Our 2022 BSM Summit is only twenty two days away, and the lineup we've assembled for this year's conference is strong. We'll have more to announce as well leading up to the show. If you haven't bought a live or virtual ticket, today's your lucky day. We're having a special one-day only 20% off sale on tickets TODAY. This will be the last time discounted rates are available, so take advantage of it.

A few folks won't need to purchase tickets to the show due to their participation in our special email and Facebook contest. Congratulations to Matt Fishman of ESPN Cleveland, Ryan Haney of WJOX in Birmingham, Sandy Cohen of WHB in Kansas City, Ryan Hurley of 98.7 ESPN New York and Ryan Maguire of Good Karma Brands in Chicago on winning live tickets. Additional congratulations goes out to Danny Zederman of ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Robert Mueller of 98.1 The Sports Animal, Mike Ragozino of 1380 The Fan in Fort Wayne, Jeff Austin of 1080 The Fan in Portland and Ray Necci of ESPN on winning virtual tickets. I'll touch base soon to confirm details for enjoying the conference.

Looking ahead to the show, I'm pleased to add Good Karma Brands Executive Vice President Debbie Brown and Beasley Philadelphia Market Manager Joe Bell to this year's lineup. Next on the to-do list is announcing our winners for this year's Mark Chernoff Award and the Champion's Award, and our ESPN After Party special guests. Those should be revealed during the next week or two. For those wondering when the full schedule of sessions will be out, that should be out next week as well.

This event is specifically for industry professionals. We don't sell tickets to the general public. However, as we gather sports media's most talented personalities and executives in NYC for two days, I want to make sure tomorrow's generation of broadcast professionals have a chance to learn from some of the smartest people in the industry.

With that in mind, I'm thrilled to share that BSM will be giving away five (5) virtual tickets to college students who are interested in learning more about the broadcasting industry. This applies to all college students across the United States not just Tri-State area students. The winners will be decided by myself, Demetri Ravanos, Cumulus Media and Westwood One's Senior Vice President of Sports Bruce Gilbert, Premiere Networks and iHeart Senior Vice President of Sports Don Martin, and ESPN Radio Program Director Justin Craig.

In order to qualify for a free virtual ticket, students are asked to submit a 2-minute video by email to JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com explaining why they'd like to watch the event. Included in the email should be a list of steps they are or have already taken to explore opportunities in the media industry, what they hope to pursue in the business upon graduation, and any audio or video clips they wish to attach showcasing their work.

Students must be pursuing a degree that involves course work either in radio, television, print or the digital business. Those attending trade schools which focus on broadcasting are also invited to participate. BSM will accept submissions until February 18thth. The winners will be announced during the week of February 21-25.

Two years ago, we gave away tickets to students to this event. One of the winners was Derek Futterman. He now writes for BSM and does an excellent job for us. Though the option to attend in person doesn't exist this year, if students are hungry to gain knowledge, learn the names and faces of influential people charged with shaping the industry, and understand what goes into creating successful brands and business, there's no better education than this show.

That's all for now. Hope to see you in person or online at the Summit. You may now return to the website to enjoy and debate BSM's Top 20 madness, our biggest traffic driver of the year. Have fun!