Site Stuff: Our extraordinary hockey readership's a blessing
It's not that we don't appreciate the fans of all three Pittsburgh teams, but man, I'm always bursting with pride about the community that congregates here to read and talk hockey.
Probably harkens to a battle I'd begun waging way back in childhood. Because when I was a kid, so were the Penguins in a way. Still too new to be taken seriously by the older generation, still nowhere near successful enough to scrap with the Steelers winning four Super Bowls and the Pirates winning two World Series. So ... I'd be seen as a weirdo just for following all three, instead of only football and baseball. And I sure wasn't alone.
A lot's changed, obviously.
Watching from afar as the Penguins shut out the Sharks late last night in San Jose, Calif. -- Taylor Haase has that covered for us the way Tristan Jarry covered his net -- I couldn't help but be reminded of the 2016 Stanley Cup championship in that same city and how our business, less than two years old at the time, was booming beyond our control. The app/site were in a near-constant state of crashing. We were running around like headless chickens for two straight months. And my goodness, we were growing by a gazillion subscribers at a time.
I can't know how many of you who arrived amid that rush are still here. But I can attest, with certainty, that we remain a place that's proud of both the hockey coverage and of those who are here for what Taylor and I do. It's a knowledgeable, passionate group, one that follows the sport not only in Pittsburgh but across the continent, even the world where applicable. They're here for the games, the practices, the everything. It's year-round, too.
Oh, and it's voluminous.
Get this: Since Oct. 7, the date of the opening victory against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, our Penguins Feed's accounted for 18.25% of all of our traffic, while the Steelers, also very much in season, accounted for 16.45% ... even as our football traffic's functioning at all-time highs!
Thank you! We trust that you'll keep coming here for the Penguins, and you can trust that we'll never let you down with expense or effort! My 10-year-old self wouldn't stand for it!
MILITARY DRIVE AT 437!
Our annual Military Drive to 1,000 had an awesome week, with 183 contributions -- more than half from a single individual -- for a total of 437 bought through the first month.
So ... almost halfway to the goal!
That said, the Drive runs through Veterans Day, which is Nov. 11, only three weeks a way. We've fallen short of that goal just once, and that was in the COVID year. Let's never do that again.
If you're interested in covering the cost for a veteran, at $20 each, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com with how many you'd like so that I can thank you personally, after which I'll pass you along to Dali for processing.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Upon further reflection, I won't be flying to Stockholm, Sweden, for the Penguins' games with the Predators over there. Taylor will still go, of course. For one, I wouldn't have been able to stay for the second game because it coincided with the Steelers playing here. For another, my travel schedule these two months is insane with or without it.
• With so many new subscribers, we're also seeing so many gray faces in the comments. To change that, put up your own avatar by visiting your Profile, then adding a pic right up there in the top circle by the camera icon. If it doesn't take at first, try a smaller file.
• We have schedule/results pages now for the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. The scores you see in those schedule pages link to our own game-center files, so it's a useful reference.
• Paying subscribers live here ad-free. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: This is our subscribe page. From there, make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/restart at the monthly or annual level. We also offer mega-discounts for students, seniors and special workers.
• Feel free to add a generous review on our Google business listing, our Appleand Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own official app pages, whether it's the Apple or Android version. It makes a difference.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers were 804,443, with 26,437 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, Oct. 11-17. Our most-read original piece was my column from Cincinnati on the Steelers' loss to the Bengals, at 15,448.
• Our video views for the past week, also Oct. 11-17, were 217,965. Our most-watched program was our Monday morning Live Shot of Steelers, at 16,626.
THE ASYLUM
Site Stuff: Our extraordinary hockey readership's a blessing
It's not that we don't appreciate the fans of all three Pittsburgh teams, but man, I'm always bursting with pride about the community that congregates here to read and talk hockey.
Probably harkens to a battle I'd begun waging way back in childhood. Because when I was a kid, so were the Penguins in a way. Still too new to be taken seriously by the older generation, still nowhere near successful enough to scrap with the Steelers winning four Super Bowls and the Pirates winning two World Series. So ... I'd be seen as a weirdo just for following all three, instead of only football and baseball. And I sure wasn't alone.
A lot's changed, obviously.
Watching from afar as the Penguins shut out the Sharks late last night in San Jose, Calif. -- Taylor Haase has that covered for us the way Tristan Jarry covered his net -- I couldn't help but be reminded of the 2016 Stanley Cup championship in that same city and how our business, less than two years old at the time, was booming beyond our control. The app/site were in a near-constant state of crashing. We were running around like headless chickens for two straight months. And my goodness, we were growing by a gazillion subscribers at a time.
I can't know how many of you who arrived amid that rush are still here. But I can attest, with certainty, that we remain a place that's proud of both the hockey coverage and of those who are here for what Taylor and I do. It's a knowledgeable, passionate group, one that follows the sport not only in Pittsburgh but across the continent, even the world where applicable. They're here for the games, the practices, the everything. It's year-round, too.
Oh, and it's voluminous.
Get this: Since Oct. 7, the date of the opening victory against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, our Penguins Feed's accounted for 18.25% of all of our traffic, while the Steelers, also very much in season, accounted for 16.45% ... even as our football traffic's functioning at all-time highs!
Thank you! We trust that you'll keep coming here for the Penguins, and you can trust that we'll never let you down with expense or effort! My 10-year-old self wouldn't stand for it!
MILITARY DRIVE AT 437!
Our annual Military Drive to 1,000 had an awesome week, with 183 contributions -- more than half from a single individual -- for a total of 437 bought through the first month.
So ... almost halfway to the goal!
That said, the Drive runs through Veterans Day, which is Nov. 11, only three weeks a way. We've fallen short of that goal just once, and that was in the COVID year. Let's never do that again.
If you're interested in covering the cost for a veteran, at $20 each, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com with how many you'd like so that I can thank you personally, after which I'll pass you along to Dali for processing.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Upon further reflection, I won't be flying to Stockholm, Sweden, for the Penguins' games with the Predators over there. Taylor will still go, of course. For one, I wouldn't have been able to stay for the second game because it coincided with the Steelers playing here. For another, my travel schedule these two months is insane with or without it.
• With so many new subscribers, we're also seeing so many gray faces in the comments. To change that, put up your own avatar by visiting your Profile, then adding a pic right up there in the top circle by the camera icon. If it doesn't take at first, try a smaller file.
• We have schedule/results pages now for the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. The scores you see in those schedule pages link to our own game-center files, so it's a useful reference.
• Paying subscribers live here ad-free. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: This is our subscribe page. From there, make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/restart at the monthly or annual level. We also offer mega-discounts for students, seniors and special workers.
• Feel free to add a generous review on our Google business listing, our Apple and Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own official app pages, whether it's the Apple or Android version. It makes a difference.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers were 804,443, with 26,437 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, Oct. 11-17. Our most-read original piece was my column from Cincinnati on the Steelers' loss to the Bengals, at 15,448.
• Our video views for the past week, also Oct. 11-17, were 217,965. Our most-watched program was our Monday morning Live Shot of Steelers, at 16,626.
• Our company social media: 69,600 followers on Facebook, 59,216 on X, 54,265 on YouTube, 17,389 on Instagram, 7,730 on TikTok, 6,492 on Threads.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• The Downtown HQ/shop's open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m. this coming week, while our company merch can all be had in our online store.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Thanks for reading, watching, listening and, above all, for your support of this proud independent venture.
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