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What Will The Entertainment Industry Look Like In 2075?

Bob Lawrence
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What Will The Entertainment Industry Look Like In 2075?

As we enter this new year in which technology will certainly have a huge impact, I was curious what the entertainment industry might look like 50 years from now. In full transparency, I must begin by saying that, ironically, the only way I could pen this article was to ask for assistance from AI, specifically ChatGPT. 

I simply asked, “What will the entertainment industry be like in 2075, and be sure to include radio and podcasting.”  While I did a great deal of editing, this is basically what ChatGPT suggested our lives will be like in 50 years.

The entertainment industry will be shaped by rapid advancements in technology, specifically virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), and immersive storytelling. Entertainment will become more personalized, interactive, and fully immersive. Traditional media like radio will also undergo dramatic transformations. Old forms will evolve, and new experiences will emerge, redefining how we consume media.

Immersive Virtual and Augmented Reality

In 50 years, entertainment will not be confined to TV, movies, radio, laptops, smart devices, or apps. The rise of virtual and augmented reality technologies will make it possible for all of us to step inside our favorite movies, video games, or even live performances.

Imagine attending a concert by your favorite band, even those that don’t exist any longer — only instead of watching from the crowd, you are inside the concert, feeling the music and interacting with the performers in real-time. It may not matter that Glenn Fry died back in 2016. You may be able to be right on stage as the original Eagles take the stage.

AR will enable mixed-reality experiences that meld both the digital and physical worlds. For example, instead of watching a traditional sports game on TV, you could use AR glasses to overlay live stats and player insights directly onto your view of the field.

Just imagine the ways in which gaming will be transformed, offering experiences that allow players to physically interact with their environment and explore virtual worlds in ways that were once only imagined in science fiction.

AI will revolutionize the human entertainment experience through highly personalized content tailored to your own unique preferences. Streaming platforms will evolve way past the simple algorithms of today, well beyond recommending shows based on past viewing habits. AI systems will enable you to create unique, interactive stories that respond to your personal choices in real-time.

These new enhancements may be able to analyze your emotions, reactions, and preferences, adjusting everything to provide an experience based on how you feel at any moment.

In films or programs, we may be able to choose character decisions or influence plot outcomes, blurring what today is a clear line between traditional media and interactive experiences. AI-driven content creation may even develop “hyper-personalized” entertainment, where our own experiences of the same film or game could be completely different based on personal interaction with the story.

By 2075, holographic performances may become common, allowing musicians, actors, and performers to appear anywhere in the world without leaving their homes. Celebrities may even have NIL agreements in place posthumously,  

In addition to real-life celebrities, virtual celebrities created by AI might just become increasingly popular. These synthetic virtual stars may have their own personalities, careers, and fanbases, engaging with followers through social media, virtual events, and customized interactions.

Consider the possibility that social media influencers may just be driven more by virtual personalities who have significant power, creating entirely new avenues for marketing and fan engagement.

Storytelling and writing will no longer be confined to humans. By 2075, AI could have a major role in creating entertainment content, from films and music to art and literature. AI could generate music based on personal preferences or even compose new symphonies that reflect the listener’s mood or emotional state.

Video games will likely be increasingly complex, blending simulations of reality and fantasy, while players experience their entire lifetimes in virtual environments, forging relationships, building communities, and creating their own narratives.

Again, I want to remind you that all this prognostication comes from AI itself. Perhaps one of the most profound changes in the entertainment industry being suggested comes from direct brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

By 2075, these interfaces may actually allow us to access entertainment by simply thinking about it. Instead of using screens or controllers, individuals could experience films, games, or music directly in their minds; only we would actually visualize it versus our imagination.

With BCIs, entertainment may forego traditional methods of sensory engagement, such as sight or sound, to deliver experiences that engage our emotions and sensations on a neurological level, creating a personalized emotional journey.

I did ask AI to include audio and podcasting, so here we go. The medium will likewise experience transformation over the next 50 years. Traditional broadcasting formats may give way to highly personalized, on-demand experiences, all powered by AI. Radio may offer access to audio experiences that adapt to our tastes, mood, and environment in real time. AI systems could design playlists, talk shows, and even news broadcasts based on real-time data and our innermost thoughts, specifically tailoring the content.

