Recently, after 20+ years of management, sales, and radio broadcast operations experience, Dave Greene moved on from his job as GSM at Audacy in St. Louis. He said Audacy was going in a different direction on LinkedIn, and he didn’t like it. You can connect with Dave here.
During his radio career, Greene held various positions. Owner, Market President/CRO, VP/Market Manager, and GSM. He co-owned KFNS in St Louis and worked for Townsquare Media, Cumulus, and Audacy. He also handled St. Louis Cardinals baseball sales and wrote for Barrett Sports Media about sports radio sales.
Dave is excited to be his own man and is now the President & Director of Sales for the Podcast Heat Network, a new venture for pro wrestling fans. I asked Dave a series of questions about the future of radio sales and what advice he would give to those of us still in the business primarily working for large corporate entities.
JEFF CAVES: What advice would you give new and experienced sports sellers?
DAVE GREENE: Advice for new sellers is to find the highest-earning seller in your office who is willing to spend time with you (so likely the third best-seller in the group, the top two have no time for you). Watch them, ask to ride with them, ask to watch them put a proposal together, ask to go to meetings with them. Soak it all up; they have done something or some things right, follow their lead.
For experienced sellers, it’s the same thing I always say, DO THE JOB, the whole job. The day you think you have reached a point where you can skip steps in the sales process is the day your income starts to decline.
JC: What’s one thing salespeople don’t do that they should?
DG: Be better listeners and sell someone what they need to solve their problems, not what you or your manager or company wants to sell them.
JC: How can a cluster seller thrive, not die?
DG: In my career, I have seen clusters run both ways. Either the team sells everything or are divided by station(s). While both have advantages and flaws, I absolutely despise having multiple sellers from one company selling to the same client. If you are worried that someone isn’t a strong enough seller to sell your cluster, GET RID OF THAT SELLER!
If you are a cluster seller or sell specific stations in your cluster, the advice is the same – get to know the talent! Take them out for food and drinks and get to know them, what they do, and what they need. Show interest in helping them make money through endorsements, play to their ego and see how much it helps you down the road!
JC: What’s the best way to get noticed to be promoted to a manager position at a large corporate company?
DG: First of all, make sure you want to be a manager. Outstanding salespeople will have to take a pay cut, and your schedule will not belong to you. More of your time will be taken up with garbage meetings than you can imagine.
However, if management is really where you want to be, get ready to pucker up and drink some serious Kool-Aid. The hardest part of being a manager is that you have to suppress all of your emotions and always put on a positive face; as a whole, media sellers are a very negative, nervous bunch. Are you someone who can be positive while others complain incessantly? Then management might be for you.
JC: What’s the biggest myth about selling radio for a chain?
DG: Selling any format for a big chain is challenging because you don’t know what stupid initiative is coming down from above next. To thrive in the big corporate radio world, you have to tune out the nonsense – and there is a lot of nonsense. Especially in Q4, when you go through the circus of budgets for next year, you are given some ridiculous quota based on what the company needs to hit and not what is doable (read this on budgets). Excellent sellers realize this same circus comes to town every year at this time, so buckle up and get ready for the ride…but guess what? Your job doesn’t change. Do the job and push through.
The summer ratings books in Baltimore and Memphis gave each market’s leading sports radio station a reason to celebrate. Audacy’s owned and operated brands 92.9 ESPN in Memphis, and 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore both enjoyed stellar growth. Congratulations goes out to the on-air and management teams in both cities.
We’ll start in Memphis, where 92.9 ESPN remained dominant for the quarter. The station came in 1st in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 13.2 share. Another 1st place finish was earned for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) thanks to a 10.7 share. All numbers in this article are with Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.
Turning to the individual shows, the top performance this quarter came from the Geoff Calkins Show. Geoff produced a 17.8 during his mid-morning timeslot to finish 1st overall. Calkins performance over the past year has him ranked 1st overall with a 14.9 share. Outstanding.
Next up was the Gary Parrish Show. Parrish crushed once again in afternoons, finishing 1st with a 17.6 share, just two tenths behind Calkins for the station’s best performance. Parrish does gain bragging rights over Calkins when sizing up the full year. He has a station best 15.0 share, also making him 1st overall.
Coming in third was the mid-afternoon team of Giannotto and Jeffrey. Mark Giannotto and Jeffrey Wright finished 1st in their timeslot with a 13.7 share for the quarter. They’re also 1st overall for the year with an 11.8 share.
The fourth best show finish came from Jason and John. John Martin and Jason Smith delivered an 8.8 share to secure 1st place during their midday slot. For the full year they’re sitting in 3rd with a 7.8 share.
Not to be forgotten, ‘The Six’, the station’s hourly recap program from 6p-7p which is part of the overall weekday prime schedule came in 2nd with a 12.6. ESPN Radio’s Keyshawn, JWill and Max, which airs 5a-9a on the station, generated a 2nd place 10. share during the prime hours of 6a-9a. For the full year, the ESPN Radio trio are 3rd with a 7.7 share.
Moving northeast to Baltimore, the news was once again positive for 105.7 The Fan. The market’s leading sports radio station turned in a strong summer book, pulling in an 8.2 share in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) to finish 3rd.
