Each year sports media fans visit this website to see who industry executives have picked as sports radio’s best in the annual BSM Top 20. It’s a subjective series which involves a lot of suits, and it generates a lot of chatter throughout the format.
Since the annual Top 20 features the collective views of radio executives, I thought it’d be fun to do something involving talent. When I first rolled out the Sports Radio Draft in 2015 and 2016 I included PD’s but I changed that in 2017 because I felt executives already had a voice with the Top 20 and it’d be interesting to see if talent saw things similarly or different than their bosses.
In 2018 I took a break from the Draft project because I thought it might have run its course. When I started though to flirt with the idea of doing it again this year, I found the responses to participate were very favorable. As a result I dove back in and here we are today.
Before we get into this year’s results, let me share a few key things. First, every voter was told they can’t vote for themselves and any person they chose had to be currently hosting a sports talk show. They could also vote for someone from their own station if they saw fit.
I also wanted the Sports Radio Draft order to mirror this year’s NFL Draft. So for example, you’ll find a host in Phoenix picking first because the Arizona Cardinals have the 1st selection. You’ll see multiple hosts from New York involved because the Giants have multiple picks and the Jets have the 3rd choice. I even involved hosts from both San Francisco sports stations and one from Las Vegas since the Raiders have three picks and the 49ers have the 2nd overall choice. My one goal was to involve talent who were either located in the market where each NFL team played or hosts who were passionate fans of the franchise associated with their pick.
As you go thru the selections remember that this is extremely subjective, meant to be fun, and the hosts who get picked (or not picked) and the order where they’re chosen has everything to do with who’s involved in the draft process and where they pick. I also encourage you to scroll past the picks for some additional comments provided by some of our draftees. With that said, here are the results of the 2019 Sports Radio Draft.
DRAFTEE
CITY/STATION
SELECTION
1. DOUG FRANZ
PHOENIX – ARIZONA SPORTS 98.7 FM
BROCK HUARD
2. LARRY KRUEGER
SAN FRANCISCO – KNBR 680
ANDY GRESH
3. MICHAEL KAY
NEW YORK – ESPN 98.7FM
CHRIS RUSSO
4. DARYLE ‘GURU’ JOHNSON
SAN FRANCISCO – 95.7 THE GAME
STEPHEN A. SMITH
5. JEFF PANTRIDGE
TAMPA – (PRIOR) WDAE 620/98.7 THE FAN
DAN LE BATARD
6. GREGG GIANNOTTI
NEW YORK – WFAN
JIM ROME
7. LAUREN REW
JACKSONVILLE – 1010XL
SARAH SPAIN
8. JAMIE SAMUELSEN
DETROIT – 97.1 THE TICKET
TONY BRUNO
9. MAGGIE GRAY
NEW YORK – WFAN
STEVE SOMERS
10. VIC LOMBARDI
DENVER – ALTITUDE SPORTS RADIO 92.5
COLIN COWHERD
11. MO EGGER
CINCINNATI – ESPN 1530
DAN PATRICK
12. STEVE ‘HOMER’ TRUE
MILWAUKEE – ESPN 94.5/540
TONY KORNHEISER
13. MARC HOCHMAN
MIAMI – WQAM
MARC ‘SILVY’ SILVERMAN
14. CARL DUKES
ATLANTA – 92.9 THE GAME
MIKE VALENTI
15. STEVE CZABAN
WASHINGTON DC – TEAM 980
JON’ STUGOTZ’ WEINER
16. KYLE BAILEY
CHARLOTTE – WFNZ
PAUL FINEBAUM
17. ADAM SCHEIN
NEW YORK – MAD DOG SPORTS RADIO
DANNY PARKINS
18. MATTHEW COLLER
MINNEAPOLIS – SKOR NORTH
MIKE GOLIC JR.
