CBS News anchor John Dickerson has announced that he’ll leave the network at the end of the calendar year, concluding a long tenure with the company.
Most recently, Dickerson has served as the co-anchor of CBS Evening News alongside Maurice DuBois, after the previous anchor, Norah O’Donnell, departed the show earlier this year.
“At the end of this year, I will leave CBS, sixteen years after I sat in as Face the Nation anchor for the first time,” Dickerson shared. “I am extremely grateful for all that CBS gave me — the work, the audience’s attention and the honor of being a part of the network’s history — and I am grateful for my dear colleagues who’ve made me a better journalist and a better human. I will miss you.”
The 57-year-old Dickerson becomes the first high-profile talent to exit the network news brand since the company was acquired as part of a multi-billion-dollar deal by Skydance.
The news of Dickerson’s exit comes after reports surfaced sharing that new CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss is looking at shaking up the network’s nightly newscast amid slumping ratings. O’Donnell had been floated to make a possible return to the program, while Fox News anchor Bret Baier rests at the top of her list, a report claimed.
In a statement, CBS News President Tom Cibrowski said Dickerson “epitomizes the very best of journalism.” Cibrowksi added that John Dickerson will continue to helm CBS Evening News until the holiday season in late December.
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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league is committed to making it easier for fans to find and watch baseball games. Acknowledging the growing frustration with how fragmented baseball’s television landscape has become.
Speaking on Mad Dog Sports Radio on SiriusXM, Manfred admitted that “discoverability is an issue” as fans continue to navigate a confusing web of regional sports networks, streaming platforms, and blackout restrictions that vary by market.
“Look, absolutely no question that discoverability is an issue,” Manfred said speaking with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. “All I would say to our fans is this. In a period of real disruption on the media side, it is important to try different things to figure out exactly what’s gonna work for us over the long haul. And I can tell you 100% when we go to the market in 2028 with all of our rights. A principal concern will be to narrow the number of places that people need to go, and to eliminate blackouts. The reach and discoverability for our fans, I’m 100% committed to making better in 2028.”
The comments come at a pivotal time for baseball’s media strategy. Regional sports networks, long the backbone of MLB’s local television model, continue to face instability. The league also announced at an event last month that they are close to deals with ESPN for a regular-season package. Also with Comcast’s NBCUniversal for the wild card series and Sunday night regular-season games, and with Netflix for the All-Star Home Run Derby. These are all in part due to ESPN and MLB mutual opt-out announcement earlier this year.
Manfred also said a deal for in-market rights for Arizona, Cleveland, Colorado, Minnesota and San Diego is also close.
The commissioner said the disruption in the RSN space is “clearly” ongoing. But that MLB has worked to ensure fans can still watch their favorite teams through both traditional and direct-to-consumer options.
“There is clearly disruption in the regional business,” Manfred said. “The good thing from the fan’s perspective is that FanDuel Sports — now, they keep changing their name — has continued in business. Some clubs have elected to stay there. Every club in baseball always has the option of coming with us. We can do their games in a moment’s notice.”
He added that fans should have confidence knowing there will continue to be multiple ways to access games.
“The important thing really for the fans is they know there’s gonna be a cable product available in every single market,” he said. “And with the exception of Houston. There will be a direct-to-consumer product available for those who’ve opted out of the cable bundle. And that’s a good thing in terms of discoverability.”
With positioning national and local rights up for renewal in 2028. MLB appears ready to use that milestone as a reset point. Manfred’s latest comments make clear the league’s goal is to simplify where fans can watch games and finally put an end to one of the sport’s most persistent frustrations — blackouts.
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As part of the deal, podcasts from the true crime, culture and lifestyle, and sports podcasts — namely from The Ringer, founded by Bill Simons and sold to Spotify in 2020 for $250 million — will be headed to Netflix.
In the company’s investor call, Peters shared that the decision to partner with Spotify was driven by audience demand.
“We’re going to build into this category like we do with our other categories based on demand signals that we get from our members,” Co-CEO Greg Peters said. “We see this as really the opportunity to integrate high-quality video podcasts that broadens the Netflix offering beyond all the incredible films and series, beyond the live events that we are building, stand-up specials, and games. We hope that ultimately reinforces our value as the most important service for your entertainment needs.”
Also included on the call was a note from Peters about advertising. He shared that the company fully expects its advertising revenue to double in 2025 compared to last year, adding that the streaming service will feature interactive ads later this year.
“Advertisers are excited about our growing scale. We’ve got a highly attentive and engaged audience,” Peters said. “The rollout of our ad tech stack means we’ve got more formats, we’ve got more measurement, we’ve got more ways to buy. Our slate is a critical and important source of competitive differentiation. I would say we are feeling good about our growth trajectory.”
