For decades, the Dave Ramsey show has talked the talk and walked the walk. Over the past year, the home of EntreLeadership has unveiled the path toward their next stage of financial and business leadership.
Since its inception, The Dave Ramsey Show has focused almost entirely on the opinions and advice of one man alone, Dave Ramsey. Over the past couple of years, however, the radio show – and the brand itself – has expanded to include new personalities, new voices, and a new way of looking at the company’s future.
The most formal transition points were the name changes. Changes from the “Dave Ramsey Show” to the “Ramsey Show” and “Ramsey Solutions” were signals of the shift toward the future. The baton hasn’t been passed yet, but the team is gearing up.
On any given day, listeners and viewers can tune in to hear the show’s namesake joined by fresh, new, up-and-coming voices, such as Ken Coleman, Rachel Cruze, Christy Wright, Anthony ONeal, and John Delony. Changing the name of the show and including new members of the on-air team hasn’t been without challenges, however, as on any given day you may hear Ramsey mistakenly introduce the show as the Dave Ramsey Show. Decades-long routines are difficult to break.
The introduction of new voices apparently signaled a realization by the company that it needed to expand in a younger, more diverse direction that would outlast any one person. Again, a common theme in terms of small business growth and transition discussions. Each voice brings a specific focus to the team, and many host individual podcasts as well on the Ramsey Network.
In Ken Coleman, the company has an experienced, values-based broadcaster who focuses on career and job advice. Rachel Cruze connects with younger generations to help them “win with money and live a life they love.” Christy Wright brings strong Christian wisdom to topics such as personal and professional development, goal setting, life balance and business. Anthony ONeal hits home with the youth, teaching them about planning for college and their financial future. John Delony brings his two PhDs to the areas of relationship and emotional wellness.
Together, the group puts forth a well-balanced array of viewpoints to tackle varying areas of financial and business discussions. Some days we hear Dave Ramsey, while other days feature the new personalities with, or without, Ramsey himself. Some listeners may feel that individual programs may lack a little luster without Ramsey. However, the audience is gradually seeing greater value in the Ramsey team as a whole, and the company has clearly broadened its base with the refreshed lineup of new personalities.
The company’s look ahead shouldn’t be a surprise, being that succession plans and seeing down the road have been common themes of the Ramsey brand, and more specifically their small-business-focused business unit, EntreLeadership.
“The best succession plans are thoroughly laid out and very, very gradual,” Ramsey said, talking about family business transitioning on a recent episode of the EntreLeadership podcast. “Too many people in family businesses grab their chest having a heart attack as they fall back in the grave, toss the next generation the keys and go, Good Luck I’m done.”
Through their radio programs, live events, books, and other materials, the company has always “talked the talk” regarding planning for the future, especially in a small business eying an eventual transition. Now they are “walking the walk” live on the air.
“More is caught than taught,” Dave Ramsey and other Ramsey personalities have said more than once over the years. They are growing and planning for the future in real-time, and listeners are taking notice.
While reading Demetri Ravanos’s excellent article on selling exclusives, I wanted to delve deeper into some developed ideas. Live reads, play-by-play, and special event promos and programming like watch parties and conference media days coverage are all opportunities to sell exclusives.
Just don’t sell yourself short. Here are some ideas on how to go long on exclusivity.
FAKE IT.
If you don’t have a lot of interest from a category of advertisers, go to one and make them exclusive. I have seen that motivate specific clients because they want to be the only Chevy dealer in a high-profile piece of programming. I would sell the INDY 500 network broadcast and make a local car dealer the exclusive automotive client. They loved it and appreciated the association with the race and bragging rights.
SPREAD IT AROUND.
I live in the Dallas area and frequently will listen to The Musers on KTCK The Ticket. George Dunham and Craig Miller do live endorsements together for D& M Automotive Leasing. That enables Gordon Keith an opportunity to endorse a separate dealer solo. Keith and Dunham do a shared live spot for Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers as well. Allowing each talent to do individual competitive clients would dilute the effectiveness of the live reads. The Ticket also has All-Star Foundation repair using all the station talent on a recorded spot that is unique and probably expensive! All-Star uses it as a web page.
DON’T RUSH IT.
Allowing talent a chance to try a new product or service before they start an endorsement is the only way to go. Insincere endorsements are money grabs, and the audience will know it. I have done plenty of that in my time and skipped some opportunities that didn’t fit me. If it is something new for the talent to try, let them say that. If they were doing business with the client before the endorsement, let them say that as well.
EXCLUSIVES FOR EVERYBODY!
