Approaching The Summit is a series of special interviews created in partnership with Point to Point Marketing featuring speakers at the upcoming 2026 Barrett Media Audio Summit in New York City. Follow along with this series as prominent names surrounding the event June 30-July 2 share their insights and expectations for what’s to come in the big apple. The Summit takes place at the SVA Theatre on West 23rd Street. For tickets and hotel room reservations, click here or visit the Summit section at the top of the website.
Jake Asman is a digitial content creator and host of The Jake Asman Show on YouTube with over 45,000 subscribers. He’s also hosted on traditional sports talk radio at ESPN 97.5 in Houston, and Sports Map Radio Network. Asman also is also a lead fill in host on Good Karma Brands’ ESPN New York, and SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. He’s attended the Barrett Media Audio Summit numerous times over the years, but this year will be making his panelist debut at the event.
Asman sat down with Barrett Media from his office in New York City, NY.
*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.*
John Mamola: What are you looking forward the most at the Barrett Media Audio Summit?
Jake Asman: The business just keeps changing dramatically, even in the last year or so. Unfortunately, we’ve seen so many people be laid off or have to go down a new career path. To get a chance to hear from important decision makers, on air people, behind the scenes people get everyone in one spot. It’s a discussion where sports media business is going. Especially, sports radio and the digital side of sports radio.
As someone who used to be a full time radio person is now part time radio, full time content creator. I started my YouTube show as a side hustle, and now it’s become a full time job. Getting a chance to be in the same spot with so many different people who have gone through different and similar things, and learn through information on where the business is headed. I think all of that is really valuable.
John Mamola: You’re someone in sports media that’s transitioned from the traditional sense to the digital sense. What can you recall from the summits you’ve attended in the past that helped you in that transition to achieve a smarter approach to the digital content sphere?
Jake Asman: There was a session at the last summit I went to. Matt Moscona and Phil Mackey did a great job talking about content on YouTube, and how it’s different than other platforms. They really emphasized thumbnails. I remember listening into that conversation, and I really adapted and changed the way I display my thumbnails on my YouTube channel ever since then.
That’s just one example of something I took from the summit and was able to immediately apply it to what I’m doing on YouTube.
There’s other countless things in radio that helped me as a talk show host. I was there when Mike and the Mad Dog were honored. I grew up on that show. So, hearing them talk about the business and their careers was exciting.
Felger and Mazz from Boston as well. I have an immense respect for hearing Felger’s view on radio and how he does a show. I found it to be exciting just being in the same room as all these people.
As a radio guy who’s also a digital content creator, and now a YouTuber. It’s all content at the end of the day. So, there was just a lot of value of being there and absorbing all the info you get.
John Mamola: Are you expecting the conversations you’ll personally have be different at this event than in years past? Meaning traditional talent and executives may pick your brain for items that work in digital maybe better than terrestrial.
If someone approaches you seeking out your advice, what do you hope to convey in this manner at the summit?
Jake Asman: I’m always happy to share my experience. It’s a very untraditional path to how I got here. I was a full-time afternoon talk show host in the fourth most populated city in Houston. Then both my co-hosts on a three-man show left for other gigs within a week of each other. Then all of a sudden, I’m now out of a job as they blow up the whole afternoon show.
So, it wasn’t my choice that I went full time on YouTube. I tried it in August of 2023 and thankfully I’ve been able to really grow the show and go live twice a day in making it work.
However, my path was always sports radio, and then the YouTube thing was something I did on the side as a way to talk about the New York sports teams. Because while I’m in Houston, and we’re not doing a lot of Jets and Yankees talk on Houston radio.
It’s an unusual path that I’m happy to always share how I got to what I did. I’m always trying to learn more about the business from a YouTube side of things too. Finding out what works on YouTube. Does any of those elements potentially work on radio, and vice versa.
I describe my YouTube show to a lot of people is that it’s a radio show that happens to be on video. Instead of a text line, I read comments. Instead of taking calls on the phone line, it’s people calling in but the calls are all on video. There’s a lot of elements of what I do that comes from radio, and hopefully vice versa.
There’s some things that I’ve done on YouTube that I’ve been able to take to radio with me. I’m open to pay it forward and help answer any questions on the content, behind the scenes, and everything else with a YouTube show. There are things I can now speak to from doing this for the last several years.
John Mamola: How have you seen the summit grow and evolve over time?
Jake Asman: The topics have been evolving just because there’s always so much with the business changing. You have to adapt your discussions on the business to what’s happening in real time in the business.
I remember a couple years ago, we were talking so much about the digital takeover. We’ve seen that. There’s people now who are doing what I do. They’ve left radio and they’re full time digitally. They might be better off in certain circumstances.
Just from that lens, I remember there were topics about this is coming. We’re here in a lot of respects.
So, I think Jason [Barrett] and the entire Barrett Media team does a great job of being on top of trends in the business. The different topics that are on these panels reflect that.
John Mamola: This year Barrett Media is combining all three formats into one giant summit. Is your plan to dabble into the news and music days as well to gain any knowledge from those settings?
Jake Asman: Yeah, absolutely. At the end of the day, where, if you’re on air, an entertainer, or a content creator, it might be different subject matter. But there’s much you could learn from anyone who is doing something similar.
Even if the topic is different than what you’re opining on. There’s definitely value in that. There’s value in seeing some of the production elements of shows behind the scenes. What they do in different formats. Could some of that be incorporated into this wild west new format that is YouTube content or digital content. There’s no defined term at this point.
There’s value in just understanding the business as a whole, regardless of if it’s music, sports, or news.
John Mamola: You have a unique perspective on this. What are the biggest challenges or opportunities that you hope are part of the discussions at the summit from a content creator point of view?
Jake Asman: There’s a lot of people that are in sales that maybe don’t understand the massive opportunity that’s out there in selling some of these digital shows.
My audience is fiercely loyal. They support me and I’ve been able to bring in some sponsors. I’m live for four hours a day. I do a two-hour show in the morning, a two-hour show in the afternoon every day. There’s a lot of inventory that I have open for different brands that want to align themselves with what we’re building.
There’s a lot of people that are in sales or represent brands that their job is to add spend on shows. They’re missing out on the opportunity that’s there on some of these YouTube shows, including my own. Hopefully being in an environment where you have a lot of these people in the same place. They’ll start to really grasp and understand there’s a lot of untapped potential on where you could be advertising and reaching a loyal audience that’s different than your traditional radio or TV audience.
John Mamola: If you were addressing someone who’s on the fence about attending the summit. From a radio perspective, what is to gain by being in attendance. Also from a digital perspective, why is it important to be in the room albeit the entire conference is not solely digital?
Jake Asman: If you’re in the sports media business, you want to have an understanding on how executives think about talent, ad spending, ratings, podcasts. You want the information on all aspects of the business. However, you also want to form relationships with people that are in similar situations that you’re in.
The networking goes without saying. Anyone who’s been to one of these events, you have great opportunities to connect with some of the bigger names in the sports media field. It can help you continue to pursue your passion for this.
I don’t think you can be in sports media unless you’re passionate about it. Here’s an opportunity to be with like-minded people for three days. It’s an opportunity to be around people who are passionate about something that obviously you’re passionate as well.
Purchase your tickets to the 2026 BSM Summit here, and for more information BarrettMedia.com
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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.
