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Sports Junkies Top 5 Finish Highlights 106.7 The Fan’s Summer Book

BSM Staff
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Sports Junkies Top 5 Finish Highlights 106.7 The Fan’s Summer Book

The summer book numbers are in for the nation’s capital, and has been the case most times, 106.7 The Fan turned in a solid quarterly performance. For the quarter, Washington D.C.’s sports radio leader finished 7th with a 5.0 share with Men 25-54. That was slightly down year over year from 6th and a 5.3 share. All numbers included in this article represent the station’s combined Over The Air ratings and Streaming performance.

Looking at the weekday shows, the Sports Junkies recorded the highest ranking on the station for the book. The Junkies were 5th in morning drive with a 5.3 share. The popular morning team also improved their year over year performance, gaining eight tenths of a point and three positions from 2020.

Turning to middays, Brian Mitchell and JP Finlay delivered a station best share of 5.8 for the quarter. That placed them 7th for the book between the hours of 10a-2p. Middays in 2020 were occupied by Grant and Danny (they’ve since moved to afternoons) and rated and ranked higher with a 6.4 and 4th place finish. With this being BMitch and Finlay’s first summer book, they now have something to measure themselves against next year.

Wrapping up in afternoons, Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier finished the quarter in 10th with a 4.4 share. It was their first summer book in PM drive so comparisons to last year aren’t an apples to apples comparison. Nonetheless, the station in 2020 produced a 4.8 and 6th place finish courtesy of Chad Dukes.

Team 980 is still a work in progress, so we’ll have to wait until the Fall to see where that brand starts to settle in. With the Washington Football Team back on the field, not to mention connected to an NFL investigation, and the Capitals and Wizards recently starting their 2021-2022 campaigns, look for D.C.’s numbers to grow in the fall.

Erwin Ephron Made Advertising What It Is Now & His Advice Still Works

Jeff Caves
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Have you ever looked at a buy you received from an agency and wondered why they buy so little frequency? The classic buy we see in the industry. It’s 15 commercials per week for 6 out of 12 weeks.

It may be the work of one man: Erwin Ephron.

Erwin Ephron

I wrote about Ephron reminding us not to hammer listeners like nails. Ephron is called the Father of Modern Media Planning, and he passed away eight years ago last week. He passed long before the dominance of internet spending for advertising over tv and anything else ( 2 to 1 over tv, in fact). Before he died, he was railing about the fractionalized media; it would be interesting to hear what he thought in 2021. Ephron, who worked in PR for Nielsen, was called a media guru when he introduced his Recency Planning strategy and wrote several articles on media buying from 1992-2005. His point was simple: The last impression to reach a consumer before the point of purchase was more valuable than any other, and that reach, not frequency was king. 

Think more weeks at a lower frequency, he preached. Not great for selling 50 spots a week for a four-week schedule, but better at selling annual schedules. Erwin Ephron did endorse short flights with heavy frequency for new product launches because he reasoned the buyer was willing to overspend for shelf space.

I would rather have an advertiser stay consistent over a more extended period of time than one that comes in and out. We have a better relationship with the consistent buyer and can engage them in more sales opportunities year-round.  

Erwin Ephron preached to national advertisers to buy more local media in specific vital markets to increase the buy weight. Maybe he was the inventor of Key Market funds too. He lectured media planners to do more than buy national network tv and buy more impressions closer to the purchase decision, so radio and in-store were winners. I imagine he would have endorsed mobile media and search engine marketing to a large degree as well.

His point about what gets a consumer into the market to purchase is worth reciting to clients. Ephron felt that, for example, if our car lease were expiring, that would trigger us to buy a new car on average- not ads that convince us to buy a new vehicle with increased connectivity. So, he figured, one exposure to a car dealer’s ad to car buyers whose lease was up was more effective than reaching three buyers who were not in the market and would tune the ad out anyway. And when radio owners complained that their share of media dollars would shrink because of a reduced frequency per station, Ephron explained that not getting bought at all was way more costly.

I think it serves us well to approach our 2022 annual buyers with this kind of strategy and encourage them to do the following:

  • Buy more weeks at a lower frequency
  • Buy Monday – Sunday 6 am-12mid
  • Buy more stations in our cluster with a similar demo.