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Michelle Beadle and Cody Decker are back behind the mic — this time on their own terms. The former Mad Dog Sports Radio duo launched Beadle & Decker Live debuting today. Marking their first official reunion since their SiriusXM program was cancelled earlier this year to make room for Stephen A. Smith’s show.
The new project signals a fresh start for the popular hosts. The show will stream live Monday through Thursday at 3 p.m. ET across YouTube, Twitch, X, and Facebook.
In a teaser video promoting the show, Beadle and Decker leaned into their trademark humor and unfiltered chemistry. The clip opened with audio of fans praising their SiriusXM show, followed by headlines announcing the programming shakeup that replaced them. It then cut to the pair lounging in the backyard over a collage of voices that sounded familiar to longtime Mad Dog Sports Radio listeners.
The duo’s return follows a turbulent exit from satellite radio that made waves across sports media. In June, after The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Stephen A. Smith would be taking over their timeslot. Beadle publicly reacted on air — candidly addressing what she described as restrictions on what topics their show could cover.
“All I ask is to be treated with respect,” Beadle said at the time. “I give what I get, I get what I give — and so here we are. We’re going to do our shows because we’re contractually obligated to be here.”
Her comments sparked immediate reaction inside SiriusXM, which soon confirmed to Sports Business Journal that the company had “parted ways” with Beadle and Decker, effective immediately. The network cited Beadle’s on-air remarks. Which were critical of Smith, including her admission that she “didn’t respect [him] or his work.”
Beadle, a former ESPN and NBC Sports personality, has long been known for her candid commentary and comfort taking aim at the industry’s biggest names. Decker, a former MLB player turned broadcaster. He has matched her with a mix of sharp humor and insight since they first teamed up on Mad Dog Sports Radio in August 2023.
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Former Des Moines sports talk personality Marty Tirrell is facing new legal trouble after being indicted on 11 federal counts of wire fraud tied to what prosecutors describe as a fraudulent ticket-flipping scheme.
According to The Des Moines Register, the indictment — filed Oct. 16 — alleges Tirrell persuaded investors to give him money for a luxury ticket resale business. Promising lucrative returns on high-demand events such as Taylor Swift concerts, U.S. Open tennis matches, and playoff games across multiple sports. Instead, prosecutors say, Tirrell used much of the money for personal expenses and gambling.
The new charges come less than two years after Tirrell completed a federal prison sentence for mail fraud. In 2021, he was sentenced to nearly three and a half years behind bars after admitting to another ticket investment scam. He was released under federal supervision in early 2023.
Court documents show that from February 2024 through January of this year. Tirrell, now 65, pitched investors on financing blocks of tickets for resale. He allegedly promised to repay their initial investment plus a share of profits once the tickets were sold. While some early payments were made, prosecutors contend that those funds came not from legitimate ticket sales, but from new investors and other unrelated sources.
In total, four investors identified in the indictment reportedly lost more than $1.5 million combined. Each of the 11 counts corresponds to a separate wire transfer allegedly sent to Tirrell.
Known during his broadcasting career as “The Mouth of the Midwest,” Tirrell built a name — and reputation — in Des Moines sports radio through stints at several local outlets, including iHeartMedia’s KXNO. His volatile on-air personality became part of his brand, but also part of his undoing. Tirrell was fired from KXNO after a profanity-laced rant aired live on a hot mic.
In recent years, Tirrell attempted to rebuild his media footprint through a venture called Tea Room Broadcasting, which reportedly operated both a podcast and radio outlet. Prosecutors allege he used the company’s bank account to conduct the wire transfers central to the case.
Former sports radio personality Marty Tirrell indicted again on new fraud charges https://t.co/zDddzlVJ8G
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I read Michael McCarthy’s column on Friday about ESPN’s producers being fed up with Pat McAfee’s antics. If you’ve read this website for a while, you’ll recall I took Pat to task for prior remarks he made. John Mamola has done so too, as recently as last week. Pat’s ability to handle criticism can be debated by many, but all that matters is whether or not Pat himself sees it as an issue.
I’ve maintained that Pat McAfee is highly entertaining and a smart business investment for ESPN. Regardless of whether I’ve praised his approach or criticized it, this is not about that. It’s about the environment behind the scenes at ESPN.
I don’t work in Bristol nor do I keep tabs on who is whispering in the hallways these days. Like every workplace, people bitch and complain about a lot of things. I saw it frequently during my ESPN days. The amount of internal BS over Mike and Mike getting things others didn’t was ridiculous. My mantra forever is ‘bullshit lives in every building, and it follows everyone, regardless of stature and paycheck’.
My question though is this, ‘why do folks inside ESPN constantly run to news outlets to trash McAfee’? The last time I checked, Pat works out of a studio in Indianapolis during the week. He’s on location on Saturday for College Gameday. That means that he doesn’t cross paths with most employees in Bristol, he just does his own thing, Gameday aside.