If the market allows for it, there’s nothing wrong with offering multiple exclusives for a play-by-play broadcast. Official truck, sports car, or SUV are all categories you could put up for sale if you have competitiveness amongst the dealers for your air time. When you sell your local team “watch parties,” go ahead and sell several to different parts of your MSA or TSA. You could go a step further and sell the watch parties to one sports bar with several locations separated by thirty miles or more.
BENCHMARKS.
If it is important enough for you to benchmark a programming element, it may be significant for a client to be the exclusive advertiser. Monday morning QB segments, weekly parody songs, daily listener feedback segments, news, traffic, and weather are all great programming islands for clients to stand out.
Remind your client of the best you have to offer. Paint the picture. We all know that Toyota sponsors the Sunday Night NFL halftime show. Macy’s presents the Tom Brady interview on Westwood One Monday Night Football. And, Matthew McConaughey drives a Lincoln. Make it exclusive!
If you, like me, were searching for a live broadcast of last weekend’s Team USA/France game, it was not easy to find. NBC decided that one of the more popular sports in the Olympics was only good enough for their new streaming platform Peacock. Yeah, you could have streamed it through the NBC Olympic app, but it was early Sunday morning, who wants to mess with that?
Courtesy: Getty Images
I wanted to see it on my television set without having to hunt for the app. Call me old fashioned. Also, you better call me a technology expert, because I have seen the future of sports and it’s streaming, not beaming to your set.
I know, it’s been trending this way for a while and I’m not Nostradamus, but it really hit me last week. I have so many questions. How much is this going to cost, on top of what I’m already shelling out for cable? What does this mean for teams throughout all the major sports? Revenue? Lastly, what’s going to become of the Regional Sports Network? Some of them are heavily invested in or even owned by the teams themselves.
We all understand why NBC aired the basketball game on its new digital network. Money rules the day. Plus, they figured, if we can get people to pay the $4.99 upgrade just to watch this game, we can hook them in for the other features too. Or, maybe they thought, well this is the only sport we’re putting on the premium service, let’s see how it goes and perhaps we’ll get some new subscribers this way. So, let’s not kid ourselves into thinking this was some brilliant idea because they weren’t sure how good the Men’s Hoops Team would be, it’s about cash. And also, let’s be totally honest. Most of you that paid for the game through Peacock are going to cancel the subscription once the Olympics are over, right?
You could have watched the game through the Olympics App, simply by opening the app, then verifying your cable service and entering your user name and password for your service. There were a few hoops, no pun intended, to jump through, but this way, you aren’t paying more than you already are for cable. It seems like a lot of things are set up this way, possibly to gain information on how many users are actually streaming through third party apps.
Even after all of that, NBC decided to re-air the game on the network hours after it was completed. Hello NBC, maybe you didn’t get the memo that this is 2021 and there’s this thing called Twitter and other things called smart phones. Everybody that wanted to know the result already knew the final score. I feel like this is the majority of those watching the Olympics. It’s a waste of air-time. This is a story for perhaps another time.
I’m not sure why we routinely stream movies and TV shows and don’t think much of it at the time. Shelling out up to ten bucks a month for Netflix doesn’t seem as painful to me for some reason. For most of my life, sports were on free, over the air television. Yeah, it was a bit jarring when my teams moved to cable but we adapted. I just had to point my remote control to a different station, and there was my team in living color. Until recently this was the case for most of us. Especially since most of the RSN’s linked to professional teams are locked into long term contracts, there hasn’t been a reason to move with the times. Those of the younger generations have been the ones to see the shift to streaming, through an RSN’s app or cable app.
Now some of these agreements are expiring which means, teams and leagues are starting to explore the world of streaming. Some will have more streaming as of next year for mega bucks. Executives have realized that some of their viewers feel alienated. This, after “cutting the cord” with cable, giving them few alternatives to watch their favorite team.
It’s not a good time for RSN’s, who are basically the middleman between the teams and cable companies. There are instances where the network is actually owned by the team, like the Yankees’ YES and the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network. The only advantage the RSN’s have now is they are where the fans go to see every local game. Changes to that thought process are in the works too which could leave the RSN out in the cold.
With streaming becoming such a popular way to catch a game or an event, some executives were caught off guard as to how fast this was taking place. It was time to adapt or die. In an effort to gain new “viewers” online platforms with sports are much more critical and important. NBC is abandoning its NBC Sports Network by the end of the year. With the NHL moving on to ESPN and Turner, some of the other properties like NASCAR and EPL will likely head to Peacock.