Radio shows and podcasts may become fully interactive. Using voice commands, listeners might influence a conversation or the types of topics discussed. Imagine a live news broadcast where you can question the AI host and even engage with other listeners in the same virtual space.

There is little doubt that entertainment in 2075 will be more social and community-driven than ever. Virtual reality and AI could foster new forms of social spaces where people from around the world can connect, interact, and share experiences in real time. Imagine a shared virtual theater where we can all watch films, play games, or attend live events together, regardless of where we are on the planet.

By 2075, the only thing we can be assured of is that the entertainment industry will be dominated by innovative technologies that make our experiences far more immersive, personalized, and interactive.

The future promises a world of entertainment that adapts to our individual preferences and even our personal emotions. All these advances will not only change how we consume media but will also redefine the essence of entertainment itself. The days of Star Trek’s “holograph deck” are truly on the horizon.

 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 Key to Sales Prospecting is Knowing What Makes a Business Qualified to Take Advantage of What You Offer

Dave Greene
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The Key to Sales Prospecting is Knowing What Makes a Business Qualified to Take Advantage of What You Offer

Welcome to those of you who have not started using the vacation days you cannot roll over to next year. Our sales meeting this week is going to start a bit of a series where we take a closer look at the six steps of the sales process, starting with prospecting.

As I have written before, this is a good time of the year to review not only your 2024, but also some of the basic fundamentals of the job. I bet if you do it right, you will find areas where you could improve to help drive more personal revenue in 2025 and beyond.

The six steps: Prospecting, Setting Appointments with Decision Makers, the Client Needs Analysis, the Presentation, the Close and then Servicing the account.

Prospecting is where it all starts and can be a very confusing part of the process for those just starting out in the business or those who were never taught the right way to begin with. The most difficult part generally seems to be the difference between a lead and a prospect.

A lead is the starting point. No matter the name of the business came to you – whether you saw it, read about it, heard about it from a friend or whatever, until you qualify that lead, they are not yet a prospect. There is work to be done.

This is a great conversation to have with your manager or the other sellers on your team. Start with defining what an ideal customer is for your station(s). Your office has the data on what categories spend the most money, and between the group of salespeople you should be able to come up with a good, strong list of the right kinds of businesses to go after. Dig into areas such as what the minimum monthly, quarterly, or annual amount of spend really needs to be in order to run a successful ad campaign.

There is plenty of research or what I would call ‘presearch’ that can be done to find out more about a business to see if, on paper, they are an actual prospect. Again, most of this can be done by category, but even inside a category you have to define the specific type of business. Restaurants are a perfect example. Within that category, there are national chains, regional favorites and the mom and pops. Even a mom and pop can be one with several locations all over the city, and ones where there is one location.

It used to be our joke in sports radio where we would tell new sellers to make a list of the first 100 businesses they want to call on and then laugh at how many one location sports bars/restaurants were on the list. Good luck to you!

The thing about the prospecting step is that if done correctly it can be a massive time saver in the long run. The last thing you want to do is waste your time on someone who cannot afford to advertise with you in the first place. Remember, you aren’t out looking for a one-time deal, you want someone who can spend throughout the year and for many years to come.

Also, part of the research that really comes into play is finding out who you would need to talk to at the next step. Knowing who the ultimate decision maker at the company is can be one of the most important pieces of information. That may not, of course, be who you would meet with at first, but you need to know that. If the person you would be doing the CNA with is not someone who can say ‘yes’ it would most likely change the direction of the meeting as it would be more about how you get to that person and what they are focused on.

The key here, and again something I would recommend you talk to your manager about for confirmation, is understanding what makes a lead a qualified prospect. Everyone uses different sources to find that information once they know what they are looking for, but I always suggest starting at RAB.com.

Especially in this day and age of everything being out there on the interwebs, use that to your advantage in the prospecting stage. Do your best to make sure the lead is qualified before considering them a prospect.

Don’t let the first step in the process be one where you try and cut corners, otherwise you are risking wasting a whole lot of time. And as we all know, time is money.

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.

