The recently announced Fox-Barstool partnership in college football is encountering some potential friction before the season even kicks off. A report late Monday stated that Ohio State barred Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy from being on the field at Ohio Stadium for Saturday’s marquee matchup between the Buckeyes and Texas.
The report stated that Portnoy will still appear on Big Noon Kickoff this Saturday on FOX Sports, but he will not be part of the show’s conclusion inside the stadium. Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told Yahoo Sports Tuesday morning that the reason why Portnoy will not be allowed on the field is because of FOX Sports decision in how they’re using Portnoy on Saturday’s program.
“Ohio State did not issue a ban on Dave Portnoy, AD Ross Bjork tells Yahoo Sports,” tweeted Ross Dellenger, college football writer for Yahoo Sports. “Bjrok confirms that FOX decided Portnoy would not be on the main desk of Big Noon Kickoff and those not on the desk do not appear on the field. These are FOX decisions, he emphasized.”
Additionally, The Barstool College Football Show—which was expected to serve as a regular lead-in to FOX’s pregame broadcast—will not run on Saturday as initially planned, according to the initial reports.
When the partnership was announced earlier this summer, FOX Sports stated that the Barstool show would join Big NoonKickoff on the road for select dates. Following the announcement, Portnoy posted a video of announcing the partnership with FOX Sports with the debut episode featuring his appearance at Ohio State and their “dysfunctional little national champion.”
Portnoy, a Michigan graduate, has made a name in part by antagonizing Ohio State for his entire time building Barstool Sports. His criticism of head coach Ryan Day has escalated in recent years as well. Portnoy has also been visible in Michigan recruiting circles.
The restrictions from Ohio State create a logistical challenge for FOX Sports potentially, which relies heavily on Buckeyes games for Big Noon Kickoff. Ohio State is a frequent centerpiece of the broadcast, and the network typically builds much of its college football Saturday around the Buckeyes’ schedule.
For FOX Sports, the collaboration with Barstool was meant to extend its reach into a younger, digital-first audience that the brand has cultivated. Portnoy nor FOX Sports has revealed full details of Portnoy’s role with Big Noon Kickoff as of posting. Last week, Portnoy stated on The Unnamed Show that he was still unsure about what his role would be with Big Noon Kickoff.
“I don’t even know how they’re using me yet. I don’t know that I’m on the panel,” explained Portnoy. “It appears to me, by the media coverage, people think I am the center of attention. I don’t think that’s how it’s going. I don’t know how we’re being used yet.”
The Barstool Sports founder explained last week he had yet to have a call with FOX Sports. He still does not know exactly what his role will be with the signature weekly college football pregame show. While Portnoy agreed that it’s getting close to the debut on the program, he believes FOX Sports has an idea already, even though it hasn’t been communicated.
“They have a clue. They already have a big panel,” explained Portnoy. “I had an idea. Why don’t we just have me listening in a corner and I keep notes. [Where] with everybody I hate what they said, I get a section just to attack them after.”
Ohio State did not issue a ban on Dave Portnoy, AD Ross Bjork tells @YahooSports. Bjork confirms that FOX decided Portnoy would not be on the main desk of Big Noon Kickoff and those not on the desk do not normally appear on the field. These are Fox decisions, he emphasized.
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Be yourself. It’s the ability to own your identity by simply projecting the character that makes up your personality. Every talent shares a unique set of characteristics. Some prefer to be performative and scripted. Others choose to shy away from the formula, preferring to put out something they feel the audience prefers. David Kaplan embraces being himself.
Working in the city of Chicago demands authenticity. Wearing your heart on your sleeve, as every day becomes a game. Kaplan proudly calls the Windy City his home, and ten years after joining ESPN Chicago, he continues to simply be himself.
“First and foremost, I’m a Chicago sports fan. I grew up one, and will always be one,” explained Kaplan. “I want everyone who’s honoring me by being gracious enough to give us their time to listen to know I’m living and dying with our teams just like you are.”
Rising to the Challenge of Kap & J. Hood
Kaplan is no stranger to the Chicago sports fan. His work spans television, radio, and digital, reaching multiple generations. He was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and is a multi-time Emmy Award winner for his television work. Now approaching his tenth year with Good Karma Brands and ESPN Chicago, Kaplan reflected on his key to longevity in one of the country’s top markets.
“We’re in a place where our management empowers us to do the best possible show we could do,” said Kaplan, speaking of working for programmers Mike Thomas previously and now Danny Zederman. “It’s the best place I’ve ever worked.”
ESPN Chicago serves as the radio flagship of the Chicago Bears as well as the ESPN Radio affiliate for the market. Last week, the station announced a lineup shift with Kaplan and co-host Jonathan Hood moving to an earlier 6 a.m. start. The time shift was welcomed as another challenge for a program that has already faced its share of them.
Kap & J. Hood began hosting morning drive on ESPN Chicago in August 2020, as the world was working through the COVID-19 pandemic. In speaking with Barrett Media in April, Hood recalled how former program director Mike Thomas instructed the new pairing to put smiles on faces during a difficult time for the market. Kaplan notes that mission statement has not changed since.
“He [Thomas] made the biggest impact on my career, and I had been doing it for a long time,” said Kaplan. “He said they [the listeners] just want to be entertained. They don’t give a s**t about the swing tackle of the [Chicago] Bears. They really don’t. They want to laugh before they have to start their day.”
