The past four days have been spent shining the spotlight on the best local and national shows in the sports radio industry. Today, we give credit to those responsible for bringing you the programming you hear on a daily basis.
Before you scroll ahead to see who made the list, and grab screenshots of photos to share on social media, let me remind you that there was a lot of PD movement in 2019. That prevented some folks from appearing on the ballot. Both Mike Thomas and Rick Radzik of 98.5 The Sports Hub weren’t eligible due to Thomas leaving before the end of the year for ESPN 1000 and Radzik not having enough time in the seat. The same situation existed in Phoenix, Seattle, and Los Angeles where Rod Lakin, Kyle Brown, and Amanda Brown were elevated to PD roles late in the year. The exits of Eric Johnson in Philadelphia and Adam Delevitt in Chicago before the end of 2019 prevented them from being included as well.
This year’s Top 20 series voting committee featured forty seven radio professionals from thirty cities and eighteen companies. Yours truly (Jason Barrett) does not vote on the awards, I simply recruit the voters, collect their information, add up their votes, design the images, and present and promote the results.
We asked those participating to consider the criteria below to judge the best in the sports talk format, but keep in mind that each individual knows and values different things and that can have an influence on the final order. That makes this project an imperfect science. Nonetheless, it provides a collective snapshot of who radio folks consider to be the format’s best programmers.
- Strong ratings in 2019
- Industry track record
- Reputation and influence
- Must’ve programmed for at least one full book
- Must have finished 2019 with the radio station
- Points are given for each spot (EX: 20 for 1st, 1 for 20th)
Moving on to the rankings, for the first time in five years, the Major Market PD category wasn’t won by Mark Chernoff or Mike Thomas. The votes this year went in favor of 670 The Score PD Mitch Rosen. Rounding out the Top 5 were Mark Chernoff of WFAN, Spike Eskin of Sports Radio 94 WIP, Jimmy Powers of 97.1 The Ticket, and Chris Kinard of 106.7 The Fan.
Under Rosen’s watch, The Score has continued to lead in Chicago, delivering strong ratings thanks to a weekday lineup which is well respected by industry executives. In 2018, Rosen added David Haugh to the morning show, a move that has helped the station continue making an impact in AM drive. Rosen followed that up in 2019 by moving Laurence Holmes into middays and Joe Ostrowski to nights, strengthening an already stacked lineup.
We extend our congratulations to Mitch on earning this year’s top honor, as well as every other programmer who gained a spot on this year’s list. With that being said, let’s now take a look at the full results of “BSM’s Top 20 Major Market Sports Radio Program Directors of 2019”!
Additional Notes:
- Mitch Rosen and Mark Chernoff tied for the most 1st place votes with eight (8).
- The tightest race was for the 12-13 spots. Armen Williams held off Joe Zarbano by 2 points.
- Spots 21-25 belonged to Len Weiner, Adam Klug, Scott McFarlane, AJ Hoffman, and Bryan Erickson.
- 10 of the 28 programmers eligible for consideration this year received at least one (1) 1st place vote.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BSM Top 20 of 2019.
- Monday February 3 = The 2019 Top 20 Major and Mid-Market Local Sports Radio Sports Stations
- Tuesday February 4 = The 2019 Top 20 Original Sports Podcasts
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