The station enjoyed a big performance at night from Baltimore Orioles baseball and Sports with Coleman. The Fan’s 11.1 share placed the brand 1st overall in the category.
Moving to mornings, the ‘Big Bad Morning Show’ with Rob Long, Ed Norris and Jeremy Conn took 1st overall with a massive 12.5 share. The show was strong in other demos too, popping a 16.1 with Men 18-34, and a massive 20.5 with Men 25-34.
In middays, ‘Vinny and Haynie’, which features Bob Haynie and Vinny Cerrato, secured a 4th place finish with a 4.9 share. Fourth place was also where the afternoon show ‘Inside Access with Jason LaCanfora and Ken Weinman’ finish. They produced a 6.0 share during the hours of 2p-6p.
Atlanta’s summer ratings book provided good news for both 92.9 The Game and 680 The Fan, the market’s two sports radio brands. Each improved their year to year performance, thanks to a mixture of quality talk shows and increased enthusiasm for the market’s local sports teams.
Starting with 92.9 The Game, the station finished the quarter 3rd for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 7.5 share. The two stations ranked ahead were 97.1 The River, and news/talk station WSB.
Among the weekday shows, The Game enjoyed a 2nd place tie in mornings thanks to the team of John Fricke and Hugh Douglas. The duo popped a 5.6, placing them in a dead heat with Q99. WSB finished 1st.
In middays, Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael delivered a 3rd place finish, producing a 7.8 share. The two stations ahead of the show were WSB (1) and 97.1 The River (2).
The Game’s afternoon team of Carl Dukes and Mike Bell delivered the station’s best performance for the quarter. Dukes and Bell finished tied for 2nd with The River in PM drive with an impressive 8.5 share. WSB was 1st overall during the hours of 2p-7p.
For 680 The Fan, this was also an excellent book. The station made lineup changes on July 19th, so the book isn’t a full three month snapshot of what the new crew produced. It also takes time for local listeners to develop routines with new program. That said, the first look included a number of positives, which had to please the folks up top.
Starting in middays, the folks up top had to feel good about the performance turned in by Nick Cellini and Chris Dimino. The longtime on-air partners finished the quarter tied for 5th during the hours of 11a-2p with a 3.2 share. Buck Belue, who also hosts in the midday window from 10a-11a, grabbed a 2.3 share during his one-hour show to finish tied for 11th.
In the drive times, Chuck and Chernoff recorded a 5th place tie in afternoons with a 3.4 share. Their 5th place tie matched Cellini and Dimino for the station’s best performance for the book. In mornings, ‘The Locker Room’ which features John Michaels, Brian Finneran, Hutson Mason, Joe Hamilton, and Brandon Leak finished 15th with a 2.2 share.
The one area where 680 gained a victory over The Game was at night. A strong season and playoff push from the Atlanta Braves had much to do with that. The Fan ranked 3rd at night with an 8.0 share. The Game was just one spot behind in 4th with a 5.7 share.
The Fan’s August & September monthlies showed increases across the entire 6a-8p lineup. If that holds true during the upcoming months, the station could close the year by gaining more ground during the fall and heading into 2022 with nice momentum.
The Game on the other hand will add cume from the Atlanta Falcons, and massive interest in the Atlanta Hawks due to the franchise advancing last year to the Eastern Conference Finals. That should set the station up well for another strong 4th quarter.
When a city is loaded with teams contending for titles it tends to have a positive affect on sports radio listening. No brand knows that better than Tampa’s sports radio leader, WDAE.
The radio home of the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rays, Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and AL East division winner and annual playoff contender the Tampa Bay Rays enjoyed a summer book full of increases. Audiences tuned in for coverage of the Rays postseason push and discussion on the team’s stadium plans, Bucs training camp and pre-season, the Lightning’s upcoming defense of their second straight Stanley cup title and good ole fashioned sports radio entertainment.
Overall, WDAE finished the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) in 6th place with a 4.3 share. Even more impressive, the station picked up a full share from the Summer 2020 book, and climbed seven positions during that same period of time.
During weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p), WDAE also finished in 6th with a 4.3 share. That was up from 11th at the same point last year thanks to picking up a full share over the past twelve months. Additionally, the Tampa sports station has now registered a 7th or better finish in all three books in 2021.
The station’s best performance for the quarter came during the evening hours. Thanks to a strong Tampa Bay Rays team, WDAE ranked 2nd among Men 25-54 with a 6.4 share. The story is even more impressive if you look at Men 35+ or Men 35-64. The station finished 1st in each of those demos delivering better than a 10 share with 35+.
Analyzing the weekday talk shows, Ronnie & TKras, featuring Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi, produced the best results for the book. The morning duo turned in a strong 4th place finish in AM drive with a 5.1 share, up from 8th last quarter, and 6th during the same period last year. The month of September was especially strong, with the morning show finishing 2nd with Men 25-54 with an impressive 7.4 share.
In afternoons, Ian Beckles and Jay Recher turned in a stellar 5.2 share, up from a 3.5 during the Summer 2020 book. Pat and Aaron also improved year over year, climbing from a 3.4 last year to a 3.9 this year. Both shows look even more impressive in the 35-54 and 35-64 demos, with middays above a 5 share, and afternoons in the 6’s.
