TV viewing has been on an incline in recent months. That was on display in January according to The Gauge from Nielsen.
The latest report shows that TV viewing in January rose 5% compared to the previous month. As one might expect, football broadcasts played a large role in that increase.
On Sunday, January 26th, CBS saw the largest television audience of the month as 57.4 million viewers tuned into the AFC Championship Game. On that same day, the NFC Championship Game earned 44.2 million viewers on FOX.
Those broadcasts followed 22.1 million viewers who watched the National Championship Game on ESPN on Monday, January 20th. The College Football Playoff helped increase cable sports viewing in January by 42%. Additionally, cable television saw a 7% monthly increase, powered by that increase in sports viewing but also a 26% increase in news viewing.
Overall, broadcast television viewing was up 5.1% in January as it benefited from increased interest in drama programs as well as news events.
Photo: Nielsen
Streaming — while still dominating the overall television landscape — saw the smallest growth during the month, as it was up 3% compared to the previous month. Netflix viewing rose 7% during the month, setting a new high-water mark at 8.6% of all streaming viewership. The Roku Channel saw another 9% increase in total viewership during the month. It now accounts for 2.1% of all streaming viewership. YouTube maintained its stop spot at 10.8% of all streaming.
In year-over-year streaming television viewership, January 2025 represented a 21% increase compared to January 2024. In that time period, Nielsen data shows streaming television has gained 6.6% of the share of TV viewing.
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Music radio is remembering Andrew “Tiny” Aasen, who passed away at the age of 43.
Aasen is best known for his time on “The Marconi Show” in the 2000s. He was also one-third of the Ourautoexpert.com radio show and podcast, Digital Reinforce, and as SEO Manager for Ourautoexpert.com.
He also worked as a private medical diagnostic consultant.
“Tiny was much more than a colleague; he was family,” Aasen’s long-time radio partner Marconi said. “He brought joy and laughter to everyone around him and had a profound impact on our lives. His departure leaves a void that cannot be filled.”
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Michelle Beadle of SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio took aim at current Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for his criticism of NBA All-Star Weekend during TNT’s broadcast this past weekend. During the telecast, Green was highly critical of the league’s new format, which replaced the traditional East vs. West matchup with a four-team, single-elimination tournament. Following the contest, he gave the new structure a zero rating out of ten.
On Monday’s edition of Beadle & Decker, co-hosted by Cody Decker, Beadle fired back at Green’s comments. She argued that players like Green are the very reason the NBA has been forced to make changes to the annual event in the first place.
“Draymond, why the hell is the league having to do somersaults to try and tweak, fix, and change anything at all?” Beadle questioned. “Oh, that’s right, because you and your colleagues, years ago, decided that you don’t really give two s***s about the All-Star Game. So, you don’t put any effort into it.”
During the TNT broadcast, Green acknowledged that the new format was introduced because, in recent years, players had not approached the All-Star Game with enough heart and effort, leading to a decline in competitiveness.
““You work all year to be an All-Star and you get to play up to 40 and then you’re done… Come on, what are we doing,” Green said on Sunday night’s broadcast. “This is ridiculous… A zero. Sucks. This ain’t basketball.”
Beadle had a direct response to that question on Monday.
“We are here because of y’all,” she said. “We are here because no one cared anymore, or had any pride in it, or wanted to be in the slam dunk contest, or any of those things. That’s why we’re here. So, you don’t get to wreck the car and then b***h about the car being in bad shape. You did this.”
As of posting, TNT Sports nor the NBA have yet to release official viewership numbers for the weekend’s telecasts.
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At long last, Joe Buck is returning to a Major League Broadcast booth. In an interview with Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, the ESPN Monday Night Football play-by-play voice has said he will be on the call for ESPN’s broadcast of the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers games on Opening Day March 27.
