Newsradio WTAM 1100 welcomed its new host Monday, three months after the untimely passing of Mike Trivisonno. “The Bloomdaddy Show” hosted by David “Bloomdaddy” Bloomquist will broadcast weekdays from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Bloomquist spent 17 years hosting a morning drive on Wheeling, West Virginia’s 1170 WWVA, which iHeartMedia owns both WTAM and WWVA. Furthermore, the radio host stated he’s thrilled to launch his new show on a station that personifies Cleveland in a release.
“I look forward to having impactful conversations with my new radio family and learning even more about this incredible city.”
Bloomquist left a popular morning show in Wheeling that grew into syndication reaching stations in Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Akron, and Parkersburg, West Virginia.
“We’re thrilled to introduce Bloomdaddy to WTAM and the city of Cleveland,” said iHeartMedia Cleveland president Keith Hotchkiss. “His passion for sports, his quest for information, and his commonsense approach to talk radio is the perfect combination for afternoon drive on the legendary WTAM.”
WTAM’s new afternoon show will feature broadcasting veteran Carmen Angelo, news reports from Julie Holiday, and regularly scheduled traffic reports from Olivia Muzica.
Newsradio WTAM 1100 is Cleveland’s only news radio station and an award-winning local news source.
WFAN Program Director Mark Chernoff retired last summer, completing a legendary career spanning over three decades at the forefront of the sports media world.
Throughout his time in the industry, Chernoff worked with prominent on-air talents, including Howard Stern, Steve Somers, Don Imus, Mike Francesca and Christopher Russo, and helped develop the sound of sports radio in New York City and across the country.
Additionally, he played an integral part in helping WFAN find his successor and new program director Spike Eskin, who has brought new voices to the station such as Keith McPherson, Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney. Despite being retired, Chernoff still follows the industry closely and looks for the next generation of talent set to take the airwaves.
In fact, Chernoff will be attending the 2022 Barrett Sports Media Summit in New York City at the start of next month (March 2-3) in order to continue to keep up with the pulse of radio as a communication medium and as a business, along with reconnecting with friends and colleagues.
At the 2020 Barrett Sports Media Summit, Chernoff was honored by Barrett Media founder and president Jason Barrett with the introduction of a new award, eponymously named the “Mark Chernoff Award,” to commemorate his career in sports radio. The award, given annually at each BSM Summit, is bestowed upon sports radio programmers possessing strong leadership, vision, creativity, success in ratings and multi-platform excellence. Mitch Rosen, program director of Chicago’s 670 The Score, was recognized as its first recipient. BSM president Jason Barrett is expected to announce this year’s recipient in the next week or two.
Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the media landscape was beginning to lean towards cross-platform integration, specifically within the digital space. The future of radio as a viable communications medium, concurrent with alterations in consumption trends, had indeed been questioned and remains as such to an extent today.
With early March right around the corner amid an unprecedented global pandemic and paradigm shift towards convergence, we felt there was no better time than the present moment to catch up with Mark Chernoff to discuss his career, gather his thoughts on the future of sports radio, and discuss the value of the forthcoming BSM Summit.
PART I: How it all started
Q1: How did you get your start in radio?
Chernoff: I started by working at my college radio station, which was WRSU in New Brunswick – I went to Rutgers. As a little kid, [I] would listen to radio all the time [on] a little transistor radio, if that world still exists, under my pillow. I just loved the idea of getting involved with radio. The first week of school at Rutgers, I went up to the radio station to a meeting and never looked back, basically.
Q2: What led to your transition from being a jock to being a program director?
Chernoff: My first real full-time job was at a little radio station in Sussex County in the Northwest corridor of New Jersey – WNNJ – and the FM station, WIXL. After doing about a year in a part-time role while I was going to graduate school, I took a job with an accounting firm, but that’s not what I wanted to do, so I took a full-time job at the radio station.
I loved being a jock, but people come and go so quickly [at these small radio stations] that within about a year-and-a-half, two different program directors got better jobs and it was kind of like, ‘Okay, you’re next, Mark Chernoff.’ I volunteered; I wanted to be the program director. Lo and behold, I was the program director of an AM/FM combo up in Newton, New Jersey, still on the air – doing a shift every day.
After Chernoff left WIXL, he took a part-time job at WDHA in Dover, New Jersey, something he called “a step up,” in terms of market size. Once he was hired full time at the station, he became the new program director and went on to serve as morning show host and music director with the PD role simultaneously. After seven-and-a-half years at WDHA, Chernoff got a job at WNEW in New York City, where he made the decision to focus his career towards management in the radio industry.
“I was a decent jock, and I liked being a jock,” said Chernoff, “but I really thought at that point, that was the turning point where I said, ‘I think management’s a better idea.’ I got the job as the music director. I still continued to do fill-in air shifts at WNEW, which was a big deal being in New York radio. When Charlie Kendall, the program director, left, I became the program director. That’s kind of how it evolved from being a jock to at least the programming end of the business.”
