WWE announced that WrestleMania 41, held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, has become the most successful and highest-grossing event in company history.
The two-night spectacle drew a combined 124,693 fans, generating the largest gate for any WWE event to date. In addition to the record-setting attendance, WrestleMania 41 shattered viewership milestones. The Premium Live Event was the most-viewed WrestleMania of all time, increasing 114 percent over last year’s record set at WrestleMania XL. This was the first WrestleMania in company history that was accessible for viewing across the world thanks in part to the WWE’s agreement with Netflix to distribute the program, while Peacock handled the domestic distribution of the event.
Moreover, merchandise sales saw unprecedented growth. In partnership with Fanatics, onsite merchandise revenue rose more than 45 percent compared to the previous record. Ecommerce sales also soared, jumping 86 percent from last year’s total.
Sponsorship numbers followed suit, with a record 28 corporate partners helping to set an all-time revenue high for a WWE event. On Location, WWE’s official hospitality partner, reported a 75 percent increase in hospitality sales and package purchases.
Meanwhile, WWE World at WrestleMania 41—the five-day interactive fan festival produced with Fanatics Events—became the most-attended WWE fan convention ever. The event drew more than 50,000 attendees, marking a 21 percent increase over the previous year.
In terms of digital engagement, WrestleMania 41 was a social media juggernaut. It became the most socially viewed WWE event in history, generating 1.1 billion social views over the weekend. WWE’s YouTube channel also logged its most-viewed day ever on WrestleMania Sunday.
The record-breaking weekend was punctuated by major moments in the ring. John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship. Seth Rollins triumphed in a high-stakes Triple Threat Match featuring Roman Reigns and CM Punk. Additionally, IYO SKY retained her Women’s World Championship, Becky Lynch made her long-awaited return, and more.
The WWE has announced next year’s WrestleMania will take place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on April 11-12, 2026.
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Less than a day after 97.1 The Fan’s afternoon program Common Man & T-Boneannounced their final show together is next Wednesday after 12 years on the air, more changes were revealed this morning at the Columbus, OH radio station. Earlier today, The Fan’s morning program Morning Juice announced that their final show together will be on Friday, May 9.
Morning Juice is hosted by Brandon Beam and Bobby Carpenter, and they’ve been working The Fan’s morning slot together since August of 2020.
“I won’t beat around the bush with this. For the better intensive purposes of this announcement. This show as you know it is going away,” said Beam. “I want everybody to know that this is not a Brandon decision. This is not a Bobby decision. This is not a ‘Shark’ (Mark Howell) decision. For whatever reason, they don’t see us as maybe or maybe not a good fit together. This morning show, as you currently know, is going away. So, our last show together as a group will be May 9.”
Following that announcement, the show described what their next steps will be. Carpenter will be taking Morning Juice to an all-digital platform for the station from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., while also adding some local television work.
“There are forces here that are behind it are trying to do some different things, and that’s what they want to do,” said Carpenter. “They’re able to get that done. I don’t think this is something that’s been in the last month. This is probably something for me that probably been a couple years in the making.”
Meanwhile, Beam revealed that he will be moving to evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on The Fan.
“It’s a massive change. It’s a massive change that’s happening,” said Beam. “Thanks to all the listeners out there who have made our jobs awesome from the very jump.”
Throughout the conversation, the program reiterated that this was not a decision made by anyone on the show itself. Furthermore, both Beam and Carpenter expressed their appreciation for the support they’ve had over the past five years on the air together.
“I’m just grateful that everybody’s tuned in to listen,” said Carpenter. “I’m just happy that we were able to be such a part of people’s lives.”
As of now, the new program that will fill the morning slot on The Fan has not been announced. However, the first show is scheduled to air on Monday, May 12.
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Paul Heyman made headlines on the first night of WrestleMania when he aligned with Seth “Freakin” Rollins and turned on both CM Punk and Roman Reigns, adding another twist to a storyline that began with The Bloodline. Michael Cole, who has been a member of WWE broadcasts since 1997 and calls Monday Night Raw and other premium live events for the company, articulated to the Hall of Fame manager that he should win an Emmy Award for his work. Outside of his on-screen persona, he is involved in writing and working with the talent involved, and Cole conveyed that his work is incredible during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Heyman, who has been managing Reigns for the last five years, discussed the events of WrestleMania during a lengthy interview from WWE World from the Las Vegas Convention Center. Upon hearing Cole deliver his praise, he thanked him for the kind words and stated that he agreed with the assessment he made regarding the Emmy Awards.
