on Fox drew a 20.4 rating, down 15% from Packers-Giants which did a 24.
The NFL has had to answer ratings questions for two years now. On Sunday, Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke with reporters and did not express much concern.
“We always want ratings to go up, but we’re 37 of the top 50 shows, which is higher than ever,” said Goodell prior to the Jaguars-Bills playoff game. “We’re likely to be the No. 1 show on Fox — excuse me on all of television, the Fox Sunday afternoon game. Sunday night, prime time is for the seventh year in a row the No. 1 show. Thursday Night Football is No. 2. I think dominance of the NFL in television is still very clear.”
Goodell also discussed the league’s streaming partnerships. “We always want to figure out how to expand our audiences, and that’s why we’re doing things with Verizon, we’re doing things … with Amazon,” he said. “Those types of things are how we’re reaching more consumers and that’s a transition and that’s something that we’re putting a lot of focus on.”
Cord cutting is certainly a cause of the league’s ratings decline and offering accessible streaming options will help reach a larger target audience. Television ratings are down as a whole, but other sports aren’t seeing the same decline.
According to ESPN, while the NFL experienced a double digit drop during their first week of playoff ratings, the college football bowl games had a double digit increase. ESPN does use total audience measurement to determine their ratings, which means streaming numbers are included.
Even with the decline, the NFL still receives ratings other sports and TV programs would love to achieve, but the consistent decline is a trend the league would prefer to reverse. Poor matchups for Wild Card Weekend as well as the upcoming divisional round haven’t helped, but Championship Weekend and the Super Bowl should still be an important measuring stick.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
According to a Bloomberg report, Amazon is preparing a bid in the upcoming auction for the rights to stream Premiere League matches.
This past fall, there were reports Amazon and Facebook could be interested in bidding for the English Premiere League after executive vice chairman of Manchester United, Ed Woodward, spoke to investors about tech companies’ interest in sports broadcast rights.
The last Premiere League auction in 2015 garnered $6.9 billion from Sky and BT Sport after the two companies bid against each other and shared the rights for the last three seasons.
Amazon declined to comment on the report, but they have not shied away from their interest in purchasing sports rights, stating in November, “We will continue to look to add content that Prime members want.”
Amazon has already invested in sports with streaming rights to tennis matches, college basketball and NFL games. After Twitter paid $10 million to stream 10 NFL Thursday Night Football games last year, Amazon upped the price, paying $50 million for the same rights during the 2017-18 NFL season.
The Premier League, whose negotiating team is headed by Chairman Richard Scudamore, declined to comment on Amazon’s interest, but does expect the auction to generate a price higher than the $6.9 million received from the last deal.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
Jemele Hill continues to double, triple and quadruple down on her tweets from September calling President Trump a “white supremacist,” a “bigot” and “unfit to be president.”
Last month, Hill joined former NFL running back Arian Foster’s podcast called Now What? and told Foster “I said what I said and I don’t take it back,” Hill said on the podcast. “Like I ain’t getting a retraction. No, I never have and I never will.”
This week, Hill went on Richard Deitsch’s podcast where she was asked about her tweets from September and using Twitter as a medium for her opinions in general. Deitsch phrased the question differently than others, not asking if she regrets sharing her opinions, but does she regret the “specific language” she used?
Via Awful Announcing, the following quotes were pulled from Hill’s interview with Richard Deitsch on his SI podcast.
“I have more regrets about the medium. Most of us find out every day in some form or fashion that Twitter is not necessarily a place for nuance. Twitter’s not even really a place where if you want to have some extensive conversation, especially about race, Twitter’s not set up for that. It’s built on quick thoughts, okay, and that’s not something to have quick thoughts about. So I don’t really have any regrets about the language that I used, because I do think that there is some evidence to at least where we can question some of the things that he’s said and done, and for that matter, examine why there are clearly large groups of people, women, people of color, who feel they’re very vulnerable at this time and under attack. I don’t regret what I said or even the language that I used.”
