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Former ESPN President John Skipper Lands New Job

BSM Staff
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John Skipper resigned from his position as president of ESPN last December, citing a years-long “substance addiction” as his reasoning. Two months after ESPN hired James Pitaro as their new president, Skipper has resurfaced to join Perform Group, as Executive Chairman of the global sports media company.

Perform Group is based in the UK, founder Simon Denyer will continue as the company’s CEO in London, with Skipper’s role allowing him to remain in New York.

“Simon and his team have built an enormously impressive company, providing an excellent base to establish a global leadership position in the over-the-top sports subscription business, the clear future of sports delivery,” said John Skipper, Executive Chairman Perform Group. “Perform Group’s platform and expertise, coupled with its success in launching subscription services in Germany, Japan and Canada provides a model we intend to replicate around the world.”

Skipper left ESPN during a crucial time, when the company was dealing with a ratings decline, sexual harassment allegations (not about Skipper, who had just prior signed an extension to remain with the network) and awaiting the launch of their new OTT platform.

Since Skipper’s departure ESPN has undergone programming changes including the cancellation of SC6. Under James Pitaro, ESPN also followed through on projects that began with Skipper at the helm, including Mike Greenberg’s new morning show, Get Up, and the launch of their direct-to-consumer subscription service ESPN+. Perform Group has an OTT sports streaming service of their own called DAZN.

In his new position with Perform Group, Skipper will oversee all operations and strategy of the company and report to the Board, but it would make sense for the former ESPN president to have a focus on growing DAZN.

“Perform is rapidly expanding its role in sports media with significant investments in the best content and our own platform. We are now preparing to push forward with the expansion of DAZN, our live and on-demand streaming service, in more major markets around the world,” said Simon Denyer, CEO Perform Group. “DAZN is revolutionizing how fans watch their favorite sports. John is one of the most significant leaders in the history of our industry, and I am delighted that he has agreed to join me and the team to help take Perform to the next level of our ambitions.”

Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.

Sports Radio KJR Adding Cliff Avril to Middays

BSM Staff
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Sports Radio 950 KJR has acquired a prized free agent. The Seattle sports station has come to terms with former Seattle Seahawk defensive end and Pro Bowler Cliff Avril, who recently retired after a 10-year career in the NFL. Avril has agreed to join the station in middays alongside Jason Puckett starting July 9th. The new Jason Puckett and Cliff Avril show will air weekdays from 10a-1p PT.

“I’m excited to join the KJR team!” said Avril. “Seattle is home and I can’t wait to cover the best sports city in the world.”

“Cliff Avril is a tremendous addition to our team at Sports Radio 950 KJR,” said Rich Moore, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Seattle. “Cliff is a beloved Seahawk who will embrace this community and truly engage with the Seattle sports fans on all our platforms. Cliff had an amazing career and we are lucky to be part of his next chapter.”

To learn more about 950 KJR visit their website by clicking here.

KJR’s Full Weekday Programming Lineup starting July 9th will look as follows:

  • Chuck and Buck in the Morning 6 – 10 a.m.
  • Jason Puckett and Cliff Avril 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • The Ian Furness Show 1 – 3 p.m.
  • Dave “Softy” Mahler and Dick Fain 3 – 7 p.m.
  • Fox Sports Radio 7 p.m. – 3 a.m.
  • Pro Football Talk Live 3 – 6 a.m.

Booger McFarland to Join MNF as Field Analyst

BSM Staff
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The Monday Night Football broadcast will have a very different look and feel in 2018. As previously announced, former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten has retired from the NFL in order to assume the role previously occupied by Jon Gruden. Joe Tessitore is taking over play by play duties from Sean McDonough, and Lisa Salters returns as the in-game sideline reporter.

But there’s also a new wrinkle being planned for Monday night coverage.

According to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, Booger McFarland will join the cast as Monday Night Football’s first-ever field analyst. ESPN executives had contemplated adding the position for a while and ultimately decided that it was time to take the plunge.

