I bump into ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on Maryland’s College Park campus about once or twice a year and see firsthand what a recognizable star the Maryland alum has become. It’s the same story with “SportsCenter” anchor Kevin Negandhi on Temple’s Philadelphia campus.
I am convinced that more people in my hometown of Washington, D.C., would recognize CBS announcer Jim Nantz or ESPN’s Chris Berman than any of the city’s sports stars.
That kind of recognition is a main reason why The Montag Group signed a development deal with Stadium for an interview series called “Broadcast Stories” that will feature one-on-one interviews where some of the biggest names in sports broadcasting discuss how they got their start and tell stories about their careers.
“Broadcasters are sometimes bigger than the players or events that they’re calling,” said Sandy Montag, CEO of The Montag Group. “Obviously, they are not bigger than the NFL or the major events. But with the power of ESPN, ‘SportsCenter,’ the other networks and big events, broadcasters have become household names. Their Q ratings are off the chart.”
Montag and Stadium CEO Jason Coyle came up with the idea after the success of “Baseball Stories” earlier this year, which was hosted by Jayson Stark.
One of the best-known agents in the business, Montag has an elite roster of sports broadcasters, including Nantz, Van Pelt, James Brown, Bob Costas and Mike Tirico. Montag made a point to note that the series would interview broadcasters repped by other agencies.
Montag and Coyle have not settled on a host for the series, which is slated to debut in the first quarter of 2019.
“Everyone got their start somewhere,” Montag said. “How that happens and the path that they took to get to stardom is an interesting story — especially today when there are so many schools of journalism and so many schools of sports management, the path isn’t easy. It’s kind of a motivational story for people out there that it can happen.”