“I challenge the Emmy Awards to finally open their eyes and understand exactly what’s going on in front of them,” Heyman said. “It’s not like we’re bicycling tapes anymore in syndication. We’re on Netflix, we’re being covered by ESPN. We are consistently the No. 1 videos on YouTube, we are consistently the No. 1 guests on any podcasts that has us on, so with that kind of global recognition and acceptance of the beautiful performance art known as professional wrestling, one would think that the Emmy Award people would open their eyes to what’s truly going on in entertainment.”
Heyman continued by explaining that the public will “sooner than later” speak up to a degree where it becomes impossible for the Emmy Awards not to recognize the WWE for its contributions to entertainment. McAfee divulged that he hopes this is the case, averring how Heyman and Cole have contributed to the entertainment within his life more than any other broadcast company. Cole proceeded to share that the WWE recently completed a 12-hour offseason and would be on the air again with Monday Night Raw.
“Boston” Connor Campbell mentioned how Netflix is going to premiere a new 10-part docuseries this summer through which fans can evince the creative process and view other elements of the production. As the audience gains a more comprehensive picture behind the proverbial curtain, Heyman thinks that it will give the company and its creative team more publicity and further bolster knowledge surrounding the product. Rather than having disdain for this access, he accepts it and recognizes how the business has deviated from adhering to traditional fundamentals of storytelling related to heroism and malevolence.
“Do I like walking through the curtain and there’s a camera right in my face documenting how I come out of the character that you see on TV? No, I don’t like it,” Heyman said. “Am I going to fight against it? No, I’m not going to fight against it because those camera are going to be there whether I like it or not, so I’m accepting of the fact that this is the change in the industry, and I better figure out how not to capitalize on that, and I better figure out how now to capitalize on that, how to expand from it and how to be a part of it or it’s going to leave me behind.”
The docuseries, which is titled WWE: Unreal, is produced by Omaha Productions, NFL Films, Skydance Sports and World Wrestling Entertainment. Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, Ross Ketover, Lee Fitting and Marc Pomarico are among the executive producers listed on the project being directed by Chris Weaver and Erik Powers. Heyman understands that it is essential to participate and not be reluctant to shine in the spotlight as he watches the business further progress.
“You can go with the train into the future of this industry or you can stay behind like these old timers and then go, ‘You know, back in my day, back in my day. This isn’t how we did it,’” Heyman said. “It ain’t your day anymore, and it ain’t your day because you refused to go into the future with the industry that is moving at a rapid pace that way.”
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On Friday, May 2nd and Saturday, May 3rd, Jason Whitlock is hosting a live stage show with guests like Tucker Carlson, Doug Wilson, comedian Steve Byrne and country music star Randy Houser in Nashville called Roll Call 3.0.
Whitlock, The Blaze Media star who helms his Fearless podcast for the Glenn Beck-founded enterprise, says the opportunity to converse with Tucker Carlson in front of a live audience is too good of an opportunity to pass up.
“Anytime you get to engage with Tucker and have a provocative conversation about American culture, I think it’s a great thing,” said Whitlock. “I think it’s a great thing for Nashville. And I just think Tucker is one of the brightest minds we have in the media space. I’m just appreciative of him supporting me and what I’m doing here in Nashville in trying to encourage men to engage in the culture war in a bold way that supports biblical values and American values, and try to take some of the tension out of racial conflict. It seems like they’re trying to promote in the social media matrix with all their hot takes and race-baiting and trying to elevate the conversation.”
The two-day event includes a variety of programs, including meet & greets, breakfast with the guests of Roll Call 3.0, and musical performances in addition to his conversation with Tucker Carlson.
“This is just an opportunity for those of us with shared beliefs to get together and have a little fun,” said Whitlock. “We’re gonna cap the night with me and Tucker talking for 90 minutes about American culture.”
When asked what he hoped to discuss with the former Fox News star and current conservative media titan, Jason Whitlock said he had a bevy of topics he wanted to broach with Tucker Carlson.
“I want to talk about the online race divide and wonder if it is the same in real life,” said Whitlock. “That’ll be interesting to explore. Are the opinions and particularly super racially divisive opinions that are spewed on social media. Are they real or are they fake? And are they just a product of an algorithm or or is it just people with keyboard muscles saying things that they don’t really believe?
“My philosophy on Twitter always was ‘Judge my columns, enjoy my tweets.’ Maybe that’s still true, but maybe not. Obviously, we’ll talk about what’s going on in the political space and some of it is related to the sports world, the whole conversation around Boys and men competing in women sports and just the insanity of that. All the pivoting that’s going on on the left. The left trying to move back to sanity … Should I be buying this? Is this real? Have they learned a lesson or are they licking their wounds and in a momentary retreat?”
