stephen a. smith

[Leebo65]

Except when that show IS mass appeal, featured on mainstream Hip-Hop/R&B stations (a platform a lil bigger than sports radio): More than 60 market clearances, over 7 million listeners daily. Can Steve Czaban brag about that or any contributions to MSNBC? Not on your life.

You don't have to like it, but there's much more upside for the Stephen A. Smith show than you want to admit.

I thought we were talking sportstalk... you know talking about sports, guy stuff.....whats the Hip-Hop/R&B have to do with this.

 

[facetheslayer]

Did FSR shove him out already? Chris Moore is filling in. Steve said his last show was December 23rd.

Looks to me like there has been a change of plans, and he's not coming back at all. My guess is that FSR is afraid of Czabe going off half-cocked and bringing attention to his pending ouster, and the stupidity of the FSR brass, like he did in his initial open letter to the fans (before it was edited and sanitized).

This is highly reminiscent of when Bruno left Sporting News Radio....his contract had a few weeks left on it after the decision was made not to renew, and the plan was for him to stay on the air and "play out the string." But instead he disappeared from the airwaves altogether, in spite of the fact that the usual Tony Bruno intros and rejoins continued to be used for a while before being phased out.

As a side note, I am not a fan of Chris Moore. His attempts at humor are awkward and just plain unfunny, and his opinions are vanilla at best. His shows are yawn-fests.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Except when that show IS mass appeal, featured on mainstream Hip-Hop/R&B stations (a platform a lil bigger than sports radio): More than 60 market clearances, over 7 million listeners daily. Can Steve Czaban brag about that or any contributions to MSNBC? Not on your life.

You don't have to like it, but there's much more upside for the Stephen A. Smith show than you want to admit.

I thought we were talking sportstalk... you know talking about sports, guy stuff.....whats the Hip-Hop/R&B have to do with this.

*scratches head* ???

That's the same reasoning I hear with one local show here in Cleveland. Since day one, the show's sidekick/producer has had an abnormal infatuation with playing Top 40 and teeny bop schlock as bumper music. Thinking that people will listen to a sports talk show depending on how the bumper music sounds. (Of course, this individual is close friends with the station's owner and as such will never get fired.)

 

[Leebo65]

Yeah, Chris Moore is probably to intellectual for most. Stephan A. Smith will probably bring access to athletes that Czaban doesn't have. So maybe its a good move. I'll give him a try.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Yeah, Chris Moore is probably to intellectual for most. Stephan A. Smith will probably bring access to athletes that Czaban doesn't have. So maybe its a good move. I'll give him a try.

Chris Moore is a perfect weekend morning or weekend late-night host.

 

[radiogodzilla]

Nate Wesley is slightly brighter than Realdeal and obviously is not JT. He's apparantly some hip hop or Steven A Smith pal who doesn't know what he is talking about. Smith has never had to get up at 4am and try to do a morning show except his fill-ins. I read Bruno bolted Fox after building that network when they tried to undercut him and bring in Van Earl Wright to replace him. DISASTROUS move and Fox has suffered in that slot ever since. He got Fox Philly, SF and major markets they didn't have before or after he left.
Sporting News used him to help sell that sinking ship and he got them affiliates and advertisers they didn't have before or after his departure. Dan Patrick benefited the most when they found a way to get rid of him and not offer him a new contract.
He also helped start and build 610 WIP in Philly's morning drive show into the most successful sports talk show in the US.
I'd say that a proven record of morning drive success. So Mr Wesley, perhaps you should do some research before spouting nonsense on this board.
Smith's hire is a money saving move for Clear Channel and a desperate attempt to get clearances in markets like Philly, New York and Chicago which he will not be able to deliver(as noted in previous posts)
His chances of winning are as good as the equally annoying and narrowcast "2 LiveStews" who were so unappealing to affiliates they were dropped by the Urban syndicator who put them on and then picked up for nothing by a dying Sporting News to get a few 2nd rate markets to clear the Atlanta based show. I like what they do, but you need to sell and affiliate to succeed and they simply just give those smaller market stations without the ESPN or Fox option something to carry over the option of hiring dismal local talent.

 

[sprtschick]

Let me start by saying that I am a fan of the Czabe and have been since his days on One on One so losing him is going to be hard for me to swallow. But putting aside my personal feelings, I still can't believe that FSR thinks that putting SAS (Stephen A Smith) on in morning drive on the east cost will get them clearance in Philly and NYC. Those markets have strong local morning shows. If the stations get rid of those they risk losing the listeners who tune in every day for a chance to hear local guys talking local sports. They don't want to hear an "outsider". The main beef some of us "east coasters" have with Myers and Hartman and Petros and Money is that they are too "west coast".

Bad move FSR!!! I'm ranking this one up with getting rid of Siciliano and Fernandez in favor of Petros and Money.

Now please excuse me while I go practice saying positive things about FSR's decision so I can say them to my listeners after the New Year w/o throwing up my breakfast.

