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The NFL Draft Is Over, Now What For Sports Radio?

“What I’m realizing is day-to-day we sort of have this blank canvas and we can paint whatever the heck we want on it!”

Demetri Ravanos

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It’s been more than a month since Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell tested positive for Covid-19. The next day, March 12, was the last time we saw live sports of any sort. The NBA was the first to call off the action. Then it was the NCAA basketball tournament. The NHL, MLS, and Major League Baseball all followed suit.

Since that happened, we have written a lot about how it was time for sports radio hosts to plunge the depths of their creativity and show listeners just how valuable they are even without games to talk about. It’s not that the sentiment was untrue, but it is easier to be creative when there’s an anchor like the NFL Draft. It is a major sports story, especially for the cities involved, that you can always come back to to avoid straying too far off the reservation.

For some shows, it doesn’t matter what else is happening in the world. Their market is a football town. Despite what sport is in season and playing live games, those hosts would still be devoting a lot of time to the NFL Draft.

Doug and Wolf is one of those shows. The morning men on Arizona Sports 98.7 say they would have certainly been working in some talk about the Diamondbacks and maybe the NCAA Tournament, but the Cardinals are the local team that drives the bus. Doug Franz told me that the only thing Covid-19 changed about his show’s draft coverage is that they didn’t have the ability to make some bits sound as polished as they’d have liked.

“We have been mostly an NFL/Cardinals show for a long, long time. It plays the hits here. It’s what this market wants, so we were all draft all the time.”

For others, deep dives on prospects and mock drafts represented welcomed new territory to mine in a sports desert. Jonathan Zaslow of 790 the Ticket says he and partner Amber Wilson have never pretended to be draft experts, and with all Miami has to offer, their show usually doesn’t spend as much time talking about the event as it did this year.

“Miami is not a college football market, and that’s reflected in our TV ratings every year. On top of that, our show is at it’s best when we’re not even talking sports. So, we wouldn’t normally spend a ton of time on the draft on Zaslow and Amber, but, this year was a legit perfect storm for draft talk in Miami. We were all stuck at home, begging for some kind of sporting event to watch…AND, the Dolphins were arguably the most unpredictable team in the draft, centered around the most polarizing player in the draft in [Alabama quarterback Tua] Tagovailoa.”

Tua Tagovailoa Stats, News, Bio | ESPN

At ESPN Cleveland, Aaron Goldhammer told me that the NFL Draft has always had a major presence. After all, most seasons are about what could happen next season for Browns fans.He described the station’s annual draft parties as “sensory overloads”. No amount of talk on a show could make up for the loss of something like that.

“When the Browns took Johnny Manziel a couple of years ago, the video from our draft party went viral,” he says. “I mean hundreds of thousands of views. It was on SportsCenter immediately after with people jumping up and down and hugging each other like the Browns had just won the Super Bowl. It was one of my favorite Cleveland football moments that I have ever been a part of.”

All of ESPN Cleveland’s shows tried to bring that excitement to the air this year. The station was blanketed in draft talk, even launching a new show at night with Tony Grossi called Countdown to the Draft.

Whatever the thinking was previously, all three stations embraced the local team and their roll in the one major, uninterrupted sporting event we knew for certain was left on the 2020 calendar.

That event is over now. So, what comes next? Is there any sports anchor stations can count on being able to come back to or wrap their arms around?

For Zaslow, he says Miami isn’t quite done talking about its new quarterback, although the story has pivoted to something with significantly shorter legs. Some fans had wondered if Tagovailoa would ask to wear 13, which is what he wore at Alabama. It has been retired by the Dolphins in honor of franchise icon Dan Marino.

“We’re all wondering what number Tua is going to wear, because fans want to buy the jersey. He said he’ll wear whatever number they give him, but he didn’t need to assure anyone he wasn’t going to ask for #13, because it’s one of just three numbers the organization has retired.”

Jonathan Zaslow | AM 790 The Ticket

Doug Franz doesn’t mince words when I ask him that question. He says you can’t point to a sports topic as safe harbor. The only way to keep the audience engaged is to have everyone on the show doing their best work. He singles out his producer Erin Maloney as the lynchpin of Doug & Wolf.

