Sports Radio News
Anthony Lima: ‘We Will Always Want to Hear From Fans’
“Calls are going nowhere; we’re not replacing calls forever.”
Published
1 month agoon
By
BSM Staff
Following a thrilling win for the Cleveland Browns over the San Francisco 49ers, 92.3 The Fan hosts Ken Carman and Anthony Lima took calls from fans who desire to have Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski fired. Stefanski has been with the team over the last four years and is trying to prepare and invigorate his team to win football games despite facing adversity.
The team currently sits at 3-2 on the season, and following one of the most improbable wins of the year, the program was aghast to receive inquiries about relieving Stefanski of his duties. After a stretch of these calls, Lima went on a tirade and invited people to stop listening to the show, stating that they would consider stopping calls altogether.
Lima referred to it as “an exercise in futility” for the Browns fans, also expressing his disappointment towards those in the city for neglecting to celebrate the win. Instead, people are asking for changes to be made surrounding the franchise, which has qualified for the playoffs two times in the last 20 seasons. Rather than doing “fire the coach radio,” Carman and Lima felt the program would receive legitimate answers towards their question as to whether or not the victory over the 49ers represented a “signature win” for the head coach. After the segment went viral, the program opened by addressing the unexpected dispute.
“I got bogged down in the minutiae of discussing it with these people, and I wasn’t even looking up at Tone,” Carman said Wednesday morning on 92.3 The Fan. “I finally looked up at Tone, and you had had enough, and then you just went into the entire tirade of what you saw… [and] I got a bunch of people from around the country texting me going, ‘Hey, seriously, don’t take calls anymore. It’s great.’ No, that’s not what we want.”
After Carman explained his perspective, Lima shared that he received messages from people inside and outside of the sports media industry that concurred with the notion to eliminate callers from the show. Sports fans shared with Lima that they do not consume as much sports talk radio because of callers diminishing the value of the program. While they understand these sentiments though and recognize that they are in a stint of bad calls, the show has an obstinate resolve to continue implementing the views and opinions of its audience.
“We will always want to hear from fans; don’t worry about that,” Lima said. “Calls are going nowhere; we’re not replacing calls forever. I think calls can be really entertaining [and] I think they can take a show to a whole new level at times.”
The program has a segment titled “Comin’ in Hot,” which utilizes the viewpoints of listeners calling into the show to interact with the hosts. Although there are certain shows and stations that have eliminated or significantly limit this type of mediated communication, Carman and Lima both feel that is essential to maintain loyalty to the commitment of accurately depicting the disposition and affectations of the metropolis. The Browns face the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday, and no matter the result, listeners can be assured that they will have the latitude to express themselves on editions of The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima going forward.
“[The callers] make us laugh; they make our listeners laugh,” Lima said. “We know we got it in you; we also know that you get a little too emotional, just like the hosts do.”
Sports Radio News
Amanda Brown Named Program Director of Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan
Brown will begin her role with Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan next week.
Published
1 hour agoon
November 28, 2023By
BSM Staff
Former ESPN LA 710 Program Director Amanda Brown has been named to the same position at Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan.
She replaces Raj Sharan, who exited the station earlier this month after leading the brand since February 2019.
Amanda Brown was part of the downsizing at ESPN earlier this year. She had worked for the company since 2002. After beginning her career in Dallas at ESPN 103.3, she moved to Bristol to work as a national producer on ESPN Radio. Brown worked on shows hosted by Mike Tirico, Scott Van Pelt, and Erik Kuselias while producing on the national level.
She later moved to ESPN LA 710 in 2010, first as a producer before eventually ascending to the role of Program Director in December 2019.
Brown will begin her role with Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan next week.
The station recently shuffled its lineup after suffering its first head-to-head ratings defeat in the summer ratings period. Josh Dover departed Altitude Sports Radio to join Brandon Stokley for middays. Meanwhile, Zach Bye and former Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay were paired for afternoons. In the reshuffling, Darren “DMac” McKee departed the station before joining Altitude Sports Radio in the spot vacated by Dover.
Sports Radio News
Anthony Gargano, Beasley Media Group Going to Settlement Conference
The settlement conference will take place on Jan. 17, 2024, one day after Gargano and ALLCITY Network are required to reply to the lawsuit from Beasley Media Group.