Buck is no stranger to national baseball play-by-play since leaving the broadcast booth following the 2021 World Series to focus solely on ESPN’s Monday Night Football since 2022. Buck has called more World Series on television than anyone in history with 24 broadcasts, matching his longtime television partner in the late Tim McCarver, who passed away in 2023 due to heart failure.
The 55-year-old broadcaster says he will be focused on calling the game between the two teams and the special nature that an Opening Day broadcast brings instead of making the broadcast about his return to the booth. Buck signed a five-year, $75 million dollar contract with ESPN in 2022 with a sole focus on just NFL play-by-play.
Buck was asked a few weeks ago by Senior Vice President of Production Mark Gross about the idea of calling an Opening Day game on the network at Yankee Stadium. Buck, the son of the late Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
“Why wouldn’t I,” Buck said via The Athletic. “I know what I’ve said in the past about this stuff, but I’m not really good at saying no and I think I inherited that from my dad. Because Mark asked me and I really love the guy and think the world of him, I said, ‘Yes.’”
ESPN will pair Buck with former Yankees manager Joe Girardi and former Brewers player Bill Schroeder during the broadcast.
ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus commented via a statement released by ESPN that Joe Buck is synonymous with Major League Baseball and adds his addition to the broadcast booth on Opening Day is an “incredible addition” to the coverage.
MLB Opening Day will come just a week after the regular season officially begins as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs play a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan, on March 18-19.
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Netflix recently completed the first year of a three-season deal with the NFL to air games on Christmas Day, a presentation that collectively averaged more than 30 million global viewers. As the over-the-top streaming service continues to look for the future, it has been consistent in emphasizing that sports rights need to make sense economically and also convey a feel of being “eventized.” Yet there seems to be purported interest in expanding the relationship with the NFL to become a regular broadcast partner as the league is expected to enact an opt-out clause within its existing 11-year media rights deal, estimated to be worth approximately $111 million, after the 2029 season.
Bela Bajaria, the chief content officer of Netflix, recently appeared on The Town podcast from The Ringer hosted by Puck founding partner Matthew Belloni. He asked the executive if the company would be airing a weekly NFL game in five years, prefacing her answer by surmising that she would obviously say ‘Yes.’ Contrary to his belief, Bajaria initially declined this prospect, attributing it to the rights being tied up. Upon Belloni saying that there is an opt out in less than five years, she said that if the answer was ‘Yes,’ she would definitely be interested in the Sunday afternoon games.
Earlier in the program, Belloni recalled that he had told Bajaria two years prior that the NFL would be on Netflix, a proposition to which she replied, “Absolutely not.” After admitting that he was right, she remarked that it was interesting because they did not realize the Christmas Day slate of games would be available. Belloni then depicted the league bending to Netflix rather than it being the other way around.
“We have a great relationship and NFL is great,” Bajaria said. “I also think you probably meant, even though I’m going to give you props, but you probably meant we were going to bid on the whole season.”
Netflix currently has more than 300 million paid memberships to its service, divulging in the latest quarterly earnings report that operating income proliferated 22.2% year-over-year to $2.27 billion. The company forecasted a content spend of approximately $18 billion, and Belloni was curious to find out how it would be allocated across different genres. While Bajaria declined to give a summation of their specific plans, she voiced her appreciation for the budget being fluid and the company being able to remain opportunistic.
“I think the one thing is also to remember is with $18 billion of spend for film and TV and live events and all of the things we do, it doesn’t have to be either or, and that’s why we can really, for our members, do lots of different film and TV in different languages, but also be opportunistic with these live events. It’s been amazing between the fight and NFL on Christmas Day, but also Beyoncé Bowl on Christmas Day.”
Netflix is currently airing weekly editions of WWE Raw under a 10-year media rights deal reportedly worth a total of $5 billion. As the broadcasts have aired over the last month-and-a-half, Bajaria explained that multigenerational audiences are coming to Netflix to watch the property and that viewership outside of the United States has been interesting. The company also continues to work with WWE to examine opportunities to develop other content for sports storytelling while remaining aware of the rights landscape, which is slated to include UFC and Formula One.
