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KILT Leads The March Sports Radio Ratings In Houston

Jason Barrett

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The numbers are in for Houston, and overall it was a weaker month for the market’s top sports radio brands. With all due respect to KGOW, it’s a three station battle, and although March produced a dip in the overall numbers, April figures to provide a spark for all three brands due to the return of baseball, the NBA Playoffs, and the NFL Draft.

As the Houston Chronicle first reported, the ratings information covers the period of February 25th through March 23rd. The data being analyzed is Men 25-54, the key demographic for sports talk radio stations.

As always I remind you that things can change quickly. With KILT undergoing a change in morning drive due to the departure of Nick Wright, that could provide an opening for 790 and 97.5. How will that news impact KILT? We won’t know for a while, but for now, the radio station gets to celebrate a clean sweep victory in the March ratings book.

Here are the breakdowns for each of the key dayparts:

M-F 6a-10a:

  • Sports Radio 610 KILT = 2.6
  • 97.5 ESPN = 2.3
  • SportsTalk 790 = 0.8

*** The drop from February in mornings was significant. Both 610 and 790 suffered a seven tenths of a point setback, and 97.5 lost eight tenths. Some of this could be due to the typical winter listening decline, but when three brands collectively lose two ratings points, that can also indicate that a meter or two disappeared from the panel. What’s odd is that the same pattern didn’t occur in middays, afternoons or evenings.

M-F 10a-3p:

  • Sports Radio 610 KILT = 2.6
  • 97.5 ESPN = 1.5
  • SportsTalk 790 = 0.7

*** 790 was flat month to month, and 610 and 97.5 saw minor decreases. KILT lost one tenth, ESPN dropped two tenths.

M-F 3p-7p:

  • Sports Radio 610 KILT = 3.3
  • 97.5 ESPN = 2.6
  • SportsTalk 790 = 1.1

*** All three stations were unchanged month to month. 

M-F 7p-12a:

  • Sports Radio 610 KILT = 2.3
  • 97.5 ESPN = 0.8
  • SportsTalk 790 = 1.0

*** 790 remained even, but KILT lost two tenths, and 97.5 lost three.

M-SU 6a-Mid:

  • Sports Radio 610 KILT = 2.7
  • 97.5 ESPN = 1.7
  • SportsTalk 790 = 0.9

*** All three stations suffered a minor dip from February. KILT lost two tenths of a point, 97.5 was down three tenths, and 790 lost one tenth. With the Astros back, and the Rockets in the playoffs, that should help 790 make improvements. KILT and 97.5 should also benefit from the increased attention on the local teams, and being the flagship station for the Texans probably won’t hurt 610 as they gear up for the 2016 NFL Draft.

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KNBR’s Brian Murphy Speaks for First Time After Paul McCaffrey Laid Off

“Paulie Mac is my guy, will forever be my guy. The best thing I could ever wish anyone is that you get to work with someone as loyal, energetic, funny, consistent as the guy his Jersey buddies call ‘Smack’.”

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A photo of Paul McCaffrey and Brian Murphy
(Photo: KNBR)

Earlier this week, KNBR underwent a round of layoffs, affecting a pair of programs on the Bay Area sports station, including the departure of longtime morning host Paul McCaffrey. His longtime partner — Brian Murphy — has taken to X to share his thoughts.

In a thread to X, Murphy shared his admiration for McCaffrey, whom he hosted Murph and Mac with for 18 years.

“Paulie Mac is my guy, will forever be my guy. The best thing I could ever wish anyone is that you get to work with someone as loyal, energetic, funny, consistent as the guy his Jersey buddies call ‘Smack’,” wrote Murphy. “So much love.”

He then shared that everything listeners and fans of the program have shared on social media has been read by the duo, and thanked them for the outpouring of love and support.

Finally, Murphy addressed his future. Fill-in host Dieter Kurtenbach shared on Thursday he did not have a definitive answer about Murphy’s future with the Cumulus-owned station.

However, Brian Murphy has shared he will return to the airwaves on Monday morning.

“I’ll be back Monday morning on KNBR with our guy Markus (Waterboy) Boucher,” Murphy wrote. “Come on. It’s Niners-Eagles. Wouldn’t miss it. As Paulie Mac’s board itself would say: The show goes on.”

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Mike Mulligan: Sports Radio is More Difficult Than Other Formats Think

He shared that he has worked with people on morning shows that he has seen come to a station fully hungover who play music and proceed to sit on the couch.

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Mike Mulligan
Courtesy: Illinois Entertainer

On Friday morning’s edition of Mully & Haugh on 670 The Score in Chicago, co-host Mike Mulligan outlined the difference with music radio that hosts are not continuously talking to the audience, instead taking mic breaks and then interspersing commentary with different songs.

Filling in for David Haugh on Friday’s edition of the program was Gabe Ramirez, who used to work in the format with B96 as the host of its morning show. Mulligan’s assertion about the differences between the two formats resulted in a conversation about the differences between the grenres, with Ramirez explaining the difficulties that music radio hosts face on the air.

“The music station’s still creating content,” Ramirez said. “You get to have a guest – since I am going to defend my music stations – you get to have a guest and toss them a softball question and listen to them rant for five minutes.”

Mulligan disagreed with this perspective, conveying that he does not feel their program provides guests with easy questions. Additionally, he shared that he has worked with people on morning shows that he has seen come to a station fully hungover who play music and proceed to sit on the couch.

“As a former sportswriter, we sit around and we talk about sports,” Mulligan said. “We talk about the sports we cover and we talk about other sports.”

“You have to talk about Justin Fields seven days in a row,” Ramirez replied. “As a morning show for music, you have to come up with new content every day.”

Rather than taking umbrage towards the response, Mike Mulligan explained that the key to effectively performing his job is being able to discuss important stories of the day even when they are not the headlines. Furthermore, he expounded on the commitment that it takes to watch the amount of sporting events and to be properly informed on the action so he is able to take the air.

“That I will agree with,” Ramirez said. “I’ve told people this – they ask me, ‘What’s the biggest difference?’ The prep, without question, is way more difficult in sports radio because everyone that’s listening to you already knows the answers and you have to be equally if not more informed in all of those things.”

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Minnesota Twins Set to Tab Cory Provus as New TV Voice, Kris Atteberry as Lead Radio Announcer

Provus has been the radio voice of the Minnesota Twins since 2012.

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Minnesota Twins

After Dick Bremer exited the Minnesota Twins TV booth in October, the search began for his replacement. The MLB franchise didn’t have to look far, though.

Twins radio voice Cory Provus is reportedly set to become the new TV play-by-play broadcaster for the club, according to a report from Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

Provus has been the radio voice of the Minnesota Twins since 2012. Many immediately tabbed him as the club’s replacement for Bremer, who retired after 40 seasons as the lead television voice of the American League club. Before joining the team in 2012, Provus worked for the Milwaukee Brewers as the number two broadcaster after spending two seasons as the radio pregame host for the Chicago Cubs.

Meanwhile, Kris Atteberry has been signaled as the person set to replace Provus inside the franchise’s radio booth. He has served as the pregame and postgame host for the Minnesota Twins Radio Network since 2007. Atteberry joined the club after spending five years calling games for the then-Independent St. Paul Saints from 2002-2006.

While the television and radio broadcast crews appear set, questions remain about where the team will televise its games in 2024. The club’s contract with Bally Sports North has reportedly expired, and it has yet to sign an agreement with the bankruptcy-laden RSN, or with a local over-the-air television station.

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