In the 1940’s, some may say is when Reality Talk Show’s hit it’s golden age with Arthur Godfrey (Arthur Godfrey and His Friends), Dave Garroway (The Today Show), and Jack Parr. All parties being internal in the formation of talk shows we all listen to and enjoy today. Introducing the Podcast Era!
Over the years, there have been several different types of talk shows, on several different types of networks, including FOX, NBC, CBS, Comedy Central and most recently, ESPN. Old shows that still captivate audiences today, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show or The Jerry Springer Show.
Other talk shows being replaced by others such as The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, all the way to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
This crossed over to the sports world in a big way, with radio shows with Howard Cosell in the late 20th century, all the way to hit radio stations such as WFAN Radio with Mike (Francesca) and The Mad Dog (Christopher Russo), The Dan Patrick Show, ESPN’s First Take and even The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
However, as technology becomes more and more efficient, the era of podcasting has officially begun, with professional broadcasters, athletes, analysts and even amateur journalists looking to break into the businesses of sports, music, cinema, politics and other forms of entertainment, creating their own personal talk shows with just a click of a button. Enter the Podcast ERA!
Podcasting, originally known as “audio blogging” in the late 1960s, never really got off the ground until the early 2000’s when The RSS Connection was proposed in a draft by Tristan Louis.
This led to the first RSS feed being launched in 2003, with Dave Winer, as software developer and an author of the RSS format, helped his longtime colleague, Christopher Lydon, a former New York Times Reporter, Boston TV News Anchor NPR Talk Show Host, create a portable recording studio.
Fast foward to 2005, Apple added podcasting to it’s brand new iTunes 4.9 software, making Podcasts accessible in the iTunes Store, by downloading and subscribing shows in an organized folder.
This led to the, then, current President, George W. Bush to becoming a podcaster (of sorts), by using an RSS 2.0 feed to make weekly radio addresses to the nation.
Though podcasting has been available for download since 2005, and has been quite instrumental in the careers of some on-air personalities shortly after, including Joe Rogan’s Joe Rogan Experience, and The Howard Stern Show, the era of podcasting has not taken off until the more recent years of the late 2010’s; within the last four years to be exact.
When University of Michigan graduate, Dave Portnoy, started his own brand called “Barstool Sports” back in 2004, it was a long road ahead in turning the brand into a success.
It wasn’t until 2016, when Portnoy and company moved their brand from Milton, Massachusetts to New York City after being bought out by The Chermin Group, a media holding company founded by Peter Chermin.
The move would soon cultivate one of the biggest sports podcasts in today’s world, called “Parden My Take” produced by Henry Lockwood and hosted by “Big Cat” Dan Katz and Eric Sollenberger, who goes by the name, “PFT Commenter“, using their online blogging usernames going forward.
Katz and Sollenberger met online, as both were avid bloggers on social media, both being hired by Barstool Sports as bloggers before the move to New York City where they started their hit show in 2016.
The podcast, as of today, ranks #1 in all sports podcasts, with hilarious segments and guest that have included some of the top names in the sports and entertainment industries today, including Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Zac Efron, Julian Edelman, Baker Mayfield and even Manny Pacquiao.
Barstool Sports also presents multiple other top rated sports podcasts in the nation, including the #1 ranked Boston Red Sox podcast in the world, called “Section 10” hosted by Jared Carrabis, Coley Mick and Steve Perrault, with Red Sox players and coaches from past and present making appearance. Including David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, J.D. Martinez, Johnny Damon and even the current President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski.
This Podcast, not only is the number one most listened to podcast in the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut, but has also helped create an in-company rivalry with New York Yankees’ bloggers, Eric Hubbs and Tommy Scibelli who have gone on to start “The Short Porch” Yankees podcast, also presented by Barstool Sports.
The Podcast has also been the driving point to former ESPN personality, Bill Simmons‘ career as Simmons has gone on to launch his own podcasting network called “The Ringer” which was launched in 2016.