The Fearless podcast host added that he isn’t afraid of any ramifications for his thoughts presented in speaking with Carlson because he doesn’t say anything in private that he doesn’t also share in public.
“I don’t really think of myself as having any private conversations. I’ve lived long enough to know that anything I say can and will be used against me in the court of public opinion, so I just say the same things in front of a live audience or if I’m at a restaurant. My conversation is no different if I’m on a podcast. So, for me, I don’t think it’ll be any different,” said Whitlock. “It certainly won’t be for Tucker. He just did a full live tour last year.”
Jason Whitlock added that of everyone participating in the show, he might be the least experienced in front of a live audience. But he said he’s the most fearless of the bunch, which is something that he believes came naturally to him.
“When I was just a young boy in Indianapolis, 6 or 7-years old, I used to have dreams of being a Martin Luther King Jr.-type figure, and speaking to people about race and harmony, and trying to get people to understand that we’re more alike than we are a part, as long as we agree on a certain set of values,” he admitted. “I’ve been writing and talking about race my entire career,” he added, pointing out that he began his career in 1990.
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At one point, I owned a a t-shirt with the ESPN logo on it, a pint glass with the ESPN logo on it and a pair of boxer shorts with various Stuart Scott catchphrases scrawled all over them.
It was the 90s. The heyday of ESPN. The Disney theme parks were experiencing a renaissance. The company’s animation studio had released some of its most iconic hits. Nothing was generating cash for the company at that time the way ESPN was.
On August 30, 2025, we officially bury the 90s at ESPN.
No, this column is not 26 years too late. It is a testament to what Lee Corso represents to the network. His final appearance on College GameDay will be a marquee moment – not just for the show or the network, but for cable television as a whole.
Think about the ESPN of 2025 and compare it to the 90s. Some of the biggest institutions of that time – SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight – are shells of their former selves. Other network backbones like Outside the Lines and NFL Primetime don’t exist at all anymore. First Take and The Pat McAfee Show were not even glimmers in anyone’s eyes at that point.
College GameDay is a show with no peers at the network. It’s the only show currently on ESPN that has enjoyed its current stature for thirty years.
It’s a show with few peers across television. Maybe only Inside the NBA can affect the sport it covers the way College GameDay can affect the one it does.
So much has been written about Corso in recent years, wondering why he has insisted on still being on television. Clearly he has lost a few steps as a result of the various health complications that began with his 2009 stroke, but some of the commentary has, frankly, been meanspirited. Even at this very site, we didn’t celebrate Corso. The day after his announcement, we ran a piece wondering what took so damn long. I’ll own that I have been guilty of clock watching with him. During this past college football season, I predicted that Corso would announce his retirement when the show visited Indiana in October.
Maybe it’s all just part of what comes with the territory when you are a regular TV presence while staring down the barrel of your ninth decade on Earth.
Whatever the case, the producers of College GameDay have been clear. Only Lee Corso gets to say when Lee Corso is done. It’s a fair position to take. Afterall, without him, GameDay is just another faceless pregame show. It probably never even leaves the studio to become the iconic road production it has been since 1995.
What Does Lee Corso Mean to ESPN?
Before Lee Corso, there weren’t a lot of people that acknowledged that college football culture was a little bit silly. There certainly weren’t people on TV that took the position that that silliness was a part of what was worth celebrating.
Corso, who played running back at Florida State before becoming a head coach at Louisville and Indiana, was not coy about his feelings. This is a game. The players and coaches have to take it seriously. The rest of us are allowed to have fun.
That attitude helped GameDay become what it is today. It was a point of differentiation from the rest of the media covering the sport and it showed that ESPN had the ammo to keep the guys that were entertained by the “Big Show” era of SportsCenter entertained around the clock.
‘Gimme That Head’
He created a signature moment for ESPN on October 5, 1996, when he announced that he was picking the number three Ohio State Buckeyes to beat fourth-ranked Penn State by putting on the head of Ohio State mascot Brutus Buckeye.
There’s a reason the ESPN app sends out an alert right before the picks segment on College GameDay begins and why right after Corso yells “gimme that head” the video hits social media and gets pushed again by the app! There is no radio bit, no First Take debate, no anything that can compete with that.
No one will say Corso was keeping something that has happened across all of cable television from happening to ESPN. It may be the network that was hit the very hardest by cord cutting. I don’t know if ESPN will be a financial success as a stand alone streaming product, but it’s the only network with a name and properties valuable enough to even try.