Since we never know when a person is ready to buy, it makes sense to be more consistent throughout the year. And, for listeners/consumers, it’s better to be the hammer than the nail. 

104.5 The Zone Shines In Nashville Summer Book

BSM Staff
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104.5 The Zone Shines In Nashville Summer Book

The summer book numbers are in for Nashville and there were a lot of positive takeaways for folks involved with the market’s sports radio stations. The quarter was led by 104.5 The Zone which finished 3rd for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 7.6 share, and 4th in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 7.7 share. All numbers are with Men 25-54.

What especially caught my eye was the year to year growth across all dayparts. Sports started to come back at the start of July in 2020, so Summer 2021 provided a big boost which should serve The Zone in the upcoming fall book. Compared to 2020, The Zone’s prime and full week numbers grew by 3.6 points. Prime also enjoyed a six position improvement. The full week performed even better gaining seven spots.

In mornings on The Zone, J-Mart and Ramon featuring Jason Martin and Ramon Foster secured a 4th place finish for the quarter with a 6.6 share. That was up from 9th and a 3.9 share in 2020.

During the midday hours of 10a-3p, the combination of Buck Reising’s show from 10a-1p and Blaine Bishop and Mickey Ryan from 1p-3p helped The Zone produce an 8.3 share to finish 3rd in the timeslot. Ryan and Bishop in particular stood out, finishing 2nd in their slot during all three months during the book. The station also doubled its production in the 10a-3p timeslot year over year, picking up 4.2 points and eight positions over that time period.

Moving to afternoon drive, 3HL which features Brent Dougherty, Dawn Davenport and Ron Slay generated a 5th place finish thanks to a 7.3 share. The afternoon trio also improved from 8th and a 4.7 share in 2020.

On the other side of town, the news was also great for 102.5 The Game. The station produced its best summer book in station history. The Game saw all of its weekday shows deliver above a 3 share for the first time since May 2018.

Making the most noise for the quarter was the morning show featuring Robby Stanley and Joe Rexrode. The Nashville duo, which took over the morning slot in October 2020, popped a 4 share for the summer book.

104.3 The Fan Turns In Stellar Summer Book in Denver

BSM Staff
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104.3 The Fan Turns In Stellar Summer Book in Denver

The string of ratings wins continued in 2021 for Denver’s 104.3 The Fan. In the summer book, the market’s top rated brand secured a 2nd place finish in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) courtesy of a 5.0 share. That was up from a 4.9, 5th place finish in the spring book. Year over year the station is down from 2nd. All numbers are for Men 25-54.

Turning to the station’s weekday shows, Mark Schlereth and Mike Evans remained the market’s best performing sports talk show. ‘Schlereth and Evans’ registered a 6.4 share in mornings to finish 1st between 6a-9a. They were also 1st in the spring book with a 6.8 and in the winter book with a 7.8. Their only blemish is a drop from the 2020 summer book when they produced a massive 11.3 share. That’s a pretty good problem to have.

In middays, The Fan’s “Orlando and Sandy” placed 7th in their final book together with a 3.8 share from 9a-12p. Orlando Franklin has since left the show to pursue a career in coaching. Sandy Clough has since moved into The Fan’s evening hours to partner with Shawn Drotar.

The second part of middays,“Stokley and Zach”, which features Brandon Stokley and Zach Bye finished 5th with a 4.6 share between the hours of 12p-3p. The midday duo were up from 6th and a 4.1 in 2020.

In afternoons, “The Drive with Tyler Polumbus and DMac” ranked 3rd for the quarter with a 5.1 share. They slid back from 2nd and a 6.7 share in 2020.

Wrapping up in evenings, “Nick and Cecil” which features Nick Ferguson and Cecil Lammey came in 20th from 6p-9p. “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar” finished 14th in its final book with a 2.0 share. Drotar joined forces with Sandy Clough on September 20th. The fall book will provide the first look at how they perform together.

Elsewhere in the market, the home of the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies, KOA finished the summer book in 23rd in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 1.6 share. The station’s sports programs, “Logan and Lewis” ranked 21st with a 0.7 in their final book, “Big Al and Jojo” finished 26th in afternoons with a 1.2, and “Broncos Country Tonight with Ryan Edwards and Benjamin Allbright” (along with Rockies baseball) came in 19th with a 1.9 share. KOA has since moved Logan into afternoon drive alongside Williams. Those changes went into effect on September 20th so the duo’s first quarterly performance will come in the 2021 fall book.

