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Anatomy of an Analyst: Jeff Van Gundy & Mark Jackson

Andy Masur
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Anatomy of an Analyst: Jeff Van Gundy & Mark Jackson

They’re names are synonymous with the NBA and basketball in general. Now it’s their voices that make you think of big games in the NBA on both ABC and ESPN. Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy bring their knowledge of the game and personalities to the top announcing team alongside the new Hall of Famer, Mike Breen. The crew is getting ready to call the NBA Playoffs.

Analyst: NBA making 'huge mistake' on Christmas - The Boston Globe

Each of the analysts grew up around basketball and were bitten with the bug early in life. Each played high school and college basketball. Jackson with a little more success than Van Gundy in the playing department, but they were each able to parlay their respective successes into coaching jobs and top broadcasting gigs. 

Van Gundy grew up in California but played his high school ball in New York. As a high-school point guard, Van Gundy was a two-time All Greater Rochester selection in 1979 and 1980, leading Brockport Central to the Class AA finals. He continued his basketball playing career at Nazareth College, where he earned All-American honors, while leading the Golden Flyers to an NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1984. Van Gundy then attended Yale University, where he was a classmate with 2-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster. 

Jackson was born in Brooklyn, NY. He was regarded as one of the nation’s elite point guard prospects while attending Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn. Jackson gained a reputation as a street baller in New York and a college hoops star at St. John’s University. While at St. John’s, he played alongside Olympian and NBA All-Star Chris Mullin for two seasons. He credits Mullin with teaching him the importance of rigorous practice work in the gym. 

NBA CREDENTIALS

Both left their mark on the NBA. Van Gundy as a head coach with the Knicks and Rockets. In a career that spanned 11 years and 748 games, he went 430-318, making the playoffs 9 times, reaching the NBA Finals in 1998-99, losing to the Spurs 4 games to 1. After getting fired from the Houston job in 2007, he joined ESPN as a guest analyst and has been with the network ever since. 

Jackson was drafted in the first round (#18 overall) by the Knicks in the 1987 NBA Draft. In a 17-year career he played for the Knicks (twice), Clippers, Pacers (twice), Nuggets, Raptors, Jazz and Rockets. Jackson was an All-Star in 1989, led the NBA in assists and assists per game in 1996-97. For his career Jackson averaged just under 10 points a game and 8 assists per contest. He spent 3 seasons as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, going to the playoffs in all but his first year. After he was fired after the 2014 season, Jackson returned to ESPN/ABC to rejoin Breen and Van Gundy. 

BROADCASTING

I’m not usually a fan of the three-man booth. Sometimes too many cooks make for a bad broadcast. There are some exceptions along the way, and this group is one of them. The elements are all there, two well versed NBA analysts and a now Hall of Fame broadcaster. Just because all the ingredients are in place, it’s got to fit together or the food is still spoiled and tastes horrible. There is a chemistry between the three, it’s pretty much evident in every broadcast. There is a unique bond between the two analysts as well. 

The banter and comradery between them go back to when all three were with the Knicks. Because of their familiarity, the disagreements at times could sound heated on the air. But what you have to understand is that friends can take these liberties with each other and know exactly where that line is, and never cross it.

“I think because Mark took me under his wing early on, taught me a lot about the NBA, this deep friendship developed, that we can be honest with each other, we can disagree without being disagreeable,” Van Gundy told the Associated Press in 2019. “We’re real fortunate that we can talk honestly and not feel inhibited that we may be hurting each other’s feelings.” Jackson knows that too, Jackson knows that too, and told the AP “The same thing I would say at dinner, I would say courtside.” 

Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy explain their on-air chemistry

Personalities such as these need to be big and bold. Neither of the analysts went to school to broadcast, so it’s been a work in progress for both. Van Gundy may be just 5 foot 9, but his presence is much larger. It’s come to be that NBA fans realize it’s a game of magnitude when he and Jackson join Breen on the call. Van Gundy has opinions and you will hear them during the game, that’s for sure. Sometimes it’s based on what he’s seeing in front of him, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the game at all. Van Gundy is not a fan of the modern statistics that have taken over sports in general, which doesn’t sit well with every fan. He also has a propensity to side with a coach when it comes to a margin call. But why wouldn’t he? 

Jackson is the guy that seems to egg Van Gundy on, encouraging him to continue whatever rant he may be on. Especially when it comes to things non-basketball related. But at the end of the day, Jackson brings a perspective to the proceedings. Having been a point-guard of note, there’s things he sees, that others may not. His play-by-play guy, Breen verbalized it better. “He sees the game like very few others,” Breen said to the Associated Press in 2019. “When he was a player, he had great court awareness. When he came back from coaching it gave him a different perspective and the ability to show what was going on with 10 players on the court.”

The two men play off each other well, they seem to balance one another out. Calling each other out on things and eventually getting back to the game they’re watching. They’ve been known to take things on a tangent or three during a game, which kind of leaves Breen to fend for himself. Having to try and bring the game back to the action, is not always easy. But that’s the job of the play-by-play guy for better or for worse. Van Gundy is usually the one that needs a little more reeling in, but what’s a guy to do?

“First off, I have no control to stop him,” Breen said to the USA Today. “I will fully admit that there have been many times when I’ve lost complete control of the broadcast or telecast. He [Van Gundy] loves to have fun. He loves to entertain himself, he loves to entertain me and Mark and he loves to entertain the audience”, said Breen. “So, he knows what he’s doing. And he knows when it’s time to concentrate on basketball. He has such a respect and love of the game that he knows when it’s time. And when one team’s up 35, that’s not the time.”

CONCLUSION

The duo of color commentators isn’t everyone’s cup of coffee. Some have compared them to Statler and Waldorf, the Muppets that sit in the balcony and offer up grumpy opinions and heckle the rest of the cast. There is some grumpiness in the analysis and on occasion there’s a heckle or two. If you are a basketball fan, there is a way to look/listen beyond the extraneous observations and appreciate the information.