“Film and TV is the core of what we do,” Bajaria said. “We are always going to make amazing film and TV everywhere. We’re also going to be smart about understanding the marketplace and what opportunities are available. Like I’ve said, we understand people love sports. I love sports too – people love them – we know our audiences love them. It is always going to have to make sense in a long-term deal, something that feels eventized, and it has to make economic sense for us.”
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Cristina Daglas, an executive editor who has responsibilities overseeing the ESPN website, has reportedly been placed on administrative leave by the company. Several employees are reported to have filed human resources complaints, the specific nature of which is currently unknown. Daglas is said to have been on leave since late January, according to a report filed by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports.
Daglas first joined ESPN as a senior editor for ESPN The Magazine in 2014, and has worked in various editorial functions over her decade with the company. In 2016 as the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series championship in 108 years, she was working with the company’s digital division and helped lead its coverage surrounding the historic event. Daglas was the first female MLB deputy editor in ESPN history, and later transitioned into a similar role on the company’s NBA coverage. According to her LinkedIn profile, she started working in the executive editor role at ESPN in November 2021, under which she oversees the ESPN.com website.
Daglas is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she proceeded to earn her master’s degree in journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Moreover, she was the recipient of the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Fellowship as a graduate student. Over the years with ESPN, she has had the opportunity to work with heralded journalists and industry luminaries, including former senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
In addition to her job with the network, she is also listed as being an adjunct professor for the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. Cal State Fullerton also revealed that she would be a journalism instructor in November teaching a class on sports reporting. Prior to her time with ESPN, she served as an editor for D Magazine and Milwaukee Magazine, which came following reporting experience at Isthmus and The Capital Times. It remains unknown if the reported administrative leave has affected her teaching roles at either of the universities.
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“FIT” is dead. “Compatibility” is being pulled 6 feet under in FIT’s wake. There’s no better petri dish than Country Music Radio to verify these deaths.
Tomorrow, The Country Radio Seminar launches in Nashville. The lobby of The Omni in Nashville is the central nervous system of C.R.S. idea exchange. Down the atrium, the Bongo Java Coffee Shop will be abuzz with new networking friends and reconnections with old comrades. You have to wonder if anyone will be discussing how fractured the country playlists have become. Dozens of titles have creeped in with zero “FIT and Compatibility”.
“FIT and Compatibility” was manufactured in the mid-90’s by researchers to convince programmers that their core listeners would likely accept core music and artists already saturated in their playlist and reject sounds that weren’t represented in their current Music Matrix. During research sessions, a research respondent would now have the additional capability to choose whether the song “FIT” their favorite station – regardless of total positive or negative overall score. As a result, many high-testing records were often tossed in the trash can when building a fresh library – post music test.
Their theory –“provide scores that measure how well each tested song aligns with the key musical preferences of your target audience, current playlist that helps your station create a more cohesive and strategically optimized music mix.”
We’ve countered for years that “FIT and Compatibility” is a “Catch-22” (from Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel of the same name). It describes a paradoxical situation where an individual is trapped by contradictory rules or conditions. “Catch-22” describes a no-win situation where the solution is blocked by the problem itself.
Example: Job experience paradox:
You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience.
In the “FIT and Compatibility” “Catch 22”, listeners will almost always reject with what they are not comfortable. However, when those same listeners HEAR the song within the orbit of favorite station’s playlist, “FIT and Compatibility” softens greatly. Therefore a song will never “FIT” until it’s on the air.
Simply play it with regularity and it will “FIT”. We’ve presented for years that listeners don’t like what they don’t hear. A short discussion of the phenomenon using The Country Charts.
