Connect with us
Jim Cutler Demos

BSM Writers

The Reasons For Five Reasons’ Success In Miami

“The arrogance of traditional media, which has always been the case, has been really good for us. We’re just building, building, building, and eventually as they regress the advertising money will start to come to us.”

Tyler McComas

Published

on

Ethan Skolnick knows what the Miami sports fan wants. Even better, he knows the most effective way to get it to them. To have that strong of a belief, takes a whole lot of experience and a vision that nobody else has. Luckily, he has both. 

Image result for Ethan Skolnick

To truly understand why Skolnick feels so strongly about what the Miami sports fan wants, you have to know about both his present and his past. 

For 20 years, Skolnick was one of the best sports media talents in South Florida. Whether it was stops at the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel or even 790 The Ticket where he replaced Dan Le Batard, he’s always seemed to have a direct pulse on what content the sports fans in the city want to consume. Along with that experience, plus the tireless work of many others, Skolnick is brining Miami sports on demand in the form of podcasts, videos, news stories, etc. to the city like it’s never seen before. 

The Five Reasons Sports Network has taken Miami by storm. 

The Climb

In 2018, Skolnick was out of sports media. After a successful career that saw him have, at one time, the highest rated radio show in South Florida behind Dan Le Batard, he was looking for his next venture. Then, Chris Wittyngham, a former host with Skolnick at 790 The Ticket, came with the idea to start a podcast. The duo started with one to try and get into the swing of things. It was a success. Soon enough, people were all over the idea of hearing the two back together talking sports. Then, things started to expand more once Skolnick took his new product to Twitter. 

“I had built up over 75,000 followers at one point,” said Skolnick. “I’m at like 72,000 now, but I always engaged with people, because I thought it was a big part of my job. Basically I just started using my Twitter account again, created a Five Reasons Sports account, then retweeted a bunch of stuff on that page from my personal account to accelerate the growth and build a following.”

It worked. Shortly after, people who had built a social media following with the Dolphins and Heat started to reach out. But out of everyone that reached out, there was one in particular that stood out. 

“Alfredo Arteaga, “said Skolnick. “He basically said that he and his two buddies, one of them living in England and one of them living in Tampa Bay, they had all this info about the Dolphins, it was incredible, but Alfredo came to me and said he and his two friends were thinking of starting a podcast and asked how I did it. I said I had a better idea, why don’t we work together?” 

Image result for Alfredo Arteaga five reasons

With that conversation, Three Yards per Carry was born. It took off instantly. Today, it’s one of the most successful podcasts in the Five Reasons Sports Network and considered as the possibly the best podcast when it comes to the Miami Dolphins. 

“Those guys nailed 5 of the 7 draft picks a year ago,” Skolnick said “They’re just on top of everything and I don’t touch them. They have this chemistry that’s totally organic. It just works.”

Soon after, others in the social media space reached out to get a better understanding how Skolnick and his new team were creating an in-demand product. The people asking, quickly became a part of the Five Reasons Sports Network. The growth was happening.  

The Secret

Skolnick isn’t shy about his vision of winning Miami in the next two years. That’s not winning in just the podcast space, that’s winning over every single newspaper and sports radio station in the city. He wants to be the destination for every sports fan in Miami. But what’s his plan to get there? 

Social media is a massive component with Five Reasons Sports Network. It’s probably even fair to say it’s the livelihood of the brand with how much emphasis is put on it. 

“We generate anywhere between 5-10 million impressions a month off our Twitter account,” Skolnick said. “Basically by posting polls throughout the day, retweeting everybody’s episodes and posting other content.”

Image result for five reasons network twitter

The Five Reasons Sports Network Twitter account has a little over 12,000 followers. With that page, as well as the other podcaster’s pages, Skolnick feels he’s captured every South Florida sports fan who’s on Twitter. The goal isn’t just to bombard the internet with local sports content, it’s to capture the audience in a way the other outlets in the city are failing to reach. That’s by owning Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and every other social media platform that’s out there. 

“We want South Florida content that’s quick-hitting and draws people in,” said Skolnick. “That’s what I want and I also think that’s what people want these days. I know who we’re competing with, because I worked at all of them and they haven’t taken us seriously yet. We completely out-work them on Twitter and they don’t engage, just post.