The network has not yet confirmed Deitsch’s report but an official announcement on the Monday Night Football team is expected either this week or next.

ESPN went thru an exhausting process to identify the right mix for the Monday Night Football broadcast team. Polished analysts like Kurt Warner, Matt Hasselbeck and Louis Riddick were given a strong look, but in the end, ESPN’s management team elected to try something new.

Deitsch says Witten’s audition impressed many inside ESPN, and McFarland stood out too. Network officials are confident that the new team can go thru a summer boot camp with executive producer Jay Rothman to fine tune their chemistry and execution and hit the ground running this September.

 

1080 The Fan Lands University of Oregon Radio Rights

BSM Staff
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Entercom has reached an agreement with the University of Oregon to make Portland’s 1080 The Fan the new flagship radio station for Ducks play by play. The deal is for four years and will run thru the 2022 season.

As part of the new partnership, 1080 will gain the broadcast rights to to the university’s football, basketball and baseball games, including all Ducks preseason, regular and post-season games, as well as pre and post-game coverage and weekly specialty shows. Ducks games had previously aired on 750/102.9 The Game.

“As the top radio destination for local sports fans, we are thrilled to welcome the Oregon Ducks to the Entercom Portland family,” said Bill Ashenden, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Portland. “Entercom is the leader in local audio sports rights across the nation and we value this partnership with the University of Oregon. We look forward to bringing fans comprehensive coverage of the Ducks via all of our platforms.”

“The University of Oregon is proud to have Entercom Portland and 1080 The Fan as the official radio broadcast partner and the new home for the Ducks,” said Rob Mullens, Athletic Director, University of Oregon. “We look forward to this partnership that will continue to bring Ducks games to our tremendous fan base in the Portland area.”

“We are thrilled to announce this new partnership between the University of Oregon and the leader in sports talk radio in the largest market in the state,” said Chris Bjork, General Manager, Oregon IMG Sports Marketing. “Entercom will expand the reach of Oregon Athletics and its corporate partners with a strong local and national presence.”

Peter King Leaving Sports Illustrated for NBC Sports

BSM Staff
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After 29 years, Peter King is moving on from Sports Illustrated. The senior writer, founder of the popular NFL website The MMQB, and one of the most respected voices in football has accepted an opportunity with NBC Sports, bringing his nearly three decade run with SI to an end.

“When Sports Illustrated was good enough to allow me to start The MMQB five years ago, I wanted to introduce a group of promising young journalists to the SI audience and give them a chance to develop into prominent voices on the pro football scene,” said King. “We’re fortunate now that Jenny Vrentas, Robert Klemko, Andy Benoit, Albert Breer, Conor Orr, Jonathan Jones, Tim Rohan, Jacob Feldman and Kalyn Kahler—average age: 30—have grown into an excellent team, with a group of superb editors. It’s time for them to have the opportunities I’ve had over the years, and to do some of the stories and projects I’ve done that they’re more than ready to do.”

King will begin his new venture with NBC this July. As part of his new opportunity he’ll write a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; appear regularly on NBCSN’s and NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continue contributing to Football Night in America. He’ll also resume his popular NFL training camp tour, filing his column from the road and offering occasional video or written reports from team to team throughout the preseason.

“I’m thrilled to be joining NBC Sports full-time after working with the football crew there since 2006. I’ve loved my time there, both in the studio and doing longer features for Football Night in America, and the chance to bring my column there felt like a perfect match to me,” King added. “I loved my time at Sports Illustrated. Quite frankly, it was very tough for me to leave. But the only place that felt like a great fit after my years at SI was NBC, which has always made me feel like a member of the family.”

“Peter has been one of the most prolific and respected NFL writers for decades, and we’re thrilled to host his work exclusively on NBC Sports Digital platforms,” said Rick Cordella, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group. “With the addition of Peter and his Monday morning column, we now have the most complete NFL digital portfolio in sports as we stream primetime television’s number one show, Sunday Night Football; provide continuous football news and analysis on Mike Florio’s Pro Football Talk; and produce unparalleled fantasy football information on Rotoworld.com.”

