Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has signed an extension with Blue Wire Podcasts. His production company, Iconic Saga, announced an extension of its sponsorship, ad sales, and monetization partnership with the podcasting company.
While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Newton’s podcasts, 4th and 1 with Cam Newton and Funky Friday, will continue for a second year on Blue Wire’s athlete-led podcasting platform.
Newton, who calls himself the largest YouTuber in NFL history, currently has nearly 1.6 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel, along with approximately 340,000 more on his secondary 4th & 1 with Cam Newton channel.
“Blue Wire is redefining YouTube video partnerships with a focus on long-term relationships,” said Newton via the Sports Business Journal. “Rather than approaching sponsorships as one-time transactional sales, we take a linear approach that centers on understanding the sponsor’s goals and aligning their brand with our tone and audience.”
He added that Iconic Saga remains focused on securing title sponsors for Funky Friday, 4th & 1, and C1N.
Later this year, the former Panthers QB is set to open a new 27,000-square-foot creator studio in Atlanta. The massive facility, situated on two acres of land, will include production spaces, business offices, and serve as the headquarters for Newton’s NJC Ventures.
“We’re focused on Atlanta being the place where we can stand out,” said Blue Wire Podcasts CEO Kevin Jones. “We’re really strong business partners, so we’re excited to now have a tentpole place.”
Previously, Blue Wire operated a content studio at the Wynn Las Vegas from 2021 to 2024. Since 2021, the company has generated a combined $42 million in revenue and equity investment.
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NBC News has announced the replacement for Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News. Tom Llamas will take over the seat later this year.
Llamas has spent 25 years in television news. He began his career at NBC News before rejoining the company in 2021 as a senior national correspondent. Between stints with the network, he served as a chief national affairs correspondent with ABC News and anchored weekend of editions of ABC World News Tonight.
Most recently, Tom Llamas has served as the host of Top Story on the network’s NBC News NOW streaming platform.
“Anchoring NBC Nightly News is a profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility. I look forward to working with the world-class journalists at Nightly News and Top Story to bring viewers the most important stories every night,” says Llamas. “Lester Holt is a great man and one of the most trusted broadcasters of our time. Just like Lester, I promise to be devoted to our viewers and dedicated to the truth.”
“Tom has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity—all characteristics that have long been trademarks of NBC NightlyNews,” said NBC News Executive Vice President of Programming Janelle Rodriguez. “Additionally, he’s been instrumental in growing NBC News NOW into the leading streaming news network, helping to introduce NBC News to a new generation of viewers.”
Tom Llamas will replace Lester Holt, who announced last week plans to depart the nightly newscast later this year after a decade leading the program. He will continue to work for the outlet in a full-time capacity on Dateline NBC.
Details on when Holt will give way to Llamas as the new nightly anchor have not been unveiled by the network. It has simply stated that Holt will leave the program “in early summer.”
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The NFL Network was at the center of the football world this past weekend as Indianapolis hosted the annual NFL Combine. According to the network, the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine was the most-watched combine on the NFL Network since 2017.
Over the four days of coverage, the public workout sessions totaled 5.1 million viewers on the NFL Network. A total of 329 participants took part in the event, with workouts divided by position across three days.
The weekend coverage particularly stood out on Saturday, as the broadcast featuring quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs averaged 484,000 viewers. That total marks the highest day-three viewership on record and represents a 21% increase from last year’s broadcast of the same session.
Sunday’s broadcast also delivered strong results for the NFL Network. The network reported that viewership was up 22% from last year, with the day’s coverage highlighting offensive linemen participating in the event.
Following a record-setting Super Bowl viewership between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL continues to generate increasing interest in offseason events. That momentum will carry into the NFL Draft, which will be held in Green Bay, WI, for the first time in history. The three-day event is set for April 24–26, though the NFL Network has yet to announce full details of its coverage.
The NFL Combine was first televised in 2004 after the launch of the NFL Network in November 2003. Since then, coverage has expanded from a series of one-hour recap programs to comprehensive broadcasts capturing every sprint, catch, jump, and interview imaginable.
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Yesterday, Westwood One named Vince Coglianese as the replacement for Dan Bongino in its national lineup. The new host couldn’t help but think of the path paved by Rush Limbaugh.
After the announcement was made public, Coglianese took to his afternoon show on 105.9 WMAL in Washington D.C. to share the news with his audience.
“I’ll be stepping in to host my program nationwide from 12 to 3 each day, to be heard on hundreds of radio stations all across the country in a time slot that has historic meaning. Historic meaning,” Coglianese reiterated. “Rush Limbaugh built that time slot … I am very cognizant, very, very cognizant of the immense honor it is to be able to speak in the middle of the day, between 12 and 3 PM Eastern to this audience nationwide.”
He later shared his thanks and admiration for the local listeners at WMAL, stating that his rise to national syndication wouldn’t have been possible without their support.
