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5 Goals: Ramona Shelburne

Ryan Glasspiegel
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5 Goals: Ramona Shelburne

Ramona Shelburne is a versatile NBA reporter, writer, and on-air talent at ESPN. Here are five things she says she still has left to accomplish.

Ryan Shirts

1 and 2. Maintain balance with health and rest. 

We’ve all, over the last 1.5 years, learned how to do our jobs remotely. Some of us adapted better than others. I tended to really like being home and spending all this time with my son. I feel like I took care of myself much better than I normally do in my grind — flying, traveling, getting home late from games, getting up early for shows. It’s tough on your body and it’s tough on your life.

I felt like, during my time in quarantine, I was much better at eating, resting, and taking care of myself. I lost a bunch of weight, I ate healthy. I worked out every day. I still feel like I have enough connections and relationships that I can do my job well without always being on that intense grind on the road. I just want to keep that balance, as we return to games and seeing people. I realize I’m better as a person, a mom, a writer, a reporter — all those things — when I have that balance. 

An example: the other night, I got home from the Lakers game around midnight, and I hadn’t done my daily swim. I was like I just gotta do it, and got in the pool for a half-hour. I just want to keep that up. We are all so much better when we’re healthier and balanced, and this job can kind of turn you off the path of health and wellness. 

I tend to be a night owl. I do a lot of my writing at night. While it’s also the time when my son is sleeping, I’ve always been a night owl. Before my kid, I used to stay up all night and write. My editors laughed at the times I sent stories to them. I’d sent it at 4 am on the west coast, which meant they’d wake up to it at 7 am ET. 

But now, it’s not super healthy to do that, because I have to get up in the morning, be a mom, and go do my job whether it’s in the radio or TV studio or wherever I’m going that day. I’ve been trying to scale back on my all-nighters; before my kid, I was even worse — I used to hole myself up in a hotel room, intensely focused for 2-3 days, and put together 6,000-word stories. I couldn’t do it at home. I’d get distracted. That was my way of literally locking myself in a room and doing it. 

That’s something you can pull off in your 20s and 30s. When you’re in your 40s, and you’ve got a kid to take care of, it’s a little harder. I’m trying to be more balanced, and have more focus on my health and sleep. I’ve found out that you can do that and still do good work. I used to think as a writer that you needed to suffer and face mental and physical exhaustion to pull out greatness. I’ve had to be more strategic and focused. I actually don’t need all that pain. 

3. Make stories that cut through and matter.

It’s harder to find these stories when we aren’t seeing each other in person, but they’re still out there. I just did one a week or two ago with Ben Simmons, where I told the much bigger, deeper story as opposed to the daily news. It’s valuable to take a longer, deeper look at a story. Nowadays, people read a headline and three paragraphs on their phones. I just believe that people also have an appetite for deeper dives like that.

I’m not saying everything needs to be 10,000 words, but if you do the work and you tell a good story and really get to the heart and humanity of the matter — people find them. They’re hard to do, especially without in-person access, but I want to keep challenging myself to do those. Those are where I can separate myself.

4. I’d really like to do another longform 30 for 30 podcast. 

I think podcasts are a great medium for this day and age. People just love long-form narrative podcasts — almost more than long-form narrative written stories now. I love to read good writing, but I am always driving around and I listen to podcasts when I swim. If I find a good one, I can swim for an hour!

I did The Sterling Affairs.  I’d really like to do another one of those. It’s hard to get off the ground, because I do have a day job, but I have a bunch of ideas that I want to take from stories that I’ve done that I think can be longer and better and lend themselves to the podcast format. I want to do another one of them, and I think I will relatively soon. 

It’s a lot of work to do them. I had a great producer — Julia Lowrie Henderson, who is leaving ESPN for a great new opportunity, and I want to make sure she gets a shoutout. She was just incredible to work with. I can’t imagine a better podcast producer in the business. Creatively, I don’t know if I’ve sparked with anybody as much as with her when we worked on The Sterling Affairs.

5. Be optimistic.

It’s been a rough couple of years. I’ve had a lot of joy, but it’s been rough for a lot of people, whether they lost their jobs, got Covid, lost loved ones. People were separated from friends and family and got lonely — I just thought that my theme of 2021 and 2022 is to be optimistic. This is gonna pass. It’s gonna get better. It’s gonna get back to some version of normal — it might not be the version we left behind, but hopefully, it’ll be better.