Are folks that bothered by what he says? Is it a case of jealousy over how much he gets paid? Are people annoyed that he won the tug of war with Norby Williamson? Is it a case of his views being less challenged and gaining better access to top guests? Maybe it has to do with his loud personality, involvement on College Gameday, or something silly like people being annoyed that he used to give Aaron Rodgers a large platform.
More likely, people don’t like that he has Burke Magnus, Jimmy Pitaro, and Bob Iger’s full support. McCarthy shared a quote in his article from a source which said, “Right now, Pat’s bulletproof because Burke, Jimmy and Iger have his back. Pat holds all the cards.”
I hate to break it to whoever said that but management is absolutely right to have his back. Why wouldn’t Bob, Jimmy and Burke offer their full support to McAfee? Are you not paying attention to what’s going on?
Less than two weeks ago ESPN announcedThe Pat McAfee Show reached a milestone, generating over 1 billion social media views in a single month for the first time. The surge came as the show delivered its most-watched September ever across ESPN and YouTube. In the same press release, ESPN shared that College GameDay averaged 2.82 million viewers, up 29% year-over-year and pacing toward its most-watched season ever. Viewership was up 36% in the 18–34 demographic.
With Lee Corso gone and Big Noon Kickoff getting better, do you think ESPN wants its flagship college football show without McAfee’s personality on it? Did you see that the WWE recently entered into business with ESPN. Do you think McAfee’s involvement with both parties didn’t help?
Does that sound like the individual management should be creating friction with? Why on earth would they put a target on Pat’s back and side with behind the scenes folks? If you’re going to pay premium dollars for a premium talent, you expect them to deliver. When they do, you move objects out of the way so they can continue to perform at a high level. This isn’t rocket science folks.
From my vantage point, Pat McAfee seems to enjoy being the underdog and operating with a chip on his shoulder. Remember, he took a risk leaving the NFL to move into media with Barstool Sports. He then bet on himself again leaving Barstool, and struck deals with FanDuel, CBS Sports Radio/Westwood One, SiriusXM, WWE, and ESPN. He’s been told he didn’t fit the mold of what was needed on game broadcasts, his TV ratings have been criticized repeatedly, The Athletic ran a poll suggesting he hurts College Gameday, and he’s had people in his own company, including executives, root for his failure. Can you blame him if he isn’t exactly offering to fall in line with the Bristol way?
Would I prefer Pat be less sensitive? Sure. Do I think his remarks about old white people and old ESPN people were smart? No. I shared previously that Pat’s camp blocked Barrett Media on X years ago. It was an immature and odd move. I’ve sent a few messages over the years to folks on Team McAfee and they often go nowhere. It’s not how I prefer to communicate with people I like and respect but so be it. I’m a big boy, I’ll get over it.
Regardless, I’ve been a fan of Pat’s work for years. His energy, humor, and chemistry with his team have been strong for years, and he’s also grown as an interviewer. If you watched his conversation with LeBron James, it was spectacular. His involvement on College Gameday is also important, and his Kicking Contest has become one of the single best segments on sports television.
Does it really matter if Pat plays nice with producers in Bristol or if he has thin skin? I produced Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, Doug Gottlieb, and many others at ESPN. Do you think they didn’t all have ego to some degree and ways of communicating that worked with some and not with others? My job wasn’t to get them to fall in line with me. It was to help them do what they do best. They were the main attraction that people were coming to see, and the company was invested in them. If I felt disrespected or something was being done that was a mistake, I’d speak up, but I also understood that it wasn’t about me.
Say what you want, but Pat McAfee has delivered a ton of impact for ESPN. The company has a better chance of selling subscriptions, betting partnerships, advertising, retaining/luring new rights deals, and attracting attention from sports fans with Pat McAfee on their airwaves. Anyone inside the company who can’t see that is either blind or foolish.
In Pat Riley’s book ‘The Winner Within‘ he wrote, “The greater a single teammate’s success, the stronger the resentment can be from the weakest 20 percent.” A few of ESPN’s producers are proving Riley right.
The NBA Gambling Scandal
I was reminded last week of how important shows like Outside the Lines, E60, and Real Sports were. When the NBA gambling scandal broke, opinions were offered everywhere on TV and I missed those shows where hardcore journalism shined. That said, Inside The NBA, Brian Windhorst, Shams Charania, Rob Parker, Colin Cowherd, and others provided excellent insight and commentaries around a critical story. A video podcast though by ex-mobster Michael Franzese formerly of the Colombo crime family was especially interesting because it offered a different perspective.
When networks and leagues responsible for investigating issues and delivering information are heavily funded by those who stand to lose a lot from the truth getting out, it’s fair to question if there’s less motivation to bury them. Between the Shohei Otani-interpreter mess, Calvin Ridley’s suspension, and the NBA scandals, gambling is infiltrating sports the way AI is affecting everyday content. People now scroll through social media wondering what’s real and what’s not just as fans watch and question if the final results of games are legitimate.