“The reason all of this can happen is because of the audience response. That’s the explanation for this. The reason that Westwood One, the syndicating company, has put their faith in me for this is because of you,” he said. “The audience response that we’ve had here on WMAL, the reason Dan is putting his faith in me for his podcast specifically, is because of the audience response.”
Vince Coglianese added that his familiarity with Bongino’s audience as a guest host ultimately was the deciding factor for the new Deputy Director of the FBI to make the selection.
“Dan was kind enough to both invite me to do this, to take the helm of the podcast, and additionally, generous enough to with me to share the data. He’s like, ‘Look, I just looked at the scoreboard. This is a very simple equation for me. I looked at the scoreboard, and there you were at the tippy top so you’re the right guy for this.'”
He concluded by reinforcing the extreme humility taking over the honor meant to him. The VINCE Show is set to begin on Monday, March 17th with more than 250 nationwide affiliates. Dan Bongino will host his final show on Friday, March 14th.
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Lotus Communications has flipped Active Rocker Rock 105.1 KKBZ Fresno to Latin Urban Caliente 105.1.
The move comes after nearly 20 years in the Rock format. Jorge Guillen has been named the PD for the new station.
A company media release states, “With its infectious beats and global appeal, Urbano has become one of the fastest growing and most influential music movements in the world. The Central Valley’s diverse and passionate music fans deserve a station that reflects their energy and cultural pride, and Caliente 105-1 is thrilled to deliver just that.”
Core artists will include Bad Bunny, Karol G, Rauw Alejandro, Fuerza Regida and Peso Pluma.
Rock 105.1 APD/PM Driver Ryan Oldfield has left the building as part of the move.
“We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was involved in the Active Rock format and was affected by this change. Many talented professionals contributed to making Rock 105-1 a great station, and we sincerely appreciate their hard work and dedication. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
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Audacy has sold its Radio.com domain. Initially placed in auction in 2022, the auction ended this past March without a successful bid. The minimum bid had been set at $2.5 million.
The domain was obtained when it transferred to Entercom with the purchase of CBS radio stations in 2017. The site was initially used as the company’s primary host for its radio stations.
After an update to the company-wide mobile app in 2020, it was sidelined when Entercom rebranded as Audacy in 2021.
The purchaser or the price has not been revealed. A check today shows that the Radio.com domain is still forwarding to Audacy.com.
Radio.com was initially registered in 1996 by Internet Multicasting Service. Later that year, the platform and TV.com were sold to CNET Networks for $30,000.
In 2008, CBS completed the acquisition of CNET. Two years later, in 2010, the network introduced Radio.com, designed as a comprehensive streaming directory for all CBS stations.
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Buck Belue will be moving from his one-hour late-morning timeslot on 680 The Fan to a prime time weekday daypart spanning two hours from 6 to 8 p.m. EST as part of programming changes at the station. Set to take effect on Tuesday, March 11, the University of Georgia legend will bring his insights, perspectives and commentary to listeners on The Buck Belue Show every weeknight. Belue will also be on the air every Saturday with a new program that will include a rotating co-host who will vary based on the sports season.
“We are thrilled to offer our listeners more opportunities to enjoy Buck Belue’s expertise and passion for sports,” David Dickey, president of Dickey Broadcasting, said in a statement. “The new evening slot and the addition of Buck Belue Saturdays will provide even more in-depth coverage of the Braves, UGA, Falcons and more and lively discussions on the sports topics our audience loves.”
Belue first joined 680 The Fan in 2000 and has been a fixture within the programming lineup, initially pairing with current 97.5 The Fanatic morning host John Kincade. Throughout his time with the outlet, he has been the host of the solo show in the late mornings while also co-hosting early afternoons. The new two-hour weekday program will be replacing The Fan Rewind and an hour that has been occupied by ESPN Radio. Plans for what the station intends to do with the 10 a.m. EST hour have yet to be revealed by Dickey Broadcasting.
The company conveyed that the move of Belue’s programming is part of continued investment and expansion of the prime time lineup to bring more local and live sports talk shows for Atlanta sports fans. Dickey Broadcasting has been operating in Atlanta for the last 32 years and owns three radio stations in the locale. The station is in its first year under the leadership of Andy Roth, who was named the director of programming for the outlet this past September.
🚨 Starting March 11, Buck will be live from 6 PM to 8 PM! Make sure you're tapping that app! 📱 Don’t miss out! @buckbelue8pic.twitter.com/zPZYddqWfN
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ESPN recently announced that Around the Horn will be coming to an end after more than two decades as part of its afternoon programming, officially ending with its final show on Friday, May 23 at 5 p.m. EST. Tony Reali, who has hosted the program since February 2004, has led the sports media panel show who look to garner points and convey their distinctive insights and expertise. Reali recently appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz to discuss the culmination of the program, remarking that he was at the top of the news stories when he opened up Google.
Le Batard opened the segment by explaining that Reali did something that was “damn near impossible” from parlaying hosting sports trivia in sports bars on campuses to an afternoon program on ESPN that has lasted for 23 years. Even though he acknowledged that it may feel like a sad day in some ways, he wished to celebrate Reali and the unbelievable run the show has had on the network. Reali opened by articulating how he is a present and intentional person and felt every minute of the program over the protracted run.
