The Barrett Media Audio Summit takes place in exactly fifty six days in New York City. Tickets to join us at the SVA Theatre are available here. For hotel room reservations and our full list of speakers, go here. Those looking to attend while keeping expenses down are encouraged to contact iMar Entertainment here. Barter opportunities are available.
Closing out all three days of the Summit will be the Premiere Networks awards ceremony. Each year, we honor some of the best broadcasters in the business including talent, programmers, executives and legends. Though we all enjoy competing and finding ways elevate our brands and businesses, it’s necessary to take time to highlight great work too. Thank you to Julie Talbott, Peter Trippi and the Premiere Networks team for supporting our mission to do so.
Today, we reveal the 2026 recipient of the Gold Standard in Business Award. This award gets presented on Tuesday, June 30th at the end of the event. Prior winners of this award have included WTOP’s Joel Oxley, and Premiere Networks President Julie Talbott.
The purpose of this award is to recognize leaders who have played a pivotal role in helping their brands and companies grow revenue, ratings, digital impact, reach, and partnerships. WABC Radio and Red Apple Media have excelled in all five of those categories, which is why it’s an easy decision to name Red Apple Media and WABC Radio President, Chad Lopez, this year’s recipient.
An Accomplished and Respected Executive
Chad Lopez has spent over 25 years in broadcast and digital media. Under his leadership, WABC Radio has achieved incredible growth in New York City. He has worked alongside Red Apple Media Owner and CEO John Catsimatidis since March 2020, reviving WABC Radio as one of America’s most powerful News/Talk stations. Lopez has overseen the launch of the Red Apple Audio Network, extending the company’s reach beyond the big apple. He plans to do even more of it with the recently announced launch of The Worldwide News Network.
One of the most important decisions for Red Apple Media came early on when Lopez was empowered to reduce commercial inventory from 21 minutes to 6-8 minutes. Since then, ratings and revenue have risen. The company has acquired additional stations such as WLIR-FM, WRCR-AM, WLID-AM and two FM translators to further expand WABC’s presence across New York state. Red Apple has also established itself nationally, featuring programming on more than 330 affiliates across the country.
Prior to joining Red Apple Media, Lopez served as Vice President of Cumulus Media’s New York cluster from 2015-2020. His career includes a nearly 14-year run with CBS Radio New York. While there, Lopez rose from an Account Executive to General Sales Manager of 1010 WINS, WCBS 880 AM and the Yankees Radio Network. He got his radio start as an Account Executive in November 2000 at Univision’s WADO-AM.
In Their Own Words
“I am honored to be recognized by Barrett Media, but this is a team win,” said Chad Lopez, President Red Apple Media and WABC Radio. “We took a legacy brand, stayed focused on execution, and built real momentum across broadcast, digital, and events. When you stay disciplined on content, distribution, and relationships, results follow. We’re just getting started.”
“Red Apple Media and WABC Radio are enjoying the rewards for investing in quality talent and content” explained Barrett Media founder and CEO Jason Barrett. “A strong air staff occupies the airwaves. Digital strategy and execution is sound. Revenue is strong. Expansion on the national stage continues including yesterday’s decision to move WABC into news on a global scale, with Lee Harris leading it. John Catsimatidis earns a lot of credit for WABC’s growth. All of it is well deserved. But Chad Lopez is a critical part of it too. His passion, relationships, and skill as a leader are critical to WABC’s success. We’re thrilled to recognize him for the outstanding results he’s delivered working with John to return WABC to glory.”
The Premiere Networks Awards ceremony features three individual awards at each day’s show. The Gold Standard in Programming, Business, and Content is featured at the News Summit on 6/30. Our Sports Summit on 7/1 features the Jeff Smulyan Award, the Mark Chernoff Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award. And our Music conference will have three new honors revealed in the near future.
We hope to see you in New York City this summer!
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Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
Mr Lopez and his team deserve this recognition, taking over a station that was sold at a rock bottom price after being run into the ground by previous owners, and turning it into a shining radio success story. WABC proves again that live and local ownership and programming is still a winning combination.