“It’s times like these where the best producers are going to shine, and our show is lucky to have one despite how young she is.”

One of the ways that Maloney has shined for Doug & Wolf is by organizing special programming weeks. The station will soon announce a “legends week,” which will see the hosts talking to some of the biggest names in Phoenix sports history. Franz says a programming event like that wouldn’t be possible without a company that has stood behind the show for so long.

“I think this is where we truly benefit from working for a company that didn’t freak out when we had a bad book or two and didn’t act like the world was going to come to an end, because we are in our 14th year together. When you have that kind of feeling for each other and that kind of relationship with the people in the city, you are able to call them up and say ‘Hey, we’re hurting. Bail us out!'”.

All three hosts I spoke with agreed on one thing. Right now, hosts have to be comfortable getting personal. Everyone listening is having a similar experience. There may never have been a better time to share personal stories and connect with your audience on a human level.

“We know our fans in this market. We know the things they find compelling and interesting, even if they’re not specifically in the realm of sports, even if they are related to things about living in this unique time,” Goldhammer says. “What I’m realizing is day-to-day we sort of have this blank canvas and we can paint whatever the heck we want on it!”

Sports isn’t a bad word for Goldhammer and his co-host on The Really Big Show, Tony Rizzo. They are happy, though, not to have the obligations of talking about games or events that may not actually be that important to the Cleveland sports fan. They also know they can offer listeners better entertainment than constantly speculating on when sports comes back.

Aaron Goldhammer of WKNR's 'The Really Big Show' hits the nail on ...

“About a week in, we came up with a mantra for how we are going to approach this time. It is an opportunity for us to have fun in new and different ways that we have never tried before. Let’s liberate ourselves and take the shackles off completely, and let’s see where that can take us.”

Zaslow says he and Amber Wilson were built for an event like this. He compared this time to summer. Miami isn’t a market where sports talk can thrive on baseball alone, so the duo has had plenty of practice with topics outside of a sports audience’s regular expectations.

“I think we’ve always thrived in that spot because we really just want to laugh and have a good time, and make lots of fun of each other,” he says. “She loves her trashy television, I love movies and wrestling. We like talking about past relationships. We even started a new segment on Friday’s called, ‘A Story From Amber’s Dating Past.’

The duo has also added a virtual happy hour for their audience on Thursday nights. Zaslow and Amber isn’t only not worried about a life without sports. They are actively using this time to strengthen their bond with the audience.

“Nothing changes. My job is to entertain people no matter what way I choose to entertain them,” says Franz. He says he told his girlfriend 25 years ago that anything that happens between them is possible fodder for a future show. She is now his wife and Franz says she is on board with the rule.

“Just because sports is gone, that doesn’t change my job. We can’t sit around as talk show hosts and blast GMs who don’t like the NFL Draft because of the new set up and then turn around and then turn around whine about the situation we’re in.”

Franz insists that there is no single story that can drive things going forward like the NFL Draft has for the past month and a half. His parting words from our conversation perfectly encapsulate that and they will be how I end this article.

doug franz (@doug987FM) | Twitter

“It’s our job to create the entertainment value. That is what we’re going to attempt to do.”

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How to Help Your Clients with Low Website Conversions

Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

Jeff Caves

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Graphic for how to increase website conversions
Credit: WPDesigner.Biz

Are your clients dealing with low website conversions? Whenever a marketing campaign is run, and the goal is to convert website visitors into leads, the temptation is to blame low traffic, amongst other issues, for low form fills or appointments being generated.  Just spend more money, you may think! Sometimes, you must look at at least four other potential issues to tackle poor conversion rates. Here are some actionable steps using the IT services industry to increase website conversions.

IT Solutions specializes in providing products, services, or solutions related to technology, particularly in areas such as software development, hardware sales, IT consulting, cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, and digital transformations. They faced challenges with their website conversions. Despite driving substantial traffic through Google Ads and other SEO tactics, they struggled to convert website visitors into form fills for appointment requests. A 2% to 5% conversion rate could be considered reasonable. Of course, conversion rates can vary based on various factors, such as the competitiveness of the local market, the quality of the website (and radio stations help most to fix that) and its user experience, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, and the reputation and offerings of the IT solutions business. Focusing on improving the quality of leads and providing exceptional customer service can be just as crucial as achieving high conversion rates. Don’t blame EVERYTHING on the marketing tactics! 