Major League Baseball has had success with MLB.tv, a way for fans that move away from their home area to view their hometown team. Inherent is the problem of blackouts, which in the not-too-distant future could change, creating a whole new ballgame for the league. Teams recently got the right to sell their own local streaming rights. Now they are still under the guidelines of honoring existing RSN streaming contracts. When those expire, they are free to move on.
The NFL is streaming too. Peacock will get exclusive national rights to stream six regular-season games, one per season, from 2023-2028. This is in addition to its ongoing streams of NBC’s regular weekly NFL broadcasts. Peacock will also launch a virtual NFL channel highlighting classic games and content from NFL Films. Paramount+ will stream CBS games to local customers on both their ad-supported and ad-free tiers. Then there’s Amazon Prime, which starts exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football next season.
The NHL’s new contract with ESPN and Turner allows for streaming rights too. The agreement between Turner Sports and the National Hockey League includes live streaming and digital rights across WarnerMedia including HBO Max.
Streaming services don’t require the use of an RSN. So, how will the RSN itself compete? Some have started to develop a “direct-to-consumer” model, which includes an app and streaming without a cable provider or the need for Hulu or YouTube TV. This would allow the cord cutter to continue to watch his/her favorite local team that’s currently carried on the RSN without having to subscribe to cable. It’s not clear yet how much this might cost.
In an article at Sportico.com from earlier this year, Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley addressed investors about the plan to go DTC. Ripley said the company is “currently developing a product to reach consumers on a direct basis, in an app, similar to the way consumers access over-the-top platforms.” Sinclair hopes to roll out the app sometime in the first half of 2022. Ripley added, the service is meant to complement the existing linear TV properties rather than replace them outright.
Ok, well that’s one way to keep yourself relevant in this ever-changing marketplace. Again, what will it cost? Nobody seems to know that information yet and it will be a huge determining factor in what consumers decide to do.
Here’s the biggest hurdle I see for the DTC approach. Will each RSN be able to handle itself and stay competitive in the streaming space? Probably not. It likely depends on which teams that particular network is providing coverage of and maybe how long the season is as well.
What do I mean? Let’s say for example you’re an Arizona Diamondbacks fan (no offense Dbacks fans, I know it’s been a tough year, but this furthers what I mean). The team has been on the losing end of the score more often than not. Fox Sports Arizona decides to offer you a streaming package so you can watch all 162 games. Are you really going to do that? Wouldn’t you be more inclined this year to say, “nope, I’m sitting this one out”.
Courtesy; Getty
Unless they’re going to offer fans a game-by-game package, it’s going to be a hard sell for the season. Obviously, you have no idea at the beginning of the year how the team will perform, but that’s when they’ll want your money. It’s a gamble for both you the viewer and the RSN, because the latter will come out the loser in this situation.
Nobody has a crystal ball to predict exactly how this will play out or when this scenario will even be a reality. Right now, there are many ways you can still watch your favorite sports whether you have cable, an HD Antenna or you’ve cut the cord. Things will be changing eventually. How many RSN’s will take the plunge into the arena of streaming on their own? That’s the multi-billion-dollar question.
How much are you worth? If we are talking about how much you are worth to the station, I would say you, and all successful sellers, are irreplaceable. Consider that without us, there is no them. If your radio station exclusively relied on the emailed, programmatic business or called in business, they would have folded their tent by now.
Without us creating demand with buyers or occasionally putting a bow tie on a pig, there wouldn’t be enough business to make a go of it. So, while I understand the economics of return on investment for these radio operators, I am still a little bitter that we turn over on average 85% of everything we sell to the station and only keep 15% for ourselves.
Courtesy: Shutterstock
In 2019, The Center for Sales Strategy surveyed 190 sales managers with job titles such as VP of sales, director of sales, and general sales managers. They also sampled 337 salespeople, primarily account executives. The majority were industry vets with 11+ years of media sales experience representing a balanced cross-section of market sizes. The survey revealed that 57% of media reps and managers want a base salary plus commission, but 92% reject the idea of eliminating commissions from their pay package when you ask just the sales reps.
Commissions are where it’s at! Here are a few things to keep in mind regarding commission.
#1 Know the basics. Do you know when your paychecks are available? Are you paid on sales or collections? Do you have a draw system set up? Can you raise or lower that draw to better manage your cash flow? Ensure you set up your larger auto withdrawals from your checking account, so the timing is best for your cash flow.
#2 Be a proofer. If you are not making sure, you receive the proper commissions for direct, new or NTR revenue who is? NOBODY! The payroll person has their hands full and will do the best they can, but mistakes happen and its on us to catch them or at least let the payroll person know we are double checking for accuracy and want every dime! Double-check your paycheck!