Playing The Hits Is A Winning Formula For 92.5 XTU and Program Director Mark Razz

Jeff Lynn
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Playing The Hits Is A Winning Formula For 92.5 XTU and Program Director Mark Razz

Mark Razz is the Program Director for Beasley’s Country 92.5 XTU (WXTU), Philadelphia. He joined the station in March 2006 and served as PM Drive/APD until he was promoted to Program Director in January 2019. Prior stops include WMMR, Philadelphia, SiriusXM, WXRK, and WAXQ, New York, and WAAF, Boston.

92.5 XTU is Philadelphia’s heritage Country station, and according to Razz, it’s about giving listeners what they want.

“We’ve been in the market for 40 years, and our job is to play the hits, right? So we are, and every year, we play what is the most popular or the best tunes of that year in Country music. That’s our job. We’re essentially a Top 40 Country music station, and we do very well in the ratings. We’re very research-based, and we’re here to play the hits.”

The Andie Summers Show anchors the station in the mornings.

“Andie has been in the market for 25 years. People trust her. She says that it was the listeners who raised her as a broadcaster, and she takes it very seriously, and she loves the listeners. They love her back.”

Razz is happy with the current state of Country music.

“I think Country music is as popular as it’s ever been. I think what they’re doing in Nashville is just really tremendous. They’re finding new talent all the time that just keep raising the bar for other artists to live up to, and I’m so happy and so glad to be a part of that.”

Are crossover artists like Post Malone and Beyonce potentially changing the dynamic and sonically changing Country music?

“I’m not worried about crossovers. Listen, the more people that come to the Country party, the better. If you think about it, we’re all Americans, and Country is a glimpse of what American music is all about. I just think it’s fantastic. Every time I listen to a batch of new music coming out in Nashville, I get excited about what the kids are seeing and, what they’re playing, and what they’re doing, and they’re pushing boundaries.”

“And that’s what rock and roll music has been all about pushing those boundaries. It’s always been that way. Ever since Elvis came on the scene, boundaries have been pushed for almost 75 years. It’s what they do. It’s what we do.”

With the amount of new music coming from Nashville, is there a danger of Country radio going from being traditionally artist-driven to song-driven?

“I think you’re always going to be okay as a radio station if you play the best music available and you research your music to your audience because your audience is going to tell you what they want your radio station to play. Your audience is going to tell you what they expect from your radio station. And I think you should listen to them.”

“I love that there are artists-driven relationships, and that’s great. I love that. But really, at the end of the day, you’re responsible to your audience to play the best possible music that’s out there.”

Does being research-driven mean not stepping out and taking chances on new music or artists?

“I do take chances, but it’s got to be that special moment. It’s got to make sense to step out.”

And what is an example of a recent “special moment?”

“I think Shaboozey really shocked everybody. When I first heard that song, I was on a boat in Key West. I heard that and Post Malone at the same time. I could just tell the reaction of the people that were listening to it. I’m going, whoa, these two songs will fight for Song of the Summer, and that’s exactly what happened.”

You heard those songs during a carefree, fun time in Key West. How did you know that they would translate to Philly?

“It’s just one of those things you step out on. I’m watching just so many people react to it. And sometimes, it just catches fire. I would have known pretty quickly if the song wasn’t going to work because my audience is that vocal.”

Does 90s Country play a part in the music mix?

“I mix it in. There’s definitely a place for it. I certainly have enough 90s Country to satisfy the audience. I researched that a lot in our comprehensive music tests.”

Charity is an important part of XTU, and the station is coming off two successful events.

“The Toy Truck Parade, we’ve been doing that for 25 years. One of the poorest communities in New Jersey is Camden. We partner with the Boys and Girls Clubs, and they’re able to collect hundreds and hundreds of toys for kids who really need them.”

“Our listeners, whenever we ask them to do something, they respond. That was piggybacked onto our St. Jude radiothon, which we raised over $300,000 for the second year in a row. We’re probably raised $1.5 million in the last five years. Our listeners are very generous.”

And in a previous professional life…..

In 1993, 31 years ago today, WAXQ, Q104.3 signed on in New York City. Razz joined the team shortly thereafter.

“The station signed on in December. I was on the radio by March. I was excited to be able to say my name there on 6th Avenue and have it heard all over New York.”

“The station had vision. There was a hole for that kind of music, just a little bit harder than your general rock radio stations at the time. It was considered active rock. And we made noise. We made noise for about two or three years. And we were not afraid to take on the established radio stations in the city.”

