Day 1 of the 2023 BSM Summit is underway in Los Angeles at the Founders Club at USC. We’re keeping you updated on news, key information, and interesting perspectives shared on stage by our speakers. BSM editor Garrett Searight will be updating this column throughout the day as each session wraps up, so be sure to check back multiple times to avoid missing anything important.

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Barrett Media President Jason Barrett welcomed attendees, sharing the details of how sports radio statistics compare in 2023 to 2013. Barrett continued by sharing those working in sports media are no longer in simply the radio or television business; we’re in the content business.

9:10-9:45 = Sports Radio in an Audio World presented by

• Larry Rosin, Edison Research

Rosin shared seven trends that continue to drive conversations in the sports radio space.

• Your audience has all the stuff. 91% of those 12+ own a smartphone, with 96% of men in the 25-54 demographic own a smartphone. 74% in that same demographic own wireless headphones. 78% own a smart TV and 44% own a smart speaker.
• Your audience is using that stuff. 81% in the demographic listened to digital audio at least once a week. 67% listened to owned digital music, while 66% listend to AM/FM radio in their cars. On average, Americans listen to 4 hours and 16 minutes of audio per day. 1 hour and 6 minutes of that time is devoted to spoken word audio. AM/FM Radio accounts for 38% of the time spent listening in that 4 hours and 16 minute average. In 2014, that number accounted for 53% of the share. YouTube has grown from 6% to 14% in that timeframe.
• As radio listening declines, the remainder is increasingly old. 56% of those aged 55+ show AM/FM radio as their largest share of ear, but those 13-34+ is only 23%.
• Spoken word listening keeps rising. 26 million more people are listening to spoken word audio each day than compared to eight years ago. In 2014, 20% of total time spent listening was spoken word audio. That number has grown to 29% in 2022.
• The phone is eating all the listening. Rosin shared that interviews with teenagers revealed they viewed listening to AM/FM radio as more difficult than listening to digital audio offerings. For the first time in 2022, listening on mobile devices eclipsed listening on AM/FM radio, with 34% listening on their phones, while 33% listened on broadcast radio. Those in the 13-24 age ranges saw mobile device listening at 55%, while only 25% of those spent the most time listening to spoken word audio on their phone. In men 25-54, 40% spent the most time listening on their phones, while 27% listed AM/FM radio as their most listened to source.
• Podcasting has changed the game. 42% say they have listened to one podcast in the last month, while 56% inside the demographic responded similarly. 48% of men in the demographic listen to a podcast on a weekly basis. The Bill Simmons Podcast, Pardon My Take, and The Pat McAfee Show have the highest reach in the sports podcast space.
• Sports is growing as spoken word is growing. Sports has remained at roughly 14% of the spoken word audio share. In 2015, 76% of men said they were listening to sports radio compared to podcasts. In 2022, it was 53% radio and 26% podcasting.
• Men are increasingly streaming their sports radio. 65% of men in the demographic that listen to sports radio shared they are listening on AM/FM radio.

Rosin concluded by mentioning that listeners aren’t loyal to the way they receive and consume content as much as they are loyal to the content they enjoy. He also shared that immediacy matters more than a linear experience.

9:45-10:20 = Business Strategy For Economic Uncertainty presented by

• Scott Sutherland – Bonneville
• Don Martin – iHeartMedia
• Sam Pines – Good Karma Brands
• Stacey Kauffman – Audacy

The session began with Sutherland mentioning that the economic uncertainty began nearly 3 years ago to the day. In 2021, the advertising market was strong, but has since fallen off due to inflation and other mitigating factors.

Sutherland asked what the best strategy is for managing expectations in uncertainty. Kauffman said consistency is key, but the humility to make different decisions should new information be presented. She continued by saying balancing the needs of the company and the people inside the company is paramount.

Martin said radio has experienced issues similar to this for the last 25 years. He added that creativity is the biggest driver in both sales and content. An all-hands-on-deck approach is needed to continue growth.

The conversation then turned to how talent and sales co-exist and how to continue providing resources to talent.

Martin believes there isn’t a difference between sports programming and sales. The two need to work in conjunction. In news media, there has to be a delineation to avoid credibility issues, but those problems don’t exist in sports radio, noting that listeners tune into sports radio to hear opinions.

Kauffman said the days of keeping company and station financial information away from talent are gone. She added that hosts and reporters having that information helps drive the passion and ambition of the stations and brands.