ESPN isn’t alone in this boat. Any cache the name of a TV network or radio station holds is the result of the moments their talent have created on air. Corso is responsible for creating a lot of those moments for ESPN. They weren’t just the ones he was at the center of, either.
College GameDay After Lee Corso
Whether you know it or not, if you watched College GameDay, you owe Lee Corso a big thank you. TV is disposable unless a unique character changes that. Corso’s approach to broadcasting and his fearlessness made him standout and that made College GameDay standout.
Without him, there is a ripple effect in sports television that is too long to dive into right now, but suffice it to say that more than just college football and more than just ESPN would look different.
College GameDay host Rece Davis has made it clear. He doesn’t want to see someone else try to keep the headgear segment alive. It should retire with Corso.
I’ll go a step further. Do not add another cast member to College GameDay when he goes. The show already feels a little bit bloated, but also what would adding one more guy do? In the last three years, the show has added Pat McAfee and Nick Saban.
What better tribute to Corso than the reality that it takes two uniquely qualified men to make up for what ESPN will lose with the exit of just one Lee Corso?
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Amy Grey hosts the Morning Show on Radio 104.1 Alternative, WMRQ in Hartford. She is also the Assistant Program Director for all 28 Full Power Radio stations in Connecticut.
“Radio is what I know,” says Grey. “I’ve been in the business for 34 years and the past 14 with Full Power Radio.” Full Power broadcasts in various formats in Hartford, Providence, Springfield, and New London.
She wears a lot of hats because in radio today, you have to. Besides mornings on WMRQ, she’s also on air in afternoons on US Country 99.5, Kool Radio, and Soft Rock 106.5 WBMW. She also handles middays on Alt 92.1 in Reno, NV, thanks to a network of people she’s worked with throughout her career. It’s a lot to balance.
“After my morning show, I switch gears to APD,” says Grey. “I program music for WMRQ, and write imaging, handle promotions for all stations, and develop features and proposals. I oversee and coach our jocks, update websites, manage social media, plan listener parties from the ground up, and I host them too.”
“Oh, and sales! I have several clients as well. Being in the industry, knowing the brand, and believing in it, I can sell it. I am also a voice-over artist. I’ve been on projects/commercials like Bic Pens, Lego, Shari’s Berries, CT Lottery, Pratt & Whitney, The Big E, and more.”
Although I find it hard to believe she has any, in her spare time, Grey spends her time with her kids, Pierce, Tyler, Sierra, her partner Chris, and her beloved dog Caesar Charlie, whom she sadly lost over the weekend. “I also love doing work to help with the rescue of animals in shelters across the state,” she adds.
Photo Amy Grey
“Radio 104.1 IS community,” insists Grey. As far as their priorities, “We’re the voice that actually GETS Connecticut. Cookie-cutter, old-time radio does not exist! The listener is way smarter than that and wants a connection when they tune in.”
“It’s about knowing what’s going on in Connecticut, what our listeners are going through, and being a part of the conversation. Being authentic. From cost of living, local stories, big events, concerts, or just making them laugh during a brutal commute.”
Those priorities have not changed since PPM switched to its 3-minute rule. “We’re finally getting credit for real listening that used to be ignored,” she says. “For me, we’re keeping programming strong and tight, with clean transitions and familiar songs right out of the gate. It’s about focusing on the brand and staying true to the integrity of the station and our listener community. Regardless – it’s about being intentional without losing who we are.”
When it comes to AI, “It’s a great tool,” says Grey. “I love it for some backend things or quick tasks. But when it comes to programming…you can’t teach a robot who our listeners are, our market, or my gut instinct. It can assist, but it can’t replace the human who lives and breathes the brand. That’s very much me. Radio is personal, especially in Alternative Music.”
“The future of this format can be everything,” she says. “That’s what Alternative Music is! Constantly evolving. It’s ever changing. With apps and platforms, people are hearing new music every 12 minutes. We have to be on to that – it’s exciting, BUT we also have to stay true to our brand. We can’t just jump on every trend. It’s a balance. Offer fresh new music and make sure we’re in tune with our audience – and what they expect.”
Grey’s personal playlist is just that, she says. “Personal. Like, my mood is always changing. One day I’m Shinedown, Badflower, Cage the Elephant, Sleep Token, Dexter and the Moonrocks… next day I’m Sierra Spirit, The 1975, Noah Kahan and Royel Otis. Whatever I’m going through, like you, my music is my background.”
As for what’s missing in the industry right now, Grey says it’s “RISK!”
