BSM Podcast
PASR26: Jay “PodVader” Soderberg
“[People in radio think] you have to stick to this formula. And if you don’t stick to the formula, your ratings will drop. And if your ratings drop, you’re screwed. But in the end, if the conversation is good, the conversation is good.” – ‘PodVader’ Jay Soderberg
Jay Soderberg worked in radio forever, and did a lot of sports radio working for guys like Todd Wright, Tony Kornheiser, Colin Cowherd, Mike & Mike and others.
Then, a superior at ESPN got a hold of him one day, and altered his career path forever. It turned him into PodVader.
PodVader produced handfuls–lot of handfuls–of ESPN’s podcasts for many years until just recently becoming the head of content at BlogTalkRadio. There are similarities and differences in podcasting compared to radio, and you’ll hear a lot of them in our podcast as well as the winding road that got PodVader to where he is today.
Check out more of the show notes below to get a feel for what you will hear in this edition of The PASR. I hope you enjoy and, as always, leave a comment to get out anything that this podcast had you thinking along the way.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE…
- How PodVader became a podcast producer at ESPN. [0:55]
- ESPN really didn’t even know how to do podcasts early on. Who did? [11:20]
- What sports talk host piqued PodVader’s creativity at ESPN? [17:49]
- PodVader talks about the mainstream podcasters that could make it on sports radio. [19:57]
- What makes Bill Simmons great? [24:40]
- Why is digital, on-demand broadcasting better than terrestrial radio? [27:30]
- What the biggest differences are between sports talk radio and sports podcasting. [30:00]
- When is the tipping point coming where digital overtakes radio as the dominant audio delivery medium. [32:38]
- How would PodVader advise an aspiring sports talker via podcasting. [33:59]
LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE…
FROM THE GUEST
- PodVader’s company: BlogTalkRadio
- PodVader’s podcast: Next Fan Up
- PodVader on Twitter: @TheRealPodVader
- PodVader’s e-mail: podvader[at]blogtalkradio.com
FROM ZACH
- Audible: I know you love audio. So I teamed up with Audible and if you haven’t already, you can grab an awesome audiobook from their enormous library of over 180,000 titles for FREE. Go to aboutsportsradio.com/audible.**
BONUS AUDIO
- Here’s some bonus audio that we left off the podcast just for you junkies. More with PodVader.
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Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.