Sports Radio's Viability

[tobias_funke]

I have a legitimate question for the assembled masses - am I crazy for trying to make a career out of working in sports radio?

Granted, I know that's largely subjective, based on my ability. But let's assume for the sake of discussion that I am capable enough to be producer/co-host who occasionally fills in for a daily afternoon-drive sports show in a top 100 market.

Not the best ever, but certainly capable. Meanwhile, I make less than 10 bucks an hour, and I'm part time. While commuting more than 40 miles each way.

I am not opposed to the hard work/low pay/long drive, so long as there is an eventual payoff, even if its 5-10 years down the road. But I'm worried that the days of local/regional sports talk are caving into the "all ESPN/FSR/KLAC all-the-time" stations run out of a closet. I know every locally programmed sports station says they are doing radio "the right way", but I wonder how many there still are that actually make it work.

Anyone know of any resources that show a trend developing one way or another? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[tomficker]

what part of the country are you located? I personally think that that the small markets are lucky to have one local show..usually mornings or drive-time and a handful of local sports anchors. I think to try and turn it into a career you almost have to move to where the networks are and try and work your way up. The other way involves essentially hitting the lotto in becoming a "voice" of the community or city. When we talk about making a career out of it, you would almost have to achieve that level of success or the show/shows will never last.

I say do it for the love but think about that back up career or at least a part time job in a field that interests you that will help bolster the resume if looking for full-time work someday. Don't roll the dice that you will be "discovered"--it doesn't work that way. And even if that did happen..if it's fox sports radio or sporting news...you'd be looking at about an 8 dollar an hour increase for weekend work.

This is a great topic though...love to hear others feedback. For me, I'm part time and loving it and not depending on sports/news talk to make a living.

 

[tobias_funke]

I am in the Midwest. I am not necessarilly expecting to reach the success level of a Dan Patrick or Jim Rome, though it is certainly a (lofty) goal. Realistically, I want to provide for my family, and radio is what I know. I grew up trading baseball cards and listening to sports radio in the summer. When I was 10 years old, I knew I wanted to do this.

Ideally, I would like to get a job working in a market that has a committed station/owner, some pro and/or major college sports, and become the sports voice of that community, while (brace yourselves) getting paid a halfway decent salary that could support a family. But I feel like that type of situation is almost non-existent. Someone tell me I'm wrong...

 

[quadraphonic]

I think the future of sports radio is about like all forms of radio: except for the real big names and a few positions where one guy does six jobs, the main part of the future is going to be geared toward part-timers who are cobbling together a living doing other things. Not that that's bad, it just is. I kind of get tired of hearing the same six dudes on the radio every day anyway, maybe there needs to be more part-timers.

There is probably some committed owner out there somewhere in a nice market, doing good sports radio, covering the colleges and high schools like a glove, but there probably aren't many. Unless you're extraordinarily talented or an ex-jock or have made your name doing something else, or know that guy's family, you have to luck up and fall into that 2,934th tape package hitting the right person at the right time. There just don't seem to be many full-time careers offered out there in sports radio (relative to the number of people seeking them, at least), and even fewer that could entirely support a family.

To me, the key of the sports market (sports coverage, not just sports radio) in the future seems to be like most other markets: it's all multimedia and multiple platforms and having your irons in many fires. Do your part-time gig the best you can, but do something on the side for yourself. I'm not an alarmist, but I think that the only way that most people will survive and thrive in the future is by doing something entrepreneurial, instead of depending on someone else.

"Waiting for something to open up" is futility these days. We have had a spate of companies buying time for high school football down here the last few years; they all seem to make enough money to survive and keep their name out there. There's also a couple of regional shows who self-syndicate, a couple of guys who do websites with hyper-local foci, even some have worked it down to Little League coverage, and such. Today, even the sports reporters from the newspapers are called upon to be guests on sports radio and talk recruiting/scandals/whatever all the time. It's all about wearing many hats.

It's about the same in any business these days: if it's your passion, you can make something happen, go and do it. It was mine for a while there, but when it stopped being that, I went into something else (restaurants, then I was called into the ministry, which is a lot like sports radio). Like they say about the ministry, if you can do something else, go ahead and do something else; if you can't think of doing anything else, do what you're doing as well and as hard and as often and as diligently as you can, and lately, do it in multiple platforms . Good luck and God bless with whatever you choose.

 

[Leebo65]

Come to San Antonio and work for KTKR. Its a great place to launch yourself

 

[SportsDotCom]

Do yourself a favor, buy the time. Plenty of guys in mid-major markets have bought time. Many of them have been successful at the sales end of it or have proven their worth to the extent that a station will hire them. Happens more than you think in smaller towns. It's almost impossible to go that route and be successful in a top 25 market, but in 50-100 it's been done countless times.

 

[johnbasalla]

If you can ascertain which stations/companies are making a pretty good buck with Sports-talk station(s), apply to them. The Sports-talk station in my area has three main Monday-Friday local shows, and each one of them has more then one host. They are paying all of these people, so they must be doing ok, and maybe doing ok because of the local content.

 

[tobias_funke]

Thanks for all of the replies. I have also thought of trying to do a podcast to build an audience and client list, then taking that to a local station to see about buying time. Again, I appreciate all of the responses, they have been helpful.

 

[tomficker]

Do yourself a favor, buy the time. Plenty of guys in mid-major markets have bought time. Many of them have been successful at the sales end of it or have proven their worth to the extent that a station will hire them. Happens more than you think in smaller towns. It's almost impossible to go that route and be successful in a top 25 market, but in 50-100 it's been done countless times.

I think this is the way of he future if you are not a Jock or already famous. I remember Dave Smith formerly of Sporting News he talked about this on the air once and how it worked for him. And that must have been 10 or 15 years ago. Maybe he'll post here about it.

If you have a full-time job, and can afford it, you can likely secure a weekend early or late show for I would guess less then 100 dollars an hour in most cities. If you can put together 4 or 5 sponsors at 50 bucks a week or so, you should be able to break even or even make a few bucks and have some fun along the way.

I think that is the better path then the producer/reporter route if the end goal is a full-time paid sports talk gig.

 

[The Milgram Experiment]

my two cents from a guy who has the top-rated sports talk show in a top-75 market:

I think the time buy idea is the best one if you want to stay where you are. it's so much cheaper than people possibly imagine and if you have even basic sales ability you can make it work. the most important thing for you now... as an "outsider" if you will... is to get the hours in to develop your voice and style. that only comes with hosting shows on a consistent basis and finding out what works for you and what doesn't. then you can start networking and sending resume tapes and cross your fingers.

as for the future of sports talk, I think it's all about FM. the AM stations will never completely go away but the FM stations are the ones who will thrive. look at Columbus, OH for example. doesn't 97.1 The Fan do killer numbers there? at least that's what I've been told.

in terms of making sports talk a lucrative career, I would target top 20 markets *OR* successful FM sports talkers. what little money is left in radio will gravitate toward them. in other markets (including mine), you can get by but it's always going to be a struggle.

good luck!

 

[zrl]

While the trend with smaller markets is toward networks (ESPN, FSN) off the bird, CBS has been launching local FM sports stations with ALL LOCAL TALENT.

Sports is basically regional, while Rome, Dan Patrick, Mike & Mike have followings sports fans want to talk about "their teams". So local sports talk will always be in demand, even though the costs are higher to staff locally.