Sports Radio News
October Sports Radio Ratings Across The Country

Published
6 years agoon
The fall is one of the strongest periods of the year for the sports radio format. The recent information supplied to BSM confirms that a lot of stations are experiencing strong success as they head towards the finish line in 2016. For the month of October here’s what we learned.
- In Minneapolis, KFAN may have produced the highest monthly in the entire country for sports radio. The radio station finished 1st M-SU 6a-Mid with Men 25-54 with an incredible 17.4. Even more amazing, the brand came in 1st with 6+ delivering a phenomenal 8.9. That rating was 1.3 points higher than AC station KS95 who came in 2nd. The return of the Vikings has certainly helped but there’s much more to the brand’s success than just football games. All shows on the station led the market.
- One brand that mirrors KFAN for monthly dominance is 104.5 The Zone in Nashville. The station ruled the local market yet again, turning in a 1st place finish among Men 25-54 M-Su 6a-Mid (15.9) and M-F 6a-7p (16.3). If that wasn’t enough, every show on the station was 1st with Men and Adults 25-54, and the brand gained four share points month to month. Mornings did a 17.6, middays an 18.7, and afternoons a 16.2. When you provide a 16 or 17 share and don’t lead your station, that tells you how powerful a brand is.
- With the Patriots kicking off their 2016 campaign and the Red Sox advancing to the playoffs, ratings remained high in Boston. 98.5 The Sports Hub finished 1st with Men 25-54 M-F 6a-7p (14.3) and M-Su 6a-Mid (12.8). Felger & Massarotti had The Hub’s best performance delivering a 17.2 in afternoons. Meanwhile WEEI also had a big month. The station was 2nd M-Su 6a-Mid and M-F 6a-7p delivering a 10 share in both demos which was two and a half points higher than their previous month. Kirk and Callahan was WEEI’s highest rated show delivering above a 12 share which was three and a half points higher than their previous month. One additional item of interest, among Men 35-64 WEEI remains the market leader. The Hub leads the way in the younger male demos.
- Moving to St. Louis, 101 ESPN received some incredible news. Despite losing the Rams to Los Angeles and entering the fall without a local football team’s rights on the air for the first time since the station launched in 2009, the station’s performance didn’t miss a beat. 101 was dominant yet again, finishing 3rd M-Su 6a-Mid with Men 25-54 with more than a 7 share. Each of the station’s key weekday shows (Bernie Miklasz, Kevin Wheeler, The Turn, and The Fast Lane) recorded between a 7.5 and 9.2 and were inside the top 3. 101 ESPN continues to be the highest rated spoken word brand in the entire market despite not having the rights to one of the market’s local teams.
- Shifting to Dallas, it was another positive month for 105.3 The Fan and Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket. The Ticket finished 1st with Men 25-54 in both M-Su 6a-Mid (6.8) and M-F 6a-7p (8.7). The Fan was 2nd M-Su 6a-Mid (6.2) and 4th M-F 6a-7p (5.4). Among Men 18-34 The Fan (5.9 – 4th) remained ahead of The Ticket (5.3 – 5th) M-F 6a-7p. One other big positive, both stations weekday shows finished inside the Top 5. The Musers were the highest rated show on The Ticket finishing 1st in mornings with a 9.8. G-Bag Nation provided The Fan’s best performance, coming in 3rd in middays with a 6.5.
- 97.1 The Fan continues to set the Columbus, Ohio market on fire. The station finished October in 1st place with Men 25-54 M-F 6a-7p (14.3) and M-Su 6a-Mid (13.5). One additional item of interest, despite a ratings decline on television for the NFL, the same story didn’t ring true for The Fan. The station’s radio broadcasts of NFL games courtesy of Westwood One were 1st across the board. Sunday night football games recorded a 16.1. Monday Night football games delivered a 12.8, and Sunday afternoon games recorded a 9.4.
- Over in Omaha, 1620 The Zone remains atop the local leaderboard. The station finished 5th with Men 25-54 M-F 6a-7p (5.0) and 7th M-Su 6a-Mid (4.2). The station’s morning show featuring Gary Sharp and Damon Benning were 4th with a 6.8, middays with Nick Bahe were 9th with a 2.8, and afternoons with John Bishop and Josh Peterson were 5th with a 5.1.
- Down in Tampa, despite dropping its local morning show for ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike, WDAE remained in excellent shape. The radio station finished 4th among Men 25-54 M-Su 6a-mid with a 5.3.
As we gain additional information from other markets around the country we’ll keep you updated. Stations can send along updates via email to JBarrett@hvy.tcp.mybluehost.me.

Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.

Sports Radio News
Doug Gottlieb: I Would Give Up Radio For Coaching Job
“I’ve told people that for the radio element to — for the right thing — I’d give it up. The (podcast), I’m not giving it up.”