19. PAUL KUHARSKY
NASHVILLE – 104.5 THE ZONE
CLAY TRAVIS
20. CHRIS MUELLER
PITTSBURGH – 93.7 THE FAN
GREGG GIANNOTTI
21. BOB STELTON
SEATTLE – 710 ESPN
FREDDIE COLEMAN
22. JEREMY CONN
BALTIMORE – 105.7 THE FAN
SCOTT FERRALL
23. LANCE ZIERLEIN
HOUSTON – ESPN 97.5
RICH EISEN
24. JOHN LUND
SAN FRANCISCO – KNBR
TOM TOLBERT
25. EYTAN SHANDER
ATLANTIC CITY – 97.3 ESPN
ANGELO CATALDI
26. DEREK SCHULTZ
INDIANAPOLIS – 97.5 FOX SPORTS RADIO
DAN BERNSTEIN
27. STEVE COFIELD
LAS VEGAS – ESPN 1100/100.9
MIKE FRANCESA
28. PETROS PAPADAKIS
LOS ANGELES – AM 570 LA SPORTS
DAVE ‘SOFTY’ MAHLER
29. ‘SOFTY’ MAHLER
SEATTLE – SPORTS RADIO 950 KJR
PETROS PAPADAKIS
30. CHUCK FREIMUND
MILWAUKEE – 105.7 THE FAN
DAN DAKICH
31. JOHN IRELAND
LOS ANGELES – ESPN LA 710
STEVE MASON
32. MARC JAMES
BOSTON – WEEI/NESN
CHRIS CARLIN
HEARD IN THE DRAFT ROOM:
I hate writing his name because every national poll ranks Brock and Salk ahead of Doug & Wolf but with Huard I get the ESPN connection, the extra national exposure, plus he’s a funny, tapped in dude. You’re likely wondering why I didn’t take Wolf….I just can’t get over the West Virginia thing. – Doug Franz
That’s unbelievable value at the 27th pick landing Mike Francesa. Gary Parrish didn’t get taken either? He was the #1 mid-market afternoon host in the country. WTF! – Steve Cofield
Gregg Giannotti is a steal at 20. It was a tough call between him and my co-host Andrew Filliponi. Gregg though is the most purely talented guy I’ve come across in the business. – Chris Mueller
If he’s there I’m shaking up the draft and taking Scott Ferrall. – Jeremy Conn
Somers is a franchise cornerstone. No one can do what he does. It’s very unique. – Maggie Gray
I’m going with someone with a high ceiling. That’s Mike Golic Jr.. – Matthew Coller
When a legend like Jim Rome is still on the board I think you gotta take him. – Gregg Giannotti
I hate the politics part of him, and hate that he’s immovable once he forms an opinion no matter how smart a counter argument is. But Clay Travis is a very compelling listen who’s consistently very smart and interesting. – Paul Kuharsky
As I write this, I’m listening to a debate on our station about the NFL Draft. The hosts are going back and forth about whether or not a particular player is too short and too slow while going over their statistics from the combine. One of the hosts asked the other what they thought the perfect player at that position looked like and whether or not that player really existed. The other host agreed that very few, if any, players in NFL history were really the perfect make up.
All the talk about prospects and what a perfect player looks like, got me thinking about our business, and what a perfect salesperson might look like…
The first thing you would want is what I call “the first impression closer.” When this person walks in someone’s office for the first time, do they immediately look at them and think, “This is someone I can see myself doing business with?” The first glimpse of a person, the first words said by a person and the tone of the person’s words are three things people will evaluate quickly.
Next, they’d need to be someone who can be trusted. This works a couple of ways. As an employer or manager, can you trust this person to do the job? Will they consistently prospect, cold-call, do CNA’s, present, close the decision makers and service? To the clients, can this person be trusted to look out for the best interest of the business and only bring ideas that will help grow revenues and not just the package du jour. Will they service the account or just come in when it’s renewal time?
Creativity would be high up on my list. Reps who are good at coming up with ideas for their clients generally retain more business. Whether it be a traffic driving promotion, something designed to increase social following, or simply putting together really good copy, if you can make your clients stand out in creative ways, you’ll provide the best added value they can ask for.
The perfect seller would have Energizer Bunny-esque work ethic. If your sales manager has to think about whether or not you are someone who works hard at the job, something is wrong. They should see it in the way you move. I’ve mentioned this before, but the best compliment I’ve ever been given from a boss was one who told me that “wind moved when I walked,” translated as – I move with a purpose because I’m busy trying to make things happen.
Along those same lines, this person would need to be “on” twenty-four-seven. Ours is far from a 9-5 business and the really successful reps know that you’re, at the very least, always prospecting for new business.
I give everyone I interview the same scenario to describe to them what a successful seller in our industry is like. I describe a scene where you are eating dinner with someone and you overhear the person behind you describing their new business to a friend of theirs. The best in our industry will make sure they don’t leave that restaurant without introducing themselves and giving a card to the business owner behind them.
If there was such a thing as the salesperson combine, these would be the skills I would want to see. Give me a trustworthy, well-spoken and well-dressed, creative person with endless energy and the ability to always be looking for ways to connect with decision makers and I’ll put them at the top of my draft board every single time.
Like many of you, I spent this past Sunday morning and early afternoon glued to my TV set as Tiger Woods completed his comeback by winning another green jacket. I’ve heard some people call it the best sports television they’ve ever seen and some that were ranking it in their top 3 or top 5 sporting events of all time.
One of our sales reps asked me, “Wouldn’t you’ve loved to have been there and felt all that energy?” I immediately responded, “Absolutely not! The last place I want to be to enjoy a golf tournament is at the actual golf tournament.”
I speak from a lot of experience. As a former golf show producer back in my early days of radio, I had the pleasure of traveling to several US Opens and PGA Championships. While I loved getting a first-hand look at the courses and really enjoyed the player’s interaction with one another during practice rounds, as soon as the real golf started, I wanted to be somewhere I could watch more than one hole or one group. It’s just simply not ideal to really be able to follow the action when you are at the tournament.
So, what does this have to do with selling sports marketing? Well, there’s an ideal place to do what we do as well. The ideal place is at our office, in our environment, where we are most comfortable. You bring the client to the station, which allows you to give them the tour, hopefully you run in to a couple of the jocks or a great guest as you’re walking through, or sometimes you’ve even planted someone to be lurking when you know the client is going to coming in. The staff treats them well, maybe their name is up on the board or TV screen when they walk in. It’s a big deal that this client has come in for the meeting and this should work in your favor during the presentation and close.
