AI Isn’t Replacing Sports Media Talent, It’s Replacing Those Who Ignore It

Day two of the Barrett Media Audio Summit was a smashing success. As someone who has attended the sports summits over the years, I thought the retooled approach to this year’s event was a smart pivot. Instead of two days full of content, discussion, and networking, organizers embraced a less-is-more approach. However, one element of this year’s annual gathering of the best in sports media stood out more than anything else. It should have been predictable, but unfortunately, I forgot to ask my AI agent about it.

Woven throughout every conversation was the role AI plays in the industry’s evolving workflow. From sales and marketing to programming, video editing, prep sheets, and even the occasional email, AI surfaced in every panel throughout the day. That’s a far cry from where we were just a couple of years ago, when AI seemed like something off in the distance.

How did we get here so quickly? What happened over the past few years that caused the sports media business to move AI from the back burner to the forefront of nearly every conversation at the Barrett Media Audio Summit?

The answer is actually pretty simple. AI stopped being a futuristic concept and became a practical one because the sports media industry isn’t unlike any other business today.

Sports radio has always embraced tools that create efficiency. We moved from carts to digital automation, from fax machines to email, from tape editing to Adobe Audition, and from physical media kits to digital marketing campaigns. Every technological shift initially produced skepticism before eventually becoming standard operating procedure.

AI is simply the next evolution. The difference is the speed at which it has happened.

It feels like only yesterday that conversations about AI centered on whether it would ever be reliable enough to use. Now the discussion isn’t whether you should use it. It’s how you’re using it and whether you’re getting more value from it than the station across town.

That distinction matters.

The best programmers I know aren’t looking for AI to replace creativity. They’re looking for it to remove friction. If AI can summarize a ratings book, generate multiple promotional concepts, organize research, build a social media calendar, create video captions, or produce a first draft of a presentation in minutes instead of hours, it frees leaders to spend more time coaching talent, building relationships with clients, developing content, and solving bigger strategic problems.

Talent should view it through the same lens.

Listeners don’t tune in because ChatGPT can write a monologue. They tune in because personalities have opinions, experiences, chemistry, and credibility that no software can replicate. But if AI helps organize prep, identify trends, transcribe interviews, clip social videos, brainstorm interview questions, or uncover story angles that otherwise might have been missed, it becomes another producer in the room helping make the show better.

The misconception is believing AI is trying to replace personalities. In reality, it’s far more likely to replace the people who refuse to learn how to use it. That’s the message that emerged from day two of the Barrett Media Audio Summit.

The days of treating AI as just another tool are officially over. We’re now entering an era in which the industry will separate those who embrace AI from those who refuse to adapt.

That may sound harsh, but every major advancement in our business has rewarded those willing to evolve. The people who learned digital editing gained an advantage over those who insisted on razor blades and tape. The stations that embraced podcasting early built stronger brands before everyone else joined the party. Those who understood social media first created audiences that extended well beyond the radio signal.

AI feels remarkably similar, doesn’t it?

It doesn’t eliminate the need for creativity, judgment, or authenticity. If anything, it places an even greater premium on those qualities because the technology is available to everyone. Having access to AI isn’t the competitive advantage. Knowing how to ask better questions, refine better prompts, fact-check the results, and transform those outputs into compelling content is where the separation begins.

That’s a skill, and one that’s now potentially more valuable than any other in your programming arsenal.

Whether you’re a program director managing multiple brands, an account executive chasing new business, a digital producer wearing five different hats, or an on-air personality trying to maximize your reach across every platform, AI has become part of the daily workflow.

Ignoring it won’t make it disappear. It simply means someone else will become more efficient, more productive, and ultimately more valuable.

Walking out of the sports day at the Barrett Media Audio Summit, I found myself thinking less about AI itself and more about what it represents. Every panel reinforced the same message without intentionally trying to.

AI is no longer a niche discussion reserved for tech enthusiasts. It’s become part of the language of modern sports media.

Five years from now, I don’t think employers will ask whether applicants know how to use AI. They’ll simply assume they do, just as they assume candidates know how to send an email, edit audio, or post to social media. The differentiator won’t be whether you use AI. It’ll be how effectively you use it.

That’s why, more than any other takeaway from this year’s summit, AI wasn’t just another topic on the agenda. It was the underlying theme connecting every conversation. If that’s any indication of where our business is headed, learning how to work alongside AI may prove to be the most important investment anyone in sports media can make.

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

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.

linktr.ee/johnmamolaAI Isn’t Replacing Sports Media Talent,AI Isn’t Replacing Sports Media Talent,

The post AI Isn’t Replacing Sports Media Talent, It’s Replacing Those Who Ignore It appeared first on Barrett Media.