“We made Metallica mainstream. We were playing Danzig. We broke a lot of music.”

And a lot of rules?

“Well, there were rules, but we were there to shake shit up. And we did. We took care of a lot of the New York bands.”

Watch this space for more from Razz and others involved in Q104.3.

Connect with Razz by email here. 

Listen to 92.5 XTU here.

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.

Amber Wilson Thrives at the Intersection of Sports and Law on ESPN Radio

Derek Futterman
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Amber Wilson Thrives at the Intersection of Sports and Law on ESPN Radio

When Amber Wilson discovered that she was due to have a child in September, she recognized that the upcoming football season would be different from previous years. Even though Wilson valued the time she spent on maternity leave with her newborn child and family, she remained keenly aware of occurrences in the world of sports. In fact, she would frequently listen to ESPN across various platforms and utilized a home sports theater to watch multiple football games simultaneously.

The difficulty associated with this maternity leave, however, was amplified in that she could not take part in episodes of College Football Tailgate, the road show launched by ESPN Radio this season. Wilson had received the assignment to work with her former on-air partner Jonathan Zaslow, but she was unable to fulfill most of the schedule and needed to focus on her family.

After the first week of the show, which aired from her alma mater of the University of Florida, Wilson did not make her return until the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, Ga. Over the course of several weeks, she had been clamoring to return from her maternity leave and found herself giving sports opinions into a proverbial abyss. Even though she ended up returning to the ESPN airwaves early, it was hard not to have the yearning to participate in the regular-season slate.

“They were going to places that I’ve always wanted to go that I’ve never gotten to go to, places like South Bend, Ind., and so I’m watching them have all the fun without me and I’m missing it,” Wilson explained. “And absolutely, I couldn’t kind of wait to get back out there, even though I was, of course, loving that time with my newborn son, and there was no means that I would have been prepared to go back out there or leave the baby by any means, but I was having some FOMO even though I was in baby bliss.”

In addition to not traveling with the show, Wilson was off the air on her evening weekday program with Ian Fitzsimmons just over a year after its launch as part of the new ESPN Radio lineup. The duo has built rapport and utilized connections within the sports media ecosystem as the offering has continued to proliferate in scope while establishing a distinctive, resonant sound.

“In radio, you kind of have to know everything about anything, and it’s one of the things that I like about radio,” Wilson said. “Radio is incredibly difficult though, and it’s certainly not something everybody can do. If you can do sports radio, you can do anything.”

In working with Ian Fitzsimmons on a daily basis, Wilson can evince his expertise and proficiency in sports talk radio. Moreover, he has an immense professional network embedded in football, which allows him to contact industry luminaries and assist in guest booking. Wilson provides her perspectives and analysis throughout the show, blending shrewd intellect with lighthearted repartee grounded in sports. 

“The thing that I pride myself most in is that I would like to think that I can kind of fit in with anyone, anywhere,” Wilson said. “I think there’s a lot of hosts in our business that maybe are a little bit more one-dimensional. I like to think that I am pretty multifaceted in what I can do and what I can bring to the table.”

Before a typical edition of Amber & Ian, the team holds a production meeting where they decipher topics and remain attuned to the news cycle. Wilson made a concerted effort to continue immersing herself in sports while away from the show, taking notes and reading everything she could to prevent herself from feeling overwhelmed or uninformed.

“I will say though that you are underwater if you’re not just constantly consuming because if you let yourself fall behind at all, then it’s too much to play catch up,” Wilson said, “and that was my biggest concern being on maternity leave honestly was [for] a couple months there, I’m not on the air every day, and so I’m not talking about these things every day.”

Wilson hosts the radio show from home, allowing for her to spend time with her family and avoid a daily commute. Having the technology to broadcast a radio show remotely has provided benefits in that it diminishes the guilt she feels hosting in the evenings while her children are home. Joining ESPN fulfilled her childhood dream of working for the company, and she understands that the inability to select hours is one of the more difficult parts of the business.

“My career didn’t go necessarily on the track that I thought it was going to and it wasn’t a straight line to get to ESPN by any means,” Wilson said, “but the ending ends up being ultimately in the same destination that I eventually thought I would be, even if the journey was a lot bumpier along the way with [more] twists and turns than I expected.”