PART II: All things sports radio
Q3: How do you evaluate talent on sports radio?
Chernoff: [Sirius XM Vice President of Sports Programming] Eric Spitz and I worked together for many years. He kind of encapsulated the idea [of] the P.O.K.E. theory: Passion, Opinion, Knowledge, and Entertainment. Those were always the things we were looking for in our air talent, and those that had all four of those qualities really wound up being the best people on the air.
I just think that passion was really important because on sports radio, you need to be opinionated. If you’re not opinionated, I don’t believe you’re going to go far, nor have people gone far… It was important that talent had those qualities and that they knew how to entertain people, and particularly were very passionate and opinionated about what they were speaking about, and of course you wanted them to know the facts to go with whatever their opinions were, and how they spoke about topics and stuff like that.
Q4: How do you manage talent on sports radio?
Chernoff: I was pretty lucky at WFAN; I had Mike and the Mad Dog, who were the most unbelievable sports duo that has come about in sports radio. What I was able to discern from them and Don Imus, was how good they were and that my role as the program director was to do what they felt they needed. If they wanted me to help, I would be there to help.
I learned, especially from Howard Stern [at K-Rock], that those talents that are great talents don’t really need to be managed. These people knew what to do, so you didn’t have to fight and argue. We would discuss promotions and things like that because I wanted things done to help the radio station in general. But to me, I wanted to have good relationships with the air staff. I wanted them to know that I was there to be helpful and to work with them on an as-needed basis, but I didn’t want to sit in with hosts at every one of their meetings.
Q5: Was there a difference in your management style for those who are more difficult to work with?
Chernoff: I tried not to look at anybody as being difficult. You just have to manage people to what their style is, not what my style is. I hope most people – if you spoke to them – would say that I was a good manager in that I didn’t want to sit and get into arguments and fights. I didn’t think that was a good thing to do. I didn’t want to be managed like that when I was a jock or a host. I didn’t want to manage like that. If there were issues, then we spoke about them. I was lucky in that most people that worked with the radio station really got it [and] understood what the station was all about.
Q6: How important was it to you to stick to a specific format while on the air?
Chernoff: WFAN was a mature radio station when I got there. Whether it was Steve Somers, Don Imus, Mike and the Mad Dog. I just wanted to make sure that they knew that I was there to support them. There are all these rules – we break at such and such a time, the breaks are this long, make sure you promote things, make sure you give the call letters and so-on and so-forth.
What I also learned [is that] great talent can break the rules. Rule-breakers work. It’s not that I wanted everybody to be like that because sometimes you did want to teach people the rudiments of radio so that they knew how to tease and do some of that other stuff. If they had the innate talent, that was the most important thing to me. You could just hear it when people started.
Q7: What are your thoughts on sports radio hosts talking about topics not pertaining to sports?
Chernoff: At WFAN, we ran through a number of midday shows. We finally really, really clicked when Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts [were put] together and they did middays. [It was the] same thing with Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton doing the morning show – they clicked. With the morning show, and then even now with Evan and Craig, who we put together before I left this past summer, it was ‘Just make sure that everything emanates from the world of sports.
You can move along and talk about other things. But if sports isn’t your ‘bread and butter,’ then I think the expectation of a listener will be, ‘I’m not sure that’s what I want to listen to.’ You’re allowed to go off on tangents, you’re allowed to talk about other stuff, you’re allowed to do lifestyle, but if you don’t heavy up on knowing what’s going on in the world of sports and what ‘Topic A’ is, I think that’s a problem.
Q8: What impact did including regular callers on programming have on the station?
Chernoff: Whether people were right or wrong in what they said, our listeners wanted to be involved with the radio station. We had so many loyal listeners – and I never said [not to] take calls from the regulars – [instead], do take calls from the regulars because they are part of what’s making WFAN WFAN.
We’ve lost some through the years, but people knew who the listeners were. They knew Bruce from Bayside and Bruce from Flushing, and they knew Al from White Plains – so many of these people – Short Al, Doris – I can go through dozens of them – that meant a lot to them.
Q9: How was WFAN involved with the New York-Metropolitan area community?
Chernoff: The station was always involved in the community. Imus got behind the Tomorrow’s Children’s Fund [to help] kids with cancer. He literally, not with his bare hands because he didn’t get out and do the physical work, but the money he raised, and adding to that with Mike and the Mad Dog and their help in the afternoon, they built that whole wing over at… Hackensack University Medical Center… We’ve always been community-minded, which I think is so important for a radio station. There are many causes; we ran public service announcements just about every hour for charities.
Q10: Why do you feel WFAN has such a special connection to New York sports?