Pines added that collaboration got lost during the pandemic, but is returning. He believes those working inside stations want to collaborate and support each other. He referenced the statements from Martin that hosts can help drive sales due to the connection hosts have with listeners. Their opinions matter to the listeners, so their opinions on brands and products will carry weight.

Sutherland then asked how companies are handling remote work or hybrid situations.

Pines admitted for a long time every meeting included a Zoom invitation, and believes as much as people can be together, they should be together. At Good Karma Brands, he shared at least four days a week in the office is the goal, but the company is understanding of efficiency.

Kauffman agreed, saying that each Audacy market is available to set its own mandate, but the Northern California stations expect at least three days a week of in-office work. “We try to smart and strategic about how that happened,” she said.

Martin shared that nationally FOX Sports Radio has worked remotely for a long time, but on the local level the talent at AM 570 LA Sports never left. However, the sales staff is just now returning to three days per week.

The ability to offer different revenue streams was a topic of discussion.

Challenges have emerged, according to Kauffman. There’s not a standardization of how the company has monetized its sports audience, but knows a captive audience is there. Content creation is easy, and is easier on a local level, but monetizing it has been the challenge.

Martin agreed, saying “It’s not a product problem. It’s a sales problem. How do you teach them to sell all these sports verticals?” He believed creating “ecosystems” of each show is the easiest way to monetize each show.

Local decision making is the key, Pines added. “We see different ways we’re monetizing it,” mentioning The Land on Demand from ESPN Cleveland as one option compared to other markets.

Sutherland then asked the panel how they handle the Nielsen metrics.

Pines believed Nielsen is just one data point when several data points are available. Good Karma Brands doesn’t utilize Nielsen in all of its markets.

Martin believes if you’re only utilizing Nielsen numbers to create revenue, “you’re dead”.

The Nielsen data points are market-by-market, Kauffman countered. In San Francisco, the majority of the advertising revenue is national, while Sacramento is more focused on local business. “Getting that mindset more in Market #4 that we’re not going to rely on something we can’t control to control our destiny…you can focus on problems or solutions, we choose to focus on solutions,” Kauffman continued.

“You can be crushing the market, and still not be where you need to be,” Kauffman said of the challenges Nielsen data presents to potential customers.

10:20-10:55 = Best of Both Worlds presented by

• Mason & Ireland – ESPN LA 710
• Petros & Money – AM 570 LA Sports
• Evan Cohen – Good Karma Brands/SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio

Cohen asked members of both shows how they handled their longevity. Both shows have been together for more than 16 years.

Mason said “being a comfortable pair of shoes” for your listeners is key.

Smith said being able to help advertisers has helped. “That’s something that’s often overlooked. You have to lean into your advertisers and build them up,” he said.

Ireland said neither show is afraid to “drive off the road” when it comes to content. He mentioned a situation when Neil Diamond wore a fake mustache and a hat, and said Smith’s postgame show strictly focused on Diamond’s bad disguise. “Mason and I do that every day. We take left turns every day. Money and P do the same thing”.

“We may spend an hour discussing something that has nothing to do with sports. If we think it’s interesting, we’ll do it,” Ireland continued.

He credited Program Director Amanda Brown who has reinforced “I don’t care what you talk about, as long as it’s interesting,” adding that having that support from management is important to their longevity.

Smith said he believes their show is the most local show in the market, saying that many major market shows would never discuss high school sports as much as he and Petros do. “We show the community we’re part of you. We’re not just guys with media passes…I think that’s so important to a community. We are in your community, we live in your community, we work in your community.”

Mason said he and Ireland have completely opposite personalities, which helps continue to keep the show fresh.

Cohen asked if they have evolved over their tenured, which Ireland said he might be cancelled if you were to pull up an aircheck from their first year.

“I believe you’re either changing, evolving, or trying new stuff, or you’re getting really dull,” Mason added. “We’re much more loose now than we were.”

Smith said when their show began, it was as informative as it was entertaining. But due to the rise of smartphone usage, the informative piece has gone mostly by the wayside, but listeners continue to seek entertainment.

“You gotta find a way to be entertaining and not just be a vent outlet,” Ireland added.

Smith also gave credit to AM 570 LA Sports Program Director Don Martin for allowing he and Papadakis “to figure it out”, allowing the pair to make mistakes and decide what worked best for their show.

Ireland said he couldn’t do a show with another “sports guy”, so the pairing with Mason continues to work.

When asked if longevity was a dirty word, Smith balked at the idea.