It’s never easy being a pioneer. When you are among the first to ever do something, people will undoubtedly question you and wonder why things need to change. Fans get so used to the way a television or radio broadcast is done, that anything different really stands out. A new scorebug, graphics package, camera angle, and yes, broadcasters, spark an immediate reaction. Right or wrong, it’s the way fans are conditioned. They want comfortable and familiar. Ok, but even those they are comfortable and familiar with were once new and different, correct?
Beth Mowins is living that life as a pioneering broadcaster. Mowins was born in Syracuse, New York. She was a basketball, softball and soccer player at North Syracuse High School. Mowins was captain of the varsity basketball team for two seasons at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. She was a three-time all-conference selection and 1,000-point scorer, and she is still the school’s all-time assists leader with 715.
Courtesy: Lafayette College
After graduating from Lafayette, Mowins earned her master’s degree in communications from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School in 1990. In 2014, Mowins accepted the CoSIDA Jake Wade Award for outstanding media contributions covering collegiate athletics, joining previous honorees Robin Roberts and Christine Brennan. Then in 2015, Syracuse honored her with the Marty Glickman Award for leadership in sports media, joining the likes of Bob Costas, Marv Albert and Sean McDonough.
But like with many broadcasters, both men and women, the dream started early. She told MLB.com in March of 2021 that she would call play-by-play while playing sports with kids in her neighborhood. Then she saw Phyllis George working as a sportscaster for The NFL Today show on CBS.
“That kind of lit the spark,” Mowins said. “I just turned to my mom one day and said, ‘Hey, can I do that?’ And of course, my mom, in all of her greatness, said, ‘Yes, you can.'”
Mowins gives her mom, who passed away in 2010, and her dad, a ton of recognition for making her the person and broadcaster she is today.
“I give her a lot of credit for allowing me to be bold and ambitious,” Mowins told MLB.com. “And just being super supportive and encouraging me in all my endeavors. And then my dad was there for the pat on the back or the kick in the butt to get out the door and go get it and not wait for it to come to you.”
CAREER
Mowins’s began her career in 1991 as news and sports director for WXHC-FM Radio in Homer, New York. She joined ESPN in 1994, covering college sports including basketball, football, softball, soccer and volleyball. She has been the network’s lead voice on softball coverage, including the Women’s College World Series.
Beth Mowins began calling college football for ESPN in 2005. She currently works on both ESPN and ABC doing a variety of sports, including college football and basketball. Mowins also holds down several other jobs, including working part-time for the Marquee Network in Chicago, the network that broadcasts Cubs games, and on occasion she pops up on CBS, working NFL broadcasts.
FIRSTS/RARE AIR
Mowins has had the distinction of busting the glass ceiling for women sportscasters many times. She’s joined some rarified air, following some others in calling major American sports.
The firsts started in September of 2017, when she was tabbed to call ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader with Rex Ryan. She did the game and, in the process, became the first woman to call a nationally-televised NFL game. It also made her just the second female play-by-play announcer in NFL regular season history. Mowins joined Gayle Gardner (Sierens), who broadcast a game in 1987 for NBC Sports.
Courtesy: ESPN Images
Also in 2017, Mowins became the first female play-by-play announcer to call NCAA Men’s Basketball, the NBA and the NFL for CBS Sports. She became the first woman in the 58-year history of the network when she called a Cleveland Browns/Indianapolis Colts matchup with Jay Feely.
The firsts didn’t end for her in 2017. Mowins was named as a fill-in play-by-play announcer for Chicago Cubs games on Marquee Sports Network. On May 8, 2021, she became the first woman to call a regular season game for the team.
With this assignment she joined a rare club. Gardner (Sierens) established it in 1993 when she called a Rockies-Reds game. Jenny Cavnar did play-by-play for a Padres-Rockies game in 2018.
Yankees radio announcer Suzyn Waldman did play-by-play for local TV games in the 1990s and has been a full-time radio color commentator since she joined John Sterling in 2005. Jessica Mendoza is also a part of the club, having done color commentary for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN from 2015-19.
CHALLENGES
As I mentioned at the beginning of the column, it is never easy being among the first, or the first to do something. Some fans just aren’t used to a woman being in the chair and calling a “man’s” sport. Many won’t even afford the female play-by-play announcer a chance to prove that she can handle it and call the game at a high level. Mowins can and has proven it time and time again.
Most of us that call games for a living have to have thick skin. We know that we are going to take some shots from listeners/viewers. We know that not everyone is going to like us or the job we do. Mowins and her female counterparts already realize they are going to take their fair share of criticisms, warranted or not.
I found an article written in the Buffalo News in September about Mowins. It was announced she would call a Bills/Texans game alongside Tiki Barber for CBS. Alan Pergament, the TV Critic for the paper printed some of the reactions he saw on Twitter, from some of his followers, about Mowins doing a Bills game. Now mind you, this is even BEFORE she called the game.
“Oh my (expletive deleted) god. Do the networks really hate us that much?” replied one follower.
“For a team that’s supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, we’re sure not getting any respect from the networks,” wrote one.
“God. Help us,” wrote another.
“She’s awful,” wrote yet another.
There were some that stuck up for Mowins in the article.
“It might be unpopular, but I like Mowins,” wrote one follower.