“I’m a little stunned they’ve watched us do this, because everyone knows about us here now. We’re credentialed with all the teams. The arrogance of traditional media, which has always been the case, has been really good for us. We’re just building, building, building, and eventually as they regress the advertising money will start to come to us. That’s when things start to really happen.”

The Podcasts

12 total podcasts can be found on the Five Reasons Sports Network. From covering the Heat with the Five on the Floor podcast to A Canes Thing that covers the Miami Hurricanes to even a few podcasts that focus more on culture, South Florida coverage is locked up with multiple podcasts. With Skolnick and other hosts having big connections in the sports world, you’ll often hear riveting content as well as big name guests that both play and cover a respective sport. 

Five Reasons will put its ability to pump podcasts on social media against anyone. But, more importantly, it will put its content against anyone else, too. 

“The consumers want content on demand,” said Skolnick. “They want content that’s tailored to them, on their schedule and they want to be able to stop it and go back to it later. The biggest thing I always tell people about podcasting, literally, if you’re in the car and you have your GPS on, the podcast will stop for you until the GPS is done talking. The radio doesn’t do that. 

“Honestly there’s no reason to listen to radio over podcast anymore. I don’t listen to radio anymore and most people who have switched over to us don’t listen to radio anymore either. We studied the numbers on this. 40% of people leave when you go to a seven minute break. I won’t have a break that’s more than one minute on our podcast.”

More than Just Podcasts

Videos, quick-hitting local stories, there’s a lot you’ll find outside of the 12 podcasts featured on Five Reasons Sports Network. For instance, during halftime of last Saturday’s Miami vs. Florida game, two staff members posted a quick video on Twitter with instant thoughts of the first 30 minutes of action. That was met with 10,000 views and 50 retweets. All from a simple video that featured the quick, halftime thoughts of two fans.  

Image result for five reasons miami vs florida first half thoughts

Skolnick even brought in writers that have no podcast duties to write stories on the front page of the website that pertain to local teams. On the front page of fivereasonssports.com you’ll see several local stories with headlines that pop and catch the reader. This isn’t just about audio, the goal is to be the ultimate destination for south Florida sports fans. 

“I brought in all these people and I’m not even paying them a salary,” Skolnick said. “It’s just people who want a platform. Now, I have more than 70 contributors total if you include the website folks. I’m not paying salary to anybody, it’s all self-generated and it’s all people believing in it. The people we have here are incredible.”

Last night on Twitter, a video was put up on the company’s official page that creatively highlighted the brand, along with all the podcasts the network has to offer. From the music, to the highlights, it truly had a professional look and feel to it. Most of the time, there’s money and resources that go into making a video like that but Skolnick revealed it was made by a newly hired intern who did it for free. Though it’s just one video, it’s the tireless work of free help that’s put the network in the situation it’s in. 

https://twitter.com/5ReasonsSports/status/1166528076911644673

Expansion 

Though the goal is to win Miami, that doesn’t mean the dream stops there. In fact, the end goal might be to win all of Florida. Initially, Skolnick wanted to be in Tampa Bay, Orlando, Tallahassee, Gainesville and Jacksonville by the fall. However, time ran out with so many things happening across the network.

That desire only grew deeper after Skolnick was recently approached by a member of the PR staff of the Atlanta Hawks. While he was inside the Hawks’ locker room, the PR man came up to Skolnick and asked when Five Reasons was coming to Atlanta. The thought behind the question, is that the team could use more coverage and the ever-growing network based in south Florida might be just the thing to help. 

But whereas several other podcasts networks have chosen to go national with several different podcasts in several different markets, Five Reasons believes in a localized product. 

“I think we’re the only localized podcast network in the country,” said Skolnick. “There’s a lot of national ones, but what I found with those, is that, and this is no disrespect to any of them, I’m friends with a lot of people who run them, but it’s very difficult to understand what the local podcast needs.”

Though expansion is in the cards for Five Reasons, don’t expect a move to a market considerably bigger than Miami. Why? Skolnick is adamant about not going to Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia or Los Angeles because it’s too competitive and the other media outlets in those cities are still relatively healthy. 

“To me, this only works from the ground up in places like South Florida, north central Florida or Atlanta,” said Skolnick. “Places that don’t have the healthiest or most competitive media operations.”