Flashback back to the 2019 Country Charts – the remix of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus in duet mode delivers. The remix of “Old Town Road” was banned from The Billboard Country Charts as it didn’t have “enough elements of modern country music” according to Billboard gatekeepers. When anointed as a ‘country’ song, it topped out at #50 after Billboard granted “Old Town Road” the ‘privilege’ of occupying their list. Quickly, the tune became a researched smash. Perhaps a harbinger of was to come?
Flash-forward to late March 2024. Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” drops – going on the win The Grammy for Album of the Year AND Country Album of the Year even though most programmers help off airplay because – you know – Beyoncé. Guess it was country ‘enough’.
Track #17 on “Cowboy Carter” – “Levii’s Jeans” – featured rapper Post Malone in his first tip-toe into Country Music. Six weeks after his Beyoncé duet, Post Malone announced his next single, entitled “I Had Some Help” (featuring Morgan Wallen) – released on May 10. Country Programmers applauded. Malone earned 167 first-week adds at country radio while breaking Spotify’s single-day country streaming record with nearly 14 million streams. Suddenly non-country artists were – “FIT and Compatible”.
But wait – there’s more!
A rapper with Nigerian ancestry topped the 2024 Billboard Charts for 19 weeks, becoming the #1 Country Song of the year. Shaboozey also claimed the title of Billboard’s longest #1 title with “A Bar Song”.
Nashville-based Alternative Rapper Jelly Roll had his Country Radio breakthrough in 2022 with “Son of a Sinner” – creating strong headwinds of what was to become. Jelly’s Beautifully Broken debuted at #1 on The Billboard Top 200 album Charts in November of 2024 – with emotional storytelling about tattoos, raw lyrics, addiction and hardship.
Country Music = stories.
Clear examples of “FIT and Compatibility” roadkill outside Country Radio are plenty. Before the Kate Bush “Stranger Things” chart topper, there were dozens before her.
Lizzo into “Running Up That Hill”?Strange indeed. A 1962 chart-topper from The Contours was pushed back on the 1988 charts thanks to “Dirty Dancing”. Madonna into “Do You Love Me”?Take that – “FIT and Compatibility”
A 1990 spin around The Potter’s Wheel in “Ghost” had a 1965 Righteous Brothers hit back into the Billboard’s Top 20. Prince into “Unchained Melody”? Messy. Queen has popped into The Billboard Hot 100 nearly a 1/2 dozen times with the same song. House of Pain followed by “Bohemian Rhapsody”? It happened, shattering “FIT and Compatibility”.
Chatter around Bob’s Steak House bar inside The Omni at The Country Radio Seminar bar certainly will contain discussion about new artists Remy Garrison and Ella Langley. Perhaps it should be how Country Radio scores a duet with Kendrick Lamar (having tripled streaming records on February 11th)and Blake Shelton.
“Fit and Compatibility” are indeed dead. Perhaps it never was alive.
Every member in sports media can always agree on one thing: success on the field leads to success off it. Whether you’re in radio, television, podcasting, or print, the goal is to grab a bite of the apple when the local franchise can call themselves champions.
Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Eagles won their second NFL championship, beating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Following the victory, the rabid fanbase of Philadelphia celebrated in the streets, loud and proud, as only one would expect a die-hard Philadelphia sports fan to do. It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who follows sports that some would say there’s a slight stereotype that plays into what makes a “Philly fan,” and that’s where the highly successful Philadelphia sports satire podcast The Paulie & Tony Fusco Show taps into that stereotype and plays the hits with the most success.
“The social media following and the views have really skyrocketed on us, especially as we hit playoff time in December, January, February,” said Sharief Ali, who plays ‘Tony Fusco’ on the podcast. “We had by far our best months in terms of metrics and views, doubling and almost tripling what we normally do any given month. It’s been really amazing.”
What was once a simple bit idea pitched in a pre-show morning meeting of The Herd with Colin Cowherd has now turned into a weekly podcast with a massive social following. Ali, along with co-host Andrew Samson, who play the characters ‘Tony’ and ‘Paulie Fusco’ respectively, were producers on Cowherd’s program in 2016.