Meanwhile for Altitude Sports Radio, the station finished the summer in 24th in weekday prime with a 1.3 share. The best news for the quarter came in afternoons where the team of Andy Lindahl and Nate Kreckman popped a 2.1 share to finish 19th. Next up was the morning team of Vic Lombardi, Marc Moser and Brett Kane. The trio ranked 25th between 6a-10a with a 1.0 share. Closing things out in middays were Ryan Harris, Scott Hastings and Josh Dover who delivered a 0.7 to rank 30th.

With the Nuggets and Avalanche back in action and the Denver Broncos generating their usual fall interest, a cume lift should come for all three brands in the final book of the year.

Jeff Van Gundy: ‘NBA Games Should Be Shortened To 2 Hour TV Window’

Derek Futterman
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ESPN enters its 20th season of NBA coverage with cross-platform coverage leading up to a prime-time matchup from Madison Square Garden with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics visiting Julius Randle and the New York Knicks. ESPN Play-by-Play Announcer and “voice of the NBA Finals” Mike Breen will be on the call, joined by sideline reporter Lisa Salters and analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. Jackson, who most recently served as head coach of the Golden State Warriors after a 17-year playing career, looked back on how far the broadcast has come since he first joined it in 2006.

“It [has] progressed with the variety of people [who] are covering the game,” said Jackson on a recent conference call. “Across the board, they’ve done an outstanding job of not making us all look and sound alike. I’m honored to be a part of that group.”

An issue prevalent in many sports, most notably Major League Baseball, pertains to pace-of-play. In an attempt to shorten “America’s Pastime” to attract and hold the attention of younger audiences, the introduction of new rules, such as limitations on mound visits, clocks to regulate time in-between innings, and restrictions on when the batter can step out of the box during an at-bat, have had the adverse effect. The average MLB contest lasts three hours and 11 minutes, the highest mark recorded since consistent measurement began in 1946.

While a regulation, four-quarter NBA game is significantly quicker than an MLB contest, Van Gundy, a former coach of 11 years, hopes the league can shorten the game even more to adapt to today’s viewing audience that holds an average attention span of just eight seconds, shorter than that of a goldfish. He suggests modifying rules, such as the length of halftime and instituting a statute of limitations on challenges, to ensure the game remains enthralling and entertaining for future generations.

“I’d love to see the game shortened into a two-hour window,” said Van Gundy. “I think we need to keep finding ways to reduce stoppages of play from timeouts. I would either shorten or greatly modify halftime. I think [the league has] to constantly look for ways to shorten the viewing window and have as much action in that two-hour timeframe as [it] can.”

With ESPN recently launching the “Manningcast,” an alternate, non-traditional broadcast of Monday Night Football featuring former NFL quarterbacks, Super Bowl champions and brothers Eli and Peyton Manning, the world of sports media has undoubtedly taken notice. The broadcast has a similar feel to friends hanging out and watching a football game, except these friends just so happen to have played and reached the pinnacle of professional football, offering unique perspectives and viewpoints shattering the fourth wall between the athletes and the fans. While the NBA on ESPN has yet to do a broadcast at that scale with regularity, it is something that the network analysts are taking notice of.

“When you’re dealing with one of the greatest to ever play the game in Peyton, and a hall-of-famer in Eli, both guys do an incredible job,” said Jackson. “I think it gives an opportunity for viewers who want to see that type of broadcast. I don’t even know how many channels [ESPN has, but] it’s always going to be something against what we are doing… I have no problem with it at all.”

If ESPN decided to produce a non-traditional, alternate broadcast, Van Gundy offered an idea to close out his broadcasting career where the fans would be given the unfiltered perspective of those who have been on the court.

“I want to do one game, NBA on ESPN: The Entire Truth,” opined Van Gundy. “[We would] be able to tell the entire truth — not 90% of it, not 80% of it, but the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I think that would be an outstanding, one-time broadcast as I sign off and finish my career.”

While Jackson and Van Gundy do not cover the NFL, they have not had their heads in the sand. They were asked about the emails from Jon Gruden leaked during an investigation into the culture of the Washington Football Team. Both hold concerns regarding similar issues that may have already occurred or could occur in the future within the NBA, a league that protested racial injustice last summer when playoff games were postponed and nearly cancelled following the shooting of Jacob Blake.