#3 ASK QUESTIONS. If you don’t understand how you are paid, find out. If you are paid a higher commission on new direct business for the contract’s life, find out how the station keeps track of that. If the payroll person does it by hand, make sure you do as well, and if that makes you uncomfortable, good. You are taking an active role in your income, and more often, this will be to your advantage. Be aware of collection deadlines as well. Many companies will charge back the commission you earned if the client doesn’t pay in 90 days or less. Some companies give you 90-120 days to collect the money and have the commission added back in. If you let the station manage your collections, that is a mistake. I think it is only fair that we get paid when the client pays, but if the station wants to advance the commission before the payment arrives in under 90 days, I’m all in on that!
Making sure you get paid for what you sold is all part of being your own boss. Own it!
Don’t be fooled by his boyish looks, Mike Tirico has been around the block in the world of sports broadcasting. Tirico has done it all in the industry and at a high level. He’s been a play-by-play announcer on TV, radio play-by-play man and studio host. Tirico’s career spans many sports as well, including football, basketball, golf, the Olympics and even the NHL.
Courtesy: NBC
Tirico grew up in Queens, New York, going to high school there, before attending Syracuse and the Newhouse School of Public Communications. He was never the most athletic kid in his neighborhood. Like a lot of us (me included), he loved sports but knew he’d never make a career playing anything. The only way to be involved? Broadcasting.
Tirico during an interview on “Talks at GS” said even his mom had a better arm than him and perhaps it was the best arm of any mom in the neighborhood. “She’d go out and play catch with me during my Little League days, which didn’t advance very far,” Tirico said.
During the same interview he revealed his first “microphone” was actually a spoon, which he could usually be found holding in his younger days.
“As a kid, for whatever reason, I took a liking for sports on TV. My mom will tell you, as a little kid I would run around with a spoon and pretend to be an announcer instead of being a ballplayer or an athlete. I guess 50 years later, I’m still living my childhood dream of being a TV sportscaster. I still love the job every second of the day.”
Pretty cool story.
ROAD TO NBC
Tirico got his start as an undergrad at Syracuse, working for the CBS affiliate, WTVH-TV from 1987 through 1991. He was the sports director and served as the play-by-play voice for Syracuse basketball, football, volleyball and lacrosse.
From Syracuse it was on to Bristol and ESPN. He joined the network in 1991 and was given a variety of assignments. Tirico handled stints on SportsCenter and was actually the first face seen on ESPN News when it debuted.
While at ESPN Tirico did some play-by-play as well. He was the voice of ESPN’s Thursday night college football package, college basketball coverage, NBA coverage, and golf coverage for ESPN/ABC. Tirico did some games on ESPN Radio as well, including the call of the NBA Finals.
Courtesy: Don Juan Moore
Tirico also hosted studio coverage of various ESPN and ABC covered events, including a stint on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown and ABC’s NBA studio shows. He anchored the 2009 US Open (tennis) and co-anchored the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2016. The latter was his last assignment at ESPN, before leaving after 25 years, for NBC Sports.
NBC SPORTS
In May of 2016 Tirico moved over to NBC. His first appearance was during the network’s coverage of the 2016 Open Championship on NBC’s the Golf Channel. Tirico called the action for the first few hours of the 2nd round. He then transitioned into the host role for the Open coverage on NBC itself for the weekend.
Tirico has served in a myriad of roles on the network. He was a studio host for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Tirico has done both Thursday Night and Sunday Night Football play-by-play. He has been tabbed to take over the booth for SNF, when Al Michaels retires. Tirico was also named the host of Football Night in America, the Sunday night pre and postgame show for Sunday night Football.
College football and the NHL are also on his resume at NBC, having done games for Notre Dame as part of the network’s television package with the school. In February of 2019, Tirico called his first ever NHL game, a Wednesday Night Hockey broadcast between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.
OLYMPICS
When it was announced Bob Costas was stepping away from his role as the primetime host of the Olympic Games on NBC, Tirico got the call. He will take over the chair from fellow Syracuse grad Costas when the games get going later this month in Tokyo, Japan. Tirico Costas had been the host for 11 Olympic games.
Tirico helped anchor the Rio Olympics as host of daytime programming and later hosted coverage of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, so he does have some experience in the chair.
He recently told the Times Union in Albany, “I grew up watching Jim McKay and Bob Costas do this,” Tirico said. “The opportunity in Pyeongchang was exciting. Now, I feel like an old veteran; I’ve got a couple Olympics under my belt. I’ve prepared for Tokyo for about three years. We are ready to get this thing on the road.”
The irony in the “passing of the torch” is that Tirico was the first student at Syracuse to receive the Bob Costas Scholarship at Syracuse, back in 1987 during Tirico’s junior year.