Statler and Waldorf and the Gift of Now | John Boyko

The broadcast does offer a nice balance. Jackson and Van Gundy “police” themselves if you will and Breen has an incredible way of actually bringing it back to the action. It works, in a unique way. Sometimes you have to be able to read between the lines. But, after all, in the television world it’s all about entertainment, right? Whether you like them or not, you talk about them and tune in to watch. That’s a win for the broadcast. 

Five Goals: Jorge Sedano

Ryan Glasspiegel
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Five Goals: Jorge Sedano

This month’s subject of five goals is Jorge Sedano, who co-hosts afternoon drive on 710 ESPN Radio in Los Angeles. He also contributes in myriad ways to ESPN’s NBA coverage, including as a sideline reporter. Keep an eye out for him in the NBA Playoffs!

In his own words, here are five goals he seeks to accomplish:

1. Empower the Latino community

At this stage of my life, one of my priorities is to highlight the beauty and importance of the Latino/LatinX community in our business and our country. This is in no way to minimize the importance of diversity as a whole or the plight of other communities, but to show pride in the unique nature of the Latino/LatinoX experience. The community has faced challenges because it’s not a monolith. Whether you’re Mexican, Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Honduran, etc… you may have had different upbringings or experiences, but at its core the experience has many commonalities. 

You had to navigate your way through two worlds. One world generally included honoring a different language and customs. The other included assimilation into this country we all love and desperately want to be a part of. By nature, many first-generation immigrants want their children to do what they did. Put their head down and work. Don’t make waves. However, the nature of second and third generations is to make progress, to expand upon the footprint that those before us laid out. This is why it’s of the utmost importance to me that the stories and voices of the Latino/LatinX community be heard — that this community that represents nearly a fifth of this country’s population be represented in a more profound manner both in the entertainment space and across all the facets of our lives.

2. Provide guidance to up-and-comers.

I have been unbelievably fortunate in my career to have incredibly kind, talented and knowledgeable friends to lean on for advice. This business is full of pitfalls and isn’t easy to navigate. Over the years, I’ve been quite active in paying it forward and feel that doing even more of it is necessary. It’s really been an emphasis of mine throughout, because at a young age I saw that not everyone in this business is going to be willing to help you. As a matter of fact, in a lot of cases they’ll push you aside in order to maintain their own stature. 

Also, the landscape in media is changing by the moment. That makes it even more important to guide each other as best we can and focus on helping the people that are along for the ride with us — not to mention, lend a hand to those coming behind us. Remember, the people you will see on the way up are the same people you will see on the way down. Your relationships with those people will factor into how your career trajectory will go. Also, it doesn’t hurt to just be a good person.

3. Maintain work/Life balance & mental health. 

So this one is definitely a work in progress. We all get consumed by what we do for a living. It’s not always the healthiest path. I’m sure plenty of companies offer this kind of support, but this is where working for a company like Disney is paramount. They really stress striking the proper balance between work and life. They provide tools for us to seek help if needed. 

I’m going to try to make this as brief as possible to not bore you with the details. Plus, every single one of us has our own mental and emotional baggage. I’m going to try to explain mine in a way that hopefully let’s anyone out there that needs to hear this — that they’re not alone. It begins nearly 20 years ago. My father, who has since passed away, became very sick. While most people in their early 20’s are trying to figure out who they are, I had to also become the parent to my parents in a lot of ways. 

I turned down lucrative opportunities to take care of them and keep a watchful eye over them — something I would still do 100 out 100 times. Life has had its ways of rewarding me many times over, both personally and professionally. Fast forward to 2013 after years of flirting my dream job opportunity of working at ESPN comes about. With the blessing of my parents and consulting with my wife, I moved to Connecticut and subsequently Los Angeles years later in pursuit of my professional dreams. 

It always weighed on me (still does) that I wasn’t more present in their daily lives, particularly as my father’s health deteriorated. Sure, I could hop on a plane a few times a year to see him, but it’s not the same as hopping in my car to see him any time I wanted to. This is when my bouts with anxiety and depression really accelerated. I was somewhat familiar with the feelings of anxiety previously. I’ll never forget the first time I had a panic attack. It was shortly after my dad’s initial health battle. 

I was at a restaurant in Miami, having dinner with some friends and my heart was racing so fast and there was this pressure in my chest so intense that I thought I was having a heart attack. I reasoned with myself and went to the restroom to catch my breath and pour some water on my face before returning to the table. I drank a couple of glasses of wine like they were water to calm me down. It worked, for the moment. 

Years later, when I moved to LA, my father’s health continued to deteriorate. My mother was also growing older and had her own sets of challenges to deal with as well. Those infrequent episodes of anxiety and depression became more common. In retrospect, it affected everything I did and all my relationships to an extent. My wife was dealing with the brunt of this — mostly, because I was too stubborn and felt that I could handle it. 

This was life and I just had to deal with it. Stop being such a baby, I’d say to myself. Man up! Well, eventually I did, “Man Up!” This is where I sought out help. Disney has an EAP program for all its employees to seek guidance for mental health therapy. That’s where I met the fifth most important woman in my life (behind mom, wife, daughter and sister), my therapist Vanessa Fierstadt. 

Over the last five years she has been an important voice in my life to keep me grounded:

– Helping me understand myself and my emotions. 

– How to release these feelings and tension in a more productive manner. 

– Helping me find that proper work/life balance, including finding some daily time to check in with myself. 

– Give myself the proper space and boundaries in all aspects of my life. 

Again, it’s definitely still a work in progress and those bouts with anxiety and depression don’t go away simply because you seek help. However, life is about managing. The sessions I have with her allow me to manage and create those boundaries to allow me to try to be the best version of me. Seeking help is helping me to continue to try to reach that goal.

4. Live more in the moment. 

This coincides some with the part where I discussed work/life balance and mental health. However, I think it deserves its own category. We all have unique experiences in our lives. We should do a better job of enjoying them as they’re happening. The example I like to use is, whenever I’m about to go on the air on tv or radio I take a breath and I look around. I’m ridiculously blessed to do something for a living that I love — whether that’s hosting a show or working a game. 