“It’s unfortunate, and I totally agree with the price that Jon Gruden had to pay for the things that he stated,” said Jackson. “My concern is I truly do not believe it is just a Jon Gruden story. There’s more to it, and there’s people being protected. We have to find a way to weave those people out… [and] hopefully we can get better across the board.”

Van Gundy holds an analogous sentiment with Jackson, and has lost trust in the NFL’s stand against injustice and willingness to do whatever it takes to directly avoid bad publicity

“The NFL has always found ways to protect itself from these things, and to deflect their responsibility,” affirmed Van Gundy. “They’ll give you a lot of clichés about transparency; yet, they are always covering and protecting their own. My level of trust for their investigations is nil.”

Aside from the trio of Breen, Jackson and Van Gundy, ESPN’s lineup of on-air personalities and commentators, the latter of whom all plan to appear on-site this season, includes analysts Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter and play-by-play voices Ryan Ruocco, Mark Jones, Dave Pasch, Brian Custer and Beth Mowins. Additionally, sideline reporters for this season of the N.B.A. on ESPN include Malika Andrews, Katie George, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, Cassidy Hubbarth, Lisa Salters and Jorge Sedano. One name, though, that has been within the N.B.A. landscape longer than any of ESPN’s rotation of broadcasters is Naismith Basketball Hall-of-Famer Hubie Brown, who starts his 50th season in the league between coaching and broadcasting.

Jeff Van Gundy, who ESPN recently inked to a multi-year contract extension, does not think his career will have the longevity of Brown’s, but is grateful for the time he has spent with the network thus far, and looks forward to the future of what he calls his “second career.”

“There has to be an award named for [Hubie Brown] somewhere. He’s 88 — that would take me to 2050. I can’t even imagine that,” said Van Gundy. “The upper management of ESPN has changed a lot, but my direct boss in Tim Corrigan has never changed. Broadcasting is good, but broadcasting with friends is great…  I’ve enjoyed it particularly because of who I work for and who I work with. I can’t state how lucky I’ve been along the way to have coached as long as I did and to stumble into a second career.”

ESPN’s 20th season of NBA coverage kicks off Wednesday night with the prime-time matchup between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Fan in Indy & The Fan in Portland Deliver In Summer Book

BSM Staff
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The Fan in Indy & The Fan in Portland Deliver In Summer Book

The summer book in Indianapolis produced good news for market leader 93.5/107.5 The Fan. The news was equally rewarding for Portland’s top sports radio brand 1080 The Fan. Let’s take a closer look at what took place during the summer months in both markets.

Starting in Indy, The Fan finished the quarter in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) delivering a 7.2 share. For the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid, The Fan scored a 5.4 share. All numbers are with Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.

Among the weekday shows, The Drive with JMV produced the station’s biggest numbers for the quarter, turning in an 8.2 in afternoon drive. Next up was the midday show with Dan Dakich, which recorded a 7.6 share. Wrapping things up was The Fan Morning Show generating a 6.8 share, and the station’s airing of ESPN Radio’s ‘Greeny’, which delivered a 6.9 share.

A few other impressive stories in Indy from The Fan included a strong 6.8 share in weekday prime with Persons 25-54, and a 6.0 share with Persons 18-49. The brand’s best show in other categories for the quarter was JMV’s afternoon show which turned in an impressive 7.8 with Persons 25-54, and a 7.0 with Persons 18-49.

Moving to Portland, the shares were lower than Indy, but for 1080 The Fan, the victories over local market competitors 750 The Game and Rip City Radio 620 were enough to make the summer book a positive one. What made it especially gratifying for 1080 was the fact that the brand’s wins were secured without adding its streaming performance. The station doesn’t total line report, making the numbers strictly an Over The Air performance. Considering that 90% of radio listening in the market occurs on the FM dial, and the station is delivering a big audience thru its app and podcast downloads, if those ever do get added to the mix, it could change the conversation in future books.

Nonetheless, we start with the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) where 1080 snagged a 2.3 share to finish a full point ahead of 750 The Game’s 1.3 share. Rip City was further back at a 0.6. The same story existed in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) where 1080 pulled a 2.4, The Game had a 1.4 and Rip City popped a 0.7. All numbers are for Men 25-54, sports radio’s targeted demo.