Prior to ESPN Chicago, Kaplan was the lead host for WGN Radio’s sports programming in the evenings. For 21 years, he worked at the historic talk radio station in a capacity where he said he was treated as “the sports guy.” Referencing the difference in culture from WGN to his current role at ESPN Chicago, Kaplan embraced change as Kap & J. Hood celebrated their fifth year together last week.
“[J. Hood] is truly like my brother,” remarked Kaplan. “If you spend any time around us, you’d be like these two are like the same guy. Everything we talk about he’s right on it. He’d remark about something, and I know exactly where that’s coming from. We are brothers from another mother. We really are.”
The Growth of The Re-Kap
While Kap & J. Hood are the primary focus for Kaplan, they’re not his only daily project. With an eye on social media engagement, Kaplan grew his following by taking jabs at opposing fan bases. Always wearing his fandom on his sleeve on the air, he decided to venture into the digital world following the pandemic to reach a new audience.
This caught the eye of Ryan McGuffey, a coordinating producer at NBC Sports Chicago, in 2022. Kaplan and McGuffey worked together at the television outlet for many years, with Kaplan noting him as his “closest friend in the whole world.” The two met for lunch with an idea of bringing more life to the digital path Kaplan was exploring.
“He [McGuffey] did a lot of studying during the pandemic. He then asked how much money I was making off it. I said nothing, I’m not doing it for that reason,” recalled Kaplan. “April 29th, I’m driving up to our lake house in Wisconsin. Ryan calls me and says he can have the YouTube channel out within 60 minutes. We can go live starting tonight.”
While Kaplan admits he didn’t understand the intricacies of YouTube, he went along with it. The Re-Kap was officially born. Since day one, Kaplan has provided YouTube-specific game wraps following every game, for every team, all year long.
“My wife and I will go to dinner with another couple. There are two baseball games that night. I have two phones, and if the people don’t understand then they’re actually not really great friends of ours,” explained Kaplan on how he is always tuned in for his Re-Kap materials.
Creating Content Outside of Mornings
The growth of the Re-Kap channel has eclipsed 237,000 subscribers and counting, as Kaplan consistently pumps out new content all year long. From game wraps to unique podcasts, the venture was not one he originally asked permission to do from his employer at Good Karma Brands. In fact, Kaplan has always used the digital platform to cross-promote his ESPN Chicago teammates throughout.
“Danny [Zederman] and Keith [Williams] have been outstanding with this. They always have been very supportive,” noted Kaplan. “I try to make it a win-win for both sides. That’s what I’ve been able to do, and I’ve been very fortunate that they’ve been so supportive.”
Kaplan noted while he was employed at NBC Sports Chicago, they were not as supportive as his current employer at Good Karma Brands.
“When I was at NBC and started this, they didn’t really pay any attention to it. Then I got an interview with Lavar Ball,” explained Kaplan. “He said some provocative stuff, and it blew up. All of a sudden, it’s got 38,000 views and I only have a couple thousand subscribers. People at NBC said you can’t do that. You got to shut that down.”
The request from NBC Sports Chicago was declined by Kaplan. He stated he owns his own social media. Following some back-and-forth, NBC executive Kevin Cross and Kaplan came to an agreement that he could continue to produce content for The Re-Kap—a gesture Kaplan says he’s not forgotten.
“You should be able to do as many different projects as you can,” said Kaplan. “I would tell anyone who’s thinking about it, make sure you do all you can to take care of your main job. On the other end, the bosses should understand. This is a great thing for us too. The more I become visible, that helps them.”
Kaplan is a born-and-raised Chicagoan. While he would like to think his achievements could have happened in another market, he couldn’t imagine working in a better town where emotions run high in a dominant sports culture like Chicago’s. Kaplan pulls no punches in his criticisms of the teams in town. He’s authentic, always demanding more from them. It’s a trait he takes pride in and wishes more talent would embrace.
“I don’t understand broadcasters that just want a good game or don’t root for teams. That’s bulls**t. You got into sports because you love sports,” said Kaplan. “There are a billion things they could listen to. You’re going to listen to me and expect me not to tell the truth? No shot. Otherwise, why would you listen?”
A decade after moving from Michigan Avenue to State Street, David Kaplan is the definition of a multi-platform fan. Entertaining audiences from sunup to sundown, every day of the calendar year. A voice that carries weight but remains a fan at heart.
Following a simple rule from day one: Be yourself.
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It’s hard to believe that the week has arrived, but in just a few days Lee Corso will say goodbye to ESPN and College GameDay. The time is right, and yet somehow, it still feels too soon. For so many of us, whether or not Corso had lost a step in recent years is irrelevant. His absence will make Saturday mornings for sports fans feel incomplete.
The former Louisville and Indiana coach made an important choice nearly 40 years ago when his TV career began. Current College GameDay host Rece Davis talked about it recently in paying tribute to Corso. Davis said Corso’s mantra is, “It’s entertainment, sweetheart. Football’s our vehicle.” That taught Davis a lot about what it meant to host that show.
As the internet fills up this week with tributes to Corso and think pieces about what he meant to college football fans, I think it’s important for everyone in sports media to ask themselves if they really understand what made Corso a success in his second career.
Corso understood what TV is and immediately embraced what it takes to be good at it.
Lee Corso Knew What People Wanted
Colin Cowherd has talked about this a million times in his career. No one listening to or watching your show has any vested interest in you being right all the time. They aren’t sticking around and/or coming back because your opinions and observations are incontrovertibly correct.