There were already questions about the NFL’s involvement in impacting outcomes which Craig Carton addressed perfectly last week. Adam Silver’s NBA has been linked to too many betting incidents. Between the league’s gambling partnerships and its inability to quiet the noise, many like former NBA player Enes Kanter are calling for Silver to resign. Congress has also requested a briefing with Silver by October 31st.
We’ve seen how gambling can hurt broadcasters in the past. I know of one talent who hosted a daily show at a betting network who was pulled from the lineup because his gambling activity got so bad, suspicious characters were showing up at the studio waiting to rough him up. Opinions shared by hosts may encourage betting activity that benefits sportsbooks but influencing behavior is different than changing an outcome on the field, court or ice. How long until an athlete is seriously hurt or killed over a gambling related matter?
If you think Rob Manfred, Adam Silver, Roger Goodell and other league executives are going to conduct extensive investigations that could harm their businesses and bite the hands that feed them, you’re naive. Sports leagues spent decades resisting the temptations of allowing gambling in because they knew the dangers that came with it. Now, the legitimacy of competition is under fire. If someone puts Pablo Torre on the case, who knows what else we’ll find out.
Reporting on The Death of Charlie Kirk
I’m not a conspiracy guy. In fact, I loathe reckless speculation about life events. But isn’t it odd that cable news networks have little new information to report on the death of Charlie Kirk? Tons of personalities have discussed Kirk, shared news from the FBI, and have offered condolences, but where are the new details from TV reporters? Kirk died on September 10th, and we know as much today about the facts surrounding his death as we did six weeks ago.
News television has become the opinion section of a newspaper over the past two decades. It makes for more entertaining television, but there are times when the pursuit of the truth matters. It’s why independent journalists are sought out more on YouTube, podcasts, X, Substack, and other digital locations.
If you don’t have the time to watch everything on TV, do a quick search on YouTube. Type in Charlie Kirk news, Charlie Kirk investigation, Charlie Kirk and whichever network you prefer. Take a look at what pops up. You’ll find little new information. The video above from NewsNation is the best I could find. Most new content revolves around personalities remembering Kirk or blasting people who are trashing his memory.
When someone like Charlie Kirk gets murdered in broad daylight in front of the entire world and it is seen by millions across social media, it should motivate networks to dig for answers. I could be wrong but it feels like the Casey Anthony and Natalee Holloway cases had more reporting and nightly coverage than this one. Kirk was a prominent personality and political figure and after just six weeks, the news cycle is on to the Government shutdown, Trump’s ballroom, Zohran Mandani, No Kings protests, and other stories designed to emotionally charge the audience. Little though is moving the Kirk story forward.
Opinion may be the smarter business play but pursuit of the truth builds much deeper and longer trust. Charlie Kirk’s death deserves more answers.
Quick Hits
I watched two-hours of NFL Sunday Countdown yesterday and thought the crew had a great show. There was great analysis from Tedy Bruschi (Steelers issues on D), memorable commentary by Rex Ryan (Ravens defense is Swiss cheese), strong opinion from Alex Smith (NY Jets ownership), humor from Randy Moss (Halloween party), and great production for the Steelers-Packers game utilizing Third Eye Blind’s ‘How’s It Gonna Be’ to help Jeff Darlington tell the Aaron Rodgers story. Mike Greenberg ran point perfectly, knowing where to extend segments, and when to move them forward. Ryan’s emotional words after learning of Nick Mangold’s death were especially touching. Football fans watch Sunday pregame shows, expecting them to set the scene for Gameday. On this Sunday on ESPN, they got even better than they expected.
The Amazon NBA broadcast team provided an outstanding breakdown recently on how the Knicks can set up Jalen Brunson for greater defensive success. ESPN and NBC are going to gain most of the attention but if Udonis Haslem, Steve Nash, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki and Taylor Rooks can deliver more of this, they’re going to win fans over. Tremendous detail and insight by people who know the game inside and out.
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and grew up on Bruce Springsteen’s music. I’ve been a fan for years, and was excited to see, ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’. I watched the movie on Saturday and was disappointed. If you enjoy two hours on Bruce’s depression, childhood trauma over his Dad’s drinking and hostility, and drama over releasing the Nebraska album, this film is for you. Given his lengthy success and influence, a film about ‘The Boss’ deserved way more than focusing on one small chapter. Hopefully that’s to come in the future.
Go to YouTube and find the song “I Wanna Go Back Home” by Avril Lavigne featuring MGK. It sounds like another Avril hit except if you try to find the song elsewhere, you can’t. A fan used AI to create the song. If you want to hear an example of what artificial intelligence can do to music, this is a good one. Lavigne may have to learn the song and start playing it live if it continues gaining traction.
