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In my column on Monday, I teased forthcoming details regarding our Top 20 series. This is our most popular series each year, and given our growth, it has expanded into areas beyond sports radio. Today’s announcement, once again moves us forward into uncharted territory. If recent history is any indicator, we expect 2025 to be our biggest series yet.
Barrett Media Top 20 in Sports Radio
This series launched in 2016 with a strong focus on sports radio, and it has been a massive hit. Year after year, the BSM Top 20 is the single biggest traffic driver to our website. It also drives millions of social media impressions including attention from some of the top names in the business. The series highlights sports radio’s top morning, midday, and afternoon shows, program directors and local stations in major and mid-sized markets, as well as the top national shows.
We’ve released the results each year during the week of the Super Bowl, and that will continue moving forward. The BSM Top 20 of 2024 will be released February 3-7, 2025, and February 10, 2025. Different categories are featured each day starting with local morning shows. Voting begins in December after I compile the lists and distribute them to our voters.
I’ve chosen Super Bowl week for this series because it’s the one time of the year when sports media folks are all inside the same place. The Top 20 gives them an opportunity to reconnect, banter over the results, and have some fun. It also makes for good on-air content, especially earlier in the week when guest availability is lighter.
Barrett Media Top 20 in News/Talk Radio
Our BNM Top 20 for news/talk radio professionals began in 2022. It too has been a smashing success. Brands, talent and decision makers get behind it, making it one of our top three performing weeks of the year. Social media impressions are also in the millions.
For the past two years, we have rolled out the series in early December. However, we are changing the date this year. The BNM Top 20 of 2024 will be released January 6-10, 2025 and January 13, 2025. Similar to our sports series, the focus will be on news/talk radio’s top morning, midday, and afternoon shows, program directors, and local stations in major and mid-sized markets. National news/talk radio shows will be featured as well.
With a new President going into office, and staffs returning from holiday vacations, I can’t think of a better way for format folks to kick off the new year. It’s also great for salespeople looking to connect with clients and future partners over something new and exciting.
Introducing the Barrett Media Top 20 in Music Radio
If we’re going to cover sports and news media daily, and recognize the industry’s best, shouldn’t we be doing the same for music radio? We expanded in July, and said we were committed to elevating coverage of the music radio industry. What better way to support that position and show we are serious than to give music radio it’s own Top 20 week.
The amount of music radio stations and formats initially concerned me. But after talking to industry people, and looking at what’s most important, I think we’ve come up with a process that makes sense to us, and industry voters. Similar to sports and news, local will be earn top billing, with a national category being created as well.
The results of the inaugural BMM Top 20 of 2024 will be released January 20-24, 2025, and January 27-29, 2025. We will recognize the Top 20 shows in different formats over an eight-day stretch. That makes it the longest of the three series, which is necessary given how much larger music radio is than sports/talk and news/talk.
Sponsorship
Stephanie Eads will be talking soon with advertisers about opportunities associated with these series. We have the ability to put one partner on each series or offer the sponsorship of all three to one group. To discuss, email Stephanie@BarrettMedia.com.
As I stated earlier, our sports series is the biggest traffic driver of the year, and our news/talk series ranks in the top three. That’s not including the millions of eyeballs that are attracted to the series across all social media platforms. We expect the music series to perform at a similar level.
There aren’t many sponsorship opportunities available that allow marketing partners to reach every single radio station in every major format, and the key talent and executives associated with them. The Barrett Media Top 20 does that. The exclusive sponsor of the series has their logo included on ALL images created. Contact Stephanie to learn more.
Full Schedule
To help you keep track, use the image below. We’ve still got a lot to do compiling lists, gathering feedback, and adding up the totals, but 2025 is going to start with a ton of attention on the radio industry, and we’re excited to create it for you!
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.