Tirico recently told People Magazine, “We’ve (Tirico and Costas) gotten to know each other through Syracuse. That’s left such an impression upon me. It led me to be involved at Syracuse and to try to follow that the example that Bob set,” he says. “To be the person who gets to the front of all of that is something that is a great responsibility and one that I’m honored to share and to carry on after Bob did it so well for so long.”
Courtesy: NBCU
WHY IS HE SO GOOD?
I think the biggest thing making Tirico so good, is his versatility. There aren’t too many broadcasters than can be at the top of their game, either in the booth or in the studio. The worlds are so different. The preparation is different. The expectations are certainly not the same when it comes to performance, but Tirico is able to excel in both roles and makes it look easy. The ability to differentiate what information needs to be relayed during a broadcast and what is vital to a studio show is critical. Tirico handles that with no trouble at all.
Tirico’s sense of humor works during a broadcast as well. He always seems to have a smile in his voice, it’s noticeable while he’s on the air. That’s not just during a stint as a play-by-play guy, it also applies to his studio work. The audience can pick up on this smile and it makes for a pleasant listen/view.
He has the ability to work with pretty much anyone. Because he understands whatever role he is in at that given moment. Tirico is a traffic cop in both of his main assignments. Setting up his analyst during a game broadcast is something he’s not afraid to do. Making the person that played the game at a high level the star and the one to disseminate analysis is what he does best. I know Tirico knows the answer to most of the questions he poses, but it speaks to his understanding of the credibility of those he’s working with. This also applies to his studio work.
I think that Tirico sometimes gets a bum rap. He is described at times as milquetoast or bland. I don’t necessarily feel like that is a bad thing.
Courtesy: NBC Sports Media
Tirico is solid, not flashy, not gimmicky. He’s just a terrific broadcaster. This style of his allows him to be as versatile as he is, not painting him with a specific brush. It makes Tirico a man for all, and I mean all seasons.
CONCLUSION
Give me a solid, professional broadcast every single time and I’d never be disappointed. That’s what you’re getting in Mike Tirico. His passion comes through in every broadcast, from the booth and studio alike. He is a rare talent with the ability to handle multiple high-profile roles.
If the first two books are any indication of what’s in store for 2021 at Audacy Memphis, market manager Dan Barron and program director Brad Carson have to be ecstatic about what they’re getting out of their sports station, 92.9 ESPN. The station has a reason to celebrate, it just delivered its biggest ratings book in station history.
The spring numbers once again found 92.9 ESPN dominating the market. The sports radio powerhouse finished in 1st for the full week with a 10.4 share among Men 25-54. Another 1st place finish was captured in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) thanks to an impressive 11.5 share. To put a cherry on top, 92.9 popped a Top 5 finish with Adults 25-54 too.
Turning to the weekday shows, four of the station’s five local programs finished 1st with Men 25-54. Geoff Calkins won his 9a-11a timeslot with a massive 15.2 share. Jason & John secured a top 3 finish from 11a-2p with an 8.5 share. ‘The Giannotto & Jeffrey Show’ handled their business from 2p-4p delivering a 12.2 share. Gary Parrish did what he consistently does, producing a market best 16.9 share between 4p-6p. ‘The Six Show’ wrapped things up with an 11.5 share from 6p-7p.
What’s even more impressive is 92.9’s June numbers saw even bigger gains. Parrish for instance soared to a 17.4 in that month alone. Calkins was up too at a 15.6. If the station can carry over what it generated in June, the summer book could be another record setting quarter. Truly an outstanding job by all involved with the brand.
Sports radio listening in Denver has been down compared to last year. Which is odd when you consider a few factors. First, we were in a pandemic last spring operating without sports. Secondly, the Nuggets just turned in a strong season, advancing to the second round of the NBA Western Conference playoffs led by league MVP Nikola Jokic, the Colorado Avalanche played into the 2nd round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Colorado Rockies returned to the diamond (the MLB All-Star game was just held here too but that’s for the next book), and interest in the Broncos remains a year-long obsession. You’d think the Nielsen gods would be shining brighter on the city in 2021 vs. 2020, but such is life in a PPM world.
Despite shares being down from where they’ve been previously, the quarter still produced a number of positives. For 104.3 The Fan, the station finished 5th with Men 25-54 in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 4.9 share. KOA, which features a mix of sports and news was 19th in prime with a 2.1 share. Altitude Sports Radio was 24th with a 1.6.