Everyone chooses what they consume based on how it makes them feel regardless of the subject matter or platform. Dude Perfect, for example, always delivers slick editing and high energy to their tween boy audience that comes looking for sick trick shots. Lee Corso showed up on set ready to be silly, have fun, and embrace all of the cultural weirdness of college football.
I wonder if anyone in sports media took the right lessons from his career, because I’m not sure all of the over-the-top fake laughter that pollutes so many pregame shows is the same thing as entertainment. Even Corso’s own show relies too much on the annoying practice that is largely about filling time until the commercial break.
Corso was so good at identifying his goal and building a role around it. It made an impression with everyone. Even the people that didn’t like him contributed to his reputation as the guy that enjoyed being in the middle of all the silliness.
His Star Had a Dimmer Switch
Lee Corso’s greatest sports media gift was being comfortable in any role. When he was asked to be the center of attention, he hammed it up as well as anyone in that job ever has. When it was time to pull back and let someone else shine, he was willing to do that too.
It was so easy for him to create memorable moments no matter who was sitting with him at that desk. Corso is as comfortable with Katy Perry trying to steal his mascot head and Ken Jeong shouting, “You complete me, ho,” as he is with an old friend like Charles Barkley or someone as no-nonsense about football talk as Roger Staubach.
Because Corso approached each episode of College GameDay focused on the job he was hired to do, he didn’t mind being the butt of a joke or being outshined. He realized that any win for the show was a win for him too. The job is entertainment.
Corso Just Wanted To Be Corso
Entertainment is the job. Football is just the vehicle. Until Saban joined the cast last year, Corso knew the sport as well or better than anyone on that set, but he recognized that he didn’t always need to prove that to the audience. After all, he wasn’t really there to talk football anyway.
As an entertainer, Corso knew exactly who he was. If his bits and segments were cheesy, well, it’s because Corso is a little cheesy. He got emotional talking about an issue, because Corso was an emotional guy. If he came off as ornery in a debate, it’s because something genuinely touched a nerve with Corso.
This is an unserious business, and I think that’s a good thing. It’s why Lee Corso thrived. But, at times, sports media can lean so far into being unserious that it feels inauthentic. It’s an issue that ESPN, in particular, has struggled with in recent years.
That is why Corso has been so valuable to the network. If he has an ego, he doesn’t wear it on his sleeve every second of the day. He has always been genuinely good-natured. It’s what sets him apart on a network populated by Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee and in ratings competition with the likes of Urban Meyer and Matt Leinart.
Corso doesn’t need to tell you who he was or what you should think of him. He was always happy to just be Lee Corso and let you decide what that means.
After nearly 40 years on TV, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s so much that could be learned from watching Lee Corso. I hope that no one lost sight of how simple his most important lesson actually is—the audience comes first.
“It’s entertainment, sweetheart. Football’s our vehicle.” It’s simple, but it’s as true as anything ever said in this business. And as Lee Corso gets set to take his final bow on Saturday, he will leave behind a giant legacy that grew from it. Letting Corso set the path for College GameDay with that mantra allowed that show to grow, spawn copycats, and become one of the defining properties in ESPN history.
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Cracker Barrel has spent the past few months navigating a rebrand that has not only grabbed attention, but also sparked debate.
It’s an interesting case study because the company has always been defined by a very specific identity, and now, as it works to modernize, the balance between honoring its tradition and staying relevant has been tested. TV News outlets should take notice, because the lessons here are not all that different from the challenges facing broadcasters in an environment where loyalty is fragile, competition is fierce, and missteps are magnified.
One of the central takeaways from the Cracker Barrel rebrand is the importance of knowing what separates your brand from everyone else. For Cracker Barrel, that has always been its connection to nostalgia, family meals, and a sense of comfort. But those strengths can also become weaknesses if the brand isn’t careful about adapting to changing consumer expectations. TV News outlets should understand this better than anyone. For decades, their reputations have been built on trust, consistency, and authority. Yet those very qualities are now questioned by audiences who are flooded with other information sources.
Every news brand has faced downturns and controversies. NBC dealt with the fallout from scandals involving some of its biggest names. Fox News has weathered lawsuits, leadership changes, and political backlash. CNN has gone through multiple lineup and leadership overhauls in the past two decades alone.
Despite those struggles, each of those outlets remains standing, not because they abandoned what made them unique, but because they eventually leaned back into their core identities while making selective adjustments along the way.
That is exactly what Cracker Barrel is trying to do. The company is not abandoning its brand; it is refreshing it. The rocking chairs and country store elements will remain, but a refreshed look and feel is designed to make the chain more appealing to new audiences. TV News outlets should see the parallel. The medium doesn’t have to abandon its dedication to reporting, analysis, or breaking news coverage, but it does have to think about presentation, tone, and the way it engages audiences who consume information differently than they did ten or even five years ago.
But here is the second lesson: conviction matters. Every time a TV News outlet makes a programming change, tweaks its on-air look, or shifts its editorial tone, critics are ready to pounce. Just like some Cracker Barrel customers have complained about any whiff of modernization, TV News audiences can be quick to react negatively to change. That’s where leadership has to stand firm. If you have a strategy and you believe in your direction, stick with it. The worst thing a network can do is panic and overcorrect at the first sign of backlash.
