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| Infinity Broadcasting
Chair & CEO Joel Hollander |
JOEL HOLLANDER, Chair & CEO of Viacom’s Infinity Broadcasting, began his radio career in sales, starting in Florida before returning to his native New York, where he helped launch the concept of sports-talk radio. With Hollander as GM, WFAN-AM became the No. 1 revenue-generating station in the country. Later on, as President & CEO of Westwood One, Hollander acquired Metro Networks and developed partnerships with the NFL, the NCAA, Univ. of Notre Dame football, the USGA, Wimbledon, The Masters, the Grammys, Fox News and the Academy of Country Music. He also extended Viacom brands with the launch of radio networks with VH1, BET and CMT and the expansion of MTV Radio Network. Hollander spoke recently with SportsBusiness Journal New York bureau chief Jerry Kavanagh.
Q: PEGGY NOONAN wrote, “TV gives everyone an image, but radio gives birth to a million images in a million brains.”
Hollander: Yeah, it’s kind of like radio is theater of the mind.
Q: How many Infinity radio stations are there nationwide?
Hollander: 181
Q: How many listeners do you reach each week?
Hollander: 70 million.
Q: Infinity is one of the largest major-market radio operators in the U.S., with stations that cover news, rock, oldies, country, sports talk, classic rock...
Hollander: And also urban, Spanish and adult contemporary.
Q: Do you have a favorite format? What do you listen to in your car?
Hollander: Sports.
Q: In 1964, MARSHALL MCLUHAN wrote, “The medium is the message.” How effective in 2005 is radio as a medium in a visual society?
Hollander: Radio is very effective, whether it’s selling products for clients, whether it’s during events like the blackout in New York or hurricanes in Florida. It’s the consumers’ best friend at a moment when they need emergency information. Also, radio does a tremendous job of moving clients’ products, of raising money for different causes.
Q: Is it a tougher market in this generation with cable television, DVD players, the Internet, music that is downloaded and so forth.
Hollander: Yeah. Listen, there are more choices for consumers and more choices for advertisers. That’s clear. But radio is still an incredibly vibrant industry.
Q: You are considered a role model for many in the industry. Someone even referred to you as the godfather of sports-talk radio, going back to your days at WFAN. How did you get your start?
Hollander: I probably get too much credit. It was actually the original owner, the owner at that time of the radio station, JEFF SMULYAN, who was the president of Emmis Broadcasting. It was his idea. I was made the sales manager at the time, on July 1, 1987. I thought it was a wonderful idea, that people in New York City were very passionate about sports and that it would work. And you know, all these years later, there are over 500 sports radio stations.
Q: There were some doubters in the beginning, weren’t there?
Hollander: There were a lot of doubters, but with any new project there are always naysayers. I believed it would work. But the biggest catalyst at the beginning was switching from 1050 [AM on the radio dial in N.Y.] to 660, the biggest signal, and IMUS kind of anchoring the format and then “Mike and the Mad Dog” and the teams and things of that nature.
Q: In 2000, you said WFAN, which aired horse racing and auto shows, among other content, learned sports radio’s first lesson: “You can’t be everything to everybody.” What did you mean by that?
Hollander: What happened was, WFAN was kind of a premise made on the back of one of the tabloid papers: What’s the headline of the day? So, today, I’m sure [fans are] talking about the Yankees’ spring training. That’s what people want to talk about in New York. Or maybe Big East basketball. ... When the Mets made a trade or signed CARLOS BELTRAN, it was that. It’s kind of like headline news. What’s the headline of the day and what’s the topic. Horse racing, auto racing -- they’re not sports that have broad appeal. It doesn’t mean that they’re not great. They just don’t have broad appeal.
Q: Viacom co-president and co-COO LES MOONVES said, “Joel ... has helped our stations grow their ratings and revenues in a challenging advertising climate. He’s also helped sell Madison Avenue on the power of radio and on our Infinity brands.” What is the power of radio? And what makes the climate so challenging?
Hollander: The power of radio is that it’s very intimate with people, whether they want local news, traffic, weather, sports. We think it’s a big part of people’s daily lives that’s not going to go away. [The challenge is that] there are a lot more choices for consumers and for advertisers.
Q: Sports-talk radio: It seems to work on a local level. Is it a format that works on a national level?