I never used to just soak it in because I was so hyper focused on the job at hand. The pandemic has taught me that nothing is a given. Therefore, whether it’s my personal life and I’m taking the kids to the beach or whether I’m covering a playoff game, I try my best now to really look around and observe every little detail. We live in a world where we like to document everything with our phones. The best camera in our possession to create memories is the one in our head.

5. Try something new.

Every year I try to begin a new journey of sorts. For example, during the pandemic I decided I was going to give myself a better understanding of finance, cryptocurrency and investing. I had basic knowledge. However, I wanted to be literate in a way that I could understand the nuances of it. 

12 common crypto terms which you need to know about in 2021 - UKTN (UK Tech News)

I read a lot, listened to a lot of podcasts and chatted with my friends in that industry to gain a better grasp of it. I grew up the son of Cuban exiles that worked multiple jobs when I was a kid. Eventually, I settled into a more “traditional” life. Nevertheless, there was mostly no understanding of how IRA’s or 401k’s work. I felt it was important, not just for me, but to eventually pass along that knowledge to my kids. My parents gave me plenty of unique gifts. This could be just one of the ones I could pass along to mine. Next year, I want to tackle a new language. If anyone has any suggestions — I’m game!

Want To Sell Digital? Know How It Works For The Client!

Jeff Caves
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Want To Sell Digital? Know How It Works For The Client!

If you have been in radio sales long enough, you will have sold not only radio but plenty of other side dishes. NTR events, direct mail pieces, fund raisers with clients, and now, digital.

I read with great interest how Dan Bennett, the General Manager of Cumulus Dallas, described how his staff sells digital advertising. Bennett pointed out that it is sold in tandem with radio but at the same time in his market it isn’t more than 17% of his total business. The radio ad, or live/testimonial read, is king for his top performing cluster.

Meet The Market Managers: Dan Bennett, Cumulus Dallas | Barrett Media

What he did do is lay out the reasons we all should be adding digital into the mix. It is a great way to take away your clients’ radio objections like, “radio is too fractured”, “radio isnt enough”, or “everybody is on their phone now.” Let’s look at what we are really selling here, what we don’t sell and some misconceptions around selling digital as a radio seller. 

Let’s start with the basics: what the hell is digital? 

I think the best explanation we can offer our clients is that we live in a wired world- not electricity or cable- but internet connectivity. Our pc, tablet, phone, car, and home devices like Alexa are all part of the digital world. But that’s not what we sell.

We sell streaming ads, video pre roll, google display, geo fencing, and display ads on our web site. Make sure you define this for your advertiser, so they clearly understand your digital elements other than on air commercials. And make sure you drag them through the conversation about surrounding our listeners. There are so many ways listeners interact with our stations, make sure your client’s story is not only told in the car but on their phone, computer, etc.  

We all have sold the classic display ad in our radio packages forever it seems, mostly on our own, often low-trafficked web sites. But what we really are best at selling is a marketing plan. Think about it. When we lay out an annual contract to a client it includes spots and dots of course but also promotions, both station and client sales oriented, copy strategy, demographic study, etc. We need to commit the same time to becoming a digital consultant as well. When we get at the whys of what makes the digital solution best, we are addressing the most important part of the sales process. If you can describe a radio strategy like reaching more white-collar men 35-54 between 7am-8am on your morning show, than you need to apply that same lingo to your digital presentation. It really is no different. It’s just that you can also say if they want to reach more white-collar men 35-54, do it with geofencing while those men are shopping at your clients competitor!  

Don’t be scared to apply some trial and error to your digital selling. You weren’t perfect when you started selling radio. Don’t forget the remotes that didn’t work, the NTR booth you sold where the client didn’t get any leads or the direct mailed coupon that wasn’t redeemed. It happens.

5 Most Common Trade Show Mistakes - Iconicdisplays.com

Just spend some time getting to know the 3-4 digital assets that make the phone ring, produce inbound emails or move customers from a competitor to your client’s business. Take a digital seller with you on some calls. Ask your best direct clients about their digital marketing. If they are clueless and have outsourced it, offer to look it over with them. You may find an opportunity there. The investment you make in yourself will pay off for years to come. And think about what will happen if you don’t do it? 

Anatomy of a Broadcaster: Kenny Albert

Andy Masur
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Anatomy of a Broadcaster: Kenny Albert

A voice for all seasons. Kenny Albert seems to appear on your television no matter what sport is going on at that time. Albert does baseball, football, basketball, hockey and the Olympics. As one of television sports’ most versatile announcers it’s not a wonder he’s on all the time. Albert’s work appears on several networks including TNT, FOX, and NBC. This week he’ll start calling Stanley Cup Playoff games. 

Albert was bitten by the sports bug at a very young age. Being the son of Marv Albert, naturally his parents gave him a tape recorder for his 5th birthday, so he could practice his broadcasting. For his next birthday, Marv took Kenny along to a Rangers hockey game. One of the statisticians had to leave in the middle of the game, so Kenny got to do the stats for the rest of the game. At 14, he became the official statistician for the Rangers on the radio. At 16, he wrote content for the Rangers program. He was a prodigy of sorts. 

While having a famous father may have opened up some doors along the way, talent has to win out to sustain at such a high level of broadcasting. Kenny Albert didn’t start right away with a network. He paid some dues along the way. He covered high school sports for the Port Washington News as a youngster and did minor league hockey for the Baltimore Skipjacks in 1990. From there he’d start to break into the higher levels, starting with television play-by-play for the Washington Capitals in 1992. Albert would do hockey for ESPN and NHL Radio. He broke into football in 1994 when Fox took over coverage of the NFL and has been there ever since. Albert also added MLB on Fox, the Olympics and the full-time radio gig with the New York Rangers. 

As of just a couple of weeks ago, Albert, along with Eddie Olczyk have been named the lead announce team for Turner’s coverage of the NHL. Albert was tabbed one of the lead voices of this year’s NBC telecasts replacing the retired Doc Emrick.   

