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For one thing, this is an expansion of the show; only the first hour (6-7 a.m. Eastern, 5-6 a.m. local) was airing on The Zone (and will continue to do so for a few weeks, with WLAC starting with the 6-8 a.m. local component of Travis’ show). Beyond that, Travis lives in Nashville, broadcasts from there, and is a known figure in the market; he used to be one of the hosts of The Zone’s 3HL afternoon show before leaving that job when he wasn’t offered enough of a raise in 2014. His commentary also tends to touch on politics, so it’s more of a fit than it might seem. Furthermore, SportsRadioPD’s Jason Barrett told Awful Announcing this move from Travis is just one of the many joinings of sports and politics in the radio world.
“There are some examples of sports shows airing on news talk stations and vice versa,” Barrett said. “For the longest period of time, [WFAN in New York, home of Mike Francesa] started their day with Don Imus’ program (news/talk) and then shifted to sports at 10am. You usually see some of those situations in mid to smaller markets. [WLAC owner] iHeart also does it more than a few others since they have the opportunity to combine strong syndicated shows such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and FOX Sports Radio’s offerings since they run the Premiere Radio networks. ESPN shows are less likely to be featured on news/talk stations since it goes against the way they brand themselves.”
Barrett added that there are plenty of others who host sports shows on news/talk stations.
“You can find Bobby Hebert hosting a PM drive sports show on popular New Orleans news station WWL. Matt Jones hosts a popular sports show on a news talk brand in Kentucky, Andy Gresh and Joe D’Ambrosio do it on WTIC 1080 in Hartford, Rich Eisen’s show airs on a newstalker WHBC in Canton, Ohio and popular stations like KMOX in St. Louis and WLW in Cincinnati do it too, although their sports programs air primarily at night.”
And he said that this move makes particular sense given Travis’ local connections and his penchant for politics.
“One other thing to take into account is that Clay has a strong name and following in Nashville since it’s where he resides and has built the Outkick brand,” Barrett said. “He also talks politics and has a ton of passion for it, so the fit isn’t as strange as it might be for someone else. Clay previously hosted a local show on 104.5 The Zone (top-rated spoken word station in the market among men 25-54) and although they currently carry his show, they’re only taking one hour of it. His new station WLAC which is owned by iHeart (parent company to FOX Sports Radio) is going to clear the full program, so it makes a lot of sense for them from a business standpoint.”
So, while a lineup featuring Clay Travis, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity may seem a bit odd at first glance, it’s not that unusual in the general radio scheme of things, and it makes particular sense for Travis given that this will eventually lead to all three hours of his show being carried in Nashville. It’s an interesting development to see, though.
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