The Diagnosis

Upon thorough analysis, several critical issues were identified with IT Solutions’ website:

1. High Bounce Rate: Nobody was checking out the business. If 70% or more of website visitors only visit the landing page, that is an issue.  It could be slow loading times, irrelevant content, poor user experience, or unclear calls-to-action that prevent them from wanting to know more about IT Solutions. You can check the bounce rate on the Google Analytics page for the website in the left-hand sidebar, click on “Behavior” to expand the menu, then click on “Site Content,” and finally, click on “Landing Pages.” You’ll see a list of landing pages and their respective bounce rates.

2. Complex Navigation: It was hard to move around the website to find relevant information about IT services, and it was unclear who they were initiating contact with and for what purpose.

3. Unclear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): The website lacked clear and compelling CTAs guiding visitors toward requesting an appointment. Simply stating “click here for an appointment” is like asking for a meeting whenever or without establishing value. Here are 28 CTAs for free.

4. Lengthy Forms: The appointment forms were long, without qualifying information, and requested excessive information upfront, deterring potential leads from completing them.

Action Plan

1. Optimize Landing Pages:

   – Redo high-traffic landing pages with clear messaging and compelling CTAs.

   – Showcase IT Solutions’ services as benefits, making it easier for users to request appointments, thereby increasing user engagement and conversions.

2. Simplify Navigation:

   – Reorganize the menu and add more action-oriented links.

   – Provide additional options for users to access relevant information, such as “Get a free IT Solutions 15-point checkup NOW” and “Take this 5-question survey to diagnose your IT issues,” motivating them to book appointments.

3. Enhance CTAs:

   – Utilize concise and persuasive messaging throughout the website.

   – Encourage visitors to take action, whether requesting a free download about “5 things you can do to solve your IT issues on your own” or “get a free pizza for booking an appointment.”

4. Improve the Form Fill:

   – Add a further line about the number of employees who qualify for incoming leads.

   – Highlight the value of leads based on company size, prioritizing forms with higher potential impact.

Review landing pages, navigation, CTAs, and form experience to address website conversion issues. Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

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‘NHL on TNT’ Gives Hockey Fans the ‘NBA on TNT’ Treatment

Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

John Molori

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NHL on TNT studio

Let’s play a little word association, sports media style. If I say TNT, what is your response? Chances are it will be a three-letter abbreviation of your own, namely, NBA. Over the years, TNT has built a reputation as arguably the premiere network to telecast the National Basketball Association.

The NBA on TNT pregame and halftime shows have become the gold standard with stars like Ernie Johnson, Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it’s not just this quartet of roundball royalty that has fortified TNT’s hoops coverage.

The rep was also built on tremendous play-by-play announcers like Bob Neal and Kevin Harlan, color analysts like Doug Collins and Reggie Miller, and courtside reporters like the late Craig Sager and current sideline star Allie LaForce.

Indeed, TNT and the NBA have become synonymous, but I have some news for you. This network is not just about professional basketball. This past week I went off the grid with TNT looking at their in-game and studio coverage of the NHL.

On March 24, the NHL on TNT provided coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche matchup. Kenny Albert did play-by-play with Eddie Olczyk on color. Albert is not as noted as his legendary broadcasting father Marv Albert, but he has certainly staked his claim as one of the best in the business – able to cross over to multiple sports with equal aplomb.

Hockey is a strong suit for Albert. His rat-tat-tat, drama-building style draws viewers in and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Similarly, Olczyk is one of the top four or five NHL game analysts in the business. His style is understated, providing calm and clear analysis of key plays. They work really well together.

Albert eschews any kind of hackneyed and trite catch phrases for his goal calls. An emphatic, “He shoots and scores!” is plenty enough.