WHY IS HE SO GOOD?

Albert has been called by many, a “pro’s pro”. Quite a compliment if you ask me. Not too many announcers are just so solid at what they do that they earn that label. There really is no flash or catch phrase that Albert relies on. It’s just solid broadcasting and a voice that can transcend multiple sports. 

He never shies away from an assignment either. With his busy schedule you’d forgive him every once in a while, to say, “I think I’ll pass on that one”, but that’s not his style. Take for example, and this is just one case, back in 2009 when he called four different sports in four nights, including two on the same day. 

October 25: Play-by-play Vikings/Steelers NFL on Fox

October 25: Yankees’ locker room celebration after clinching ALCS on Fox

October 26: Play-by-play Rangers hockey on radio

October 28: Play-by-play Knicks season opener MSG Network

That’s a pretty impressive skill set to have, to be able to pivot quickly and be able to adequately prepare for each assignment. Not many have been asked to do this type of turnaround, and for good reason. It’s not easy to do. Versatility has been his calling card and it’s made him a successful broadcaster over the years. 

A NFL play-by-play announcer will call a New Jersey high school game on Thursday

WORKING WITH KENNY ALBERT

According to some that count these things, Albert has worked with nearly 250 different broadcasters (as of 2016). The numbers add up when you consider he works all four of the major US sports. Add to the fact that he’s done the Olympics and boxing among others and the number of people he’s worked with begins to soar. 

As of a few years ago, it was estimated Albert has worked with 57 different broadcast partners in football alone. That included a game with both Tiki and Ronde Barber. Some of the famous names he’s done games with include: Anthony Munoz, Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Jimmy Johnson, Glenn Anderson, Eddie Olczyk, Bill Raftery, Paul Molitor and Sugar Ray Leonard. That’s a who’s who of famous athletes. 

In a story done on Fox Sports Press Pass in 2016, Albert explained how it’s possible to work with such a wide variety of analysts. The most important take from this article is Albert knows his job. 

“The play-by-play man has many roles: the first is obvious — calling the play,” Albert said. “Also weaving in anecdotes, statistics, historical information, rules explanations, stories from meetings with players and coaches, while also serving as somewhat of a conversation ‘traffic cop.’”

“I have been fortunate in that I have gotten along with — and ‘clicked’ with — just about all of the partners I have worked with,” Albert said. “You certainly develop a rhythm and flow with the partners you work with on a consistent basis; you learn each other’s cadence and tendencies from years and years of working together.”

Pretty impressive to be able to handle the ‘celebrity’ of some that he’s worked with and not stray from what makes him a terrific broadcaster and deliver a great broadcast. Being able to set up the analyst and allow that person to be themselves and tell their stories is what fans want to hear. Albert is happy to allow all of that to happen. 

DID YOU KNOW?

In November 2020, he scheduled an extra game, in between two NFL games. He called the Giants/Washington game one week. The following week he called Steelers/Bengals. Sandwiched in the middle a High School Football game. Northern Valley Demarest High School (Bergen County) vs. Dumont. Why? Albert’s two daughters have attended Northern Valley and Albert struck up a friendship with the Athletic Director Greg Butler. Due to the pandemic only a limited number of fans were allowed at games, so they’d stream the games with no audio for students that couldn’t attend.

Albert texted Butler, saying if there are any football games that fall on a Thursday, he’d be available. He was half serious and half joking, but the school took him up on it. So, while he was prepping for the Steelers/Bengals game he started to work on the high school board. He also attended a practice and spoke with both coaches. Albert wanted to be prepared. 

“The biggest thing is pronunciation,” Albert told the New York Post. “I know a lot of the parents and the families are going to be watching and can’t be at the games. You don’t want to pronounce a kids’ name incorrectly. It might be the only time on a YouTube livestream in their life. It is actually harder than preparing for an NFL game because you are not familiar with the names and numbers.”

Kenny Albert to announce NV/Demarest football game vs. Dumont

CONCLUSION

Albert is just a solid broadcaster. It’s no frills, but he has the skills to make every sport he covers come to life. Versatile and professional are two words he’s earned the right to use. Busy schedule or not, football or hockey, you know he’s going to be ready to go. 

Spike Eskin Named Mark Chernoff’s Successor at WFAN

BSM Staff
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Spike Eskin Named Mark Chernoff’s Successor at WFAN

WFAN has found their man. After going thru months of conversations with the best programmers in the country, Chris Oliviero and Audacy New York have chosen Spike Eskin to follow Mark Chernoff, and take the reigns at The Fan in New York City.

Eskin moves to the big apple after serving as Brand Manager of SportsRadio 94WIP since 2014. He brings with him over 23 years of experience. Along the way he’s worked in both on-air and programming roles including working as a host for WIP, and spending two tours at 94WYSP – the rock station which previously aired on WIP’s current frequency. He has also worked with Philadelphia talk station KYW Newsradio, Q101 in Chicago, and hosts the popular Sixers-centric podcast The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. 

The move to New York gives Eskin direct oversight of both WFAN and CBS Sports Radio, including their full portfolios of broadcast, digital and live experience assets. His tenure in New York will begin on July 1st, the day after Mark Chernoff wraps up an incredible career guiding the nation’s most recognized sports radio brand.

“Spike has the vision, creativity, and drive to craft the next chapter of the iconic and influential WFAN brand,” said Chris Oliviero, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy New York. “Along with CBS Sports Radio, his experience will be ideal to fuel our sports production powerhouse of 48 hours a day of original audio, 12 hours of quality television, all alongside a vibrant digital and social experience for both New York and the nation. As a long-time colleague of Spike, I am excited that he has joined our all-star team and have no doubt that he will succeed.”

“I’m humbled and excited for the opportunity to help lead WFAN into its next chapter,” said Eskin. “It’s an iconic station with incredible talent, and I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m grateful to Chris Oliviero and Audacy for the opportunity. Working at 94WIP over the last decade has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I’m grateful to David Yadgaroff for his belief in me and the staff who stepped up to every challenge.”