Courtesy: ESPN Images

Whenever we get kind of bummed about what’s going on in our lives or work, I think we just need to be optimistic again. It’s been pretty heavy. But, sports have been great! The baseball playoffs, every night they’ve been awesome. We’ve been having amazing nights of sports. 

We got away from a lot of the fun stuff we do in our jobs — actually going to games, experiencing live sports, being around people and not just talking about the pandemic all the time. It’s still going on — it’s heavy — so I just want to be optimistic about getting back to a version of our lives that is happy and we can enjoy each other’s company again. I don’t know when, but I’m optimistic that it’s coming.  

Mixed Results In New York Summer Book For WFAN, 98.7 ESPN NY

BSM Staff
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Mixed Results In New York Summer Book For WFAN, 98.7 ESPN NY

The New York summer book results are finally in. Though they were released a month ago, a combination of other projects requiring my focus and information taking longer to track down made it tougher to tackle this sooner. Usually the NY newspapers report the results quickly but a ratings story wasn’t written up for the quarter for some reason, so we’ll dive into it now.

First, presenting NYC’s sports radio ratings can be very complicated. If you need a drink after reading this, I understand. 98.7 ESPN New York reports their numbers in one lump sum, Over The Air listening and Streaming combined. The preferred way to showcase measured listening. WFAN on the other hand, which is owned by Audacy, operates differently. They produce an Over The Air and Streaming number, which then needs to be combined to show a fair head to head comparison against their local competition.

Some will say only the OTA numbers should be counted. That’s been Nielsen’s message time and again. Others will say Streaming should be added since people are indeed listening on platforms other than radio and companies have different approaches to generating sales. We’ve consistently tried to present these stories showing a complete picture of what’s taking place in a market so that’s how we’re going to present information for the summer book. We’ll make it clear where OTA performance benefits one station over the other, but given that two quality brands are delivering listenership thru a combination of radio, phone, smart speaker and computer listening, we’re going to include the streaming numbers since it does represent actual listening. The day that each station and company presents one collective number to show how they stack up against local competition can’t come soon enough.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, the summer book for New York City produced mixed results. For the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with Men 25-54, WFAN came in 6th with a combined 4.1 (3.5 OTA, 0.6 streaming) while 98.7 ESPN New York finished 12th with a 2.6. If you take away The Fan’s streaming number and go solely by OTA listening, WFAN holds a 3.5 to 2.6 advantage on ESPN NY.

During weekday prime, WFAN delivered a 4.5 (3.7 OTA and 0.8 Streaming) to finish 4th. 98.7 ESPN NY was 14th with a 3.3. share. The race gets tighter without streaming, with The Fan winning 3.7 to 3.3.

Due to both stations showcasing local shows during different hours, we’re going to concentrate on one brand at a time. Starting with WFAN, the station received a 4th place finish from ‘Boomer and Gio’ in morning drive. Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti produced a 5.3 share which represents 4.6 OTA and 0.7 streaming. The show’s ranking obviously declines without streaming included. Boomer and Gio were down from the spring when they ranked 2nd.

In middays on WFAN, Marc Malusis and Maggie Gray recorded a 4th place finish for the quarter courtesy of a 4.5 share (3.2 OTA, 1.3 streaming). Moose and Maggie were 3rd in the spring therefore they lost one position this book. Once again, this takes into account the addition of streaming. Without it, the show ranks lower.

Moving to afternoons, Craig Carton and Evan Roberts finished 6th between the hours of 2p-6p if you go by the combined performance of a 3.6 OTA and 0.7 stream, which lifts them to a 4.3 share. The show drops further back if you only count their OTA performance. One issue with the 2p-6p numbers, they don’t take into account the afternoon show’s final hour. Yankees baseball programming does cut into that hour often but the station does promote the program airing weekdays from 2p-7p. Full data for 2p-7p wasn’t available, but I was able to gather data for 2p-6:30p when Carton and Roberts go head to head with ESPN NY’s Michael Kay Show. Craig and Evan recorded a 3.5 OTA and 0.7 stream for a 4.2, which put them in the mix for 6th if using combined numbers. If streaming is eliminated, the show slides way back to 13th.

