Sports podcast: Difference between revisions

Podcasts in general began to gain a following in the mid and late 2000s. In October 2004, Sam Coutin began ''The Sports Pod'' and shortly after he launched the My Sports Radio podcast network.<ref name=Herrington>{{cite book|last=Herrington|first=Jack D.|url=https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Podcasting_Hacks/dXnJgJl8lxQC?hlid=endXnJgJl8lxQC&gbpv=1&dqq=%22sports+podcast%22&printsec=frontcover|title=Podcasting Hacks|page=167|publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]]|date=2005|isbn=9780596100667|accessdate=September 27, 2022}}}</ref><ref name=WalchLafferty2006>{{cite book|last1=Walch|first1=Rob|last2=Lafferty|first2=Mur|url=https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Tricks_of_the_Podcasting_Masters/ZWjQemfyXMIC?hlid=en&gbpv=1ZWjQemfyXMIC&dq=%22sports+podcast%22&pg=PA87&printsec=frontcover|title=Tricks of the Podcasting Master|pages=87–90|publisher=[[Pearson Education]]|date=May 22, 2006|isbn=9780132714730|accessdate=September 27, 2022}}</ref> By 2006, shows on Coutin's network were achieving 500,000 downloads each month.<ref name=WalchLafferty2006/>

[[ESPN]] was an early adopter of the podcast format, launching their first in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|last=Keller|first=Traug|url=https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2018/02/espns-podcast-business-benefits-from-history/|title=ESPN's podcast business benefits from history|work=[[ESPN|ESPN Front Row]]|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=February 7, 2018|accessdate=September 27, 2018}}</ref> In 2007, [[Bill Simmons]] stumbled upon a podcast interview of [[Boston Celtics]] executive [[Danny Ainge]] by [[ESPN]] NBA draft analyst [[Chad Ford]].<ref name=Spanberg2018>{{cite web|last=Spanberg|first=Erik|url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/journal/issues/2018/05/07/media/podcast.aspx|title=The Podcast Revolution|work=[[Sports Business Journal]]|date=May 7, 2018|accessdate=September 27, 2022}}</ref> Simmons, also an ESPN employee at the time, inquired to his management about hosting a podcast of his own. Simmons was sent basic audio equipment and hosted his ''[[The B.S. Report|B.S. Report]]'' podcast in a [[Do it yourself|DIY]] fashion from his home.<ref name=Spanberg2018/> Simmons' podcast was popular among sports fanfans and he his success would help "launch a sports podcast revolution.".<ref name=Spanberg2018/>

In 2016, Simmons left ESPN and founded his own website venture, [[The Ringer (website)|''The Ringer'']], that centered much of its focus through podcasts.<ref name=Hull2021>{{cite book|last=Hull|first=Kevin|url=https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Sports_Broadcasting/B3dQEAAAQBAJ?hlid=en&gbpv=1B3dQEAAAQBAJ|title=Sports Broadcasting|pages=33–34|date=November 23, 2021|publisher=Human Kinetics|isbn=9781492598572|accessdate=September 27, 2022}}</ref> His ''Bill Simmons Podcast'' hosted on the website was "the lone sports program among [[iTunes]]' 20 most popular [podcasts in 2017].".<ref name=Spanberg2018/> [[Indianapolis Colts]] [[Punter (football)|punter]] [[Pat McAfee]] retired following the [[2016 NFL season]] and ventured into podcasting. His eponymous ''[[The Pat McAfee Show|Pat McAfee Show]]'' has been credited with "[[Podcasts hosted by professional athletes|paving the way for fellow athletes]] to pursue a media career upon retirement.".<ref name=RattsBenedek2021/>

By the late 2010s, podcast versions of sports television talk shows like ''[[The Herd with Colin Cowherd]]'' and ''[[First Take (talk show)|First Take]]'' were among popular sports podcasts.<ref name=Spanberg2018/> Radio shows are also repackaged into podcasts.<ref name=RattsBenedek2021>{{cite webbook|last1=Ratts|first1=Tyler|last2=Benedek|first2=Jonathan J.|editor-last=Pedersen|editor-first=Paul M.|url=https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Sport_Management/jDhUEAAAQBAJ?hlid=en&gbpv=0jDhUEAAAQBAJ|title=Encyclopedia of Sport Management|pages=362–363|publisher=[[Edward Elgar Publishing]]|date=December 14, 2021|isbn=9781800883284 |accessdate=September 27, 2022}}</ref> Established sports networks, such as ESPN, also offered original podcast programming in addition to their repackaged content.<ref name=RattsBenedek2021/> Series hosted by [[Bomani Jones]] and [[Katie Nolan]], as well as [[Barstool Sports]]' lineup, including ''[[Pardon My Take]]'', were also cited as popular by the ''[[Sports Business Journal]]'' (''SBJ'').<ref name=Spanberg2018/>

