Arizona Sports 98.7 and the Arizona Diamondbacks have come to terms on a new five-year extension that will keep the D-backs on the radio station through 2022. The Bonneville sports station has the radio rights to all four Phoenix pro teams and Arizona State Sun Devils college football and basketball.
Under the new deal, all 162 D-backs regular season games will be heard on Arizona Sports 98.7 and brother station ESPN Phoenix 620AM. The broadcast team will continue to feature Greg Schulte, Tom Candiotti and Mike Ferrin on the call.
“There’s nothing like listening to baseball on the radio, and that’s why we take great pride in being the exclusive D-backs radio partner since day one,” said Scott Sutherland, VP/Market Manager of Bonneville/Phoenix. “We are honored that Arizona Sports 98.7 FM will continue to broadcast D-backs baseball for many years to come.”
“I’ve long believed that we have the best radio broadcast team in baseball on the No. 1 sports station in the Southwest,” said D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall. “We are thrilled to extend that partnership long-term alongside some of the most well-known sports personalities in the Valley.”
Schulte returns as the team’s play-by-play voice, his 20th season behind the mic. Candiotti will enter his 12th season as the D-backs’ radio color analyst. Ferrin starts his second season as a member of the D-backs’ broadcast team, which includes serving as the secondary radio play-by-play announcer and pre- and postgame show host.
SportsNet 590 The Fan in Toronto has decided to go in a new direction in morning drive, cutting ties with controversial personality Dean Blundell. The longtime rock radio host had hosted The Fan’s morning show for a little less than two years, with reviews of his program being mixed.
To move the station forward, 590 will place a stronger emphasis on returning to sports talk in morning drive. The new show will feature the trio of Greg Brady, Elliott Price, and Hugh Burrill. The new morning show is expected to launch February 27th.
“Greg, Elliott and Hugh will greet our listeners each morning with engaging sports conversation, enthusiastic debate, and wide-ranging opinions,” said program director Dave Cadeau. “The show will be entertaining, passionate, and fun – all the while focusing on the topics Toronto sports fans care about most. The trio has incredible chemistry and their dynamic personalities are a perfect fit for our audience.”
Blundell spent close to 13 years with 102.1 The Edge before joining The Fan. He often created tension with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, and was suspended in December 2013 after ridiculing a couple of gay men who were involved in a Toronto criminal trial on the air. A show producer and on-air personality had served as the foreman on the jury.
Upon hiring Blundell, Sportsnet president Scott Moore acknowledged it was a bold and risky move. Given the show’s cancellation in less than 24 months, the company has apparently decided that the direction it chose to go previously in mornings was not the best approach to assure future success.
“Dean Blundell is an incredibly talented broadcaster,” added Cadeau. “The decision to part was based purely on a desire to return to a more complete sports format. I enjoyed working with Dean and wish him the very best.”
Blundell took to Twitter to express his gratitude to Rogers Communications and Sportsnet. He added, “Everyone at the Fan was super kind to me. Sports deserves people that live it and breathe it. I can’t wait to swim with both arms.”
In the debut episode of the Barrett Sports Media Podcast, Jason weighs in on the Entercom-CBS merger and catches up with ESPN LA 710 Operations Manager Dan Zampillo to discuss a variety of topics on the state of the sports radio business. Below are the areas Jason and Dan explore during their twenty five minute conversation.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
Mason and Ireland being named BSM’s #1 Midday show
Reaction to the Entercom-CBS Merger
How he got started interning at 670 The Score
When he discovered an interest in wanting to program
What he learned as a young programmer in Detroit
The difficulties of having to part ways with employees
What makes terrestrial and satellite radio different
Lessons learned in the nation’s capital
How to approach managing high profile personalities
CBS Sports Radio has signed Jim Rome to a new multi-year deal. Rome has been a mainstay at the network since departing Premiere Radio Networks to help launch CBS onto the national sports radio scene in January 2013. He’s hosted weekdays 12p-3p ET throughout his entire stay.
“The Jim Rome Show was the critical building block in the successful launch of CBS Sports Radio four years ago, and brought immediate star power and credibility to the network,” said CBS Radio EVP/Programming Chris Oliviero. “We now look forward to writing the next chapter together in the storied history of Jim’s show, which has been and continues to be the standard by which all nationally syndicated sports shows are judged.”
“This is a huge day for the show,” added Rome. “CBS Radio is an unbelievable place, everything I had hoped it would be and more. There have been so many exciting changes in the industry and I’m as motivated as ever to capitalize on them with CBS Sports Radio, our affiliates and sponsors, and our business partners at Westwood One. My thanks to Andre Fernandez, Chris Oliviero, Eric Spitz, and everyone involved in making CBS Sports Radio a success in the first four years.”
For the past six days, the sports radio industry has been the center of my attention due to the release of BSM’s annual Top 20 series. But if you’ve kept an eye on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin during the past six weeks, you’ve seen frequent posts encouraging fans, followers and industry friends to share their input on the best sports media performers of 2016.