“Sharief pitched an idea talking about sports talk radio in the Philly area and how it’s just full of clichés,” said Samson of the pitch nearly ten years ago. “Colin jumped on this and was like, ‘Yeah, there are so many clichés. These guys are always talking clichés. It’s ridiculous.’”
What was once an idea in a morning meeting has now turned into a successful passion project for both Samson and Ali. The Paulie & Tony Fusco Show, distributed by iHeartPodcasts and FOX Sports Radio, is a satire of sports talk radio and “hot take” media personalities hailing from the City of Brotherly Love. While the show is not built on any one specific personality from the past or present voices of the market, the building blocks of how the show is written and produced lean on the tools of the trade from both Samson and Ali’s radio beginnings.
“We both come from that producing background,” said Samson, who plays Paulie Fusco. “When we were in our jobs, the goal was to have the smartest angle on a topic, the most unique angle that made people think. In this show, we try to do the reverse. We want to have the dumbest angle that shows no thought possible—so dumb you can’t even believe somebody would say that. And then the joke is that Paulie and Tony are delivering these takes as if they think they are the smartest takes in the world.”
With the goal of getting the laugh and earning the subscribe or follow, some brash Philadelphia sports fans may not buy into the satire, considering it potentially an insult to their native tongue. What might surprise you is that fans of The Paulie & Tony Fusco Show want to be more a part of the act, not just consuming the content like a normal show or podcast.
“It’s been really amazing because our audience is all in on the joke,” Ali said of the podcast’s following. “I liken it to WWE. When you go to a show, you sort of suspend your disbelief and join in on the storylines. And our audience, over time, has started to buy in. So the audience also is in on the joke most of the time.”
Speaking of the audience, The Paulie & Tony Fusco Show currently leans on short-form video to drive views and followers. Their combined TikTok and Instagram following surpasses 100,000 followers, with every show edited and packaged for YouTube consumption outside of the audio podcast alone. As noted earlier, everyone loves a winner, and The Paulie & Tony Fusco Show netted over eight million views in the month leading up to the Super Bowl.
The show also made news recently as they were named back-to-back winners in the “Best Sports Comedy” podcast category, beating out digital competitors such as Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco’s Nightcap podcast. So what makes The Paulie & Tony Fusco Show stand out among their competition?
“We worked for several people who are very good at coming up with takes, and they’re very legitimate voices. And then there are other people who are clearly just talking for clicks and don’t know what they’re talking about. The line between those two people is very blurry, and that is what we are joking about,” explained Samson.
“We are the people who are… we try, and we’re sort of real, but we’re also sort of wrong. We’re making fun of that hot take world where anybody with a mic can say anything now.”
The Paulie & Tony Fusco Show is more than just two guys crafting, writing, and executing a podcast. They also welcome notable guests from across the sports world—only to abruptly kick them off the show as part of the humor within the joke. Notable names such as sports radio host Dan Patrick and former NFL players Chris Long, Eric Dickerson, and Drew Bledsoe have all been welcomed to the show—only to be cast off for something they said that didn’t agree with either host.
However, like any other sports radio program, there’s always that one big-name guest that seemingly remains elusive.
“The recurring joke is that we invited Nick Foles on the show every week, and that he agreed to come on, but for some reason, never did for 432 consecutive weeks,” joked Samson. “Now, we’re in kind of a bind because now that Jalen Hurts is also a Super Bowl MVP for the Eagles, we’re not sure where to go with the bit right now.”
Ali added, “We’re very fortunate that most of our wish list has actually come on the show. So, Tom Brady—that’s goal number one—and Nick Foles.”
Two former radio producers now producing their own highly successful podcast as a passion project should also serve as a model for talent who have yet to step outside their comfort zone. Both say it took a lot of effort—and still does—but the rewards now are fulfilling in many aspects.