Looking at the weekday shows, The Game earned a win in mornings (6a-9a) thanks to The Dan Patrick Show. DP has performed well in Portland over the years, and for the summer book, the show picked up a 2.4, tripling 1080 and Rip City which tied with a 0.8. 1080’s morning show is hosted by Dirt & Sprague. Rip City is represented in morning drive by Rip City Mornings with Justin Myers.

During the 12p-3p hours, 1080 won the quarter thanks to the midday team of AJ & Dusty. AJ McCord and Dusty Harrah reeled in a 2.1 share, which placed them three tenths of a point in front of The Game’s John Canzano. Rip City’s airing of the Doug Gottlieb Show was further back at a 0.7.

In afternoon drive, Primetime with Isaac and Suke, featuring Isaac Ropp and Jason Scukanec, won their timeslow by producing a market best 4.4 share for the quarter. 1080’s program was nearly five times stronger than Rip City’s Chad Doing and Travis Demers, and The Game’s airing of CBS Sports Radio’s Zach Gelb Show.

Wrapping things up at night, 1080 finished in front of the competition with a 1.5 share. That performance doubled the production from The Game and Rip City Radio.

Led By Common Man & T-Bone, 97.1 The Fan Produces Monster Summer Book

BSM Staff
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Led By Common Man & T-Bone, 97.1 The Fan Produces Monster Summer Book

Columbus sports radio was alive and well in the summer book. The market’s leading brand, 97.1 The Fan, enjoyed strong performances across the board. The station finished 1st in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 12.8 share. A 1st place finish was also produced for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) courtesy of an 11.6 share. All numbers in this article are for Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.

The weekday shows produced similar stories. One of the most dominant performances for the quarter came from the afternoon show, Common Man and T-Bone. Mike Ricordati and Jonathan Smith delivered a station best 18.0 share to finish 1st overall in afternoons from 3p-6p. The show also picked up an incredible 3.2 points year over year.

The next best performing show on the station was the midday team of Beau Bishop and James Laurinaitis. Their 9a-12p show also took 1st during the hours of 9a-12p with a 12.2 share. The midday show also grew year over year, gaining 2.5 points and moving up from 3rd.

During the hours of Noon to 3p ET, the station’s combination of Anthony Rothman and Matt ‘Ice’ Hayes produced an 11.8 share to secure 1st place. The only minor setback for the show was the loss of 1.1 points year over year. Given that they’re popping double digit shares and locking up 1st place finishes in the summer of 2020 and 2021, I’m sure they won’t lose any sleep over it.

The one show for the quarter that didn’t finish 1st was the morning show. The Morning Juice with Brandon Beam and Bobby Carpenter came in 5th with a 6.9 between the hours of 6a-9a. The show did though gain two tenths of a point year over year.

A few other nuggets from the book worth passing along. The Fan’s full week production among Adults 25-54 placed them 4th with a 7.0 share. They were also 3rd for the full week with Persons 12+ with a 6.9. In weekday prime, the station tied for 3rd place with an 8.2 share with Adults 25-54 and came in 3rd with Persons 12+ with a 7.7. Even more impressive was the performance of Common Man and T-Bone with both of those categories. The show was 1st overall in afternoons with an 11.6 with Adults 25-54, and 1st overall with Persons 12+ with a 9.0 share.

KNBR Enjoys Strong Summer Book In San Francisco

BSM Staff
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KNBR Enjoys Strong Summer Book In San Francisco

Kevin Graham picked a great time to arrive in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Giants delivered the best record in baseball, excitement for the 49ers has been elevated due to the 1st round draft selection of Trey Lance, and the return of Klay Thompson to the Golden State Warriors lineup is just around the corner.

When those type of events are happening, enthusiasm among local sports fans increases. Those fans then seek more conversation on the teams, players and issues that are capturing their attention, and for the summer book, the majority flocked to The Sports Leader, KNBR.

For the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid), KNBR finished 1st in the market among Men 25-54 with a 5.1. The station also produced a 5.1 in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) which placed them 2nd. An even better highlight for the brand was their September performance which included a 6.3 for the full week, and a 6.1 in weekday prime. With the 49ers playing regular season games and the Giants locked in a tight playoff battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the October monthly should provide even better results.