Chernoff: For so many years, we had the Mets on the radio station, then it became the Yankees. We had the Jets early on when I was there, and then we had the Jets and Giants, and then just the Giants. We had the Knicks and Rangers, and eventually we had the Devils and the Nets, and even the Islanders for a short while.
So we’ve been very much involved with the teams; we’ve always taken all of those teams to talk about and let our hosts [and callers] talk about them. I think just being wrapped up in New York sports, and again, being 24/7, seven days a week, 365 days a year, the station was able to grow and become part of the essence of New York, and those call letters – W-F-A-N – meant an awful lot. In the sports world, people know E-S-P-N; important in TV, and they’ve had radio and still have some radio. I believe that the voice of sports in New York has always been W-F-A-N, [and] that when people think of us, they think of us as the preeminent, predominant sports station as it continues to be after all these years.
PART III: Looking to the future
Q11: What would you like to see happen in the future for all brands to gain a stronger and more accurate measure of their performance?
Chernoff: We’re always going to do surveys. We’re never going to do a census – you can’t measure every single person out there. I know people dispute the accuracy of the numbers, but it’s what’s there. I’m not sure I know how to make it better. You can only survey so many people. I would hope that they would get better results.
I know the complaint always is one or two meters in a week that go awry negatively or even positively, you sometimes say ‘Oh, look at that. We got a 10-share, great! We sound wonderful,’ or ‘Oh, no — we had a two-share this week. We’re awful.’ I never wanted to look at it like that. It was more important about the consistency. Are we doing the right things? You’re at the mercy of the ratings, and I’m not sure that anybody is going to be able to make it better.
Q12: How does the Nielsen portable people meter (PPM) ratings method compare to the diary ratings method?
Chernoff: The [PPM method is] a better way [to measure ratings] than the old diary method because at least it’s people listening to radio whatever their device is at the moment – whether it’s a mobile phone, a smart speaker, computer, laptop, or the actual radio…. In the old diary world, people would get a diary, and then once a week they would try to remember what they listened to over the last week. To me, that was completely inaccurate. I know this system is not perfect; it will never be perfect.
Q13: Do you believe there can be a competitive ratings service to Nielsen?
Chernoff: People have come and gone — whether it was Accuratings way back when; there was Pulse and other things. They all went by the wayside, and Arbitron, now being Nielsen, is what we’ve got, and I think we’re going to have to keep using it.
One of the important things about spoken word and particularly sports is that it was a concept to people. We’ve liked that, and always done what is working for the client. If you get a 10-share or a two-share, but a client says ‘X amount of people came into my place of business, and they love your radio station and they’re buying my cars, buying my product, buying my service,’ then you know you’ve been successful.
Q14: Did WFAN ever consider selling advertising spots to clients based on the ratings alone?
Chernoff: We’ve never really done ‘Let’s just sell the ratings.’ I know many of the media buyers, that’s what they deal with. At WFAN in particular, we’ve had great salespeople who go directly to the clients and discuss with the talent. They endorse products, they get to know the service and the product. We’ve had all these great people who have done that through the years.
When that works for the client, that’s more important than what the ratings are at the moment because the ratings are going to go up and down. You’re at the mercy of a survey; it’s not a census. If there are 10 people in the room, and you get an opinion from one or two of them, but you tell people they’re representing all 10, it may be accurate or it may not be accurate.
Q15: What is the future of cross-platform integration in sports radio?
Chernoff: I think it’s important and I think so many are doing it now. At WFAN obviously, the morning show is being simulcast on CBS Sports Network. For many years, the afternoon show was on the YES Network; we worked with Fox for a while. Carton and Roberts right now are on SNY.
‘I think the TV integration is great; the streaming is extremely important. Some of the shows — Moose and Maggie, for example the last few years — the show was being video-streamed so people had the opportunity to watch it as well as listen. I think all of the elements are really important. It’s great to be able to say, ‘Hey, Alexa. Play WFAN,’ so it’s easy to stream on a smart speaker. On your phone, you have your apps and you go right to the app of what you want to listen to. I think the integration is just extremely important. Those that don’t integrate are going to be left behind.
Q16: How does cross-platform integration impact the Nielsen Audio ratings?
Chernoff: Last spring, I did a call with the sales department with the Audacy people. There must have been 45-50 people on the call. I could see all of them and I said, ‘How many of you have radios at home?’ Maybe three or four people raised their hand… It’s not like they didn’t listen, but they had other ways of listening. As long as the measurement can pick up all of those ways, I think that’s important too so people get a real idea.
When Audacy worked with Triton Digital, we were able to see in real time how many people were streaming the radio station. Sometimes you look and you say, ‘Wow, that’s a lot higher than what we actually see when Nielsen gives us a number.’ Those numbers are important because a client could know that 23,000 people were listening at 2:22 p.m. in the afternoon, or 180,000 people; whatever the number is listening. You can target people. I think that’s what all of the platforms are able to provide. More platforms for stations to show off their products, whether it’s just on the audio side or adding video as well, plus podcasting of shows, nevermind the original ones which is something separate.
