Atlanta's SportsRap Revives Talk Radio.

August, 2003 -- The future of sports talk can be heard blasting out of car stereos, workplace radios and even during lunch in downtown Atlanta-area restaurants. As soon as you hear the high-intensity, hip-hop laden intro weekdays at 12 noon, you realize this isn't your father's talk radio. "2 Live Stews" have playfully strong-armed their experimental radio gig into a midday timeslot powerhouse.

Ryan and Doug Stewart are brothers who took their love of sports and it's hip-hop subculture and turned what the nations barbershops, basements and bars have hosted for years into a new generation radio genre. The show combines incredible energy, exciting guests, provocative topics and rich listener participation to generate a stylish competitor to old-school talk radio.

What started as a trial run in a suicidal evening time-slot blossomed into a daytime ratings leader in just over a year. WQXI is Atlanta's sports talk heavy-hitter and ventured into unknown territory when it granted the radio rookies their first 2-hour show back in October 2001. Since then the show has been on a roll, grabbing an extraordinary wartime ratings share for their first full ratings period and making it the stations highest rated show in history.
They are garnering media attention, attracting non-traditional talk radio sponsors and lighting up the phone lines at unprecedented rates.

Ryan Stewart is the shows proverbial bachelor and a former defensive back for Georgia Tech and the NFL's Detroit Lions while his older, married brother Doug played football and basketball and attended South Carolina State. Ryan does color commentary for Georgia's arena football team and is hosting a cable sports show called "The Press Box" for Comcast. Doug is a mortgage lender and devoted father. They are biological and fraternal brothers who squabble about sports and pop culture on and off the air and this real-life sibling rivalry keeps the show fresh and stimulating.

The show's strong urban sensibility and frankness have appealed to a much more diverse demographic than most talk radio outfits. They remain palatable to the customary listener by keeping their eye on the ball. They talk X's & O's and see the sports world thru the eyes of the athlete and fan, not the media, which have endeared them to a new generation of listeners while holding on to the seasoned talk radio participants. In-depth sports knowledge coupled with humor and biting commentary make "2 Live Stews" informative, entertaining and addictive.

"The show has a broad appeal because its fun and we don't sugarcoat anything," says Doug "it encompasses a realness that's refreshing to those who were turned off by talk radio". The show has had great guests from the sports and entertainment world who have been quickly charmed by the format consequently giving the Stew's some unforgettable moments and candid perspectives.

"My relationship with some of the guests and my background allow me to get right at the kind of answers we know the audience is looking for" stated Ryan "and at the same time it lets the guest become more comfortable because they know they have no conventional constraints". With traditional backing and historical perspective lacking, the Stews have continued a grassroots effort to highlight their show and their fiercely loyal fan-base do all they can to help. "Without our listeners, none of this would be possible, we feel such a connection to them and that's why the show works so well," added Doug.

If you hear Run-DMC fading into the background, callers reminiscing about their favorite pair of old-school sneakers, and NBA hall-of-famer Bob Lanier cracking jokes while evaluating the impacts of a global NBA on a Thursday afternoon, you'll know you're listening to "2 Live Stews". Throwback Thursday is just one of the weeks themed shows and pays homage to the history of sports and its subculture.

The dry and pessimistic format that usually typifies talk radio is spiced up by the hip-hop bumper music that leads you into and out of commercial breaks and the feeling you get that these guys are excited to be talking sports with the world. With a nod to their fraternity they have coined their talk world the "Dog House" and have claimed Atlanta's airwaves as their own. They have even managed to attract out-of-state listeners and famous fans who catch them on the Internet.
"Atlanta is a great first market for this show because we have people who have relocated here from all over so we really do get a national perspective" remarked Ryan "and we hope that it gets us poised to make this more than a Georgia phenomenon, we think syndication is the only response to our overwhelming popularity here".

The Stew's have created a great new product that advertisers and stations are just starting to catch wind of. As they get ready for another 2 hour joy ride Doug affirmed, "This isn't just a fun little project, it's the beginning of a needed change in this industry and it's a bankable commodity, the money is out there, the marketing and promotional opportunities are so vast with something like this that touches sports, music, radio and pop culture."

With guests like Charles Woodson, Lisa Leslie, Jermaine Dupri and Tavis Smiley, "2 Live Stews" and their SportsRap are set to thrust talk radio into a much needed revolution.

"2 Live Stews" can be heard weekdays 12pm-3pm eastern time on Atlanta's 790am and can also be accessed via streaming audio on the stations website at www.790thezone.com.

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