However, most of us end up pitching at the client’s location, where it’s their environment and where they’re most comfortable. And, worse than that, this is where they can easily get distracted.
Auto dealers are the worst when it comes to this. They end up having to deal with a client of their own, so the meeting starts 15-20 minutes late, then they have to check their phone and return a few texts, then they have managers and assistants coming in the whole time while you’re trying to keep their attention. Your odds of making a sale go way down because the client isn’t even sure what you’ve presented since their attention was constantly elsewhere.
There is one other option better than their place and that is at a neutral site, perhaps over a meal or on the golf course. In this scenario, nobody has the “home field advantage” and everything is somewhat equal. You should certainly have less distractions to keep the attention of the person you are pitching.
As with anything in our business, you could learn more by tracking how you do in this area. Does where you make the pitch affect your closing ratio or does it not make any difference? You may learn that what you need is to schedule more presentations at your office, after all, don’t we always expect to win more at home?
For a few hours on Sunday, I felt like I traveled back in time. Yes, 2008 had its challenges: the failed banking system, the stock market crash and the start of a major recession. It also had a golfer that transcended the sport, we would hang on every shot and putt. We’d guess how many shots he’d win by and how many Major victories he’d claim. I’m of course talking about Tiger Woods, who once again had us in his paws as he rolled to an improbable but not impossible win at the Masters.
The telecast was incredible. Jim Nantz, not surprisingly, was up to the task. Big moments are his signature. Nantz set the stage beautifully as Tiger lined up the clinching putt, “…many doubted we’d ever see it, but here it is” he said. Then as the 2-foot put headed into the jar, Nantz simply said, “A return to glory!”
The most incredible thing Nantz did, was what he didn’t do – talk.
Nantz let the pictures tell the story, as he “laid out” for 2 minutes and 42 seconds. No words could have ever done those pictures justice.
The raw emotion captured was incredible. The embrace he shared with his caddie Joe LaCava and the words “we did it” several times were quite visible though not heard. The use of natural sound captured the crowd at its apex. The chants of “Tiger! Tiger!”. Then came the tear-jerking moment, Tiger’s embrace with his young son, then his mom and then his daughter. Incredible.
Nantz broke his silence with, “I never thought we’d see anything that could rival the hug with his father in 1997, but we just did.” A reference to Tiger’s first Masters win and the embrace with his late father Earl.
Speaking of that famous hug. Kudos to the CBS Production team for coming back with the flashback of the ACTUAL moment between Tiger and his father and then a slow fade back into the present day of Tiger and his son. Amazing stuff that really brought it home. That moment came just before Nantz and Nick Faldo, a two-time green jacket winner, interviewed Tiger in Butler Cabin. Nantz called it, “one of the greatest days in the history of this 83-year old tournament”.
It’s incredible to me to think that this CBS crew had less time to prepare for the final round and the possibility of a Tiger win than they normally would have. There was a possibility of severe weather on Sunday afternoon, so Augusta National officials opted to move the start time for the fourth round up a few hours. CBS started its national broadcast of the final round at 9am ET. The leaders teed off about 20 minutes later.
Director Lance Barrow said he found out about the early broadcast before going on the air Saturday. CBS sports chairman Sean McManus told the Associated Press that even with the earlier airtime, it still had the feel and drama of a final round at Augusta. “During huge events like this, everyone steps up. I am very proud of what we did and it was a great broadcast,” McManus said.
A lot has happened to Tiger in the 14 yeas between his wins at Augusta. Its why Nantz’s words “A return to glory” really sum it up. Tiger was on top of the world, the number one golfer in the world. His Sunday red & black was feared by others. Then it all went away.
A very public and bitter divorce. Addiction issues. Injuries. Tiger wasn’t a jungle cat anymore. It was sad to watch the fall from grace.
Now, one win doesn’t mean that Tiger is back, but Tigermania has returned to the mainstream. It’s definitely one for us all to celebrate.
TV viewers couldn’t get enough on CBS, in the time frame of 9am ET to 2:30pm ET Sunday, 21 percent of all televisions that were on in the US were watching Tiger. It was the highest rated morning golf event in 34 years. Tiger can still draw them in and Nantz and his CBS crew still know how to tell the story.
Picture this. You live in a city your whole life. You root for the local sports teams. You listen to the local sports radio station. You dream of working there. You get the job and then…WHAM. The station goes off the air. Circumstances beyond your control lead you down a road of uncertainty and despair.
As it was famously put in Godfather II, “This is the business we have chosen.”
For better or worse, these things tend to happen and they’ve been happening all across the country. It’s happened to me several times, through no fault of my own, I found myself in a state of confusion, anger, sadness and hope, all at the same time. It’s a terrible feeling.
In San Diego, the longest running sports station in America’s Finest City, and its highest rated, the Mighty 1090 has gone silent. A dispute between the owners of their transmitter tower in Mexico and the station caused the former to pull the plug. Leaving a lot of very good and talented people wondering what will happen to them and the station they love.
It’s a station I was associated with, during my time with the Padres in San Diego. I grew very fond of the vibe of the station. Many who are there are still friends of mine and I feel for them having gone through this before.
