Stephen A. Smith Taken off the Air

Well, Stephen A. Smith won't be responding to a message I left him in his ESPN Radio inbox on my last post. That is because he no longer works there. Friday, 10 April was his last day as a radio host for ESPN.

My own theory is that the conviction that was evident from my apology and recounting of the story brought back a memory which he had been able to repress. Deep down Stephen A. knows that he sucks, he just needed to be reminded. ESPN just reinforced that feeling by firing him.

Viewing his own Wikipedia page probably didn't help either.

I hope that ESPN doesn't hire a replacement and instead gives his slots to other ESPN radio guys who sometimes get pushed out on certain affiliates or to local programming.

My current favorite on ESPN Radio, Colin Cowherd, usually falls into this category. His relative lack of television exposure diminishes his radio time.

The problem is that ESPN is always looking for ways to increase revenue. Their theory is that if they move big names from television on the radio they will increase their ratings.

I am a firm believer that radio requires a completely different set of talents that the typical sports analyst on ESPN can't supply. For example, I have laughed at some Dane Cook clips on YouTube or Comedy Central. Since his comedy is extremely physical, it really wouldn't transfer to the radio well.

Singer songwriters and funny story types usually clean up on radio shows because radio is a different medium than television. You really have to work harder to keep the attention of the audience on the radio.

The closest crossover from television to radio would probably be baseball play by play announcers. These guys have to kill mountains of downtime. The good ones really shine because so few actually have skill in this area. Radio baseball guys have it that much harder.

Putting TV personalities on the radio provides a temporary boost in ratings due to the name recognition. Instead, ESPN should be working on bringing in new fans by promoting its already good radio shows on its television network.

Right now, AM radio doesn't have too many alternatives. You can pretty much count on angry Right Wing radio, financial advice, Dr. Laura and sports talk. You aren't going to lose your fan base.

ESPN should attempt to attract new fans by working guests into the current shows for one week to one month stints so that they have time to feel comfortable.  The network should improvise their own ideas about how to make the show more interesting.

ESPN can promote the show and these new changes with little flyers on the bottom of the screen during live sporting events.

ESPN Radio is like the NBA in the late 90s after Jordan left. Dan Patrick is gone. They have made one step in the right direction by getting rid of Stephen A. You can either go on trying to do the impossible and manufacture another Dan Patrick by trying to turn TV personalities into radio hosts, or you can decide to move forward by realizing that the market is yours to take if you only make a few big changes in formula while keeping the already stellar lineup that you have.