Sports Radio News

Colin Cowherd: Checking Your Ratings Doesn’t Make Them Better

“I think sometimes managers try to outthink the room and try to out-clever the room. The audiences tells you what they like – listen.”

Published

12 months ago

December 12, 2022

Jordan Bondurant

colin-cowherd-zion-williamson | Barrett Media

Colin Cowherd has a formula for his success, and he’s not diverting away from it.

In an appearance on the podcast Math and Magic with Bob Pittman, Cowherd talked about a range of topics from his upbringing, to being a business owner and the media industry as a whole.

Cowherd was asked about how some in sports media thrive on constant debate, and he said raucous back and forth has never been his forte.

“I’m not a debate guy. I’ve never watched really a debate show,” he said. “I’m not interested in that format. I don’t want to manufacture opinions to justify our rating. I don’t have a problem with people doing that. It just doesn’t interest me. I don’t find it compelling.”

Colin added that his angle has always been centered on digging into finding answers for major storyline and understanding how games ended the way they did. He’s never been interested in being considered a flamethrower.

“I don’t see myself as that,” he said. “I think I’m self-deprecating, I think my audience knows I’m trying to find interesting angles but there’s certainly room for that in the marketplace. I’m just not that guy.”

When it comes to his broadcast style, whether it be on his FOX Sports Radio show or on his podcast for The Volume, Cowherd has always tried to go above and beyond for the listener.

“I get 9-11 minutes of you in a car. I’m not gonna ramble. I respect you, and I want to earn your respect,” he said. “I want to take you somewhere you haven’t been – on a trip, on a journey through a story. So when it’s over and you get out of your car, it’s almost like a column – lede, meat, wrap it up at the end. And I feel like there’s too much rambling in radio and not enough true storytelling with a beginning, a middle and an end. It closes. Take people somewhere!”

Colin offered some simple advice to other leaders in the advertising and programming space when it comes to figuring out how to connect with an audience.

“Don’t think you’re smarter than the public. If the people like Diet Coke, give them Diet Coke,” he said. “I think sometimes managers try to outthink the room and try to out-clever the room. The audiences tells you what they like – listen.”

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.

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Sports Radio News

Jim Rome: I Don’t Want to Talk About How the NFL Sucks Every Day

Rome argued that “hate is the new dopamine” while noting that he doesn’t want to talk about what he hates all day.

Published

8 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

(Photo: CBS Sports Radio)

Jim Rome didn’t want to have to be that guy on Tuesday, but he had no choice.

Rome opened his CBS Sports Radio show by prefacing his comments on Monday night’s Bears/Vikings game by saying his goal isn’t to just ridicule the NFL schedule into oblivion.

“I don’t come in here every single day looking to bag on and hate on NFL primetime games,” Rome said. “And yes, I’m the one who said it – hate is the new dopamine. But that’s not how I get down. That’s not my deal.”

Jim Rome added that just saying everything sucks isn’t a sports take. But he pivoted from there saying that it’s OK to say 95% of the primetime games in the NFL suck because it’s true.

“Then not only is it a take, it’s the only take,” he said. “How are these games actually managing in primetime to get worse and worse? And how is anything going to top the atrocity that we sat through last night?”

Fans in theory should get a more competitive, high-scoring affair on Thursday night when the Seahawks take on the Cowboys. But Rome just couldn’t believe how torturous Monday night’s contest really was.

“Technically, the Bears did win that game. But technically, really, we all lost,” he said.

Jordan Bondurant

Sports Radio News

Mad Dog: Gus Johnson ‘Bothered The Hell Out of Me’ Saturday

“For crying out loud, Michigan/Ohio State isn’t even better than North Carolina/Duke, who play twice a year. So let’s be careful with the hype machine.”

Published

16 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BSM Staff

(Photo: SiriusXM)

FOX Sports college football voice Gus Johnson has made no bones about his affinity for Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. However, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has heard enough.

During his Mad Dog Unleashed program on SiriusXM, Russo shared that not only was Johnson obnoxious for the constant use of a nickname he bestowed up Harrison, but he was also misguided for calling Ohio State/Michigan the greatest rivalry in sports.

“Gus Johnson — the hype machine that he is — please, when you broadcast a ballgame, I don’t need to hear about Maserati Marv, number one. And number two, that’s not the greatest rivalry in sports history. Have you heard of the Yankees and the Red Sox? Giants and the Dodgers? How about Bears/Packers? Have you heard about that?

“For crying out loud, Michigan/Ohio State isn’t even better than North Carolina/Duke, who play twice a year. So let’s be careful with the hype machine. That bothered the hell out of me.”

When a caller pushed back on Russo’s opinion on the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry, he continued by saying “That rivalry’s not Yankees/Red Sox. To compare college football to the Yankees and the Red Sox is ludicrous.”

BSM Staff

Sports Radio News

Nashville Predators Radio Voice Pete Weber Calling 2,000th Game Tuesday

“I always wanted to be there for the birth of a team. I feel like I’ve been a pretty fair midwife here.”

Published

16 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BSM Staff

(Photo: Nashville Predators)

Nashville Predators radio voice Pete Weber is set to hit a career milestone Tuesday, as he’ll call his 2,000th game for the NHL franchise.

Weber told The Tennessean that he has relished the opportunity to be the voice of a team since its inception. He claimed he applied for and was a finalist for the radio play-by-play job when the Carolina Panthers were conceived, before ultimately landing with the Predators.

“I always wanted to be there for the birth of a team,” said Weber. “I feel like I’ve been a pretty fair midwife here.”

Despite missing time late last season due to a rare brain condition, Weber said he has no plans of retiring anytime soon.

“I have not thought about it, other than when I thought about how (former Philadelphia Phillies announcer) Harry Kalas was carried dead out of the broadcast booth in Washington,” Pete Weber said. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s an interesting way to go. I don’t necessarily know that I want to do it like that. But it could happen. I’m not going to say no.”

Weber’s 2,000th game will come as the Nashville Predators play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 102.5 The Game is the flagship home of the Predators Radio Network.

BSM Staff