The Sports Media Thread

[BBTV]

Yeah, and the hic that does the ads always ends with "unless you're in mizzoruh or illunoi, I'm not lahsensed in your state... but r attorneys in your state are".

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I hate myself so I've been listening to Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball podcast. I spent 20 minutes with Simmons and Russilo defending Steph Curry's greatness as is people don't think Steph is good? And there's another hour!

 

I don't get why he did this or who it's for. And did his stupid kid record the theme song?

 

I appreciate a lot of what the Ringer has done, but Bill might consider taking a break for a while. He's lost his fastball.

[Sport]

I listened to some local sports talk on my drive home last night and I've no idea how people do this every day. It's like 6 to 10 minute blocks of nothing but ads periodically interrupted by some sports talk and if the host interviews someone they have to repeat to the listeners who they're talking to before every question - I used to listen to a Bengals podcast hosted by one of the Cincinnati radio hosts and he carried this habit over to the podcast. I stopped listening because of this. Dude, we downloaded the episode, the guy's name is in the description. We know who you are and we know you're talking to. You don't have to keep saying it. Also, it's a podcast, you have unlimited time. Have an actual conversation. 

 

Don't even get me started on taking calls from listeners. I change the station so hard I break the preset buttons whenever Gary from Monroe calls in. Fastest way to lose me as a radio listener. 

 

I don't know how these shows even exist anymore when the podcast format is so much better. 

 

8 hours ago, DG_Now said:

I hate myself so I've been listening to Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball podcast. I spent 20 minutes with Simmons and Russilo defending Steph Curry's greatness as is people don't think Steph is good? And there's another hour!

 

I don't get why he did this or who it's for. And did his stupid kid record the theme song?

 

I appreciate a lot of what the Ringer has done, but Bill might consider taking a break for a while. He's lost his fastball.

 

I refuse to listen to this podcast on principle. Write it down in a book, you lazy hack. 

[The_Admiral]

3 hours ago, McCarthy said:

Don't even get me started on taking calls from listeners. I change the station so hard I break the preset buttons whenever Gary from Monroe calls in. Fastest way to lose me as a radio listener. 

 

I don't know how these shows even exist anymore when the podcast format is so much better.

 

But if you're going to commit to doing live radio as we know it, then you need to have regular callers and make them a big part of the presentation. That interaction has to be part of the draw. If you try to do the Get On A Microphone And Tell The Masses The Way Things Are approach like you're still Chet Coppock in 1989, then you're not offering anything that a whole ton of podcasts aren't doing a hundred times better and with more depth.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I saw Jim Rome on one of the NFL studio shows and couldn't believe it.

 

Rome was a pioneer in hot take culture and seems to have mostly disappeared. He certainly isn't relevant anymore.

[Red Comet]

12 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

I saw Jim Rome on one of the NFL studio shows and couldn't believe it.

 

Rome was a pioneer in hot take culture and seems to have mostly disappeared. He certainly isn't relevant anymore.

 

I could watch that moment when Jim Everett had enough of his BS on loop for a year. He's always been a clown.

[dfwabel]

28 minutes ago, the admiral said:

 

But if you're going to commit to doing live radio as we know it, then you need to have regular callers and make them a big part of the presentation. That interaction has to be part of the draw. If you try to do the Get On A Microphone And Tell The Masses The Way Things Are approach like you're still Chet Coppock in 1989, then you're not offering anything that a whole ton of podcasts aren't doing a hundred times better and with more depth.

Callers are market sensitive. Markets like Dallas and SF rarely take calls and when done, it is one one or two specific shows or even weekly segments. Both The Ticket and KNBR are low on callers, especially the former and for now are still leading the key ad demo.  The Ticket has little listener interaction but for their live appearances. The flip side is Finebaum who just acts like a party line for folks to bash other schools but for an occasional interview.

7 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

I saw Jim Rome on one of the NFL studio shows and couldn't believe it.

 

Rome was a pioneer in hot take culture and seems to have mostly disappeared. He certainly isn't relevant anymore.

Rome leaving iHeart/Premier for CBS Radio (now Entercom) for the money, upwards of $20M/year, took him away from the masses to a large degree.

[The_Admiral]

Rome was never big in Chicago, in part because of the logistics of originating his show on the west coast but more importantly because Chicago has always been a bit touchy about non-local radio. I don't think he was even on here for more than a year or two.

 

Chicago was always a caller-intensive sports radio market, just like New York. Maybe more so, because getting the Score off the ground sometimes involved having remotes at the hosts' homes. The Score got away from it when they tried to become Radio Deadspin a few years ago, but then abandoned that without ever fully going back to callers, so now it's just lots of boring interviews and point spread discussion.

[MadmanLA]

On 11/20/2019 at 11:32 AM, dfwabel said:

Rome leaving iHeart/Premier for CBS Radio (now Entercom) for the money, upwards of $20M/year, took him away from the masses to a large degree.

 

It did at least here in Los Angeles (his hometown), where he hasn't been heard locally since he switched syndicators.  The station that was the local "flagship" station of CBS Sports Radio, KFWB, went Bollywood music in 2016 after trying local sports talk for two years, and before that was a general talk/news station (and was all-news for decades).  When it was "The Beast 980", the only things they had going for it was the Clippers and Galaxy radio broadcasts, and maybe Rome...the rest of the on-air talent were either old local sports media fogies (Fred Roggin, Jeanne Zelasko, Bill Plaschke) that still want to reminisce about the good ol' days of the Showtime Lakers and the Lasorda-era Dodgers, or nobodies from out-of-town that know little-to-nothing about the local sports scene. 