Merchandise

If you’re able to sell merchandise in the sports media world, it’s a sure sign you have a pretty healthy audience. Almost always a profitable venture, Five Reasons Sports Network has ventured into selling merchandise such as shirts, hats, jackets and even socks on its website. 

“It’s really done well and that’s an easy play for us,” said Skolnick. “I’m very lucky, because a lot of the guys we have are really talented in doing other things. One of the producers of our podcasts, happens to be an extraordinarily good designer that works really fast. When something happens in sports or Miami sports, he literally sends me a T-shirt in the next hour.”

Talk about a potential money making venture. With the cheap cost of making a T-shirt combined with a designer that’s already on staff and puts out creations at a given notice, Five Reasons has found a source of revenue that most in its spot strive for. 

“Some of the stuff we do is for giveaways at watch parties to help with our name building,” Skolnick said. “But when we have a player who’s hot like Preston Williams for the Dolphins, who has taken off as an undrafted free agent, my guy will just send me a design in an hour and we get it up. We just react to trends. Some people may regret buying a shirt if he doesn’t make the team but we’re just trying to have fun with it and be current.”

Monetizing

Ahh, the real question, right?

Everything might sound good up to this point, but how do you make money with it. Well, for starters, Five Reasons Sports Network is already off to a great start with the merchandise sales it has. No, that probably can’t fund the entire network’s ambitious plans, but it’s a steady stream of revenue that can be used. But as for finding money for podcasts, there’s many out there wondering how they can be profitable, even if the download rates are high. 

“Well, this has been the hardest part right?” said Skolnick. “It always is, the monetizing. We’ve kind of gone about it a couple of different ways. I had an ad firm and it didn’t really work out, they just weren’t in position to sell us properly. We didn’t have the numbers at that point to really make it worth their while and drop their other business. 

But what I did, was I went to Twitter and found people with sales experience who are already engaging with us and I’ve been giving them commission to sell us, so they reach out to the companies for me.”

Five Reasons’ plan to sell has landed with good reception. Bigger companies such as AutoNation and BetDSI have signed on, as well as local car dealerships and several south Florida restaurants. Combine that with ads soon coming on the website and the network just might have a solid path to carving out a nice pay day. 

“Are we where we need to be, no, but that is the big push,” Skolnick said. “But my point is that we’re not just selling podcasts, we’re selling content. That means video, tweets, podcasts, it means several things. There’s a lot of different ways you can make money off this.”

Final Word from Skolnick

Though Skolnick might be the face of the company, he strives to make it very clear it’s not just about him. In fact, he says it’s very little about him.

Image result for five reasons network miami

“There are so many people who are devoting a lot of their time, a lot of it for free, this is about having really talented contributors that should have been snapped up by other outlets. And we’re so fortunate to have them. It amazes me the work they put in.”

The journey is just beginning and nowhere near being completed, but thanks are still in order to the people who helped get the company off the ground. 

“Chris Wittyngham is no longer with us,” Skolnick said. “He was my original partner and he did incredible work to get us started he just decided to pursue soccer play-by-play full-time, which he’s really good at. He’s a really talented person. His role was really major.”

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

BSM Writers

Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

Avatar photo

Published

on

photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

BSM Writers

Andrew Salciunas Aims to Thrive in Morning Drive on 97.5 The Fanatic

“We are two radio guys that kind of know what we’re doing.”

Derek Futterman

Published

on

Andrew Salciunas
Courtesy: Beasley Media Group

When 97.5 The Fanatic midday host Anthony Gargano agreed to a deal to contribute to PHLY Sports, a local digital venture within ALLCITY Network, he was promptly suspended by Beasley Media Group and subsequently sued for breach of contract. Although the two sides eventually reached a settlement and officially parted ways, the future of the daypart was still in question. In the interim time period, the station granted Andrew Salciunas the opportunity to lead a four-hour solo program with producer Ray Dunne. Salciunas had served as Gargano’s producer in the midday slot and still has a strong relationship with the sports media personality today despite no longer working together.

The onerous aspect of the situation, however, was in recognizing that Salciunas was being afforded a chance to prove himself as a host in the marketplace. In the past, he had filled in when Gargano took vacations, but it was not for an extended period of time. Although he was familiar with the flow of a midday program, achieving a successful, yet sudden assimilation into a regular timeslot without a partner was an invigorating circumstance.