Chernoff: I’ve missed it. I think it’s a good experience, for one — getting together with other programmers, and trading ideas, trading different thoughts, trading ideas about talents, trading ideas about programming; who’s doing what. People have good ideas. If there’s a good idea out there, it’s not a matter of stealing it, but it’s a matter of ‘Hey, let’s share. I have an idea; you have an idea.’ It’s a good way and a good place to meet people, and also just to find out what’s going on with everybody.
The panels were great. Sometimes you learn stuff, and sometimes you got to see people you haven’t seen and hear what they have to say; how they’re running their stations, what their thoughts are about sports, how they program locally, or mix-in national with local, and there’s a case that can be made in some ways for that as well.
I’m really looking forward to being able to see everybody in-person again. We all hope that the virus doesn’t take a bad turn in the next month so that we can all be together and just hang out, listen to what people have to say, get some new ideas and work on some old ideas and see old friends and make new acquaintances as well, and find out about up-and-coming talent.
Q18: What does it mean to you to be annually recognized with an award in your name at the BSM Summit?
Chernoff: I’m more than flattered. I know when Jason [Barrett] brought it up, I was sort of embarrassed like, ‘Why do you want to do that?’ I thought it was very nice. I know I’ve been in radio a long time, but I’m just truly honored and humbled by doing that. Even if there was an award that wasn’t in my name, but it was to honor somebody special every year, I think that’s great. But again, honored and humbled by him wanting to do that. I was just very flattered and it’s truly a nice honor. Sometimes, I scratch my head and I’m like ‘Really, somebody’s naming an award in my name?’ Again, I’m humbled, honored, flattered by it.
PART V: Chernoff’s future and advice to others
Q19: How have you adjusted to life not being inside a radio building each day?
Chernoff: It’s very different. I do hear from people. I’ve had a wonderful time being with family and kids and grandkids, but I can see myself wanting to get back and doing stuff again at some point. I do miss the action of being there, and I certainly miss the people.
To me, working at a radio station is all about the people, and that goes for not just the on-air people, but all of the support staff, all of management, sales, engineering. I just love the action of being there. Kind of retiring from that — it seemed like a good thing, but I think at some point, I would like to be back doing stuff — whether it’s full-time, part-time, project work.
I do get calls from people who ask for my opinion or my advice. I do that and I feel good about being able to help where I can. It’s not paid work; it’s just sometimes — all the acquaintances and friends I’ve made — it’s like ‘Hey, I don’t mind your opinion,’ or ‘I’d like to have your opinion’ I should say. When asked, I’m happy to give.
Q20: What is one piece of advice you have for upcoming programmers?
Chernoff: I say it’s to be a good listener. In life, I think that’s one of the most important things you can do as a human being. It’s not important to speak. It’s important to listen. You get so much out of listening. You find out so much about people.
When I listened to the radio station or radio stations, I tried to listen in two ways. I tried to listen as the program director, and I also tried to listen as a listener. I’d put on a different hat, and I’d be driving around, and if I put on, whether it’s my radio station or another radio station. If I’m listening as a listener, when something sucked or that I didn’t like, I would make a mental note of why and I would go turn to something else. If I’m sitting there trying to critique, that’s different. I want to listen and I want to say what’s good and what’s bad about that.
I think a lot of program directors don’t take the time to listen. They may sit in their office and calculate this and ‘When should we do the break?’ and topics to talk about and stuff like that. Listening to your radio station, and talking to your people every day, just even being friendly. Just talk to them.
Online video platform Rumble offered Spotfiy’s Joe Rogan $100 million to join its company Monday.
In a letter tweeted out and signed by the company’s CEO, Rumble promises to stand by Rogan and his “legions of fans.”
“We stand with you, your guests, and your legions of fans in desire for real conversation,” said CEO Chris Pavlovski.
Currently, Rogan is in the crosshairs of multiple controversies involving alleged COVID misinformation and his use of the n-word in podcasts unearthed by Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter India Arie.
“It looks f***ing horrible. Even to me,” Rogan said on Instagram Saturday. “I know that to most people; there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast. And I agree with that now; I haven’t said it in years.”
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek condemned Rogan’s use of the n-word but claimed the company wouldn’t silence him. Rogan signed an exclusive $100 million content deal with the company in September 2020.
“So, we’d like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place. How about you bring all your shows to Rumble, both old and new, with no censorship, for 100 million bucks over four years?” Pavlovski added.
Welcome to the 7th annual edition of the BSM Top 20. To kick off this year’s series, we shine the light on the Top 20 National Sports Radio Shows of 2021. These shows have the largest reach in America, being distributed by the largest networks in the industry, and airing across hundreds of radio stations, as well as on various digital and television outlets.
