This venture's invested a ton into becoming No. 1 for sports readership in the Pittsburgh market, but also being No. 1 in both videos and podcasts ... never could've foreseen that.
And yet, here we are.
In large part because of a little show that began inside a closed-door closet -- awesome acoustics -- because I was bored in COVID times.
I don't have the exact date within, and I don't remember the content except that it was sports, and I can't recall even the intention, other than that I'd wanted to see if I could record on my own. I'd done years of TV/radio, almost all of it live, but there's a different ... feel to simply speaking into a recording device on one's own. In the TV studio, there were others on the set. Even in the radio studio, there was a producer. And this was ... a bunch of clothes.
I found this platform called PodBean, presuming this would go nowhere in a hurry, and did one show. And was surprised to see about 100 people downloaded and, quite possibly, even listened. Then I did another. Then another.
And one night, in taking one of those let's-just-get-out-of-the-house COVID walks with Dali, I told her about all this. Suggested it might someday bring in a couple hundred extra bucks a month, which sounded awesome at a time that all sports had gone dark. She liked that part, so she got to work. Designed logos, found bumper music, taught herself some post-production -- there's nothing she can't do -- and soon built a makeshift studio into a second apartment we'd rented back when we lived in the Strip.
Away. We. Went.
And today, based on numbers she calculated for this Site Stuff yesterday, my three Daily Shot morning shows -- one each on Steelers, Penguins, Pirates -- are averaging 31,698 listeners every day across all platforms! And the almost-one-year-old Double Shot of Steelers live video, is already averaging 10,650 views/listens across all platforms!
I don't need to tell anyone where TV and radio are headed, both in terms of audience and advertising, just as I don't need to tell anyone where online videos and podcasts are headed. I'm positive that's played a part in this, and that's fine, too. I've always taken pride in trying to be ahead of trends rather than running right alongside.
Most important: It's not a stretch to say it's strengthened this business in a way we couldn't have thought possible. Our multimedia revenues currently come close to rivaling -- though not quite -- what we receive from the written side. And because they come with far, far, far lower expenses, they've actually been a boon to the written side. Including in attracting new users to our app/site, people who'd never heard of me/us before finding these shows.
Thanks so much to everyone who's been part of the Daily Shot shows, here and everywhere. It's appreciated beyond anything we'd be able to express.
SPECIAL-WORKER DRIVE: 700
The past week's seen 8 new contributions to our special-worker drive, including six just yesterday from B.J. Boyle to get our total up to an even 700!
Thank you!
We're seeking reader help building a fund from which we can offer 1,000 massively discounted subscriptions for teachers, police, fire, nurses, other emergency workers and volunteers. They're $20 per contribution. We'll then sell these at two-thirds off the full annual price, and that'll remain their price forever.
• Just a little change, but Dali and I spent the past couple days redoing our Feed banners on the home page. They're now 30% taller, the photo spaces are a more traditional 16x9, and there’s an even bigger emphasis on the three teams we really cover. We also moved Pitt with the rest of the colleges while still giving it the biggest display of the five schools.
• I'll no longer be putting my podcasts and videos onto my Grind feed. That was put up to a reader survey earlier in the week, and this was the result. In turn, I'll have more written content on there, however quick or brief.
• Yes, of course we're covering the U.S. Open right up the river at Oakmont. Nicolas Lavigne will do that for us, with Taylor Haase overseeing the operation.
• On the travel front, Taylor will be at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., next Friday and Saturday. Greg Macafee will do the Pirates' next road series at Wrigley Field, José Negron will do the next two road series in Detroit and Milwaukee, and then I'll fly all the way out to do the one in Seattle.
• If you're not ad-free, it's only for paying subscribers. 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 and seniors.
• Feel free to add a good 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.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers were 746,848, with 23,914 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, May 23-29. Our most-read original piece was Taylor's all-hockey Friday Insider eight days ago on the Penguins' youth movement, at 9,589.
• On the multimedia front, our video views for the past week were at 180,773, and our podcast downloads were 83,590.
THE ASYLUM
Site Stuff: The Daily Shot eruption
This venture's invested a ton into becoming No. 1 for sports readership in the Pittsburgh market, but also being No. 1 in both videos and podcasts ... never could've foreseen that.