We’ve seen that mistake play out across the industry. Networks that constantly tinker with lineups, graphics, or editorial priorities often appear unsettled. Audiences sense the lack of confidence and move on. Contrast that with outlets that absorb the criticism, ride out the storm, and reaffirm their mission. Those brands may take a temporary hit, but they tend to emerge stronger. Conviction, combined with clarity about what differentiates you, is the only sustainable path forward.
TV News also needs to recognize that change does not have to mean alienation. Cracker Barrel isn’t going to lose its most loyal diners because the curtains are a different color or the menu has been slightly tweaked. Similarly, a news network won’t lose credibility just because it updates its graphics package or experiments with a new primetime format. What would cost credibility is abandoning the principles that built the brand in the first place—accuracy, consistency, and a clear identity in the crowded media marketplace.
This is where many TV News executives miss the point. They either cling so tightly to tradition that they stop innovating, or they chase trends so aggressively that they sacrifice their brand identity. The balance is not easy, but it is necessary. Just as Cracker Barrel is attempting to modernize without alienating its base, news outlets must find ways to evolve while reassuring viewers that they are still who they’ve always been.
At the end of the day, every major outlet in TV News will go through another downturn. There will be scandals, ratings slumps, and criticism. The outlets that emerge will be the ones that know the difference between adapting and surrendering.
Cracker Barrel is showing that you can respect tradition, refresh your image, and remain true to your identity, all at the same time. TV News outlets should pay attention, because the path forward is not about avoiding mistakes or pleasing everyone—it’s about knowing who you are, why you matter, and having the conviction to stay the course when it gets tough.
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.
All of us who work in radio or have an interest in the medium have thoughts about what needs to happen to make radio more relevant and appealing in today’s media environment. One element that gets near-unanimous agreement is that US commercial radio runs too many spots.
Considering that the commercial medium’s business is driven almost entirely by advertising, more ads mean more revenue. But too many spots, especially extended stop sets, are assumed to drive listeners away. In today’s media landscape, there are plenty of audio alternatives with few or no commercials (fee-based). As a researcher, my first question is: How many units do stations run now? What’s the baseline?
With some research, I was able to calculate a couple of numbers that, while not perfect, will give a decent indication of the volume of spots listeners deal with on commercial radio stations. Whether the numbers are perfectly accurate is irrelevant because every station is different, and each listener reacts differently to commercials. Some don’t want to hear a single one (this is nothing new), and others just go along and “don’t touch that dial”. Further, stations game the system with “commercial-free” music sweeps and load up the spots in hours that have lower listening levels so as not to upset the audience any more than necessary.
The estimates here cover part of June 2025 for a group of music stations in PPM markets. All major owners were included.
I used everyone’s favorite daypart, Monday-Friday 6 AM-7 PM (and yes, the daypart is the same in all markets using the local time zone), and worked out two numbers: the average number of units and the average number of minutes per hour.
Across the stations reviewed, each hour had an average of 16.5 units, which lasted 10 minutes and 22 seconds. The average listener during an average hour would hear over sixteen commercials lasting a bit over ten minutes. Here’s another way to look at it: 17.3 percent of every hour on these stations in this daypart consisted of commercials.
The researcher in me reduced this to a simple equation:
Free radio = 16.5 commercials lasting 10 minutes and 22 seconds per hour
Or put another way:
In return for free music, talk, entertainment, and information, is 16.5 commercials lasting over ten minutes an hour a fair price for a listener to “pay” in 2025?
Arithmetic is simple. 1 + 1 = 2. 1 + 1 ≠ 3. But we’re dealing with a psychological issue here. When I conducted perceptuals for Clear Channel back in the mid and late ‘90s, I would sometimes add a question asking respondents how many commercials in a row would be acceptable. The typical result was somewhere around 3.
With the “bow tie” clock, in other words, two stop sets per hour, the 2025 result means the average stop set contained eight units lasting around five minutes. Even if a station goes to three shorter stop sets per hour, the average would be between five and six spots. My guess is that the current number for multiple spots that a listener will accept is lower.
Commercial radio is just that. It survives and prospers based on revenue earned from running spots. However, all of the free versions of the various music streamers run ads as well, and not everyone can afford the pay tier to eliminate ads (Spotify just announced an increase in the monthly fee for their premium service). I don’t use the services, so I can’t knowledgably discuss spot loads for Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc., but my guess is that the stop sets are shorter, although perhaps more frequent. And commercial radio, in most cases, offers more than just wall-to-wall tunes.
Radio has a real conundrum. Local commercial television in the US is in serious trouble, yet that industry will pull in about $9 billion in retransmission fees this year, which is down from over $12 billion a few years ago but still a substantial number and a revenue source with no equivalent for radio. And local TV pulls in a ton of political dollars, a market that radio has had trouble tapping into over the years.
The “Big Three” group radio operators have been through bankruptcy, along with some smaller operators, and one is likely to go down that road again. Even with reduced debt loads, groups are offloading people and using more technology to stay profitable.
If we could reduce spot loads, does anyone have an idea of the new equilibrium number? Using the ratio from the rough estimates above, would ten spots per hour lasting around six minutes and change be the right amount? Would it be lower or higher than that? It’s a wonderful research question without a conclusive answer.
Let’s meet again next week.
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.
It happened again. And again, we shook our collective heads while watching the train wreck with interest.
Two American-based brands stepped into a pile last week. One revealed a change in leadership and a fired CEO whose policies resulted in millions of dollars in losses.