Although radio is the majority of my focus, sports television, podcasting, and social and digital content are also huge attractions for sports fans. Rather than ignore those spaces completely, I decided to conduct a poll and give the public the opportunity to weigh in on who they felt best satisfied their appetite for great sports television and digital content in 2016.
Considering this was the first attempt to highlight performers outside of the radio space, I was pleasantly surprised to receive five thousand thirty six entries. To everyone who took the time to vote, retweet, share or promote the poll on-air, online, and on social, I simply say thank you. Your support is vital in making research like this valuable.
Before I dive into the results, I want to single out a few sports media stories and pieces of programming that I thought were exceptional during the past year.
I thought The Vertical raised its profile and dominated the discussion during last year’s NBA Trade Deadline when their digital video special filled the void left behind by national television networks which chose to place a lesser emphasis on the evening. Adrian Wojnarowski cemented his place as one of the best reporters in sports, and the supporting cast of Chris Mannix, Bobby Marks, and Brian Scalabrine shined bright as well.
The OJ Simpson: Made In America documentary series produced by ESPN was one of the best forms of original programming that the network has ever created. The ten part series was riveting from start to finish and reminded many of how good ESPN can be when it focuses its energies on tackling a big project.
ESPN and the WWE continued to enhance their partnership, much to the dismay of some media members, and to the delight of others. As part of the relationship, ESPN began featuring wrestlers on SportsCenter on Tuesday evenings, and providing live broadcast support prior to big pay per views such as WrestleMania and Summerslam.
The 2016 ESPYS began with a bold statement from 4 NBA players speaking out on gun violence and the abuse of authority in America. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul all took the stage and expressed their views in a three minute speech which created buzz across the media world.
Speaking of the ESPYS, John Cena was excellent as this year’s host, but the real star of the show was Craig Sager who gave one of the most memorable speeches prior to his passing. Anyone who watched that on-air moment was reminded of just how unique and special Sager was and how adored he was by his family, colleagues, and competitors.
Few players created the media firestorm that Colin Kaepernick did when he chose to protest the national anthem by sitting. Eventually the 49ers quarterback modified his stance by taking a knee during the patriotic song. Some television networks chose to focus heavily on the story and the drama it provided. Others elected to briefly mention it and focus on the action on the field.
ESPN began to explore the intersection between sports and race with the long awaited debut of The Undefeated. The website has placed an emphasis on exceptional journalism, and although it still needs to be promoted more to become more familiar to everyday sports fans, the quality of content has been impressive.
I could spend another hour pointing out the best and worst moments in sports media of 2016 but that should give you enough to digest for now. Plus, aren’t you wondering who the winners were of this year’s poll?
With that in mind, here are the results of our 2016 Best in Sports Media poll. Be advised that participants and shows that registered less than 1% of the vote in each category have been removed.
After losing Danny Parkins to Chicago’s 670 The Score in January, program director John Hanson was determined to find the right fit for 610 Sports alongside remaining afternoon show host Carrington Harrison. Luckily for Hanson, he didn’t have to look far at all.
The process led Hanson to Brad Fanning, who had appeared as a guest and contributor on the radio station during the past few years. After a handful of test shows, which reflected excellent chemistry between Fanning, Harrison, and producer Ben Heisler, 610 made the decision to offer the job on a permanent basis to the former Channel 5 (KCTV) sports anchor.
Fanning’s arrival was officially announced this afternoon. To hear the show and learn more visit 610’s website by clicking here.
The cat is out of the bag. SportsRadio 94WIP has confirmed they’re adding Jon Marks to their on-air lineup.
The former member of 97.5 The Fanatic will host weeknights 6p-10p ET starting Tuesday, February 7th. He’ll also anchor week-day Phillies pre-game and post-game coverage, provide content for CBSPhilly.com and contribute to WIP’s daytime lineup.
“Jon’s talent, relationship to Philadelphia sports fans, and history in the marketplace will be a huge addition to WIP. We’re thrilled to have him aboard,” said Spike Eskin, Program Director of WIP.
Marks added, “It’s an exciting time in Philadelphia sports and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be in charge of the airwaves every night on WIP. I’d like to thank Spike and David [Market Manager David Yadgaroff] for this opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.”
Marks was with The Fanatic from 2006-2016. He had served in multiple roles, including producing Mike Missanelli, hosting middays with Sean Brace, and working as an on-air contributor to Anthony Gargano’s morning show.
With Marks signing on, WIP has announced that Brian “Sludge” Haddad will stay with the radio station in the role of Creative Services Director.
The morning after the New England Patriots pulled off an improbable comeback to become Super Bowl champions, the sports radio industry does the same by recognizing the brands who performed best in 2016. This is our final category of our BSM 2016 Top 20 series and I hope you’ve enjoyed the last week of activity.