Simmons, who had been working on Grantland, an ESPN-owned blog from 2011 to 2015, brought over several of his editors from Grantland during the move.
The Bill Simmons Podcast, hosted by Bill Simmons, is currently ranked the #4 most listened to podcast in the Sports world, behind Parden My Take (Barstool Sports), Talkin’ Yanks (Jomboy Media) and Fantasy Footballers (Fantasy Football).
The Ringer is also home to the most listened to movie/cinema podcast, called “The Rewatchables“, also hosted by Bill Simmons, as well as his colleagues, where they discuss old movies that influenced their viewers enough that they had to see it once more.
Despite these podcasts being linked to big networks with big personalities backing them, there have been more independent and amateur shows on the horizon as of late.
These can be headlined by a man named Jimmy O’Brien, known as Jomboy on social media, who has taking the podcasting world by storm as of 2018.
Jomboy has created the number one most listened to Yankees’ podcast in the nation, called “Talkin’ Yanks” which he co-hosts with Jake Storiale, as well as his own media website called “Jomboy Media” where he hosts podcasts called Talkin’ Baseball, Laughs From The Past, Jomboy & Jake Radio, Talkin’ Knicks, Just Talkin’ and Six Pack Cinema.
Jomboy also has become famous on social media for his ability to read lips and creating MLB videos where he narrates a play or situation in a comical way, and unlike Parden My Take or The Bill Simmons Podcast, Jomboy, and Jake Storiale have been able to gain mainstream attraction all on their own.
Jomboy has been an inspiration to many wanting to break into the sports journalism and podcasting world, as the likes of Keith McPherson, host of George’s Box on Bronx Pinstripes, and Joez McFly, the host of Pinstripe Strong, have gained mainstream attraction within the New York Yankees community, with both men appearing on YES Network specials with Paul O’Neill and David Cone.
Ready or not, here we come, this is 100% the Podcast era. If you’ve made it this far into the article, you might be wondering who wrote it.
My name is Jack O’Hara and I currently host “The O’SHOW” podcast presented by Belly Up Sports, talking Sports, Music, Cinema and other forms of entertainment.
Through blogging and podcasting over the past few years, I have gotten the opportunity to grow and meet some other talented sports minded people, on social media and in the sports industry.
Getting the chance to chat with some of today’s most intelligent sports personalities, such as Barstool Sports’ Jared Carrabis, Los Angeles Angels’ TV Broadcaster, Victor Rojas and Jomboy from Jomboy Media has given me the insight into this industry that I never had before.
It has also given me opportunities to showcase my talents and work ethic with Minor League Baseball organizations like the Charlotte Knights and Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders.
Through this, It has given me the opportunity to talk with current Major League stars including White Sox’ Second Baseman, Tim Anderson, and Yankees Outfielder’ Clint Frazier.
Getting into the podcast industry has also allowed me to connect with Belly Up Sports, a sports-minded website founded by Mike Brown and Blaine Napier back in 2017. That showcases sports podcasts such as The Kornerbooth with Jared Klim and Marc Reilly, Puck Puck Pass, hosted by Zac Mac and Kyle Gehrholz, among others.
It has also given me the opportunity to explore the podcast networks such as Bleav Podcast Network, which mainly focuses on Los Angeles-Based Sports, Cinema and Entertainment, including podcasts such as “Dodgers” hosted by former MLB Pitcher, Brett Tomko, and Josh Luke.
Alongside with another co-host, I will be starting a Grand Canyon University Sports-based show with Bleav at the beginning of September, talking all Division-1, Intramural, and Club Sports that the university has to offer.
If Dave Portnoy, Jimmy O’Brien or Keith McPherson has taught us anything, it’s that anything is possible if you put your time and dedication into something.
I personally suggest that anyone who wants to break into the sports broadcasting business should start their own blog, podcast or website. To showcase what you have to offer because you have no idea who you could possibly meet along the way and what you could possibly accomplish!
Ready or not, we’re here. This is the PODCAST ERA!