Similar to what ESPN has done with Adam Schefter, NBC will also provide King with an opportunity to expand his horizons. The network says King will be included on the network’s coverage of its most high-profile events, including the Stanley Cup Final, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and more.

“As one of the best NFL reporters in history, Peter’s information, storytelling, and analysis make us better across the board,” added Sam Flood, Executive Producer and President, Production, NBC Sports & NBCSN. “With Peter expanding his NBC Sports presence from Football Night to PFT Live and digital, football fans are the big winners.”

“Peter, in my opinion, is one of the five most important figures in SI history,” says SI editor-in-chief, Chris Stone, “one, for the following he’s built covering North America’s most popular sport, and two for his willingness to embrace new approaches to journalism and storytelling, most notably with the creation of The MMQB, first as a conversation-setting column in 1997, then as a conversation-setting website in 2013.”

King has flirted with the possibility of leaving SI before, but when push came to shove, chose to stick it out with his longtime employer. However, the Meredith Corporation, which owns SI, has chosen to sell the popular sports brand, leaving the future unclear. Couple that uncertainty with layoffs and a number of high profile defections, and King decided that it was time to roll the dice on a new adventure.

“I just felt it was time to move on from the 24/7-ness of football coverage and try something a little bit different. My 29 years at Sports Illustrated have been, collectively, a dream come true. I’ll always be grateful to Mark Mulvoy for hiring a green 31-year-old kid in 1989, just as I’m grateful to my current boss, Chris Stone, for the opportunities and support he’s given me in recent years. For three decades, I’ve had the job of a lifetime in the sports media business, and I will be forever grateful to SI. I leave at the end of May with immense gratitude to my editors over the years and to my staff at The MMQB since 2013. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart.”

Thank You Radio!

Dave Greene
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I’ve written and said a lot of things about radio in my day and certainly since I started writing this column. But, I realized this week that I’m not sure I‘ve ever really said ‘Thank you’ to an industry that has given me and continues to give me so much….so, if you don’t mind me straying from the sales topic for a week, here goes:

Thank you for my earliest memories with you – catching a Cardinals game and listening to Jack Buck or a Mizzou game with Bill Wilkerson on KMOX.

Thank you for letting me win movie tickets when I was 10 years old, listening to KHTR. The movie, Give My Regards to Broad Street, featuring Paul McCartney, was awful, but I was so excited to have won the tickets.

Thank you for ‘Casey’s Top 40,’ especially the always entertaining long-distance dedications. I listened every weekend and I always looked forward to being told “keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!”

Thank you for the local DJ’s I grew up with, who were part of the soundtrack of my youth – Rick Idol, Kenny Knight, Smash, JC Corcoran, Joe DeNiro, Steve and DC, The U-Man, Radio Rich, Phillips and Wall and others.

Thank you for being my alarm all throughout high school and college.

Thank you for letting me live my dream and giving me the opportunity to do sports play-by-play. There are definitely days I wish I would have continued down that road, but perhaps those days aren’t finished.

Thank you for allowing me to turn off my microphone after we threw it to ABC News the morning of September 11, 2001, as we did our remote from the World Golf Championship event that was supposed to be played at Bellerive Country Club. I had no words for what I was being told had happened, but listened all day.

Thank you for somehow staying on the air on July 22, 2003 when the 100-mph straight line wind storm came through Memphis. I believe I did an 8-hour air shift that day, but I really found out what it meant to be a service to the community.

Thank you for introducing me to the genius of Howard Stern. I thought I knew what great programming was, but until I really started listening to Stern on a regular basis, I didn’t realize the bar of great radio could go that high.

Thank you for all the people I‘ve met through you. Many friends as well as a few of the famous variety like Hulk Hogan, Bob Costas, John Daly, Jimmie Walker, Ric Flair, Edwin McCain, Jack Clark, Young MC and more.

