15 Years Of FOX Sports Radio

October 2, 2015
15 Years Of FOX Sports Radio
2015 marks a milestone for FOX Sports Radio, as the 24/7 Sports/Talk
network -- produced and syndicated by Premiere Networks -- celebrates
its 15th anniversary. Then Premiere President/COO Kraig Kitchin (now
co-President of SoundMind, LLC) told NTS MediaOnline Monthly
what was behind the thinking that led to the debut of the network some
15 years ago. “Premiere Networks had started syndicating Jim Rome in
1996, at a time when ESPN Radio, One-On-One Sports Network and
Sportsfan Radio Network were all applying their best affiliation efforts
to convince radio stations to carry their proprietary programming 24
hours a day, leaving Rome’s radio program without as many affiliation
opportunities as we’d like for a fast-growing program with great ratings
results. We challenged ourselves to see if we could provide the same
solution to radio stations by finding a solution
to a competitive environment for creating and
clearing programming. If we could find an
affiliation with a great new brand in Sports
broadcasting, if we could connect with a list of
A-list personalities in the Sports/Talk format,
and if our parent company, Clear Channel
Radio, would embrace the concept at some of
the owned-and-operated stations, we’d green
light this investment. We contemplated it
would take us a year to build out and then test
KRAIG KITCHIN
for audience reception.”
Kitchin said an initial meeting with FOX Sports executives to discuss
the idea was met with “a quick and positive response.” And so was the
response from some of FSR’s early personalities. “Our first conversations
with Tony Bruno in Philadelphia, Dan Sileo in Tampa, Andrew Siciliano
in Chicago, Kevin Frasier, Jeanie Zelasko and Chris Myers in Los
Angeles all were met with an ‘I’m in!’ response. We took our preliminary
line up to [then Clear Channel Radio execs] Randy Michaels, Tom
Owens and Gabe Hobbs and they said, ‘What are you waiting for?”
So from a temporary studio while studios were being built on the Fox
Sports Broadcasting lots, we debuted FOX Sports Radio, programmed
by Tom Lee and Annie Z. on that first day, some 15 years ago.” [Editor’s
Note: When Lee left FSR in 2004 to take a programming position in
Philadelphia, he was succeeded by the late Andrew Ashwood, who
programmed the network until his death in 2008. In 2009 Don Martin
assumed programming duties for FSR)
Current Premiere Networks President Julie
Talbott was also there for the early discussions,
planning, development and the debut of FOX
Sports Radio, and explains why FSR was such a
key addition to the Premiere Networks roster of
programming back in 2000. “One of Premiere’s
key strategies has always been to participate in
every format in order to provide our customers
-- listeners, affiliates, and advertisers -- with
access to unique, high-quality programming,
JULIE TALBOTT
hosted by the biggest names and personalities,”
she said. “Prior to 2000, Sports was one of the formats where we didn’t
have scale, or enough hours of programming to satisfy the needs of those
customers, so the FOX Sports Radio roll-out was extremely important
to our overall strategy. Going from a single three-hour show to a 24/7
commitment was a monumental leap, but it put us into the Sports radio
game overnight.” Looking forward, Talbott remains even more bullish
on the future for FOX Sports Radio than she was on that first day when it
launched, much of that confidence due to the network’s growing roster of
top notch talent. “We’ve seen the network get stronger every year, from
programming and talent, to the level of customer service we provide our
affiliates and advertisers. The addition of Colin Cowherd to our line-up
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October 2, 2015
of Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen, Jay Mohr, Steve Gorman, JT The Brick,
and the many other fabulous FOX talents, has lifted us to an exciting
new level of Sports programming dominance. Celebrating our 15th
anniversary is a huge milestone and I couldn’t be more proud of our
team, what we’ve accomplished, and where we’re headed.”
For this special NAB/RAB Radio Show edition of NTS MediaOnline
Monthly, we sat down for an exclusive chat with Don Martin, Senior
VP of Sports for iHeartMedia/Los Angeles and Premiere Networks, and
Scott Shapiro, Premiere’s recently appointed VP/Sports Programming.
Together the two Sports radio veterans oversee the 24/7 FOX Sports
Radio network currently heard on a reported 400+ affiliates nationwide,
and reaching some 4 million weekly listeners.
Don let’s start with you. While you have played an ongoing role at FOX
Sports Radio and Premiere since 2009, you’ve recently reassumed a
more active role at the network. With your considerable other duties
as GM/PD for KLAC, what drew you to again take on the additional
challenge of helping to lead the network into it’s next 15 years?