Hockey is a different beast when it comes to play-by-play. Unlike basketball, baseball, football, or even soccer and tennis, there is a minimum of breaks in the action. With hockey, a play-by-play announcer has to know the names of the players like he or she knows her kids’ names.

To me, it is the hardest sport for play-by-play and equally difficult for a color analyst. In basketball, after a team scores, the play-by-play announcer will keep silent and give the color analyst time to talk until the play crosses center court. In baseball and football, there is ample room for commentary.

Hockey does not offer such space, but Olczyk gets the most out of the minimal amount of time. Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

Coming back from a break in the game, Albert and Olczyk provided on air commentary and then tossed to ice level reporter Brian Boucher who has grown into a tremendous asset to the TNT broadcasts. Boucher provided real talk about Colorado’s objectives of staying on top of their division and vying for the top seed in the Western Conference.

The Penguins, squarely in a rebuilding year having dumped talent at the NHL trade deadline, surprisingly jumped out to a 2–0 lead in this game, and the TNT between periods studio crew was all over it. The excellent Liam McHugh hosted alongside Colby Armstrong, Anson Carter, and Keith Yandle.

Armstrong was especially entertaining. With Pittsburgh outshooting the Avs 16-4, Armstrong noted that it’s the best he’s seen Pittsburgh play in a long time. His reasoning was that teams get geared up for playing Colorado even if it’s out of fear. Great stuff.

Both teams tallied two goals in the second period giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame. When Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon set up Jonathan Drouin for a goal to make it 4-3, Albert and Olczyk showed their strengths.

Albert called the pass from MacKinnon and one-timer goal from Drouin, and immediately noted that MacKinnon now had a point in all 34 of Colorado’s home games this season. On the goal replay, Olczyk showed how the play developed pointing out how McKinnon allowed Pittsburgh’s Evgenii Malkin to come in close before making the past to Drouin.

The TNT production team then showed a graphic displaying that McKinnon is now second all-time in longest home points streaks trailing only Wayne Gretzky. This was a sublime sequence of symmetry between talent and technicians like a songwriter, musician, and singer creating beautiful music.

What was supposed to be a blowout win for Colorado had now become a hockey barn burner, and the TNT crew was up to the task. Every goal and key play was followed up with replays from multiple angles showing the genesis of the action.

TNT has certainly taken to the velocity of the hockey broadcast with movement that challenges directors, graphics professionals, and videographers.

When there were breaks in this non-stop action, Olczyk was at his best. No hockey analyst draws on his experience as a player and explains that experience better to viewers. The TNT broadcast also lets Boucher freewheel and join in the flow of discussion without having to be introduced.

TNT does not merely rely on the traditional wide shot of the entire rink. We see close-up shots of each goaltender after a great save and the sweat of players on the bench or in the penalty box.

When McKinnon tied the game at 4-4 with 4:38 left in the third period, we got a series of tremendous crowd shots showing the Colorado fans going absolutely berserk. The sage Albert and Olczyk wisely remained quiet for several seconds, letting the cheers do the talking.

When Drouin scored the game winner at 4:06 of overtime, Albert exercised controlled enthusiasm, raising his voice on the call of the goal, but not becoming the show and overshadowing the play itself. He is definitely in the mold of Dan Kelly, Gary Thorne, and Sean McDonough, announcers who enhance but do not supersede the game.

Putting a cherry on top of this hockey Sunday, TNT showed a graphic that the Avalanche now led the NHL in comeback wins this season with 25 and that they were riding a 9-game winning streak. In analyzing the goal, Olczyk opined that the altitude of playing in Colorado was prevalent as the Penguins seemed to tire as the game progressed – really interesting insight.

In the postgame show, Anson Carter made a great point that the chemistry between Drouin and MacKinnon stems from the fact that they have been playing together going back to junior hockey. McKinnon joined in from the arena for a postgame interview. The analysts asked solid questions and even did a funny MVP chant together as the interview ended.

The NHL on TNT takes no back seat to its elder NBA sister. The broadcast provides viewers with flash, dash, and serious hockey talk from every angle – in studio, from the broadcast booth, and on the ice.

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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.

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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.

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