Most in the industry who read this are going to focus on the Carton/Roberts-Michael Kay matchup since the afternoon drive battle is one that consistently produces a lot of interest. From The Fan’s perspective, not counting the 6p-7p hour as a Carton and Roberts hour when they’re barely on makes logical sense. The flip side is that the show also benefits a number of times during the summer months from Yankee games airing during the afternoon, something the Kay Show doesn’t receive, so discounting an hour that the station bills as part of its schedule isn’t perfect either.

Regardless of all of that, the bottom line, Carton and Roberts were down this book from the spring. The show was 3rd with a 5.7 (combined performance) in the spring book after scoring their first head to head afternoon win against Kay’s show in the winter book. Given the station and show’s expectations, whether using the combined performance (6th) or OTA ratings (13th), the program didn’t hit as expected. Rebounding in the fall book is going to be a top priority for Craig and Evan.

For 98.7 ESPN New York, the top story was two shows finishing in the Top 10 and one of them, The Michael Kay Show, beating the competition head to head. For the station as a whole in weekday prime, 98.7 ESPN NY finished the summer book in 14th place with a 3.3 share. That was down from the spring when the brand registered a 9th place finish with a 3.7 share.

Among the station’s weekday shows, The Michael Kay Show with Michael Kay, Don LaGreca and Peter Rosenberg turned in a 4.3 share to finish 6th between the hours of 2p-6:30p. That was one tenth of a point above Carton and Roberts (4.2) if you use the combined numbers, and eight tenths of a point (3.5) better if going by the OTA performance. The shows also run neck and neck for 6th if using combined performance, and 6th vs. 13th if going by the OTA numbers.

In the station’s other slots, Rick DiPietro, Chris Canty and Dave Rothenberg delivered a 9th place finish during the hours of 5a-8a. The morning trio popped a 4.0 share during the book, continuing to perform in the Top 10 as they did in the spring. The station’s second half of morning drive, ESPN Radio’s ‘Keyshawn, JWill and Max’ which airs locally from 8a-10a finished 18th with a 2.0 share.

Switching to middays, Mike Greenberg’s national show, which airs from 10a-12p registered a 14th place tie with a 2.4 share. The news was better during the Noon to 3p hours as Bart Scott and Alan Hahn scored a 3.0 share to finish the book tied for 10th. Bart and Hahn have now produced back to back Top 10 finishes after starting off the year with a 12th place finish in the winter book.

Looking ahead to the fall, WFAN and 98.7 ESPN NY should both improve. During the 2020 fall book, Boomer & Gio were 1st in mornings, Moose & Maggie were 3rd in middays, and afternoons, which featured two months of Benigno & Roberts and the first month of Carton & Roberts combined to finish 5th. For 98.7 ESPN NY, Michael Kay was 2nd last fall, mornings were 14th, and middays came in 9th.

Sports Junkies Top 5 Finish Highlights 106.7 The Fan’s Summer Book

BSM Staff
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Sports Junkies Top 5 Finish Highlights 106.7 The Fan’s Summer Book

The summer book numbers are in for the nation’s capital, and has been the case most times, 106.7 The Fan turned in a solid quarterly performance. For the quarter, Washington D.C.’s sports radio leader finished 7th with a 5.0 share with Men 25-54. That was slightly down year over year from 6th and a 5.3 share. All numbers included in this article represent the station’s combined Over The Air ratings and Streaming performance.

Looking at the weekday shows, the Sports Junkies recorded the highest ranking on the station for the book. The Junkies were 5th in morning drive with a 5.3 share. The popular morning team also improved their year over year performance, gaining eight tenths of a point and three positions from 2020.

Turning to middays, Brian Mitchell and JP Finlay delivered a station best share of 5.8 for the quarter. That placed them 7th for the book between the hours of 10a-2p. Middays in 2020 were occupied by Grant and Danny (they’ve since moved to afternoons) and rated and ranked higher with a 6.4 and 4th place finish. With this being BMitch and Finlay’s first summer book, they now have something to measure themselves against next year.

Wrapping up in afternoons, Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier finished the quarter in 10th with a 4.4 share. It was their first summer book in PM drive so comparisons to last year aren’t an apples to apples comparison. Nonetheless, the station in 2020 produced a 4.8 and 6th place finish courtesy of Chad Dukes.

Team 980 is still a work in progress, so we’ll have to wait until the Fall to see where that brand starts to settle in. With the Washington Football Team back on the field, not to mention connected to an NFL investigation, and the Capitals and Wizards recently starting their 2021-2022 campaigns, look for D.C.’s numbers to grow in the fall.