Published
2 days agoon
March 17, 2023By
BSM Staff
Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb recently interviewed for the vacant head coaching job at Wisconsin-Green Bay and detailed the experience on his podcast.
“I got a chance to talk to (Wisconsin-Green Bay AD) Josh Moon several times during the year after they had made their coaching job available and my approach to how I’ve done these things — and this is not the first time I’ve gone down this path, but this was a different path,” Gottlieb said on his All Ball podcast.
“This is a low-major, mid-major job, and there’s no connection there. I’ve told people that for the radio element to — for the right thing — I’d give it up. The (podcast), I’m not giving it up. I love doing it and I think there’s a very smart world where if I’m coaching I can still do this podcast and still do it with basketball people all over the country and the world, and it’s kind of like a cheat code.”
He continued by saying that seeing Shaka Smart be successful at Marquette has motivated him to continue to search for the right fit as a college basketball coach.
“That’s what I want to do. And last year when I was coaching in Israel, that also continued to invigorate me…this is something that I would really like to do. It has to be the right thing. It has to be the right AD who hits the right message.”
He continued by saying that a sticking point of negotiations was he wasn’t willing to give up his nationally syndicated radio program for the job. He was willing to take less money for his assistants pool, but also to continue doing his radio show.
Gottlieb did not get the position with the Phoenix, noting that he was a finalist but was never offered the job. The position ultimately went to Wyoming assistant coach Sundance Wicks. Wicks had previous head coaching experience and had worked with Green Bay athletic director Josh Moon at Division II Northern State. He admitted he wasn’t necessarily “all-in” on the job due to the current ages of his children and whether the timing was right to uproot his family to move to Northeastern Wisconsin.
The Fox Sports Radio host does have coaching experience. He has worked as a coach for the U.S. men’s basketball team at the Maccabiah Games, sometimes referred to as the Jewish Olympics.
Gottlieb’s father — Bob — was the head men’s basketball coach at Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1975-1980, compiling a 97-91 record.
Sports Radio News
Waddle & Silvy: Scott Hanson Told Us to Lose His Number
“We didn’t call him back, so he set out what he wanted to do.”

Published
2 days agoon
March 17, 2023By
BSM Staff
Aaron Rodgers took immense pride in the fact that he told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter to “lose his number” while discussing his future earlier this week on The Pat McAfee Show. ESPN 1000’s Waddle & Silvy said they’ve experienced similar treatment from guests on their radio show.
While discussing the Rodgers interview with McAfee, the pair admitted that NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson once told their producer to stop trying to book him for interviews on the program.
“I believe the presentation was ‘Do me a favor: lose my number after this interview’,” Tom Waddle said. “So he tried to do it politely. Scott Hanson did. Get out of here. That concept is foreign to me. How about ‘Hey, next time you text me, my schedule is full. I can’t do it, but thanks for thinking of me’. ‘Lose my number?’ You ain’t the President, for Christ’s sake. I’m saying that to anyone who would say that. ‘Lose my number?’ We’re all in the communication business. I just don’t know — why be rude like that to people? What does that accomplish? You know what it accomplished? We didn’t call him back, so he set out what he wanted to do.”
Co-host Mark Silverman then mentioned that the show once tried to book Hansen and NFL Red Zone host Andrew Siciliano together in the same block, with the idea of doing a trivia game to see who the supreme Red Zone host was. Siciliano agreed, but Hansen declined.
The pair also confirmed that an NFL Network personality had told them to lose their number, but couldn’t remember if it was Rich Eisen or not.
Silverman later joked that maybe Hanson was getting a new phone with a new number, and was politely sharing with the producer that he could lose the current phone number because he would share his new number in short order.
Sports Radio News
Seth Payne: Aaron Rodgers ‘Makes Gross Inaccuracies’ When Calling Out Media
“This is where Rodgers does this thing where he, in calling out reporters for their inaccuracies, makes gross inaccuracies in his accusations.”

Published
2 days agoon
March 17, 2023By
BSM Staff
Aaron Rodgers is always mad at the media for the inaccurate things he says they report, but according to Sports Radio 610 morning man Seth Payne, no one is more inaccurate than the quarterback himself.
Friday morning, Payne and his partner Sean Pendergast played audio of Aaron Rodgers responding to a question about a list of players he provided to the Jets demanding they sign. Rodgers called the idea that he would make demands “so stupid” and chastised ESPN reporter Dianna Russini, who was the first to report it.
“Now to be clear, Dianna Russini didn’t say demands in her tweet. She said wishlist,” Pendergast clarified.
They also played a clip of Russini responding to Rodgers on NFL Live saying that she stands by her reporting and it is her job to reach out to confirm that it is true.
“This is where Rodgers does this thing where he, in calling out reporters for their inaccuracies, makes gross inaccuracies in his accusations,” Seth Payne said.
He added that if Rodgers is being serious, he is doing some serious nitpicking. He claims that he didn’t give the Jets a list, but that he spoke glowingly about former teammates and told the Jets executives that he met with who he enjoyed playing with during his career.
Payne joked that maybe he wrote down the names in a circle pattern so that it was not a list. Pendergast added that he could have had Fat Head stickers on his wall that he pointed to instead of writing anything at all.
In Payne’s mind, this is a case of Russini catching stray frustration. Neither in her initial tweet nor in any subsequent media appearance did she use the phrase “demands”.
“What he’s actually responding to in that instance is Pat McAfee is the one that described it as a list of demands,” Seth Payne said.