That brand – Target – went all in supporting a polarizing cause. Even Target’s founding family members warned against planting a D.E.I. flag in with their brand initiatives. Target lost market share, shareholder value and C-Level leadership.
The other fumble was higher profile, causing a social media firestorm that still is white-hot a week later.
Nearly everyone with a digital account and a keyboard has voiced their opinion on The Cracker Barrel’s rebrand and image makeover. Company losses already have topped $100 million in market value as diners voice their displeasure, while pundits say – not so fast.
Lessons From Past Marketing Missteps
Choose any brand ‘ball drop’ and the following marketing carnage.
The 2023 Dylan Mulvaney experiment – a transgender activist promoting America’s beer – cost Bud Light huge market share and dozens of jobs. Now, a Mexican beer – Modelo – is America’s favorite.
Staying on the beverage category. Pepsi’s 2017 Kendall Jenner Ad. Pepsi created a commercial with Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi during a protest. Some considered the ad to be trivializing serious social justice movements. Backlash forced Pepsi to pull the ad within 24 hours.
We see it all the time in all formats.
A brand gets new leadership, and that leadership has an ego-driven desire to place their mark on the brand. Not listener-driven. No market forces precipitate the moves. All internally driven.
Long ago, we worked with a General Manager who – pardon the language – referred to this practice as “pissing on the bushes.”
So, where is the lesson in these mishaps for Adult Contemporary brands?
Successful AC stations and all adult radio brands foster a loyal, mature audience that has become brand loyal, which enjoys ‘routine’ and rejects change.
At any point in your evolution, ask yourself – and your audience if change is necessary.
A quick look at where various radio stations fumble:
Brand Foundation
As an Adult Contemporary brand, choosing a solid Music Matrix is the easy part. Free resources and research guidance are plenty, as we wrote a year back in THIS piece. Variances from this basic foundation could spell disaster, leading to audience loss.
We DO encourage you to build a solid Secret Weapon Category. That stack of tunes – even providing a ‘WOW’ factor – needs to be in line with audience expectations. And properly promoted to explain the listener benefit.
Clustering of commercials has been a raging debate for decades. What does your listener have to say about the stop set length? Ask them through simple surveys or Listener Panels. Switching from two to four or five breaks could benefit or break both ways.
Visual Logo
Logo redesign is one of the first places new leadership seems to want to ‘piss on the bushes.’ Your logo is your long-term calling card, and any changes will confuse your listener. In addition, a logo change requires loads of marketing and several seasons to ‘print’ with your listener
Legacy logos that have served corporate brands well for decades, including the Spencerian script logo of Coca-Cola, created in the late 1800s. Jack Daniel’s black and white look is a century old, while Campbell’s Soup’s red and white logo dates back to the 1890s.
We DID write in THIS piece last week about adding seasonal changes to your logo to remain relevant. However, never change your base logo without solid reasoning.
Audio Logo
We discourage a change from audio structure in your on-air atmospherics. If you deploy a jingle package, stay consistent with that particular audio signature and chord progression. While fresh music spots brighten your brand, stay true to the original audio signature. You own it.
The same discipline with a jingle signature extends to your voice-over talent. A tenured VO actor on your brand is also an instant audio cue for the listener. Change your voice talent only when it is necessary, such as a dramatic fee increase or issues beyond your control.
Examples of audio that haven’t changed in many of our lifetimes include the 1927 NBC Chimes. Which are the longest-used audio logo in broadcast history. “Nationwide is on Your Side” is six decades old. Even the Intel Bong dates back to the early 1990s.
Air Promotions
We encourage clients to keep the same successful on-air promotion season after season, another item you own. Time needs to be invested in explaining the mechanics and benefits of any new promotion. A change to the how-to-win architecture will confuse the listener in the short term.
Create a unique audio piece that signals the listeners to call. Keep it consistent. Examples used in the past include The Free Money Tookie Bird, Elvis the Prize Cow and telephone/cash register sound effects. You will also ‘own’ this.
iHeart has run the same $1,000 Weekday giveaway national contest for years. The name of that quarterly content may change by season, but the mechanics remain the same. A change in how to play will take a season to burn in with their listeners.
We use the phrase “Be The Moon, Not The Sun”.
Reflect the light of your target audience. Make the spotlight on them, NOT you.
Discover the audience’s expectation of your brand and the desired experience with your station.
Then stay consistent with your tactics to avoid a big brand or marketing blunder.
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.
I hate to go back to the early 2000s, but here we are. Radio personalities were always judged by their ability to attract advertisers, and especially endorsements.
Following second-quarter results across the industry, it is likely that your cluster is missing sales goals in 2025. When a station missed goals in the past, the market manager or sales manager was often on the chopping block. If you haven’t figured it out yet, air personalities are now bearing responsibility in many cases for missing budgets.
I get it—you were not hired to be a salesperson. But you are the product. Ultimately, your employment is sometimes tied solely to revenue. What to do now? I’ll give you my thoughts and some tools to protect yourself and your job.
It’s all about ratings and revenue. Air personalities were once responsible for ratings. That is no longer true. If you are a host who arrives 30 minutes before airtime and leaves immediately after the show, you are a dinosaur if that is your schedule. It is time to change. You must be available to the sales team.
