From Ed Sherman on Crain's Chicago Business' website.

[bMike North's new direction

By Ed Sherman

Jan. 10, 2009

Before he was a Chicago radio personality, Mike North ran a hot-dog stand. To pay for airtime during his first radio gig, he sold the advertising himself. "Nobody can sell me like me," he says.

To make a success of his latest show, "Monsters in the Midway," Mr. North will need all the salesmanship and business acumen he can muster. Debuting this week on Comcast SportsNet, the show promises not only a potentially groundbreaking new format but a new business model, one in which Mr. North serves as not just highly paid on-air talent but also as a partner in the show - and as chief sales rep.

"Monsters," which airs live from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays, is billed as a local sports-oriented version of the "Today Show." It will feature interviews, highlights, viewer e-mail and plenty of banter between Mr. North and co-host Dan Jiggetts, a dynamic that helped solidify Mr. North's sports radio show at WSCR-AM (670) when the two were on-air partners. Mr. North also has brought along his former WSCR producer, Jen Patterson.

"There's going to be nonsense, tomfoolery, criticism," says Mr. North, 56, who left WSCR last summer after 16 years. "It's going to be fun."

The formula sounds like talk radio, a format that hasn't been tried on a local cable sports channel, according to Comcast SportsNet President Jim Corno. Previously, CSN's morning fare consisted of repeats of the prior evening's wrap-up show.

"This is an opportunity to redefine what a regional sports network is going to be in the morning," Mr. Corno says.

The deal struck between Mr. Corno and Mr. North also is unique. CSN isn't paying Mr. North a salary. Instead, it's paying a fee to his production company, Licorice Ltd., which will pay Mr. Jiggetts, Ms. Patterson and other talent. CSN provides the production crew. Both Mr. North and CSN's sales staff will sell ads, and once production costs are covered, Licorice and CSN will split the profits. Neither Mr. North nor Mr. Corno would disclose the exact split.

Asked how the parties reached this deal, Mr. Corno jokes: "Mike wanted $10 million and I wanted to pay him nothing. We met somewhere in the middle."

Mr. Corno says he isn't aware of a similar partnership.

For Mr. North, the deal presents far more risk than a media personality typically would take on. But the ever-confident, if not cocky, Mr. North believes he'll make more money this way — especially given his professed sales prowess. He thinks advertisers will respond even better to him when they learn he has a financial stake in the show.

"It's easier to sell something when I walk through the door than if a salesperson walks through the door," he says.

So far, it seems to be working. Mr. North says his company has rung up $800,000 in ad revenue for "Monsters," including the title sponsorship, sold to NextStep Medical Staffing for a reported $300,000.

David Hernandez, Chicago-based NextStep's CEO, says he signed on for one reason. "I believe in Mike," he says. "Nothing gets in his way."

Mr. Corno has been impressed with Mr. North's sales ability and says the deal could signal a trend.

"This could set the table for future deals, especially in this economy," Mr. Corno says. "There are going to be more unique ways of doing business, because the old way isn't going to cut it in a lot of cases."

But even if Mr. North pulls it off, it doesn't mean others can, says Bob Williams, CEO of Evanston-based Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing Inc.

"I don't see anyone in the Chicago media horizon who would be in position to do what Mike is doing," he says. "It takes a special type of person to make this work. Mike has unusual traits. He's a roll-up-the-sleeves kind of guy."

Mr. North is eager to get on with the next phase of his career after a public breakup with WSCR last summer. The station wanted to cut his salary in half, from $1.6 million per year to $800,000. Mr. North walked and soon began talking to Mr. Corno about a live TV show on CSN, where Mr. North hopes his brash and loud style will catch on with Chicago viewers.

Mr. Corno hopes the show eventually will reach around 30,000 homes per day. That would be far more than CSN's current morning offering, "SportsRise," and even more than ESPN's "SportsCenter."

Mr. North knows how much is riding on the show's success.

"There's a lot of weight on my shoulders," he says. "This is what I wanted. I wanted to determine our own destiny."

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trainwreck waiting to happen

Many television shows and Hollywood movies have the production put together by the “name” talent. Clint Eastwood has been doing it with Malpaso Productions for almost 40 years. Others have found the ability to walk into a meeting room, sell their selves and successfully pitch their treatment.