 

I can't speak for KLAC, KSPN or KLAA, I haven't listened to either one of the three in a long time as well...other than KLAC carrying Cowherd's radio/TV simulcast and the Petros (Papadakis)-Money (Matt Smith) show, I couldn't tell you what else on that station, and as a Clipper fan, I've avoided KSPN for years, ever since they took over the radio rights to the Lakers.  I tried KLAA in the beginning as well, especially Roger Lodge's show (yes, he of "Blind Date" fame), and once his original co-host got fired, Lodge's sports knowledge, or lack thereof, was greatly exposed.  He must have pictures on Arte Moreno or something, because Lodge is a terrible sports talk host.  Hell, I can remember him for filling-in for Rome on his radio show several times before the KLAA gig came about...not much different there either.

 

Other than those mid-mornings if I'm home from work, and Colin Cowherd isn't on TV that day, I'll tune in to Rome for a few minutes, and then find something else to watch.  I haven't personally listened to his radio show in any length in years, and haven't listened to an entire episode in nearly 15 years.  

[The Six]

Lodge keeps his job because he's a Grade A shill for the Angels. Never has any criticism about them, just the way Moreno likes it.

[The_Admiral]

On 11/7/2019 at 9:53 AM, McCarthy said:

 

Oh you mean obviously ghost-written articles that were far more expensive to produce than content created by non-famous writers and bloggers didn't work? Who could've known? 

 

Do you remember a particular Players' Tribune piece "by" Jamie Benn that went like "I like to listen to music when I drive to the game. It gets me really pumped" and every dumbass on HFBoards and r/hockey was like "oh my god okay this is THE best thing anyone has ever written"? Insipid. And this was what the ghostwriter punched up. Jamie Benn's first draft must have been in crayon.

[Sport]

On 11/23/2019 at 8:57 PM, the admiral said:

 

Do you remember a particular Players' Tribune piece "by" Jamie Benn that went like "I like to listen to music when I drive to the game. It gets me really pumped" and every dumbass on HFBoards and r/hockey was like "oh my god okay this is THE best thing anyone has ever written"? Insipid. And this was what the ghostwriter punched up. Jamie Benn's first draft must have been in crayon.

 

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/jamie-benn-stars-stanley-cup-playoff

 

It's pretty bad. Definitely reads like it was written by someone who stopped going to school at 16. 

[Still MIGHTY]

On 11/22/2019 at 5:52 PM, The Six said:

Lodge keeps his job because he's a Grade A shill for the Angels. Never has any criticism about them, just the way Moreno likes it.

 

I believe the term is... *shudders* ..."Halo Honk"

[dfwabel]

Barstool wanted to sponsor the Mobile (AL) bowl game, but ESPN, who owns the game, rejected the offer specifically due to no other media companies can be title sponsor.

 

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2019/11/26/espn-prevents-barstool-sports-from-bowl-game-sponsorship

 

Lending Tree is the new sponsor

Edited November 30, 2019 by dfwabel

[MJWalker45]

3 hours ago, dfwabel said:

Barstool wanted to sponsor the Mobile (AL) bowl game, but ESPN, who owns the game, rejected the offer specifically due to no other media companies can be title sponsor.

 

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2019/11/26/espn-prevents-barstool-sports-from-bowl-game-sponsorship

 

 

I still find it annoying that ESPN actually owns bowl games. Granted the Gator Bowl was originally created to give Florida a bowl to go to. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Why are they like this.

 

 

[dfwabel]

43 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

Why are they like this.

 

 

That's two guys parodying them, however this tweet from their betting twitter account today was real and quickly deleted.

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by dfwabel

[TheBigFiz21]

On 11/20/2019 at 10:21 AM, McCarthy said:

I listened to some local sports talk on my drive home last night and I've no idea how people do this every day. It's like 6 to 10 minute blocks of nothing but ads periodically interrupted by some sports talk and if the host interviews someone they have to repeat to the listeners who they're talking to before every question - I used to listen to a Bengals podcast hosted by one of the Cincinnati radio hosts and he carried this habit over to the podcast. I stopped listening because of this. Dude, we downloaded the episode, the guy's name is in the description. We know who you are and we know you're talking to. You don't have to keep saying it. Also, it's a podcast, you have unlimited time. Have an actual conversation. 

 

Don't even get me started on taking calls from listeners. I change the station so hard I break the preset buttons whenever Gary from Monroe calls in. Fastest way to lose me as a radio listener. 

 

I don't know how these shows even exist anymore when the podcast format is so much better. 

I think it goes without saying that there are a great share of radio shows, local and national, that have a podcast functioning with "best-of" and/or fully replayable episodes. I'm not exactly sure how if that podcast  you mentioned is streamed exclusively or not, but if it isn't, then I could see why the hosts pick up that habit easily.

 

As for sports talk shows, I think that interaction with callers is necessary. For instance, I listen to one station in Baltimore where the weeknight and weekend shows do more fan interaction with texts and calls throughout with about 1-2 interview segments thrown in. Very much different from the weekday shows that are doused with ads, have dedicated "segments", some contests, etc.

 

My point being...I don't think that's going away. It's been mentioned before that stations know only a fraction of their listeners actually call in. There's a saying I came across that about 10% of listeners call in to these local stations. So without that interaction, said shows are no different from the streaming podcasts that are pushing sports radio off its totem pole.

[The Six]

www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/12/16/vox-media-to-cut-hundreds-of-freelance-jobs-ahead-of-californias-ab5.html

 

That's what Californians get for having their state attempt to protect workers' rights. It's much easier for a company to fire everyone in one fell swoop than to treat them like actual employees.

[Red Wolf]

The only people that enjoy listeners calling in are the listeners that are calling in because it makes them feel important.