Taylor Swift is dominating the charts like usual and a band out of the Netherlands is taking advantage of it. Call It Off are putting a rock/pop spin on Swift’s songs, tapping into a formula that worked before for iPrevail and Walk Off The Earth. Based on first impressions, they should do well.
X is testing a new way to boost engagement for posts with links. Nikita Bier, head of product at X said “posts with links tend to get lower reach because the web browser covers the post and people forget to Like or Reply. So X doesn’t get a clear signal whether the content is any good. To help get better signal, posts will now collapse to the bottom of the page so people can react while you’re reading.” Referral traffic is down as platforms place greater value on video and interactions over link sharing. The modifications are an attempt to fix it. Will it make things better? Only time will tell.
Kudos to Christian Fauria on what he’s doing for Bryant University students. The longtime sports radio host, TV analyst and former NFL Tight End is taking 10 kids to radio row to broadcast live during the week of the Super Bowl. It’s great to see talented people like Christian helping prepare the next generation for what lies ahead.
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Sports gambling is becoming America’s new pastime. Don’t believe me? Look at the number of “partnerships” that would have been considered “conflicts” at one point or another with both professional teams and broadcast networks alike. Sports radio is no saint either. Sportsbook advertising spends, in some cases, make up one of the top client categories for many sports radio brands. Every pick, every prop, every segment of selections fuels the collective engine that is no longer seen as an addiction. It’s become common practice.
The NBA once again had a bad week. The findings of an FBI investigation involving a former NBA player, a current NBA player, and a current NBA head coach were not good. The plot to a motion picture writes itself when you read the findings of the investigation and the allegations with ties to the Mafia.
The singular issue that has risen from the investigation is the discussion of prop betting and the dangers that come with it. Where players are aware, could affect, and might cash in by purposely changing their own outcome. There have been calls to remove prop betting from legal sportsbooks, yet no action has been taken. For all the discussion about how sports radio can plant its flag and regain the audience’s attention. This is a moment where sports radio can shine. But will it meet the challenge?
Since the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to legalized gambling in 2018, the new gold rush for sports radio officially began. There were already companies skirting the laws of the land by labeling themselves as fantasy but were truly something else. No matter—sports radio was among the first sports media outlets pocketing profits in the early days of what has become today’s landscape.
Prop bets date back to January 26, 1986 (yes, I remember that date specifically). Art Manteris, who ran Caesars Sportsbook at the time, was looking for a new way to attract more casual fans to bet on the Super Bowl. Manteris decided to put out a 20–1 wager that Chicago Bears defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry would score a touchdown in Super Bowl XX. Of course, “The Fridge” did—while Walter Payton did not—and prop betting took off.
A Building Problem
ICYMI: August 2025 commercial gaming revenue marks a record month:
📈 $6.46B in total revenue, up 14.6% YoY 🏈 Sports betting jumped 48.8% to $1.12B 📱 iGaming rose 31.1% to $914M 🎲 Traditional gaming remained steady at $4.42B, up 5.7%
— American Gaming Association (@AmericanGaming) October 21, 2025
Last year, the American Gaming Association reported $13.71 billion in revenue for the American sports betting industry. Legal sportsbooks took in nearly $150 billion worth of bets, a 22.2% increase from 2023.
With the rise in revenue sportsbooks make, what would be their motivation to consider removing the prop bet? According to data compiled by the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University. Bettors lose prop bets about 70 percent of the time, but they are twice as popular as traditional bets on the point spread.
Do you honestly believe any sportsbook would remove a source of revenue? Especially when their advertising dollars fund the professional teams and networks that need them?
This is where sports radio can plant its flag.
Taking A Stand
Far too often, if you tune into any market with sports radio stations that accept sportsbook advertising revenue. You’ll hear pick ’em segments, daily parlays, and over/under discussions—all providing suggestions on prop bets. Because it has become so ingrained, most sports radio talent may not even notice they’re doing it.
Pete Mundo wrote a great column entitled Radio Isn’t Dead — It’s Just Bad at Bragging About It. In the column, he referenced new data released by Nielsen and Edison Research showing that AM/FM radio still accounts for the vast majority of time spent listening, with 64% of all listening on ad-supported audio.
For those aged 25–54, podcast listening rises to 24%, while radio sits at 59%. Meanwhile, in the 18–34 demographic, both podcasts and streaming music see significant growth. In that group, 31% of daily audio time is spent listening to podcasts, while 24% is spent with ad-supported streaming music. AM/FM radio falls to 43% in that sector.
Podcasting clearly has a larger share among the younger demographic, but AM/FM radio still leads by a wide margin with 25–54-year-olds and remains tops even with 18–34-year-olds.
With this data at hand, sports radio fits the demographics where sports gambling is also rising the most.