“She’s good actually,” wrote another.
“I see a lot of woman sports announcers hate here,” wrote another. “She’s good in everything she covers.”
“She’s good because she makes it about the GAME, not her,” wrote another.
Pergament assessed the criticism in this way: clearly, Mowins is polarizing. It says as much or more about many viewers’ acceptance of women announcers than her performance.
Mowins biggest detractor seems to be her voice. Some won’t allow themselves to get past it. To me, it’s part of the overall equation, but it’s not the only thing broadcasters should be judged upon. Does she know what she’s talking about? Is she familiar with the players? Does she provide great descriptions? Is she someone that works well with her color commentator? The entirety of the broadcast is ultimately what Mowins and all other broadcasters should be judged on.
Courtesy: Los Angeles Times
Unfortunately, it just proves that in the world of men’s sports, female announcers have to work that much harder to be accepted.
WHY IS SHE GOOD?
I recently watched Mowins broadcast a College Football game on ESPN. She did the Syracuse/Wake Forest contest last weekend with Kirk Morrison. I could tell right away how much of a grasp she had on the telecast. She was very smooth in setting up the key players to watch on both sides.
I could immediately tell that she did her homework. She mentioned that Wake Forest’s offense was much better overall than in years past. Mowins added that the Deacons were having issues in the red zone, cashing in on touchdowns. Sure enough, Wake Forest drove the ball to the Syracuse four-yard line but had to settle for a field goal.
Her play-by-play was very steady, working in stories about the players and coaches involved in the game. Clearly, she had a good handle on what was happening in front of her and there really wasn’t much to nit-pick in her ability to call the game. Mowins worked well with Morrison and they played off each other nicely during the broadcast.
During the baseball season, I got to watch Mowins quite a bit here in Chicago when she filled in on Cubs games. It took a little time to get used to another new voice in the booth, but she was able to assimilate herself nicely into the role. It’s never easy as a fill-in voice of a baseball team. The constant nature of the sport lends itself to someone being there all the time, home games and road games.
What really makes her a good broadcaster in my eyes, is her versatility. Mowins has the ability to call multiple sports and to call them well. It’s not an easy task to maneuver through baseball and football broadcasts within the same weekend. That ability can test many a broadcaster’s skill and she handles it in a professional manner.
CONCLUSION
Mowins is a talented broadcaster. Not only has she created opportunities for herself in this male-dominated field, but she’s opened doors for other women. There has been a surge in female voices across multiple sports in recent years and Mowins is partially responsible. While she fully acknowledges those that came before her, others are quick to mention her now in accepting full-time jobs in the industry.
Courtesy: Marquee Sports Network
Mowins paved the way for broadcasters like Lisa Byington, who was just hired as the television play-by-play voice for the Milwaukee Bucks. Also, there’s Kate Scott, who will take over as the lead play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers this season and Holly Rowe is becoming an analyst for the Jazz game night broadcast. More and more women are starting to work for men’s professional teams these days. It’s not quite the norm yet, but it’s getting there, thanks to talented people like Beth Mowins.
When analyzing a quarterly report in St. Louis, it usually starts with 105.7 The Point and KSHE 95 grabbing the top two spots and owning a combined thirty share among Men 25-54. After those two brands are eliminated from the discussion, then the real examination begins.
For the market’s top sports station, 101 ESPN, the summer book news was excellent. They finished 3rd overall in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p), best among all other local brands with an impressive 8.8 share. The 4th ranked station for the quarter was 106.5 The Arch, and the 6th ranked was country brand WIL. What do they all have in common? They’re all owned by Hubbard Radio. This means five of the top six brands in St. Louis are under one roof, and they deliver a combined 50.7 share among Men 25-54. Absolutely incredible.
Among 101’s local shows, the best performance for the quarter belonged to the midday team of Brandon Kiley and Alex Ferrario. BK and Ferrario produced an outstanding 10.1 share during the hours of 11a-2p, ranking them 3rd during their slot with Men 25-54.
Up next was the morning team of Randy Karraker and Michelle Smallmon. Karraker and Smallmon recorded a strong 9.3 share in AM drive during the hours of 7a-10a to also finish the book in 3rd place.
Following those two programs was the station’s afternoon show, The Fast Lane. Anthony Stalter, Brad Thompson and Jamie Rivers collectively generated an 8.3 share from 2p-6p to snag a 3rd place showing in their slot.
Closing things out was Dan McLaughlin who pulled in a 7.9 share from 10a-11a to finish the book in 4th. The station’s evening hours, which features ESPN Radio programming and the St. Louis Blues during hockey season, ranked 12th with a 4.0 share M-F 7p-12a.
Other highlights from the quarter included an impressive performance by KMOX during M-F 7p-12a. The station finished 1st for the book with an 11.1 share. Most of KMOX’s evening hours during the summer book featured St. Louis Cardinals baseball.
The market’s other sports station, 590 The Fan, did not appear this quarter.
Temperatures rise during the summer months in Phoenix. The same can’t always be said about sports radio ratings. But in 2021, listenership in Phoenix advanced to a record level.
Following a spring book which saw the Phoenix Suns get hot in the playoffs and begin their push to the NBA Finals, Arizona Sports 98.7 rode that momentum to its most dominant victory ever in the summer book. The station produced a 5.6 share for the quarter in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) to finish 6th overall. That was a nine tenths of a point increase from their spring performance.