Wilson comes from a family of lawyers and decided to pursue a law degree while freelancing at various media outlets, fearing that she would regret not applying before her LSAT score expired. Over the years, Wilson practiced as an attorney with several respected groups and co-founded a firm with her husband, but she is currently limited in her legal work due to her commitments and responsibilities with ESPN. Wilson and her husband have represented several professional athletes in cases related to family law and crisis management, and while they do not divulge their clientele, there have been instances where they are the subject matter during her radio shows.

“There are times that I do wonder if there’s going to be a conflict,” Wilson said. “I haven’t run into that at any point. In fact, it’s kind of made all of it make sense in my life where what I do on the legal side still feels like it has something to do with sports.”

During Wilson’s formative years in the business, she hosted programming for a variety of entities, but she ended up wanting to explore radio and made occasional appearances with Sid Rosenberg on 790 The Ticket. When Joy Taylor departed the station’s morning drive show, program director Len Weiner offered Wilson an audition, and it became apparent in short order that she would be her successor.

“I give Zaslow a lot of credit for making sure that when Joy decided to leave that he was replacing her with another female voice,” Wilson said. “That was something that was important to him and provided a different dynamic in the market, and then also just our chemistry and our rapport. We had so much fun on that show, so you got sports talk [and] you also got a lot of fun.”

When Entercom acquired CBS Radio in 2017, they ended up with ownership of two local sports talk radio stations in 790 The Ticket and 560 WQAM. Wilson knew that the arrangement of operating two stations in the format would not last, and she was saddened to learn that they chose to reformat the 790 AM frequency five years later. Wilson had departed her daily show with Zaslow one year earlier to focus more on her law practice and host weekends for ESPN Radio.

“Yeah, it was rough,” Wilson recalled. “Obviously, I cared about everybody there and I cared very much about that radio station, and so that was a huge bummer and, I think, another indication of just some of the trials and tribulations that face the radio industry.”

Wilson feels confident towards the management structure at ESPN Radio, saying she feels more supported at the outlet than ever before. Over her five years with the company, she has participated in numerous ventures and is energized as her career continues to progress. Yet she does have greater apprehension surrounding the industry at large as it pertains to how executives at other companies may value the medium.

“I think that most of the radio hosts are kind of grossly underutilized and that there’s a lot of people when you work at the big corporations that don’t realize what they have, frankly, on the radio side and in the radio department because radio departments can kind of end up being a bit of an aftermath, and so that’s the concern,” Wilson said. “That’s the shame is that there’s this diamond in the rough sitting over there that could have an incredibly bright future and that it will get overlooked by the people who can make it happen.”

Even though Wilson oftentimes hosts her program while live games are taking place, she feels it can be a distinct advantage in being able to react to news in real time. On top of that, the three-hour show often feels like it moves quickly since she enjoys the work. Having started on a morning show, Wilson understands how to effectively run on adrenaline and convey energy and excitement on the airwaves. Being back on the road for the ESPN Radio College Football Tailgate Tour over the next several weeks, Wilson will be immersed in enthusiasm and fervor ahead of high-stakes matchups.

“I am so thankful and grateful to the guys for holding it down while I was gone so we didn’t get canceled,” Wilson said, “and they must have done a good job because it does seem like we will be back again next year, and I am so happy to actually be on the road for a full season with them next year and get to experience all those environments.”

Wilson remains motivated through her passion for the craft, but she knows that her growth both within and outside of the medium will not continue unless supplemented by unwavering commitment and work ethic. On occasion, Wilson makes contributions to ESPN studio programming, such as Get Up and First Take, and she hopes to take part in more television shows in the future. As someone who enjoys being multifaceted and versatile, she aspires to face more challenges that will enrich her skillset and supplement her growth while always maintaining an avidity for radio.

“I’m just a person who really wants to have a good life and enjoy what they’re doing, and I feel really, really fortunate that I have a job that I actually want to get back to,” Wilson said. “That when I’m on maternity leave, that I’m chomping at the bit to get back to it as opposed to considering how to never go back, and I know how unbelievably fortunate I am for that.”

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.

What Does the Settlement Between ABC News and Donald Trump Mean For His 2nd Term?

Garrett Searight
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What Does the Settlement Between ABC News and Donald Trump Mean For His 2nd Term?