When was the last time you walked into the sales pit and spoke with the account executives in your building? You must be working with them. Ask the AE about their clients and prospects. Work with them on meeting clients. The business template has changed in sales departments. Salespeople can technically sell whatever they desire. Especially for music stations, there is little pushback for so-called controversial programming on news/talk or sports talk stations.
Generally speaking, account executives sell the easy stuff. This is where your star power is essential. Lainey Wilson is not calling clients of the country station in your building. Ozzy Osbourne (even before his passing) wasn’t thanking advertisers of the rock station. You can and should be doing that. Are you sold out for your endorsements? Why not? Influencer marketing is the trend across all platforms. For the air personality, it is very little work for extra money. If your endorsements are sold out, you will be very difficult to fire.
What can you do to increase sales or maintain sales? Ask your sales manager or market manager which clients you can call. If you endorse a product or service, stop by and see them. When I was working at AM 1500 KSTP, the competition — WCCO — had a longtime client that was spending half a million dollars per year. This client had been on for over 25 years. KSTP managed to move the client off WCCO.
The reason this was successful at all was that WCCO took this car dealer for granted. No one from the radio station had purchased a car from the dealership. The air personalities ignored the client. No one worked it. I just purchased a car. I went to the sales department to find out who the big car clients were. My market manager came to me and asked if I was ready to buy, and my answer was yes. She introduced me to a sales manager at the dealership, and now I’m in new wheels and received a great deal as well.
I personally always try to use advertisers on my station. Do you? Your radio station cannot afford to lose one client, and the good people already advertising with your company are the best prospects to spend more money. Frequently, a client having success on another station in your cluster with influencer marketing is the best prospect to expand within your cluster.
Be dressed for client meetings. If you are the type of personality who shows up to the studio in old jeans or shorts with a ripped t-shirt, it is time to up your game. Be business casual. A nice casual shirt, nice shorts or pants, and comb your hair. We have all worked with people who looked like they could be living in a homeless encampment. Ask your market manager about your show’s return on investment.
I know that is scary, but being ignorant of the actual truth will not protect your job. When your manager tells you about your ROI, ask how that lines up with corporate goals.
If your show’s ROI is 5.5 times cash flow, and the minimum is 5 times, you are one big client away from being fired. If your endorsements are not sold out, ask about a former client who has taken a break from advertising on your show. See if they would consider returning. Drop by that client and say hi. Let them know how much you enjoy sharing their story with your audience and that you have one open endorsement opportunity. Call every company you endorse. Thank them for working with you and the station. You have no idea how important that is for your company.
Call all of your station’s clients. You don’t have to do this all at once, but spend 20 minutes a couple of times a week connecting with the people who pay your bills. I can guarantee that a personal touch like that will pay huge dividends for everyone in your building.
You are the product. Like a great SUV or an excellent omelet, you are key to the success of your company. You must be out front in every aspect of your station. You are the face and voice of growing success. You are essential to making sure that every person on your station’s staff remains employed. Your job depends on your company’s success. Take ownership and watch the efforts pay off for everyone.
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.
It’s a given for General Managers and Program Directors, revenue is always top of mind. Stations need sponsorships and advertiser support to keep the lights on and staff paid.
But there’s a line between smart revenue generation and programming overload. It can be tempting to attach a sponsor to every single element on the station, traffic, weather, contests, studio name, features, and even imaging.
While this may look good on the balance sheet, it can hurt your station’s long-term growth. In today’s world, there is no doubt that revenue growth is the top priority, but audience development and ratings should always remain the foundation of your strategy. And not be made to be a back burner concern.
The Risk of Oversaturation
Oversaturating the product with sponsorships can ruin that goal. Listeners already know they’ll hear commercials in stopsets. That’s part of the deal. But when every piece of content is wrapped in another “brought to you by” mention, you create fatigue.
Instead of hearing a clean, engaging product, the station sounds cluttered and over-commercialized. The audience experience gets diluted, and the listener stops focusing on what you’re trying to deliver. Whether that’s music, personalities, or entertainment. Once tune-out begins, your cume and time spent listening are at risk.
Why Exclusive Sponsorships Work
One of the reasons sponsorships work is exclusivity. When traffic reports are associated with a car dealership or when weather is tied to a heating and cooling company, the sponsorship feels natural and valuable. But when everything on the station is up for sale, the uniqueness disappears.
Advertisers stop feeling special, and the inventory loses its premium status. In the long run, clutter makes sponsorship harder to sell, not easier. Your brand is your most valuable asset! Listeners connect with your station because of the sound, personalities, and consistency.
Protecting Your Brand
If your brand starts to feel like it’s “always selling,” you risk losing that trust. A station that prioritizes sponsors over content erodes its identity, and once that happens, it’s difficult to rebuild listener loyalty. A strong, clean product builds audience, and audience growth builds revenue naturally.
Sponsoring everything might create short-term cash flow, but it often sacrifices long-term health. Growing an audience takes time, consistency, and patience. If listeners feel like they’re wading through a minefield of sponsor mentions just to get to music or personalities, they could migrate to streaming platforms or podcasts that offer cleaner experiences.
Smart Sponsorship Strategy for Long-Term Success
The short-term revenue bump isn’t worth the long-term erosion of audience and ratings. Listen, I’m not suggesting avoiding sponsorships altogether; I am asking you to be smarter with them. Ask yourself: which features are listener “appointments” where a sponsor’s name would get maximum value?