Erwin Ephron Made Advertising What It Is Now & His Advice Still Works

Jeff Caves
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Have you ever looked at a buy you received from an agency and wondered why they buy so little frequency? The classic buy we see in the industry. It’s 15 commercials per week for 6 out of 12 weeks.

It may be the work of one man: Erwin Ephron.

Erwin Ephron

I wrote about Ephron reminding us not to hammer listeners like nails. Ephron is called the Father of Modern Media Planning, and he passed away eight years ago last week. He passed long before the dominance of internet spending for advertising over tv and anything else ( 2 to 1 over tv, in fact). Before he died, he was railing about the fractionalized media; it would be interesting to hear what he thought in 2021. Ephron, who worked in PR for Nielsen, was called a media guru when he introduced his Recency Planning strategy and wrote several articles on media buying from 1992-2005. His point was simple: The last impression to reach a consumer before the point of purchase was more valuable than any other, and that reach, not frequency was king. 

Think more weeks at a lower frequency, he preached. Not great for selling 50 spots a week for a four-week schedule, but better at selling annual schedules. Erwin Ephron did endorse short flights with heavy frequency for new product launches because he reasoned the buyer was willing to overspend for shelf space.

I would rather have an advertiser stay consistent over a more extended period of time than one that comes in and out. We have a better relationship with the consistent buyer and can engage them in more sales opportunities year-round.  

Erwin Ephron preached to national advertisers to buy more local media in specific vital markets to increase the buy weight. Maybe he was the inventor of Key Market funds too. He lectured media planners to do more than buy national network tv and buy more impressions closer to the purchase decision, so radio and in-store were winners. I imagine he would have endorsed mobile media and search engine marketing to a large degree as well.

His point about what gets a consumer into the market to purchase is worth reciting to clients. Ephron felt that, for example, if our car lease were expiring, that would trigger us to buy a new car on average- not ads that convince us to buy a new vehicle with increased connectivity. So, he figured, one exposure to a car dealer’s ad to car buyers whose lease was up was more effective than reaching three buyers who were not in the market and would tune the ad out anyway. And when radio owners complained that their share of media dollars would shrink because of a reduced frequency per station, Ephron explained that not getting bought at all was way more costly.

I think it serves us well to approach our 2022 annual buyers with this kind of strategy and encourage them to do the following:

  • Buy more weeks at a lower frequency
  • Buy Monday – Sunday 6 am-12mid
  • Buy more stations in our cluster with a similar demo.

Since we never know when a person is ready to buy, it makes sense to be more consistent throughout the year. And, for listeners/consumers, it’s better to be the hammer than the nail. 

104.5 The Zone Shines In Nashville Summer Book

BSM Staff
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104.5 The Zone Shines In Nashville Summer Book

The summer book numbers are in for Nashville and there were a lot of positive takeaways for folks involved with the market’s sports radio stations. The quarter was led by 104.5 The Zone which finished 3rd for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 7.6 share, and 4th in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 7.7 share. All numbers are with Men 25-54.

What especially caught my eye was the year to year growth across all dayparts. Sports started to come back at the start of July in 2020, so Summer 2021 provided a big boost which should serve The Zone in the upcoming fall book. Compared to 2020, The Zone’s prime and full week numbers grew by 3.6 points. Prime also enjoyed a six position improvement. The full week performed even better gaining seven spots.

In mornings on The Zone, J-Mart and Ramon featuring Jason Martin and Ramon Foster secured a 4th place finish for the quarter with a 6.6 share. That was up from 9th and a 3.9 share in 2020.

During the midday hours of 10a-3p, the combination of Buck Reising’s show from 10a-1p and Blaine Bishop and Mickey Ryan from 1p-3p helped The Zone produce an 8.3 share to finish 3rd in the timeslot. Ryan and Bishop in particular stood out, finishing 2nd in their slot during all three months during the book. The station also doubled its production in the 10a-3p timeslot year over year, picking up 4.2 points and eight positions over that time period.

Moving to afternoon drive, 3HL which features Brent Dougherty, Dawn Davenport and Ron Slay generated a 5th place finish thanks to a 7.3 share. The afternoon trio also improved from 8th and a 4.7 share in 2020.

On the other side of town, the news was also great for 102.5 The Game. The station produced its best summer book in station history. The Game saw all of its weekday shows deliver above a 3 share for the first time since May 2018.

