ESPN Turns 30 for 30 Into Successful Podcast
The popular ESPN documentary series 30 for 30 has made a huge splash in the sports video world. With three volumes now under its belt since 2010, the ESPN Films has brought us some of the most compelling sports profiles to be shown on video, such as the rise of the Oakland Raiders, the 90’s Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys,” and even the life and times of the best professional wrestler of all-time Ric Flair.
With such great success of its video content, ESPN has decided to experiment with a new format – podcasts. That’s right, viewers of the popular television documentary program can now listen to new stories with them on-the-go. With the first two podcasts now uploaded, ESPN has found great success with the new platform.
“We started thinking of ideas for our first season last November,” said host and senior producer of the 30 for 30 podcast Jody Avirgan in an article published by Sports Illustrated. Avirgan also said this first season will feature five documentaries coming out on five consecutive Tuesdays.
The first podcast, “The Trials of Dave and Dan,” is a story about Reebok commercial stars Dan O’Brien and and Dave Johnson and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. This podcast was a hit and drew a lot of attention, making listeners eager to tune in for the rest of the season.
#30for30Podcasts are here!
Listen to our first episode, The Trials of Dan and Dave, now: https://t.co/fnz6MOcIxd pic.twitter.com/nb6R3V7lyV
— ESPN Films 30 for 30 (@30for30) June 27, 2017
The second episode “Yankees Suck” dropped Tuesday, and fans are already posting about it.
Audio documentaries from ESPN – brilliant. 30 For 30 Podcasts: Yankees Suck https://t.co/awRr18LZmw
— robb (@robboriger) July 5, 2017
Yankees Suck 30 for 30 podcast was fantastic. highly recommend a listen.
— Matt Dempsey (@MattDemps20) July 5, 2017
ESPN has found success with this mode of content because it allows listeners to have the content available on-demand . It also allows for the content to be uploaded quickly because it’s solely audio, so there is no need for video editing, writing or producing – just simple storytelling.
The podcast can be listened to on the ESPN app, Apple Podcast, and wherever podcasts are available. Could this be a future trend for other sports production or is this just the hot topic right now for ESPN?
