93.7 The Fan and the Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that they’ve reached an agreement on a multi-year broadcast contract extension. As part of the deal, The Fan will continue to be the flagship station for Pirates baseball, airing 16 Spring Training games, all 162 Pirates regular season games, and all post-season action each year of the agreement.
The Pirates Radio Network will once again feature announcers Steve Blass, Greg Brown, Bob Walk and John Wehner calling the action for radio and television throughout the 2016 season, along with the newest broadcast addition, play-by-play man Joe Block. Brown and Block will handle the play-by-play duties while Blass, Walk and Wehner serve as color analysts.
For more visit CBS Radio Pittsburgh where this information was originally published
When you first get an opportunity to work at a sports radio station, you’re not thinking about how the lessons you learn might serve you one day down the line. You’re just hoping to remain employed and in the company’s good graces. The thought of crossing state lines and building a brand as an on-air talent in another market is the furthest thing from your mind.
Once you’ve been in the industry for a while though, it’s amazing how the people you once spoke with, met, or shared a press box with, emerge as industry friends or connections. In some cases they even become direct competitors or colleagues.
When I started my career, I worked in upstate New York, about an hour from New York City. Everyone’s goal in that market was to make it to WFAN. ESPN New York didn’t exist, sending snail mail to ESPN in Bristol, CT and being considered for employment was thought to be a pipedream, and local radio had its perks but only provided a small portion of what was possible in sports radio.
It was in local radio in upstate NY though that I became familiar with Tom Krasniqi. I was hosting afternoons on 1340/1390 ESPN Radio in Poughkeepsie and had just been promoted to Program Director of the radio station. I was determined to develop the second coming of WFAN (which was very unrealistic) and I started interviewing people who shared the same passion and vision as I did for sports radio.
As I searched for people who understood my vision, I came across Tom Krasniqi’s resume and aircheck. Although he was still new to the business, so was I, and I liked what I heard. Plus I saw that he had spent time at WFAN so I reached out and arranged a meeting.
He showed up, and three things stood out. First, he was easily the sharpest dressed guy in our building. Secondly, he towered over me, and third, he had a lot of passion for sports talk radio.
As we talked about sports, radio and professional experiences, I could tell that we had a lot in common. Tom had recently worked for WFAS in Westchester and was trying to find a spot which would allow him to develop further as a sports talk show host. After our interview ended, I spoke to my bosses about the possibility of adding him and they gave me the green light to do so but shared two things that I knew would make it difficult to attract a good candidate.
The offer had to be part time and at minimum wage
The radio station had just been sold and a format flip could be coming
Sensing that it wouldn’t be a positive situation for Tom or anyone else, I elected not to make an offer. We did speak and have a great conversation and I knew he’d end up landing in a good situation because he was young, talented, and hungry.
As luck would have it, my radio station in Poughkeepsie did flip formats a few months later from sports to spanish, so it’s a good thing that I never asked Tom to head north. That allowed him to focus his time on other opportunities, and after landing some work in New York City, he eventually migrated south to Florida where he began building his brand in Tampa.
Tom got a break in 2004 when he was hired as an anchor and host by 1010AM. Five years later that led to an opportunity at ESPN 1040am where he eventually became the station’s afternoon drive host. It wasn’t until 2012 though when he earned his biggest opportunity, working for 620 WDAE, Tampa’s leading sports radio station.
“TKras” as he’s known to his audience, started as an anchor, host, and Bucs reporter on WDAE. Two years later when the radio station had a chance to upgrade their local programming schedule, Tom was named host of the 9a-12p midday program, alongside Ronnie “Night Train” Lane, his former on-air partner at ESPN 1040.
Since teaming up, the pair have not disappointed. In the recent January ratings, “Ronnie and TKras” delivered the highest ratings on WDAE. Their show focuses primarily on the local Tampa sports scene and the chemistry and difference in the way each of them sound and approach topics is easy to detect.
Given that many in the sports format may not know Tom’s story, background, or the way his program has climbed the ratings ladder at WDAE, I thought it’d be interesting to catch up with him and get some insight on how he’s progressed over the years, and what he believes is important in creating great sports talk radio for a local audience.
Q: Who did you listen to growing up that influenced you to want to pursue a career in the sports radio business?
A:From the very first day of existence back in 1987, I grew up listening to WFAN in New York. Steve Somers, Chris Russo & Mike Francesa were the inspirations for me. When I finally got a chance to intern & work there, it was a dream come true. I was able to get an up close view as to how to be a compelling sports talk host from these guys. Being able to pick their brains was invaluable to me. It was instrumental in my development.