 

[Evil Monkey99]

I don't really know what you guys have been listening to this week. But Chris Moore is just gawd awful.
Sounds unprepared and his impressions are just painful... painful. You would think someone would pull him aside and tell him a) He doesn't sound like anyone he is trying to impersonate and b) its just not funny

Very crutchy with his topics and just painful... again we all have different tastes, but I have found him to be unlistenable this week. I have even tuned in to Yuk and Yuk for my sports fix on ESPN

Viva La Czabe.

 

[facetheslayer]

I don't really know what you guys have been listening to this week. But Chris Moore is just gawd awful.
Sounds unprepared and his impressions are just painful... painful. You would think someone would pull him aside and tell him a) He doesn't sound like anyone he is trying to impersonate and b) its just not funny

Very crutchy with his topics and just painful... again we all have different tastes, but I have found him to be unlistenable this week. I have even tuned in to Yuk and Yuk for my sports fix on ESPN

Viva La Czabe.

Thank you! I was beginning to believe I just wasn't "intellectual" (to borrow Leebo65's adjective from above) enough to understand the true essence of Chris Moore.

I can just picture Scott Linn and Steve Solomon's eyes rolling as they listen to this boob deliver his dreadful Rodney Dangerfield and Curly impressions.

 

[saraswati]

sad face that czabe is off until his contract runs out. either its the tony bruno scared management analogy from above or he's been forced to take vacation time. mgmt plays the coward card. its absurdist theatre.

i already miss czabe and look forward to him being back nationally in some capacity next year.

 

[Leebo65]

Doesn't FSR owe its listeners an explanation.? You pull one of your top on air personalities and don't tell people why. Seems obnoxious to me. Someone tell me why Don Martin doesn't hod a press conference or something.? Rude...

 

[Leebo65]

BTW, here is CZABE's original post
http://thebaldtruthblog.blogspot.co...mith..... LMAO Lets see what this sounds like

 

[Nate Wesley]

I thought we were talking sportstalk... you know talking about sports, guy stuff.....whats the Hip-Hop/R&B have to do with this.

Your boy 'radiogodzilla' seems to think that Smith's fill-in work on "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" shouldn't count for anything. Specifically, he said:

Filling in for an african-american based show is not the same as trying to do a mass appeal show and being the driver of that show.

Hello? RadioTime.com has the SHMS as one of its top 5 of nationally syndicated shows, and I pointed out Harvey's 7 million+ listeners nationwide--his show is a bonafied hit, and very much a part of the 'mass appeal' of morning radio, considering you can find it on an FM in pretty much any big metro.

 

[Nate Wesley]

Nate Wesley is slightly brighter than Realdeal and obviously is not JT. He's apparantly some hip hop or Steven A Smith pal who doesn't know what he is talking about. Smith has never had to get up at 4am and try to do a morning show except his fill-ins. I read Bruno bolted Fox after building that network when they tried to undercut him and bring in Van Earl Wright to replace him. DISASTROUS move and Fox has suffered in that slot ever since. He got Fox Philly, SF and major markets they didn't have before or after he left.
Sporting News used him to help sell that sinking ship and he got them affiliates and advertisers they didn't have before or after his departure. Dan Patrick benefited the most when they found a way to get rid of him and not offer him a new contract.
He also helped start and build 610 WIP in Philly's morning drive show into the most successful sports talk show in the US.
I'd say that a proven record of morning drive success. So Mr Wesley, perhaps you should do some research before spouting nonsense on this board.

First I'm not 'Realdeal' or 'JT' or some pal of SAS, who I actually would have liked to slap for his takes on the Rush Limbaugh/St. Louis Rams controversy. (No Stephen A, not all NFL players would blindly take money from a known racist, and the 'bidding war' example you used just doesn't happen in common NFL contract negotiations.)

Second...I did do my research, godzilla. You can bring up Tony Bruno's local radio successes if you want to, but I think the discussion centers on national radio shows. At ESPN, at Fox Sports, at Sporting News: A 'proven talent' pushed out, fired, removed, eliminated, erased, 86'ed, whatever you want to call it--Tony Bruno never stayed very long on any of his national morning shows. You can't call SAS a failure for one radio show and call Bruno's (who's failed at THREE such shows) a success! Bruno's had a steadier stint being the fake sports radio host on old versions Madden NFL!

Smith's hire is a money saving move for Clear Channel and a desperate attempt to get clearances in markets like Philly, New York and Chicago which he will not be able to deliver(as noted in previous posts)
His chances of winning are as good as the equally annoying and narrowcast "2 LiveStews" who were so unappealing to affiliates they were dropped by the Urban syndicator who put them on and then picked up for nothing by a dying Sporting News to get a few 2nd rate markets to clear the Atlanta based show. I like what they do, but you need to sell and affiliate to succeed and they simply just give those smaller market stations without the ESPN or Fox option something to carry over the option of hiring dismal local talent.

So which is it--are the Stews 'equally annoying' or do you really 'like what they do'? Can't be both!