Donald Trump is $15 million richer and ABC News is being questioned by many in the news media industry, while others argue the network has “bent the knee” to a would-be dictator.

The move by ABC News to settle the defamation lawsuit brought forth by Trump comes on the heels of MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski facing similar charges from media members for their decision to meet with the President-elect at his Florida home.

Some have posited that it’s falling in line in advance of the Trump inauguration in fear of retribution for what has transpired over the past eight years.

Maybe it’s naive, but I don’t think that’s the case.

The ABC News settlement with Donald Trump sure seems like it’s about one thing and one thing only: evidence discovery.

No one — and I mean absolutely no one — wants their dirty laundry drug through the court of public opinion. Does ABC News have some skeletons in their closet they’d love not to be exposed? Absolutely. How much is that worth to them? Apparently, it’s a $15 million donation to Trump’s presidential library fund and another $1 million to cover his legal fees.

Which, in the grand scheme of things, is pennies for an organization like The Walt Disney Company. So that’s an easy problem to rectify.

But to the greater question of what the settlement means for the future of the media under a second Trump administration, I don’t know what we can discern from the decision.

Could it truly be that all these news outlets are truly terrified of what Trump will do for the next four years? I guess that’s a possibility. Alternatively, I think these decisions are based on fear of losing access and fear of losing ratings/revenue than it is fear of being attacked by the Trump administration. Maybe I’m horribly, horribly incorrect, but I don’t think so.

Donald Trump has proven to be a Catch-22 for the news media industry. He still — nearly a decade after being at the forefront of the news cycle — still brings ratings. Just look at the numbers from Meet the Press, the NBC show helmed by Kristen Welker, earlier this month when Trump appeared. In recent months, the show has finished in third place behind, ironically enough, the ABC News show hosted by George Stephanopoulos and the CBS News’ Face the Nation anchored by Margaret Brennan. But, with Trump in tow for the duration of the show on Sunday, December 1st, Meet the Press rose to the top.

Since Donald Trump won the election, Fox News has seen its ratings grow and it now commands the largest share of the cable news audience in network history.

I don’t believe that’s a coincidence. Trump produces ratings. So, for the business, it’s been a good thing.

Have his constant attacks on the media driven a wedge into the trust and credibility of the industry as a whole? Yes. Is it a gigantic problem that no one really knows how to solve? Also yes. Because that’s the Trump conundrum. Will he do things during his second term that deserve to be covered and will shine a negative light on him? Undeniably. Every President goes through that. But we now live in such divided, echo-chamber silos that “My team can do no wrong and your team is the anti-Christ!” is the prevailing thought for all-too-many news consumers.

But I do know that the answer isn’t to simply bury your head in the sand or plug your ears and shout “La la la la!”, either. Whether it’s ABC News, or MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski leading the pack, it’s time for the news media industry to admit the mistakes it has made in covering Donald Trump.

For a very long time, the overall — and I hate to use the phrase “mainstream media” or “legacy media”, but in this case, it’s true — media landscape hasn’t been all that favorable to Donald Trump. Now, in many instances, I think that’s justified, but that’s a different column for a different day.

However, when coverage of an individual for several years continues to be filled with hyperbolic rhetoric, eventually it falls on deaf ears. You simply cannot be outraged about everything all the time. And I say that to those on the conservative side of the political aisle, too.

So, I think wisely, ABC News and hosts like Scarborough and Brzezinski came to the same realization: We need to change our approach. Which, in my opinion, is a good thing. That doesn’t mean ignoring some of the concerning actions or policies Donald Trump is likely to enact or attempt to enact during his presidency. But it does feel as if the tide has turned toward an approach more focused on potential access to the man who continues to draw ratings rather than another upcoming four-year war against him and his supporters.

Ultimately, I think that change in approach could be the thing that moves the trust needle back toward the trust and credibility side so many in the industry would love to see. Donald Trump hasn’t exactly shied away from the media during his time in the political realm. Getting him to opine on your network, show, or station, is likely the key to news media success during his second term. And if that’s the game you have to play — with the goal of a return to prominence, trust, and credibility the biggest focus going forward, I hope more in the mainstream media play it.

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.