Why not make it known publicly that your sports radio station will no longer promote prop betting?
Risk vs Reward
That may seem bold to many, but we live in an attention economy. What better way to garner attention, support a topical cause, and be a leader in America’s newest pastime instead of simply following the trend? If sports radio rid itself of publicly promoting prop betting in segments, on social media, and in podcasts, the positive effects could be long-lasting and lead to meaningful change.
Of course, the concern would be the potential loss of advertising revenue from sportsbooks by publicly proclaiming that prop bets will no longer be part of your content.
But sports radio has leverage here—just look at the data. Sportsbooks need the demographics that sports radio provides nationwide and across digital platforms. Plus, the messaging isn’t about the advertiser itself; it’s about the action it promotes.
What happened last week with the NBA is nothing new. MLB pitchers have been investigated for their in-game performance. The NFL and NHL have petitioned sportsbooks to limit the availability of prop bets. Thirteen states have enacted bans on prop bets, but only for college sports.
This is a moment for sports radio to take a stand and lead from the front.
Far too often, we talk about the importance of connection with the audience. Sports radio is entertainment—an escape. But sports radio is also a public service when times call for it, and what continues to happen year after year as sports gambling expands is damaging to the very games that provide the format’s content.
Will sports radio be a public servant and take a stand when leagues, networks, and Congress have plenty of words but no action? Time will tell—but it’s a bet worth taking.
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Two weeks ago, Classic Rock got a gift. One of the format’s biggest acts, Rush announced a 2026 tour. Always a successful road act, Rush has not played live since the passing of drummer Neal Peart. That means it’s been more than ten years since fans could see the band perform.
Fan reaction to the announcement was massive. The original announcement included twelve shows spread across seven venues. Due to overwhelming demand that has already grown to fifty-eight shows across twenty-four cities. It wouldn’t be shocking to see it expand even further.
There was clearly a big buzz about the announcement. That begs the question, did Classic Rock radio take full advantage of the moment? Let’s dive into the numbers and find out.
To start with, we need a baseline of how many spins Rush has been receiving on an average week. Using the Mediabase Classic Rock panel as the base, Rush received 119,476 plays between January 1st and September 30th. That is essentially 39 weeks which means the band has been getting 3,063 spins a week.
Unfortunately, I can’t pull information that matches exactly with the tour announcement on October 6. But during the week of October 9th through the 15th, Rush was played 3,625 times. The following week, October 16th through the 22nd the band was played 3,296 times.
For the 9th through the 15th that’s an increase in airplay of 18%. Considering that it doesn’t include the first couple of days directly after the announcement it’s safe to say the initial jump, when the tour was first promoted, was likely higher. Let’s say a 22% increase in airplay. The more recent seven day period, the 16th through the 22nd, shows the amount of airplay trending back down settling in around 8% higher than usual.
Now let’s compare radio’s reaction to the Rush tour news, to the fans’ interest in hearing the band. I reached out to Haley Jones at Luminate for streaming data to see what impact the news had on people’s online listening habits.
In the four weeks leading up to the announcement the band averaged 5,868,379 streams. Weekly demand was steady with little variance from week to week. In the seven days following the announcement, streams jumped to 8,168,379 an increase of nearly 40%. In the seven days after that demand remained high, continuing to be 25% higher than normal.
Since the streaming world is complicated, another way to look at how the fans were reacting is to isolate the on-demand streaming numbers. You could say that’s a better gauge of interest when playlists and other factors are taken out. The results are similar. In the first week after the announcement on-demand streaming jumped by 45% and in the second week it remained 29% higher than average.
Rush Exposure Increase
Announcement Week
Following Week
Radio
22% (approx)
8%
Streams
40%
25%
On-Demand Streams
45%
29%
Since Rush made their tour announcement another Classic Rock-related event took place that wasn’t as much fun with the unexpected death of Ace Frehley on October 16th. Classic Rock Radio clearly paid tribute with spins of KISS songs going from 1261 the week before his death to 2800 the week following. That’s a 122% increase.
In the streaming world, we have data including the day Ace died and the four days afterword where KISS averaged 1,876,359 plays. The five days before the band was averaging 827,316 plays for an increase of 126% not far off from the increase at radio.
Now that we have the numbers the question is did radio successfully take advantage of the moment in these two cases? Like a typical consultant, I think the answer is yes and no. Here are a few thoughts:
No: Neither of these are core acts for the format. An overreaction could be problematic because there are a limited number of hits and relevant depth tracks to work with. There is a limit here that isn’t the same with bigger artists.
Yes: My guess is most of the increased exposure for Rush and KISS took place the day of or day after each event. Then it was right back to normal. The sustained increases in streaming show that these type of events have longer lasting impact than just a few hours that we need to capitalize on.
