While Mike Golic took his farewell tour during his final shows on ESPN Radio last week, his former partner Mike Greenberg began turning the promotional machinery for his upcoming program on the network’s new audio lineup. (He’s currently making the rounds on several ESPN Radio affiliates, such as the “Big Drew & Jim” show in West Michigan.)
Speaking to Variety‘s Brian Steinberg, Greenberg revealed that his new ESPN Radio show will be titled “Greeny,” rather than “The Mike Greenberg Show” which was perceived as too formal for the type of program being developed.
Above all, Greenberg wants his radio program to have a slower pace than Get Up, ESPN’s morning television show that he’s hosted since its debut in 2018. That show is geared toward hot takes and quick sound bites (which we regularly post on Awful Announcing’s Twitter account), rather than in-depth discussion.
“The average interview on my show in the morning is – a long interview for us is six or seven minutes,” Greenberg told Variety. “On the radio, I could see us doing 15, 16, 17 minutes when the circumstances call for it.”
Listeners probably shouldn’t expect that for every conversation, however. And affiliate radio stations concerned with getting to their commercial breaks likely wouldn’t be thrilled with longer-form interviews every time out. But according to Greenberg, certain guests and special circumstances might warrant a longer interview, and he doesn’t want to miss out on those opportunities.
With Golic’s departure from radio, many listeners and fans remembered that the enormously successful Mike & Mike ended when Greenberg wanted to move on to Get Up. (His new radio show is presumably another venture that he envisioned doing without Golic as a partner.) Golic himself alluded to that in a podcast interview with Sarah Spain.
Mike Golic on his 2 morning shows reportedly ending because his co-hosts wanted to move on: pic.twitter.com/K29R7m0L0H
— The Podcass (@thepodcass) July 30, 2020
“Greeny wanted to go do something else, and that’s all been well-documented,” said Golic. “I wish he’d have come to me and kind of was a little more upfront about it. But that’s obviously in the past.”
Greenberg seemed to keep a distance from the well-wishers who were celebrating Golic’s 22 years on ESPN Radio, which included his 17-year Mike & Mike run. (And Golic’s wife revealed that ESPN passed on an attempt to reunite for a revival.) But he did eventually post his own tribute to his former radio partner on television two days before Golic’s final show.
Salute to @espngolic. pic.twitter.com/vFI0OgSIDv
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 29, 2020
What Greenberg doesn’t want to do is repeat Mike & Mike, which is one reason why he favors longer discussions and interviews with a variety of contributors and guests for his new program.
Yet that sounds more like a podcast than a radio show. Podcasts break up conversations for ad breaks as well, but listeners are consuming the content on-demand, rather than tuning in when they get into the car or stream audio through their phone or computer. Someone new is always joining the program, which is why you hear so many resets or repeated topics on radio.
Greeny will debut Aug. 17 along with the rest of ESPN Radio’s revamped lineup, beginning with a new morning show featuring Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams, and Zubin Mehenti. Also among the new additions, Max Kellerman will host a show following Greenberg’s. And Mike Golic Jr. will join Chiney Ogwumike for a program that will run in afternoon drive-time in many markets.
[Variety]