“Raw, real, unpredictable. Radio can be that. It should be that. Say the thing and take the risk. At this point, nothing shocks people anymore. What surprises them is honesty. Listeners aren’t tuning in for wallpaper. They want a voice with guts, someone who sounds like a human. That’s where I live.”
“I’m proud of how far I’ve come over the years. But I’m not even close to being done,” says Grey. “From grinding overnights, having to pack up and leave the state just to get a job, only to come back and build. My younger self would be damn proud.
“So, because of her. I have to keep going and keep my eyes out for what’s next. I can’t sit still. My parents, whom I lost both recently, nine days apart, made me who I am today. I owe it to them. And the future of radio is in the hands of people who are ready to evolve. And I’m willing to do just that!”
Follow Amy Grey on Instagram: @amygreyofficial, TikTok: amygreyontheradio, and LinkedIn: amygrey
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There was a time when the AC format steamrolled through markets
Adult Contemporary was the Tiger Woods of music formats in the 1980s – leaving rating records smashed and revenue buckets full.
While the AC Format seemed to be at the top of every market in Arbitron, it really came to near-perfection under the peer review of The Research Group and its visionary leader, Bill Moyes.
Bill Moyes was a radio gym rat who cut his early radio chops in Northeast American radio. He fell deeply in love with radio research, assisted in the development of The Arbitron (now Nielsen) diary system, and eventually founded the Blue-Chip standard for radio research—The Research Group.
Moyes identified the AC Format as the juggernaut it could become and, through his Colorado Springs research team, built some of the world’s dominant AC Radio brands.
Eventually becoming 2017’s Radio Ink’s “The 25 People Who Made the Biggest Impact on Radio Over the Past 25 years,” after tutoring the best of the best in AC radio, Moyes also owned a few dozen radio stations while consulting radio brands in 100+ radio markets in 22 countries worldwide.
In the 1980s, Moyes made his format indelible WOW mark in Philadelphia, working with dominating owner Jerry Lee for nearly four decades.
Lee’s B101 WBEB-FM was so dominant that it is rumored he invested three times his competitor (and some say the market!!) in research, marketing and contesting. It was the ONE Adult Contemporary brand the nation monitored and often emulated.
When a Bill Moyes-supported format—he termed his Adult Contemporary format “Spectrum AC”—came through town, ratings carnage (your scorecard) and a steep downturn in revenue (your projections) followed.
Moyes would stamp his fingerprints all over groups big and small, with Adult Contemporary winners inside Clear Channel, Entercom and Greater Media, as these companies, following The Spectrum AC recipe, would dominate their markets.
You might be thinking:
“…Nice brief Adult Contemporary history lesson, Kevin. So – what happened…?”
Depends on who you ask.
Internal and external forces wrecked the Adult Contemporary format that became well-known in the 1980s.
Internal
To remain ‘contemporary,’ most brands thought it a good idea to separate their brand from the Soft 70s (Carpenters—James Taylor—John Denver), even though, as a group, these artists were among the best testers.
Consultants in nice Navy Blazers come to town, insisting that the only ‘hill to die on’ was music. All of their other lambs could be sacrificed in order to survive.
Most “Spectrum ACs” had dominant—often full-service—morning shows. If music is the hill to die on, we’ll need a more morning music show that is less heavy on news and AM Talk.
External
A splintered, flanker format emerges. The biggest music pie to borrow (steal?) from was Adult Contemporary – so they did.
Classic Hits took the older range of hits, Rhythmic Adult Contemporary pulled out its share of sound, while a sister format—HOT AC—planted itself between AC and CHR.
While new formatics sounds came to the radio band, also did marketing of those new sounds. Counter this with a developed bunker mentality while under attack, Adult Contemporary countered with less behind the mic and fewer billboards on the drive home.
So, what can YOU do about waning AC numbers looking forward?
As a leader of an Adult Contemporary brand, there are waves of strategic and tactical warfare quills you can put into place to slowly reclaim what once was yours if your leadership has the fortitude.
Strategic
Rebuild your brand as a full-service outlet. Beyond what we are already doing (AM News, local meteorologist, national news headlines), take that News Content outside AM Drive. The Adult Contemporary audience has a Fear Of Missing Out in the news cycle. Brief news headlines are powerful, especially if the local paper has stopped daily publishing.
Reclaim what’s yours without harm to your brand. Go after and embrace Soft Classic Hits. The vast majority is so frightened by those images that around 1981 is the cut line for older music on most AC stations.