Christopher Russo: NFL Has ‘Too Many Mouths to Feed’ Among Media Partners

BSM Staff
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Christopher Russo: NFL Has ‘Too Many Mouths to Feed’ Among Media Partners

Throughout the NFL season, the league has enacted its flex scheduling ability to ensure that compelling matchups air on prime time television. The league announced that the Week 17 matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders, which was originally slated to be played on CBS, will now air on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. CBS Sports will instead air the game between the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns at 4:05 p.m. EST. NFL Network is now airing a tripleheader of matchups with playoff implications on Sunday, Dec. 28.

Earlier in the week, the league changed the start of the Week 16 game between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots to 4:25 p.m. EST on CBS while moving the Cleveland Browns’ matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals to CBS at 1 p.m. EST. The game was originally slated to air on Prime Video, but it ended up becoming the first game flexed out of Thursday night and moved to 1 p.m. EST on FOX. CBS Sports has had several games moved during the regular season, and it is something that Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo articulated goes back to the plethora of media partners who air live NFL games.

“There’s too many mouths to feed,” Russo said on Tuesday’s edition of Mad Dog Unleashed on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. “Whether it’s Amazon, Netflix, CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, ‘Let’s throw our own NFL Network a game or two,’ there are too many places they got to put these games. They might get a great rating, and Buck’s going to tell me that the Cincinnati-Dallas game – which I didn’t watch one play of and I’m proud of it – they got 18 million. Well, they play fantasy football, what can I tell you. The game meant nothing.”

Russo proceeded to question why CBS Sports has seemingly been the subject of these flex scheduling changes this season. In fact, he questioned whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not like longtime CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus retiring from the company earlier in the year.

“Think about it,” Russo implored. “They took five games away from CBS. They cannot be happy, with all the money they spent. They took five games away from CBS for the next two weekends, if you include Denver and the Chargers moving to Amazon for Thursday night. They took five days away, so poor [Andrew] Catalan, who hates to fly the redeye, has got to go to Vegas for the Jacksonville game this week.”

Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS Sports, is in the second season of a 10-year media rights deal with the NFL for which it reportedly pays $2.1 billion annually. The company presented Super Bowl LVIII to conclude the 2023 season, drawing 123.7 million viewers across linear and digital platforms for the most-watched iteration of the championship game of all time.

CBS Sports will broadcast the Super Bowl again to conclude the 2028 season as Paramount Global currently prepares to complete a two-step M&A transaction in which Skydance Media is acquiring the parent company. The NFL reportedly has the right to opt out of its media rights contracts with Paramount Global, FOX Corporation, Comcast and Amazon after the 2029 season.

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CBS News Radio Plans Christmas Special for Affiliates

BNM Staff
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CBS News Radio Plans Christmas Special for Affiliates

CBS News Radio has announced plans for a Christmas special for affiliates hosted by Gil Gross.

Gross will feature several stories during the three-hour special. Included in the program is the story behind The Christmas Song, the most recorded holiday song in history after being written by Mel Torme and first recorded by Nat King Cole.

Additional stories include an investigation into the Christmastime monsters that scare children into being good and listening to their parents around the holidays, as well as a celebration of the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign which is in its 77th year of existence.

The CBS News Radio three-hour special is available to air between December 20th and January 1st.

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Pat McAfee: I Felt ‘Obligated’ to Pay Aaron Rodgers for Value He Brings to Company

BSM Staff
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Pat McAfee: I Felt ‘Obligated’ to Pay Aaron Rodgers for Value He Brings to Company

ESPN NFL analyst and former defensive back Ryan Clark appeared on First Take last week and referred to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers as a “fraud.” Clark spoke about Rodgers following comments he made during a weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. At that time, Rodgers claimed that people on television need to “make comments that keep them in the conversation” and that it was not taking place when he was younger. Rodgers added that he believes the people on the shows think they are the celebrities for being able to discuss sports or have opinions that he called asinine.

In discussing the comments made by Rodgers, Clark stated that the reason he has a chance to promote his opinions is because he is being paid for it. Clark added that Rodgers acts like he is above everybody and everything and found it funny that he is saying things on a show with a pundit greater than him in McAfee. On Tuesday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers appeared to take aim at Clark by issuing a public service announcement after conveying that he would never take a dollar from McAfee and his company.