Q: Prior to landing at WDAE, where did you work previously and what were the best/worst parts of those career experiences?
A: Prior to WDAE, I was a sports anchor and host at Genesis Communications 1040-AM in Tampa. Before that, I spent nearly 6 years at all-sports 1010am in Tampa also as a sports anchor and host. All in all, I’ve been in the Tampa/St. Petersburg market for more than 12 years. I enjoyed the people I worked with and the opportunity to cover some of the greatest moments in Tampa Bay sports, namely the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals and the 2008 World Series. The downside? Cutbacks in recent years by corporate entities has hindered the business greatly.
Q: How did you end up landing on the airwaves of WDAE?
A: They were aggressive in pursuing me back in 2012 and that was really attractive to me. It’s a great feeling to be wanted. They had a plan for me to come in — cover the Bucs, sports anchoring and filling in as a host on occasion. Fortunately, I was able to establish myself to the point where I was able to land a regular hosting gig. I’m grateful to iHeartMedia for that.
Q: When it comes to your show, what do you read, watch and listen to in order to help you prepare and create content?
A: I’m online reading and researching about 4 hours per day, sometimes more. I’m watching games at night and always observing the mainstream sports networks, ESPN, Fox Sports, NFL, MLB & NHL Network. I’m always interested to get the national perspective to the local Tampa Bay area teams.
Q: During the span of a 3 hour show, how many topics do you try to introduce to the audience?
A: It’s a heavy emphasis on the local sports scene, Bucs, Rays & Lightning, as well as the major college sports in Florida with some relevant national topics mixed in. I’m always eager to express my opinion on the hot button issues, both locally & nationally.
Q: Why do you believe recycling/not recycling content is a smart strategy?
A: I believe recycling content is an effective strategy to a certain point. The average sports radio listener doesn’t stick around for long. Of course, we always love the P1 fanatics but they’re few & far between. What I always like to do is take a different angle to the same topic, advance the story when we touch upon it again later in the show. For example, The Lightning win last night. Early in the show we mention the big plays & analyze what happened. When we bring up the topic later in the show, I try to advance it. What’s next? Who’s playing well? Who needs to pick it up? Injury updates, that sort of thing. Recycle, but keep it fresh with updated content.
Q: How much value do you place on callers being a part of your show? Why do/don’t they matter to you?
A: I always enjoy interacting with callers. It can be highly entertaining at times but it should never be the end all, be all when it comes to hosting. You don’t want to rely on it constantly. At the end of the day, people are tuning in to hear YOUR opinion.
Q: When you lay out your 3-hour program, what’s your approach to adding guests?
A: Unless there’s a big story developing, you never want to jam your show with wall to wall guests. You want to bring people on that bring something to the table, opinions, insight & entertainment value.
Q: As it pertains to social media, how important do you think it is for an on-air talent to be accessible in the space? How do you incorporate it into your show?
A: Social media these days is very important to sports radio! You want to interact with the fans and at the same time, use it as a tool to promote your brand/show. Tease subject matters & invite them to listen in when you’re ready to make a big prediction or offer a hot take on a topic. Twitter/Facebook are great tools to push your content and reel in new listeners. You never know who’s listening.
Q: If there’s one area of sports radio today that you believe is sub-par and needs to be improved what is it?
A: I think it’s always the race to try and break news first, rather than get it right. I also believe in objectivity when it comes to local teams. You want to be fair & balanced. Do I want to see the local teams succeed? Absolutely! We’re the radio home to the Bucs, Rays & Lightning. When they do well, we do well. But at the same time, you have to remain objective & avoid being a homer. And stay away from the personal attacks and cheap shots. That’s how you gain credibility.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your broadcast career?
A: Be humble. Work hard & stay resilient. Never say no to opportunities when they come along. Be versatile. Learn how to cover the field as a reporter as well as being a producer, anchor and eventually a host. Start at the bottom and work your way up. That’s the only way you’ll learn responsibility and when that hard work eventually pays off, it’s that much more gratifying. If you can’t conquer the task in front of you (board-op, reporter, producer), what makes you think you can tackle the bigger jobs with more responsibility? My good friends Ian Eagle and Sweeny Murti of WFAN instilled that in me years ago and I’ll never forget it. Great piece of advice that I pass along to others today.
Q: As you look to the future, what is it you still want to accomplish?
A: I hope to continue doing what I do. I pride myself on being entertaining, passionate and opinionated. I’m never satisfied with status quo. I’m always striving to improve. At the same time, I’m blessed to be living a lifelong dream and I’ll always be grateful for being in this crazy business.
