The 2025 NAB Show wrapped up recently, and I was curious to hear what attendees had to say. After scrolling through various posts online, I found myself going down a rabbit hole, digging for solid recaps of what actually took place.
Eventually, I just typed it into Google. The first result was a press release from the NAB titled “The 2025 NAB Show Wraps: Defines the Future of the Media and Entertainment with Groundbreaking Innovation and Global Engagement.”
Headlines are meant to grab attention, and this one definitely did. I had no idea the future of media was not only known—but apparently discussed openly. Naturally, I kept reading, eager to find out more.
The article said, in part:
“NAB Show brought together a broad spectrum of thought leaders, including representatives from major corporations like the Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, TikTok, and YouTube.
Top speakers included:Gotham Chopra, Co-founder, Religion of Sports
Jody Gerson, Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group
Nick Khan, President & CEO, WWE
Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Chief Content Officer, WWE
Dhar Mann and Sean Atkins, Dhar Mann Studios
Stephen A. Smith, Television Host, ESPN”
That’s a pretty impressive lineup. From what I gathered, the audiences enjoyed the presentations.
Quick aside: I co-own a podcast network, and several of our shows are in the pro wrestling space. Any chance to hear Triple H and Nick Khan speak would genuinely excite me.
But in this particular context, they wouldn’t be the speakers I’d turn to for a glimpse into the future of the media industry. They’re titans in their field, sure—but they play on a level that few can even imagine. Of course, there’s value in learning from them, but if the goal was to map the future of media, having WWE executives front and center felt a bit… off.
Stephen A. Smith also spoke. He was at a recent Barrett Media event as well, and he’s always electric—full of energy, plenty of self-references, entertaining as hell. The man knows the business. But he’s also nearing 60 and into the proverbial Back 9.
One bright spot: for the first time, there was a sports summit. The description read:
“This inaugural track explored the rapid convergence of sports, media, and technology, featuring insights from leaders such as Portia Archer, CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association.”
Some of the jokes write themselves.
All in all, I’m sure the 2025 NAB Show was a great opportunity to network, learn about new products and technologies, and hear what big companies are doing to innovate. But the idea that it defined the future of media? That sounds like classic press release fluff.
Many of the photos I saw featured the same people you always see at these types of events—talking about the same topics, pointing out the same problems, and offering few real solutions. And to be fair, how could they? They’re no longer the experts—they’re just the ones still showing up.
I recently saw a LinkedIn photo of a group of broadcasters in Washington, D.C. with a caption that read something like, “Going to represent the radio industry.” And all I could think was: This is who represents radio? Maybe that’s the problem.
We’re in an era where younger people often have just as much—if not more—knowledge about the landscape and how to navigate it. We need their input. We need them involved in shaping radio’s future if we hope to survive and stay relevant. If the future of our industry is in the hands of some of the people I see in the photos representing the industry, we might be in more trouble than I thought.
It’s time for deeper conversations—and it’s time to bring more young voices into the room. If people genuinely want to help this industry, let’s make a “Solution Show” happen and focus on what really matters.
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The Best/Worst Thing I’ve Heard/Watched/Read Recently
I know I have suggested Stern interviews in this space before and I am going to add to that list this week. If you enjoyed The White Lotus, you need to listen to Howard’s recent interview with show creator Mike White. I described the interview to someone as “a really different thinking kind of person – talking to a really different thinking kind of person.”
Fascinating is the word I would use to describe it. Fascinating from the standpoint of the way Howard still crushes pretty much anyone I know when it comes to interviewing. And fascinating from many of the things White said about the making of the show.
You have to be a SiriusXM subscriber to listen, which I still am mainly because of the Howard Stern interviews.
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In Case You Missed It
If you own a radio station or are a manager of one, please spend the 4 minutes it will take you to read Demetri Ravanos’ column from earlier this week titled, ‘Should You Be Programming for YouTube Over Radio?‘
The answer is yes if you didn’t know but read the full article and read the explanations. Demetri has a way of writing so that things make sense to even someone who may not understand all of the intricacies of YouTube or digital broadcasting.
There are so many mistakes being made – from one Demetri points out about local hosts trying to do national programming, and the one I see all of the time which is ‘just throw some cameras up in the studio.’ Doing that is the equivalent of having ‘podcasts’ that are just the recordings of earlier shows. (Chandler Bing voice) Can we GET any lazier?
This is one column you should not miss. Read the full column by clicking here.
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Dave Greene is a former Editor and Columnist for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting.