McAfee addressed the matter of paying Rodgers for his appearances, stating that he evinced value in these weekly interviews through looking at metrics related to his company. Because of the value that it brought his company, McAfee felt that he was obligated to give Rodgers monetary compensation as the company continued its growth and estimates that he brought hundreds of millions of dollars in evaluation of the business.

“The amount of time and effort that you gave to our company and our business on those Tuesdays and the value that it brought, I felt obligated to give you money,” McAfee said, “and I thought that’s how the world was.”

McAfee expressed that people are supposed to be paid their worth and their value and was confounded about pushback on paying Rodgers just because of his career earnings. Additionally, he shared that everyone is driving good cars, has fantastic homes and are starting families. Rodgers is someone McAfee regards as having helped boost their business, and he wanted to express his appreciation as someone who came from a household with parents who he states were not paid properly for the work they put in.

“That’s strictly because there isn’t an agent that sees these numbers or a president of a company or a CFO – which we do have Phil in there; we’ve known each other since Kindergarten – it’s because I actually know my f****ng business and the value in the worth and who brings and who doesn’t and what it is and how it goes,” McAfee said. “So yeah, that whole thing being held against me, I was so confused.”

Shortly after Rodgers completed his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Clark posted on X that he texted and FaceTimed the number he had, presumably for McAfee himself. Furthermore, he expressed a willingness to clear up the assertion of his being “jealous” and that a quick conversation should be able to set it straight.

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ESPN’s ‘Pardon the Interruption’ Could Become an Hour-Long Show Following ‘Around The Horn’ Cancellation, Per Report

BSM Staff
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Could ESPN’s replacement for Around the Horn already be on its airwaves? According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN is considering extending ATH’s longtime running mate, Pardon the Interruption to an hour to make up for the empty 5 p.m. ET slot.

Marchand says ESPN still isn’t sure exactly what it will do but that preliminary talks indicate that extending PTI is, “at the forefront of discussions.” He also reports that the show’s longtime hosts, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, would likely receive raises for extending their airtime to an hour each. PTI is one of ESPN’s staple programs and began airing on the network in 2001 but will soon be without its longtime compatriot as a lead-in. 

Among the other options include a new Shannon Sharpe vehicle, something Marchand reports was discussed during Sharpe’s contract talks earlier this year. Marchand hints that the show could feature Sharpe and his First Take foil Stephen A. Smith, though nothing further has been discussed yet.

ESPN made a surprising announcement in November that it was ending Around the Horn after 22 years on the air. According to the New York Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel, who broke the news, the show will reportedly end before the 2025-26 NFL season, meaning a summer end date is in line.

Tony Reali has hosted ATH since 2004 and has so far not addressed the topic of the show coming to an end.

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NFL Network to Air Saturday Week 17 Tripleheader, Leaving Two Games in Late Sunday Window

BSM Staff
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NFL Network to Air Saturday Week 17 Tripleheader, Leaving Two Games in Late Sunday Window

The NFL Network utilized flex scheduling to take three Week 17 games from Sunday and create a tripleheader full of playoff implications. Today, the league announced that the Week 17 matchups between the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals, and Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams, will be played on Dec. 28 in a tripleheader.

The Chargers and Patriots will take the 1 PM EST slot, the Broncos and Bengals will take the 4:30 PM EST game, while the Cardinals and Rams will be the nightcap. The team of Chris Rose, Ross Tucker, and Steve Wyche will call the early game, Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, and Melanie Collins will handle the late game, and NFL Network’s usual team of Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, and Jamie Erdahl will call the primetime game. 

Last season, the league only aired two games on Saturday — Bengals/Steelers on NBC and the controversial Peacock-exclusive matchup between the Bills and Chargers that delivered, at the time, record numbers for the streamer. Now, the league’s network will take the reins from NBC and give football fans a full slate of Saturday games.

While many sports fans will no doubt enjoy the additional day of football, many will likely bemoan the late window on Sunday. Now only two games remain — a matchup between the 6-8 Miami Dolphins and 3-11 Browns on CBS, and an NFC East rivalry matchup between the soaring Philadelphia Eagles and battered Dallas Cowboys on FOX, both of which have a chance to be games that could be lopsided.

The new Saturday tripleheader means football fans only have to survive Friday, Dec. 27 without NFL football, which should help them get through the post-holiday blues. 

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