Tom Krasniqi aka TKras can be heard weekdays from 9a-12p on 620 WDAE in Tampa. For more information on his show with Ronnie “Nighttrain” Lane, clickhere. You can also follow him on Twitter by clickinghere.
Ian Darke, one of the most recognizable voices in global football, has signed a multi-year agreement to remain with ESPN as the company’s lead play-by-play commentator for soccer.
Darke will continue as ESPN’s primary voice for U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams’ matches, including FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and other tournaments and international friendlies. He will also pen a recurring column for ESPNFC.com and make periodic appearances on ESPN FC, the daily soccer television news and information program. The new contract extends through 2020.
Darke joined ESPN full-time from Sky Sports in September 2010 following his critically-acclaimed work during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Paired with legendary Liverpool FC player Steve McManaman, the duo called matches from Premier League stadiums each week from 2010-2013 – a pioneering concept, at the time, in how the league’s matches were televised in the United States.
To read more visit ESPN Media Zone where this article was originally published
Veteran journalist Josh Elliott will join CBSN, CBS News’ 24/7 digital streaming news service, as an anchor later this month, the network announced Tuesday.
Elliott, who most recently worked with NBC Sports, will anchor CBSN’s live coverage throughout the week, both in studio and in the field. He will also appear on CBS News broadcasts and other platforms.
Prior to his stint with NBC Sports, Elliott spent three years at ABC News, primarily as the news anchor on Good Morning America. Elliott spent also seven years with ESPN, serving as anchor of SportsCenter from 2006-11. He previously wrote for Sports Illustrated.
Read more at CBS News where this story was originally published
Fox broadcaster Erin Andrews took the stand yesterday at her civil trial where she’s suing a Nashville hotel as a result of being videotaped by another guest through her hotel room peephole. The most interesting development from yesterday’s testimony stemmed from an accusation Andrews made against her former employer ESPN.
Andrews claimed that ESPN forced her to discuss the issue on national television, against her will, before she was allowed to return to her broadcasting duties. Andrews testified that “everybody” thought she arranged the video as a publicity stunt and it led to ridicule on Fox News, CBS, the New York Post, and other media groups. The slander of her character she said ripped her apart.
Here is the exchange that took place in court yesterday.
Q: So did ESPN require that you give an interview?
A: Yes. Because there wasn’t an arrest, because we didn’t know where this happened, my bosses at ESPN told me, “before you go back on air for college football we need you to give a sit-down interview.” And that was the only way I was going to be allowed back.
Q: Now, you did have the right to select who that interview would be done by, right?
A: I did. They were highly recommending it be GMA [Good Morning America], because ESPN and ABC are the same, and they wanted it on GMA. But like my dad had said the other day, I didn’t want it to be a two second thing where it’s like, “Was this a scandal, or, was it not?” No, this is my life, and I feel terrible about myself, and we want to figure out how this happened. So, I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want to be a part of it, and I just said, you know what, “I know because she’s very public about it, Oprah is a crime victim.” I talked to her producers, I told her I didn’t want to do it. But this was the only way I was going to be put back on air, so we went to the Oprah show.
Andrews then explained how she broke out in a rash while taping the interview with Oprah and how she was put at ease by the talk show host who told her “I’ll take care of you. You’re safe here”. After doing the interview and addressing the incident publicly Andrews was allowed to return to work.
To read more visit Deadspin who originally published this information
92.9 The Game has solved their midday problem, naming John Michaels as Rick Kamla’s new on-air partner. The duo made their debut today, hosting from 10a-2p. Michaels fills the void left behind by Randy Cross who was let go by the radio station in December. No explanation has been provided for Cross’ termination.
Michaels has been a sideline reporter for the Atlanta Falcons Radio Network since 2011. He was also an on-air personality at The Game and 790 The Zone, before the radio station dropped all local personalities in 2014.
The Game brought in a number of high profile candidates for auditions for the vacant midday slot. Ryan Stewart of the 2 Live Stews, Dave Archer, and former NFL Tight End Randy McMichael all received consideration, and according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Archer was offered the position first but rejected the opportunity.
Regardless, Michaels now has the job and we wish him the best with the new opportunity.
John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal is reporting that layoffs could be coming to Fox Sports. According to his report, today is the day where some Fox employees have to decide whether to take a company-offered buyout or gamble that they will not be part of an ensuing round of layoffs that insiders say is inevitable.
A month ago, 21st Century Fox offered voluntary buyouts to long-term and older employees as a way to cut costs. Staffers who have been at Fox for at least 15 years or are 55 years and older were offered one month’s pay for every year of employment.
The company aims to eliminate $250 million in expenses. Insider reports suggest that hundreds of positions will be eliminated across 21st Century Fox, either through buyouts or, eventually, layoffs.