Making the most noise for the quarter was the morning show featuring Robby Stanley and Joe Rexrode. The Nashville duo, which took over the morning slot in October 2020, popped a 4 share for the summer book.

104.3 The Fan Turns In Stellar Summer Book in Denver

BSM Staff
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104.3 The Fan Turns In Stellar Summer Book in Denver

The string of ratings wins continued in 2021 for Denver’s 104.3 The Fan. In the summer book, the market’s top rated brand secured a 2nd place finish in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) courtesy of a 5.0 share. That was up from a 4.9, 5th place finish in the spring book. Year over year the station is down from 2nd. All numbers are for Men 25-54.

Turning to the station’s weekday shows, Mark Schlereth and Mike Evans remained the market’s best performing sports talk show. ‘Schlereth and Evans’ registered a 6.4 share in mornings to finish 1st between 6a-9a. They were also 1st in the spring book with a 6.8 and in the winter book with a 7.8. Their only blemish is a drop from the 2020 summer book when they produced a massive 11.3 share. That’s a pretty good problem to have.

In middays, The Fan’s “Orlando and Sandy” placed 7th in their final book together with a 3.8 share from 9a-12p. Orlando Franklin has since left the show to pursue a career in coaching. Sandy Clough has since moved into The Fan’s evening hours to partner with Shawn Drotar.

The second part of middays,“Stokley and Zach”, which features Brandon Stokley and Zach Bye finished 5th with a 4.6 share between the hours of 12p-3p. The midday duo were up from 6th and a 4.1 in 2020.

In afternoons, “The Drive with Tyler Polumbus and DMac” ranked 3rd for the quarter with a 5.1 share. They slid back from 2nd and a 6.7 share in 2020.

Wrapping up in evenings, “Nick and Cecil” which features Nick Ferguson and Cecil Lammey came in 20th from 6p-9p. “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar” finished 14th in its final book with a 2.0 share. Drotar joined forces with Sandy Clough on September 20th. The fall book will provide the first look at how they perform together.

Elsewhere in the market, the home of the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies, KOA finished the summer book in 23rd in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 1.6 share. The station’s sports programs, “Logan and Lewis” ranked 21st with a 0.7 in their final book, “Big Al and Jojo” finished 26th in afternoons with a 1.2, and “Broncos Country Tonight with Ryan Edwards and Benjamin Allbright” (along with Rockies baseball) came in 19th with a 1.9 share. KOA has since moved Logan into afternoon drive alongside Williams. Those changes went into effect on September 20th so the duo’s first quarterly performance will come in the 2021 fall book.

Meanwhile for Altitude Sports Radio, the station finished the summer in 24th in weekday prime with a 1.3 share. The best news for the quarter came in afternoons where the team of Andy Lindahl and Nate Kreckman popped a 2.1 share to finish 19th. Next up was the morning team of Vic Lombardi, Marc Moser and Brett Kane. The trio ranked 25th between 6a-10a with a 1.0 share. Closing things out in middays were Ryan Harris, Scott Hastings and Josh Dover who delivered a 0.7 to rank 30th.

With the Nuggets and Avalanche back in action and the Denver Broncos generating their usual fall interest, a cume lift should come for all three brands in the final book of the year.

Jeff Van Gundy: ‘NBA Games Should Be Shortened To 2 Hour TV Window’

Derek Futterman
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ESPN enters its 20th season of NBA coverage with cross-platform coverage leading up to a prime-time matchup from Madison Square Garden with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics visiting Julius Randle and the New York Knicks. ESPN Play-by-Play Announcer and “voice of the NBA Finals” Mike Breen will be on the call, joined by sideline reporter Lisa Salters and analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. Jackson, who most recently served as head coach of the Golden State Warriors after a 17-year playing career, looked back on how far the broadcast has come since he first joined it in 2006.

“It [has] progressed with the variety of people [who] are covering the game,” said Jackson on a recent conference call. “Across the board, they’ve done an outstanding job of not making us all look and sound alike. I’m honored to be a part of that group.”

An issue prevalent in many sports, most notably Major League Baseball, pertains to pace-of-play. In an attempt to shorten “America’s Pastime” to attract and hold the attention of younger audiences, the introduction of new rules, such as limitations on mound visits, clocks to regulate time in-between innings, and restrictions on when the batter can step out of the box during an at-bat, have had the adverse effect. The average MLB contest lasts three hours and 11 minutes, the highest mark recorded since consistent measurement began in 1946.