“We edit it, we post, we are all doing the work, and we learn so much about how each platform works differently,” said Samson. “Because when we get to see how each clip performs and doesn’t perform, we learn from that. So that is my best advice. The more hands-on you can be, the more you take on yourself, the more you’re going to learn about what is working and what isn’t for your podcast. Then you make changes based on that.”
The Paulie & Tony Fusco Show drops new episodes each Thursday wherever podcasts are available.
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‘Todd N Tyler’ features Mike Tyler and Todd Brandt. The talented duo stared doing mornings together in Harrisburg, PA in 1993. A few months later they moved to KEZO/Z-92 in Omaha, NE, and have been there ever since. The show began syndication in the fall of 2006 and remains syndicated today on stations like T-95 in Wichita, The Blaze in Lincoln, NE, and a “stripped down” version of the show is heard on a one day delay in Sandpoint, ID and Mason City, IA. All stations are active rock or mainstream rock.
Big P joined the show as producer in early 2007 after interning for Todd and Tyler. Nick Allen started as a local comedian who stopped in from time to time. He was later added to the program full time in early 2020. A rotating cast of local comedians and/or friends of the show make semi-regular appearances, as well as national touring comedians that come through the local Funny Bone comedy club.
“The show is all talk, all morning,” explains Todd. “News, sports, lifestyle and pop culture issues, celebrity interviews. We talk about music from a variety of genres and eras during the show. We’re all big fans of music but we don’t actually play any music during the show.”
“Our show seems to inspire a fierce loyalty from our listeners. Many times, we’ve been told that the way we live our lives on the air, sharing so many parts of our day to day happenings, makes the listeners feel like they know us personally,” says Todd. “We’re the weird brothers/dads/drunk uncles that feel like part of their own family. With the show being podcast in full every day, many of our listeners make a point to listen to the whole show so they don’t miss anything.”
As for the show’s passion project, Todd N Tyler have a long standing relationship with their local Breakthrough T1D chapter (Type 1 Diabetes). They help raise funds for it with a few events every year.
According to Todd, there hasn’t been anything earth shattering to turn the show upside down over the years. There have however been several “evolutions” of the program throughout the years. “Changes in staff have caused changes in how things operate on the air at times,” he explains. “Other times, it’s not been so much of a deliberate evolution. There’s just been certain times where certain things have run their course, and new things take their place. Having been on the air since 1993, obviously the audience’s needs and wants have changed many times. We just try to continue to give them what they want.”
“One of the things we’re most proud of is the reputation that we’ve gained with so many famous comics that we’ve come to be friends with over the years. They always say that they love doing our show because it’s so laid back and casual,” Todd says. “They don’t have to ‘do their bits’ on the air. They’re able to just come in, hang out and join the conversation that’s going on that morning. We’re proud to have that reputation. Over the years we’ve met so many cool people when they were on their way up and have seen them become huge stars.”
Another accomplishment that the entire team and station is proud of is the induction of Todd and Tyler into the Nebraska Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2021.
As far as challenges for the show are concerned, it’s the constant changing of the industry. “Especially right now,” insists Todd. “But not all of it is bad. Yeah, there are layoffs and reductions in force at times, but you can say that about a lot of industries. If you’re willing to embrace the change, it can open doors to things you never thought of or wouldn’t have tried before.”
“One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced over the last few years is just the constantly changing landscape of social media, and how to successfully integrate it into the on air product. Taking advantage of the good things that it can provide but also blocking out the negativity that sometimes runs wild there.”
“And yes, maybe we need more personalities in the business. More people willing to push boundaries and be their true selves on air. One thing we hear from our listeners is that the reason they like us is they can tell that we’re just being ourselves. We’re not playing characters on the air, or putting up some front. Authenticity comes through on the air. People can tell when you’re not giving it to them.”
