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Called up to 'The Show' STREET & SMITH'S SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL -- Jonah Keri - Monday, June 7 From Bowie to the big time, the Sports Junkies land syndication deal The Sports Junkies made their national debut May 18. And they'd be the first ones to tell you just how "silly" that really is. Don't get Cakes, E.B., J.P. and Lurch wrong. The four late-20s buddies couldn't be happier about the 50-market syndication deal for their radio call-in show, a local hit heard weeknights at 7 on WJFK-FM 106.7. In Junkies vernacular, "silly" means very good. In fact, the Junks are downright "cised" -- excited as hell -- about syndication. "Waiting for this deal to get done was one of the most stressful things ever for me," Eric "E.B." Bickel said of the deal with New York-based Westwood One. "We haven't actually sat back together and gotten drunk because it hasn't really set in yet. We will soon though." How did this happen? How did Bickel, John "Cakes" Auville, John-Paul "J.P." Flaim and Jason "Lurch" Bishop -- guys whose prior job titles included guidance counselor, toy store manager and law school student-- go from cable access in Bowie to the big time in less than three years? They get the numbers, plain and simple. In the latest Arbitron ratings period, the Junkies were No. 1 in their time slot among men 18 and over, men 18 to 49 and men 25 to 54. Those figures are music to the ears of the bean counters at Fairfax-based WJFK. The Junkies are part of an over-the-top lineup at the station that includes morning shock jock Howard Stern, the ultra-conservative G. Gordon Liddy at midday and fun mongers Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara in the afternoon. All four shows bring in huge ratings, luring the all-important 25- to 54-year-old male listeners to WJFK's airwaves. Local advertisers are taking notice. Allison Karp, a broadcast media buyer for the The Bomstein Agency of D.C., said her client, The Washington Times, has ordered 15 radio spots a week during the Junkies' show -- and that was before the syndication deal stretched the show from three to four hours. "They're expensive, but when I want to reach a target audience, that's where I'm going," Karp said. How expensive is WJFK? Industry sources said the station charges about 20 to 25 percent more than its competitors for advertising. With the surge in Internet firms advertising on the radio, Karp said, most local stations are on a selling spree. JFK just takes in more dough for its troubles. OK, so the Junkies bring home the bacon. But why? A typical show can run the gamut, from a duel between Redskins-lover Bickel and Skins-basher Bishop, to an in-depth breakdown of the latest Ron Jeremy porn flick to the truly inane. On a recent show, the guys debated the ins and outs of tipping etiquette. Auville, Bickel and Flaim grilled Bishop for tipping supermarket bag boys $5 a trip. Bishop: "You think I don't know the tipping process?" Bickel: "You obviously don't if you're tipping the guy $5!" Flaim: "The one I have a problem with is giving a $4 tip for a $10 haircut -- at the same place I go to! It makes me look bad!" Hearing these guys yell at each other can be a riot, though typical 20-something listeners may wonder how the Junks actually get paid to air their bar talk. "That's the appeal," Flaim explained. "People listen as if they're a fifth Junkie." Robert Unmacht, publisher of M Street Journal, a radio industry newsletter based in Nashville, Tenn., said the Junkies' regular-guy appeal should play well for new listeners in New York, Los Angeles and other recently added markets. "WIP in Philadelphia was founded on the idea that they were loosely a sports station, but really just about anything that men talk about," Unmacht said. "That's what these guys do." RATINGS OPPORTUNITY The Junkies' competition will be fierce, Unmacht said. The Junks will start with about 50 affiliates, with Westwood One eying 50 more stations within the next year. Sports giants like ESPN, Ron Barr in Chicago and others will happily eat the Junks' lunch the second the guys slip. Westwood One's head honcho vowed the Junkies will be successful, even against the big boys. "People say these guys are young, but [New York radio personality Don] Imus started when he was young. Howard Stern started when he was young," said Joel Hollinger, Westwood One's president and CEO. While the Junkies vow to keep their free-flowing chatterbox format intact, the guys know Imus and Stern have something they want -- staying power. It was low ratings that freed up a spot for them on the Westwood program schedule. Scott Ferrall, an abrasive sports boss jock from Los Angeles, was riding high a year ago, with more than 100 affiliates carrying his show, "Ferrall On The Bench." But Ferrall recently was released from his contract by Westwood One after he accepted a play-by-play job with the expansion Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League. Coincidentally, Ferrall's ratings had slipped dramatically in the last year. Ferrall's loss is the Junkies' gain, and the guys plan to take the ball and run with it. The four nobodies from Bowie are smiling a lot these days, and not just because their new deal more than doubled their salaries. "A buddy of mine who's a lawyer is making close to six figures, and he hates it, hates his life," Flaim said. "It's great to be able to do something we actually enjoy doing."
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