It’s a prediction likely to have ABC listeners reaching for the smelling salts: Gerard Whateley could be the next Alan Jones.
No, Auntie’s much loved former sports commentary doyen isn’t going to morph into a bloviating shock jock now he’s crossed the Rubicon to commercial radio. Rather it’s his potential impact at struggling Melbourne sports station SEN that’s drawing comparisons with the Parrot.
Whateley began on air yesterday, after his stunning New Year defection from the ABC to SEN, which has recently been taken over by Whateley’s onetime rival Craig Hutchison and his company Crocmedia.
According to sports media expert Dave Lowden of La Trobe University, Hutchison’s recruiting coup could pay off as handsomely as John Singleton’s capture of Alan Jones from 2UE in 2002.
“In my opinion, the recruitment of Gerard Whateley to SEN 1116 is a coup, that has the potential to take the station to a new level,” he told Crikey. “It may be as important to SEN as the recruitment of Alan Jones was to 2GB. Whateley is quite possibly the best we have ever seen in Australian sports media at analysing and explaining the issues in and around sport to the average sports fan.”
No one familiar with Whateley’s work at the ABC would doubt that assessment, but those familiar with SEN might question whether it’s the right vehicle for Whateley’s bookish approach.
Rather than analysis and explanation, anyone tuning into “Melbourne’s Home of Sport”, is more likely to be met with endless tub-thumping about footy, talkback callers like Trout from Woodend or Snapper from Port Phillip Bay, and ads by Frank Walker from “National Tyyyyyyles”.
Understandably, it’s been viewed as a curious backward step for someone used to calling AFL, the Olympics, horse racing and cricket to a national audience.
Lowden says that analysis underplays not only Whateley’s appeal, but the ability and ambitions of Hutchison.
“New MD, Craig Hutchison has demonstrated with his own show on SEN and with regional football broadcasts that he can put together a content package that attracts national sponsors. It’s more difficult to pull in national advertising dollars but his track record would suggest he and his sales team can do just that if they can produce the right content.”
Readers might guffaw at the idea of Hutchison — a much derided former journalist, better known for his failed stint as host of the AFL Footy Show — as some sort of media guru, but it’s a view shared by numerous people Crikey spoke to. An “outstanding businessman” was the opinion of one.
Hutchison established Crocmedia as a sports broadcasting company which initially targeted regional radio rights, but has grown to become the AFL’s official commercial radio partner, on-selling broadcast rights to stations across the country. It has a similar arrangement with the FFA for A-League coverage and with Whateley coming on board, it’s likely cricket rights will be the next target in an attempt to build a truly national platform.
American sports are also likely to be a focus for SEN now Hutchison is in charge, with Crocmedia opening a New York office some years ago and Hutchison living there for half of the year. It’s telling that one of Whateley’s first big commentary assignments will be calling the Superbowl live from Minnesota next Monday — a first for Australian radio.
The change in approach and ambition has also led to a clear out of on-air talent, though even seasoned radio observers have been shocked by the ruthlessness of it. Much-loved drive hosts Mark Allen and David “The Ox” Schwarz finished their Friday show at 7pm on December 9 and had their passes and email cancelled by 7.05pm. Long-serving hosts Francis Leach and Mark Fine have also departed, while the Herald Sun’s chief football writer Mark Robinson has left the station despite the arrival of Whateley, his on-air partner at Fox Footy.
The changes come at a time when the future of sports radio is being questioned given the recent failures of EON Sports Radio, ABC Grandstand Digital and the rise of sports podcasts. If sports radio cannot work in Melbourne, then can it work at all?
Lowden, for one, is in no doubt that it can.
“I don’t think sports radio is past its use-by date. It just needs to be compelling listening. There is more work to do, but they are off to a good start.”
I’m not a fan of sports commentary on any media. But in the case of Gerard Whateley, I’d say ‘follow the money’. Must be costing SEN a fortune!
Funny, I always thought Whately was grossly overrated. His legacy at the ABC can be observed in the self obsessed and narcissistic cricket commentary team that increasingly favoured opinion and anecdote over descriptions of what is actually happening on the field, in front of them.
May his departure lead to a more concise and focused description of events rather than boring and irrelevant reminiscences by third rate ex-players who can’t get a gig on commercial TV.
ABC commentary on radio kills the commercial tv commentary, both in substance and the quality of the team.
Unfortunately digital TV no longer allows us to watch the cricket on commercial TV with the sound off and the ABC radio commentary.
The rot began when that tekglitch hit HG & Roy’s festival of the boot – I never recovered.
There’s no doubt that it was time for Kevin Bartlett to be moved on from the 9am to midday slot, as he had become a bit of a caricature of himself, and seemed to be on his way to being the next Lou Richards circa 1999 (irrelevant but always hanging around). However, having listened to Gerard for his first 3 days, I have serious doubts as to him being the correct replacement for the audience. I also find it very interesting that the breakfast team segue straight into his show without any 9am news bulletin. Are station management afraid of people switching stations in that 7 minute gap?
As to the other presenters who left or were fired, Francis Leach was easily the best and would have been a really great morning host, just as he was on Triple J many years ago, but he announced his departure long before Crocmedia appeared on the horizon. With the exception of Mark Allen, the rest of the ‘terminated’ were below average hacks who believed their own press releases, or well past their use-by dates.