And yet, here we are.
In large part because of a little show that began inside a closed-door closet -- awesome acoustics -- because I was bored in COVID times.
I don't have the exact date within, and I don't remember the content except that it was sports, and I can't recall even the intention, other than that I'd wanted to see if I could record on my own. I'd done years of TV/radio, almost all of it live, but there's a different ... feel to simply speaking into a recording device on one's own. In the TV studio, there were others on the set. Even in the radio studio, there was a producer. And this was ... a bunch of clothes.
I found this platform called PodBean, presuming this would go nowhere in a hurry, and did one show. And was surprised to see about 100 people downloaded and, quite possibly, even listened. Then I did another. Then another.
And one night, in taking one of those let's-just-get-out-of-the-house COVID walks with Dali, I told her about all this. Suggested it might someday bring in a couple hundred extra bucks a month, which sounded awesome at a time that all sports had gone dark. She liked that part, so she got to work. Designed logos, found bumper music, taught herself some post-production -- there's nothing she can't do -- and soon built a makeshift studio into a second apartment we'd rented back when we lived in the Strip.
Away. We. Went.
And today, based on numbers she calculated for this Site Stuff yesterday, my three Daily Shot morning shows -- one each on Steelers, Penguins, Pirates -- are averaging 31,698 listeners every day across all platforms! And the almost-one-year-old Double Shot of Steelers live video, is already averaging 10,650 views/listens across all platforms!
I don't need to tell anyone where TV and radio are headed, both in terms of audience and advertising, just as I don't need to tell anyone where online videos and podcasts are headed. I'm positive that's played a part in this, and that's fine, too. I've always taken pride in trying to be ahead of trends rather than running right alongside.
Most important: It's not a stretch to say it's strengthened this business in a way we couldn't have thought possible. Our multimedia revenues currently come close to rivaling -- though not quite -- what we receive from the written side. And because they come with far, far, far lower expenses, they've actually been a boon to the written side. Including in attracting new users to our app/site, people who'd never heard of me/us before finding these shows.
Thanks so much to everyone who's been part of the Daily Shot shows, here and everywhere. It's appreciated beyond anything we'd be able to express.
SPECIAL-WORKER DRIVE: 700
The past week's seen 8 new contributions to our special-worker drive, including six just yesterday from B.J. Boyle to get our total up to an even 700!
Thank you!
We're seeking reader help building a fund from which we can offer 1,000 massively discounted subscriptions for teachers, police, fire, nurses, other emergency workers and volunteers. They're $20 per contribution. We'll then sell these at two-thirds off the full annual price, and that'll remain their price forever.
If interested: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Just a little change, but Dali and I spent the past couple days redoing our Feed banners on the home page. They're now 30% taller, the photo spaces are a more traditional 16x9, and there’s an even bigger emphasis on the three teams we really cover. We also moved Pitt with the rest of the colleges while still giving it the biggest display of the five schools.
• I'll no longer be putting my podcasts and videos onto my Grind feed. That was put up to a reader survey earlier in the week, and this was the result. In turn, I'll have more written content on there, however quick or brief.
• Yes, of course we're covering the U.S. Open right up the river at Oakmont. Nicolas Lavigne will do that for us, with Taylor Haase overseeing the operation.
• On the travel front, Taylor will be at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., next Friday and Saturday. Greg Macafee will do the Pirates' next road series at Wrigley Field, José Negron will do the next two road series in Detroit and Milwaukee, and then I'll fly all the way out to do the one in Seattle.
• If you're not ad-free, it's only for paying subscribers. 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 and seniors.
• Feel free to add a good 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.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers were 746,848, with 23,914 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, May 23-29. Our most-read original piece was Taylor's all-hockey Friday Insider eight days ago on the Penguins' youth movement, at 9,589.
• On the multimedia front, our video views for the past week were at 180,773, and our podcast downloads were 83,590.
• Our company social media: 61,481 followers on Facebook, 57,971 on X, 50,206 on YouTube, 16,801 on Instagram, 6,038 on Threads, 5,593 on TikTok, 2,680 on Bluesky
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• The Downtown HQ/shop's open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m., and our company merch can all be had in our online store.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Thanks for reading and, as ever, for your support of this proud independent venture.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits!
We’d love to have you!