Last January, when Julie Talbott asked me to
return to overseeing FOX Sports Radio, the
first thing I asked was how strong was the
commitment from the company to Sports going
to be going forward, and would they allow us to
go out and hire a major market programmer to
help me pull this together? The answer to the
second of those questions was Scott Shapiro.
I interviewed a lot of people and no one had
the credentials or offered a better fit for the job
DON MARTIN
than Scott. As to the question of iHeartMedia’s
commitment to Sports, it became clear right away that it
was substantial. As I said, they invested in a major market programmer,
they invested in the Los Angeles Dodgers -- to the point where they
allowed the team to own 49% of KLAC -- and they allowed us to go out
and attract and invest in Colin Cowherd. That is the kind of commitment
that speaks volumes about the future of FOX Sports Radio. That is what
convinced me that I wanted to be a part of this growing venture.
Page 3
with Don and Julie about coming here, it was clear that I was looking at
the future of network Sports radio. Not only is there a strong brand in
place, there is also an incredible company – iHeartMedia, the biggest
radio company in the world – standing behind it. I sensed right away
that this group was committed to a substantial investment in the Sports
marketplace. Just look at the recent addition of Colin Cowherd to our
lineup as proof of that commitment and a major investment into offering
stations great content from the very best Sports personalities on the air.
Talk about the expanding synergy between FOX Sports Radio and
FOX Sports television.
SS: One of the first things we did when I arrived
was to re-focus on the synergy between the
radio network and television. We tweaked the
weekend lineup to include seven FOX Sports
TV personalities who already had a background
in radio to really expand the partnership.
DM: We’ve gone from having basically a logo
agreement – having the right to use the FOX
brand marks – to having a full blown, two-way
partnership. We’re talking full brand extension
here across radio, television, digital, and
mobile.
Scott, you were previously at ESPN Radio. What attracted you to make
the move to join FSR this past January?
Opportunity, and growth. Without a doubt, the network has grown and
established itself quite well since 2000, but when I first sat down to talk
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SCOTT SHAPIRO
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October 2, 2015
Page 4
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Today there are more Sports networks offering around the clock
programming than when FOX Sports Radio signed on 15 years ago.
How do you think that challenges FSR’s potential future growth?
DM: I say the more the merrier because, in the end, the best product is
going to win. You can throw a bunch of stuff up and put whoever’s call
letters on it that you want, but the best product will always win. And we
are going to deliver the best product and the best personalities every day,
every night and every weekend.
Is it fair to say that all that available network programming has allowed
more stations to choose Sports as a profitable option?
SS: I believe that’s absolutely true. And as to the question of more
competition than ever, I think good competition fuels growth. I’d
rather have competitors and others out there doing what we do, because
that charges us and challenges us to improve and evolve. It lights my
competitive fire to know that we have competition. To stay sharp, we
invite competition. I think that makes all of us step up our game.
While there are a considerable number of FM Sports/Talkers out there,
the format still resides heavily on the AM band. What sort of challenges
does that pose for the future of FOX Sports Radio?
SS: Not to be too cliché, but ultimately we do believe that content really
is king. We want to be sure that no matter where people are hearing our
product, it’s the best content we can deliver coming thorough on that
platform. Our goal is to be everywhere -- on AM, FM and digitally -where the iHeartRadio app is a big part of our future. But it all comes
down to one thing: Delivering the very best content possible that is
available to listeners everywhere and anyway they want it. I try to tell
our people don’t worry about where the content is being heard, just focus
on making it the best content they can deliver.
The addition of Colin Cowherd last month was a big coup for Fox
Sports Radio. Talk about the decision to offer both ‘The Herd’ and
‘The Rich Eisen Show’ in the same daypart.
DM: In our world it’s certainly not unprecedented, we’ve done it at
FOX Sports Radio in the past. We’re in the product service business.
We’re putting out great product with big names and if they happen to
be available in the same daypart, that’s the new reality. Because as this
medium continues to grow, it won’t ultimately matter what daypart
a show airs in, because anyone is going to be able to listen to a show
whenever they want. Colin, for example, also has an iHeartRadio channel
that lets you listen to him whenever you want, on your schedule. That
is the future of our business. And I’d call it a good future, because it
will give more talents more opportunities, and allow us to offer stations
even more choices from a lineup of the best Sports media talents in the
business!
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