The news was even better for 98.7’s afternoon show, Burns and Gambo. The popular duo popped a station best 6.4 share in their timeslot to finish the book in 2nd place. That marked the third straight book of growth for the show, including a seven tenths gain from the spring.
Next best in the lineup were Bickley and Marotta. The new morning team, which had been installed in middays during the summer months, closed out their midday tenure with a 5.5 share. That showing was good enough to place them 4th in the market for the quarter. The midday slot improved by a full point from spring to summer.
Wrapping up in morning drive, the longtime team of Doug and Wolf, which previously featured Doug Franz and Ron Wolfley, signed off for the final time with an 8th place 4.4 share. Doug and Wolf spent more than 14 years together on the station in morning drive. They were up seven tenths from the spring.
The rest of the market didn’t have much of a ratings story among sports radio brands. 1580 The Fanatic and KDUS didn’t record a rating. FOX Sports 910 delivered a 0.1 in weekday prime, and received an 0.2 from Jody Oehler, the only other sports show in the market to record a rating during the summer book.
When the fall book gets released, we’ll get our first look at how the local audience responds to the changes recently made by Arizona Sports. The station now features Bickley and Marotta in mornings, Wolf and Luke Lapinksi in middays, and Burns and Gambo in afternoons. Rod Lakin will also be gone, having left for Philadelphia to program Sports Radio WIP.
One thing to remember, the spring and summer books included a major boost from the Suns, so that carryover isn’t guaranteed to continue into the fall. Some may read that and suggest I’m giving 98.7 a pass following their recent changes. I’m not. I’m simply trying to paint a realistic picture that audience levels could change due to not having a local team battle for a championship during the fall months.
Regardless, Arizona Sports are thriving right now. Congratulations is in order for Scott Sutherland, Ryan Hatch, and the entire programming team.
Sports radio listening was alive and well in Chicago for the summer book. 670 The Score turned in the stronger numbers for the quarter among local brands, but ESPN 1000 also gained ground, giving both sides positive momentum entering the fall.
Starting with The Score, the station won the quarter, delivering a 4.1 to rank 5th in the M-SU 6a-Mid category. The Score also produced a 4.8 to place 4th M-F 6a-7p. Those numbers and all used throughout this article are for the coveted Men 25-54 demo and include the combined shares of over the air radio listening and streaming.
Among The Score’s weekday shows, middays were where the brand enjoyed its highest shares. Dan Bernstein and Leila Rahimi popped a 5.9 share M-F 9a-12p to rank 3rd. Laurence Holmes was next best with a 5.3 from Noon to 2p to finish 4th. Bernstein and Rahimi were slightly down two tenths from the spring book. Holmes picked up five tenths during the quarter.
In the drive times, Danny Parkins and Matt Spiegel popped a 4.7 during their M-F 2p-6p slot to rank 4th. Parkins and Spiegel did hold one advantage for the book over other shows though, they finished #1 in afternoon drive among non-Hispanic stations (the top 3 rated stations during Chicago’s 2p-6p timeslot were Mexican Regional and Spanish Contemporary brands). Rounding things out in morning drive, Mike Mulligan and David Haugh reeled in a 4.6 to finish 6th. Mully and Haugh recorded the best quarter to quarter gain though on the station, adding 1.1 points. Parkins and Spiegel were slightly down by two tenths,
For ESPN 1000, the news was much better in the summer than it was in the spring. The station received a 2.7 M-SU 6a-Mid to finish 18th for the book. Among all stations M-F 6a-7p, ESPN 1000 finished tied for 14th with a 2.9. Both numbers were up over a share from the spring book. Good progress.
Looking at the weekday shows, 1000 elevated its morning performance from the spring, delivering a 2.1 share between 5a-9a to earn a tie for 16th. That was up over a share from the prior book. The 5a-9a hours represent two hours of Max-Keyshawn-Jay Willams and two hours of David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood.
In middays, the combination of one hour of Kaplan and Hood and two hours of Carmen DeFalco and John Jurkovic, lifted 1000 to an 11th place 3.2 share finish M-F from 9a-12p. That performance represented a gain of ten ranked positions and a 1.7 share increase. Very strong. Mike Greenberg’s national show, which airs on ESPN 1000 M-F 12p-2p remained the station’s best performer for the quarter, securing a 4.4 share to finish in 7th. Greeny was 6th last book with a 4.3 share, showing the program has been consistently well received in the windy city.
Wrapping things up, 1000’s afternoon team of Waddle & Silvy, featuring Marc Silverman and Tom Waddle, helped the brand snag a 14th place finish with a 2.8 share M-F 2p-6p. That was a 1.3 share increase and ten position jump from the spring book, another positive boost for the station.
At night is where ESPN 1000 enjoyed a head to head win against The Score. The combo of Chicago White Sox baseball and Chris Bleck & Adam Abdalla carried 1000 to a tie for 13th with a 3.2. The Score’s airing of Chicago Cubs baseball and evening talk shows produced a 3.0 to finish 16th.
