Industry News

Rob King Named Steelers Play-By-Play Voice

iHeartMedia Pittsburgh announces that Rob King is promoted to play-by-play voice for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. King has been a member of the Steelers Audio Network pre-game and post-game broadcast teamim since 2014 and a part of the Pittsburgh sports media landscape for nearly 25 years. He takes over for Bill Hillgrove, who retired after serving for 30 seasons. King is joined in the booth by color analyst Craig Wolfley. King says, “The Steelers hold a special place in this community and across the country. I am thankful to Art Rooney II, the Steelers and iHeartMedia for giving me this incredible opportunity to be a meaningful part of one of the greatest organizations in professional sports. I look forward to getting started, doing the job well and bringing the enthusiasm of the games to people around the world. I could not be more excited.”

Industry Views

Monday Memo: A.I. Cannot Do This Commercial

By Holland Cooke
Consultant

imActor Hugh Grant’s Tweet called it “The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley.” He was reacting to Apple’s TV commercial depicting a hydraulic press crushing a piano, a record player, paint, books, cameras, and other creative tools Artificial Intelligence emulates, via the new iPad Pro.

With many now fearful that technology will obsolete their jobs, Apple yanked the spot: “We missed the mark with this video and we’re sorry.”

Following my recent column cautioning how ChatGPT-generated ads can be cliché-riddled, several TALKERS readers have sent me even more of the cringe-worthy catch-phrases (“And much more!”) that reduce too many ads to blah-blah-blah.

Various vendors are offering – and, increasingly, stations are using – Artificial Intelligence apps to script, and even voice, commercials. It’s a time-saver alright, but is the output compelling?

In some cases, there’s a fill-in-the-blanks form. Other apps crawl the prospect’s website for copy points. When I’m given demonstrations, I suggest a business I’m familiar with. And I’ve yet to hear a script that captures what makes the business special.

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For one such demo,’ I chose a restaurant we frequent often, here on Block Island. The copy generated was painfully generic. So – to make the point – I went old-school, using the method that has consistently produced results for client stations and in my freelance work.

My video describing the process “Radio Advertising, In Their Own Words” includes several examples… and here’s another.

The AI robot cannot possibly feel-the-feel anyone who has dined there knows… and can’t spot this opportunity: The chef himself is a story, as entertained customers discover: http://getonthenet.com/TheBarn-BrianHebert-1.mp3

And here’s The Free Prize Inside: People tell advertisers who appear in their spots, “I heard you on the radio!”

More work than simply plugging-into an AI app? You bet. The interview from which I excerpted the sound bites you’ll hear took all of five minutes, and I voiced and assembled the spot in under half an hour.

Everything we do is storytelling.

Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. He is the author of “Close Like Crazy: Local Direct Leads, Pitches & Specs That Earned the Benjamins” and  “The Local Radio Advantage: Your 4-Week Tune-In Tune-Up,” and “Confidential: Negotiation Checklist for Weekend Talk Radio.” Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke and connect on LinkedIn.

Industry News

Justin Shackil Joins WFAN’s Yankees Broadcasts

Audacy announces Justin Shackil is joining WFAN, New York’s flagship broadcast coverage of New York Yankees baseball as the station’s primary postgame show host for the Yankees Radio Network. He will also fill in for legendary play-by-play voice John Sterling for approximately 30 games, alongside Suzyn Waldman, during the 2023 season. Audacy New York market president Chris Oliviero states, “Justin is no stranger to the Bronx and his passion for the pinstripes make him the ideal person to join the iconic duo of John and Suzyn in the booth. His contributions to the broadcast last season were terrific and well received, so we’re excited to see him return in this enhanced role.”