Build an afternoon SHOW. An ensemble program that transitions to AM Drive if needed. Just last week, Barrett Media’s Jeff Lynn had a chat with Radio One’s talented programmer and morning talent Sean Copeland from Indy’s B105.7. Sean himself is a fantastic storyteller, and his show is worth a listen.
Tactical
We’re familiar with Country radio playing the Star Spangled Banner or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in their morning shows. Why not create a series of bedtime stories read on-air every night at 7 pm? While there are dozens of resources to air stories, have local teachers read them and offer to place those books on hold at the school library. PTOs are your gateway to this promotion.
Overnight ratings are vapor. There are people listening to your brand, just not as intently as, say, AM Drive. If you have a high-profile morning show, why not run breaks and benchmarks overnight so those third shifters are familiar with your personalities when they become first shifters?
In the coming weeks, we will visit with Adult Contemporary thought leaders who are winning today, preparing for the future, and providing a roadmap to get there.
Perhaps your name will be on that list?
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The NFL Draft has arrived and the Tennessee Titans are officially on the clock with the first overall selection as they hold the keys to what could be a franchise-defining moment. It’s a high-stakes spotlight that Paul Mason understands well. As Program Director of 104.5 the Zone in Nashville, Mason knows what it’s like to step into a major role under pressure—something he experienced firsthand five years ago today when he took the reins of the station during one of the most uncertain times in recent history.
“When I started, it was literally the beginning of the world shutting down with COVID,” Mason noted of his hire in April of 2020. “It was a world of doing shows remotely and meeting your staff on Zoom. Growing all the way to where we are now, and not just getting back to normal but continuing to evolve.”
Mason began his radio journey at the turn of the century at 1450 WMOH in Hamilton, OH, planning and executing a Friday night football show along with a game broadcast. His hands-on approach to crafting programming began in his humble beginnings and has taken him to several destinations across the country, including Cincinnati, West Palm Beach, and now his current home in Nashville.
“You learn something with each role you’re in and each stop you make,” said Mason. “I know I’m not the same person I was at any point in my career. We’re always changing and evolving, and I would think that five years from now I’ll have evolved even more.”
Bringing Success And Staying In The Zone
Since landing in the “Music City” of the nation, Mason has composed his own chorus of style, culture, and sound on 104.5 the Zone—a sports radio powerhouse with a live and local lineup from sunrise to sunset throughout the week, featuring former athletes, born-and-bred Nashvillians, and a vital female perspective on sports.
“We like to think of ourselves as an ecosystem for sports in Middle Tennessee,” Mason says. “We’re cheering for this with you, or we’re frustrated with you—whatever it might be, we’re part of that DNA with the fans. That’s our bread and butter. Being live and local is so important because it allows us to connect with not only fans but the community of Middle Tennessee as well.”
Mason has always had an eye for talent that speaks to all audiences, including the female sports radio listener. The Zone’s weekday lineup features Kayla Anderson and Dawn Davenport, both with television backgrounds, as key members of both the morning drive and afternoon drive experience on the Zone. For Mason, he has always felt the need to connect with as many people as possible in a passionate sports market like Nashville.
“We want everybody to feel represented on the Zone,” explained Mason. “They both bring something unique to the station that our audience wants to hear. Dawn with her background with the SEC and her ability to present topics in an entertaining way to our listeners—it just resonates and connects with our audience. Same with Kayla or anyone else on our station. We want the entire market to feel like they can connect with someone on this radio station.”
Leading On Air And Growing On Digital
Another priority for Mason is innovation and meeting the audience where they’re going. Outside of the Zone providing high-quality sports conversation on the FM band, all programming is streamed on video multi-cast to YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and X. The brand also repurposes the video for use on other social platforms following the programming. While the concern for some brands would be that you may be taking away from the radio audience, Mason has built his understanding of giving the audience the content they want however they may want to consume it.
“Not taking away from the audience that we’ve built on terrestrial radio or anywhere else—it’s only added to it,” Mason said. “It’s just added a whole other layer, and what makes me thrilled is that I don’t feel like I’ve had to force any of this on the talent or the producers.”
Mason feels a lot of pride in the collaborative staff he’s assembled over his tenure in Nashville, especially when it comes to how they want to lead the brand’s growth in the space.
“They want to be in this space. They want to grow it. They want to make money off of it,” noted Mason. “We have just opened up so many more doors without taking away from the other things we’re doing.”
Crafting A Draft Night In Nashville To Be Remembered
104.5 the Zone also serves as the radio flagship for the Tennessee Titans, who hold the number one selection in the NFL Draft. Nashville’s football-rich culture is excited for what could be a franchise-defining weekend, which Mason has been focused on in his other role as the Operations Manager of the Titans Radio Network.