The 2020s brought upon further expansion and growth for sports podcasts, with major acquisitions and network developments occurring.<ref name=RattsBenedek2021/> Simmons sold ''The Ringer'' to [[Spotify]] for $196–$250 million in 2020.<ref name=Spangler2020>{{cite web|last=Spangler|first=Todd|url=https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/spotify-acquires-the-ringer-196-million-cash-bill-simmons-1203502471/|title= Spotify Is Paying Up to $196 Million in Cash to Acquire Bill Simmons' The Ringer |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=February 12, 2020|accessdate=September 27, 2022}}</ref><ref name=Shaw2020>{{cite web|last=Shaw|first=Lucas|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-11/spotify-said-to-pay-250-million-for-ringer-in-podcasting-drive?leadSource=uverify%20wall|title=Spotify Pays $250 Million for Ringer in Podcasting Drive|publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=February 11, 2020|accessdate=September 27, 2020}}</ref> In 2021, television station group [[Tegna Inc.|Tegna]] purchased the [[Locked On Podcast networkNetwork]], "which produces 160 daily shows for U.S. sports teams.".<ref name=RattsBenedek2021/> Partnering with [[iHeartMedia]] in 2021, established sports media personality [[Colin Cowherd]] launched [[The Volume]], his own podcast network, to better connect with consumers.<ref name=RattsBenedek2021/><ref name=Hayes2021>{{cite web|last=Hayes|first=Dade|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/colin-cowherd-podcast-network-the-volume-logan-swaim-head-of-content-1234759093/|title=Colin Cowherd Podcast Network The Volume Taps Sports Media Vet Logan Swaim As Head Of Content|date=May 18, 2021|accessdate=September 27, 2022}}</ref> In January 2022, Fox Sports launched Fox Audio Network, a podcast network to leverage its on-air talent such as [[Skip Bayless]] and [[Nick Wright (sportscaster)|Nick Wright]], in the audio space.<ref>{{cite web|last=Chan|first=J. Clara|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/fox-sports-podcast-network-skip-bayless-nick-wright-tom-rinaldi-1235074810/|title=Fox Sports Launches Podcast Network With New Skip Bayless Show|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=January 13, 2022|accessdate=September 26, 2022}}</ref><ref name=Goldsmith2022>{{cite web|last=Goldsmith|first=Jill|url=https://deadline.com/2022/03/fox-audio-network-spotify-megaphone-podcast-1234969458/|title=New Fox Audio Network Inks Advertising, Distribution Deal With Spotify's Megaphone|date=March 2, 2022|accessdate=September 26, 2022}}</ref>

In 2018, ''SBJ'' wrote that "Unlike TV, where live games account for all but a handful of the most-watched programs in the U.S. each year, sports podcasts trail shows focused on news and political shows or general interest in both audience size and revenue.".<ref name=Spanberg2018/> According to industry analyst Podtrac, only two sports programmers ranked among top 10 among podcast programmers in March 2018: [[ESPN]] was ranked 7th and [[Barstool Sports]] was ranked 10th, with 4.4 million and 2.4 million monthly unique listeners, respectively.<ref name=Spanberg2018/> ESPN experienced a 43% increase in 2018 over 2017 in podcast downloads.<ref name=Goldstein2019/><ref name=PBJ2019>{{cite web|url=https://podcastbusinessjournal.com/espn-exec-bullish-on-podcasts/|title=ESPN Exec Bullish on Podcasts|work=Podcast Business Journal|date=February 20, 2019|accessdate=September 27, 2022}}</ref> ''[[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]]'' was the network's most downloaded sports podcast show in 2018, with more than 91 million [[Interactive Advertising Bureau|IAB]] Certified downloads.<ref name=PBJ2019/>

In 2019, ESPN executive Traug Keller stated that "podcast listeners skew significantly younger, certainly younger than ESPN Radio, in fact, younger than any other platform at ESPN,", detailing that, "the ESPN podcast listener is on average 33, and 60% of our podcast listeners are 18 to 34. That's 13 years younger than our radio listeners.".<ref name=Goldstein2019>{{cite web|last=Goldstein|first=Steven|url=https://www.amplifimedia.com/blogstein/2019/2/15/t9miikzzwsj6ytuddcdftjztd9a0n5|title=Why ESPN is all in on podcasts; We interview ESPN's Traug Keller|publisher=Amplifi Media|date=February 15, 2019|accessdate=September 27, 2022}}</ref>

[[Category:Sports podcasts| ]]