While a regulation, four-quarter NBA game is significantly quicker than an MLB contest, Van Gundy, a former coach of 11 years, hopes the league can shorten the game even more to adapt to today’s viewing audience that holds an average attention span of just eight seconds, shorter than that of a goldfish. He suggests modifying rules, such as the length of halftime and instituting a statute of limitations on challenges, to ensure the game remains enthralling and entertaining for future generations.

“I’d love to see the game shortened into a two-hour window,” said Van Gundy. “I think we need to keep finding ways to reduce stoppages of play from timeouts. I would either shorten or greatly modify halftime. I think [the league has] to constantly look for ways to shorten the viewing window and have as much action in that two-hour timeframe as [it] can.”

With ESPN recently launching the “Manningcast,” an alternate, non-traditional broadcast of Monday Night Football featuring former NFL quarterbacks, Super Bowl champions and brothers Eli and Peyton Manning, the world of sports media has undoubtedly taken notice. The broadcast has a similar feel to friends hanging out and watching a football game, except these friends just so happen to have played and reached the pinnacle of professional football, offering unique perspectives and viewpoints shattering the fourth wall between the athletes and the fans. While the NBA on ESPN has yet to do a broadcast at that scale with regularity, it is something that the network analysts are taking notice of.

“When you’re dealing with one of the greatest to ever play the game in Peyton, and a hall-of-famer in Eli, both guys do an incredible job,” said Jackson. “I think it gives an opportunity for viewers who want to see that type of broadcast. I don’t even know how many channels [ESPN has, but] it’s always going to be something against what we are doing… I have no problem with it at all.”

If ESPN decided to produce a non-traditional, alternate broadcast, Van Gundy offered an idea to close out his broadcasting career where the fans would be given the unfiltered perspective of those who have been on the court.

“I want to do one game, NBA on ESPN: The Entire Truth,” opined Van Gundy. “[We would] be able to tell the entire truth — not 90% of it, not 80% of it, but the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I think that would be an outstanding, one-time broadcast as I sign off and finish my career.”

While Jackson and Van Gundy do not cover the NFL, they have not had their heads in the sand. They were asked about the emails from Jon Gruden leaked during an investigation into the culture of the Washington Football Team. Both hold concerns regarding similar issues that may have already occurred or could occur in the future within the NBA, a league that protested racial injustice last summer when playoff games were postponed and nearly cancelled following the shooting of Jacob Blake.

“It’s unfortunate, and I totally agree with the price that Jon Gruden had to pay for the things that he stated,” said Jackson. “My concern is I truly do not believe it is just a Jon Gruden story. There’s more to it, and there’s people being protected. We have to find a way to weave those people out… [and] hopefully we can get better across the board.”

Van Gundy holds an analogous sentiment with Jackson, and has lost trust in the NFL’s stand against injustice and willingness to do whatever it takes to directly avoid bad publicity

“The NFL has always found ways to protect itself from these things, and to deflect their responsibility,” affirmed Van Gundy. “They’ll give you a lot of clichés about transparency; yet, they are always covering and protecting their own. My level of trust for their investigations is nil.”

Aside from the trio of Breen, Jackson and Van Gundy, ESPN’s lineup of on-air personalities and commentators, the latter of whom all plan to appear on-site this season, includes analysts Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter and play-by-play voices Ryan Ruocco, Mark Jones, Dave Pasch, Brian Custer and Beth Mowins. Additionally, sideline reporters for this season of the N.B.A. on ESPN include Malika Andrews, Katie George, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, Cassidy Hubbarth, Lisa Salters and Jorge Sedano. One name, though, that has been within the N.B.A. landscape longer than any of ESPN’s rotation of broadcasters is Naismith Basketball Hall-of-Famer Hubie Brown, who starts his 50th season in the league between coaching and broadcasting.

Jeff Van Gundy, who ESPN recently inked to a multi-year contract extension, does not think his career will have the longevity of Brown’s, but is grateful for the time he has spent with the network thus far, and looks forward to the future of what he calls his “second career.”

“There has to be an award named for [Hubie Brown] somewhere. He’s 88 — that would take me to 2050. I can’t even imagine that,” said Van Gundy. “The upper management of ESPN has changed a lot, but my direct boss in Tim Corrigan has never changed. Broadcasting is good, but broadcasting with friends is great…  I’ve enjoyed it particularly because of who I work for and who I work with. I can’t state how lucky I’ve been along the way to have coached as long as I did and to stumble into a second career.”