Yes: We know that listeners, especially more casual fans, aren’t tuned to your station all the time. We know occasions of listening are short and difficult to get. Letting the hype and interest around events like this fade within a few hours, especially when they can then go online to listen, is a mistake.
If you have thoughts on how to manage events like these or did something particularly interesting on your station please let me know. In the meantime, you are now free to go back to programming safely tucked away from any math.
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Today, like most days, the eyes of the news/talk radio world are on Washington, D.C. as the government shutdown continues. But for 105.9 WMAL morning host Larry O’Connor, it’s just another day inside the nation’s capital.
While many news/talk radio hosts will aim the focus of their shows on Washington, D.C., Larry O’Connor does a show in Washington, D.C., and he believes there’s a distinct difference between the two.
“When we talk about our community, we’re not just talking about that one-mile stretch down Pennsylvania Avenue, between Capitol Hill and the White House,” O’Connor said. “But what’s funny about it is that when we go hyper-local and find really good stories that are happening in our community, they often end up being national stories.”
O’Connor pointed to stories about local school boards during the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence of this fact, adding that the high-profile nature of being near the capital adds fuel to the news cycle fire.
“We’d have the school board members on the air. We’d challenge those school board members with really fiery interviews. The next thing you know, those stories are prime time at Fox News, because those producers are listening to us on the way in as well,” O’Connor shared. “So, suddenly, what started as a local story on the local radio station ended up being a national, even international story.”
As the government shutdown becomes the second-longest in U.S. history, it continues to be a hot-button topic in news/talk radio circles.
And while others in far-flung locales are able to opine on the subject with reckless abandon for those affected by the shutdown, Larry O’Connor doesn’t have that luxury.
He noted that it’s “very popular and very easy” to get on the air and say “to hell with those federal workers.”
But that isn’t the case when those same workers are your P1s.
“I get it, trust me, I get it,” he said. “But if you did that doing Seattle radio, and you start screaming about Starbucks and Microsoft, your listeners are going to be pretty pissed off. If you got on a (Los Angeles) radio station, (and said) ‘Yeah, screw everybody who works in the film and television industry. Let them get fired, I don’t care,’ yeah, that’s not going to be good for your bottom line.
“Ultimately, these are Americans who have jobs, and it’s not their fault if the federal government is bloated,” he continued. “They’ve got the jobs. And when you’ve got a government shutdown and they’re having trouble making their next rent payment, it’s cold comfort to them that once it’s over, they’ll get their back pay.”
O’Connor added that it goes beyond the scope of those who only work for the federal government.
“There are also a lot of people who work for contractors, who interact with the federal government,” he shared. “They don’t get their back pay. They’re out of work right now, and they’re not going to get these paychecks made up. They’re my listeners, too.
“And I think on a human level, we should just recognize that when any employee for any business, they’re being used as political pawns, and they’re the ones who are suffering because politicians are flexing their political egos and trying to build up their own political capital,” he continued. “Those are human beings who have families. They’re getting stuck in it. We try to be as compassionate as possible for those people.”
O’Connor did note, with a chuckle, that oftentimes “the people who are hardest on federal workers are other federal workers,” joking that much of the response from the audience of those affected by the shutdown is that the government actually is bloated with too many employees.
In addition to his work with 105.9 WMAL, Larry O’Connor is involved in several digital products. Most recently, he announced that he is now co-hosting a new weekly podcast with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, which will relaunch this week.
He also hosts a show for Town Hall, which features much more extended commentary than what the fast-paced news/talk morning show allows.
And he says that stretches some muscles that the radio show doesn’t always allow to be exercised.
“Doing a morning show means that we have a pretty strict clock: shorter segments, lots of topics, traffic and weather every 10 minutes, news breaks at the top and bottom. It’s your typical clock. Which means the longest I get on a topic without taking a break is about eight minutes,” O’Connor said. “When I start my live stream at noon for my Town Hall show, I usually go for about an hour. It averages about an hour and 15 minutes without a break.
“I can take as long as I want. I aim for about 20 minutes per topic of just me monologuing or interacting with videos and audio on a topic. Sometimes I’ll do an interview, but usually it’s just me. So it definitely exercises a muscle to be able to talk about a topic for as long as I want without a break, building the story arc and the narrative. It’s been good for me.”
He added that having that ability to enter more long-form discussions on a topic has also helped him on his radio content, as well.
“It’s allowed me to sort of open up the way a story is presented,” he admitted. “And it’s also helped discover new revenue streams for our industry. And I think radio needs to do that. They need to figure out new ways to bring in drive revenue, and bring in revenue to our to our industry, if we’re going to survive.”
Larry O’Connor added that he appreciates the instant metrics digital media can provide versus the analysis and data that terrestrial radio has relied upon for decades.