In mornings, Mark Schlereth and Mike Evans ranked 1st with a 6.8 share for The Fan. They outperformed the radio station’s overall number. The station’s midday team of “Orlando and Sandy” were 9th with a 3.5, the second midday show featuring Brandon Stokley and Zach Bye performed better with a 4.6 share, good enough to secure 7th place. Afternoons saw “The Drive with Tyler Polumbus and DMac” finish 8th with a 4.4 share, and during the evening hours, “Nick and Cecil” were 23rd with a 1.2 while “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar” was 16th with an 0.8.
For KOA, their weekday prime sports programs were in the same neighborhood as far as share and ranking positions are concerned. “Logan and Lewis” were 25th with a 1.2 during their midday slot, “Big Al and Jojo” finished 24th with a 1.3 share during the afternoon. The station’s best sports talk ratings performance for the quarter came in evenings. The combination of Colorado Rockies baseball and “Broncos Country Tonight with Ryan Edwards and Benjamin Allbright” ranked 20th with a 1.8 share.
Meanwhile, Altitude Sports Radio enjoyed two great stories this quarter. First, the station beat The Fan and KOA at night (M-F 7p-12a), finishing 9th with a 3.0 share. Altitude also got a nice boost from the afternoon team of Nate Kreckman and Andy Lindahl. The PM drive program produced a 2.3 share to finish the book in 16th place. Similar to ‘Schlereth and Evans’, ‘Nate and Andy’ outperformed their radio station’s overall prime number. “Mornings with Moser, Lombardi, and Kane came in 25th with a 1.1 share during 7a-10a, and middays (10a-2p) with “Harris, Hastings and Dover” finished 28th with a 1.0.
What’s been interesting to follow so far is how the brands have performed between the 2021 winter and spring books.
For 104.3 The Fan, their weekday prime, morning show, afternoon show, and one midday show were all lower quarter to quarter. Stokley and Zach bucked that trend picking up one tenth. The positive for The Fan, they were playing with higher numbers than the others so they could afford some slippage. With football season around the corner, and the station typically strong in the summer and winter books, they’ll be counting on ears returning to the dial to lift them back up.
For KOA, their daytime sports talk shows remain relatively unchanged from the winter book. Evenings though gained ground, which is expected when live baseball play by play returns to the dial. If the Broncos turn in a good season and the station can carry over some of that cume to its weekday shows, it could help add a few positives for the final two books of the year.
Wrapping up with Altitude, they’ve got a few stories to feel good about. Kreckman and Lindahl added 1.5 shares from winter to spring. Moser, Lombardi and Kane picked up three tenths, middays tacked on one tenth, and nights held steady with the same share and ranking leading the market. Prime grew too by seven tenths of a point. The challenge, the evening number will likely dip during the summer due to no Nuggets and Avalanche games. If the station’s shows can lure some ears during football season and add back Avs and Nuggets fans when each team’s season starts, they could continue growing.
An NBA Finals run by the Phoenix Suns is more than good for business. The 2021 spring ratings book for Phoenix produced results which are sure to keep 98.7 Arizona Sports’ leadership team of Scott Sutherland, Ryan Hatch and Rod Lakin very happy. The market’s leading sports station ranked 5th overall in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) for the quarter with a 4.7 share among Men 25-54. The station’s performance improved three ranking positions and seven tenths of a point from the winter book.
Among the station’s weekday shows, Burns and Gambo produced the best numbers for the quarter. The afternoon show, which features Dave Burns and John Gambadoro, delivered a 5.7 share, strong enough to capture 3rd place. That was a 1.3 share increase and three ranking positions climb from the winter.
Evenings generated the second best numbers for the quarter, with the combination of Suns basketball, Diamondbacks baseball and The Rundown with Luke Lapinski popping a 5.5 share. That number was enough to rank the station 5th at night.
Next was the midday show hosted by Dan Bickley and Vince Marotta. The popular tandem finished the spring book in 7th place with a 4.5 share. Bickley and Marotta’s show added two tenths of a point and two ranking positions from the winter book.
Closing things out was the morning show, ‘Doug and Wolf’ led by Doug Franz and Ron Wolfley. The AM drive team recorded a 3.7 share which placed them 12th from 6a-10a. Their performance improved from the winter book by seven tenths of a share and two ranking positions.
Fox Sports 910, 1580 The Fanatic and KDUS 1060 were either not rated or too far back to write about.
Seventeen months ago, we wrapped up one of our best events to date in New York City – the 2020 BSM Summit. After the conference wrapped up, I took some photos with our team on the stage at the Ailey Theater and couldn’t have felt better about what we had produced over a two to three day period. Talent, executives, agents, programmers, producers, sellers, and affiliate and PR reps all were represented in the room, and as someone who lives and breathes this business and wants to see it thrive, I felt we did our part to help.