Thank you for introducing me to country music. Darius Rucker got me to listen to the genre, but country radio pulled me and my wife in hook, line and sinker. I went from never having had a country station on my pre-sets to buying the Mega Ticket within a three-year span.

Thank you for all of the highs, for the wins, for the yes’s, for those days when everything is just clicking.

Most of all, thank you for the career and allowing me to grow with you. I’ve been, and always will be, one of your biggest fans and most passionate advocates.

I look forward to many more years together!

670 The Score and VSiN Announce Content Partnership

BSM Staff
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670 The Score is breaking new ground. Chicago’s top rated sports station has reached an agreement with VSiN, the Vegas Stats & Information Network, to offer locally focused gambling segments during the 2pm and 5pm hours of Danny Parkins and Dan McNeil’s afternoon program.

The reports will be one-minute in length and referred to on the air as “Score Action Updates”. The plan is for each update to originate from VSiN’s studios at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa in Las Vegas.

“The Score has always been ahead of the curve in giving Chicago sports fans what they want,” said Brian Musburger, founder and chairman of VSiN. “It makes perfect sense that they represent our first terrestrial radio partnership, and we’re thrilled to provide credible sports gambling content to loyal listeners of the official radio outlet of the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bulls.”

It’s been a great month for VSiN. The company recently announced partnerships with Cheddar, the Arena Football League and TVG. With sports betting content growing in popularity, largely driven by the possibility of the government legalizing it in the near future, VSiN has set itself up to be a strong content provider for companies looking to excel in the space.

Clanton Fired, Innes Suspended at Sports Talk 790

BSM Staff
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SportsTalk 790 in Houston has fired Adam Clanton and suspended Josh Innes. The reason though behind the decision is unclear.

Innes is no stranger to controversy. He got into a shouting match with Seth Payne of Sports Radio 610 at this year’s Radio Row. He was also fired by Sports Radio WIP after a series of on-air and online incidents.

According to the Houston Chronicle, issues developed between Clanton and Innes last Saturday, when Clanton retweeted Innes’ opinion of the Texans drafting J.J Watt in 2011. Innes then spent nine minutes on Monday’s show ripping Clanton and mocking him.

“My take was stupid,” said Innes. “J.J. Watt’s maybe the best defensive player of the last decade. It’s a stupid opinion. I acknowledge it was a dumb opinion from a 23-year-old dope.”

Innes’ on-air partner Jim Mudd followed up with, “And that’s the difference, you’re not denying you said this.”

That led to Innes adding “No. Well, I don’t work for the Texans. So I wasn’t bought off by a team and then randomly became the biggest fanboy ever. Funny how that works when people who talk a big game about being hard, right? That’s like, a big thing. [Innes then did an impression of Clanton] I put on for my city. In my leather jacket. I’m so hard. I’m like Fonz, but really hard, and not from that ass place Milwaukee. Terrible fans, worst fans ever.”

iHeartMedia Houston officials have yet to offer a public response. The afternoon show is expected to continue with Jayson Braddock and Sean Jones. Innes is expected to return to the morning show on Friday.

BSM Podcast – Season 3 – Episode 2 – Mitch Moss – VSiN

Jason Barrett
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On the second episode of Season 3 of the BSM Podcast, VSiN morning host Mitch Moss sits down with Jason Barrett inside the South Point Casino to discuss a variety of items related to his career. Mitch shares details from his radio travels which have included moving from Eau Claire to Las Vegas to San Francisco and back to sin city where he’s since shifted from traditional sports talk on terrestrial radio to delivering sports betting content on VSiN’s multiple platforms. He weighs in on hosting, programming, producing popular Bay Area sports talk shows, working with Brent Musburger and the likelihood of gambling being legalized. Mitch also explains why he’s bullish on VSiN’s future and believes the network can be to the betting space what ESPN has been to mainstream sports.

In this week’s BSM 180, Jason spends a few minutes candidly expresses his concerns on individuals not taking a strong enough interest in pursuing paths to programming. With management jobs difficult to come by and often filled before being posted, Jason explains why behind the scenes folks with long term goals of programming need to step up their efforts to learn the tricks of the trade from individuals inside and outside their operation to increase their chances of earning consideration.