Where does the alignment feel natural? By being selective, you maintain the power of sponsorship and preserve your brand’s integrity. Fewer, better sponsorships deliver stronger results for advertisers and keep your programming clean and engaging.
At the end of the day, your product is what drives everything. If you protect the listener experience, your audience grows. When the audience grows, the revenue follows.
Overloading your station with sponsorships may look like progress in the moment, but it chips away at long-term success. The most successful stations find the balance. Deliver a clean, engaging product that listeners love while integrating sponsors strategically and thoughtfully.
Programmers and GMs who protect the brand first will ultimately create stronger, more sustainable revenue streams.
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.
There is little to nothing in sports television that is truly “behind the scenes” anymore. Hard Knocks gave way to Quarterback, allowing access to The Clubhouse and beyond. Between documentaries and social media, fans now have more access than ever to their favorite teams. The next contestant in the sports documentary spin cycle: Bill Belichick and the University of North Carolina.
The Tar Heels and EverWonder Studio are reportedly shooting a season-long series to stream on Hulu. Following the signing of new head football coach Bill Belichick, the school is looking to capitalize on the attention surrounding Belichick’s arrival.
With no word on how much access the university will allow, the real question isn’t about football. The only way this documentary will cut through is by showing Belichick’s relationship with Jordon Hudson. But will it?
Ask yourself this: For the national college football fan, is there more interest in the University of North Carolina football program or its new head coach? These are two separate items, and they are not one and the same. Especially if you’ve followed the headlines since Belichick’s hire, it’s more about his personal life than his work on the field.
Viewers Want Belichick, Not Tar Heels
Belichick is a national figure who warrants attention. He’s making his first venture into college football after a Hall of Fame career in the NFL. Few head coaches return to college football after winning six Super Bowl championships. Most head to the golf course or land a television gig.
Belichick already tested the TV waters as an analyst on The Pat McAfee Show last year. While charisma isn’t his strong suit, he adapted well to the McAfee program, offering insight from a unique perspective. He also joined Peyton and Eli Manning on the Manningcast, providing real-time analysis during Monday Night Football broadcasts.
After 45 years on NFL sidelines, Belichick’s passion called him back. So did a ten-million-dollar paycheck from the University of North Carolina. Now 73, the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach is heading to Chapel Hill with little attention on what actually happens on the field.
In media, the adage holds true: sex sells. A high-profile head coach dating a 24-year-old ex-beauty queen draws attention far beyond the average Tar Heel football fan. It’s no surprise HBO initially wanted to produce a Hard Knocks series covering Belichick’s hire and preparing for his first season at North Carolina.
HBO wasn’t interested in Gio Lopez’s transfer from South Alabama or Kobe Paysour’s senior year at wideout. HBO wanted eyeballs. HBO wanted drama. That’s what Hard Knocks was, is, and will always be.
Would North Carolina be able to control what HBO shot, edited, and produced? According to reports, that’s exactly why HBO and Belichick parted ways.
The Jordon Hudson Effect
The issue centered on Jordon Hudson. Reports indicated Hudson demanded content approval and partial ownership of the program. HBO discovered Hudson was already in talks with EverWonder as the docuseries announcement loomed.
Now, Carolina football is headed to Hulu, produced by EverWonder. No wonder Hudson shared the news on her Instagram page blowing a kiss. She got what she wanted all along.
What will this Hulu series focus on?
“It’s going to feature the players working hard, which you guys do,” Belichick said in a video announcing the series. “It’s about the players improving and getting better through their hard work, which you do, and the program starting from where it started from seven months ago to wherever it’s going to go through the course of the season, which, of course, will be determined on the field, alright.”
Wow. Stellar sales pitch, coach.
If past trends are any guide, the North Carolina football series on Hulu will be as eventful as its head coach is personable: dry, predictable, and something fans have already seen repeatedly.
It’s All About the Coach in College
In college sports, the head coach is the biggest personality fans follow. Belichick ranks among the top ten highest-paid college coaches, despite not having a win yet. This offseason, every “top storyline” article centered on Belichick—not his on-field performance, but his off-field life.
In an era where transparency is expected, why watch a North Carolina series without a Jordon Hudson storyline? If the offseason is any indication, access to the coach’s relationship with Hudson will be limited.
It began with a CBS Sunday Morning profile, in which Hudson insisted the relationship was off-limits. Later, Channing Crowder claimed Hudson choreographed Belichick’s interview on The Pivot, only for the comments to disappear. Eventually, Hard Knocks dropped North Carolina, reportedly due to Hudson’s influence.
This Hulu series could perfectly showcase the journey, drama, and work behind a football program, while revealing the man leading it. But it’s clear Hudson will influence the storylines.
With control over the narrative, the series could offer genuine transparency. If there’s nothing compelling, there’s no reason for the country to tune in.
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.
The numbers tell a compelling story. The blockchain in media and advertising market hit $2.68 billion in 2025, with projections pointing toward $48.50 billion by 2030. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 78.49%—the kind of growth that makes media executives sit up and take notice.
What’s particularly interesting is how the spending patterns have matured. While crypto advertising peaked at $160 million in the first half of 2022, it settled to a more strategic $40 million in H1 2024. Yet major players like Binance continue to demonstrate confidence in the space, and institutional adoption is surging through spot ETFs and corporate holdings. According to Binance, “Bitcoin delivered a strong 13% YTD return in H1 2025, outperforming traditional equities. Institutional adoption surged via spot ETFs, corporate holdings (848.1K BTC), and emerging on-chain use cases like BTCFi.”
