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Former Host Jim Moore Dissects Changes At 710 ESPN Seattle

“Jim Moore was laid off in November after ten years with 710 ESPN Seattle.”

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For the second time in less than a year, 710 ESPN Seattle is going thru a lineup change. It was announced last week that Danny and Gallant were out and Mike Salk would return to morning drive.

On Monday, the station’s former afternoon host Jim Moore weighed in on the environment inside the Bonneville building in Seattle.

“I guess that was a cost-cutting and going-in-a-different-direction move, combined with the hope that the return of Mike Salk will spark 710’s sagging ratings,” Moore said in a column for the Tacoma News Tribune.

He candidly described having a tense relationship with Salk during Salk’s time as the station’s program director. Moore shared a story which began with him trying to offer Salk empathy and ended with Salk taking a shot at him.

When he returned from his rough stint in Boston, I went into his office and told him I felt bad for him and while fishing for words, I said that it probably wouldn’t have gone well for me in Boston, either.

“Let’s face it, Jim, you’d suck anywhere but Seattle,” Salk said.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It sounded like something you’d say behind someone’s back, not to his face, and in a weird way I kind of respected him for it.

All I could come up with was:

“That’s not very nice, Mike.”

And he said: “But it’s true, isn’t it?

Jim Moore, The News Tribune, September 6, 2021

Moore was laid off in November after ten years with 710 ESPN Seattle. So, while he recounts some of what he has heard is going on inside the station, it is important to note that he has not been with Bonneville Seattle in ten months.

Kyle Brown replaced Salk as the program director at 710 in 2019. At that time, Salk moved into a senior programming role overseeing all of Bonneville’s talk brands. He has since relinquished his management duties, but Moore still believes Salk had a say in ending Danny & Gallant.

I don’t buy that for a minute. Brown’s and Salk’s boss, Cathy Cangiano, deferred to Salk all the time when I was there, and I’m guessing he had a lot of input with the decision to pink slip O’Neil and Gallant.

Since he’s replacing them with the debut of ‘The Mike Salk Show’ on Tuesday, it wouldn’t look very good if he were even perceived as the least bit responsible for the firings.

jim moore, the news tribune, September 6, 2021

Another former employee of 710 ESPN Seattle weighed in as well. Former producer Jessamyn McIntyre shared a screenshot of Moore’s column on Twitter and used “#leadership” in her post. It would seem to indicate a dig at how Salk and/or Bonneville Seattle ran the station.

The Mike Salk Show is set to debut on Tuesday of this week. For all involved with the station and show, the sooner the better, as it’ll take the focus off the changes and put it on their actual content.

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Greg Papa: ‘These Are Rough Times’ After KNBR Cuts

“Murph, I’ve known forever, going back to the A’s days. These are rough times. Things change.”

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A photo of Greg Papa
(Photo: KNBR)

Late Wednesday, it was unveiled that KNBR had undergone a series of cost-cutting measures that eliminated the jobs of morning co-host Paul McCaffrey and evening host F.P. Santangelo. KNBR midday host Greg Papa reflected on the changes Thursday morning.

To open Papa and Lund, Greg Papa took the opportunity to address the elephant in the room.

“With Murph and Mac, and Pauly, I’ve been on with them every Friday since I started working with the Niners in 2019, and we hardly ever talked football,” Papa said. “It was always about other things and coming to the studio and getting to know them. Murph, I’ve known forever, going back to the A’s days. These are rough times. Things change. Look at what’s going on with the RSNs in the country. Certainly, terrestrial radio is feeling the brunt of it for a number of factors.”

John Lund agreed, calling McCaffrey “one of my favorites”.

Fill-in host Deiter Kurtenbach hosted the morning show Thursday in place of Brian Murphy. Papa joked that the fill-in host needed a better understanding of radio if he’s going to have the job full-time.

“For Deiter, if you’re going to be on in the morning, you gotta get on the clock better. We can’t start at 10:08 AM. You get a false start right away.”

It is unclear what Murphy’s role with KNBR will be going forward. The station has removed him from its website, and he has yet to comment publicly about his future. Kurtenbach said this morning he would host the morning timeslot for the remainder of the week.

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NASCAR President ‘Can’t Overstate’ Importance of New TV Deal

“Everyone talks about getting younger and we’re no different…We have, but we have to keep going…”

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A photo of Steve Phelps and the NASCAR logo
(Photo: NASCAR)

Yesterday, NASCAR announced a new television deal with 10 races split between new partners Amazon Prime Video and TNT. NASCAR President Steve Phelps says you can’t overstate the importance of new partnerships.

In an interview with Sports Business Journal, Phelps admitted the agreements with TNT — and it’s Max streaming service — and Amazon Prime Video are focused on reaching a younger audience.

“I don’t think you can overstate how important it is,” Phelps said. “Everyone talks about getting younger and we’re no different. Have we had success over the last three years getting younger and more diverse? We have, but we have to keep going and we have to meet those potential fans where they are, whether that’s our Netflix show that’s going to come out early next year or what’s going to happen with here.

“Amazon is going to do some different content-related things going into 2025 and … our expectation is Warner Bros. Discovery is going to plug us into Bleacher Report, House of Highlights, and other channels that will start to promote NASCAR. Because, honestly, we haven’t had a lot of that. Now they’re a partner and see us as a partner and there’s going to be a mandate to promoting NASCAR, and that to me is really important and it speaks to the changing landscape of where media consumption is going specifically.”

Phelps continued by saying it was “one of the most important, if not the most important” contracts of his career, noting that the new deal was about more than just money.

“It was critical – even past dollars. Are they important? Of course, but it’s really about having these distribution outlets that are just incredible. The reach these five companies have is incredible.”

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SiriusXM and MLB Sign Extension Through 2028

“We’re very proud to continue Baseball’s rich history of reaching fans through their radios.”

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A photo of the SiriusXM and MLB logos

SiriusXM and Major League Baseball have announced an extension of their partnership that goes through the 2028 MLB season.

Every MLB game will remain available to SiriusXM subscribers on their car radios and in the SiriusXM app. The new deal also ensures that MLB Network Radio will continue through the 2028 season.

“We’re very proud to continue Baseball’s rich history of reaching fans through their radios. Today, we’re delivering those fans the sounds of the game through SiriusXM’s state-of-the-art platforms in the car and on the SiriusXM app,” said SiriusXM President and Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein.

“Being able to hear their team’s announcers is important to fans, and no matter where you are listening from across North America, you’ll get access to every team’s broadcast for every game on SiriusXM. Couple this with the best daily talk and analysis of the game on the MLB Network Radio channel and SiriusXM is a must-have for baseball fans, and will be for years to come.”

The new agreement continues the relationship between SiriusXM and MLB that dates back to the 2005 season.

“The collection of MLB game presentations and content that has developed through our extended relationship with SiriusXM has been a powerful asset in making our game more accessible to fans wherever they are,” said MLB Executive Vice President of Media & Business Development Kenny Gersh.

“The sounds of Baseball are an important part of our story and we’re proud to continue to work with SiriusXM as they advance and grow the MLB streaming experience for fans on their platforms.”

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