“It’s just the where. The where is problematic because, of course, there are these problems that are going to be created because of who I represent and who I work for. And that’s just not a conversation that people are accustomed to someone in my position having, especially not in an open forum. And I’ve often wondered, if I were on a panel discussion at Harvard and said the same thing, would it have resonated the same way? Because I do think now that Twitter’s become what it’s become, it’s an easy place to search tweets and create headlines and create sort of this think piece-like environment for other media entities.”
“And I think timing is everything, and I regret the timing too, because there is, and I’ve mentioned this before and talked to you about this before, the timing of especially where and how ESPN is being viewed by a lot of people, those are things that in a forum like that, it’s just not going to go over well. So, as I’ve said before, I don’t take anything back from what I said, I’ve been very consistent in that message, but I do think the environment lends itself to it drawing more attention than it was probably worth.”
ESPN doesn’t seem to take issue with Hill discussing her opinions on different podcasts, so had she never tweeted her thoughts on the president, would it have become such a mainstream hot topic? If she joined a podcast in September and said she felt President Trump was a white supremacist, it’s hard to imagine the opinion would have gone ignored.
The focus for ESPN regarding its talent sharing their political opinions has been about Twitter. Opinionated tweets spread faster than an opinionated thought shared on a podcast. Shortly before John Skipper resigned from ESPN, he held a meeting in December with ESPN employees to discuss the networks social media policy.
ESPN employees are expected to act “civil, responsible and without overt political or other biases that would threaten our or your credibility with the public.” The network also reserves “the right to take action for violations of these principles.”
The interesting question is what happens when Hill shares a political opinion in the future, whether it be on Twitter or another social media platform. ESPN hasn’t told her to stop discussing her previous tweets, but would they take issue with future tweets offering new beliefs?
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
After being named in an NFL Network sexual harassment investigation and being suspended by ESPN while the matter was further researched, John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal reports that the worldwide leader in sports has chosen to part ways with Donovan McNabb and Eric Davis. In a lawsuit brought forward by former NFL Network stylist Jami Cantor, McNabb is accused of sending inappropriate text messages and Davis is accused of rubbing his body against the woman and making uncomfortable comments.
As a result of the lawsuit, former NFL players turned analysts Marshall Faulk, Ike Taylor and Heath Evans remain suspended by the NFL Network pending an investigation.
Since joining ESPN, McNabb had appeared on shows like “First Take”. He also co-hosted an ESPN Radio show during the NFL season. Davis was a member of the ESPN L.A. afternoon show working alongside Marcellus Wiley. The station recently added Sean Farnham to the mix. No word yet on if 710 will continue with Farnham and Wiley or add a third member.
In the sports radio industry, the fall book carries great significance. It’s that time of year when the NFL and College Football are in full swing, the MLB Playoffs and World Series take place, the NBA, NHL and College Basketball seasons begin, and the interest in sports radio listening peaks for most major markets. To assure the year ends on a high note, many brand managers install a no vacation policy for their top personalities between September-early December in order to try and capitalize on listening opportunities.
It’s during this period that advertisers determine which brands they’ll buy and how much they’ll spend in the following year. Each station makes their case for why they should receive a larger chunk of the advertising pie, gathering and sharing as much positive evidence as they can with clients to increase their confidence in purchasing time on their radio station’s airwaves.
Although some markets and stations perform higher than others, if you look across the nation, most brands are outperforming their prior results. That’s a great sign of growth for the sports format. There are also a few cities where multiple sports stations are thriving and building a case for ad dollars to be increased – Boston, Chicago and Dallas immediately come to mind.
It’s common for observers to compare the production of a market’s local sports talkers and determine a winner and loser but there are tons of stations not airing sports programming who are also reeling in listeners from the M25-54 demo. That leaves the total shares and ad dollars for sports brands lower which is a much bigger challenge for the format. Fortunately sports radio has been growing and making an impact which further confirms why advertisers should be investing in it.
On that note, here’s what we learned from 15 markets in the 2017 Fall book!