As you review this year’s selections, please remember that the results represent the collective opinions of 46 industry executives. Yours truly does not vote. I’d like to thank Stephanie Eads, Dylan Barrett and Demetri Ravanos for helping me with the Top 20 process, and Point to Point for being our exclusive sponsor for this year’s Top 20. Tim Bronsil and his staff are a valued resource to many across the media industry, and if you’re not familiar with their work, you need to make time to learn more. That can be done by clicking here.
As it pertains to the voting, here are a few things to understand.
#1 – These results are based on 2021’s performance. 2022 changes have zero to do with this. Therefore, a show like Tiki & Tierney, which moved to WFAN in January 2022 is still eligible. A show like Maggie & Perloff, which joined CBS Sports Radio’s lineup in January is not eligible until next year. Our one rule since starting this series in 2016 is that a show must finish the year on the air and in the timeslot for which it’s being considered.
#2 – Our executive panel consists of program directors and corporate executives from a number of top broadcasting companies including Audacy, iHeart, Cumulus, Beasley, Hubbard, Good Karma Brands, ESPN Radio, FOX Sports Radio, SiriusXM, Spotify, and independently owned and operated radio stations. We involve a large number of people in order to receive feedback from all parts of the country, as well as to avoid the results heavily favoring one company.
#3 – A total of 84 shows were eligible for voting consideration in the National Sports Radio Shows category.
#4 – The executive panel picked their Top 20 shows based on a few factors; the ear test, originality, ability to entertain, multi-platform impact, on-air chemistry, and ratings success. Keep in mind that voters live in different cities, have different tastes, and value certain factors higher than others. This isn’t a perfect science, but it’s the best system we’ve been able to come up with to showcase how sports radio’s brain trust view the best in the format.
And that now brings us to the rankings for this year’s National Sports Radio Shows. For the 6th time in 7 years, industry voters have selected The Herd with Colin Cowherd as the best National Sports Talk Show of 2021. Colin’s show earned the most 1st place votes (13) of any 2021 nominated show. BSM congratulates Colin, Joy Taylor, Don Martin, Scott Shapiro, Greg Toohey, Ryan Musick, Dave Coelho and the entire FOX Sports Radio crew on earning this year’s top honor, as well as every other show which earned a spot on this year’s list.
Now, here are the full results of “BSM’s Top 20 National Sports Radio Shows of 2021!”
Additional Notes:
Colin Cowherd finished 27 points in front of The Pat McAfee Show, picking up a category high thirteen (13) first place votes. McAfee had the second most first place votes with eleven (11).
21-25 was occupied by Brick At Night, Bart & Hahn, Spain & Fitz, The Zach Gelb Show and After Hours with Amy Lawrence.
The closest contests saw Morning Men edge The Odd Couple by 2 points, and Jason Smith and Mark Packer separated by 3 points.
Of the 84 shows eligible for consideration this year, 11 received at least one 1st place vote.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BSM Top 20 of 2021.
Tuesday February 8 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Morning Shows of 2021
Wednesday February 9 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Midday Shows of 2021
Thursday February 10 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Afternoon Shows of 2021
Friday February 11 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Program Directors of 2021
Monday February 14 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Stations of 2021
Tuesday February 15 = The Top 20 Original Sports Podcasts/Specialty Selections of 2021
To view prior years of BSM’s Top 20 results, click here.
New shows. A popular show’s new revamp. Same old success.
Fox News Channel began their new era of several new news hours as well as a change in its hosting panel on “The Five” on Jan. 24. Yet, one thing remained constant: their dominance on cable.
Already their current No. 1 show, “The Five” premiered the addition of new full-time co-host Jeanine Pirro. Her former Saturday night program “Justice with Jeanine Pirro” concluded its 11-year run back on Jan. 22 (which, despite opposite a 49ers-Packers game on parent network Fox, drew 1.4 million total viewers and 148,000 adults 18-49). Also on “The Five” are a rotation of Harold Ford Jr., Geraldo Rivera, and Jessica Tarlov — the three succeed the spot previously held by the show’s original panelist Juan Williams who had exited back in May 2021. They all join current co-hosts Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino and Jesse Watters.
The Jan. 24th edition of “The Five” (as also noted in the list near article’s end) drew 3.86 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research; its episode the next day (Jan. 25) grew to 3.87 million total viewers. Both not only led the week’s telecasts among cable news channels but on cable overall. Fox News Channel secured 76 of the top 100 most-watched cable telecasts for the week, including the entire top 20 — four of the five weekday editions of “The Five” placed in the top ten; its Friday Jan. 28 edition (3.08 million) ranked 15th.