Back on topic--how dare you accuse me of not doing any research! Sporting News Radio is a bigger syndicator than Syndication One (the former syndication arm of Radio One, who now syndicates Al Sharpton and Warren Ballentine's national shows in-house). The 'dying' SNR does quite well through Sirius XM and online listening, and it's the overnight provider for Boston's new CBS-owned FM sports talker. The Stews' have more national clearances through SNR than they ever did with Radio One, and they're the only SNR show/talent to keep an on-air relationship with ESPN television-- pretty good for a 'narrowcast' show.

You and others keep spouting out mis-informed declaratives for a SAS morning show that hasn't even debuted yet. Let's face it: If Steve Czaban or Tony Bruno were merely half as successful as 'Mike & Mike' or a national morning show with similar appeal, FSR would have little reason to canned them. They've gone and are going in different directions because they haven't cut the mustard. They're taking a big chance on Smith 'maybe' because he works cheap--but maybe they want someone polarizing enough to get some damn ratings too!

 

[Rusty Muck]

I thought we were talking sportstalk... you know talking about sports, guy stuff.....whats the Hip-Hop/R&B have to do with this.

Your boy 'radiogodzilla' seems to think that Smith's fill-in work on "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" shouldn't count for anything. Specifically, he said:

Filling in for an african-american based show is not the same as trying to do a mass appeal show and being the driver of that show.

Hello? RadioTime.com has the SHMS as one of its top 5 of nationally syndicated shows, and I pointed out Harvey's 7 million+ listeners nationwide--his show is a bonafied hit, and very much a part of the 'mass appeal' of morning radio, considering you can find it on an FM in pretty much any big metro.

With all due respect, Steve Harvey isn't a sports talk host. Yes, this proves that SMS is probably more than a capable fill-in for Harvey but I betcha that 99% of Harvey's audience will NOT tune in to hear SMS on Fox Sports Radio. That's just obvious.

It has more to do with the death of the AM band and the mirco-niche that is national sports talk radio, which only has one national show with a similar style (Sporting News' "2 Live Stews," which are a successful local duo in Atlanta).

All we have as a yardstick is his one-hour daily show on ESPN Radio a few years back, which didn't do well on a national basis. You have been able to listen to Harvey, I haven't (ironically, it is NOT cleared in Harvey's hometown of Cleveland).

The only thing I've really argued about is Fox Sports' execs comparison of Czaban to Mike and Mike, which is patently absurd.

 

[radiogodzilla]

Again Mr Wesley appears to be a shill for the DOA Sporting News network which has no significant clearances for ANY of it's programs.

The Stews are not in more than 3 top 10 markets. Comparing Stephen A Smith's rapid radio failures - all in non-drive time slots - is inane!

Bruno launched ESPN and started the morning show for a full year with Mike Golic after 7 years on the weekends and left in disgust due to the Disney micromanaging. He wasn't forced out at all and had a sizable contract when he walked away. (this was documented in several interviews published over the years) He is now back on dozens of ESPN branded stations, as well as Fox-only affiliates.

He launched Fox Sports Radio in AM drive in LA and got solid numbers and affiliations for 4 years before Clear Channel wanted to go cheaper and made the disastrous Van Earl Wright hire. That stroke of genius lasted 6 months before he was dumped and paid off to go away. I would call that bad management, not a result of a "burned bridge" since he Bruno appears to be back on the Fox line-up.

His Sporting News morning gig lasted 3 years which was a pathetic attempt by SNR suits to make it appear they were seriously challenging ESPN when the radio discussion centered around which network would go away - Fox or Sporting News. He wasn't even offered a contract as he served his purpose to get that turkey outfit sold to magazine morons in Charlotte who took it as part of obtaining the all-but-dead Sporting News Magazine as part of the package. Once Paul Allen was able to foist the SNR fiasco on some unsuspecting fools, they started gutting the place and now strictly fill-time, hoping a 3rd station in some random podunk market takes some of their lame programming to claim alleged affiliations.

So it sounds like some on this board choose to play a games and spin things to their own agendas.

Stephen A Smith has already failed Nationally at Fox AND ESPN in Radio AND TV and also lost local-only gigs in NY and Philly - his 2 strongest markets. If that is a sign of his suddenly breaking out as a National morning talent, you must be ingesting acid!

 

[Evil Monkey99]

Can I just say this? SI.com Richard Deitsch hit it ON THE HEAD... good read guys... good read

"THE LAST WORD
In what qualifies as a head-scratching move, Fox Sports Radio announced it was replacing Steve Czaban with Stephen A. Smith as the host of one of its national radio shows. [EDIT-truncated because excerpt exceeds permissible amount under Fair Use. Thanks for including a URL to the original article so interested users can read the story in its entirety]



Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...ons.media1/index.html?eref=sihp#ixzz0aRAjIBKG
[EDIT-unauthorized promotion]

 

[sprtschick]

In regards to the SI piece quoted by Evil Monkey....

Amen.

 

[kjl]

That article couldn't put it any better. I am highly disgusted by the move.

 

[Leebo65]

Let's restate this. Why in the hell would you replace Steve Czaban.? He is one of the top National Sports Talk personalities. He should be coveted. This must be "I've got to re-invent the wheel, to prove I'm an extraordinary radio executive" aka Don Martin. Don it works don't fix it. Fix FSR on the weekends.