“Never felt like work, still doesn’t feel like work,” Reali said. “The next two months won’t feel like work. I enjoy doing it, I enjoy performing. I felt connection to the audience every day for the 23 years, so to see what happened yesterday in the release or the comments, I am overwhelmed, of course, because my goal is to respond to everybody. That’s a goal of mine. I’ll take the next two months and respond to everybody because that’s how I feel.”
Reali conveyed that the reason he started working in sports media was to perform, and it is something he has tried to do on Around the Horn since becoming the host of the program. Reflecting back on the venture, he estimates having hosted about 4700 episodes and also previously appeared on Pardon the Interruption daily as well with Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser.
“I didn’t come up for air, and I don’t need to come up for air,” Reali said. “My energy is just the same as it was the day I took over the show and my love for that sort of thing. What I evolved in is how I see my role maybe as host. I was a sports brainiac know-it-all that wanted to demonstrate that and also score the debate like judge-jury and all that to somebody who wanted to actually pull at the strings of what’s behind a story and have the most real moment on TV, if I can say that.”
Reali shared that he has shared moments with members of the audience who have shared their memories of the program. Being part of a platform that showcased reporters from around the country is something he voiced as being important, along with fostering diversity in the regions and panelists featured on the program. Le Batard wanted the audience to appreciate what Reali has brought to television and spoke about the legacy of the sports media personality on the airwaves.
“He’s as fundamentally decent as anyone in this business,” Le Batard said. “Everyone who comes on his show, the people, the reporters who are scared and nervous, the way that he welcomes them is the way that a family member would welcome you. It’s not the way television is. He built something purposely warm, even though that’s not the reputation it might have had because it’s sports argument television and they were keeping score, but he did build a community and it’s really hard to do there.”
Le Batard was curious about the rationale as to why the show was being canceled, explaining that he looked at the ratings and that the show was doing well. In response, Reali clarified that he did not really look at the numbers and added that everyone is hired to say goodbye to shows at some point. Reali referenced WNBA legend Diana Taurasi, who recently retired after 20 seasons in the league, and saying that she was “full and happy,” a quote that resonated with him after doing a story about her on the show.
“Well, I can still eat,” Reali said. “I’m hungry, and I’m happy, and I know everybody who I work with, they can still eat. Everybody can still eat, and there’s a lot of food to go around. But I feel hungry, and I know I’m happy, I’m going to be happy.”
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With its presentations of the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship, various prime time NBA games and compelling studio programming, ESPN attained its most-watched February in seven years. According to data from Nielsen Media Research, which defines the month of February as consisting from Jan. 27 to Feb. 23, the network garnered an average of 575,000 viewers per minute, which is up 21% from the previous year. Furthermore, fans watched more minutes of ESPN programming and sports content on ABC this past month than any other February since 2015 across the two networks.
ESPN collected a 30% share of sports viewership across all networks during the month, which is up from the 27% finish it had last year. Aside from FOX, which was the television home of Super Bowl LIX, no other competing networks were measured to have a double-digit share. The 4 Nations Face-Off averaged 4.3 million viewers on ESPN platforms during the month, indicative of a 1079% rise from the World Cup of Hockey nine years prior. On top of that, the championship game between the United States and Canada averaged 9.3 million viewers on ABC, marking the largest hockey audience in ESPN history.
The month concluded with an NBA tripleheader featuring games that all averaged more than 2.2 million viewers, according to a report by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. The games featured major-market teams such as the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, all of whom are currently in playoff position. ABC averaged 2.9 million viewers for its broadcast of the game between the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors, marking the 10th-largest audience of the NBA season.
The strong February performance comes after ESPN amassed its most-watched month since 2015 with a record-setting January containing an average minute audience of 1.6 million viewers. During the month of January, Nielsen-rated ESPN networks were responsible for 42% of all sports viewership in the month, with the singular ESPN network accounting for 29% of viewership in this category individually.
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NewsNation has announced the addition of Chris Cillizza as a contributor to the upstart cable news network.
Cillizza most recently served as a contributor to Scripps News. Before for that, he worked as a political reporter and digital editor-at-large for CNN from 2017 to 2022. At CNN, he launched The Point with Chris Cillizza, a multiplatform brand.
Before his time in television, Cilizza worked as a columnist and daily political blogger for The Washington Post.
Cillizza owns a production company — Cheney Road Productions — which includes a weekly series on Monumental Sports Network in addition to a YouTube channel with more than 60,000 subscribers. He also writes a Substack newsletter entitled So What.
Cillizza will make his first appearance on NewsNation on Wednesday evening during On Balance with Leland Vittert at 9 PM ET. On social media, Vittert shared that the duo will discuss the speech from President Donald Trump to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening, including the reaction from both sides of the political aisle to the speech.
He will provide political analysis across all NewsNation programs and platforms.
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