The swiftness of this decision is leaving a lot to the imagination. Darren Smith, host of the Midday show on 1090, along with his co-hosts, Marty Caswell and Jordan Carruth, reached listeners via social media with an audio “message” in the form of a nearly 22-minute explanation of the situation.
“We are wondering if this is it for the Mighty 1090”, said Smith who has been with the station since its inception in 2003. “There’s not a lot of optimism about our future as a sports radio station. It’s heartbreaking. There are people who are in tears at this radio station. There are people who have genuine and sincere fears about their own futures about health benefits and bill paying and it sucks. Everything about this today is miserable.”, said Smith.
From a management standpoint, the situation had been known for a bit. But it came to an ugly head Wednesday. “We have lost our connection in Mexico and are working to get this resolved,” said Mike Glickenhaus of JMI-owned Broadcast Companies of America.
So, what now? For those that may be out of work soon, it can be a scary and exciting situation at the same time. Leaving what’s familiar is scary, but what may lie ahead can be terrific.
This isn’t the first time something like the 1090 situation has happened. In February of 2007, Sporting News Radio moved from Chicago to Los Angeles. Employees were given the chance to go with the network to the West Coast. The company was offering only a 3 percent “cost of living” increase to move almost 2000 miles. Many turned it down, including a couple of people in executive positions at stations around the country.
Matt Nahigian was the PD of Sporting News and after the move, he found work in Philadelphia at 97.5 The Fanatic in the same capacity. He has now relocated to San Francisco at 95.7 The Game.
Tony DiGiacomo, worked at Sporting News as well and was among the many not moving to the coast. He’s now the Program Director at WFNZ, in Charlotte. He recalled vividly the feelings of receiving the news of impending unemployment.
“When we were notified that Sporting News Radio would be moving to Los Angeles from Chicago, and that we had to accept the move or take a severance, it was a punch to the gut. Heartbreak, in a way.”, he said. “The uncertainty of your future sinks in real quick. Especially for those of us who love the format and know we have a lot more to offer it. It’s a passion that unless it leaves you, it’s scary to face what could be next.”
Dustin Rhoades was an Executive Producer at the network and also didn’t go to LA. He eventually landed at 670 The Score in Chicago as the EP of the Mully and Haugh morning show. But the road was long.
“I thought I was fine. I had 26 weeks of severance. I thought 26 weeks would be enough time to find a job in the market, but it wasn’t.”, said Rhoades in the hallway of the Illinois Media School where he is also an instructor. “I was delivering pizzas and selling “pull tabs” at a Bingo Parlor. About a year later, I found work at ‘Talk Radio Network’ as producer for a show and within 2 and half years after that, the Score came after me and I’ve been there ever since.”, added Rhoades.
In the meantime, for San Diego sports fans, the station is only available through the 1090 app and on the station’s website.
Should management have made a plan “B” since it was rumored this may happen months ago? Yes.
What is it about the company in Mexico that is pushing them to remove a beloved station from the market? I don’t know.
What I do know is it would be great to see the two sides reach an agreement so that the Mighty 1090 can live on. Now, careers, lives and families are being impacted by something that seemingly could have been avoided.
I wish nothing but the best to all my friends at the Mighty 1090, I hope there can be a solution implemented to keep you all on the air in San Diego.
I want to tell you a story about one of the meanest clients I ever worked with who actually taught me some of the best lessons I’ve learned in sales.
One afternoon in my first year of sales management, a newer sales rep asked me to join her on a call at a jewelry store. I hadn’t been planning to go, but she asked last minute and so I got some very basic information from her and met her at the store.
The meeting was with the owner, and as we walked in, she immediately said “You guys are going to have to wait, I’m the only one here and I have to take care of the customers first.” I asked her if she wanted us to come back at a better time and she declined so we sat and waited. Watching the owner interact with the customers gave me an impression she would not be easy to work with, but one of the customers bought something so I figured she’d at least be in a good mood.
“Ok, you guys gotta go quick,” she said as the last customer walked out the door. Immediately, the rep hands over a one sheet, thanks her for the time and tells her she has a “great idea.” What the rep proceeds to pitch was a promotion on our 35-54 female dominant station, with a big giveaway, a concert tie-in and all the bells and whistles. It was well presented, and the idea sounded like a fun, traffic driving promotion. When she finished, the rep asked, “Is this something you think you’d be interested in?”
“Absolutely not!” she said without hesitation. “It’s a good idea and you presented it well, but I don’t have a problem getting women in here, I’m focusing on younger males buying engagement rings and you would have known that had you ever bothered to ask.”
I, fruitlessly, tried to spin it in to a similar concept for men, but this woman wanted to make a point and she wrapped up the conversation pretty quickly and out the door we went. In the parking lot, I told the rep that I didn’t realize that when I’d asked her for some details about the client, she was giving me assumptions, not information she actually knew.
About a week later, I went back to the store by myself and fortunately there were no customers and the owner was again at the counter. I told her I wanted to thank her as I was certain what had happened would be a big benefit to the growth of that sales rep, in the long run, as she, and I, learned a few very valuable lessons.