“Fox just got too fat and too bloated,” one former executive said. “It’s time for them to re-evaluate and adapt to the media business of 2016.”
Outside of its big live events, FS1’s TV ratings have underperformed, and that’s negatively impacted the channel’s advertising revenue. Several of the network’s signature shows (Crowd Goes Wild and America’s Pregame) were cancelled, and Jamie Horowitz was hired as president to try and turn the ship in the right direction.
Horowitz has since lured Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock to Fox, so the company is not afraid to spend top dollar for top tier talent. However, poor performances from the company’s movie studio, less revenue generated in television advertising, and higher rights fees for programming, have all had an impact on the company’s bottom line, thus creating a need to eliminate salaries.
English football presenter Rebecca Lowe has signed a six-year contract to host NBC Sport’s coverage of the Premier League in the United States through 2022.
NBC have shown the same faith in Lowe, 35, who has made a name for herself in America since working for Setanta on their short-lived PL partnership.
Her deal is understood to be worth around $720,000 per year.
As claimed in a Wall Street Journal report last year, the US audience size for ‘EPL’ games on US television via NBC Sports has grown by 150 percent on average, in comparison to three years ago when the league’s matches games were under FOX Sports and ESPN’s ownership.
To read more visit The Daily Mail where this story was originally published
Thanks to a wide array of sports offerings in January which included the NFL playoffs, College Football Championship, NBA and College Basketball games and Australian Open Tennis, ESPN reached 88.1 million unique visitors in the U.S., the ninth largest total of all-time in the sports category. ESPN owns the entire top 10, and 18 of the top 20 all-time monthly unique visitor totals in the sports category.
Fans spent 6.5 billion minutes using ESPN digital properties in January, and ESPN accounted for 28.6 percent of all sports category time spent on digital platforms, 50 percent more than the No. 2 property and a 2.2 billion minute advantage.
January marked the 23rd straight month in which ESPN led the sports category for monthly unique visitors and total minutes.
As interest in the Presidential primaries heated up, FiveThirtyEight.com set new site records for monthly unique visitors (7.6 million), total minutes (34.5 million) and visits (17.5 million).
On mobile devices alone, 72.4 million unique users accessed ESPN web and app content, and users spent 3.9 billion minutes with ESPN on mobile devices.
ESPN reached 14.3 million average daily unique users on smartphones, 8.3 million more than No. 2 NFL Internet Group (6.0 million).
70 percent of ESPN’s unique users – 62.0 million people – exclusively accessed content on smartphones and tablets. 61 percent of all time spent with ESPN digital content was consumed on mobile device users.
For more, visit ESPN Media Zone where this information was originally published
When the country’s two sports television networks tear into each other on Monday in the ultimate bit of Canadiana – all-day live coverage of deadline day in the NHL for making trades – the goal of each of them, aside from ratings, is beating the other guy by a few seconds to announce a trade first.
But no matter who wins the intense battle for scoops between TSN and Sportsnet, there is one fact neither network can argue: TSN’s Bob McKenzie is the most trusted source of hockey information on any media platform. He may not always be first with the trade announcements or other news, although he is not often beaten, but he is always right.
There is nothing stylish about McKenzie, 59, who was part of the great migration of print reporters to broadcast outlets that began in earnest in the 1990s. But unlike many of his colleagues, particularly in the United States where current and former print types make up the casts of dozens of sports-talk screamfests, McKenzie stuck with what worked for him from the start, a solid work ethic that developed the widest variety of sources in the sport, from junior scouts to NHL owners.
That means any information he provides, whether to his 1.22 million Twitter followers, on a TSN television panel, a radio appearance or in a written report on TSN.ca, is solid.
The 2015 trade deadline was the first year TSN did not have any national NHL broadcast rights, having lost the package to Rogers Media, which agreed in 2014 to pay $5.2-billion over 12 years for the NHL’s Canadian national broadcast rights. But TSN trounced Rogers’s Sportsnet network on deadline day, drawing an average of 206,000 viewers to its 10 hours of coverage compared with 76,000 for Sportsnet. TSN drew more than double the total viewers to its show, 2.3 million, than Sportsnet (1.1 million).
While this cannot all be attributed to McKenzie, a major share of it can, given that he dominates the hockey discussion on Twitter, where viewership starts. And he is the one looked to by most for confirmation of a trade.
McKenzie, though, will not tell you he is driving the ratings.
“I just get up and do my job every day and make sure I don’t feel like I have to back up to the pay window at the end of the week,” McKenzie said.
To continue reading the full article visit the Toronto Globe and Mail where it was originally published
