DC Radio: Redskins, ESPN 980 To Have More Synergy

The Redskins and Red Zebra broadcasting — the Daniel Snyder-controlled network of local radio stations — will have a closer business relationship under a new management structure created this month, according to The Washington Post.

Red Zebra CEO Rick Carmean left the company and will not be replaced, while Redskins Executive Vice President Terry Bateman, the chairman of Red Zebra, will take a more active role in running the stations.

Carmean told employees at ESPN 980, the team’s flagship station, about his departure early last week. Bateman then addressed employees on Friday, explaining the justification for the move.

Terry Bateman

“The message is we’re trying to create a better business; that’s all there is to it,” Bateman said in an interview in his Redskins Park office Tuesday afternoon. “We’re not changing the content of the radio station.”

Bateman said the “big driver” of the radio stations is Redskins game broadcasts and surrounding programming, and that it makes sound business sense for the business staffs to work together. Red Zebra will be able to sell Redskins assets — like television commercials and FedEx Field signage — while Redskins staffers will be able to sell radio time. They will also share sales information, and work together to take care of clients.

While Bateman said he hopes advertisers will have a better experience, he also said listeners should not be able to tell the difference. He said the focus and content of ESPN 980 programming won’t change, and there are no current plans to change any of the shows.

The station still has a hole during morning drive after the cancellation of “The Man Cave” in October; it has instead been running ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” four mornings a week. Bateman said ratings for “The Man Cave” — which featured former Post columnist Jason Reid and radio veteran Chris Paul — were “bad, and that’s why the show’s not there anymore. It was purely a ratings decision. They went down, down, down, down, down, and you can’t run a business like that.”