“We’ve raised a generation of sports fans. It’s weird, but it’s really cool. I like the word ‘longevity’.”

Ireland said “it’s really tough to last a long time,” adding that it’s rewarding to have that word applied to their show.

Cohen asked if either show had ever thought their run had ended or if there was a moment they thought the show was going to end.

Smith said he hadn’t that situation, but joked “I’m going to say something and stupid. It’s a foregone conclusion. It’s going to happen”. He said the situation has changed that 10 years ago if he were let go, he might need to move to another market to continue hosting a show. However, with the landscape of digital audio and the fabric he and Petros have weaved into the Los Angeles sports scene, they could go create a new program or podcast.

11:10-11:45 = How Radio Can Compete and Win in the Connected Car presented by

• Joe D’Angelo – xPeri

11:45-12:15 = 2023 BSM Summit Awards Ceremony (Day 1) presented by

• Mark Chernoff – Former WFAN Program Director
• Jimmy Powers – 97.1 The Ticket Program Director
• Jay Glazer – FOX Sports

1:30-2:10 = Raising The Volume presented by

• Colin Cowherd – FOX Sports Radio and The Volume

2:10-2:45 = From Podcast to Podca$h presented by

• Gordy Rush – Guaranty Media
• Ryan McDermott – Barstool Sports
• Maggie Clifton – Blue Wire
• Matt Mallon – Locked On Podcast Network

2:45-3:20 = Showtime presented by:

• Rachel Nichols – Showtime
• Baron Davis – Baron Davis Enterprises

3:35-4:10 = The Moneyline presented by

• Bryan Curtis – The Ringer
• Mitch Rosen – BetQL Network and 670 The Score
• Jon Goulet – VSiN

4:10-4:45 = Rome on Media presented by

• Jim Rome – CBS Sports Radio/CBS Sports Network

The 2023 BSM Summit schedule is set. After months of planning and talking to everyone across the industry, I’m ecstatic to roll out next week’s agenda including making one final announcement involving seven great additions to our conference.

For starters, it is a pleasure to welcome Showtime’s Rachel Nichols to the BSM Summit. I’ve admired her work on television for years, and am thrilled to have her guiding a session which I think many in the room are going to really enjoy.

Rachel’s guest will be former NBA star Baron Davis. Baron runs his own company, Baron Davis Enterprises, and he has been active in investing in media brands, and exploring ways to evolve the industry. Among his areas of passion, athletes taking more control of their brands, and the media industry needing to improve its track record with diversity. I’m sure Baron and Rachel will have all eyes and ears focused on them when they take the stage together next Tuesday at 2:45pm PT.

Also joining the Summit are a few longtime industry friends. For starters, VSiN’s program director Jon Goulet is someone who I’ve known and worked with, and he understands the sports betting audio space extremely well. Jon and BetQL VP of Programming Mitch Rosen will spend time with another industry friend, Bryan Curtis of The Ringer. Collectively they’ll examine the state of sports betting audio on Tuesday March 21st from 3:35p-4:10p, and what they look for when it comes to sports betting talent, and how they determine what is and isn’t success in the sports gambling content world.

With Mitch taking part in the sports betting panel, Jeff Rickard of WFNZ in Charlotte steps into The Programmer’s Panel alongside Jimmy Powers, John Mamola and Raj Sharan. The session is scheduled for Wednesday March 22nd from 9:10a-9:45a PT. Ironically, all four of these programmers work for different companies, so it’ll be interesting to hear how they differ and where they align while navigating through a few sports radio programming topics.

Next, I’m excited to introduce a social media session with Karlo Sy Su of ESPN Los Angeles and Matthew Demeke of AM 570 LA Sports. If you look at the performance of their brands on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook, they’ve each delivered strong audiences and engagement. I’m looking forward to hosting this one and learning about their processes, how they decide which platforms to focus on most, what they consider a social media win when analyzing social statistics, and how they develop their content process. Given our location, we’re calling the session ‘Social Media Goes Hollywood‘. It’s scheduled for Wednesday March 22nd from 3:35-4:10 PT.

I realize you’re not going to remember all of these session speakers and times off the top of your head, so to make it easier, log on to BSMSummit.com and scroll down past our speakers. That’s where you’ll find our detailed list of sessions/times and activities planned each day. We have eighteen sessions, two awards ceremonies, and two parties. Our kickoff party is presented by the WWE and takes place Monday March 20th from 7p-9p at the 1880 Founders Room. The ESPN Radio After Party takes place Tuesday March 21st from 6p-8p at the Lab Gastropub. Both party locations are in walking distance of the USC Hotel and our conference venue.

As an added bonus, thanks to the generosity of our friends at WWE, we will be giving away a pair of tickets to the first night of WrestleMania, and a WWE title at our kickoff party. WrestleMania takes place this year in Los Angeles at Sofi Stadium on March 25-26. You must be present at the kickoff party to win either prize.

We’ll have more to share next week including providing an ongoing blog with session news and notes for our readers. We’ll also have a ton of content available on our social media channels so if you’re not following @BSMStaff on Twitter, @BarrettSportsMedia on Facebook or @BarrettMedia on LinkedIn, what are you waiting for?

The focus now shifts to finishing our creative for next week’s show, sending information to our speakers for their sessions, and finalizing our attendees list. For those who are attending, we’ll be sending out an email on Friday or Saturday with a complete list of names of who’s coming so you can plan meetings in advance.

If you forgot to buy your ticket after seeing months of promotion about the event and meant to do so, you can still do that, but it costs more. Students on the other hand can take advantage of a low rate established for college kids at https://bsmsummit.com/registration.

Putting this event together isn’t easy, but I’m extremely pleased with how it’s come together. We have a lot of smart, talented, and accomplished people making time to be part of this, and I appreciate each and every one of them for doing so. Now, it’s all about the execution. Hope to see you next week in LA.

If you work in the sports media industry you’ve likely heard someone along the way utter the phrase “don’t bury the lead“. I’m usually good about following that advice but I didn’t do that at our 2022 BSM Summit.

We introduced the greatest tandem in sports radio history, Mike Francesa and Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo and it was a special half hour. Mike and the Mad Dog were reunited after seven years apart and every individual at the event knew they were witnessing something magical on stage. I created a Mike and the Mad Dog Award for the event, which went to Felger and Mazz, who were the absolute right choice to win it. Even Chris remarked ‘that’s the right call‘.

But I learned quickly that although the intention was right in honoring the industry’s current top performing show, when you have legends in the room and they’re in their element, the last thing you want to do is overcrowd them. The connection Mike and Chris had on the air became the gold standard by which we measure successful sports talk shows, and they didn’t need an award created to deliver a special moment, just two mics and 20-30 minutes of stage time.

As I began thinking about the 2023 BSM Summit, I knew there was an opportunity to build on what we started last year with Mike and Chris, and after talking to a few people who I trust and respect, the decision of who we would recognize became crystal clear. I believe it’s important to honor the greats in our business because those who leave a permanent mark on our industry deserve it. The man we’ve selected has spent more than five decades on your television screen calling the biggest games, and producing some of the most iconic moments sports has to offer. He’s worked with the best of the best inside the booth, has helped elevate the presentation and execution of in-game content for ABC, NBC and Amazon, and his call of the Miracle on Ice, the US Olympic hockey team’s 1980 gold medal win over Russia remains one of the best calls in the history of sports.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored and privileged to share that Al Michaels will join us on Wednesday March 22nd at the 2023 BSM Summit for our awards presentation, where we will present him with BSM’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Michaels is one of America’s most respected sports broadcasting voices, known for his exceptional work on Monday Night Football (1986-2005), Sunday Night Football (2006-2022) and Thursday Night Football (2022-Present). He’s called the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, Hagler-Hearns, the Olympics, the Indy 500, Horse Racing’s Triple Crown races, College Football and Basketball games, Golf, and more. He’s even held roles as the voice of the University of Hawaii, the Cincinnati Reds, and the San Francisco Giants, and was in the booth in 1989 when an earthquake rocked the Bay Area during Game 3 of the A’s-Giants world series.

The Brooklyn native turned Los Angeles resident has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and owns a ton of hardware including five sports Emmy’s, three NSMA Sportscaster of the Year honors, the 2013 Pete Rozelle Radio & Television Award distributed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award given out by the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Though his trophy case may be full, we’re excited to add another to his collection to show our appreciation and respect for the impact he’s made on the sports media business.

A quick reminder, the BSM Summit takes place on Tuesday March 21st and Wednesday March 22nd at the Founders Club at the University of Southern California. Tickets are on-sale at BSMSummit.com.

Be advised, we have started adding sessions and times on the website. As always, the schedule is subject to change. Our final agenda will be posted by the end of next week. In addition, attendees will receive an email by next Friday with details of who will be in attendance. We hope to see you there.