Boston:
It’s beginning to sound like a broken record because it happens quarter after quarter, but there is no hotter sports radio market right now than Boston. WEEI and 98.5 The Sports Hub are engaged in a battle where the next quarter hour of listening could determine who wins the week. The talent levels on both stations are strong, the market’s teams are winning and creating nonstop storylines for audiences to sink their teeth into and the local competition remains a fascinating follow to those on the outside looking in. For the fall, WEEI earned huge wins in mornings and middays, while The Hub retained its advantage in afternoons, evenings and full week. Singling out some of those matchups, Kirk & Callahan turned in a 13 share to beat Toucher & Rich by eight tenths of a point. The duo have won the ratings in 10 of the past 12 months and have won three straight quarters against The Hub. Also earning a victory in the fall was the trio of Glenn Ordway, Lou Merloni and Christian Fauria who finished ahead of The Hub’s Scott Zolak and Marc Bertrand with a low 10 share to high 9 share. The Hub reversed the trend in afternoons with Felger & Massarotti delivering a 1st place finish thanks to a mid 14 share. WEEI’s Dale & Holley with Keefe was 2nd with a low 10 share. The Hub won the full week M-SU 6a-Mid with a low 11 share. WEEI was 2nd with a low 9 share. There’s some confusion in the market due to The Hub using a different streaming strategy which helps elevate some of their show numbers. WEEI also stands to benefit from additional listening courtesy of a Providence affiliate which delivers a number in the market, but regardless of the way you slice it up, both of these stations are kicking ass and a must buy for any local advertiser looking to reach a 25-54 male in the Boston area.
Chicago:
The 4th quarter in the windy city belonged to 670 The Score who were 2nd for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a low 5 share, missing 1st place by a tenth of a point. The station was also 2nd in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a mid 5 share, once again losing out on 1st place by one tenth of a point. ESPN 1000 finished 5th in prime with a 5 share and 6th for the full week with a low 4 share. In the weekday dayparts, Mully & Hanley were 2nd in mornings with a mid 7 share, just missing 1st by one tenth of a point. ESPN 1000 , which features ESPN Radio‘s morning show (Mike & Mike/Wingo & Golic) was 7th in mornings with a low 4 share. In middays, Spiegel & Parkins earned a ratings win over Kap & Company and Carmen & Jurko. The Score’s midday team, which airs 9a-1p CT, was tied for 5th with a high 4 share. ESPN 1000 during those hours was 7th with a 4 share. One thing to be aware of, 1000 runs their shows during different hours so when you highlight them in their own timeslots of 9a-12p (Kaplan) and 12p-2p (C&J) they were 7th and 5th compared to The Score which was 5th and 3rd. Turning to afternoons, ESPN 1000 continued to receive a strong showing from Waddle & Silvy who finished 1st in the market with just under a 7 share between the hours of 2p-6p. The Score during those hours was tied for 3rd with a 5 share. Since though The Score’s afternoon show of Bernstein & Goff airs from 1p-6p I examined that window too. B&G remained in 3rd with a 5, where as 1000 lost a few tenth of their share but remained in 1st. Those hours for 1000 consist of 1-hour of C&J and 3 hours of W&S. Overall, a few more wins for The Score but a great story to share on both sides especially in a market as big and competitive as Chicago.
Cleveland:
One news item learned Friday evening, 92.3 The Fan finished the fall book in 1st place in afternoon drive with Men 25-54. The station’s afternoon team of Adam The Bull and Dustin Fox became the first sports show in the market to hit #1 since Mike Trivisonno of WTAM did it back when he hosted a sports program.
Columbus:
It was another big quarter for 97.1 The Fan, the market’s leading sports station. The Fan finished 1st with Men 25-54 and 3rd with Adults 25-54. This is a market where Mike and Mike were extremely successful. The ESPN Radio morning show which has seen been replaced by Wingo and Golic closed out the year with a 1st place finishing in morning drive, 3rd with Adults. Also performing strongly for the quarter were Tim and Beanie who turned in a 3rd place finish in middays. The Fan did experience a slight decline in NFL play by play listening but given the rest of the station’s performance I’m sure program director Jay Taylor and his weekday crew will live with the results. What will be interesting to monitor in 2018 is if Trey and Golic can sustain Mike and Mike’s numbers and if 107.5 The Zone can make any type of dent on The Fan’s dominant run.
