Now in his 19th year of running 670 The Score in Chicago, Mitch Rosen never stops asking himself a very important question…
What’s next?
Guiding a successful all-sports radio station is not an easy task and there’s more to driving revenue than just putting together a lineup of shows and acquiring broadcast rights to local teams.
Rosen is looking forward to being part of the BSM Summit March 22-23 in Los Angeles to get some answers to his question.
“You hear from different markets,” said Rosen. “You hear from different technology. This industry continues to change. Five years ago, I was in the radio business. Today, I’m in the audio distribution business. I’m in the video and digital business.”
Rosen is just one of many broadcasters and executives who will be attending the summit and he will also be one of the panel speakers. After the 2021 BSM Summit was canceled because of the pandemic, last year’s event was held in New York City and now this year the summit is heading to Los Angeles.
“Going back to LA is just going to be great,” said Rosen. “The people and the speakers and the stature of the speakers is great but more so the people in the industry who attend and the networking and the rekindling of friendships and relationships in the industry is great. What I’m looking forward to is talking about talent and talent development and things like that.”
In addition to speaking about his role with The Score and how the industry is changing with the latest audio and video technology, Rosen will also be spending some time talking about his other role as the President of the BetQL Network.
Not only is the broadcasting industry changing because of technology, but the addition of sports betting to the DNA of sports radio stations across the country has become huge business. What was taboo just a few years ago is not part of the mainstream sports discussion.
“We label it as ‘wagertainment’,” said Rosen. “Did I think 5 or 10 years ago we would get to this point? No. But, it’s legal, it’s a huge revenue stream, there are great partnerships with a number of sports books around the country and our hosts have embrace it and our producers have embraced it.”
And that leads us back to that question of, not only what’s next, but who’s next?
Rosen is looking forward to engaging with people from all over the country to find out who will make up a new generation of sports talk talent that can not only talk sports but also sports betting.
“Who is next in our industry?” wonders Rosen. “Where do you look for that next personality in our industry? Sometimes, you have to take a step out of your market to find the next person who could do great things. The Summit does that. It opens your eyes and years to next opportunities in our industry.”
And for Mitch Rosen, a lot of those questions will be answered later this month in Los Angeles.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