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| Hollander Feels That Sports Radio
Works Best On Local Level |
Hollander: My opinion -- which doesn’t mean I’m right -- is that sports radio is not something that works widely nationally unless there’s a huge topic. I would assume the steroids issue with baseball is a national story, a big story, so that would play. But I think on most days, people care about what’s going on locally with their teams. In New York, it’s the Yankees and the Mets, or why the Knicks are so bad, or what’s up with the hockey strike and the Rangers. I believe that people care about the local flavor. People in New York don’t really care about the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Q: I read where you said, “I think it will be a growth year for the industry.” Why do you say that? Where will the growth come from?
Hollander: I think the growth will come from different categories, new ideas. I think the economy is starting to get better. The industry is starting to do a better job of presenting themselves, you know, to other advertisers.
Q: You have also talked about the opportunity and potential of Spanish-language programming. Where is Infinity with that?
Hollander: We just made a couple of huge moves over the last 4-5 months. We’re now a 10[%] owner in Spanish Broadcasting Systems. ... And we just made a very gutsy move. About three or four weeks ago, we changed a 35-year heritage-rock radio station in [DC], WHFS, to Spanish. We did some research. We thought it was a hole and we went after it.
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| Hollander Sees Satellite
Radio As Boutique Business |
Q: What’s your opinion on satellite radio?
Hollander: I think they have a lot of issues. Please remember that there are 250 million people that listen to the radio every day in the United States and there are still only 4 million satellite subscribers. And again, there are a lot of different choices [including] technology, whether it’s iPods or radio on the Internet. So, I think it’s a business, but it’s a boutique business.
Q: The JANET JACKSON incident at last year’s Super Bowl has produced repercussions on television broadcasts. What has been the FCC effect on radio?
Hollander: Well, you’ve probably heard HOWARD STERN mentioned many times. There are a number of people who think it can have a chilling effect. I’m kind of a First Amendment guy. I think also that the industry probably pushes the envelope a little bit too much. But I think everybody is trying to police themselves now.
Q: JOE COHEN of HTN said, “I’ve been around sports and sports television since 1970. I believe that the best deals are deals that are win-win deals where everybody walks away a winner.” What’s the best deal you have made?
Hollander: I’ve made a lot of them. I agree with Joe that the best deals are win-win. Those are very hard to do with some of the major league teams because they’re under such pressure with the escalation of salaries that they’re always looking to extract more money from the media.
Q: How many deals does Infinity have with major league sports teams?
Hollander: 29.
Q: What’s the best new idea in radio?
Hollander: I think there are new ideas in radio every day. There are 12,000 radio stations in the United States, and there are a lot of program directors at individual stations in local markets that are coming up with good programming ideas and good promotional ideas every day of the week.
Q: What’s the secret to your success?
Hollander: Leadership and quick answers. I think that I’m very direct. People know where they stand.
Q: Who’s the shrewdest or most creative person in sports business?
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| Hollander Considers Tagliabue Gold
Standard For Sports Business Execs |
Hollander: I guess you have to say the Yankees are a juggernaut. They created their own network and now it looks like there are a lot of teams that want to do that. And the KRAFTS in Boston took a moribund franchise, and look what they’ve done with it. The Atlanta Braves won their division 13 times in a row. There are not a lot of people who have that type of continuity.
Overall, I’d have to say the NFL. I think they have created the gold standard of how a league should be run. PAUL TAGLIABUE’s done an unbelievable job.
Q: Much has been written about the so-called convergence of sports and entertainment. What’s your take on how mainstream entertainment has been integrated into sports?
Hollander: I think that’s one of the reasons that sports has gotten so big. Look at the Super Bowl and what it’s become. It’s such an event; it’s just not a game anymore. It’s the same thing with the NCAA tournament. I think some of the golf tournaments are getting that way. Baseball has expanded its playoff format over the last ten years. Sports and entertainment kind of intertwine. By owning a team and trying to widen their fan appeal, [owners] have gone into the entertainment business, which is smart.
Q: What is your favorite movie?
Hollander: Goodfellas.
Q: Who is your favorite actor?
Hollander: ROBERT DENIRO.
Q: Who is your favorite musician?
Hollander: STEVIE WONDER.
Q: What is your favorite sporting event?
Hollander: The seventh game of the NHL finals.
Q: What is your favorite vacation spot?
Hollander: My backyard.
Q: What book are you reading?
Hollander: “The Origins of Brands,” by AL and LAURA RIES.