It’s worth pointing out that 1000 had a rough July but saw a big turnaround in the August monthly. The station went from 0.2 5a-7a, 1.2 7a-10a, 1.7 10a-12p, 2.3 12p-2p, and 1.4 2p-6p in the July monthly to an 0.8, 2.6, 3.7, 5.3 and 3.6 in August. If that activity carries forward to the fall book, especially with the White Sox in the playoffs, the station has a chance to make the race tighter.
That said tightening and winning are two different things, and right now The Score is rolling. The station has won all three books in 2021, has good consistency throughout the lineup, and is positioned well to remain strong in the fall.
Congrats goes out to Mitch Rosen and The Score team on winning the book, and to Mike Thomas and the ESPN 1000 team on making significant progress in the summer book. Chicago listeners have two top notch sports radio brands vying for their attention, and it’s nice to see each side with positive stories to tell heading into the fall book.
Over the last week, Facebook has been dominating news headlines — for all the wrong reasons. A whistleblower, revealed in a 60 Minutes interview to be Frances Haugen, said the company’s products “harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy.” One of the world’s most valuable companies with a market cap of nearly $1 trillion, Facebook is the world’s most heavily used social media platform, hosting 2.85 billion users who share photos, reconnect with old friends, shop for products and consume written and visual content. The company also owns Instagram, another popular social medium which has nearly 1.4 billion users of its own, and WhatsApp, the world’s most heavily used instant messaging service.
Haugen, a former company employee who resigned this past April, copied internal research documents and provided her insight to several media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, who published the information last week in a public impugnation of the ethical and moral standards of the company. As the former lead product manager in Facebook’s civic misinformation department, Haugen testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation about the company’s products that she considers to “deepen divides, destabilize democracies and make young girls and women feel bad about their bodies.” Haugen’s mission is to help reform social media, rendering them as net positives in mediated communication rather than allowing companies like Facebook to profit off of deception and dread.
A significant part of sports radio’s evolution involves broadcasting and disseminating its content to multiple platforms, one of which includes social media such as Facebook and Instagram. With the recent negative headlines disquieting users and amplifying the conversation as it pertains to the regulation of social media, our own Demetri Ravanos suggested last week that it was time for sports media to leave Facebook. I put that theory to the test, asking several hosts across sports media how they utilize these channels of communication in the 21st-century, and how they see them continuing to be implemented in radio.
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How much access do you let listeners have to you on Facebook as opposed to other social media platforms?
Marc Hochman (Host, 560 WQAM/790 The Ticket Miami): “Zero. Facebook is reserved for friends and family. I have a queue of thousands of people over the last ten to fifteen years that have tried to be a Facebook friend. Twitter and Instagram are my two go-to platforms for my interaction with listeners. I try to be super active on both..”
Damon Amendolara (Host, CBS Sports Radio): “I certainly try to give them access in multiple ways. I do think there’s a limit to access; I won’t post everything that’s personal to me. There needs to be some line where public figures have private lives. I try to be accessible as much as possible on as many different platforms as [I can so] my listeners get to know me. Ten years ago, we did a lot [on] Facebook. We found that the interaction there hasn’t been what it once was. Twitter really took over as a go-to [platform,] and so did Instagram. We still use Facebook, but we use it less. Its usage has dropped [quite] precipitously over the last five years.”
Maggie Gray (Host, WFAN): “It’s really evolved for me. At the beginning, I was very closed off. When I first got hired at WFAN, the transition was so crazy, and I thought it would probably be best if I was not checking my mentions all the time. As I got more comfortable at WFAN, I started to ease it back a little bit, and started to really enjoy it. I’ve interacted with people a lot more.”
Christian Arcand (Host, 98.5 The Sports Hub): “I’m not really on Facebook anymore, but I have an open Twitter and Instagram account. I used to be a lot more open with things before I was on the air. I think a lot of people come across that as they move up in the business — [I] never felt [it] to the point where I felt I had to delete a bunch of tweets.”
In general, have hosts been helped or hurt more by having a social media presence?
Marc Hochman: “My personal experience is that it’s helped because you get a deeper view into who the host is and what he or she is like outside of the show. I’m very careful about it. It hurts some [hosts] because people are very apt to be wildly unfiltered on Twitter and sometimes will go for a joke or a hot take. Besides [it] beyond falling flat, [it] can impact someone’s career negatively if it’s written poorly or not thought out. For me, social media has been great, but I’m sure there’s a myriad of stories of social media even killing careers.”
Damon Amendolara: “I think it can always help more than it hurts. Obviously, you have to hesitate on engaging in mean-spirited conversation, or when someone just wants to fight and argue. You have to put out there what is smart to put out there. We have seen so many people get in trouble with other stuff. Think through what you’re saying and posting. You have to remember that your negative interactions are [usually] outweighed by positive or neutral ones, so I think, overall, giving listeners access, being able to publish your stuff and have more people consume it, and having people be able to see you in multiple lights is really important. I think a lot of people don’t even listen to the show who are fans of my content; there’s a percentage of my consumers that consume me only through social media.”
Maggie Gray: ““I think it really comes down to the individual host. For all the flaws that social media has, I can’t imagine doing this job without it, simply because it’s where news is breaking [and] where you are trying to find a new audience. On the flip side, you’re in a public space giving opinions, so with that you are naturally going to be drawing criticism just by virtue of what the job description is. It’s about making sure you are weeding out and not paying too much attention to people who are either trolling you or arguing for arguments’ sake.”