“I knew that it was going to be a learning experience because it’s one thing to host a show on Saturday or it’s one thing to host a weekly podcast and you have a week’s worth of content at your disposal,” Salciunas said. “It’s another thing to [be] hosting every single day and needing to come up with new ideas and new angles and new twists on things, so it was a challenge knowing that I was going to have to do that for however long the process was going to be.”

Salciunas received help from program director Scott Masteller, a sports radio veteran who has helped elevate brands and nurture budding talent. Several months later, Masteller asked Salciunas how he would feel about working with morning program host John Kincade. Salciunas replied by saying that it was something he would be interested in doing, and he later added that he already wakes up early and could easily work in morning drive. Salciunas was somewhat nonplussed when he discovered that Masteller’s intention was to have him anchor the program rather than Kincade, who has been hosting in the daypart since January 2021.

In the weeks and months ensuing, Salciunas and Kincade were involved in meetings to plan the new program, which officially made its debut on 97.5 The Fanatic last week and is titled Kincade & Salciunas. Both hosts knew about the program for roughly two months, and Salciunas is surprised that it was kept a secret for as long as it was. Outside of their scheduled meetings, Salciunas was able to speak with Kincade between their shows since they occurred after the other as well. From the onset, he wanted to make his thoughts about the program clear to ensure a smooth transition amid a quest to inform and entertain the audience.

“The first thing I told John when they told us that this was the plan moving forward was that, ‘This is going to be our show,’” Salciunas recalled. “Yes, I might be the guy running the ins and outs out of commercial breaks. I’m the guy that brings on the guests; I’m the guy that brings on the callers, but this is our show. We both have ideas, we’re both passionate about Philadelphia sports teams, we’re both high-energy people, we’re both opinionated and we’re also respectful of each other.”

While there is natural disagreement between Salciunas and Kincade on a variety of sports topics, they make sure not to fabricate their discussions and engender debate for the sake of the show. Instead of feigning their contrarian discourse, there is a legitimate willingness to be genuine with their audience while continuing to put radio first. Salciunas, Kincade and show producer Connor Thomas all contribute ideas for the program to appeal to the audience and continue building the show as a whole. Thomas also had familiarity in working with Kincade since he served as an associate producer on his previous morning program.

“I’m not a former journalist; he’s not a former professional athlete,” Salciunas said. “We are two radio guys that kind of know what we’re doing. Even though our opinions might differ on sports-related stuff, we see doing radio in a similar way.”

Upon Kincade officially joining 97.5 The Fanatic, he demonstrated his magnanimity and commitment to his colleagues by offering to take all of them out to lunch individually to learn more about them. It was a gesture that surprised Salciunas and something that stuck with him, ultimately helping familiarize themselves with one another and subsequently creating a viable on-air product.

“He’s one of those guys who likes getting to know people, and I think that’s helped a lot,” Salciunas said. “We already had that sort of knowledge of one another [and] we already had that relationship, and because we’re just both so bought in and both so hungry, that’s made it so much easier that we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make the show work.”

Before arriving at 97.5 The Fanatic, Kincade had worked at sports radio both at the local and national levels while also hosting a podcast with Hall of Fame center and Inside the NBA studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal. Bringing him back to his home marketplace and realizing success in the morning daypart was valuable as the sports media ecosystem underwent stretches of change. Transitioning to the new morning show iteration without colleagues Bob Cooney and Pat Egan presented its challenges, but Salciunas has had no qualms that Kincade was invested to win. As a result, the transition has been relatively simple in terms of building palpable chemistry among the on-air team.

“He believes in anybody that he works with,” Salciunas said of Kincade, “and knowing that somebody has worked that long as long as he has in sports radio that he values the young person’s opinion, not just in sports but in terms of radio, that goes a long way.”

There is constant communication between the morning show team leading up to a program outside of typical pre-show meetings and twice-weekly conversations with their boss. Salciunas arrives at the station well before the start of the program and compiles ideas from the previous day into a document, along with ideas from others that come during their commutes. Additionally, they continuously monitor the news cycle and determine what to address on the air while also interviewing special guests throughout the week.