In an internal memo, Audacy Executive Vice President of Programming Jeff Sottolano added that under Eskin’s leadership, WIP has widened the gap against Philadelphia sports radio competitor 97.5 The Fanatic, becoming a dominant performer with Adults 25-54. Sottlano also paid respect to Chernoff for his leadership, support, and important contributions to making WFAN arguably the format’s most recognized sports radio brand over the past three decades. The soon to be New York State Broadcasting Hall of Famer and long time programming czar is expected to provide consulting support for Eskin and WFAN after stepping away from day to day affairs.

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Arizona Sports 98.7 Delivers Top 10 Finish in Phoenix Winter Book

BSM Staff
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Arizona Sports 98.7 Delivers Top 10 Finish in Phoenix Winter Book

The winter book results are in for Phoenix, and once again Bonneville’s Arizona Sports 98.7 FM delivered.

The Phoenix sports radio leader closed the quarter in 8th place among Men 25-54 in weekday prime (M-F 6a-7p). The other sports radio brands in the market, ESPN Phoenix 620, FOX Sports 910, 1580 The Fanatic, and KDUS Sports AM 1060 were further behind for the quarter.

Among 98.7’s local shows, Burns and Gambo produced the best performance for the quarter. The popular afternoon duo generated a 4.4 share, placing them 6th in their timeslot. Having worked together for a decade, Dave and John continue to thrive with no signs of slowing down.

Next best was Bickley and Marotta, the station’s midday show. Dan and Vince were just one tenth lower than afternoons with a 4.3 share. That earned them a 9th place finish in their daypart.

Finishing up in mornings, Doug & Wolf had a setback for the quarter. They turned in a 14th place finish with a 3.0 share. Doug Franz and Ron Wolfley have enjoyed fifteen strong years in mornings, becoming one of the most popular shows in Phoenix. Just two years ago they were 4th. I’d expect them to regain their footing and perform stronger in the spring, summer and fall books.

News & Sports Is A Perfect Marriage For Sales

Jeff Caves
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News & Sports Is A Perfect Marriage For Sales

There are a lot of similarities in sports talk and news talk radio sales. And there are some differences, some of which are actually complementary and work to the sellers’ advantage. I was fortunate to sell news and sports talk as a combo for years.

As Jason Barrett recently announced, the Barrett Sports Media and News Media web sites have merged. Plenty of sellers have a news talk/sports talk combo to sell especially if they are in AM-heavy clusters. One of my 2021 resolutions was to seek out the positive in most situations so let’s look at the similarities the two formats offer to a salesperson.

Twins

  • Both are foreground formats. For the most part, spoken word radio listeners are seeking to focus on what is being said. They don’t listen to podcasts or talk shows so they can free their mind up to think about other things. Plenty of music listeners have their minds completely elsewhere and don’t even hear what the air person has to say. In fact, most music jocks are told to shut up and play the music. Great selling point for live liners, spots and why our commercials are worth more money. 
  • We have very loyal customers. The best results for any advertiser comes from the heaviest users of a station- their “P1’s”.   Most news/sports talk tsl comes from a much smaller % of the cume. Listeners to Sean Hannity, Jim Rome, Ben Shapiro, and Colin Cowherd stay put. Music listeners tend to chase the hottest song or diary responders to music stations will flip to the station with the contest to win concert tickets. Often this can lead to fewer spots needed in a schedule to achieve a better frequency. 
  • We got the dough. Nothing sells luxury goods and services like a news/sports talk radio station. Look at any consumer index survey and these two formats will always score near the top. Make sure you load up on luxury car dealers, independent import car repair, jewelers, stockbrokers, realtors and home services companies.  

Opposites

  • Sports formats can skew younger especially with stations that have guy talk driven hosts. Some sports stations have local play by play and that can cume in a younger audience.  News talk radio is heavy 55+ and especially 65+. Younger buyers will carry a bias at times vs news radio and the age of the listener.
  • The news talk format is conservative and mostly anti-liberal/Democrat in general. Some national advertisers would not allow their commercials to fall into the Rush Limbaugh show for example. Sometimes, buyers will not place ads on a conservative station for personal reasons. In sports, at least traditionally, that doesn’t happen as often. Historically sports have steered away from conservative or liberal positions on any politics. We have a chance to change that. See below. 
  • Sports talk typically has 80/20 Male to Female audience. News talk skews much more female and can be a 60/40 split Male to Female. That opens the door to what a 45–64-year-old woman may be more interested in home services, jewelry and more! 

A Happy Couple

  • A sports and news talk combo buy provides a great one stop shop for anything with a male skew. And, make sure you point out the earning power differences. We used to have fun with a graphic that pointed out with our combo you get customers and with the rock stations you got convicts. Get it? Customers or Convicts?  
  • If you are selling to male store owner and he is over 40 years old there is a good chance he listens to one of your shows. Just ask him. 
  • It may be time to start talking politics. If you have a conservative news talk station loaded with local news and political talk in the morning and Shapiro, Savage, and Hannity at other times, you got a conservative station. If you have a local show or two on the sports station, why not encourage them to speak up? Occasionally, the talent will not be conservative Republicans and certainly most athletes who speak out on political matters and command attention are not republican conservatives.  Seems like a perfect balance for buyers who object to one lean over the other. 

Networks Search For The Perfect Way To Bug Us

Andy Masur
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Networks Search For The Perfect Way To Bug Us

Imagine yourself tuning into an NFL game on a Sunday afternoon. You join the game midway into the second quarter and have no idea who is winning. I can remember those days pre-scorebug, when only once in a while was there a graphic showing the score, down and distance and time left in whatever quarter it was. Primitive right?

Bears beat Patriots in Super Bowl XX – Bowie News

In some ways it was great, there was anticipation to see which team was winning. There wasn’t a lot of graphical information shouting at me and I was reliant on the broadcaster to give me the details on the game. Innocent and pure, but proven impractical. 