Christian Arcand: “I think in some cases hosts have built their entire careers on social media — younger ones certainly — and some guys my age or older have used it to niche their brand and boost their message or content. I think there’s also been some people who’ve had their careers ruined by it because I think we have all been in a bad mood one day and argued with people. You see that happen everyday on Twitter, and you hope that it’s not you doing it. I think it’s a double-edged sword in that way.”
How does social media play a role in talent evaluation? Namely, does what people say or like in the past have an impact on their candidacy in a job search?
Marc Hochman: “If I were still hiring for the radio station, I absolutely would use social media as an indicator — not the be-all end-all in the decision — as to who I’m dealing with. When you are listening to someone’s audition or reel, or having an interview with them, you’re getting a brief and polished glimpse at a person. Social media gives you a more full-depth view of a person’s proclivities and who a person is.”
Damon Amendolara: “I certainly think so. I’ve certainly seen people get hired for certain jobs based only on their social media presence — networks, television stations, radio stations, etc. have simply looked at how many followers a person has and [sought to] leverage that into eyeballs for them. I’m sure it depends on every given scenario, but that’s absolutely a factor in hires and some decision-making made across the industry. I don’t think you can resent it; you simply have to accept it as part of the industry right now. You either get on that train or move aside. If you don’t like that other people are benefiting [from] it, you have to be better [at it].”
Maggie Gray: “As someone who is in the public space and who is on social media a lot, I’m constantly thinking about it. I want to make sure that I’m coming across in a genuine, authentic way. I try to be as clear as I can, especially if I am tweeting jokes or trying to be funny. You have to make sure things are coming across in the way you mean it so it does not get misconstrued. As far as hiring practices, a program director or a manager would be better suited to answer that question. I noticed when I got hired at WFAN, people [online] had gone back through my social media and searched my entire feed. Nothing was bad or offensive — I would never do anything like that. The social media world went ahead and did the work to try to find something. I was surprised at first, but that’s to be expected.”
Christian Arcand: “I’m certainly nowhere near any hiring jobs right now, but I would imagine when someone’s looking to hire a personality, they look to see if they have a social media following. I don’t think anyone wants to hire anyone who puts stuff on social media that would embarrass them or the company. It’s so common these days with everybody on some platform or another — you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t go back and check it out.”
How have the recent negative headlines about Facebook made you rethink your use of that platform and social media as a whole?
Marc Hochman: “I really use Facebook, again, just personally, and I use it for posting pictures of my family and, for me, it’s like a video scrapbook. You have to remind yourself that Twitter and Instagram are not representative of real-life human-to-human interactions. I don’t really give [either platform] too much credence because [they] become an echo-chamber, and oftentimes Twitter becomes mob mentality; very rarely does that kind of stuff rule in real life. I love it more for the interaction between listeners and hosts. The way that I use Twitter and Instagram is not just to promote the show on a daily basis; I use it to start conversations that are interesting to me. I like when conversations are heated about silly things. When social media isn’t fun, [I ask] ‘Why am I doing this?’”
Damon Amendolara: “For me, they’re all individual. I took a long and hard look at Instagram before I got on there. I cultivated what I thought was a game plan to approach it, and, of course, that evolved as I went on; you see what works and what doesn’t work. I did the same thing when I was originally on Snapchat; ultimately, I bailed on Snapchat because I did not think it was a benefit. Facebook, in 2006-2007, there’s a value there. In 2008-2009, you kind of had to be there. Now I don’t think you don’t need to be there anymore; that’s not where conversations are taking place. The headlines on Facebook did not change my view of it. You have to view and watch it on a regular basis. It’s a tool. If you feel it’s valuable, you use it. If you don’t feel it’s valuable, you don’t use it. I don’t think it should be some sort of grand change based on news. You should kind of be locked in on those realities every day you use these things.”
Maggie Gray: “I don’t do anything on Facebook. I have a personal Facebook, and I don’t really use that at all. I use Twitter, a little bit of Instagram, but [Facebook] hasn’t really played into [my] life.”
Christian Arcand: “It honestly has made me think about it a lot. I don’t really go on Facebook that much anymore because it’s not that interesting to me. I was in college when Facebook came out, and it was really great. You could reconnect with all your old friends; you just type in a name and you find somebody from your past. I’m so far removed from the novelty of it that I don’t really care — I could lose my Facebook tomorrow. Instagram I guess is an offshoot of Facebook, and The Wall Street Journal had that series about how it affects teens. I’m glad I didn’t have that as a teenager; I think it’s tough for kids today on social media. The people in charge of running these platforms are preying on them in many ways, and I think that’s really messed up. I use my Instagram to post pictures of my wedding stuff; I’m an old Instagram guy. I think, all and all, there should be some changes. I do think they ought to. It’s been tough on the younger generation, for sure.”
What do you see as the future of the implementation of social media into radio?
