MIKE GREENBERG, MIKE GOLIC AND MIKE GOLIC, JR.
A fact of the case:
Radio is the leading ‘reach platform.’
El Numero Uno.
Believe it or not — I couldn’t — 93% of us listen to AM/FM radio over the airwaves, which is higher than TV viewership (89%); PC use (50%); smartphone use (83%); and tablet use (37%).
A figure:
271 million Americans age 6 and older listen to the radio each week.
And three more sets of figures:
More than 67.8 million Millennials listen each week with 92% reached weekly; audiences are more diverse — 42 million Hispanic listeners (97% weekly usage) and 32 million African-American listeners (92% weekly usage) in March 2017; and digital radio listenership has dramatically increased from 12% of Americans age 12 and older weekly in 2007 to 53% in 2017.
One more fact:
The top three formats are: Country; News/Talk; and Pop Contemporary Hit Radio.
According to the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan brain trust educating the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world by conducting opinion polling and examining demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science data, “traditional AM/FM radio…continues to reach the overwhelming majority of the American public audio as a platform [and] is stronger than ever as more and more ways to listen continue to emerge.”
News/talk/information stations are one of the most popular broadcast radio formats (see above) and online radio listenership in cars has increased to 40% of U.S. cellphone users [listening] in 2017.
And in spite of the fact that on-demand streaming (Spotify; Apple Music, etc.) accounts for 51% of a younger Millennial’s daily listening, old-time regular AM/FM radio still has appeal, as 35% of the general population listen on any given day.
In 2015 Nielsen reported that 245 million Americans tuned in to a radio at least once in the second quarter of that year, representing an incredible 91% of people 12 and older.
Mike & Mike (nee Mike & Mike in the Morning) was a popular sports-talk radio show hosted by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic on ESPN networks from 2000–2017, the length of the eighteen-year tenure bordering on epic.
Airing on ESPN Radio and then simulcast on television first on ESPNews (2004) and then on ESPN2 (2006), the four-hour drivetime broadcast focused on the day’s more compelling sports topics in an entertaining way, largely because of the brotherly banter tossed around between the Mikes.
Greenberg, a 1989 Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism graduate and one of the first hosts of ESPNews from its inception in November of 1996, was considered the more cerebral of the two and Golic’s little brother.
Golic, five years Greenberg’s senior, was the Notre Dame football captain as a defensive tackle and graduated with his class in 1985 before playing for three NFL teams over an eight-year professional career.
(He was a decorated wrestler for the Irish as well).
While certainly no dope he willfully accepted his role as the second banana, albeit with a pretty keen insight, and at times acted as Greenberg’s foil.
The long-lasting show was such a fixture in the audio and then visual arenas that the split of Greenberg and Golic remains a hot topic, months after the fact.
Greenberg’s new TV gig, “Get Up,” is scheduled to begin April 2nd. and will be based in New York City. (He will be joined by co-hosts Jalen Rose and Michelle Beadle).
Golic’s new show Golic and Wingo, pairing him with veteran ESPN anchor Trey Wingo began broadcasting from ESPN headquarters (the former home of M & M) November 27th., a scant ten days after Mike & Mike’s on-the-air farewell.
It will remain in the early-morning slot and continue to enjoy ESPN radio and TV exposure.
While Greenberg has largely been mum on the break-up and its preceding anticipatory tension and ensuing fallout, Golic — always animated — has tried like mad to take the high road.
When asked about what conversations he and Greenberg may have had, he erred on caution’s side saying, “I will never get into more locker room stuff, but it was awkward. We had to work through some things, but I will leave it at that. My line has been it’s not my story to tell. It’s management’s and Greenie’s story to get into the particulars if they want. I’m not going into that. But Greenie and I are fine now.”
Word on the street was that Golic was angry and disappointed that he was effectively blindsided.
The fact that Greenberg was negotiating with ESPN suits and was unwilling or unable to give Golic any kind of heads-up rankled him.
Though not close socially — they live 1½ hours from one another and their kids “are way different ages” — Golic felt he deserved better both from Greenberg and the bosses.
But the idea of reuniting with Wingo (NFL Tonight — -2003) and re-creating the instant chemistry they had, as well as working with his son Mike Jr. — who has his own show, First and Last on the ESPN airwaves from 4–6 AM after which he’d join Golic and Wingo for the first hour or so — intrigued him.
He decided to stay on, noting characteristically that entertaining the audience while having fun remains paramount.
“The last few years of Mike & Mike, it became a TV show on radio. We are going back to a radio show on TV…with fun bits, entertainment and sports. If we are laughing at something, we hope listeners will laugh with us or at least at us. Either way, we are still making people laugh. We will put on the best damn show we can and we will have a ball doing it.”
As for Junior, watch out.
A 6’ 4” 300 lb. cutout of his father from the old man’s playing days (with appreciably less hair) Golic Jr. also played college football at Notre Dame where he was an offensive lineman and an Academic All-American.
A sip of coffee on the professional level (NFL; CFL; AFL — 2013–2014) wrapped it up for him and it’s just as well that he can still think clearly because his mastery of the English language is startling to say the least.
He is remarkably articulate and every bit as astute.
Rarely does he make an error of any sort and his dialogue flows as freely and easily as water running downhill. His words and thoughts dance over the air as Misty Copeland might across the stage.
He’s that accomplished in the embryonic stages of his broadcasting career.
And this is good for Golic Sr.
Feeling beleaguered and betrayed by the leak of the pair’s parting last spring before they had the opportunity to announce it themselves and then the months of rumors about their deteriorating relationship and a “poisonous atmosphere on set,” was almost enough to push the 55-year-old Golic to retirement in Arizona.
He resisted and decided to move forward resolutely and honestly.
“They presented me the thought of Trey doing it and then my son, and…I still love doing it, I still love talking sports. So like I said, I changed teams a few times in the NFL, so it’s the same game I’m playing, just with different teammates.”
As for proceeding honestly and clearing the air, being upfront defines Golic.
“The best thing you can do in a situation like that,” he offered “is just have a conversation. The last thing in the world you want is stuff just kind of hanging out there…The bottom line was that the decision was made, so the main thing at that point was just to make sure there was a conversation of saying, ‘OK, this is the reality of it, so we need to deal with it. And the bottom line is we still need to put on a good show no matter how either one of us felt about it at the time or the decision that was made.’…And Greenie and I are fine.”
Pretty good attitude for a guy of the mind that ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,’ and one who — initially experiencing “anger” and “disappointment” — likened the unceremonious plug-pulling of an enormously successful show to “splitting face cards at a blackjack table. You have a winning hand, why are you risking that?”
Golic father and son — and Wingo — are professionals, as is Greenberg.
They will all be more than just fine.
Hurt feelings are like stubbing your toe. The pain can be intense at the beginning but eventually it goes away.
You may never forget which is okay.
Besides, what’s so horrible about working with a long-time compadre and your first-born namesake son and continuing to bring in some nice coin doing it?
I know, I know.
Getting up at 2 o’clock in the morning 5 days a week to go to the office.
[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in February 2018.]