I’m not surprised at North’s ability to sell himself; he’s at a point where he’s laying it on the line because obscurity awaits him. The challenge for North will come when either his show has a shot to succeed but needs to spend more money for production, or when Comcast decides they need to cut back on advertising for North. Those billboards that Mike needs to be a success don’t come cheap.

Many television shows and Hollywood movies have the production put together by the “name” talent. Clint Eastwood has been doing it with Malpaso Productions for almost 40 years. Others have found the ability to walk into a meeting room, sell their selves and successfully pitch their treatment.

I’m not surprised at North’s ability to sell himself; he’s at a point where he’s laying it on the line because obscurity awaits him. The challenge for North will come when either his show has a shot to succeed but needs to spend more money for production, or when Comcast decides they need to cut back on advertising for North. Those billboards that Mike needs to be a success don’t come cheap.

This is weird. All I know is that if you have a fuckin' high school as a sponsor things can't be good.

What the fuck? A high school? If I were parents I would demand some tuition money back if this is how they choose to spend their money. Especially since they're sponsoring a high school drop out. Jesue Christ. A high school is sponsoring a local TV show!!!!

Do you think, as part of the agreement, Jen Jen is required to go to the school and speak to the kids so they can see a celebrity? She'd teach the kids that hard work and dedication is the only way to make it. Ya know, tell her "rags to riches" story to the kids to give them hope. She can explain how TV works and how she reads the weather and traffic.

Can somebody explain how the high school benefits? It's a pretty limited reach. If parents want to send their kids to private schools they send them to the closest one to where they live. You're not gonna get kids who live more than 15 miles from the school.

Where is Notre Dame located?

In beautiful Niles.

Notre Dame is an interesting high school. It's basically run now by the alumni. It used to be run by the Brothers of Holy Cross, was scheduled to be closed and the alumni saved it from closing.

ND is in Niles; you'd be surprised how many kids come from farther away than 15 miles. They bill themselves as college prep, but a majority of the kids come from the city and are the sons of the trades and cops/fireman( nothing wrong with that, but that was my impression on the school when my son went for a visit). It is very jock oriented - and educationally palls in comparison to Loyola.

Will this sponsorship reach prospective parents - hard to say, but you'd need to be a fan of Mikey No diploma first - and maybe ND is the school for them after all.

Ok. Maybe I'm wrong about the distance people will go. But I don't think being a Pappy sponsor will get more kids to go. Parents will investigate schools if they have the want to send their kids to a private school. They know if they want to send them some to a private school. It's not an impulsive buy. No parent is gonna say "Oh, it's Pappy's sponsor. Let's send our boy there. Here's a check for 10k."

Schools sponsor in newspaper. I don't see why they would not do it on TV.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

If Mike has survived there even this long as a coach given his history, I don't think there's going to be any great movement by parents, priests, alumni, or whatever to unseat him anytime soon.

I've pointed out some of what I think are, shall we say, inconsistencies between the school's mission statement and some of North's antics, but I get the feeling no one there gives a shit.

And, again, I've only said these things here on the board for our entertainment. I'm NOT engaged in any sort of campaign to relieve him of his coaching position.

Yes, but what are they saying on the show? Send your kids to ND? Or just saying nothing, but Mike wears a cap and their name is on the ticker?

It seems to me, since Pappy is responsible for bringing in sponsors, that his entire goal is to get as many as he can for as much money as he can. It seems, in order to do this, he's willing to talk about sponsors for the entire show. I think the one thing he never thinks about is doing a good sports show. In his mind people will watch him talking about sponsors cuz it's fun to watch Pappy talk about anything.

That's his sales pitch. "Not only is we'ze gonna give youse a commercial but me'ze and Jiggs will talk about how great youse is on da air. We've got 10 minutes of sponsor talk for every sponsor."

This isn't how any show is run. You ever hear "PTI" or "Around the Horn" talk about their sponsors? No. The talent probably doesn't know who they are cuz it's not their department. They just send it to break.

Look at PTI. Look at how organized that show it. They touch on a lot of things in a half hour. Pappy just goes on with Jiggs and just wings it. Never says anything interesting cuz show content is the last thing Pappy cares about. His entire goal is to sucker sponsors. That's the impression I've gotten from day 1. I didn't watch it.

I'll check it out tomorrow. I can only do the first half hour. I'll DVR it.

Looks like corno did just what he wanted to afterall.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Marian took out a billboard off of I-80 during football season as well. And we all know that billboards are the golden measurement of advertising success.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas