In the spring of 2022, on-air personalities Danny Balis and Mike Sirois made headlines when they departed from the renowned sports talk radio station, The Ticket, within weeks of each other.
Feeling stagnant in their careers and recognizing the limited opportunities for growth at the station, both Balis and Sirois took a leap of faith into the new realm of broadcasting.
When Balis was asked if he had any regrets about leaving The Ticket, he confidently stated, “Zero. I truly feel that I would still be in the exact same position now had I stayed.”
Sirois, who was 49 at the time, had a significant tenure at The Ticket, serving 15 years as the producer for The Norm and D Invasion show.
Balis, 57, was regarded as the long-time producer of the afternoon drive show, The Hardline, and he had been with The Ticket for an impressive 22 years.
As the two took their next steps, a fresh talk radio station, 97.1 FM The Freak, was gearing up to compete with Sportsradio The Ticket.
The station, developed by Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, and Mike Rhyner, the co-founder of The Ticket, aimed directly for the ears of listeners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the fifth-largest radio market in the United States.
Sirois quickly joined The Freak’s roster on Day 1, benefitting from the absence of a noncompete clause in his Ticket contract.
In contrast, Balis was unable to join immediately due to a noncompete agreement.
Balis explained, “I wasn’t approached [by The Freak] until 6 1/2 months after I resigned from KTCK. By then, I was unable to make a living off the Twilite Lounge due to low post-lockdown sales and desperately needed an income.”
After both Balis and Sirois eventually became part of The Freak, they engaged in numerous discussions about integrating video and streaming into their talk radio format.
However, their requests to management at iHeartMedia for equipment to facilitate live video content were denied.
Despite their aspirations, The Freak’s ratings fell short of expectations, leading ownership to decide to revert to a mainstream rock format in May 2024, resulting in Sirois and Balis’s dismissal from the station.
Reflecting on their experience, both expressed disappointment in the management of The Freak but emphasized that the on-air personalities were not to blame for the lack of success.
Sirois remarked, “We didn’t succeed because we didn’t get traditional ratings. We had a dream opportunity, and we failed.”
With the unexpected change of direction, Sirois and Balis quickly shifted gears to consider their next steps.
Sirois had the advantage of a severance package lasting one year, while Balis had three months.
Balis sought opportunities with former Ticket hosts, Jake Kemp and Dan McDowell, sitting in on the popular podcast, The Dumb Zone, while also producing The Mom Game, a show hosted by former Ticket and Freak personality, Julie Dobbs, and former Rangers clubhouse reporter, Emily Jones.
Meanwhile, Sirois took to South Dakota, embarking on a week-long solo retreat to gain clarity on his future endeavors.
The two soon reconnected to discuss their trajectory, ultimately finding common ground in what they perceived as the future of the spoken entertainment industry: livecasting and streaming.
Their new venture, dubbed a ‘livecast’ rather than a podcast, is designed to create a vibrant community.
“We are a LIVE party for the people of D-FW Tuesday and Thursday nights. Then, it’s available as a podcast the next morning,” Sirois stated.
The livecast is recorded in a contemporary studio, located in a brick building opposite Lee Harvey’s bar in the Cedars, and the show, featuring Cash and Mike Sirois alongside Balis, streams live on YouTube and Twitch every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m.
It was Sirois’s idea to hold the show during the evening time slot.
Having launched its first episode about a month ago, the livecast is accessible to listeners and viewers for free on multiple platforms.
Balis highlighted the intention to maintain the show’s accessibility by forming partnerships with sponsors.
“One thing we learned at The Ticket is the relationship with clients,” he noted.
“When you have a relationship where they get your brand of comedy, you can make the spots entertaining. You can make the live reads funny, you’re just not reading a piece of paper; there are jokes. That’s what we’re doing at Cirque; we want the spots that we do to be part of the fabric of the show.”
The success of Cirque is reflected in its audience analytics, showing a roughly even split between viewers and listeners.
The show’s interactive content has garnered over 500,000 interactions and 200,000 streams within just 14 shows, according to Balis.
While the show’s primary focus is on humor and fun, they also tackle serious topics, exemplified by a recent episode that highlighted the devastating Texas floods, prompting audience donations of more than $7,500 for victims.
Cirque Du Sirois originally began as a weekend feature at The Ticket back in 2010 and thrived for 12 years, hosted by the Sirois brothers, who regularly substituted for other show hosts on vacation.
The name resonated with the team, as Balis and the Sirois brothers knew they wanted to collaborate once more.
Cash Sirois, the elder brother at 51, became the vital component that completed the new show.
With accolades including nine Emmy nominations and three wins, Cash brings substantial experience to the table.
Previously, he served as a sports reporter for NBC5 and the creative director for the Dallas Mavericks before founding his production company in 2013.
The show’s studio is set within the premises of Cash’s company, located in the Cedars.
Mike attributes a significant part of their potential success to Cash, stating, “The secret weapon of D-FW is Cash Sirois.”
Adding to their dynamic team is producer Madigan Minihan, who plays multiple roles behind the scenes, including creating engaging graphics and animations and managing audio/video.
Minihan’s connection to the Texas radio scene runs deep; her father is a member of Bird Dogs, the band led by The Ticket morning show host, George Dunham.
She is no stranger to the limelight herself, having performed famous songs known among loyal followers of The Ticket as a child.
Chemistry among the team members is palpable and crucial.
Cash noted, “I don’t know how many brothers get to do a show together. I missed it, I missed it, bad. And I’ve had a unique relationship with Danny for a long time, too.”
On the other hand, Balis shared his thoughts on the collaboration, stating, “If I allowed myself to think about it, working with brothers that not only have done a show together—but have been kind of conjoined for 50 years—it should intimidate me. But I try not to think about it and just try to figure out how I fit into their chemistry.
It takes time to learn everybody’s nuances and pacing and all of that stuff.
But after the first few shows, I couldn’t be more pleased with the start that we have.”
To stay in the character of the show, Mike often changes his attire, donning vibrant outfits, such as a purple velour shirt paired with a gold chain and gaudy glasses.
Upon leaving The Freak, he decided not to cut his hair, giving him a look reminiscent of an ‘80s Bronx street hustler.
“Once the show started taking shape, we kind of decided on a 1980s living room theme, so the hair, the zany shirts, all just kind of fit,” Mike explained.
As Madigan cleverly pointed out to Mike, “Your shirt looks like a Crown Royal bag,” as they prepared to record the next episode.
With a blend of humor and heart, Cirque Du Sirois seeks to create a meaningful impact while entertaining the D-FW audience, making their transition from The Ticket into the future of live broadcasting.
image source from：dallasnews
