We’ve reached the end of the first week of the 7th annual edition of the BSM Top 20. We’ve featured the Top 20 National Shows, Major Market Morning, Midday, and Afternoon Shows, as well as the Mid Market Morning, Midday and Afternoon Shows. Thanks to all who’ve taken the time this week to share the Top 20 lists and congratulate those recognized on social media. It’s greatly appreciated.
As you go over the selections, please remember that the lists represent the collective opinions of 46 industry executives. Yours truly does not vote. I’d like to thank Stephanie Eads, Dylan Barrett and Demetri Ravanos for helping me with the Top 20 process, and Point to Point Marketing for being our exclusive sponsor for this year’s Top 20. Tim Bronsil and his staff are a valued resource to many across the media industry, and if you’re not familiar with their work, you need to make time to learn more. That can be done by clicking here.
As it pertains to the voting, here are a few things to understand.
#1 – These results are based on 2021’s performance. 2022 changes have no impact on these outcomes. This means that program directors such as Terry Foxx, who recently announced his upcoming exit from WFNZ are eligible since he programmed the station thru the end of 2021. So too was Ryan Porth of 102.5 The Game who moved to Chicago in January. On the other hand, PD’s such as Chase McCabe, who recently moved into Porth’s old spot were not eligible since he didn’t occupy the position in 2021. Our one rule since starting this series in 2016 is that an individual/show must finish the year with the station they’re working at in the same position they were hired for.
#2 – Our executive panel consists of program directors and corporate executives from a number of top broadcasting companies including Audacy, iHeart, Cumulus, Beasley, Hubbard, Good Karma Brands, ESPN Radio, FOX Sports Radio, SiriusXM, Spotify, and independently owned and operated radio stations. We involve a large number of people in order to receive feedback from all parts of the country, as well as to avoid the results heavily favoring one company.
#3 – A total of 47 programmers were eligible for voting consideration in the Major Market Sports Radio Program Directors category.
#4 – Our executive panel picked the Top 20 program directors using a few factors; station success, multi-platform excellence, industry respect, brand reputation, and creative ideas. Keep in mind, our voters live in different cities, have different tastes and experiences, and work for different companies, so certain factors may be given more or less merit per individual. This isn’t a perfect science, but it’s the best system we can think of to showcase sports radio’s best.
Which brings us to the rankings for this year’s Mid Market Sports Radio Program Directors. The top prize this year goes to 92.3 The Fan’s Andy Roth. It’s Roth’s third category win, and his first since 2017. The leader of Cleveland’s top rated sports station earned the win with the most Top 5 finishes and the second most 1st place votes, three (3). Runner up Brad Carson gained the most first place finishes with four (4). BSM congratulates Andy and the entire 92.3 The Fan crew on earning this year’s top honor, as well as all of the PD’s who earned a spot on this year’s list.
Now, here are the full results of “BSM’s Top 20 Mid Market Sports Radio Program Directors of 2021!”
Additional Notes:
- Andy Roth secured three (3) 1st place votes and a category best thirteen (13) top-5 votes to hold off 92.9 ESPN’s Brad Carson who received the most first place votes, four (4). Roth won the category this year by a total of sixteen (16) points.
- 21-25 was occupied by Jimmy Clark of 107.5 The Fan in Green Bay, Cade Voisin from 104.5 ESPN in Baton Rouge, Q Myers of ESPN 1100/100.9 in Las Vegas, Justin Acri of 103.7 The Buzz in Little Rock, and Andrew Downs of KXNO in Des Moines.
- The closest battle saw Paul Mason finish 2 points ahead of Ryan Porth. Additional contests that were close included Matt Fishman and Mitch Rosen finishing 4 points in front of Terry Foxx and Chuck Sapienza.
- Of the 47 programmers eligible for consideration this year, 10 received at least one 1st place vote.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BSM Top 20 of 2021.
- Monday February 14 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Stations of 2021
- Tuesday February 15 = The Top 20 Original Sports Podcasts/BSM’s Specialty Selections of 2021
To view prior years of BSM’s Top 20 results, click here.
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.