Effectuating a fully prepared show rundown by 6 a.m. EST has been marginally difficult, along with the fact that it can be difficult to book guests on short notice before sunrise. Because of this, the program frequently outlines its guests early in the week and makes adjustments as necessary while maintaining fealty towards conveying their true, authentic personalities.

“I’m a little bit more energetic on the radio because I understand the entertainment portion of doing what we do and having to properly express myself,” Salciunas said. “I’m probably not going to scream at a bar, but when I converse with callers; when I converse with John [or] producers… that’s who I am as a person. There’s just a microphone in front of me.”

When he first started working at 97.5 The Fanatic as an intern, Salciunas did not have a goal of eventually becoming an on-air talent. He was content with his role as a producer, which was borne out of an internship where he worked with Jon Marks and Steve Vassalotti. Both station members served as mentors that he utilized to gain information and advice, a fortuitous outcome after Salciunas impetuously applied for the opening.

While Salciunas was matriculating at Temple University, he needed at least three internship credits in order to qualify for graduation. Reflecting back on his education days, he does not regard himself as the best student and recognized that he needed to intern with the radio station to set himself apart. Honing his focus in sports media took time since he had varied interests in areas such as reporting, podcasting and play-by-play announcing, but he ultimately gravitated towards the sports radio format during his time in Philadelphia.

Salciunas made a favorable impression on those with 97.5 The Fanatic and ended up being hired as an associate producer where he learned more about the format and its programming. Eric Camille, a former executive producer at the station, is someone Salciunas regards as seminal to his professional development.

“He was the guy that hired me out of my internship, and then once I started working, he really helped me,” Salciunas said. “He kind of took me under his wing and helped me out a lot.”

Once Salciunas was hired as a full-time producer, he began to work with Mike Missanelli on his midday program, providing an invaluable learning experience to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the sports media industry. As a veteran host who has captivated Philadelphia sports fans and media consumers at large, Salciunas noticed that collaborating on Missanelli’s program was a different experience than the other shows he had done. Whereas a morning drive show is oftentimes one of the first points of reaction on a given day, Missanelli knew that he would need to approach his daypart differently and adopted a paradigmatic style implementing second-level topics.

“It’s not just going on the air and reacting to an Eagles loss,” Salciunas explained. “It’s reacting to a storyline within an Eagles loss or reacting to a storyline within an Eagles win that may generate conversation. Trying to figure out topics that generate conversation but are not just the, ‘Oh wow, I’m angry they lost today,’ and give out the phone number. It’s [trying] to find topics that make people think and make yourself think and make the audience think.”

When Missanelli left the station, Salciunas began his stint working with Anthony Gargano where he began occasionally hosting select programs. The rationale behind his decision to go behind the microphone was that when the Eagles won a Super Bowl championship, the station needed someone to host from 2 to 5 a.m. Salciunas decided to volunteer for the program, presuming that it sounded fun. From that shift on, he continued his work as a producer while also refining his craft behind the microphone in a major market. It deviated from a philosophy perpetuated by former program director Matt Nahigian of limiting the amount of time producers were on the air, assuming that consumers listened to hear the hosts.

“Now you have to be a producer,” Salciunas affirmed. “You look at both radio stations in Philadelphia – a lot of the hosts now were former producers, and so you learn so much of the craft and then you figure out your own role. You figure out how you handle yourself as a host, so I think producing first before becoming a talk show host should be the way to go moving forward.”

Beasley Media Group’s 97.5 The Fanatic shares the Philadelphia marketplace with Audacy-owned SportsRadio 94WIP, and both stations have had intense battles in the ratings over the years. Salciunas shared that most people between the two stations have worked with their competitors at some point in their careers, and there is an evident respect that exists between the two entities. With both outlets introducing new morning shows within the last two years though, Salciunas understands there is a chance to gain ground on the WIP Morning Show, which finished ahead in the four Nielsen XTrends quarterly ratings books last year.

“Clearly if somebody’s behind a microphone in Philadelphia, everybody’s talented, and we’re going to do whatever we can to try to bridge that gap a little bit, and we’re seeing some good strides already,” Salciunas said. “I think having a new show is a big part of that trying to grab that initial audience, but then it’s holding on to that initial audience.”