Dallas:
As has been the case for the past couple of years, both Sports Radio 1310/96.7 The Ticket and 105.3 The Fan continued to excel. The Ticket wrapped up an impressive 2017 by winning the head to head matchup and remaining 1st with Men 25-54. Leading the way for The Ticket in their respective dayparts were The Musers, The Hardline, Norm & Donovan and Bad Radio. However, The Fan had much to celebrate too as Shan & RJ recorded their best showing to date, finishing 4th in morning drive. Ben & Skin produced the same finish for the station in afternoons. GBag Nation which airs 10a-3p was 7th in middays. Overall the station placed inside the Top 5 and has seen strong growth with Men 18-34, beating The Ticket for the past 5 months. Entering 2018 it’ll be interesting to see if The Fan can make up ground on The Ticket, one of the nation’s best rated sports radio brands.
Denver:
It was a big 4th quarter for the market’s leading sports brand 104.3 The Fan. The station closed out the year by finishing 1st overall in weekday prime (6a-7p) with Men 25-54 with just above an 8 and a half share. Paving the way for The Fan were the morning team of Mike Evans & Mark Schlereth who produced high 9 shares which was good enough for 1st. The afternoon team of Alfred Williams & Darren “DMac” McKee also came in 1st in PM drive with a high 8 share. Both drive time shows had a full point to two point advantage over 2nd place. The market’s other local sports stations Altitude Sports 950, Orange and Blue 760 and Mile High Sports were far behind in the ratings picture.
Memphis:
A job well done by the crew at 92.9 FM ESPN. The radio station closed out December by finishing 1st in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with Men 25-54 delivering slightly above a 10 share. Details for the full quarter were not available. Nonetheless, congrats to Dan Barron, Brad Carson and the Entercom Memphis team.
Minneapolis:
KFAN continued it’s dominant run, finishing #1 with Men 25-54, #1 with Adults 25-54 and 2nd with the P6 demo. The station’s M-F 6a-7p with M25-54 was just under a 14 and a half and M-SU 6a-Mid was also above a 14 share which is insane. As a result, KFAN‘s local weekday shows led the way. Congrats to program director Chad Aboott and his weekday shows ThePower Trip, Paul Allen, The Common Man and Dan Barreiro on a remarkable quarter.
New York:
The headline most will latch onto is ‘Numbah One’ finishing ‘Numbah Two’ but the bigger story was WFAN overcoming a number of challenges to remain atop the local ratings. Despite cutting ties with Craig Carton after a high profile arrest, going thru transition in morning drive to find a new partner for Boomer Esiason, and preparing for longtime afternoon ratings winner Mike Francesa to exit the radio station, The Fan saw the quarter end with a 1st place finish in mornings, a 5th place showing in middays, and a 2nd place result in afternoons. Francesa’s show didn’t operate under normal M-F 3p-7p afternoon hours so when you look at that particular 3-7 window and his 1p-6:30p program, both times saw 2nd place finishes with the share fluctuating between a mid 6 and low 7 share for the two windows. Meanwhile, 98.7 ESPN New York received great news too. The Michael Kay Show delivered its best performance to date, tying for 3rd in afternoons with a 5 share. To only trail The Fan by a point and a half in the heart of drive time during a time when all were caught up in Francesa-Fever is impressive and should give the show momentum entering 2018. The one challenge 98.7 ESPN NY has is to find a way to elevate the performance of mornings and middays which were both in 12th with low 3 shares. One person that specifically deserves recognition during this quarter is Jerry Recco. The WFAN morning update anchor was pressed into emergency duty working alongside Esiason during a time when many expected The Fan to stumble as they searched for a permanent replacement for Carton. When the final report card shows a 1st place finish in the nation’s largest market despite all of the uncertainty around the radio station and morning show, that’s a testament to Recco doing an exceptional job and for that he deserves a tip of the cap.
