A year ago, radio bad boy and former FCC target Bubba The Love Sponge aka Todd Clem, re-entered the world of terrestrial radio via Cox Radio. In that time, he and his cadre of colorful sidekicks – producer Brent Hatley, Spice Boy, Ned and Manson – have managed to revitalize their radio care, ers with soaring ratings, a growing list of syndication affiliates and a new deal at Sirius XM Radio. We recently caught up with Bubba after his morning show broadcast from his own state-of-the-art facility in Florida and got the lowdown on the new deal and what we can expect from the Sponge in the coming months.
Bubba The Love Sponge and his crew
A year ago, radio bad boy and former FCC targetBubba The Love Sponge aka Todd Clem, re-entered the world of terrestrial radio via Cox Radio. In that time, he and his cadre of colorful sidekicks –producer Brent Hatley, Spice Boy, Ned and Manson – have managed to revitalize their radio careers with soaring ratings and a growing list of syndication affiliates.
Running parallel to his morning show was his live, uncensored Sirius XM afternoon program, grueling schedule for any radio head. With the expiration of his satellite contract came talk of Bubba’s PM show going by the wayside. Negotiations between both entities remained tenuous until a midnight deal was struck, keeping the show on the air in both mediums with one caveat: four days a week Sirius XM would re-air his terrestrial show instead of an exclusive live show. The Sirius version of the show would be free of any dump button timeouts, and once a week Bubba & Co. would produce a live satellite-only program. It’s a compromise that both sides could live with and gave satellite fans some Bubba instead of no Bubba at all.
We recently caught up with Bubba after his morning show broadcast from his own state-of-the-art facility in Florida and got the lowdown on the new deal and what we can expect from the Sponge in the coming months.
Tell us about the new deal with Sirius XM and your growing list of terrestrial affiliates.
We just re-signed with Sirius XM for two years, and they’re going to run the terrestrial show on their airwaves Monday through Thursday and then we give them an exclusive midday show on Fridays. That was really the only thing we could come up with at that point; only time will tell how that goes, and hopefully it will go well.
With regards to terrestrial radio, we just picked up Miami, Orlando, Richmond and Ft. Myers, and that’s going real well. Cox has really been cool to us and believed in us. I’m very fortunate to be able to come back to terrestrial and do well. A lot of people didn’t think I’d be able to do it.
How was the initial response?
Our first trend we were number one. But we were very fortunate in Tampa, and we’ve been Top 4, as high as second in Persons 25-54 in Jacksonville. We just started yesterday on the other ones so we’re looking to expand. We’ve got several feelers out on some fairly large markets. My agent has been talking to a bunch of people. We’ve just begun really, and it’s all to Cox’s credit. They believed in me.
For years Clear Channel promised me syndication in the midst of the huge ratings we had here in Tampa. They always promised and never came through. Cox took the bull by the horns and realized what they have in us, and they’ve just been so wonderful.
What has the reaction to the new deal been like with your Sirius XM listeners?
I think Howard said it best, and you can probably find his quote. He said, “You know what, a little bit of Bubba is better than no Bubba at all.” This deal is what we could agree upon. It’s what they could financially afford at this point. Obviously they’re having some issues with their stock and have other pressures. Everybody, broadcasting in general is having issues, so this is what we came up with at this juncture. It’s too early to tell what the reaction is going to be. I think it’ll be alright. We don’t have to say “f**k” on the radio to be funny.
This past year has been a marathon sprint for you. How did you deal with the schedule?
Doing these two shows, never in a million years would I have thought it would be this taxing. I’d leave the house at 4:30 in the morning and I wouldn’t get back until 8 at night. There was a reason that Marconi, or whoever invented radio, or the great Talk program directors in the ’70s and ’80s that started developing Talk formats, there was a reason that those fine men and women made the shows three, four and five hours because after that man your creative juices slow down. It’s not physically tiring; it’s just mentally tiring having to be on that long and be that on.
It really was tough on me. I’d find myself walking into the studio for the afternoon drive show just and for the first time in my career not wanting to go on-the-air; and that does not happen to me. I love radio. I love my job, but one-a-day is enough. Everything after that is not as spontaneous. You find yourself rehashing stuff that you talked about earlier in the day. It was the toughest time of my life. But we got through it and I’m glad it’s over, I really am.
How about the rest of the crew?
They feel the same way. If the Sirius deal hadn’t worked out, I was prepared to walk away from that just so I could get my life and my family and everything back, my health. It was just tough. I was willing to take a lot less money, and not have the nationwide footprint anymore just to be able to have a life again.
What are your thoughts on what radio is going through economically right now?
I’ve seen figures that local markets are down 40%, and some national ad markets or revenue is down 50%. There are a lot of good people and a lot of very talented broadcasters and sales people and managers that are going to be out of jobs. I think the problems have only just begun.
You’ve said that Cox had been very supportive of what you’ve done and what you have achieved in the past year. That speaks highly about the whole operation.
Cox is the best. They were my competition for years and I didn’t realize how pro-talent they are. It starts at the top with Bob Neil. He’s a former programmer and he treats his talent real well. He doesn’t micromanage. He lets his Local managers run the show. He only steps in when he needs to. But what’s refreshing is our show is one-stop shopping. We’re one of the very few shows that has their own production and web facilities, merchandise fulfillment facilities, studios, production room, engineering, mobile broadcast units…even my own dunk tank. I own it all, and I’m not relying upon anybody for that. We’re 100% buttoned up and we can do it on our own, so I’m not really that reliant upon the corporate scheme of things to be able to deliver the content.
Cox is down as well however, but not down across-the-board as most companies are and that stems from Bob Neil at the top, and him letting is local guys do well. There have been some cuts at Cox, but not as many cuts as there have been at other places. They really stuck their neck out for me a year ago.
Howard has also been a big supporter.
I was treading water until Howard gave me a chance to go to Sirius. After Howard gave me a chance, that opened up the Cox opportunity. I’d be dead in the water if it wasn’t for him. For the rest of my life I’ll be indebted to Howard Stern – seriously.
Too many people talk shit about Howard. Too many people try to copy him. Too many people rip shit off from Howard. At the end of the day man, and I was probably guilty of this when Howard was my competition, but you’re only going to talk shit about Howard and you’re only going to mother-f**k Howard because you wish you were him. If you’re in this industry and you don’t say that, then you’re just simply not being honest.
There’s an immense amount of talent now at Sirius XM.
The merger is going to allow us to shake some of the fleas. The good stuff will stick and make a difference and be able to continue to attract subscribers and retain subscribers. The merger was necessary. If there’s any hope at all for this company to make it, they needed to merge so that you’re not paying enormous prices – and that’s coming from a talent – and getting into a bidding war for talent, because that’s what happened with the NFL and Nascar and some of these other situations.
What can we expect with your show this year?
I want people to know that we are available. We have some great references. We’ve got some great ratings history. You don’t have to be afraid of us. We’re not in the “get in trouble with the FCC” business anymore, but instead we’re in the “I think I can turn the radio station around” business. Other than that, there are no internal changes. We’ve got a pretty good machine that runs quite well. I’m going to try to concentrate more on the one show and just make that show the best show I can make it.
**QB Content By Mike Bacon**