Looking at the station’s weekday shows, Murph and Mac delivered the best performance among weekday prime shows for the quarter. The morning show produced a 6.1 share to capture 1st place. Their share grew to 6.7 during the month of September.

In middays, John Lund and Greg Papa rode a 4.0 share to a 6th place finish. Papa and Lund improved to 5.4 and 4th place during the month of September.

Switching to afternoons, Tom Tolbert, Larry Krueger, and Rod Brooks popped a 5.3 share to snag 2nd place. Their September performance saw them elevate to 1st with a 6.4.

Wrapping up at night (M-F 7p-12a), the combination of San Francisco Giants baseball, 49ers pre-season action, and Mark Willard’s evening show (Mark has since moved over to 95.7 The Game) helped The Sports Leader finish 2nd with a 7.7 share. Similar to the daytime shows, evenings grew in September to an 8.9.

For 95.7 The Game, the story was the afternoon show featuring Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto and Matt Kolsky. The Bay Area trio produced a 4.7 share for the book, finishing 3rd, only six tenths of a point behind Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks. The show pulled within five tenths during the month of September thanks to an increase to 5.9. One item to be aware of moving forward, Kolsky has since moved to evenings. This means the afternoon show’s fall book results will be determined by Bruce and Ratto.

The next best performing show on The Game for the quarter was the midday show featuring Matt Steinmetz, Dan Dibley, and Daryle ‘The Guru’ Johnson. Steiny, Guru and Dibley pulled in a 3.3 share to finish their timeslot in 10th for the book. Their September number was the same as their rating for the full book.

Starting off the day, The Morning Roast with Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky recorded a 2.3 share which placed them 14th. Similar to the midday show, the September number was even with the rest of the book. Evenings were far back in 24th place with a 0.6. Once the Warriors return that number should improve.

Overall, The Game finished 10th for the book in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 3.7 share. The station was also 16th for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) with a 2.5 share.

Entering the fall book, The Game has revamped their lineup. The station now features The Morning Roast from 6a-9a, Mark Willard and Dan Dibley from 9a to Noon, Steiny and Guru from Noon to 3p, Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto from 3p-6p, and Matt Kolsky and Company from 6p-10p.

What Did Dave Greene Learn And Why Is He Done With Corporate Radio?

Jeff Caves
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What Did Dave Greene Learn And Why Is He Done With Corporate Radio?

Recently, after 20+ years of management, sales, and radio broadcast operations experience, Dave Greene moved on from his job as GSM at Audacy in St. Louis. He said Audacy was going in a different direction on LinkedIn, and he didn’t like it. You can connect with Dave here. 

Dave Greene

During his radio career, Greene held various positions. Owner, Market President/CRO, VP/Market Manager, and GSM. He co-owned KFNS in St Louis and worked for Townsquare Media, Cumulus, and Audacy. He also handled St. Louis Cardinals baseball sales and wrote for Barrett Sports Media about sports radio sales.

Dave is excited to be his own man and is now the President & Director of Sales for the Podcast Heat Network, a new venture for pro wrestling fans. I asked Dave a series of questions about the future of radio sales and what advice he would give to those of us still in the business primarily working for large corporate entities. 

JEFF CAVES: What advice would you give new and experienced sports sellers? 

DAVE GREENE: Advice for new sellers is to find the highest-earning seller in your office who is willing to spend time with you (so likely the third best-seller in the group, the top two have no time for you). Watch them, ask to ride with them, ask to watch them put a proposal together, ask to go to meetings with them. Soak it all up; they have done something or some things right, follow their lead.

For experienced sellers, it’s the same thing I always say, DO THE JOB, the whole job. The day you think you have reached a point where you can skip steps in the sales process is the day your income starts to decline.

JC: What’s one thing salespeople don’t do that they should? 

DG: Be better listeners and sell someone what they need to solve their problems, not what you or your manager or company wants to sell them.

JC: How can a cluster seller thrive, not die? 

DG: In my career, I have seen clusters run both ways. Either the team sells everything or are divided by station(s). While both have advantages and flaws, I absolutely despise having multiple sellers from one company selling to the same client. If you are worried that someone isn’t a strong enough seller to sell your cluster, GET RID OF THAT SELLER!