Philadelphia:
The fall book ended with Sports Radio 94 WIP cruising to a 2nd place finish with Men 25-54 with just above a 8 and a half share. Local competitor 97.5 The Fanatic finished 7th. Leading the way for WIP was Angelo Cataldi who produced a 10 share to come in 2nd. The Fanatic’s Anthony Gargano came in 7th. Another positive sign for WIP came in middays where Joe DeCamara & Jon Ritchie remained strong in 3rd place with just under a 7 and a half share. The Fanatic’s Harry Mayes & Jason Myrtetus turned in a 6th place performance in their first book together. The one area where 97.5 The Fanatic remains in front of WIP is in afternoons where Mike Missanelli was 2nd to WIP‘s combination of Jon Marks–Chris Carlin–Ike Reese who were 3rd. The big question entering 2018 in afternoons will be whether Marks & Reese can build on what Carlin & Reese started and surge past Missanelli. One other item worth sharing, WIP finished the fall book in 2nd place with the 6+ demo with just above a 7 share. Angelo Cataldi was #1 with 6+ in morning drive for the quarter.
Portland:
The fall produced some positive news for 1080 The Fan as the station remained the local sports ratings leader. The station was led by Isaac & Suke who delivered better than a 7 share. Dusty & Cam were above a 6 share in mornings. But there was also positive news for 102.9/750 The Game who saw the Dan Patrick Show produce a little better than a 5 share in mornings, which was less than a point behind The Fan. John Canzano‘s midday show also gained a half point year to year and more than doubled local competitor Rip City Radio although it lost the head to head battle against The Fan’s Dirt and Sprague. One positive for Rip City Radio 620 were evenings where the Portland Trail Blazers helped the station finish ahead of all other local sports stations.
San Francisco:
KNBR wrapped up a successful 2017 with another strong quarter. The Bay Area’s sports leader finished 2nd with Men 25-54 in both the M-F 6a-7p and M-SU 6a-Mid categories. The station’s highest finishes were recorded in middays where Gary & Larry and Fitz & Brooks both came in 1st. Tom Tolbert & John Lund ended the fall in 2nd in afternoon drive and Murph & Mac turned in a 3rd place finish in mornings. 2018 should be even more interesting with the Golden State Warriors expected to make a run towards another NBA championship and flagship station 95.7 The Game adding a new PD in Matt Nahigian. How that will shape the local rivalry going forward remains to be seen, but for now, KNBR remains comfortably in front.
Seattle:
December was a down month compared to October and November but that didn’t stop 710 ESPN from leading the market once again. The station received Top 10 performances with Men 25-54 from all four of its weekday shows. The afternoon show, Danny, Dave and Moore, was ranked between 7th and 9th October-December. Overall the station was in the Top 10 M-F 6a-7p and M-Su 6a-Mid ahead of local competitor Sports Radio KJR.
St. Louis:
101 ESPN closed out the year the same way they started it, crushing the competition. Leading the way was The Fast Lane which was just under a 12 share and finished 1st overall with Men 25-54. The show was also 2nd with Adults 25-54 and wrapped up 2017 finishing 1st overall in 9 out of 12 books, the other 3 months they were either 2nd or 3rd. Middays and mornings were also huge wins for the station as The Turn with Anthony Stalter & Chris Duncan and Kevin Wheeler came in 2nd and Bernie Miklasz placed 4th. The market’s second sports station KFNS hovered around a 1 share with Men 25-54.
Tampa:
After dropping Mike and Mike in August to go local in morning drive with Ronnie & TKras, sports leader WDAE gained ground in the timeslot with Men 25-54. The new morning show moved into 9th which was up from 15th in the summer when the station featured national programming. They also experienced growth with the 18-34 demo. In middays, the Dan Patrick Show remained steady too. DP delivered a Top 10 finish with Men 25-54 which was a pleasant surprise given that national shows don’t usually rate high. The challenge for WDAE entering 2018 is to maintain the early day consistency and improve the ratings production in the remaining timeslots.