“We know very well if we’re performing well, because within 24 hours, we know what our download numbers are,” he said. “We know what our views on YouTube are, we know exactly how we performed, we know exactly when we started to lose the audience, because we can track the views during the show. When people leave, when more people come, what segment of the show got recommended digitally, on social media, and things like that.
“And because of that, there’s no guesswork involved. There’s no averaging, there’s no sampling, there’s no meters, there’s no waiting for the ratings book to come out. It’s the real measure of success when you’re looking at views on YouTube and downloads and podcasts, and there’s no fudging it and there’s no faking it.”
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Mammoth featuring Wolf Van Halen released their third album on Friday, “The End”. I heard from quite a few passionate rock fans of all ages who pronounced a a similar statement: “Wolf is the future of rock”.
Fan perception is sometimes more astute than industry ear static. I’ve always been a gal of the fans, a programmer for the people.
It got me thinking of another phrase I have heard for years. “Where is the next Robert Plant”? “The rock format has no stars”.
Really? Perhaps it is us who are out of touch.
There is no “next” Robert Plant, there is Robert Plant. One and done. Why do we keep buying into this notion that rock passionate fans are dumb and have no understanding that the tickets they buy and the music they download isn’t “really” what they want?
Rock is the second most streamed genre of music globally and in the U.S. Rock Radio has stars. Not stars from 20 years ago. Legit stars NOW.
Streams, Sales, Sellouts and Support
Ticket sales, streaming stats, YouTube mania and radio charts. It’s all a part of the equation, but we cannot discount support.
Fan support. The lifeblood and connection to music. I’ve witnessed this connection firsthand. At events, shows and interacting with rock fans as a daily part of my life as a Rock Programmer for thirty years.
Where are the next stars of the format? Making music and performing. Just like the “old stars”. Where else would they be?
Are things different now? You bet. Do we have stars? We do.
Five For The Future
Sleep Token: U.K masked Metal Masters with hundred of millions of streams and sold out shows the moment they go on sale. Sleep Token are a phenomenon. Defying all the norms.
Gary Jay, President of Landshark Promotion was an early believer in the band. He told me, “More than just a band, Sleep Token is a true phenomenon. Where other band’s lyrics strum at the surface of the soul, Sleep Token’s songs—wreathed in myth and melancholy—delve into the very marrow of the human spirit. Their concerts – ‘rituals’, as their fans have dubbed them – are an intimate liturgy that garners unbridled joy and whispers redemption to the faithful in ways no other artist/band on the planet can currently echo or rival.”
RCA records spotted greatness in the band that started on the Spinefarm label, without identity, without interviews, without speaking. They cannot be explained or categorized. Hundreds of billions of streams later and tickets selling out in seconds, they have redefined the word “fan”. There is a world with ST. #Worship
Mammoth: Wolf Van Halen just released his (and the bands) third record in five years, “The End”. It’s for a loyal and growing fan base hungry for musicianship and authenticity. No gimmicks, just simple and effective, Wolf wows. Playing, writing, singing (sometimes producing), the bands live shows make kids want to pick up something to play. Mission accomplished!
Mammoth shows are impressive. You can see their evolving fanbase growing. Kids waiting by the bus, young players, females, merch warriors selling out the booth. Oh and btw, not just VH fans. I spoke with Wolf recently for my “Carr Stereo Podcast” about his fans. He shared this with me.
“It’s starting to break into this fanbase where you see people who like [MAMMOTH] for the band, and it’s all ages and genders. It’s really crazy, man. I can’t believe we’re really starting to do it.”
They are. With tickets to their headlining tour (kicking off Friday) selling out.
The Warning: The power trio of sisters who got their viral start with their cover of “Enter Sandman” as kids racked up millions of YouTube views and their musicianship and electrifying performances have resulted in one of the most loyal fanbases in rock. I have witnessed their fan loyalty, (known as The Warning Army) after running a radio station contest with Dani, Pau and Ale.
For their fans, The Warning is a way of life. Haven’t seen them? Check out their live concert film released in August. You have been “Warned”!
Yungblud: Let’s face it, we need rockstars. Enter Yungblud. Ozzy approved, wowed the crowd at the “Back to The Beginning” Ozzy celebration concert and he’s cruising up the charts with Aerosmith. Sexy with Swagger just like Steven Tyler was back in his day.
Yeah, we need this. Big Time. Good luck getting a ticket for his upcoming tour. You can’t.
Bad Omens: Are they the new face of Modern Metal? Some would say yes. Their initial presence on TikTok pushed the band full steam ahead onto the Rock Radio charts and hundreds of millions of streams later they are part of a new wave of younger metal acts driving ticket sales and moving metal into “big business”.
The masters can’t do it alone. We need newbies to drive the revenue rate of return in the right direction.
Stars are everywhere. These five are just the tip.
Please stop comparing then and now. There is too much great new music to listen to.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
