Battle of the Radio Voices; The Voice of the Channel on What’s Next for 2026

About this episode

Ronnell Richards interviews Craig Galbraith about the future of the channel and the challenges it faces leading up to 2026.

Craig Galbraith ; journalist, longtime Channel Futures leader, “the voice of the channel,” and founder of Galbraith Multimedia. Ronnell sits down with Craig Galbraith for a long-overdue conversation about where the channel has been, where it’s going, and what’s quietly threatening growth in 2026 and beyond. They chop it up on the real evolution of the channel, why “community” often means cocktails not collaboration, why suppliers keep getting the channel wrong, and why M&A and private investment are changing everything. This is equal parts industry reality check and leadership challenge; stop chasing steak dinners and start doing the work. 00:00 ; Welcome back; why this conversation matters right now 01:47 ; Meet Craig Galbraith; flipping the script from interviewer to guest 03:57 ; College sports; Washington Huskies, Big Ten chaos, and favorite players 08:51 ; Craig off-camera; crossword nerd, fitness, sports, and life outside the channel 09:45 ; From local TV news to the channel; how Craig got started in journalism 12:10 ; How Craig “fell into” the channel; Phone Plus, Channel Futures, and 17 years of change 19:17 ; Then vs now; cloud, TSD consolidation, MSP/VAR…

People in this episode

Host: Ronnell

Guest: Craig Galbraith

Topics covered

• channel evolution
• business growth
• journalism
• M&A
• community dynamics

Keywords

• channel futures
• community
• M&A
• private investment
• leadership challenge

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Phone Plus

Books & works: People on the Move

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