This shift from speculative advertising to strategic investment signals something deeper happening in media revenue models.
Micropayments Meet Media
Here’s where things get practical. Traditional payment processors make small transactions uneconomical. Try charging someone 25 cents for an article and watch processing fees eat your margins alive. Blockchain changes that math entirely.
Transaction costs drop by 40-80% when you’re working with cryptocurrency micropayments. All of a sudden, pay-per-article models are commercially viable because a reader wants access to that deep-dive investigation you spent weeks writing. They can pay directly, instantly, and without the overhead that made it impossible before.
Smart contracts take this automation a step further. No more intermediaries keeping a cut, delayed payments, or disputes about terms. The contract executes when the conditions are met—reader pays, content unlocks, creator gets paid.
What is happening now is unlike anything we have seen in the past; there are neural paths of steered-from-creator-to-consumer that completely bypass any traditional gates in distribution. Content creators can tokenize their work, selling digital assets directly to their audiences while still keeping ownership and control.
From Restrictions to Revenue Streams
Do you remember when Google and Facebook treated crypto advertising as toxic assets? We are no longer living under those restrictions.
Both platforms relaxed their crypto advertising policies in 2025, recognizing the legitimate business opportunities emerging in the space. The numbers back up their decision: 76% of marketers believe Web3 will significantly change digital advertising operations within five years.
The performance metrics are impressive too. Instagram and Facebook now account for 58% of all ROI-focused crypto campaigns, with YouTube capturing 26%. Projects investing in crypto traffic generation typically see a 3-5x return on ad spend within the first 90 days.
But here’s what’s really interesting—crypto influencers are outperforming traditional categories with an average engagement rate of 5.2%. Their audiences are actively engaged, not passively scrolling.
Connected TV and over-the-top advertising are becoming major channels for crypto companies as audiences continue shifting from cable to streaming. Data from crypto exchange Binance shows that regulatory wins like the GENIUS Act have “boosted institutional confidence and positioned stablecoins as core financial infrastructure”—exactly the kind of regulatory clarity that gives platforms confidence to embrace crypto advertising.
Specialized crypto advertising networks are filling gaps where mainstream platforms still have limitations, creating an entire ecosystem of alternatives.
Bridging The Gap with Blockchain
When it comes to trust, advertising has always faced an uphill battle. Fraud in the advertising industry costs companies billions of dollars every year and oftentimes provides very limited recourse for those affected.
Blockchain-powered verification tools can reduce ad fraud by up to 90%. As Barrett Media has previously explored, advertisers are increasingly turning to blockchain technology to ensure transparency and security in their digital campaigns. Each impression, each click, and every conversion are logged in an immutable ledger. When something is carved in stone, it is impossible to fake.
And now, the transparency of blockchain is a value proposition for advertisers, not just a feature. Businesses want to know that their money is working for them. Publishers want to prove audience engagement is real. With blockchain, everyone wins.
Advertisers who are currently using the advertising method in crypto have undergone a seismic shift. We are seeing less speculative “get rich quick” messaging and more community, inclusive, and transparent campaigns. Companies are using their blockchain credentials to differentiate themselves from less scrupulous competitors.
According to Binance research, despite volatility, “a 5.5T global liquidity surge and volatile trade tensions created an environment where crypto showed resilience.” This market stability gives media companies confidence to diversify their revenue streams through cryptocurrency partnerships.
Tokenization allows content creators to sell digital assets directly to consumers, bypassing traditional distribution channels entirely. It’s not just about accepting crypto payments—it’s about creating entirely new asset classes from content itself.
Where Investment Meets Innovation
Let’s look at actual spending patterns. Coinbase invested $99 million in marketing and advertising in Q1 2025—up $35 million from 2023. While that’s still less than half their 2022 peak of $200 million, it shows strategic, sustained investment rather than speculative splurging.
The broader context matters too. Digital advertising overall reached $259 billion in 2024, representing a 15% year-over-year increase. Crypto companies are claiming a larger share of that growing pie, but they’re doing it more strategically.
There’s been a clear shift away from television toward social and digital video channels. Crypto advertisers are following their audiences to where engagement rates are highest and attribution is clearest.
Global Web3 advertising spending is projected to exceed $12 billion in 2025, and 59% of brands plan to integrate Web3 technology into their campaigns by year’s end.
Here’s what media companies are discovering they can offer:
Reduced transaction costs through blockchain payments
Direct creator-to-audience monetization opportunities
Enhanced fraud protection and transparency
Access to highly engaged, tech-savvy audiences
New revenue streams through content tokenization
The New Media Math
What we’re seeing isn’t just crypto companies buying ads—it’s a fundamental recalibration of how media monetization works.
The combination of reduced costs, new payment models, and growing institutional confidence creates opportunities that didn’t exist even two years ago. Media companies can now offer micropayment options, direct creator compensation, and fraud-resistant advertising verification.
The question becomes whether traditional media companies can afford to ignore these developments. While crypto advertising spending temporarily contracted after the speculative peaks of 2022, the underlying infrastructure has matured significantly.
Blockchain transparency might become the new standard for advertising accountability—not because regulators demand it, but because marketers and publishers recognize its value.
The companies embracing these changes now are positioning themselves for a media economy where traditional gatekeepers matter less and direct relationships matter more. That’s not speculation—it’s already happening, one micropayment at a time.