Turns out, the owner had previously been in media sales. She agreed that what the rep did was something that happens too often in our field, which is making assumptions about businesses instead of asking great questions and getting the answers needed. She also pointed out that the rep was “all in” on the idea she was pitching, which on one hand had her presenting with a ton of passion, however, it made it seem as if it was a fully flushed out promotion. Her suggestion was to pitch general concepts in order for the decision maker to get a feel for the idea, but also made to feel like they would be involved in formalizing it.
She did eventually become a client, never letting us forget she had given us a “second chance.” Whenever I would see her, she’d always have some more media sales wisdom to share. I remember thinking that she would probably have made a pretty good sales manager. A very mean sales manager, but a good one, nonetheless.
Baseball broadcasts on radio these days are not just about calling a game. Broadcasters have to sell products, keep up interest in the team, entertain guests and oh yeah, deliver a quality call so you, the listener know what is happening in the game.
Things have changed from the old days of baseball play-by-play. It’s no longer a “straight forward” broadcast that deals with the game in front of them and really nothing else.
Now broadcasters have to be up on all the news from around the league, their team and be up on all the new statistical information provided to them. Plus, they have to entertain an audience no matter what the score or how their team is doing in the standings. It’s not as easy as it may sound.
Longtime Diamondback’s play-by-play man Greg Schulte, now in his 21st season behind the microphone agrees, these aren’t your father’s baseball broadcasts. Innovation is alive for some teams.
Courtesy: Major League Baseball
“Candy (partner Tom Candiotti) & I have gotten in to more discussions about current baseball happenings,” Schulte said. “We’re doing twitter polls on-air. Incorporated a Dbacks minute in place of a pair of half-inning commercial breaks. It’s a lot different listening to a radio game now, than it was when I was a kid growing up.
“I loved using my imagination listening to Harry Caray & Jack Buck describe Cardinals baseball. I still love talking about the stadium, team uniforms, scoreboard, hot dog vendors, as I bring people inside the ballpark. Try and be as descriptive as I can each and every night.”, Schulte said.
Ted Leitner who is calling his 40th year of Padres baseball (and my former partner in that booth) has a style that’s all his own. The beloved broadcaster shared a thought on how he likes to keep an audience entertained.
“I’ve always thought baseball play by play should include stories-even occasionally non-sports stories and humor in a sport where there really is only about 12 minutes of action in a three hour broadcast.” Leitner added, “Just ‘ball 1 ball 2 and reams of stats I believe is insufficient.”
The downside of trying to entertain is not everyone is doing a non-traditional broadcast. Leitner says, “Doing that can lead to criticism from fans and you’ll get the ‘just shut up and give the score’ comments from listeners. (It’s a) Matter of taste.” says the veteran broadcaster.
I also wanted to know how broadcasters balance the game with everything else going on around.
“I’m still a stickler on letting the listening fan know what’s going on, handling the play-by-play duties,” Schulte says. “Nothing worse – in my mind – than someone listening and hearing the crack of the bat against the ball, and not get a description of what just happened. That’s tough to manage when we have a guest in the booth.”
It is becoming a little more common for teams to put front office members, celebrities at the park, and draft picks on the air for a half inning or more. The problem is the guests don’t always understand that on radio every pitch needs to be called.
I’ve had situations come up where a guest just won’t stop to let me get a call in. It’s frustrating but at the same time, it’s important to be a team player and allow for that possibility because the team wants that person or group on the air to promote something.
Lastly, I was curious how each of these broadcasters handled replay reviews. Obviously listeners can’t see the play that is being challenged, so what do you do?
“On replays, Candy (Tom Candiotti) and I usually take a couple looks at the replay in question and form an opinion, right or wrong.”, says Schulte. “I may throw in a few out-of-town scores if it turns into a long delay, maybe recap the scoring, but I’m always ready to move right back to what the ruling is from New York.”
Leitner’s approach is just slightly different.
“I think the focus on review has to be solely on that play. Watching the TV replay and passing that on to the listeners from every angle shown. We really don’t need to fill much time for the average review span so there’s no need to refer to any other play or subject.”
No matter the era, or changes to the game, no matter the changes in philosophy for what a broadcast should be, baseball is meant for the radio. There’s nothing better on a Summer afternoon or evening than sitting in your car or house hearing the crack of the bat, the murmur of the crowd, the vendor hawking his wares and a familiar voice. The Voices of Summer are on the case bringing you the National Pastime in its purist form, even if that art form has changed a little bit.
If there’s one pet peeve of mine in the sports media industry it’s that people can get way too jealous and nasty over other people’s success. Rather than focusing on their own situations and ignoring the outside noise, many waste energy bitching and moaning about things beyond their control. This is especially true when money is involved.
If you want to see what that looks like scroll thru Twitter or Facebook and look at the sea of negativity directed at ESPN for reportedly being willing to pay their franchise player Stephen A. Smith 8-10 million dollars per year as part of a new contract. It’s the same type of public outcry from fans and media members whenever a professional sports team signs a major superstar to a rich and lengthy contract.
The story which was first reported by Andrew Marchand of the NY Post has created a lot of buzz over the past 24 hours. ‘Why would ESPN pay someone that much money?’ ‘They’re going to pay a guy who doesn’t keep up with the sports he covers?’ ‘For all the mistakes Stephen A. makes on the air they reward him like this?’ And my personal favorite ‘I work my tail off and this guy gets paid this? What a joke.’