Being able to achieve this outcome, however, requires a commitment to showcasing talent and different personalities. Salciunas referenced how there was a point in John Kincade’s stint hosting mornings in the daypart’s previous iteration where he gained ground on his crosstown competitor Angelo Cataldi with WIP. Kincade, of course, used to work with Cataldi’s show as a contributor and received a chance to take the air while with the outlet.

“I’ve seen the turn of tides of ratings over the years for every show [and] every time slot, so there’s always an opportunity, but that means we always have to be on our game; that means we always have to be doing the best show possible,” Salciunas said. “We can’t go in the next day and say, ‘Wow, that show was really good yesterday. Let’s have some fun today; let’s make this a lighthearted show.’ No, we always have to be thinking about, ‘Alright, what can we do next to put on another great entertaining four-hour radio show?’”

Over the last several years, there have been several leadership changes at 97.5 The Fanatic responsible for overseeing the slate of programming and station operations. Scott Masteller currently leads the outlet, someone in whom Salciunas has confidence that he can continue to elevate the standing of the station. In his earlier years working with 97.5 The Fanatic, Salciunas had an innovative spirit but was discouraged from taking steps to align with the multimedia evolution. For example, when he offered to do a podcast several years ago, someone at the station questioned his judgment and the reasoning behind the idea.

“I was told by someone, ‘What’s the point in doing that? We’re a radio station,’ and I knew back then that that was a mistake to say,” Salciunas explained. “You shouldn’t say, ‘We’re a radio station;’ that was years ago, so seeing that bosses and market managers and hosts and producers all realizing, ‘Alright, we have to adapt,’ that excites me.”

Possessing the background as a producer lends shrewd and calculated judgment on how to include members of the audience into the program. While there are still open phone lines for callers to chime in, the program has introduced a text line and also engages with the audience through the live chat functionality of YouTube. Having Thomas as a producer of the show has helped in this area as well, with Salciunas sharing that he has a strong understanding of how to create and optimize content for various platforms of dissemination.

“We have a great YouTube audience where they basically have their own community all of a sudden,” Salciunas said. “They’re constantly talking about the show, and sometimes we grab what they’re saying on that YouTube feed because that’s another area of today’s new media where you have another avenue to communicate with people.”

As Salciunas grows accustomed to the early start on 97.5 The Fanatic and his new colleagues in morning drive, he is filled with enthusiasm and the prospect of possibility. The radio station has been the only outlet by which he has been employed since the start of his media career, and he hopes to work there for as long as possible. National radio and television intrigue him going forward, but his priority centers on thriving in the new role.

“I want to try to get 97.5 The Fanatic – because it starts in the morning – back up in the map; back in the top five of the ratings books – and that’s going to take some time,” Salciunas said. “We’re a new show – we’re going to have to figure each other out.”

Salciunas expressed that the last year-and-a-half has been “hectic” in the midday daypart, but there has also been excitement surrounding the ephemerality as well. Taking the microphone in a major market with a dedicated sports fanbase such as Philadelphia is a privilege he does not take for granted, and he aspires to continue excelling in the marketplace for years to come.

“I just started, so I’m not thinking about the next step just yet,” Salciunas said. “I want this to last for a long time – for a very long time. If I never have to leave, that would be great.”

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

BSM Writers

An Ode to the Heart and Soul of Barstool Sports — Frank The Tank

If you can simultaneously be the angriest person on the planet, and also be viewed as completely wholesome, you’re doing something right.

Avatar photo

Published

on

A photo of Frank the Tank
(Photo: Barstool Sports)

I’ve written in this space in the past that Barstool Sports is often an enigma to me. Outside of some of the brand’s major stars — like Dave Portnoy, Big Cat, PFT, and Kevin Clancy — I struggle to figure out just who does what at the outlet. But there’s one role I don’t question, and that’s the role of Frank The Tank.

I’m a true believer in the “personality hire” theory. If you’re unaware, it’s the idea that, sometimes, you simply hire a high-energy, positive, great-personality employee who might be underqualified for a job, but will keep morale high inside the office.

And while Frank The Tank doesn’t exactly exude positivity — quite the contrary, most often — you can tell that he’s the heart and soul of the company.

If you’re uninitiated, Frank Fleming — obviously known as Frank The Tank — is an often-viral sensation that pulls off one of the most incredible feats you’ll ever see in modern-day sports media.