Like it or not, the scorebug is a thing. So much so that debates rage on about what they show, where to show it and yeah, how they show it. What color the bug is, the font that is used how large the graphics are, all stir up feelings from sports fans. Sometimes the angst displayed on social media over the bug, is more than is directed at their team. It’s pretty amazing to think about how routine it’s become to know everything there is to know about a game whenever you tune in. 

The scorebug has been around since the early 1990’s. Its origin has been traced back to televised soccer matches. David Hill, who was the head of Sky Sports in 1992, was dissatisfied over having to wait to see the score after dialing in a match in progress. The bug was introduced during Sky’s coverage of the newly formed English Premier League. Hill resisted countless requests by his boss to remove the graphic and the concept caught on in Europe. ITV introduced a bug the next year and the BBC did the same toward the end of 1993 for its’ football coverage. 

The first use of the “always on” bug in the US was in 1994. ABC Sports and ESPN introduced the gadget to the American audience during the FIFA World Cup. Though the reasoning for it was not just to continuously show the score. It was used as a way to scroll through sponsor logos as a way to present the coverage without commercial interruption. 

The more traditional use of the scorebug came as Hill left Sky Sports for Fox after the latter’s acquisition of the NFL. Hill branded the bug the “FoxBox” as part of its coverage in ’94. Fox’s inaugural box was very plain. White letters and numbers arranged at the top left of your tv screen.  It only had the time and quarter in one part and the teams and score in the other. Very basic, yet a novel idea since it really hadn’t been done before. But the “FoxBox” was here to stay despite objections from some fans that were resisting change. The path was established and Fox began using it for its baseball coverage as well. Other networks would eventually follow suit, some were a little less willing to change than others.

There was an antiquated thought process in assuming that people would stay with a game longer, if they tuned in and didn’t know the score. This was definitely old school thinking. Technology was changing. As the 2000’s started to roll in, the internet, smart phones and tablets would take center stage, eliminating the “I wonder who’s winning, I better stick around to find out” way of life. People already knew, so you may as well get with the program and make it easy to see. Everyone eventually got on board, with networks developing their own version of the “FoxBox” in the years to follow.  

ESPN's graphics department thinks you're an idiot - SBNation.com

Inherently there were issues. Some of the boxes were obtrusive, some were too small, some had too much information and some not enough. It seemed like networks, and eventually RSN’s, were experimenting through trial-and-error. A few networks took the feedback from the audience and threw it in the garbage. Others seemed genuinely interested and would change even in the middle of a season. Here in Chicago, the Cubs television home, Marquee Sports Network, was being criticized for only showing who was pitching in their box. Fans wanted to know who was batting as well and they got their wish a few games into this season.  

Just think that this phenomenon is only 27 years old. The technology has grown exponentially and you can see the influence the video game age has had on the bug. Those gaming experiences have proven to be a good testing ground for different variations of the scorebug. Figuring out what works and what doesn’t work and what can be taken from the games and incorporated into a broadcast is always evolving. Networks can use feedback from gamers and also just use the eye test to see what looks good and is feasible to work into a telecast. 

With that said, the scorebug is still not a perfect thing. Some people love it and some are just simply “bugged” by the bug. I personally think it’s a great addition to television, some are doing it right and some aren’t. Fans seem to generally like the use of the bug, but there are many complaints. Networks have had to pivot many times already as this always changing technology provides new and inventive ways to present the product. 

COMPLAINTS

Doing a quick social media search on the subject, there were several themes that popped up when it came to complaints by viewers. Placement of the bug, the font color of certain aspects, like the teams and information, and the size of the box. 

I’ve often wondered where the perfect spot for the scorebug is. Across the top of the screen? The bottom? Tucked in a corner? Me, I’m for whatever doesn’t inhibit my viewing of whatever game I’m watching. When the box is in the top left during a football game, it needs to be more horizontal than vertical. Why? If it’s too “tall” you lose sight of the players at the top of your screen. Can’t see the cornerback or safety because they get blocked out. The top left location is also a problem in basketball when it comes to seeing the basket and again, players at the top of the screen. In baseball this location is fine. 

Executives and producers need to keep in mind what sport is being broadcast when placement of the bug is discussed. Camera operators need to be aware of the location and keep it in mind, especially when it comes to following the action. It’s vital for fans viewing the game. 

ESPN and TBS debut new massive, oversized score bugs because of millennials? Maybe old people?

I was amazed at how many people complained about the color of certain things within the bug. Most of the complaints had to do with the color of the background when it came to identifying teams. Fans want an exact match of the team’s main color schemes so it’s easier to know who is playing. Trying to figure out who’s who has been an exasperating thing for some. 

For example. Let’s say Loyola-Maryland is playing Marshall. Both team’s color schemes are green and black. Marshall is the home team and is wearing their white jerseys. Loyola-Maryland is donning its road greens. Now the scorebug shows a green background for Loyola and a black background for Marshall. Ok, the predominant colors from both teams are being featured and if you don’t know which team is wearing white, you’re left to wonder which team is which. How do you solve that problem if you are a network televising the game? Some, like the Big Ten Network will use a gray background for the home team to nearly match the team’s jersey color.

Also, when it came to colors, ESPN learned quickly that a change to its bug for the College Football Championships was confusing to some. That’s because the down-and-distance graphic was shown in a golden color which closely resembled that of the yellow used for penalties called on the field. They quickly made some changes. 

Size was an issue, mainly when it came to font size and the ease of being able to read the bug. Some RSN’s have gone to the italics style for whatever reason, but that wasn’t a source of complaining. Fox’s more recent NFL bug has bigger names which is good. However, the team that has possession of the ball is shown by what looks like a “minus sign” so the score appears to be negative. Placement of “time outs” remains confuses some viewers, especially when the “slash marks” to indicate “TO’s” are oddly placed. 