I’m not sure why high dollar amounts for celebrity figures trigger such negative reactions but they do. It doesn’t seem to matter that the company which agreed to the deal was comfortable with it, only that the public decided the number was too high. Making the matter more amusing is how many people say they don’t watch, listen or care about an individual yet can recite numerous examples of what they’re about.
As far as Stephen A. Smith’s contract drama is concerned, fans aren’t the only ones worked up over it. A number of media people were too. I saw a barrage of negative comments on social media, many displeased by what the reported salary was, and who’d be earning it.
It made me wonder ‘why do media people care?’ It’s not like the situation impacted their paychecks, or limited their company’s ability to make future investments. If it’s doing neither then what’s the big deal?
The reality of this situation is simple. Stephen A. Smith is a high profile personality who commands a lot of your attention. Whether you hate him or love him doesn’t matter. He has an innate ability to lure eyeballs to the screen and create instant chatter. He’s not a middle of the pack talent who industry executives would need to be convinced to hire. If ESPN doesn’t give him a lucrative deal, someone else will.
Is 10 million per year excessive for a television and radio personality? Perhaps. But how can you say it is or isn’t worth it to ESPN? Do you know what they generate financially off of Stephen A. Smith? Do you know what they’d lose from a revenue standpoint if he wasn’t on radio and television? Do you think the company hasn’t studied how his presence on First Take, SportsCenter, NBA programming, and other shows improves their ratings? We seem to forget that the company knows this information better than anyone else. If they didn’t think it made business sense, they wouldn’t do it.
What I don’t understand is why so many in our business get bothered by it. You should be thankful that ESPN is willing to invest that type of freight in top people. It makes the market better for everybody else who’s trying to earn a better living as an on-air talent. Isn’t that a good thing? The only ones who should hate it are the companies themselves who’d rather not spend a fortune on talent, and advertisers who will eventually be asked to spend bigger dollars to be associated with the network’s top talent.
Over the past few years these type of headlines have become a more frequent occurrence. People took exception to ESPN paying big money to Mike Greenberg. The same occurred when FOX Sports lightened their bank account to sign Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless. Were those guys supposed to apologize for agreeing to deals that would pay them well? Did their prior performances for their employers not show they could consistently deliver results? If you were in the exact same situation you would be rushing to your agent’s office to sign the contract before the company reconsidered.
What’s interesting is that I don’t hear a lot of people lose their minds over the annual earnings of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or Howard Stern. All are making more than 10 million a year and they should be. Whether you like them or not doesn’t matter. They’ve built brands, produced results, and would have no shortage of suitors waiting with enticing offers if they hit the open market. Smith is no different.
Say what you want about Stephen A’s loud aggressive style and his recent struggles with presenting facts (that issue does deserves criticism) but you’re not going to win an argument trying to convince me that he hasn’t performed. He’s had a lot of success at ESPN for a long time, and if you polled most sports fans across the country asking them to name the 3 most recognized personalities on ESPN he’d be on the list.
There’s also something to be said about when your contract comes up and if it’s a buyer or sellers market. Right now, it’s a sellers market. If Stephen A. were to hit free agency, it wouldn’t take long for him to land a record contract. Do you think it’d be smart business for ESPN to allow one of their franchise talents to hit free agency when brands like DAZN, FOX Sports, Turner/Bleacher Report, and possibly Amazon and Facebook could be ready to pounce and spend silly money to get him?
Too often people get bent out of shape over what someone’s pay check is instead of stepping back and assessing the situation logically. They look at the individual and the dollar figure attached to their name, and start trying to poke holes in that person’s success. They’ll also rip the company for what they consider a poor financial decision simply because they don’t like this person.
In this particular case, if ESPN decides to fatten Stephen A’s wallet, I’m pretty sure they’ll have plenty of cash left to continue running their empire. So I’ll ask you again, why exactly do you care if the nation’s top sports media outlet opens up their wallet to pay a man who they consider a prime asset? If it’s about production, consistency, brand, and buzz, Stephen A. checks all those boxes. He’s worked hard to ascend to the highest level and ESPN understands his value to their company.
You don’t have to like Stephen A. Smith or agree with him, but you’re not the one signing his paycheck. ESPN is. If you really want to render him extinct from your life, don’t watch his show, listen to his radio program or follow him on social media. But if you did that, you wouldn’t have anything to bitch about when his next contract comes up.
I’ve had some good questions come my way lately and I thought I’d share my responses:
Question: You talk about not letting clients air bad commercials, but what if it’s the client who put together the commercial and it isn’t good?
Great question, and like anything we deal with on the client side, they have the final say in what happens. Our job is to be the advertising and marketing consultant, which literally means a person who provides expert advice. If the person we are providing this advice to chooses not to accept it, that’s ultimately on them. What we can do is provide an alternative.
Come up with something better and present it just as you would any other idea. Perhaps you start by suggesting they run multiple ads to break things up and split the rotation, maybe they’ll get a better response with your ad and make the change on their own.
Question: Other than percent to goal, what things do you use to evaluate Account Executives?
