Saturday, March 8, 2014

Exclusive: KGO-TV/ABC Might Make Pitch for Gary Radnich; KNBR/KRON Personality Courted; Beil's Hawaiian TV Adventure Contingency

  He is undoubtedly the most popular media personality in the Bay Area--TV and Radio--nobody comes close. Even his detractors would agree with that assessment and given today's stale environment locally, that's not necessarily a rocking assertion, nevertheless, in the #6 market, it's big enough.

Gary Radnich --the all-knowing, funny, not-so-funny occasionally, Don Ricklesesque , all aboard the USS KNBR and KRON for over three decades on TV and approaching a quarter century on sports-talk radio. He's not at the top of his game but he still has enough cachet through social, political and media people to live a very comfortable life and enjoy the luxuries befitting a top banana in a big market.

He's set in the radio end with a popular program on KNBR and a decent six-figure salary enjoying life from 9-Noon before spending time with family and doing the domestic things some of us are all acquainted with; in fact, he's got it pretty good, all in all even at the place, (KRON), he refers to, with a smidgen of great sarcasm, his buster-brown gig. The good news: Radnich can pretty much do what he wants to do, read his sports notes, do his thing and vacate the premises at his leisure, it's KRON you know, or as Radnich would say, get in and get out.

But he's clearly got radio at the top of the totem pole. TV is in his back saddle and just by watching his performance you know that, it's solidly indelible for better or worse. He signed his last big contract many moons ago when KRON was affiliated with NBC and Young/Media General-less. A move both NBC and KRON's owner at the time knew would be a big mistake; a move that would hurt both parties; most notably the network which has never really found its niche in San Francisco or San Jose. But that's another story.

Rumors continue to make the rounds that KGO-TV's top sports/news guy, Larry Beil is looking to go back to Hawaii. He loves it there. A KGO source told me recently that Beil would just as soon be "a big fish in a little pond" and that he covets both the weather and conditions of his Hawaiian roots.

If Beil was serious about going Hawaii 5-0, that would potentially free up a sports position at ABC O and O KGO. It's no secret that a station like KGO would love to shake up the market and make a splashy hire: oh, and who would be available if Beil departed? Yeah, you got it, The great Radu.

ABC and its O and O honchos would no doubt have to make the call here for a big-time hire along the lines of a Radnich switch. And of course there exists quite a few notable sidebars like, for example, money, availability, time, the usual suspects but this much is certain: the dynamics are already in play, provided Radnich is interested and Beil is longing for Honolulu TV News. The answer to both questions are sure, yes indeedy.

Beil has a contract but there's buyout provisions in it. Radnich is working on a special "at-will" arrangement at KRON receiving more than adequate compensation above scale. His monetary meat and potatoes exist at KNBR where he's hovering in and around the $400K salary range. He could receive the same, (or more, conceivably), at KGO, but a hire of that sort of significance would definitely shake up the scene and place Channel 7 and its news blocks at the top of the heap.

As mentioned, yes, there remains a plethora of things and details to be worked out and arranged. Would KGO allot extra time and deviate from their own news style template needed to accommodate Radnich's style? Probably not, more both sides would have to implement a hybrid system where Gary could do his thing and the Dan Ashleys and Carolyn Johnsons do their own. It sounds far-fetched but it really isn't. Given the high-stakes involving such a bold move both sides would have to adapt and make no mistake this would be a bold move.

But this much is certain. Such a move makes sense for both parties. Radnich is still in his prime and could use a change of scenery. ABC and its O and O division, (owned and operated stations), has the financial wherewithal to pull off such a tactical fire and there's no better opportunity than in the Bay Area market where Disney would love to once again conquer. Getting someone like Radnich would accomplish that missive and by the way, KGO's GM, Bill Berton, is a big fan of Radnich. What a coincidence.

Furthermore it's just a matter of time where Radnich is young enough to pull in his last big payday and opportunity and of course to do that he would need a seeker and some availability --KTVU is set with Mark Ibanez who recently was re-upped and is set; KPIX and Dennis O'Donnell are happy with one another , (O'Donnell is signed too), and KNTV is embedded with Comcast and its pickings, (both owned by the same mega-media company). Which brings us to KGO and the Mickey Mouse club.

How convenient.

*Follow me on Twitter

*Rich Lieberman 415 Media Exclusive


29 comments:

  1. Gary needs to stop visiting those Healdsburg 'massage' parlors though when he tells Alicia and the 3 Radu children that daddy is just going out for a short drive....

    You can take the guy out of the tenderloin but you cant take the tenderloin out of the guy. Ask Tony Ribera, Willie Brown or the SFPD beat cops.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That would make Mike Schulman very uncomfortable. Radnich has always made Schulman sound like a jerk,pretentious and condescending to local media. Mike might want to update linkeden and facebook pages if this comes true...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey,how about a STAN salute to David Louie and Leslie Brinkley?..going over Wiki's KGO TV page,reminds me of those forgotten reporters I trust. Sergio too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I might be in a minority but if KGO hired Radnich I would never watch their news again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @3:14 - I'm with you. I never got the guy and hope I never will.

      Rich, a heads-up, am radio is deader'n a doorknob, I wouldn't hang my hat there.

      Delete
    2. I'm the opposite. If KGO hired Radnich I might actualy turn them on for the first time.

      Delete
  5. Didn't you say Kate Scott was auditioning to be sports anchor at KGO? So both she & Radnich could end up there? As for Radnich being "young enough," he's 64 and a lot of media people younger than that are being canned because they're too old.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gary should stay with KRON and workout some deal with Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Never understood why local news would pay big bucks for a sports anchor these days. Six figures for 2 or 3 minutes of scores and highlights that most people who care had gotten from their phone hours ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sports is one of the few areas, another being weather, in broadcasting where "Personality" is tolerated and can be a tremendous asset if it fits the station and the market.

