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Dallas Radio Battle Heats Up

Jason Barrett

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We have us an apparent ballgame in the radio sports talk competition that for years has been dominated by SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket. If the first ratings book of 2015 is any indication, the new year may be an interesting study.

In the January ratings released this week, 105.3 FM The Fan and KESN 103.3 FM, aka ESPN Radio, made significant strides.

In the demographic that matters most because it pays the bills – men 25-54 – the score for the month was: Fan 4.2; Ticket and ESPN tied at 3.2.

Consider that in January 2014 the numbers were: Ticket 6.0; ESPN 3.1; Fan 2.7 and you can see how the universe has shifted.

For more egalitarian readers, among all listeners the final ratings were: Fan 2.6; Ticket and ESPN tied again at 1.8.

There’s little question that the Fan benefited from broadcasting two Sunday Cowboys playoff games and the Super Bowl while ESPN, which is run by the same folks who manage the Ticket, got a lift from college football’s three playoff games as well as the Cotton Bowl.

In the radio business, there is often a lingering residual effect from broadcasting big events. Listeners bleed over to regular programming.  That’s the way the radio game is played.

So let’s delve deeper into men between the ages of 25 and 54.

Looking at the weekday ratings that feature the high-priced local talent from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. it was: Ticket 4.0; Fan 3.6; and ESPN 3.5.

A year ago those numbers were Ticket 7.6; ESPN 3.4; Fan 2.3.

It’s odd that given the Cowboys success and college football’s national championship game that combined listenership ratings for all three sports talk stations dropped from January to January, but that’s what the numbers show.

As usual, the Ticket’s “Musers” topped the morning sports talk mix master but there are new leaders in other day parts.

The Fan’s “G-Bag Nation” was No. 1 among sports talk stations middays and ESPN’s Afternoon Show topped afternoon drive.

The highest-rated weekday hour at the stations in men 25-54 was, as usual, turned in by the “Musers.” They scored an 8.4 share at 7 a.m.

The highest rated local hour at ESPN was “The Afternoon Show” at 4.9. Tops at the Fan was “Shan & R.J.” at 7 a.m. with a 5.4.

Credit to the Dallas Morning News who originally published this article

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Kirk Minihane: WEEI is “Going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in Afternoons”

“Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin.”

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Photos of Kirk Minihane and Rich Shertenlieb

As the speculation continues on where Boston sports talker Rich Shertenlieb will end up, one former WEEI host said he has the scoop on what is going to happen. Kirk Minihane, now with Barstool Sports, said, “What I heard was, initially, was they were moving Rich Keefe from nights to middays, moving Adam Jones from afternoons to middays and keeping Fauria there, and moving Andy Gresh to afternoons…But now it appears Rich Shertenlieb is going to do afternoons with Andy Gresh.”

On Wednesday, Boston Globe sports and sports media columnist Chad Finn put out a post on X, saying, “Didn’t think Rich Shertenlieb would end up at WEEI after leaving Sports Hub. I do now, most likely in afternoon drive. Audacy management has been telling people to expect changes.”

Minihane continued commenting on the matter, saying, “It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful. Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin…we haven’t done that in a while, we are going to take that show down…Once that show starts, we are just going to blitz them with phone calls because Gresh can’t handle that.

“What they don’t understand, because they are so dumb, is that…Rich Shertenlieb has no fan base…no fan of [Toucher and Hardy] in the morning is going to be like ‘I’m not going to listen to Felger in the afternoons, I’ll now listen to Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb.’ It’s going to be dreadful.”

Recapping what he has heard the rest of the WEEI lineup will be, Minihane said, “…And then in middays you have Adam Jones, failed afternoons. Rich Keefe who has now failed middays, drivetime, nights and is now going to fail again in middays… and Christian Fauria who has never drawn a rating in his life.”

WEEI has not commented on any of the speculation. BSM will have more as the story unfolds.

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Former 670 The Score Host Tommy Williams Has Died

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Photo of Tommy Williams
Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy Williams, who was heard for a decade on 670 The Score, died on Wednesday at the age of 66.

Williams began his broadcasting career in his hometown of Gary, Indiana in 1982 at WLTH before moving on to The Score. In 2003, Williams became the PA Announcer for the Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association where he had his signature call to get the attention of the fans, “People, People, People.”

A story in The Times of Northwest Indiana said, “The longtime RailCats public address announcer and Lakeshore Public Media sports journalist was known for broadcasting countless games, interviewing countless athletes and covering Region sports at all levels. The Gary native and co-host of “Prep Sports Report,” “Prep Football Report,” and “Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard” often signed off shows saying, “Gary, Indiana, you know I love you.”

“The cadence he had in his voice echoed across the Region in a way we may never see again. He was widely known and widely loved,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations at Lakeshore Public Media told the paper.

“He’d want to be remembered as the voice of Lakeshore sports,” his Regionally Speaking co-host and producer Dee Dotson told The Times. “Most people will remember him for covering prep sports all the way up to semi-pros. He’ll be remembered for treating each of his subjects like they were world champions. His depth of knowledge of sports at all levels is commendable. He was a walking encyclopedia of stats.” 

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Compass Media Networks Promotes Three Members to Oversee Play-by-Play Sports Platform

“It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

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Compass Media Networks has announced the promotions of three long-standing executives, Robert Blum, Tyler Brewer, and Chris Kleiber, who will collectively oversee the content creation, production, and distribution of the company’s play-by-play sports platform.

“For over 16 years, Compass Media Networks has set a standard of excellence for national play-by-play sports with Chris, Rob, and Tyler playing a vital part in our success,” said Peter Kosann, CEO/Founder of Compass Media Networks. “It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

Robet Blum has been appointed Vice President & General Manager of Sports and will also continue to serve as Vice President of Affiliate Sales for News-Talk and Sports. Tyler Brewer has been appointed Executive Producer – Sports Programming. And Chris Kleiber has been appointed Senior Producer – Sports Programming.

Compass Media Networks broadcasts annually over 100 play-by-play sporting events involving college men’s basketball and football (including the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Ten Championship Game), NFL 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday Doubleheaders, and complete coverage of the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders. The broadcasts are distributed across hundreds of terrestrial sports, news-talk and music stations as well as digital distribution platforms such as SiriusXM, Verizon Mobile, and the Varsity App.

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