ESPN’s 20th season of NBA coverage kicks off Wednesday night with the prime-time matchup between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Fan in Indy & The Fan in Portland Deliver In Summer Book

BSM Staff
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The Fan in Indy & The Fan in Portland Deliver In Summer Book

The summer book in Indianapolis produced good news for market leader 93.5/107.5 The Fan. The news was equally rewarding for Portland’s top sports radio brand 1080 The Fan. Let’s take a closer look at what took place during the summer months in both markets.

Starting in Indy, The Fan finished the quarter in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) delivering a 7.2 share. For the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid, The Fan scored a 5.4 share. All numbers are with Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.

Among the weekday shows, The Drive with JMV produced the station’s biggest numbers for the quarter, turning in an 8.2 in afternoon drive. Next up was the midday show with Dan Dakich, which recorded a 7.6 share. Wrapping things up was The Fan Morning Show generating a 6.8 share, and the station’s airing of ESPN Radio’s ‘Greeny’, which delivered a 6.9 share.

A few other impressive stories in Indy from The Fan included a strong 6.8 share in weekday prime with Persons 25-54, and a 6.0 share with Persons 18-49. The brand’s best show in other categories for the quarter was JMV’s afternoon show which turned in an impressive 7.8 with Persons 25-54, and a 7.0 with Persons 18-49.

Moving to Portland, the shares were lower than Indy, but for 1080 The Fan, the victories over local market competitors 750 The Game and Rip City Radio 620 were enough to make the summer book a positive one. What made it especially gratifying for 1080 was the fact that the brand’s wins were secured without adding its streaming performance. The station doesn’t total line report, making the numbers strictly an Over The Air performance. Considering that 90% of radio listening in the market occurs on the FM dial, and the station is delivering a big audience thru its app and podcast downloads, if those ever do get added to the mix, it could change the conversation in future books.

Nonetheless, we start with the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) where 1080 snagged a 2.3 share to finish a full point ahead of 750 The Game’s 1.3 share. Rip City was further back at a 0.6. The same story existed in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) where 1080 pulled a 2.4, The Game had a 1.4 and Rip City popped a 0.7. All numbers are for Men 25-54, sports radio’s targeted demo.

Looking at the weekday shows, The Game earned a win in mornings (6a-9a) thanks to The Dan Patrick Show. DP has performed well in Portland over the years, and for the summer book, the show picked up a 2.4, tripling 1080 and Rip City which tied with a 0.8. 1080’s morning show is hosted by Dirt & Sprague. Rip City is represented in morning drive by Rip City Mornings with Justin Myers.

During the 12p-3p hours, 1080 won the quarter thanks to the midday team of AJ & Dusty. AJ McCord and Dusty Harrah reeled in a 2.1 share, which placed them three tenths of a point in front of The Game’s John Canzano. Rip City’s airing of the Doug Gottlieb Show was further back at a 0.7.

In afternoon drive, Primetime with Isaac and Suke, featuring Isaac Ropp and Jason Scukanec, won their timeslow by producing a market best 4.4 share for the quarter. 1080’s program was nearly five times stronger than Rip City’s Chad Doing and Travis Demers, and The Game’s airing of CBS Sports Radio’s Zach Gelb Show.

Wrapping things up at night, 1080 finished in front of the competition with a 1.5 share. That performance doubled the production from The Game and Rip City Radio.

Led By Common Man & T-Bone, 97.1 The Fan Produces Monster Summer Book

BSM Staff
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Led By Common Man & T-Bone, 97.1 The Fan Produces Monster Summer Book

Columbus sports radio was alive and well in the summer book. The market’s leading brand, 97.1 The Fan, enjoyed strong performances across the board. The station finished 1st in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 12.8 share. A 1st place finish was also produced for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) courtesy of an 11.6 share. All numbers in this article are for Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.

The weekday shows produced similar stories. One of the most dominant performances for the quarter came from the afternoon show, Common Man and T-Bone. Mike Ricordati and Jonathan Smith delivered a station best 18.0 share to finish 1st overall in afternoons from 3p-6p. The show also picked up an incredible 3.2 points year over year.