Little did any of us know that just three weeks later none of it would prepare us for what we were about to experience. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the sports world stopped, the industry began losing revenue and audience rapidly, and the business I had spent five years building was suddenly in danger.
Fortunately, the world of sports returned a few months later, most of my clients remained loyal and we weathered the storm together, and nearly a year and a half later BSM is doing well. I’m blessed to work with stations and companies all over the nation but whether I work with someone or not, I’m always thinking about how we can bring industry people together, elevate the business, and ultimately secure our careers while improving the brands we represent.
Which brings me to today’s announcement.
I am pleased to announce that the 2022 BSM Summit will take place once again in New York City. The dates will be Wednesday March 2nd and Thursday March 3rd, and our location will be the Anne Bernstein Theater on West 50th Street, a few blocks away from Times Square. Tickets will go on sale on August 1st. We’ll start announcing some of our speakers, awards ceremonies, and events around that time too, and we’ll continue adding to the schedule leading up to the event just as we’ve done the past few years. For folks who live in the northeast or work in the big apple, be advised that as of today, we are planning to move our 2023 and 2024 events to the west coast.
Many months were spent contemplating whether or not we should even do another conference. The information about the pandemic kept changing so what seemed like a great idea in March, suddenly became the wrong idea in May. I was all set to host the event virtually in late September, but then the country started to open up. Soon live crowds were back and it just didn’t feel right to do a two-day show online when so many had spent over a year on Zoom calls, unable to interact in person with friends, colleagues, and industry professionals.
So, rather than rush an event, I decided not to do a Summit in 2021. I didn’t launch this conference to fatten my wallet, I started it to create a fun, informative and productive two-day event to help folks better understand the business and grow as professionals. I’m excited to welcome two hundred industry friends to NYC in March for our next show, but there is also one difference this year compared to year’s past. For the first time ever, we will also make the event available live virtually for folks who prefer not to travel. A huge thanks to NuVoodoo Media Services for serving as our virtual partner on this event.
As fun and productive as the Summit is, the process of putting it together is stressful. There’s no booking committee securing speakers, sales team selling sponsorships, producers creating sessions and the powerpoint presentations that support them or handlers taking care of things such as ordering the awards, programs, badges, cutting up video, etc.. It’s me, a few members of my family, and Demetri. I don’t share that seeking sympathy, only to remind you that when I reach out for one of the reasons mentioned above, please be supportive if you can. Bringing a format together is not easy so anything you can do to make it less complicated is a huge help.
Time now to put the wheels in motion. I’ll see you in the city that never sleeps in March.
Crafting a unique, on-air sound is something Ryan Hurley has aspired to do since starting his career at 98.7 ESPN New York. A Hofstra University graduate, Hurley was interested in radio from the time he was young, and now is an integral part of the industry that helped shape his interests.
“I grew up a control-room rat,” said Hurley. “I loved the content and creative side of radio; it’s still the most intimate form of broadcasting there is. The relationship you create with the audience keeps me motivated.”
Hurley was initially offered an entry-level marketing and promotion position at 1050 ESPN-AM out of college in 2004, something that, while it was radio-related, he had no interest in. The niche areas of sports radio programming and production were where Hurley’s interests truly lied, and after declining the initial job offer, he was afforded a second opportunity.
Courtesy: Johnny Cigar Sports
“After I hung up the phone, I was immediately kind of kicking myself because everyone tells you to say yes to everything no matter what the position is,” said Hurley. “I got another call a couple of days later, and they took my résumé at programming. I spoke with someone there, and got an entry level production/board operations position.”
Upon starting at 1050 ESPN New York, Hurley produced various talk shows and worked directly with on-air personalities and commentators. Eventually his responsibilities grew as he became the lead producer of The Michael Kay Show. Since his first days at the station in 2004, sports talk radio has drastically changed, something that Hurley had to embrace in order to be successful.
“The platforms have changed especially the way it’s consumed from terrestrially to streaming and digital platforms,” said Hurley. “[Smart devices] are used by many people, especially over this last year-and-a-half, and over the pandemic, we saw that usage increase a ton.”
These changes in consumption habits and platform distribution have had a consequential impact on the ratings system, a primary measurement to determine the profitability and popularity of radio stations. As a program director, Hurley has had to alter the way he qualitatively analyzes the numbers, since they are not currently reflective on all of the methods by which people immerse themselves in sports radio.