If you can simultaneously be the angriest person on the planet, and also be viewed as completely wholesome, you’re doing something right. And that, in a nutshell, is Frank The Tank.

Tank makes no bones about his feelings. Ever. If you ask a question, he’s got an answer, a strong take, and generally a well-thought-out one at that.

In fact, he was discovered by Barstool Sports for his now-infamous rant about the New Jersey Transit Commission and its “incompetence.” He shouted in anger inside a transit hub about the public transportation’s inability to properly inform passengers about updates, resulting in him missing a New York Mets game.

And yet, despite his unbridled anger, you can’t help but sympathize and relate to the man.

Maybe Frank’s most endearing quality is his complete and utter lack of what anyone thinks about him. To sound a bit country for a moment, Frank The Tank’s give a damn is busted. He says what he thinks, when he thinks it, and doesn’t care what you think about it. But it’s never intentionally malicious. It might be harsh, but it always comes with an air of honesty rather than venom. He’s never trying to harm whoever he’s criticizing, but just believes in the age-old “Honesty is the best policy” thought process.

I’ve long enjoyed the clips of Frank, whether it was future NFL Hall of Famer J.J. Watt sharing his admiration for the digital star, or the times he’s often ambushed in the office by the outlet’s digital team to ask questions like “Who are the five most overrated athletes of all-time?”, which results in him rattling off a list you can’t believe was concocted on the spot.

Others are hopping on the bandwagon, too. Late last year, Mike Francesa was introduced to The Tank, and you could instantly see the chemistry and connection between the two. (As a side note, I can’t tell you how invested I’d be in a Mike and The Tank sports show. It’d have to be about half an hour because any longer and Francesa might strangle Frank, but it sure would make for great radio.)

Frank Fleming has turned into a content machine at Barstool Sports. The consummate underdog, Frank The Tank really burst onto the scene with his acceptance speech at the company’s award show, shouting “Never give up your dream!” and sharing the story of his previous life as a court clerk before joining the digital outlet.

But his latest content endeavor might be one of the biggest in Barstool history. Frank Fleming used to weigh over 500 pounds. But now after a walking schedule, he has dropped more than 160 pounds.

The company has turned his walks into a content series, where he converses with sports and media stars, with sponsor attachments throughout the videos. Recent walks include Mike Francesa, Scott Van Pelt, and an upcoming episode with former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.

I began to realize what Frank The Tank meant to Barstool Sports after one recent walk with the outlet’s founder, Dave Portnoy, who admitted he had pegged the digital star all wrong.

“It’s probably one of the most wrong things that I’ve (said). When we hired you, I put you on an innings count,” Portnoy said, inferring he didn’t want Fleming included in much visual content. “I was dead-ass wrong on that one. Gladly wrong.”

You see, Dave Portnoy admitting he’s wrong about something is about as jarring as hearing a kangaroo order an Oreo McFlurry. It just doesn’t happen. And yet, there was, admitting that even he underestimated one of his biggest stars.

And in his response to that, Fleming shared an optimism and a belief in himself.

“I just wanted to go there, get involved, and show what I can do,” Frank The Tank responded to the company’s founder.

In addition to his walks, Frank The Tank also shares videos of his culinary exploits on his personal YouTube page, which now features nearly 50,000 subscribers. Even my wife enjoys sitting down and seeing what The Tank is going to whip up on each edition of Tank Cooks.

There’s a sense of protection around Fleming from other Barstool personalities. In a company that is often maligned for how it treats each other and those who criticize the outlet, you can tell those at the digital juggernaut look out for Frank.

When his personal phone number was leaked on the internet in 2022, most other employees inside the company would have been inundated with calls and messages because others at the outlet had encouraged the harassment as a practical joke.

But when it happened to Frank, a complete onslaught of messages from bloggers and video and podcast hosts begging those to stop messaging the digital star.

And that, to me, shows the role of Frank The Tank at the often-controversial outlet. He’s rarely, if ever, controversial. He’s humble, he’s honest, he’s angry, and he’s wholesome. Frank The Tank is a virtual walking conundrum, and that alone shows why he’s the heart and soul of Barstool Sports.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Advertisement

Upcoming Events

Barrett Media Writers

Copyright © 2024 Barrett Media.