The next best performing show on the station was the midday team of Beau Bishop and James Laurinaitis. Their 9a-12p show also took 1st during the hours of 9a-12p with a 12.2 share. The midday show also grew year over year, gaining 2.5 points and moving up from 3rd.

During the hours of Noon to 3p ET, the station’s combination of Anthony Rothman and Matt ‘Ice’ Hayes produced an 11.8 share to secure 1st place. The only minor setback for the show was the loss of 1.1 points year over year. Given that they’re popping double digit shares and locking up 1st place finishes in the summer of 2020 and 2021, I’m sure they won’t lose any sleep over it.

The one show for the quarter that didn’t finish 1st was the morning show. The Morning Juice with Brandon Beam and Bobby Carpenter came in 5th with a 6.9 between the hours of 6a-9a. The show did though gain two tenths of a point year over year.

A few other nuggets from the book worth passing along. The Fan’s full week production among Adults 25-54 placed them 4th with a 7.0 share. They were also 3rd for the full week with Persons 12+ with a 6.9. In weekday prime, the station tied for 3rd place with an 8.2 share with Adults 25-54 and came in 3rd with Persons 12+ with a 7.7. Even more impressive was the performance of Common Man and T-Bone with both of those categories. The show was 1st overall in afternoons with an 11.6 with Adults 25-54, and 1st overall with Persons 12+ with a 9.0 share.

KNBR Enjoys Strong Summer Book In San Francisco

BSM Staff
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KNBR Enjoys Strong Summer Book In San Francisco

Kevin Graham picked a great time to arrive in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Giants delivered the best record in baseball, excitement for the 49ers has been elevated due to the 1st round draft selection of Trey Lance, and the return of Klay Thompson to the Golden State Warriors lineup is just around the corner.

When those type of events are happening, enthusiasm among local sports fans increases. Those fans then seek more conversation on the teams, players and issues that are capturing their attention, and for the summer book, the majority flocked to The Sports Leader, KNBR.

For the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid), KNBR finished 1st in the market among Men 25-54 with a 5.1. The station also produced a 5.1 in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) which placed them 2nd. An even better highlight for the brand was their September performance which included a 6.3 for the full week, and a 6.1 in weekday prime. With the 49ers playing regular season games and the Giants locked in a tight playoff battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the October monthly should provide even better results.

Looking at the station’s weekday shows, Murph and Mac delivered the best performance among weekday prime shows for the quarter. The morning show produced a 6.1 share to capture 1st place. Their share grew to 6.7 during the month of September.

In middays, John Lund and Greg Papa rode a 4.0 share to a 6th place finish. Papa and Lund improved to 5.4 and 4th place during the month of September.

Switching to afternoons, Tom Tolbert, Larry Krueger, and Rod Brooks popped a 5.3 share to snag 2nd place. Their September performance saw them elevate to 1st with a 6.4.

Wrapping up at night (M-F 7p-12a), the combination of San Francisco Giants baseball, 49ers pre-season action, and Mark Willard’s evening show (Mark has since moved over to 95.7 The Game) helped The Sports Leader finish 2nd with a 7.7 share. Similar to the daytime shows, evenings grew in September to an 8.9.

For 95.7 The Game, the story was the afternoon show featuring Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto and Matt Kolsky. The Bay Area trio produced a 4.7 share for the book, finishing 3rd, only six tenths of a point behind Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks. The show pulled within five tenths during the month of September thanks to an increase to 5.9. One item to be aware of moving forward, Kolsky has since moved to evenings. This means the afternoon show’s fall book results will be determined by Bruce and Ratto.

The next best performing show on The Game for the quarter was the midday show featuring Matt Steinmetz, Dan Dibley, and Daryle ‘The Guru’ Johnson. Steiny, Guru and Dibley pulled in a 3.3 share to finish their timeslot in 10th for the book. Their September number was the same as their rating for the full book.

Starting off the day, The Morning Roast with Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky recorded a 2.3 share which placed them 14th. Similar to the midday show, the September number was even with the rest of the book. Evenings were far back in 24th place with a 0.6. Once the Warriors return that number should improve.

Overall, The Game finished 10th for the book in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 3.7 share. The station was also 16th for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 2.5 share.

Entering the fall book, The Game has revamped their lineup. The station now features The Morning Roast from 6a-9a, Mark Willard and Dan Dibley from 9a to Noon, Steiny and Guru from Noon to 3p, Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto from 3p-6p, and Matt Kolsky and Company from 6p-10p.

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