Also on Jan. 24 was the debut of the 7 p.m. hour “Jesse Watters Primetime”. Its 3.8 million total viewers ranked third on cable overall; its Monday thru Thursday editions (Jan. 24-28) all landed in the top 13. The show’s five-weeknight average of 3.26 million viewers was FNC’s best for that hour since the week of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election (Nov. 2-6, 2020). Watters’ former Saturday night program “Watters World” concluded its five-year run on Jan. 22 with 1.585 million viewers and 173,000 in the key 25-54 demographic.
Then, on Jan. 29, FNC’s brand new Saturday night lineup averaged 1.49 million total viewers in prime time — a figure that would normally top the night on cable but not on this particular evening, as noted in the next paragraph. Leading off the night at 8 p.m. was the premiere of “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade” (1.54 million total viewers) hosted by the “Fox & Friends” personality. “Unfiltered with Dan Bongino” (1.465 million total viewers) moved up its regular slot to one hour earlier to 9 p.m. and, with 247,000 adults 25-54, improved upon its “Kilmeade” (189,000 adults 25-54) lead-in in the key demo. The launch of “Lawrence Jones Cross Country” at 10 p.m. slightly built upon its “Bongino” lead-in in total viewers (1.47 million) and its 239,000 among adults 25-54 retained nearly all of “Bongino’s” demo crowd.
The networks of Lifetime and A&E scored a hit on the evenings of Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 with their two-night, four-part documentary “Janet Jackson”. The following are the figures for each of its original airings:
Part 1 — Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 @ 8-9 p.m.
Lifetime: 1.903 million total viewers; 715,000 adults 25-54
A&E: 0.925 million total viewers; 365,000 adults 25-54
Combined: 2.828 million total viewers; 1.08 million adults 25-54
Part 2 — Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 @ 9-10 p.m.
Lifetime: 2.114 million total viewers; 821,000 adults 25-54
A&E: 1.057 million total viewers; 443,000 adults 25-54
Combined: 3.171 million total viewers; 1.264 million adults 25-54
Part 3 — Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 @ 8-9 p.m.
Lifetime: 1.796 million total viewers; 675,000 adults 25-54
A&E: 1.222 million total viewers; 456,000 adults 25-54
Combined: 3.018 million total viewers; 1.131 million adults 25-54
Part 4 — Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 @ 9-10 p.m.
Lifetime: 1.882 million total viewers; 706,000 adults 25-54
A&E: 1.345 million total viewers; 534,000 adults 25-54
Combined: 3.227 million total viewers; 1.24 million adults 25-54
Overall, the profile on the pop/R&B singer was the week’s top cable program among adults 25-54.
It had the highest viewership of any non-fiction program on Lifetime since the documentary on another R&B singer but with much more controversy, “Surviving R. Kelly,” which aired in January 2019.
“Janet Jackson” also marked the best nonfiction debut in viewership and ratings on cable since “The Last Dance” (Apr.-May 2020), the ESPN docuseries that chronicled another pop culture icon of the 80’s and 90’s, Michael Jordan, and his Chicago Bulls team.
Cable news averages for January 24-30, 2022:
Total Day (January 24-30 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
Fox News Channel: 1.549 million viewers; 255,000 adults 25-54
MSNBC: 0.675 million viewers; 76,000 adults 25-54
CNN: 0.453 million viewers; 90,000 adults 25-54
HLN: 0.210 million viewers; 63,000 adults 25-54
The Weather Channel: 0.196 million viewers; 35,000 adults 25-54
CNBC: 0.164 million viewers; 39,000 adults 25-54
Newsmax: 0.146 million viewers; 23,000 adults 25-54
Fox Business Network: 0.107 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (January 24-29 @ 8-11 p.m.; January 30 @ 7-11 p.m.)
Fox News Channel: 2.440 million viewers; 390,000 adults 25-54
MSNBC: 1.258 million viewers; 146,000 adults 25-54
CNN: 0.542 million viewers; 117,000 adults 25-54
Newsmax: 0.285 million viewers; 49,000 adults 25-54
HLN: 0.244 million viewers; 77,000 adults 25-54
CNBC: 0.213 million viewers; 66,000 adults 25-54
The Weather Channel: 0.208 million viewers; 45,000 adults 25-54
Fox Business Network: 0.052 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC, HBO, CNN and Weather Channel programs with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/25/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.870 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 1/24/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.862 million viewers
Our 2022 BSM Summit is only twenty two days away, and the lineup we’ve assembled for this year’s conference is strong. We’ll have more to announce as well leading up to the show. If you haven’t bought a live or virtual ticket, today’s your lucky day. We’re having a special one-day only 20% off sale on tickets TODAY. This will be the last time discounted rates are available, so take advantage of it.
