On January 2, CBS launched its new CBS Sports Radio network, a nationally syndicated 24/7 lineup of Sports talk programming. The network debuted on over 250 affiliates in conjunction with Cumulus Media, the network’s exclusive syndicator and sales partner. CBS Radio SVP of Programming Chris Oliviero oversees the day-to-day operations of the network, working alongside longtime WFAN-AM/New York employee Eric Spitz, who was named CBS Sports Radio Director of Programming. Oliviero is a veteran of CBS Radio, having begun his career as an intern for Howard Stern in 1996 and working his way up the ladder at the broadcaster. In this week’s eQB Cover Story, Oliviero speaks to FMQB about the launch of the CBS Sports Radio network, Cumulus’ involvement, local vs. national sports talk and much more.
Chris Oliviero
By Joey Odorisio
Last June, CBS announced the creation of its new CBS Sports Radio network, a nationally syndicated 24/7 lineup of Sports talk programming. The CBS Sports Radio network was launched on January 2 on over 250 affiliates, in conjunction withCumulus Media, the network’s exclusive syndicator and sales partner. CBS Radio SVP of Programming Chris Oliviero oversees the day-to-day operations of the network, working with longtime WFAN-AM/New York employee Eric Spitz as CBS Sports Radio Director of Programming. Oliviero is a veteran of CBS Radio, having begun his career as an intern for Howard Stern in 1996 and working his way up the ladder. Oliviero spoke to FMQB about the launch of the CBS Sports Radio network, Cumulus’ involvement, local vs. national sports talk and more.
Let’s start with the basics: Why did CBS decide to launch its own national sports network?
A national network was the next natural evolution for CBS to continue to grow our overall commitment to the format, as well as to provide a strong compliment to our industry leading local sports platform. Our mission simply is to be the best producer of both local AND national sports audio content.
Tell us about Cumulus’ involvement with launching the CBS Sports Radio network.
CBS is at its core a content company, and in order for this venture to thrive we needed to find a strong distribution partner with the built-in infrastructure for sales and affiliations on a national scale. After many conversations with potential partners it became clear that Cumulus was not only the best fit in terms of infrastructure but it also, as one of the largest station ownership groups in the industry, could bring instant affiliates on Day One. It really was a perfect match of content and distribution.
How many affiliates did the network launch with?
We went on the air with over 250 affiliates and the initial feedback has been extremely positive and we are adding new stations each week.
Sports talk is obviously a huge business…last year, Les Moonves said the new network was essentially $10-15 million of “found money.” What is your take on the growth potential of the CBS Sports Radio network?
As in any business the growth potential is directly tied to the demand for your product so if we focus on producing a high quality product each and every day the demand will be strong and therefore the “growth” will take care of itself.
CBS already owns some of the most notable sports talk stations in the country (WIP and WFAN, which you are obviously very familiar with). In some markets, including here in Philly, you have local programming on FM and the national network on AM. How will you differentiate when competing essentially against yourself?
An easy way to look at it is that CBS Sports Radio is a two channel approach where we aim to offer the best in local sports and the best in national sports audio content simultaneously in a truly complimentary manner. For example, there might be some listeners in Philadelphia who on Monday wants Eagles talk wall-to-wall, but on Tuesday might crave a more national perspective. Therefore with this model (94.1 FM and 610 AM) we can serve all their desires and never have them leave the CBS-Philadelphia house.
Was there a demand in these markets for national vs. local sports talk? How many CBS markets currently have this situation?
We have this “two channel” approach in a good number of major markets at launch, such as Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Charlotte, Houston and Tampa. The demand is definitely there and we also firmly believe that by offering more sports product that is also uniquely different but also both of high quality that it will help create even more interest and cultivate more listeners.
How has the early reaction been to the network so far?
Since sign-on we have reached out to as many program directors as possible and asked for their unedited feedback and it has been overwhelming positive. Of course there are areas that we can improve and strive to be better in but I think that since we also spent plenty of time before our launch talking with stations and asking what they were looking for in a national network that we crafted our plan to their wishes. Again we try to keep our thinking simple here – give the people what they want and the easiest way to do this is to actually ask them and not try to guess.
Tell our readers about your daily lineup. It’s an interesting mix of new pairings of personalities and well established national names like Jim Rome.
Our line-up has really come together nicely with the perfect combination of high profile personalities who are engaging, credible, compelling, well respected and well connected in the world of sports. But most importantly it is staffed with radio professionals who understand the unique talent and dedication needed to host a multi-hour daily radio show at a high level. And of course it is anchored in the middle of the day by Jim Rome who has set the standard for this space for nearly two decades and is excited to write his next chapter as the centerpiece of CBS Sports Radio.
How does the new network connect to the big picture of CBS Sports as a whole? How will the network be involved with the Super Bowl?
CBS Sports Radio is a wholly integrated platform of the CBS Sports family sitting along side broadcast TV, cable and digital. Now by adding a 24/7 radio network to the arsenal CBS Sports is truly always ON and connecting with our audience non-stop. It has been a wonderful and collaborative partnership working hand and hand with the entire CBS Sports portfolio in launching this network and their support and contributions have been a key element to our early growth. And the Super Bowl in New Orleans will sort of act like our coming out party as all the CBS Sports properties will be broadcasting on location, including nearly 75 hours of original radio programming.
CBS Sportsline is well-known for fantasy sports on the Web. Any thoughts on bringing on a weekly fantasy sports show?
CBSSports.com is an industry leader in fantasy sports and we definitely will be tapping into their expertise, not only in fantasy sports, but across all sports to enhance our CBS Sports Radio programming. Having access to this level of content and talent is another example of why we feel our network will be able to distinguish ourselves for the rest of the marketplace.
Will you be doing any national contesting?
CBS does tons of contesting on the local level and I would expect that we will bring some of that playbook to the network as well since who doesn’t love a good radio contest nowadays – especially if you win!
[eQB Content By Joey Odorisio]
