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How Do We Make Digital Content More Profitable?

Demetri Ravanos
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How Do We Make Digital Content More Profitable?

Between the BSM Summit and other conferences I have attended over the last four years, the idea that digital audiences are more loyal to the advertisers that support their favorite creators and shows has been hammered into my head countless times. That is a simplified version of reality. In the cases of people like Joe Rogan or Bill Simmons or Alex Cooper, the only way you are getting their content is digital. If you really love what they do, you will listen to the advertising that comes in the middle of their content.

If I am listening to the podcast replay of a radio show I like though, I do not want ads presented to me the same way. The whole reason I am coming to a digital platform to get a broadcast product is to get the content on-demand and uninterrupted. So, shouldn’t the sales staff rethink how it offers these digital products to advertisers?

The radio business is trying to stretch the boundaries of what it has been for so long by embracing digital platforms. A lot of stations have struggled to monetize that. While there are a lot of reasons an individual station may struggle to make money off of its digital content, the underlying factor is always the same: neglect.

The sales staff neglects to acknowledge that digital and broadcast entertainment are not the same things and are not consumed in the same ways. The content creators neglect to put the time and effort into creating something that audiences truly cannot get from them on the radio, and management neglects to give those creators a reason to do so.

Sure, sellers have to rethink and learn new strategies for selling these products, but that isn’t where it stops. Managers can create more value for those sellers and their clients by incentivizing talent and programmers to create something more interesting than just a show replay.

Do you remember Mayne Street? ESPN had a unique talent in Kenny Mayne, surrounded him with a bunch of other funny people, and let them create something cool and fun. The best part, from a business standpoint anyway, is they got Toyota to pay for it all.

Mayne Street was a comedy series – imagine Curb Your Enthusiasm with Kenny Mayne in the Larry David role. In fact, a lot of the supporting cast went on to have major roles on NBC’s Parks & Rec.

It wasn’t something you were going to get on ESPN. This lived on the company’s website and YouTube channel. It gave people a reason to seek out and spend time with ESPN’s digital content.

Your station can do something like this too.

Radio buildings are full of creative people. Where are your original series? Where is the experimentation? We aren’t putting steel in the ground in this business. There is no cost to trying out a new idea. If it doesn’t work, we can just throw it out and not do it again.

There are so many weapons of content creation at our disposal. The digital platforms are endless. Most stations have dug in with podcasts. How many have created content for video platforms like TikTok? How many have found a way to utilize Twitter Spaces and Spotify Live?

On top of that, good equipment is cheap. If you want to create a digital presence that lives side-by-side with what goes out over the air, you have never had more advantages than you do right now.

Create shows and products that give advertisers a reason to spend the money necessary for a level of exclusivity. If it’s video, put a short pre-roll at the front and then put a logo in the corner. If it’s audio, put a live read from the host at the top and at the back end.

The most important part though is making the creators partners in this. Pay them for the digital content the way you would for an endorsement. If you don’t give a person proper incentive to do something that requires extra work, it will show in the end product. It won’t be something of value to advertisers.

I am not telling you anything new when I say sports is an expensive format. You already know that the on-air product requires investment in order to create the kind of product that listeners connect with and advertisers want to spend money on. Why would we approach digital content any differently?

 

Bob Fescoe: ‘David Shaw Is Most Underrated Analyst On TV’

BSM Staff
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Bob Fescoe: ‘David Shaw Is Most Underrated Analyst On TV’

The first night of the 2022 NFL Draft featured plenty of surprise picks, valuable selections and trades across the league. The event, which was set up across part of the Las Vegas Strip, was telecast across various major networks, including ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.

One team that has contended for and won a Super Bowl over the last five seasons is the Kansas City Chiefs. Since the team finished with one of the best records in football last season, the Chiefs’ first selection in which they owned was 30th overall. Yet in an effort to improve its defense, the team traded the 29th overall pick, which it received in the trade with the Miami Dolphins that sent Tyreek Hill to South Beach, along with a third and fourth round selection to the New England Patriots in order to draft cornerback Trent McDuffie 21st overall.

While much of the conversation on 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City was focused on the Chiefs’ two first round selections, Trent McDuffie of Washington and George Karlaftis of Purdue, Fescoe in the Morning did discuss the broadcast itself. In fact Bob Fescoe believed that it was all perfectly scripted to fit in a given time interval, a perception he has had about the league for several years.