Published
1 hour agoon
November 28, 2023By
BSM Staff
When Anthony Gargano was hired by ALLCITY Network to appear on its new PHLY Sports channel and national network, he was sued by Beasley Media Group for breach of contract. The former 97.5 The Fanatic host came to terms on a preliminary injunction that prohibits him from contributing to any sports media content that is specifically targeted to the Philadelphia marketplace, as the designated market area (DMA) is defined by Nielsen Media Research. Gargano’s original intent was to work at both outlets simultaneously, but he remained restricted for the last several months while continuing to work with FOX Sports Radio and starting a sports betting podcast with Parx Casino.
Gargano and Beasley Media Group will now be proceeding to a settlement conference, which will take place on Jan. 17, 2024 before Magistrate Judge Scott Reid.
Within the lawsuit, Beasley claims that Anthony Gargano is under contract with the company until Oct. 7, 2024, and that there are provisions within the deal and “the common law duty of loyalty” that preclude his ability to provide services to competing businesses. Inside Radio was the first to report the news of the disputation moving to this step in an effort to reach a resolution.
Should the settlement conference prove unsuccessful, a pretrial date has been set by the court for May 7, 2024, and a trial date is set for two years later. Beasley had previously agreed to a request by the defendants to extend the deadline to file a response to the complaint from Nov. 17, 2023 to Jan. 16, 2024.
Gargano and BSN Live (doing business as ALLCITY Network), his new employer, are legally required to respond to the lawsuit filed against them by Beasley by that time, according to an order filed on Nov. 16, 2023. For the settlement conference itself, lawyers have been directed to have their clients physically present for its duration and with “ultimate authority to settle.”
In a previous interview with Barrett Sports Media, ALLCITY Network Chief Executive Officer Brandon Spano explained how the goal of the company is to implement talent who are able to inform and entertain their audiences in various locales. The company also eliminated non-compete clauses from most of its contracts, with Spano stating that they were originally included because it was the industry-standard practice.
“I have a real problem with this idea that these major corporations are laying off dozens, if not hundreds of people, quarter-over-quarter, and then the people that they don’t lay off, they say they cannot look for jobs or work anywhere else,” he explained. “That’s just not good business, and it’s giving sports media a bad wrap. Sports radio right now, because of those actions, is giving sports media a bad look. It’s a very dangerous game.”
Gargano was originally included in the promotional video for PHLY Sports but has yet to appear on one of its programs. Concurrent with the launch of the company’s new national network, he was able to make his debut and has been contributing on the ALL NFL show with Brian Baldinger. Spano articulated that the company was about to reach profitability prior to the introduction of its Philadelphia and national networks and is preparing for another funding round later on. At the moment, the goal is to double the size of the company and launch in another local market as the outlet looks to expand and launch a free ad-supported television (FAST) channel in the future.
Sports Radio News
Jerry Recco: Paul Allen is ‘Not Textbook and He’s Phenomenal’
Allen sounded dejected in his final call of the Vikings’ 12-10 loss on Monday night, according to WFAN anchor Jerry Recco.
Published
2 hours agoon
November 28, 2023By
BSM Staff
The Minnesota Vikings lost their Monday Night Football matchup against the Chicago Bears on a walk-off field goal. Paul Allen, who has been calling Vikings games for the last 21 seasons, sounded dejected in the call as if he were a Vikings fan communicating to listeners en masse, according to WFAN anchor Jerry Recco.
Outside of his role on the Boomer & Gio morning program on WFAN and CBS Sports Network, Recco is a play-by-play announcer himself as the radio voice of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights men’s basketball team. Because of his position in the industry, morning program co-host and CBS Sports analyst for The NFL Today, Boomer Esiason, asked Recco if he takes elements of style from other announcers to implement into the game broadcasts.
“No, because I don’t think there is a right way to do it,” Recco replied Tuesday morning on WFAN. “No, I do what I do, and if it’s good, great. As long as [athletic director] Pat Hobbs and [head coach] Steve Pikiell are happy, I’m happy.”
Recco has been calling Rutgers games since the 2016-17 season. The National Sports Media Association named him the recipient of the New Jersey Sportscaster of the Year in 2022.
As a play-by-play announcer, Recco is focused on documenting the action and has had the chance to call several memorable moments in program history, including its first NCAA Tournament win in 30 years when it defeated Clemson in March 2021.
“There’s no right way to do it because you’ve got textbook guys like [Mike] Breen, who’s the best; then you’ve got guys like Paul Allen,” Recco said. “He’s not textbook and he’s phenomenal – would you agree? And then there’s Gus Johnson, who’s crazy and he’s phenomenal in his own way.”