“[The] measurement [of ratings] has certainly been questioned over the last years about accuracy in how many people have meters and how much of the audience is represented,” said Hurley. “[Additionally], there is not a way to measure… [consumption] through their phones and devices… so there’s an adjustment made to how that is measured. Ratings still play a big part in our business and how we plan in terms of strategizing with the shows and our sales teams. It’s the same for everyone for now, whether or not people believe it is necessarily measuring [them] properly.”
Hurley acknowledges that sports talk radio has become based more on entertainment than it has on reporting and analyzing the latest scores, stats and news. Targeting the content to the listening audience keeps people engaged and ostensibly-indebted to the shows, institutionalizing it as an essential part of listeners’ days.
“We are here to entertain people and provide content that will keep them coming back,” affirmed Hurley. “When trying to get an audience and develop programming, you want those shows to be like hanging out with your friends every day; you don’t want to miss out on what everyone is saying.”
As a program director, one of Hurley’s jobs is to scout and cultivate air talent, a task that is done both externally and internally. In an age where the demand for quality content is higher than ever before and where people have a plethora of choices as to what to listen to, finding on-air talent that is impressionable and entertaining remains a challenge.
Courtesy: YES Network
“I have a great deal of people who reach out to me and… send me examples of their work,” said Hurley. “We have also had people on our staff internally come up through the production side, or [do] some part-time hosting that have ended up being on our staff and doing full-time work. Entertaining people is the number one thing I look for, as well as different, unique takes and angles, and the potential to have some inside knowledge and information on things that other people can’t bring to the table.”
Some of these changes occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic, but many were catalyzed by the sudden shift in lifestyle and need for adaptation which occurred after it was declared a national emergency, causing sports, entertainment and much of the industrial world to completely shut down.
“People needed an escape or some sort of outlet from all of the reality of what was going on in the world,” reminisced Hurley. “We had to get creative in the way we programmed in what content we created and what we discussed. On the other end of that, the way we operate also changed drastically; we had to figure out a way to get everyone on-the-air basically from their homes.”
98.7 ESPN New York placed its focus on working together as a team during the pandemic in order to withstand a seminal moment in modern history altogether. It’s something that Hurley is especially appreciative of his staff for being able to do.
“It was all hands on deck during the last year and a half between engineering, production, figuring out ways to make everything work,” said Hurley. “With all that has occurred and changed, it’s been pretty impressive to see what we were able to pull off and keep together for our audience, staff and programs.”
As a result of the widespread financial hardship endured by radio stations through the COVID-19 pandemic, the presence of content driven by sports betting platforms, such as FanDuel, Bet365 and DraftKings became distinctly more prevalent through advertising.
“It’s a huge opportunity to work with different sports-betting companies and clients, as well as for on-air content,” said Hurley. “All around, it’s a big part of what’s going on in the landscape of our industry in not just radio, but television as well.”
During the extended period without sports in the early stages of the pandemic, Hurley and ESPN New York had to work to maintain relationships with professional sports teams they broadcast. Once they resumed play, they had to adapt to new guidelines mandating broadcasts.
“Relationships are key… and working with not only the P.R. staff, but as a team at the station,” said Hurley. “You have to coordinate with programming, team interviews with coaches and players, setting up potential shows, getting liners from players in the pre-season, etc.”
ESPN Radio New York is unique among its competitors, as it has both FM and AM frequencies to which it can broadcast its programming. Those assets allow them to air multiple games at a time. The station currently has relationships with the New York Jets, the New York Knicks, the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers.
“Certain broadcasts will take priority over others,” explained Hurley, “and the good thing is that we have 1050 ESPN that we can use as a place for people to listen if there’s a conflict. It’s crucial to have relationships with teams and people behind the scenes; it’s not just the games that air, it’s a lot of the ancillary stuff as well.”
Another unique aspect of ESPN Radio New York is that it is a part of the ESPN parent brand, something Hurley says helps the radio station attract talent and guests. Moreover, the conglomeration of distribution platforms helps the station facilely produce other sports-related content and air national games, including enticing contests throughout the M.L.B. postseason and N.B.A. playoffs.
“We have good working relationships with the television producers at the networks, and are in communication a good amount,” said Hurley. “There’s been great collaboration between the television and audio side. The ability to have… [the] resources to use and work with… [is] one great thing about our company.”
Through times of extreme challenge and unforeseen hardship, ESPN Radio has endured, and Hurley remains motivated to elevate the station to the next level, even in an age of changing audio consumption.
“I want us to be the greatest station there is,” said Hurley. “To see where we have come from as 1050-AM, to where we are now at 98.7-FM, and the way we’ve grown product, talent, programming and relationships — it’s amazing. Seeing that progress is what keeps me driven.”
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