Washington DC:
Politics remained a dominant player in the nation’s capital but sports wasn’t far behind. 106.7 The Fan produced an impressive book, closing out 2017 with a 3rd place finish with Men 25-54 in both M-F 6a-7p and M-SU 6a-Mid. The station was led by the Sports Junkies who were 3rd with just under an 8 share. Grant and Danny were also ranked 3rd in middays, delivering just above a 7 share, and Chad Dukes came in 4th in afternoons with just under a 6 and a half share. Local competitor ESPN 980 also received good news, finishing 6th M-F 6a-7p and 9th M-SU 6a-Mid. The station was 6th in mornings (6a-10a) with just over a 4 and a half share, 5h in middays (10a-2p) with just over a 5 share, and 6th in afternoons with a mid 4 share. One thing to point out, 980’s weekday schedule is different than The Fan’s so some of those hours include a spilling over of shows. 980’s lineup includes Al Galdi 5a-7a, Cooley & Kevin 7a-11a, Bram Weinstein 11a-1p, Inside The Locker Room 1p-4p and Steve Czaban 4p-7p.
Over the course of the last 12 months, ESPN laid off hundreds of employees including reporters and anchors, but yesterday reporter Marty Smith confirmed he will be staying with the network. Smith signed a new multi-year contract with ESPN according to The Roanoke Times.
Smith will continue providing content for ESPN in a variety of roles such as his monthly program Marty Smith’s America, reporting for SportsCenter and College GameDay, as well as his weekend radio show Marty and McGee.
“My greatest passion is storytelling. There’s nowhere, as far as I’m concerned, in media, but certainly in sports, that compares to ESPN,” Smith told Mark Berman of The Roanoke Times during a phone interview. “I’m very blessed that the executive staff believed in me and offered me a new deal. It took about eight seconds to sign it.”
Smith has worked for ESPN since 2006, his latest contract was signed in the fall of 2014 and expired at the end of 2017. Terms of the new contract were not announced, only that it’s a multi-year deal.
Smith was originally hired for Nascar coverage, but his unique approach to reporting has earned him added visibility with the network. Smith has covered a variety of sports including college football, as well as profiled a number of sports personalities such as Michael Jordan, Nick Saban and Rory McIlroy.
Smith’s creativity to his reporting fits well with ESPN’s modern approach to sports coverage which promotes unique personalities while offering less game recaps and highlights.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
The Golf Channel announced three talent additions with swing coach Sean Foley, as well as journalists Jaime Diaz and Tim Rosaforte exclusively joining the network.
Foley will serve as host of the networks primetime show, Playing Lessons and provide analysis for Golf Central.
“Sean is a dynamic personality who has a keen intellect and curiosity about the science behind the golf swing. But what makes Sean so unique is his ability to translate his swing philosophy from golf’s elite to amateur golfers looking to improve their games and simply become more consistent,” said Molly Solomon, executive vice president, content, Golf Channel.
Foley is currently the swing coach for eight-time PGA TOUR winner and 2013 U.S. Open Champion Justin Rose. His modern take on golf instruction utilizing biomechanics has also provided tutelage for Tiger Woods, Hunter Mahan, Lee Westwood and other elite golfers over the years.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to partner with Golf Channel in re-launching PlayingLessons, as well as sharing my observations and analysis throughout the year during the most exciting moments in golf,” said Foley.
The Golf Channel also announced the addition of renowned journalist Jaime Diaz along with the increased role of their own insider Tim Rosaforte.
“Jaime is one of the most-accomplished writers in our industry. Between his decades of experience coupled with Tim now contributing his editorial coverage in addition to his on-air efforts, we’ve strengthened our ability to deliver the most quality coverage to golf fans who share our deep passion for the sport,” said Geoff Russell, senior vice president and executive editor of Golf Channel.
Diaz will provide coverage for the Golf Channel making regular appearances on Morning Drive and Golf Central, as well as journalistic contributions for the network’s digital platforms. Tim Rosaforte already worked for the Golf Channel as an insider, the recent announcement states Rosaforte will now report exclusively for the channel while also writing a weekly column and long-form feature articles.
“I’ve worked with Jaime at Sports Illustrated and Golf World / Golf Digest since the mid-90s, so it’s good to keep the band together on all Golf Channel platforms,” said Rosaforte. “I consider him the best golf writer of my time and look forward to teaming up once again in this new era of golf journalism.”
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