“We talked about [how] they wanted to fit everything into a three-hour window, and that’s essentially what they did last night,” said Fescoe. “I think the NFL has a way of telling people, ‘Alright, you got to make your pick now.’”

This deliberate timing of the draft being presented as a live, television show meant that NFL teams had to be ready to make their pick within 10 minutes of the previous pick. It felt at times though that teams were moving quicker, meaning that some of the feature stories being presented by the networks had to be cut to televise Commissioner Roger Goodell’s announcement of a selection.

“Right around when the Chiefs were making their first pick… Andrew Whitworth was on stage doing his NFL Man of the Year [announcement]; he’s got a serious message to deliver,” said show co-host Josh Klingler. “Then you see ‘Pick is in….’ It seemed like the picks were ready, and the show was holding it up at some points in time. I’m like, ‘Wow, they are really cooking through this thing.’”

Nonetheless, both hosts felt the show was enjoyable to watch as football fans, characterizing it as a “wild” slew of action. Fescoe was watching the NFL Network broadcast of the draft and exalted their broadcast team, which featured Rich Eisen, Ian Rapoport and Kurt Warner. He also spoke about the performance of a specific analyst he believes is overlooked in the sports media world.

“David Shaw is the most underrated analyst out there right now,” Fescoe expressed. “I know he’s still a football coach at Stanford, but he knows everything about every player. I think he is great.”

The second day of the NFL Draft begins at 7 p.m. EST, and will once again be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. Unlike round one, picks must be made within a seven-minute-window tonight, as the proceedings will conclude at 11:30 p.m. EST. The final day of the NFL Draft is tomorrow where rounds four through seven will be broadcast beginning at 12 p.m. EST.

Chris Berman & Trey Wingo Thought The NFL Draft Would Fail In Primetime

BSM Staff
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Chris Berman & Trey Wingo Thought The NFL Draft Would Fail In Primetime

Over the years at ESPN, Chris Berman has had the opportunity to cover numerous events in many different sports. So, which event for him was the toughest to cover?

He recently revealed on the Trey Wingo Presents: Half-Forgotten History podcast with that the toughest event to cover was the NFL Draft, which he hosted for ESPN from 1985-2016. However, it’s not the actual event itself that was the toughest, but the prep for the event.

“It’s the 3 weeks leading up to it where I don’t follow college football,” Boomer said. “Saturday is a prep day for us. I am aware of who won and lost games. I couldn’t tell you this guy is the best or second-best center.”

Berman gave a lot of credit to the GMs who would help him in his prep by giving some insight as to what they were thinking. He knew that despite not having a lot of prep time, that wasn’t an excuse to ace covering the event: 

“It reminded me of why I never went to grad school. It’s a course you have to ace and you are doing it the last 3 weeks. If you talk to these GMs in March, their grades are completely different on April 15. I didn’t do that knowing I wasted everyone’s time. I got to ace this test and I’ve done none of the work, but I can’t get a B on it. That sounds like grad school to me.”

Both Berman and Wingo reflected on when the NFL Draft first moved to primetime in 2010 and they were not sure it was going to work, but the NFL proved them both wrong: 

“I’ll give the NFL credit on this. I thought it was a dumb idea,” said Wingo. “I was like this is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I can’t believe they are going to try to compete against primetime television. This is going to be a disaster. It turned out to be the exact opposite and a massive home run.” 

“I don’t know if I thought it would be a massive disaster, but I went oh, really pushing the envelope. I still wondered if we are just going to make the first round and just do that and celebrate it like it’s the coronation of Queen Elizabeth III,” said Berman. “But, it worked.” 

This podcast is a good trip down memory lane of past NFL Drafts from two men who were hosts of the event. Berman knew in his early years of hosting the NFL Draft that there was major potential for it to grow into the spectacle it is now.

“This was an oasis from Groundhog Day until the beginning of August. All football fans gathered with us and I felt an obligation, as did all of our folks behind the scenes, we are sponsoring/hosting a gathering place for football fans in America in April and it’s pretty cool.”

Sports Media Reacts To Scott Van Pelt’s Tribute To His Dog On SportsCenter

BSM Staff
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The loss of a pet is not easy no matter who you are. Everybody processes these things differently, and if you are Scott Van Pelt, you have a very public place to do so.

“I apologize in advance for however this goes,” SVP began. “Le Batard asked if I cried when I wrote it, said I’m doomed if I did. So, I guess I’m doomed. It’s alright”

Van Pelt used his “One Big Thing” segment on SportsCenter after the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night to pay tribute to Otis, his boxer, who died this week. On Wednesday, Scott Van Pelt tweeted that he and his family said goodbye to their dog. The next night, he tried to put that grief into words.