Clutter is a problem according to some. The new Bally’s Sports bug has gotten panned in this area. Many have called it “screen pollution” on some social media accounts and Reddit. People have complained about wasted space to the left of the screen, too much going on with the count and MPH of a pitch and the “dots” being used to count the outs. Many have bemoaned the large, sports ticker with other scores from baseball taking up a huge amount of space to the right of the screen. So newer isn’t always better. 

WHAT’S NEXT

With the popularity and legalization of gambling in most states it seems obvious that what is next is betting information. Point spreads, over/under, money lines and prop bets will probably be the next thing to appear. I would think that some of these gambling apps will work in a sponsorship of some sort and while the game is going on, give fans updated lines and props. 

CONCLUSION

I’m not sure that there will ever be a perfect scorebug, one that pleases most if not all of the viewers. I don’t think it’s possible. With the RSN’s operating these days, it’s a cookie cutter approach. All Bally’s Sports bugs are the same, just like the old Fox Sports and Roots bugs were all designed by the same folks and used on all telecasts. Uniformity is important to them because they want you to know which network you’re watching, just by the bug. It’s kind of boring and corporate feeling, but I get it. In a perfect world, each team’s crew would be able to cater the bug toward the team, include things that are important to fans of that club. That’s just not seemingly part of the plan. 

Red Sox Stats on Twitter: "Bally Sports replaced 19 regional Fox Sports networks around the country today. They've gone next level and integrated their score bug into a ticker.… https://t.co/9gYOgovbxG"

I’d much rather have the boring bug, than not have one at all. It’s important to me, that if I tune into a game that’s already in-progress, I know the score, the inning/quarter and how much time is left. I can’t imagine how it was before. I don’t want to go back to that period of time when the technology wouldn’t allow for it. But, at the same time, realizing what is really important, the game itself, should be at the top of the list. Just because you have access to “bells and whistles” doesn’t mean they are helping your production. Flashy is great sometimes, but don’t get in the way of my enjoyment of the game. 

The Gold Rush Is Here & Talent Have Never Had More Leverage

Ryan Glasspiegel
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In my estimation, the sea change began in 2015. Bill Simmons and Colin Cowherd exited ESPN within months of each other. For different reasons, both had fractious splits with the Mothership. Amidst doubts from some in the industry as to whether they’d remain relevant or disappear, they leveraged personal audiences that platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube had suddenly made portable to prove that prosperity was attainable outside ESPN. Not only that, they stayed relevant in the conversation. Six years later, as content has continued to fragment and the gambling behemoths have entered the chat, the paradigm has fully shifted to favor top talents in sports media in a manner that is truly unprecedented. 

To get to where we are now, you have to think about the landscape in 2015. Some talents had big leverage — ESPN had to pay big to keep a lot of its roster from going to upstarts like NBCSN and FS1 — but it was nothing like it is today. Regardless of money, ESPN had the distinct advantage of the very real possibility that you could get lost if you left. Stephen A. Smith, now arguably the face of ESPN, had exited the company only to return after he never totally found his niche at Fox Sports Radio. Michelle Beadle left for NBCSN in 2013, the network canceled her show The Crossover after about seven months, and she too returned to ESPN the very next year. 

Michelle Beadle Sexy Pics | Twitter Bikini Photos | Get Up ESPN

Yes, Dan Patrick and Rich Eisen had and continue to have considerable success away from the Four Letters, but you have to remember that for a long time they were viewed as outliers. For most others who departed ESPN, even if they continued to have fine careers financially, there was less ‘glow’ on their work. In a business where the size of the audience that you reach has a lot of psychic implications on talents’ own sense of self-worth, this is not insignificant. 

As I’ve written a couple of times, Dan Le Batard was amongst those who cautioned against Simmons, Cowherd, and Skip Bayless leaving ESPN. He talked about the magnificent audience reach they were yielding. He warned they would get lost. In what wound up being very fortunate as it pertains to his own circumstances, Le Batard has probably never been more wrong. 

And it wasn’t just Simmons and Cowherd who succeeded at new destinations. Many who have left ESPN since 2015 — Jason Whitlock, Will Cain, Jemele Hill, Michael Smith, Emmanuel Acho, Tom Rinaldi, and we could go on for paragraphs — thrive financially and with visibility of their work. 

Le Batard exited ESPN about a year before his deal was up, with his extremely valuable podcast feeds in his possession. The deal with DraftKings is just the start of what he and former ESPN president John Skipper will be tackling with Meadlowlark Media. It looks to be the start of a phenomenally lucrative business — and they’ll also have the autonomy to not just talk about whatever they want, but explore other content avenues across the media spectrum. 

While ESPN no longer has a stranglehold on talent, they may not even wish to anymore. The company has fortified its ambitions more and more around live rights. They added UFC, they’ll have a monopoly on SEC football in a couple years, the NHL is coming back to them, and they got into the NFL’s Super Bowl rotation — without losing any of their cornerstone live rights as of yet. They of course need talent to fill their events and all their other hours, but they’re not nearly as concerned anymore about which people come, stay, or go.

The landscape had already shifted where top sports media talents found themselves with options not especially available to those in previous generations — before the sports gambling gold rush. To say that sports gambling has improved the fortunes for big names in media would be akin to declaring that a Stop sign is red. Gee, ya think?

But the scale is still so mammoth that we have to talk about it. Dave Portnoy, on his podcast last week, analogized that when Penn National bought Barstool at a valuation of $450 million it was like when the market gets set for a star quarterback and then the hurdle keeps getting subsequently cleared.

The gambling companies are fighting tooth and nail for user acquisition. According to Axios, DraftKings spent about half a billion dollars in marketing last year alone — and that was before they bought VSIN and inked a three-year, $50 million deal with the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. FanDuel, MGM, Caesar’s/William Hill, Rivers, and Pointsbet are all also spending like crazy. Bally’s, Wynn, and Churchill Downs’ TwinSpires are coming as well. If I started naming all the partnerships that these gambling operators had in the sports media business it would be July before you finished reading this piece.