One of my favorite parts of what we do is that success and failure is generally pretty clear by the numbers, however, there are certainly other factors to consider. I believe the second biggest indicator of any seller is their level of activity. Are they constantly working the entire playbook (Prospecting, Contacting, Needs Analysis, Presentation, Closing & Servicing) and spending most of their time in front of decision makers? Or, are they having coffee and returning emails until lunch, writing an ad for a couple of hours in the afternoon, shooting out a few emails and out the door at 4:59?
New business is always another very strong indicator of whether or not you have someone who will succeed long term.
Lastly, do I enjoy talking with them? If I don’t, clients and prospects probably don’t either.
Question (from a client): I have one location, does radio across the whole market really make sense for me?
It depends, are you a destination? Are you a golf course where people are willing to drive a bit? Or, are you a bar and grill with the best prices, friendliest staff and coldest beer in town? If you’re the ladder, it probably doesn’t make as much sense for you now that we have the ability to target through digital audio, video and display.
I’ve worked with enough one location restaurants in my day to know that radio can absolutely drive traffic, if done correctly. However, because most restaurant owners know food better than they know marketing, they aren’t always willing to stick with it for the long haul. Whatever you do, do it consistently, but in this case starting with a targeted digital campaign and then growing out from there may be the best way to go.
Question: How much more weight do you give an endorsement ad over a non-endorsement ad?
If the client can afford to do them consistently, and your station has a personality who delivers a great ad that matches well with their target market, it’s always the best way to go.
Without knowing the exact numbers, I would guess that in my days I’ve seen a 40-50% greater success rate with a campaign that includes endorsements over one that doesn’t. I’m absolutely certain that of the most successful campaigns I’ve run, nearly all of them involved some form of endorsement.
Question: You wrote about some bad billboards you saw, are there any you see that you really like?
Yes, you know who does a great job on billboards? BILLBOARD COMPANIES!
Few words, large font, right to the point, simple call to action.
At the end of each year I take time to reflect on the year that was and the one that lies ahead. I spend most of my time listening to radio stations, talking to people, and creating content, but gaining knowledge of new technology and business opportunities, developing trends, and areas where the radio business should further invest its energy is equally important to me. I read a ton each day to stay sharp, but there’s no substitute for on-site education. It helps me grow personally, relationships increase, and it serves as a benefit to my clients who can’t always leave their office for industry shows.
One goal I had entering 2019 was to change up where I was spending my time. I’ve been a steady presence at a number of industry conferences over the past few years, many of which are excellent. But I began to find myself more focused on networking and supporting friends because the subject matter wasn’t stuff I hadn’t heard before. That doesn’t mean the content wasn’t good, just that I was probably at too many similar events.
As a result, I decided this year to go to CES instead of NAB Las Vegas. I also decided to trade my attendance at the Podcast Movement conference to see what Social Media Marketing World 2019 was all about. I discovered that CES was interesting, but not vital for me to be at each year. On the other hand, SMMW was tremendous, and an event I will go to again. The fact that it takes place in a gorgeous city like San Diego and provides an opportunity to connect with friends from all three local sports stations is an added bonus.
Unlike past conferences though I didn’t want to rush my recap of the event. There was so much to absorb, and rather than trying to rush out the content, I wanted to step back, process the information, and share what I felt was most valuable from the sessions I attended.
At the 2019 BSM Summit, I hosted a session looking at opportunities for sports radio to grow its business. I talked about the industry needing to take advantage of new categories because the reality is that advertising dollars are projected over the next few years to grow in digital and not much else. We can bitch and moan about it all we want, but this is where dollars are shifting. I urged format folks to get more serious about merchandising and education because there are revenue opportunities in both. Maybe I’ll tackle that further in an upcoming column.
That’s a big part of why I went to Social Media Marketing World 2019. I saw it as an opportunity to gain information in an area that is critical to our business from people who understand and use it better than radio does. Over the course of three days I took a ton of notes and captured nearly two hundred photos from Powerpoint presentations on stage. It was a productive use of my time, but there was one thing missing.
More than five thousand marketers, influencers, social strategists, and business people were present at the event, but guess how many were there from the sports radio industry?
ZERO!
Even worse, I went thru SMMW’s Whova app (which is fantastic) which shows you the profiles of every person attending and allows you to search for people by job title, company, industry, etc.. I looked for people by the name of their radio companies, and with the key words ‘radio, podcast, host, sports, media’, etc. hoping to find others from our industry there. All of that searching resulted in locating 5-6 radio people at the conference, all from other formats and smaller radio groups.
I didn’t expect a room full of hosts and programmers at this show, but I was stunned by the lack of attendance from radio’s digital, marketing, and sales members. We are operating in a digital world. The audience starts and ends their day on social media, and the last time I looked radio wasn’t king of the financial jungle on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Google. If an event is offering information and access to people who can help you further grow your audience and revenue in the spaces you need help in, why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?
Though we all realize that digital is key to the present and future, it changes rapidly. Look at these images below which show the top global brands over an 8 year period. The same thing happens in media. It’s why you constantly have to educate yourself because what exists now, may not tomorrow.
What I loved about this conference is that whether you were a host, programmer, seller, GM, marketing/digital director, there was something for everyone. It was impossible to attend every session since there were 5-6 happening at once, but there were a few that stood out which I want to relay some details from.