Marc Hochman: “It just brings you closer to the air personalities and the radio station. I don’t think there’s much more to evolve; I think people get side-tracked all the time. ‘I have to be more active on Twitter; I have to have a Twitch channel.’ All of this stuff, to me, takes people’s eyes off the prize, which is the radio show. I love to use it as a complimentary piece because I find it to be fun and a good way to grow the audience. If I was listening, things that are important for a radio show, I don’t think social media would crack the top five.”
Damon Amendolara: “Ultimately, sports media is communication. We are expressing ideas. We are communicating through a microphone — ideas, opinions, etc. Social media [are] simply that. These are modes of communication. It’s never going to go away. They are intertwined forever. Broadcasting and opinion-making is social media. I think that people will ultimately get more sophisticated and more savvy and more smart in how they use it. In some ways, it is a relatively new thing people are dealing with. We have a lot of people in our industry who are older than the general users of social media, so they don’t always know how to use it as well. In my estimation, you understand it, you learn about it, you utilize it and if you don’t, you get out of the way. It’s an extension of what we do in living — which is to express ideas on a platform.”
Maggie Gray: “I think that people are using social media to get their work out there and to have it shared. It is much different than when I was first getting out of college and into broadcasting and there were so few ways to get in front of people. Social media has totally obliterated that barrier. I think it’s excellent for finding new talent and new voices; the cliché about the democratization of information. I think it’s excellent for people to get their voices and opinions out there, and try to cultivate a following. I think that’s only going to increase as we get going. Maybe it shows that we need even [fewer] traditional mediums because you can get your stuff out through Twitter and Instagram, and amass a big following without going the traditional route in media.”
Christian Arcand: “I think at some point it’s going to be completely intertwined, and if we are talking [about] social media, that includes streaming platforms. There’s so much money on Twitch right now. I saw this ‘Dungeon and Dragons’ series made $9 million on Twitch; it’s unbelievable. Our show is broadcast on Twitch… [and] we share clips on social media all the time. Again, I haven’t checked The Sports Hub Facebook account because I’m not on Facebook much. It’s very intertwined and I don’t see that separating anytime soon. Radio is a platform, and you are always looking to add to it. Eventually, TV, radio and social media [are] all just going to be one big thing. I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but it will.”
Recently, Cumulus Media introduced the Audio Active Group (AAG), an audio media and creative advisory group for marketers and agencies. Pierre Bouvard, the Chief Insights Officer of Cumulus Media/Westwood One, leads this sponsor-focused research and insights team. They are aiming to provide comprehensive marketing insights. The Audio Active Group will partner with clients to measure the impact of the entire audio campaign, specializing in the following areas: Audio creative, media planning, budget allocation within audio, and measurement of the whole audio spend.
Sounds good to me. Looking at audio research from something other than AM/FM radio’s exclusive perspective is excellent for transparency. AAG uses Edison Research’s “ Share of Ear” Report, Nielsen’s Nationwide, and the Scarborough Podcast Buying Power Study data. I looked into the AAG Audio Media Planning guide and pulled out the following nuggets that could help any sports radio seller:
Don’t listen to “everybody listens to pandora” nonsense. AM/FM radio is 13 times larger than Pandora and 19 times larger than Spotify.
Sell more than drive time. Only 40% of U.S. AM/FM radio listening occurs during mornings and afternoon drive times, and 60% of U.S. AM/FM radio listening occurs outside drive times.
Men listen more. Overall, AM/FM radio listening is more male (53%) than female (47%).
You can reach plenty of listeners via podcast. Edison Research’s Infinite Dial 2021 study said podcasts generate 41% reach each month.
Remember to schedule wisely. At a minimum, you need to generate 200 GRPs monthly to reach half the market of, say Men 25-54. That’s a lot of spots on sports radio stations that are in the .3-.5 average rating range. Use the other stations in your cluster and add those classic rock and news/talk numbers for a balanced buy at a minimum. Think of selling 50 spots a week, not 15!
Sports radio listeners aren’t in the AARP. While we aren’t a Rhythmic CHR station ( 35 years old average age), at least we aren’t ALL NEWS (59 years old average age). Sports is a respectable 49-year-old average age listener. And, on average, we are younger than Classic Hits (53) or Classic Rock(51)! Damn, though, with no 18-34-year-olds, the future worries me.
ALL SPORTS reaches 6% of all Adults 18+, is 76% Male vs. 24% Female listenership, 34% of us have kids, and we have three people on average living at home. So 2/3 of us have no kids, and we still have 3 in the house?
ALL SPORTS folks are average when fundraising, belonging to charitable organizations and buying green products. I never thought sports radio was an excellent place for many philanthropic causes that weren’t sports-oriented.
Sports podcasts are solid. The only genre of podcasts that reach more than 18+ Adults is, in order, Comedy, News, Society/Culture, and True Crime. Our own Seth Everett even thinks interviews are better on podcasts than radio.
Almost 70% of sports podcast listeners will tune in to a comedy or news podcast as well. 82% of Government podcast listeners go to sports podcasts. May we be listening to Government in Sports pods soon? NFL relocation anybody? Zzzzzzzzzz.
Lastly, I will follow up on this, remember to schedule smart, buy reach, and don’t hammer a nail. Erwin Ephron is considered the father of modern media planning. He said, “most advertising usually works by reminding people about brands they know when they happen to need that product. Ads work best when the consumer is ready to buy. Remind the many. Don’t lecture the few.”
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