Whether and to what extent the general sports media audience wants the ongoing proliferation of sports gambling content, there’s only going to be more and more. If you think it’s already A Lot, wait until big states like New York, Florida, Texas, and California are legal and go live. 

Jay Marriotti, writing for this web site, ripped Le Batard for getting in bed with DraftKings. “So let’s see if I have this straight: He painted his ESPN superiors as undesirable partners because they didn’t want him causing political wars on the radio … yet he’s ethically willing to jump headfirst into the gambling cesspool,” Marriotti wrote. “In the end, he’s the grimiest of all. In the latest example of desperation leading to hypocrisy, LeBatard’s lengthy search for a company to distribute his podcast led to DraftKings, the tout louts who will control ad sales and licensing arrangements. This will sink Le Batard’s show into the betting crapper and complete the demise of a once-great journalist.”

It’s easy to dismiss Marriotti as a scold, but there is a dark side to the relentless onslaught of gambling partnerships where media organizations that should theoretically be watchdogs to keep the industry honest are financially dependent on it. An unfortunate byproduct of the unrelenting marketing campaigns and easy access to gambling is that there will be addicts who lose everything. Relationships and families will be destroyed.

You can believe in individual liberty to support gambling legalization, and believe that it’s better to have it happening out in the open and regulated rather than in the hands of the mob, while also being sympathetic to the inevitable negative consequences. Before he signed the deal, Le Batard surely had to grapple with the idea that there are members of his audience who will get hooked and dig themselves a deep hole.  

To be sure, hardly any of the marketing we see connected with our sports is healthy and pure. We are deluged with ads for prescription drugs where the side effects oftentimes sound worse than the symptoms they treat. Beer and liquor marketing remains massive. Is gambling worse for society than alcohol? It’s hard to argue that. And every time you watch sports, played by our planet’s healthiest citizens, there is a flood of commercials for the unhealthiest food. 

Nonetheless, life is full of trade-offs. Le Batard, former ESPN president John Skipper, and Meadowlark Media faced the decision on whether to take the DraftKings deal and keep the show free for listeners, or to do his show behind a paywall — a move that Howard Stern pioneered when he went to SiriusXM in 2004. Certainly, Le Batard’s die hard listeners would have followed him to a subscription platform. 

Ultimately, Le Batard and Skipper chose the route of maximizing reach and relevance, and they positioned themselves with the flexibility of evaluating the landscape in three years while maintaining control of their intellectual property. 

No one can sit here and tell you that they actually know what is going to happen from the great gambling gold rush of the 2020s. It’s a good bet that the dozen or so players will consolidate into a half-dozen or less, but what permutations wind up happening are anyone’s guess. Eventually, the marketplace will be mature from a user acquisition perspective, but customer retention will remain paramount. Therefore, even if the sports media industry doesn’t maintain the insane boom times that are happening now, gambling partnerships will stay a component of the business for perpetuity — the business has been mature in Europe for awhile, but you still see ads for sportsbooks plastered all around soccer fields and even on players’ uniforms.

The bottom line is that the top talents in this business have an unprecedented amount of leverage. The ones in the best position now, besides Portnoy where Barstool is a remarkable story of entrepreneurial organic growth, capitalized on the power of big media organizations to build their own portable personal followings. These followings are enormously valuable across linear and digital platforms, and this is exponentially true if those followers are loyal enough to follow the talents to a specific gambling app. In 2015, it was a real risk for Bill Simmons and Colin Cowherd to spread their wings outside of ESPN (yes, Simmons was fired by Skipper and thus had no choice, but he has repeatedly said it was his plan to leave when his contract expired). In retrospect it can seem like their choices were obvious, but the present boom times for popular sports media personalities can be traced to that stretch.

The Ticket Starts 2021 With Dallas Winter Book Victory

BSM Staff
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The Ticket Starts 2021 With Dallas Winter Book Victory

The Dallas market is always an interesting one to analyze for sports radio. Led by two great brands, 96.7/1310 The Ticket and 105.3 The Fan, listeners have strong programming options to consider, but getting them to break their habits remains a challenge. Case in point, in the month of March, only 15% of Ticket listeners sampled The Fan, and just 8% of The Fan’s audience flocked to The Ticket. That makes it clear that loyalty exists on both sides.

How that played out in the winter ratings book was better for The Ticket than The Fan. Though both stations were healthy, The Ticket finished in front with a 4th place 6.2 share. The Fan was 9th with a 3.9. They added another 0.1 thru their stream for the quarter.

The Musers were the winners in the morning drive competition. The Ticket’s talented morning team came in 3rd from 5:30a-10a thanks to a 6.3 share. The Fan’s Shan Shariff and RJ Choppy finished 9th with a 4.0 share. They tacked on another 0.2 courtesy of the stream.

Middays (10a-2p) were tighter than mornings, but once again The Ticket won the daypart. Norm Hitzges and Donovan Lewis, and two hours of Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp’s show took 4th with a 5.7 share. The Fan’s ‘K & C Masterpiece’ earned an 8th ranking with a 4.3 share, and another 0.1 on the stream.

The afternoon is where The Ticket enjoyed its best success for the quarter. One-hour of McDowell and Kemp, along with The Hardline featuring Corby Davidson and Bob Sturm delivered a 6.3 share 1st place finish. The Fan’s ‘GBag Nation’ was further back in 12th place with a 3.5 share, gaining another 0.1 on the stream.

A positive for The Fan this quarter was its cume story. The station produced 103,900 in weekday prime compared to The Ticket’s 63,500. The positive for The Ticket was their year to year growth. While The Fan’s numbers remained comparable to their 2020 results, The Ticket saw better than two point gains in weekday prime and morning and afternoon drive. Middays were also up by over a full point.

These two stations have traded places numerous times atop the ratings charts, so I’d expect nothing different going forward. This quarter belongs to The Ticket, thanks to strong consistent performances from their daytime lineup. A job well done by Jeff Catlin’s team. But with Rangers baseball back, and Cowboys season around the corner, expect the race to get tighter, not wider.

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