4 Programmers Explain Why They Wouldn’t Miss The BSM Summit in New York

There are all kinds of reasons people come to the BSM Summit. Usually, your reason has a lot to do with your standing in the industry.

Are you an upwardly mobile air talent? You’re probably coming to network with PDs and GMs. Are you a market manager? You’re probably coming to pick up some actionable, money-making ideas you can execute back home.

A big chunk of the room will be made up of programmers. Why do they come to the BSM Summit? There is a myriad of reasons amongst that group alone.

I spoke with four programmers last week. All four will not only be in the audience in New York City on March 2 and 3. At various times, they will be on stage as well.

What do they want to learn? What do they hope colleagues learn from them? Who do they want to meet? Here’s how they answered those questions.

WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED MOST ABOUT PAST BSM SUMMITS?

Rod Lakin (94 WIP in Philadelphia): My favorite thing about the Summit is reconnecting with my peers and having an opportunity to meet other program directors and brand managers from around the country. Every market is different, but there are many generalizable lessons that come from these sessions and the subsequent conversations.

Phil Mackey (SKOR North in Minneapolis): I love the idea sharing, and I love meeting successful people within the industry. Personally, I’m just extremely curious by nature, so having the chance to hear from people with different backgrounds, worldviews and industry experiences is extremely valuable. And the openness of competitors to share strategy in the same room as one another is fascinating and valuable as well. 

Mitch Rosen (670 The Score in Chicago, 1250 The Fan in Milwaukee, and the BetQL Audio Network): The summitt has been a great place to network with peers and talk to people in the business, its also a great place to reconnect with people.  I really enjoy the terrific line up of speakers.

Dave Tepper (Altitude Sports Radio 92.5): Hearing and meeting fellow programmers. There’s so many highs and lows in this business, it’s refreshing to hear how some of the industry’s best are navigating the ride. I still have notes from past Summits that are helpful. I also enjoy hearing from some of the top local and national talents and about their journey. Jim Rome talking about selling vacuum’s door to door or something like that while chasing his dream has stuck with me and I’ve shared with hosts to keep at it.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR PROGRAMMERS TO TALK TO AND HEAR FROM OTHER PROGRAMMERS TO PUSH THE FORMAT FORWARD?

Lakin: There’s never been a more challenging time to be in any content business.  Attention spans are dropping while content choices are growing. So, you really have more competition for less time. Finding new strategies to adapt to this new paradigm is what’s most important to hear about in order to move the sports-talk format forward.   

Mackey: Mentally downloading two days’ worth of information from various people around the industry helps expedite the learning and growth process. The Summit usually turns out to be a fairly collaborative event, even if the collaboration is unintentional. 

Tepper: It’s what we each make of it really. It’s important for me because I’m always striving to be better and learn. Some programmers have accomplished things with their stations that our team is aiming for. Hearing from them can be motivating and enlightening. Some programmers are in similar situations as our group so discussions can be relatable. Not everything said is applicable to every situation but if you listen with an open mind it’s likely you’ll find something to take from everyone.  

WHO ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING FROM THIS YEAR?

Lakin: It’s hard to say until I take in the information. I will say that I’ve never been around Bruce Gilbert and not taken something of value from the conversation. Spike Eskin is the best young mind in this industry and I really enjoyed his perspective during the last Summit. 

Mackey: Every time I hear John Skipper talk I learn something from him. He has incredible leadership experience on the traditional and digital sides of the industry, and I’m curious to hear his vision on where sports content is headed.

Rosen: Beyond programmers, I love the panels Jason puts together beyond the traditional sports radio people.I really am looking forward to seeing leaders in all industries

Tepper: Craig Carton. There’s so much to his journey to hear about. I’ve always had great appreciation for talent with strong personalities, creativity and a willingness to push boundaries. As listener sensitivity heightens, I believe an appetite for talent like him will remain and want to be a part of developing it within today’s limits. Learning about him getting another shot and the perseverance both he and WFAN had for him all along the way is one thing I hope to learn about. 

ANY NERVES ABOUT BEING ON STAGE? WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE AUDIENCE TAKES AWAY FROM YOUR PRESENTATION?

Lakin: I don’t really think about it until I get up there. I just hope that I can help someone in the audience in the same way that so many of these great minds in sports talk have helped me in past BSM Summits and conferences over the years.  

Mackey: I’m actually thinking about turning my session into a 45-minute rant about why Kirk Cousins’ hollow stats don’t correlate with team success, but aside from that, I hope the audience learns something about how to build audiences in digital spaces. 

Tepper: Sure. I’m experienced and comfortable on stage but even some of the biggest performers have noted nerves are a sign that you care about what you’re about to do. Being invited to participate on any panel is humbling among peers. My hope would be to do for others as past panels have done for me, be relatable as many of us are seeking similar goals. My hope is to be encouraging to others that may be in comparable challenges, to provide successful ideas or perspectives to make their own and possibly steering them away from things NOT to do that I may have learned the hard way.    

There are in-person and virtual ticket options for this year’s BSM Summit. Click here to purchase yours!

Demetri Ravanos

Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.

You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.