“I don’t know what else in my life has made me cry like this – so much profound sadness over a love that was so damn pure,” he said, expressing a sentiment familiar to pet owners. “Now, it bothers my mom when I say nobody ever loved me the way Otis did, because she’s my mom. I understand, but I just say ‘Did I ever do anything that made you mad? Uh huh, exactly! Otis was never mad at me.'”

It struck a chord with many viewers and sports fans. That included a number of SVP’s sports media colleagues who took to Twitter to share condolences and their own emotions.

During the tribute, Scott Van Pelt explained that Otis was his first dog. He said there was no way he could have been truly prepared for the devestation he feels.

“I’ve read countless moving tributes through the years about what your bonds meant and what made your dogs unique. I always felt badly for you, but I had no idea honestly, and I wish I didn’t know now.”

Greg Gutfeld: MSNBC Is Too Scared to Fire Joy Reid

BNM Staff
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Fox News host Greg Gutfeld believes that MSNBC is “terrified” to fire Joy Reid for fear that she will call the network racist. Gutfeld made those comments Tuesday during “The Five.” 

According to Mediaite, Gutfeld’s comments followed the “ReidOut” host criticizing Twitter after Elon Musk purchased the company for $44 billion. 

“Twitter is not the government, they are a private company that says you’re not allowed to be a Nazi on Twitter,” Reid said, reasonably enough, but then later stated, “Elon Musk, I guess he misses the old South Africa in the 80s. He wants that back.”

“She calls everybody racist, and that’s her game, and that’s her scam,” said Gutfeld. “And the MSNBC management are cowards for letting her do this but that’s what they chose to do.”

Several months ago, News Cycle Media’s Jon Nicosia reported that MSNBC plans to pull Reid from her show in its next round of shuffling.

MSNBC’s prime-time ratings took a big hit last year with a reported 25% drop. In September, Fox News reported that Reid’s ratings were down 56% since the beginning of 2021.

“Joy Reid has built a foolproof career insurance plan,” said Gutfeld. “She has MSNBC so terrified that they can’t fire her because she’s just gonna call them racist, too.”

NBC News Under Fire for Tweet Describing “Jeopardy!” Winner

BNM Staff
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NBC News Under Fire for Tweet Describing “Jeopardy!” Winner

NBC News is under fire for a tweet describing a perpetual Jeopardy winner as a “lesbian.” Mattea Roach has won 17 consecutive games with winnings totaling $396,182. 

Although Roach’s bio on Twitter describes her as a lesbian from Nova Scotia, the platform’s users did not take kindly to NBC News using her sexual identity in the headline. 

NBC New’s tweet read, “The 23-year-old lesbian tutor from Toronto has amassed a total of $320,081, the most by a Canadian contestant in ‘Jeopardy!’ history.”

“What on earth is a lesbian tutor?” said one user. “You mean she helps people become better lesbians? Be better @NBCNews & know that this incredible woman’s sexuality has absolutely no bearing on her amazing @Jeopardy streak & smarts! #Jeopardy.” 

According to the New York Post, Roach’s 14th win last week made history in the “Jeopardy!” record books by becoming eighth on the all-time consecutive games list, and 10th on the all-time highest non-tournament cash winnings list.

As of Thursday evening, NBC’s tweet is still online.

Trey Yingst Discusses the Mental, Physical Hurdles of Covering War in Ukraine

BNM Staff
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Fox News Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst is speaking out about the mental and physical challenges of covering the war in Ukraine and the human suffering that he witnessed on a day-to-day basis. 

Yingst joined “The Untold Story with Martha MacCallum” podcast this week from the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. MacCallum asked Yingst what he’s learned about covering the people of Ukraine. 

“I think people need to understand that this is not a movie,” said Yingst. “We see the explosions; we see the mass graves and we see the loss of life and it can be a lot to the brain to consume. For most of us, we haven’t seen anything like this or even learned about anything like this.” 

Covering a war is the most dangerous position a network reporter can undertake. In March, Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and local Ukrainian producer Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova were killed when a vehicle they were occupying came under fire. Foreign correspondent Benjamin Hall suffered several injuries and had to be rescued by a special operations team. 

Yingst said returning to Ukraine after the deadly attack on his colleagues was very “uncomfortable and weird.”  

