Here we are. 2026 has arrived. A new year for resolutions to eventually fail, predictions to prove incorrect, and 365 more days of evolution in sports media. Last year (you can say that on January 2), we saw more talent go independent than ever before. Many started their own platforms while still serving the corporate overlords of traditional media. Meanwhile, those sticking to the old formula and traditional methods are the ones still providing results for clients, thanks to the megaphone they continue to hold. For now.
However, a new year is here. If 2025 proved anything, it showed momentum shifting toward the creator and not necessarily the brand itself. Sure, there are plenty of examples around the country where the brand remains bigger than the creator. Still, in 2025, Lady Justice’s scale showed more balance than in any previous year.
That’s why I believe 2026 will be the year of the creator, talent, and entertainer. Rather than leaning on the outlet to build an audience, the audience will continue to find new outlets. More digital than traditional. Where ease of access reigns over the desire for “real.” That is why now, more than ever, is the greatest time to be a creator. Welcome to the content race of 2026. Are you listening?
I’ve been away from the traditional sports radio industry for over a year now. The walls that once confined my outward and forward thinking are gone. I was a lifer in an industry that continues to lean on its past while continuing to tiptoe into a murky future.
Over the past year, working for Jason Barrett allowed me to spread my wings, open my mind, and ask the right questions with an overwhelming sense of curiosity. I also moved in with my girlfriend and began watching Ted Lasso. Yes, five years after its debut. There is a scene in the first season where Lasso matches wits with his new boss’ ex-husband, the former owner of the team he now manages.
The American, who arrived in Europe with no soccer coaching experience, took over a neighborhood club in the Premier League. I remembered the scene vividly because Jason Barrett once played the clip at a previous Barrett Sports Summit years ago.
The scene shows the new soccer coach, with no experience, as an obvious underdog, written off before he ever got a real shot. Fans called him “wanker” wherever he went, underestimating what Lasso could bring to their beloved club.
Lasso found himself down in a darts match against the former owner and needed 170 while his opponent needed only 10. This was the round where Lasso made a miraculous comeback.
Between each set of three throws, Lasso spoke about how people underestimated him his entire life. He admitted that he never understood why and that, at times, it bothered him that so many believed he would never amount to anything. He then referenced a trip with his son, where they saw a quote by Walt Whitman on a building that read “be curious, not judgmental.”
It was a life-altering moment for Lasso. On the ride to work after dropping off his son, he reflected on how the quote applied to his life. He realized that those who belittled him forever never lived with curiosity. Instead, they judged him because they believed they already had everything figured out by themselves.
Referencing Lasso’s example, this is why I believe this is the greatest time to be a creator in the content race of 2026. I’ll circle back to this in a moment.
For too long, the goal for talent was the radio station or the network. The focus centered on becoming better than the last person who occupied the same chair. Sports fans have argued for generations about who is the next (fill in the blank). In sports media today, that question no longer applies.
Instead, the real question is what talent can provide as content and how talent can find outlets that want to distribute it. Nothing made this more evident than how 2025 wrapped up.
Barstool Sports, Spotify, and iHeartMedia arranged exclusive podcasting deals with Netflix. The streaming giant will now house content created by others on its platform that audiences couldn’t find anywhere else. These deals reflect creators producing content and finding new vessels to enhance reach and profitability.
We saw this years ago when Pat McAfee signed with ESPN. A creator producing content found another vessel to expand reach and revenue. Rich Eisen accomplished this last year by rejoining ESPN. Robert Griffin III told me his Outta Pocket with RG3 podcast follows the same philosophy. Emmanuel Acho said the same about his Speakeasy programming. FOX Sports’ partnership with Barstool applied the same concept with Wake Up Barstool.
What 2025 proved is that more networks and distributors see the writing on the wall. Audiences are shifting to more places than ever before. To meet the growing appetite for niche-driven content, they must seek out the best creators to produce it to hold onto any consumer possible.
Sports, news, music, pop culture, video games, and life advice all represent growing content categories. Distributors are actively searching for ways to feed their audiences, many with open checkbooks ready to do business.
Now, let’s pay off the tease.
Ted Lasso was a curious man while others underestimated him. Could the same be said about traditional media talent and their judgments about the content race shifting to the digital realm? Think about the talent at your station or network, or look inward at yourself.
How many times have you heard the phrase “being asked to do more with no reward in return?” Traditional sports media talent work long hours, pull double shifts, travel extensively, and juggle the same pressures of balancing home and work. The reality is traditional audiences are shrinking, and revenue continues to shift away. Less audience and less money do not create a strong business formula or a bright future.
That’s why my hope for 2026 is that every sports media talent who has belittled or avoided independent work begins their journey. Be a little curious. Enter the new year with a fresh mindset and recognize that sports radio is no longer just sports radio. That three-minute hit on a pregame show is no longer enough. Leaning on the security and success of the past no longer applies to the future.
Audiences are demanding more, and in any way, shape or form they can grasp it.
2026 will be the year the creator economy explodes through curiosity and by asking the right questions of the right people. Sports media will blossom in more ways than can currently be imagined. New approaches to using social media for connection, reach, and engagement will emerge. Bright stars of the future will rise, while many examples of the industry’s old evolution will fade into memory.
Ask yourself: If not now, then when? How about trying a resolution that could become your next destination?
This year will mark the beginning of what will be remembered as the greatest time to be a creator in the content race.
Are you listening? Because underestimating the future will no longer protect you.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