Which brings me to my next topic. The use of or pressure to use AI in the industry. “We haven’t really used it at all. I just hope it never learns how to fully master sophomoric humor,” says Todd. “If it does, that’s when we’ll get worried!”
As for what’s ahead for Todd N Tyler in the upcoming year, “We’re just staying the course. Trying to always ‘find the funny’ of whatever story we’re discussing,” says Todd. “Continuing to bring our audience into our lives and giving them a time to laugh and escape whatever else may be weighing them down mentally.”
Brands don’t matter is a belief I have held for years. Your call letters and positioning statement only have as much value as the people you hire and moments you create. That reality was on full display this past weekend in the two SNL50 specials that aired on NBC.
As far as television goes, very few shows or entertainers have done as much to shape American popular culture in the last half-century as Saturday Night Live. However the celebration of the show’s 50th anniversary was not about an institution, it was about its memorable people and the moments they created.
His name was mentioned from the stage by a number of performers, but no one performer did a long, heartfelt tribute to creator Lorne Michaels. In fact, when his name was mentioned, it was more often as part of a roast than it was a loving homage. The only tribute to the iconic Studio 8H in New York City was done very much with tongue-in-cheek.
The focus of the SNL50 specials was on stars and characters, because they are all that matter to the audience. All of the audiences’ memories are tied up in Eddie Murphy, Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler. They remember staying up late to watch Matt Foley and Stefon. They are what the brand is remembered as in the minds of every fan. No one’s greatest memory of the show is a logo or a name.
This is something the media business could stand to learn. I have seen radio stations and television networks make the same mistake time and time again. They bring out retro merch. They start airing old promos and imaging from the early days of the outlet’s existence. They put together special events that are all about the brand’s influence and accomplishments.
“No one person is bigger than the brand.” If you’re a programmer, maybe you’ve said it yourself in an attempt to reign in a talent’s ego. If you’re a talent, maybe you’ve heard it in answer to you asking for more money or resources for your show.
It gets said a lot in our business and it is an absolute lie.
The SNL50 specials seemed to be operating with that understanding. There was no wasting time on the story of how the show came to be. It was stacking up Nick Valentine, Eddie Vedder, and the Culps on night one. For night two it was Eddie Murphy, John Mullaney, and Paul McCartney. Saturday Night Live celebrated itself and its influence by reminding its biggest fans what it does best and by showing everyone what they fell in love with in the first place.
Another brilliant move was the blending of eras. Sure, Bill Murray was there on Sunday night, but he was paired with the current Weekend Update anchors. Mike Myers came back as Linda Richman, but the character was used as part of an episode of Bronx Beat, a sketch that didn’t exist until thirteen years after Myers left the show.
There was never a moment that told any portion of the audience “this isn’t for you.” Legends, today’s a-list stars, iconic characters and the show’s current cast were woven together perfectly. Every time it seemed like one demographic was being catered to, an olive branch was extended to another.
How is a celebration worth having if it alienates your current audience? They come to you to be entertained. The last thing they want is to feel like something they love is ignoring them because another group is more important.
Brands certainly have their place in people’s lives. That is a privilege though, not a right.
If a New Yorker is a die hard WFAN guy and wouldn’t even consider turning the dial, it’s because he connected with someone on the air there. Even if that connection was made with Mike & the Mad Dog in the 80s or 90s, he is not still tuning into WFAN if Boomer & Gio or another current show doesn’t continue to deliver. Loyalty is earned, not owed. People do and should put themselves first when they want to be entertained.
SNL50 understood the assignment of the night. If your brand succeeds by creating fans, then the best way to showcase your success is not with a dictatorial tribute extolling your success and explaining why the world is better with you in it. It’s letting the audience indulge in the things that made them fans in the first place.
The show did not do anyone behind the scenes or in the executive offices a disservice by making the night about Saturday Night Live’s biggest stars. If anything, it was the perfect way to pay tribute to what those people helped to create.
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