“There’s a feeling of responsibility to continue doing what [Sasha and Pierre] were doing. And that was shining a light on dark places,” he added. 

You can listen to the full podcast interview right here. 

Sports Radio Can Be The Search Engine In B2B Marketing

Jeff Caves
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Sports Radio Can Be The Search Engine In B2B Marketing

Recently, I met a salesperson for a computer networking, cabling, and communications business. He defined his target market as any business that needs data, cabling, and computer network installs. It’s a pure Business to Business play.

He added that his boss told him they were starting an ad campaign to generate leads and excitement for the company. He was pleased with that as he wanted to feel supported by his company in helping him create leads. He spends most days making cold calls and would appreciate a warm landing once in a while when a prospect says they have “heard about you.” 

When he was told about the ad campaign, he lost his enthusiasm. The boss bought radio. FM music radio. JACK FM – one of those “we play anything” adult hits formats. 

The salesperson thought that the company would be buying Google search ads, and he would soon have an inbox filled with leads. He knew the pay-per-click initiative was, at times, a capital-intensive effort, but what did he care? He wanted leads!

When he was told they were doing commercials for branding purposes on the radio- he lost any enthusiasm that he was being supported. He surprised me that he understood more about radio than I thought when he said the boss should have purchased an all news, news/talk, or all sports station. He didn’t feel supported by his company. He just thought they were sold down the river. I don’t believe this salesperson will be supportive of the radio campaign. And, let’s face it, how many solid leads do you think will be generated by branding commercials on an FM music station?

If the boss had met with a sports radio seller, he could have been sold a play-by-play package with the local MLB or NFL team that gave the company access to tickets for client entertainment. The company would then be invited to several station-hosted events at the stadium, where the salesperson could meet other station clients. He could skip his coffee networking session with the chamber that week and watch a baseball game instead.

The point here is don’t forget all the opportunities you offer as an all sports seller. Sports stations’ ability to deliver B2B results is one of my favorite format attributes, and creating opportunities for new connections for businesspeople is critical for employee and C-level buy-in.

We may not be Google and sell direct access to people who are searching “computer networking companies near me” but we can provide access to prospects. C-level executives’ sports fandom is a common thread we offer to build and cement new business relationships. We may not all agree on politics or religion, but who doesn’t love the town’s local pro or college team?

Our format is the bridge to business conversation. We are the glue that brings decision makers and salespeople together. Give access to what you have, be it pro or college teams, big games, or any NTR event where you have sold several businesses. BE the search engine.

Roger Goodell Announces Tony Gonzalez Is Joining Amazon Thursday Night Football

BSM Staff
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Before the Saints could announce their pick after trading up to number 11, Roger Goodell made his own announcement. He revealed that Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez will be part of the Thursday Night Football crew on Amazon.

The NFL commissioner did not reveal what role Gonzalez would have. It has been rumored that Gonzalez would be part of a pregame show with Marshawn Lynch.

Goodell handed the microphone over to Tony Gonzalez, who took the stage alongside Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Eckler. The pair announced that the first Thursday Night Football game on Amazon will feature the Chargers visiting Kansas City.

The traditional Thursday night season opener will air on NBC. Amazon’s first Thursday Night Football game is scheduled for September 15 ahead of Week 2 action.

Gonzalez is no stranger to television. He worked for CBS until 2016. That is when he left for FOX. He was part of the network’s Thursday Night Football coverage. He exited before the 2021 season. At the time, he said his plan was to focus on an acting career.

Seahawks, Field Yates Pay Tribute To John Clayton At NFL Draft

BSM Staff
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John Clayton passed away on March 18. He may not have physically been at the NFL Draft on Thursday night, but he was there in spirit thanks to two very cool tributes.

Bob Condotta, who covers the team for The Seattle Times, tweeted out an image on Thursday before the Draft officially began. The Seahawks reserved a seat for the late reporter at their draft table.

The other tribute came from Clayton’s former colleagues at ESPN. Field Yates wore a shirt featuring Clayton’s last name in the same font as the band Slayer’s logo. It was a reference to the beloved “This is SportsCenter” commercial.

John Clayton covered the Seahawks beginning in 1986 when he arrived at The News Tribune in Tacoma. He joined ESPN in 1995.

He was also a prominent member of the sports radio community. He began making appearances on KJR in Seattle in 1990. He hosted his own show on 710 ESPN in Seattle. He was also a contributor to a number of stations across the country, including 104.3 the Fan in Denver, where Clayton made appearances on air and wrote for the station’s website.

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