Initially I was hesitant on continuing with this project because in many ways it can be a thankless job and create a lot of tension with friends and industry partners and associates. I’m glad though that I stuck with it. The traffic and feedback have been largely supportive and as great as those things are, I think it’s even more important to allow the radio industry to tell its own story and weigh in on the performance of its top brands rather than leave it to be decided by others who aren’t as informed or who are influenced by compensation and professional relationships.
If you haven’t read any of the previous Top 20 pieces, let me bring you up to speed on the way the voting works. Our executive panel uses the criteria below, and BSM does not vote. We simply present the group’s findings so that people inside and outside of the industry have a better idea of how the format views its top stations.
Station has a great reputation both locally and nationally
Station must have delivered strong ratings success in their local market
Station employs dynamic talent and presents compelling content and a unique sound
Points are to be given to each brand for a ranking (EX: 20 points for 1st place, 1 point for 20th place)
Be advised that these results are a reflection of the group’s collective opinions, and they are subjective. That said, few can argue that each of these brands have produced strong results during the past year. I want to extend my appreciation to everyone who took part in the voting process, and now for the final time, Barrett Sports Media presents “BSM’s Top 20 Major Market Sports Radio Stations of 2016”!
Additional Notes:
104.5 The Zone received the most 1st place votes (8) and finished 14 points ahead of 93.7 The Fan
7 of the Top 20 stations each received at least one (1) 1st place vote, 101 ESPN was 2nd best with five (5)
92.3 The Fan finished one (1) point in front of 97.1 The Fan to claim 4th place
1620 The Zone finished in 21st place, 11 points behind 1010XL
22-25 belonged to 107.7 The Franchise, 104.9 The Horn, 107.3 WBBL, and 97.9 ESPN
The morning after the New England Patriots pulled off an improbable comeback to become Super Bowl champions, the city of Boston celebrates yet again by owning prime real estate among sports radio’s elite radio stations. Over the past twelve months, the battle between 98.5 The Sports Hub and WEEI has been intense, resulting in dominant ratings for both brands. Their collective performance was recognized, respected and supported by our executive panel.
This is our final category of our BSM 2016 Top 20 series. I was conflicted on whether or not to continue with this project but I’m glad I stuck with it because the traffic and feedback have been largely supportive, and I think it’s better to have the radio industry tell its story and weigh in on its own performance rather than leaving it to be decided by others who aren’t as informed about the successes of each brand.
If you haven’t read any of the previous Top 20 pieces, let me bring you up to speed on the way the voting works. Our executive panel uses the criteria below, and BSM does not vote. We simply present the group’s findings so that people inside and outside of the industry have a better idea of how the format views its top stations.
Station has a great reputation both locally and nationally
Station must have delivered strong ratings success in their local market
Station employs dynamic talent and presents compelling content and a unique sound
Points are to be given to each brand for a ranking (EX: 20 points for 1st place, 1 point for 20th place)
Be advised that these results are a reflection of the group’s collective opinions, and they are subjective. That said, few can argue that each of these brands have produced strong results during the past year. I want to extend my appreciation to everyone who took part in the voting process, and now for the final time, Barrett Sports Media presents “BSM’s Top 20 Major Market Sports Radio Stations of 2016”!
Additional Notes:
98.5 The Sports Hub received the most 1st place votes (14), WFAN and 1310 The Ticket tied for 2nd with (5)
6 of the Top 20 stations received at least one (1) 1st place vote
WEEI edged WFAN for 2nd place by three (3) points, 97.1 The Ticket had the same advantage over KFAN
ESPN LA 710 finished in 21st place, 2 points behind 104.3 The Fan
22-25 belonged to LA Sports AM 570, 92.9 The Game, 790 The Ticket and WQAM
Chris Rongey is going home. After 14 years at 670 The Score in Chicago, the St. Louis native is returning to join 101 ESPN’s afternoon show “The Fast Lane”. Rongey will work with Randy Karraker and Brad Thompson starting Wednesday, February 8th.
During his stay in the Windy City, Rongey served as pregame and postgame host for White Sox games, as well as an update anchor, occasional play-by-play analyst and Chicago’s Daily Herald columnist.
Rongey was born and raised in Granite City, Illinois and graduated from Granite City High School. He then attended Illinois State University, and following college and graduate school, Rongey spent one year as a marketing assistant for a National Sports Agency in St. Louis, before moving to Chicago in October 2002 to work as an anchor at WSCR The Score 670 AM, as well as taking on a Total Traffic Chicago reporter job.
Chris became the studio host for the White Sox in 2006, and held that role until 2015 when the team’s contract ended with the station.
According to Rongey, “As you can imagine, I can’t wait to work with Randy, Brad, and the rest of the crew. It’s a solid group of people at 101 and this is a great opportunity to be a part of the premier sports station in St. Louis while also being able to live closer to my family.”
Commenting on the addition of Rongey to the 101ESPN team, Program Director Chris “Hoss” Neupert notes, “We are excited to welcome Chris Rongey home. He is a tremendous talent and will be a great addition to the 101 ESPN team.”
