Spike Eskin - What Sports Media Can Teach Us - [Making Media, REPLAY]

If you make a podcast or like sports, you will enjoy this episode. Spike Eskin runs all of the programming at New York's WFAN, the original and biggest sports talk radio station, and he's only the second person ever to have that job. Now you're probably thinking, doesn't everyone just listen to podcasts now? Well, the answer to that is no, but don't worry. He's also got a podcast, a big one, and his podcast, The Rights to Ricky Sanchez, is frequently ranked at the top basketball podcast charts. It's only focused on a single team, the 76ers, but it's been big enough to get a full chapter in a book, and several audience gatherings have been featured on Sports Center highlights.

So he is the coach and he is the talent. During our conversation, we go through traits Spike looks for in audio hosts, the benefits and challenges of having practitioners like athletes sitting in the hosting chair, and differences in sponsorship dynamics between radio and podcasting frameworks for good content. Please enjoy this episode and conversation with Spike.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. 

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Show Notes

[00:00:00] Welcome to Making Media

[00:03:09] First question - Which traits he’d use to create the ideal audio host  

[00:06:55] Comparing podcasts to local radio and separating them into three categories

[00:08:43] Tricks to help hosts generate and create chemistry 

[00:14:48] Something that new hosts and newcomers to audio in general struggle with

[00:17:00] Effective ways to measure how the fans view your shows

[00:20:52] Whether you should place any weight on your most engaged listeners

[00:25:01] Differences in terms of a podcast covering a topic versus a local radio 

[00:30:09] The models and structure of the powerhouse that is radio advertising  

[00:33:39] Repeat advertising and his own sponsorship strategy 

[00:39:19] How much practitioner value comes into play about your show topic 

[00:44:37] The importance of non-consensus and controversial views 

[00:49:57] Whether or not official statements being made via social media is a passing trend or only the beginning 

[00:53:51] Coaching hosts when it comes to asking critical questions

[00:55:51] Debrief