TOPICS COVERED WITH MITCH:

  • Starting out in a small market in Wisconsin in music radio
  • The challenges of broadcasting in a smaller local market
  • Landing a gig in Las Vegas with PD John Hanson
  • The early days of working in sports radio in Las Vegas
  • Discovering a passion to become a sports talk show host
  • Taking on the added responsibility of being a Program Director
  • Best and worst parts of being a sports radio programmer
  • Moving away from the microphone to produce in San Francisco
  • Being educated on which content matters most in the Bay Area
  • What he learned from producing John Lund and Greg Papa
  • Moving to mornings to work with The Rise Guys
  • Not aggressively pursuing hosting shifts in San Francisco
  • Why he decided to leave the Bay Area and return to Las Vegas
  • The economic difficulties of living in the Bay Area
  • Pursuing a new challenge and leaving Lotus to join VSiN
  • How he approaches creating content during slower periods
  • The impact of the Mayweather-McGregor fight in Las Vegas
  • Realistic expectations for sports betting being legalized
  • What the show uses to determine if it’s making progress
  • If it’s good or bad to have others in the gambling space
  • Where VSiN is now and what he hopes to see in the future
  • Hosting an East Coast morning show on West Coast time
  • Being Brent Musburger’s teammate and how it’s helped his career
  • Quick Hits: Vegas pro teams, Legalization, Advice and Betting experts

FROM THE GUEST

Mitch’s Twitter handle: @MitchMossRadio

Colin Cowherd Likely to Leave Speak For Yourself

BSM Staff
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As first reported by Michael McCarthy of the Sporting News, Colin Cowherd’s tenure on FS1’s “Speak For Yourself” could be coming to an end. The early evening program which includes Jason Whitlock, premiered in June 2016, and is reportedly being considered for expansion from one to two hours. With Colin having a full plate already with his daily TV/radio simulcast of “The Herd”, and regular involvement of “FOX NFL Kickoff,” an exit from the show might benefit all involved.

The 54-year old Cowherd signed a four year deal to leave ESPN and join FS1 in August 2015. Programming whiz Jamie Horowitz played a huge role in recruiting and convincing Cowherd to change networks, but Horowitz was let go in July 2017. With a little more than a year left on his original contract, might this be a way to ease Cowherd’s workload and keep one of the network’s most important stars happy and fresh? ESPN Radio Senior Vice President Traug Keller confirmed on the Barrett Sports Media Podcast that the door remains open for Cowherd to return to ESPN and FS1 can’t afford at this point to lose one of its most important assets.

If Cowherd does indeed exit Speak For Yourself later this year, the question for FS1 boss Charlie Dixon becomes whether to replace his spot or make Whitlock the star and add a supporting cast around him. FS1 does have access to a number of high profile personalities including Doug Gottlieb, Chris Broussard, Ray Lewis, Tony Gonzalez, Trent Dilfer, and Jason McIntyre, plus the company has shown it’s not afraid to open up their checkbook to lure quality talent from other places.

McCarthy points out in his piece that the show is likely to feature more news-making interviews with Whitlock in the future. Some of the largest attention to come FS1’s way has been due to interviews on its shows. Conversations which have stood out include Michael Vick talking to Whitlock about Colin Kaepernick needing to get a haircut if he’s allowed back in the NFL, and Terry Bradshaw stating that Mike Tomlin of the Steelers is not a great coach. LaVar Ball’s dust up with Cowherd and Kristine Leahy was another appearance that garnered mainstream media coverage.

While the situation with Cowherd remains in flux, there are other matters to solve too. One pressing issues is figuring out who to replace Leahy with on “The Herd”. Joy Taylor has been mentioned as a possible consideration, but her exit from “Undisputed” would need Skip Bayless’ blessing. If Skip gives the green light, Holly Sonders is seen as a possible replacement for Taylor alongside Bayless and Shannon Sharpe.

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