“I think being involved with both is actually an asset,” said Mason. “I feel that we have everything covered with the entire market when it comes to covering the Titans and the NFL. Just having both allows us to do that.”
When it comes to the planning and execution of what’s to come on draft night Thursday night, Mason has spent most of his time leaning on his experience and thinking outside the box on how to deliver a quality evening for the consumer—one that will live forever in time.
“It’s going to be all-day coverage with our regular weekday lineup. All four shows are going to be wall-to-wall continuous draft coverage—on air, social media, video stream, and everywhere you can think of,” said Mason. “We’ll take our video stream for that and execute that like we went on the Zone. We really kind of go for a TV presentation with the draft. We would much rather Titans fans, if they want to watch the draft, be watching our coverage and routing that back to their TV versus the national coverage. That’s actually one of our biggest viewed events of the year.”
Building A Quality Culture Leads To Success
Under Mason’s direction, 104.5 the Zone continues to be a ratings and revenue success story, while also being a leader in the digital space with a dedicated and loyal social following. The success, however, doesn’t come without its challenges, as Mason says the biggest goal is just to enjoy the ride.
“I will always want my staff to enjoy coming to work, because I feel like I get that much more out of them. I always want to empower them to pitch me ideas and be creative—to never stop the energy,” Mason notes. “It’s allowing them to push the agenda. I think empowering your people is very important to pushing things forward. If I wasn’t open to those things, then it would get very challenging. I don’t have all the answers, but I have a team of people, and collectively we can get most of them.”
Whoever gets selected with the first overall pick on Thursday night in the NFL Draft—if that selection’s first five years on the job are anything like Mason’s at 104.5 the Zone—it will be a fantastic start to an NFL career.
As the clock continues to tick down to draft night, and reflecting on his short run in Nashville, Mason says he hopes to be a franchise player for 104.5 the Zone for the foreseeable future.
“My plan is to be here,” Mason said with a joyous laugh.
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I think that we all struggle to be fresh, unique, and innovative with our radio shows or programming a station. I think that it is important to change things up.
Considering the glut of choices to develop show topics from websites, blogs, X, YouTube, streaming services, and more, are you taking the proper information in from a wide variety of sources?
Humans are addicted to routine. We pour the first cup of coffee at the same time each day. We often have the same breakfast, even if we go out to a restaurant. Show prep is the same thing. I am not saying that your routine is bad, dumb, or insane, even though it may be! I certainly know that my daily habits could be defined that way by some. But I am saying that changing things up may be a great way to feel fresh for your show or your life.
Make a list of the websites that you hit for show material. When I was doing a daily show, I had seven websites that I hit every day. Again, I am not saying that these sites are bad. But how much material are you getting from each site? Is that material any good? Remember, I cannot answer that for you. But evaluate it.
99% of news/talk radio hosts have an opinion on almost anything. Hosts can take one line from a single article and make a great topic out of it. My exercise today is helping you evaluate your show prep journey. When did you last eliminate or add a show prep source?
Let’s evaluate efficiency. We are all doing multiple things in the old radio station. Your job may include social media mandates, sales calls, or even promotional grunt work for your cluster. The days of showing up 30 minutes before show time and leaving as soon as your shift has been completed are largely over.
So, as you are prepping for a three or four-hour show, are you using your time in the best way? I get it. You have sites that you personally enjoy reading. That is great, but does that site contribute to your show? Our time is a precious commodity. I have been evaluating how much time I am spending on social media. I have pared my X, Instagram, and Facebook surfing in the last couple of years. Ultimately, I realized that this was not a constructive use of my time. I was thinking about my post demise standing at the pearly gates and having St. Peter tell me that I used 5,000 hours on watching dog videos, Kill Tony, or the Chef Reacts guy on my device.
My natural aversion is to opinion pieces. I get it, I have opinion writers that I love. Andrea Peyser from the New York Post is truly one of my favorite writers. Here is the problem: it is too damn easy to steal someone else’s ideas. There is a talk show host that is on a competitor of one of the stations that I run who just reads other people’s words and ideas. That is not doing a show. It is plagiarism.
You are paid to be a thought leader. Opinion pieces are fun and interesting to read, but are likely to cloud the originality of your ideas. I’ll give you a caveat. I’ll read a piece by David Corn from Mother Jones or Zephyr Teachout from The Nation. It logically gets you thinking about ideas that are completely different from the worldview of most talk radio listeners. Again, this is about you presenting unique and well-thought-out opinions, ideas, or scenarios.