      Delete
    2. Exactly. As Raddy would say: "sportscasters are stealing money". Why pay some half ass tonsil six figures to spit out information I got live onto my phone six hours ago!!?? Same with weather guessers, they tease the weather forecast for 45 minutes as if I can't whip out my phone and see a minute by minute radar break down on my phone. Pathetic! Furthermore, can anyone see how Raddy's don rickles act would play with Dan Ashley? Awkwaaaaaaard!

      Delete
    3. Gary is no fool. KGO is drifting south primarily because of foolish News Management. Why trade one shithole for another?

      Delete
  8. Radnich is one lucky guy. Amazing how a guy who has always half assed it on air was so popular? Was it the lack of sophistication of the viewing audience that allowed that? The only thing sadder than Gary's (lots of wrong facts, idiotic dated assumptions) was Vernon Glenn imitating Gary's act.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A bigger mystery is....How did Larry Beil jump to sports director over Schulman who's been here 35 years? Like Shu couldn't be like Radnich and fake he knows more then one sport?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Radnich reminds me of the Razor, stop following sports a zillions years ago, he is tremendously insecure with his continued bashes of anyone who gets in his way. Radnich is not in his prime, he looks like he should retire to Miami Beach, with all of the buffets there, he would love it.,

    ReplyDelete
  11. Radnich, Damon Bruce, K.T. Scott, and Amy G are "media personalities" who masquerade in the world of sports.

    ReplyDelete
  12. One thing about Radnich is he says ' If you love what you do"...only what does he do? Even his co-horts tell him he has no passion for sports any longer. Radnich's main sport is basketball right?..well, he doesn't seem very moved by the Warriors or especially talkative about the players. What he does is say something like, " If Lee is your second best player, your not a very good"...BUT, he drops that on all team sports. He doesn't go into any detail of how the Warrior players are at skills,and traits..nothing. If fact he tells his crew "That bores my audience". No it doesn't!..what bores them is ignoring real basketball info for the retelling of the 1974 South Dakota starting lineup. Or Rihanna's love life. He doesn't sound like a man who loves any sport let alone B-ball.
    He makes a living doing sports radio,but he's never going to be admired like Bill King or Lon Simmons even if he's on KNBR another 30 years.
    And I didn't even have to get personal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stan can complain all he wants but it's time to face facts: Radnich "is undoubtedly the most popular media personality in the Bay Area--TV and Radio--nobody comes close."


      Delete
  13. Radnich AGAIN!! I look forward to the day when certain folks who get mentioned over 70 times each week get a link established on this blog. If you want to read the latest about Gary, click this link, same thing with 'Mattress Man' when articles exceed x amount within a weeks's time. Same thing with this annoying Stan character who posts multiple responses to his own postings, in his efforts to further INVADE this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Why is 'Amy G' even being mentioned here? Or Kate Scott for that matter? Scott at least has a voice that sounds professional, although she also sounds like one of those gals who's doing an impression of a guy trying to sound like an announcer. It's too forced. Amy G? 15 years ago, she would have been laughed off the air in places such as Fresno or San Louis Obispo! She's got an annoying teenage quality sounding voice, knows squat about baseball, and is a waste of time to have on the Giants TV broadcasts. I always wondered what idiot broadcast executive hired her and now has kept her on the Giants broadcasts for several years. What a lame-brained move that was! I don't know anyone, any baseball fan worth their weight in salt here in Northern California who finds that she add anything to the broadcast. Frankly, it's embarrassing and you'd think the poor woman would have gotten just a little bit better over the years, but she hasn't!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's San *Luis* Obispo. By the way, the Fox and CBS stations in Santa Maria got rid of their sports reports completely a while back. While I love sports, it was no great loss. The NBC affiliate in SLO still has sports on their news broadcast, but it's laughably bad.

      Delete
    2. Watched the Giants ST game last Saturday, and you are right. Amy G is not getting any better. In fact, her highly annoying baby voice was even worse at times! And her interviews were just awful. Her segments are the lowlight of every Giants telecast.

      Delete
  15. Hey Stan, it's Mike Shumann, not Schulman!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shumann,Haener..those people and their creative ethnic name spellings!.Shoeman and Hayner isn't good enough?
      Thanks!.

      Delete
    2. Creative ethnic names?
      Stan, your spelling is as confused as your thinking. You get names wrong, you get facts wrong, you get ideas wrong.

      Delete
  16. What I am truly looking forward to is the day Paulie Mac is finally let go so Gary can really start making fun of him. I bet he could fill a weeks worth of shows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. McCaffrey really is bad. His crappiness is hidden most times, but recently, his co-host was on vacation and he was on his own. It was painful to listen to. He only knows San Francisco sports from his own age on. He's supposedly a music geek but he couldn't even tell the Johnny Burnette Trio's version of Train Kept A Rollin' from the Yardbirds. I was sincerely surprised the didn't think it was Aerosmith's version because that would've been up his alley.

      Delete
  17. I hear Kate Scott secretly would like to tie up and gag Radnich and Larry and then take over the show while they struggle with their bonds and so "mmmmpphhh!"

    ReplyDelete
  18. That would be soooo funny! Hahahaha! Can you imagine Kate Scott doing a talk show while she had the nooner boys trussed up and gagged in the back room and she controlled the airwaves at KNBR? What a hoot that would be! I wonder what kind of ratings they would get?

    ReplyDelete