If you are a cluster seller or sell specific stations in your cluster, the advice is the same – get to know the talent! Take them out for food and drinks and get to know them, what they do, and what they need. Show interest in helping them make money through endorsements, play to their ego and see how much it helps you down the road!

JC: What’s the best way to get noticed to be promoted to a manager position at a large corporate company? 

DG: First of all, make sure you want to be a manager. Outstanding salespeople will have to take a pay cut, and your schedule will not belong to you. More of your time will be taken up with garbage meetings than you can imagine.

However, if management is really where you want to be, get ready to pucker up and drink some serious Kool-Aid. The hardest part of being a manager is that you have to suppress all of your emotions and always put on a positive face; as a whole, media sellers are a very negative, nervous bunch. Are you someone who can be positive while others complain incessantly? Then management might be for you.

JC: What’s the biggest myth about selling radio for a chain?

DG: Selling any format for a big chain is challenging because you don’t know what stupid initiative is coming down from above next. To thrive in the big corporate radio world, you have to tune out the nonsense – and there is a lot of nonsense. Especially in Q4, when you go through the circus of budgets for next year, you are given some ridiculous quota based on what the company needs to hit and not what is doable (read this on budgets). Excellent sellers realize this same circus comes to town every year at this time, so buckle up and get ready for the ride…but guess what? Your job doesn’t change. Do the job and push through.

92.9 ESPN In Memphis, 105.7 The Fan In Baltimore Deliver Big Summer Numbers

BSM Staff
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92.9 ESPN In Memphis, 105.7 The Fan In Baltimore Deliver Big Summer Numbers

The summer ratings books in Baltimore and Memphis gave each market’s leading sports radio station a reason to celebrate. Audacy’s owned and operated brands 92.9 ESPN in Memphis, and 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore both enjoyed stellar growth. Congratulations goes out to the on-air and management teams in both cities.

We’ll start in Memphis, where 92.9 ESPN remained dominant for the quarter. The station came in 1st in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) with a 13.2 share. Another 1st place finish was earned for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid) thanks to a 10.7 share. All numbers in this article are with Men 25-54 unless noted otherwise.

Turning to the individual shows, the top performance this quarter came from the Geoff Calkins Show. Geoff produced a 17.8 during his mid-morning timeslot to finish 1st overall. Calkins performance over the past year has him ranked 1st overall with a 14.9 share. Outstanding.

Next up was the Gary Parrish Show. Parrish crushed once again in afternoons, finishing 1st with a 17.6 share, just two tenths behind Calkins for the station’s best performance. Parrish does gain bragging rights over Calkins when sizing up the full year. He has a station best 15.0 share, also making him 1st overall.

Coming in third was the mid-afternoon team of Giannotto and Jeffrey. Mark Giannotto and Jeffrey Wright finished 1st in their timeslot with a 13.7 share for the quarter. They’re also 1st overall for the year with an 11.8 share.

The fourth best show finish came from Jason and John. John Martin and Jason Smith delivered an 8.8 share to secure 1st place during their midday slot. For the full year they’re sitting in 3rd with a 7.8 share.

Not to be forgotten, ‘The Six’, the station’s hourly recap program from 6p-7p which is part of the overall weekday prime schedule came in 2nd with a 12.6. ESPN Radio’s Keyshawn, JWill and Max, which airs 5a-9a on the station, generated a 2nd place 10. share during the prime hours of 6a-9a. For the full year, the ESPN Radio trio are 3rd with a 7.7 share.

Moving northeast to Baltimore, the news was once again positive for 105.7 The Fan. The market’s leading sports radio station turned in a strong summer book, pulling in an 8.2 share in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p) to finish 3rd.

The station enjoyed a big performance at night from Baltimore Orioles baseball and Sports with Coleman. The Fan’s 11.1 share placed the brand 1st overall in the category.

Moving to mornings, the ‘Big Bad Morning Show’ with Rob Long, Ed Norris and Jeremy Conn took 1st overall with a massive 12.5 share. The show was strong in other demos too, popping a 16.1 with Men 18-34, and a massive 20.5 with Men 25-34.

In middays, ‘Vinny and Haynie’, which features Bob Haynie and Vinny Cerrato, secured a 4th place finish with a 4.9 share. Fourth place was also where the afternoon show ‘Inside Access with Jason LaCanfora and Ken Weinman’ finish. They produced a 6.0 share during the hours of 2p-6p.

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