Your show is not only about reflecting the ideas, experiences, and lives of your listeners. It is about providing unique entertainment experiences for the station’s audience. If you have been hosting a show for any time at all, you have received a comment in public or a text message from a listener over a moment that impacted their lives. We have such an intimate platform to create connections with our fans. Your uniqueness is that secret sauce that makes your show and you a mandatory listen. This is about your footprint and expanding your influence.
Providing a listener-focused experience must be focused on providing unique content. We all get into ruts. We all have our go-to topics or themes. I am not saying that these are bad, but they are predictable. Having moments of unpredictability is key to making your show essential listening. Because of the glut of content available, you must be able to surprise your audience. Moments of excitement on your show keeps people coming back.
When was the last time that your listeners heard laughter on your radio show? Your show prep routine must always be switched up because it allows you to create and perhaps be a little uncomfortable. Creating unique experiences will cement your show or station with the audience.
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Reading trade press across multiple parts of the media universe keeps you updated on how other media have it better than radio in some aspects. In video, it’s measurement, especially from Nielsen.
Yes, Nielsen is still the leader in video ratings. An earlier column of mine noted that the company now has Media Rating Council accreditation for its Big Data + Panel product. Brad noted that the panel is up to 42,000 households and just over 100,000 persons. The panel data is used to model data from set-top boxes and smart TVs. Nielsen has access to data from Comcast, Dish, DirecTV, Roku, and Vizio with over 45 million homes and 75 million devices, likely including something you use.
While it may seem anachronistic in an era of streaming and programmatic advertising, the “upfront” is still a big deal. Agencies representing advertisers will spend billions of dollars to lock in buys beginning next month. This upfront marks the first time that Nielsen will produce only Big Data + Panel information. Oh yes, there’s an “out of home” piece of Nielsen’s video service now covering the entire continental US. You know it as PPM and the video industry is appreciative that radio funded its development.
Further, MRC accredited the use of first-party streaming data in the national Nielsen service. This means Amazon can use some of its own data for Thursday Night Football ratings and the NBA when that deal starts. The NFL likes this, and when the NFL likes something you’re doing, that’s an important endorsement.
For Nielsen, so far, so good, but they have competition. Brad discussed VideoAmp, which Paramount used for a while last year. However, Nielsen made a new multiyear deal with Paramount in February.
VideoAmp also uses big data. Then you have iSpot and Comscore, both of which are competitors in this space and use big data as well. Per Brad’s column, VideoAmp is now undergoing the MRC accreditation process, which, from personal experience, can make prepping for a colonoscopy feel like a walk in the park.
Meanwhile, Comscore just received MRC accreditation for its household-level TV measurement covering both national and local estimates. The accreditation covers household, age, and gender “households with” metrics. That’s four companies offering video measurement. Broadcast radio has Nielsen Audio, and streaming has Triton.
Why don’t we have this kind of competition in the audio measurement field? First, the market for audio measurement is much smaller than video thanks to the huge number of ad dollars on the national side. Next, the major audio players that pay the bulk of the fees are generally on shaky financial ground. The Big Three have all paid visits to bankruptcy court (and may again!).
Then there is the Nielsen legal department. Brad cited an AdAge article that said Nielsen has filed at least ten lawsuits against potential competitors since 2021, typically for patent infringement. Two lawsuits against VideoAmp were dismissed by a judge at the end of March. Did Nielsen cry in their beer and move on? No! The company filed another lawsuit against VideoAmp in the same court just days later.
The lesson here is that little financial incentive exists for a company to bring competition to the audio measurement field. If you have a great idea for an electronic system, you’ll likely end up in court with Nielsen, whether the case is valid or not (Arbitron took similar actions prior to the acquisition). You’ll need plenty of capital and clients who are ready to sign contracts. Those clients will want to pay less than they pay Nielsen today, notwithstanding how many years Nielsen has them contractually tied up into the future.
Would you put money into that kind of a venture? My first gig involving ratings was at the National Association of Broadcasters back in 1987. Before that, I worked at a station and remember competitors to Arbitron coming along, including Birch, TRAC-7, RAM, and AccuRatings, none of which have been relevant in the 21st century except in history lessons. I worked for two different ratings companies, one of which, Birch/Scarborough, went out of business while I was there. After a half century of studying and participating, I wouldn’t invest.
For better or worse, we’re stuck with one ratings choice. The industry’s goal should be improvement and lower costs. Good luck!
Let’s meet again next week.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
