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ESPN 1000, The Score In Tight Winter Ratings Race

“According to Nielsen Audio, both stations tied for tenth place with a 3.3 share in weekday prime (M-F 6a – 7p). Year-over-year it represented a decline for The Score and a slight uptick for ESPN 1000.”

Brandon Contes

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Chicago’s sports radio listenership might not have been spectacular last quarter, but the winter ratings book proved to be a tight race for Chi-Town’s 670 The Score and ESPN 1000. 

According to Nielsen Audio, both stations tied for tenth place with a 3.3 share in weekday prime (M-F 6a – 7p). Year-over-year it represented a decline for The Score and a slight uptick for ESPN 1000. The Score won the full week with a 3.1, good for a 14th place tie, but ESPN 1000 was not far behind. In his first full book as market manager for Mike Thomas, Good Karma’s ESPN 1000 finished with a 2.8 share. 

In morning drive, The Score’s Mully and Haugh finished tied for seventh with a 4.5, down from 2019’s 7.7 during the winter book. ESPN 1000’s simulcast of the nationally syndicated Golic and Wingo saw a ratings increase from a year ago, earning a 3.8 share. 

From 9a – noon, ESPN 1000’s David Kaplan led The Score by more than a full point. Kap & Company did a 3.5 share, while the final book for Dan Bernstein and Connor McKnight as a duo produced a 2.4 rating. McKnight was unfortunately laid off earlier this month, as part of cost cutting efforts from Entercom to combat economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bernstein has continued the midday show as a solo host. 

The noon – 2p timeslot again went to ESPN 1000 as Carmen & Jurko finished 12th with a 3.2 share, but Laurence Holmes wasn’t far behind, earning 2.9 rating for The Score.

Rounding out the weekday lineup, The Score topped ESPN 1000 in another close race for afternoon drive. From 2p – 6p The Score’s Dan McNeil and Danny Parkins finished tied for eighth with a 3.4 rating, while ESPN 1000’s popular duo of Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman garnered a 3.2. It was a decline of about a point for both shows year-over-year. 

Both stations have lineups filled with entertaining and versatile hosts that can create good content even without a full slate of live sports. It will be interesting to see how the two brands are able to keep the audience’s attention in the spring book, considering the pandemic-forced sports stoppage.

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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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Logo for Compass Media Networks

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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Charley Steiner Injured; Tim Neverett to Handle Dodgers Radio Play-by-Play

“This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

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photo of Charley Steiner
Courtesy: Los Angeles Dodgers

As the Los Angeles Dodgers get set to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in their first home game on Thursday, team play-by-play voice Charley Steiner has revealed he will not be doing games at the beginning of the season due to a severe back injury.

Through the Dodgers, Steiner posted a statement which said, “Over the winter, I landed on the Injured List with three compound fractures in my back. (I don’t recommend it.) With the start of the baseball season upon us, the Dodgers are ready to go – but I’m not. This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes. I look forward to returning to the mic later this season. In the meantime, go Dodgers!”

TrueBlueLA.com reports Tim Neverett will handle play-by-play duties while Steiner recovers. Neverett called the first two regular season games with Rick Monday as the Dodgers started the season in South Korea. Neverett and Monday did not travel with the team, however, they called those games in a studio back home.

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