A few folks won’t need to purchase tickets to the show due to their participation in our special email and Facebook contest. Congratulations to Matt Fishman of ESPN Cleveland, Ryan Haney of WJOX in Birmingham, Sandy Cohen of WHB in Kansas City, Ryan Hurley of 98.7 ESPN New York and Ryan Maguire of Good Karma Brands in Chicago on winning live tickets. Additional congratulations goes out to Danny Zederman of ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Robert Mueller of 98.1 The Sports Animal, Mike Ragozino of 1380 The Fan in Fort Wayne, Jeff Austin of 1080 The Fan in Portland and Ray Necci of ESPN on winning virtual tickets. I’ll touch base soon to confirm details for enjoying the conference.
Looking ahead to the show, I’m pleased to add Good Karma Brands Executive Vice President Debbie Brown and Beasley Philadelphia Market Manager Joe Bell to this year’s lineup. Next on the to-do list is announcing our winners for this year’s Mark Chernoff Award and the Champion’s Award, and our ESPN After Party special guests. Those should be revealed during the next week or two. For those wondering when the full schedule of sessions will be out, that should be out next week as well.
This event is specifically for industry professionals. We don’t sell tickets to the general public. However, as we gather sports media’s most talented personalities and executives in NYC for two days, I want to make sure tomorrow’s generation of broadcast professionals have a chance to learn from some of the smartest people in the industry.
With that in mind, I’m thrilled to share that BSM will be giving away five (5) virtual tickets to college students who are interested in learning more about the broadcasting industry. This applies to all college students across the United States not just Tri-State area students. The winners will be decided by myself, Demetri Ravanos, Cumulus Media and Westwood One’s Senior Vice President of Sports Bruce Gilbert, Premiere Networks and iHeart Senior Vice President of Sports Don Martin, and ESPN Radio Program Director Justin Craig.
In order to qualify for a free virtual ticket, students are asked to submit a 2-minute video by email to JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com explaining why they’d like to watch the event. Included in the email should be a list of steps they are or have already taken to explore opportunities in the media industry, what they hope to pursue in the business upon graduation, and any audio or video clips they wish to attach showcasing their work.
Students must be pursuing a degree that involves course work either in radio, television, print or the digital business. Those attending trade schools which focus on broadcasting are also invited to participate. BSM will accept submissions until February 18thth. The winners will be announced during the week of February 21-25.
Two years ago, we gave away tickets to students to this event. One of the winners was Derek Futterman. He now writes for BSM and does an excellent job for us. Though the option to attend in person doesn’t exist this year, if students are hungry to gain knowledge, learn the names and faces of influential people charged with shaping the industry, and understand what goes into creating successful brands and business, there’s no better education than this show.
That’s all for now. Hope to see you in person or online at the Summit. You may now return to the website to enjoy and debate BSM’s Top 20 madness, our biggest traffic driver of the year. Have fun!
Don Martin has a way of making everyone he talks to feel ten feet tall and bullet-proof. Seriously, if you ever get the opportunity to speak with the Executive Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Sports, jump at it! The guy is smart, kind, and relentlessly positive.
Many of you will have the chance to speak to Don and hear him speak next month in New York. He has become one of those faces we just cannot have a BSM Summit without.
It’s hard to tell Don Martin that though, because he is always more interested in lifting someone else up.
“Well, first of all, it’s not even about what we get to do,” he says when I ask him what he is interested in teaching people this year. “I need to say that this has become the seminal event for sports radio across the country, okay? It’s the one and only real sports talk event that pulls everybody together that’s built around our industry and I want to say thank you to you and Jason and everybody there that pulls it off.”
See what I mean?
Don will be on stage next month in New York at the 2022 BSM Summit. He will have plenty to teach, but he doesn’t think that makes him any more important than anyone else there. The value of the Summit for everyone is back-and-forth conversation.
“What I appreciate is you learn, but you also get to have your voice,” he says. “And I don’t care if you’re an on-air host or if you’re an audience member, if you’re a producer, if you’ve decided to go on your own. I don’t care if you’re a sales person that gets to go in there and figure out what’s going on within the vertical. This is a place you want to be because none of us are short of opinions and none of us are pulling in any direction other than the same direction to make the vertical better. And that’s what makes this group work so well.”
The industry doesn’t come together nearly often enough. That is why it has always been important that the BSM Summit is not just about giving knowledge, but also about giving credit.
Don Martin has watched a lot of people be called up to accept an award at events in the past, and he has noticed a trend. The awards at the BSM Summit honor industry trailblazers, standout hosts, and programmers that have built and led unstoppable brands. Martin has been impressed to see every one of them show real humility and gratitude when they step to the microphone.
“I mean, you see all of the emotion. You see that it’s legitimate. To be honored by your peers, there’s not a bigger thing I don’t think. You can get honored by the people in your building or your upper management, etc., but to be honored by your peers is sensational. You can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices that they’re speaking from their hearts and that it really does mean something to them.”
In Don’s eyes, there is something special, maybe even poetic, about the BSM Summit being back in New York for 2022. After all, the last time we did one of these, the country was a little over two weeks away from using the phrase “the new normal” in everyday conversation.
