Colin Cowherd has a sweet gig. But if he could have it his way, Cowherd would talk half as much NFL as he does on Fox Sports 1.
Discussing the differences between local radio and national sports talk shows with Nick Wright last week, Cowherd explained how he would change the mix of The Herd if he could.
“They can go places I can’t go because I have a television component,” Cowherd explained on The Colin Cowherd Podcast. “Minute to minute, my ratings are judged. So there’s no question I do more NFL now. If I were just doing local radio, I would probably do 30 percent NFL. Now I do 58 to 60 percent.”
Most Mondays on every sports show in America, the NFL rules. Nearly every segment is going to be NFL talk whether you’re local or national.
But college football Saturdays and daily sports like basketball or hockey often get left behind. Cowherd is also a relatively big soccer fan, which will rarely get airtime on any show in 2023.
Cowherd relishes the more personalized touch that local sports radio hosts get to use, in addition to leaning less on the NFL for conversation.
“Every time I’m in the local market, I talk to the local guys. I think they’re funny, I think they’re interesting,” Cowherd added. “I think those shows are raw, I’m not allowed to be as raw. They’re unhinged, I’m not allowed to be unhinged.”
While Cowherd acknowledged the biggest national sports radio jobs are comfortable and lucrative, he argued most hosts agree local is better.
“I could name 20 shows off the top of my head, I think they’re excellent,” Cowherd told Wright. “I don’t think most local guys want syndication. I think the best jobs in sports radio are local.”
However, Cowherd’s podcast is chock full of NFL chatter as well. He does a weekly preview and recap show, with only one show per week usually not talking NFL.
This idea seems to work better as a dream for Cowherd than reality. Any local sports talk listener would probably agree — the NFL rules those shows as well.
That’s just the reality in this country, not just on nationally broadcast programs like The Herd.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.