For content people, the sessions with Alex Khan and Chris Strub were excellent. Khan shared tips of how to improve content with the apps BIGVU, Shakr and Belive.TV. He also showed how to schedule and promote your live streams on Facebook and Instagram, create split screen conversations, and circumvent algorithms to reach more of your audience using Facebook Live. One particular trick he shared involving the Like button drew a lot of laughs and was very clever.
Strub meanwhile dedicated his focus to Twitter and introduced the room to Twitonomy. The app gives users a deeper dive into their Twitter data which helps with identifying your Alpha’s (Radio’s P1’s), what days and times they talk to you, and the topics they’re most interested in. Strub recommended using Hashtracking to find others who are similar to your most passionate fans. He also cautioned to keep an eye on who’s interacting with you and not be afraid to unfollow those who aren’t adding value to your Twitter experience.
The session with Strub also included strategic tips on how to best utilize Twitter lists and three ways to improve your authority on the platform: Leveling Up Your Circle, The Thank You Economy, and Becoming a ‘Prosumer’ (a person or individual that both consumes and produces media, content, or even goods). Strub gave six tips to improve ‘prosumer’ status and shared a personal story along with examples of how it’s helped him gain business opportunities.
On the business end, Neal Schaffer of Maximize Your Social was excellent. His points on brands being built to advertise not socialize was right on the money. I wrote about this subject two years ago and highlighted how many sports radio brands weren’t actively engaging with their fans. We tend to do the same thing on social media that we do on the radio, push content at people. Except we don’t control the outcome on social channels like we do on our airwaves – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram do. There’s nothing ‘social’ about pushing articles and advertiser discounts at the audience.
Schaffer showed some case studies to support his stance on why brands are wiser to build social businesses around influencers rather than thru brand pages. He highlighted the advantage influencers have of forming a personal bond with the audience, engaging more, and being able to tell stories that a brand can’t. The costs are more affordable and clients are made to feel part of something special and intimate rather than lost in the noise. The ROI is also greater over the long-term.
For those interested in data and how to perform better on the web, Dan Shure and Andy Crestodina did a fantastic job. Each of their sessions covered a range of topics including campaign tracking for email and ads, how to rank higher in Google Search, how to improve your click thru optimization, tricks to improving conversions, and how to better use and understand Google Analytics. Crestodina supplied a video link which is worth your time if you’re interested in learning more.
As far as key takeaways are concerned, Shure mentioned that 95% of SEO Success for blogs involves planning topics around ranking gaps. That was very interesting. I was surprised by Crestodina’s comments on 1 in 3 marketers not knowing which tactics have the biggest impact on the success of their campaigns. He also made a great point when he said “it’s not always the best content that wins, it’s the best promoted content that wins.”
There was plenty of big picture analysis provided as well. I specifically enjoyed Michael Stelzner and Mari Smith‘s presentations. Stelzner’s session stressed the importance of making a big difference with a small group of people rather than creating a small impact on a large group. Michael went over why Facebook has been less successful with video than YouTube, reminding the audience that Facebook is a platform that thrives on people connecting, NOT on content. The opposite is true of YouTube.
It was interesting to learn that YouTube has 1.9 BILLION users per month, and 1 billion hours of content watched daily. Instagram Stories has also grown from 100 million to 500 million daily users in less than 3 years. Stats like that further supported Michael’s position that marketers need to make both a bigger part of their business strategy. According to Stelzner, 43% of marketers don’t use YouTube and 62% aren’t using Instagram Stories. Sports radio brands should be thinking about this as well.
Mari’s time on stage covered a ton of ground too starting with the evolution of Facebook. Smith said you can learn and understand the platform’s future direction best by simply paying attention and reading thru the lines. She gave some great examples to support that position.
Like Stelzner, Mari has great confidence in Instagram Stories being a valuable and cost friendly space for marketers. She took time to draw attention to the expected rise of chatbots and messenger marketing and relayed some great information on apps delivering big audiences overseas such as WeChat, which she says Facebook could look to create their own version of in the states. The app TikTok was another one she highlighted which I’ve since been getting familiar with.
The highlight though of her session involved her strategic approach to helping businesses create successful marketing campaigns on Facebook. She shared her ‘Mari Method’ which stresses 70% of content on Facebook being video, 20% images, and 10% a combination of links and text. She explained why it’s best to keep video content between 7-20 minutes, build custom audiences, and necessary to put ad budget against your content. I was stunned to hear how little of our content is seen by those who follow us on Facebook.
Trying to capture all that transpired over the span of 3 days is impossible. If you’re interested in learning more, I’d suggest going on to Twitter and typing in the hashtag #SMMW19. You will have a sea of tweets to navigate but there’s no shortage of great stuff in there.
If there was an overlying message from the event, it was that social media requires human interaction, constant adjusting, and the opportunities for business are endless. This was my first experience at SMMW and I felt they provided a strong group of speakers who covered a ton of subjects that relate to our industry. I walked out of the door smarter than I did when I walked in.
I would encourage my friends in radio to get out there next year. There’s an abundance of information available to help your brand make a bigger impact in the social space, and if digital is where the money is moving, then that should be incentive enough for you to be in San Diego. The sunshine and scenery aren’t bad either!
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