In 2020, the event took place on February 26 and 27. On March 13 of that year, Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19. The games were halted. Shows went from everyone in a single studio to a collection of zoom feeds and hosts learned to stretch the boundaries of the format.
“The Barrett Summit closed down the media and the Barrett Summit is now going to open it back up and it’s all in the same city,” Don Martin laughs. “We closed it down when we left New York, and now we’re opening back up by going back to New York.”
There is a virtual ticket option for those that can’t or don’t want to attend in person, but Don is right. This is going to be the first full gathering of the sports media industry since Covid became part of our lives. Hopefully, that means people are ready to get out and network.
Don Martin has a little advice. Don’t show up with your sole goal being to tell you’re story.
“When you put a lot of people into the room, there’s a diversity of voices,” he says. “So, you’re not hearing it from one side or the other. You’re hearing it from all of them and they all have a really good point. So the one thing I will tell everybody, while we all have a great opinion inside every one of these brains, the more you can listen, the more you’re going to get out of this.”
Television host Whoopi Goldberg is still suspended for her comments regarding the Holocaust. “The View” announced it was sidelining Goldberg for two weeks amid public outrage.
Recently, Jewish-American broadcaster Steve Malzberg reacted to Goldberg’s suspension on his “Eat the Press” show on the RT American platform.
Malzberg said there was a breaking point for Goldberg’s comments, but she crossed the line of acceptability when she said, “Blacks, whites, and Jews, eat each other.”
“There are so many problems with that; I’ll just keep it simple,” Malzberg said. “Blacks, whites, Jews, Italians, may all eat each other, but they don’t throw each other into gas chambers and ovens as part of the final solution in an attempt to wipe out what was referred to as an inferior race.”
About two out of every three Jews living in Europe before the war were killed in the Holocaust. When World War II ended in 1945, six million European Jews died.
Malzberg told his audience that Goldberg is “not an anti-Semite, just a fool.” Malzberg used Gina Carano, former star of The Mandalorian, as an example of the hypocrisy that exists in Hollywood.
Carano was fired from the show last year after sharing a post on social media implying that being a Republican today is “like being Jewish during the Holocaust.”
“To me, both ladies made similar comments, so why was one fired and Whoopi not?” Malzberg asked. “Whoopi take your two weeks paid vacation and shut up, or better yet quit; I dare you.”
Spotify has reportedly removed more than 100 episodes of the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast from its site.
According to The New York Post, approximately 113 episodes of his show are missing, many older episodes released before the COVID misinformation controversy began.
In recent weeks, Rogan has become a household name for better or worse as former Spotify artists have lined up to leave the platform amid claims that Rogan disseminates “COVID misinformation” using some of the most controversial guests in the world.
Episode # 1757 featuring Dr. Robert Malone, drew the ire of several critics, including artists/songwriters Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Mary Trump, and writer Brene Brown. They left the platform abruptly after Spotify sided with Rogan.
Those artists demanded that Spotify terminate Rogan or remove their content from its site.
Clips of Rogan using the n-word were recently circulated by Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter India Arie who demanded the streaming service remove her music; earlier in the week, she had already sided with Young and Mitchell.
“I believe in freedom of speech. However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons other than his Covid interviews,” Arie wrote on Instagram. “For me, it’s also his language around race.”
Rogan took to Instagram Saturday to address the clips. “It looks f***ing horrible. Even to me,” he said. “I know that to most people; there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast. And I agree with that now; I haven’t said it in years.”
His missing shows feature conservatives with the Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, Michael Malice, Alex Jones, and Milo Yiannopoulos, and comedians like Rich Vos and Little Esther and Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey.
The controversy at Spotify involving Joe Rogan disseminating alleged COVID misinformation was addressed this week by CEO Daniel Ek.
Ek hosted a town hall event where he spoke to employees, some of whom reportedly pressed Ek on why the company continues to allow Rogan to host shows that indulge in anti-vaccine/mandate rhetoric.
“If we want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with,” he said. “Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad.”
Ek also addressed investors. He said the company saw a double-digit increase in the number of monthly active users that listened to a podcast during Q4 compared to the prior quarter.
This week, Spotify also revealed that it was going to start placing advisory labels on podcasts that contained content related to the pandemic. Ek shouldered the blame for not acting on this type of thing, sooner.
“We should have done it earlier, and that’s on me,” he said. “We don’t change our policies based on one creator nor do we change it based on any media cycle,” Ek said. “And while Joe has a massive audience, he’s actually the No. 1 podcast in more than 90 markets, he also has to abide by those policies.”
Elk said as far as the Rogan-COVID misinformation controversy that has ensnared the company, it’s too early to tell whether this past week’s event will have an impact on subscribers.
“It’s too early to know what the impact will be,” Ek said. “Usually, when we’ve had controversies in the past, those are measured in months and not days.”
