• Loading stock data...
Friday, July 11, 2025

Inside CBS Sports’ Innovative Podcast Strategy

CBS Sports - Podcast

Part of being a good sports media brand in 2018 is having an effective strategy beyond just pushing out articles.

CBS Sports is embracing this mentality with content in a variety of formats on a number of platforms. Notably, the brand has been hard at work expanding its offerings and has seen triple-digit audience growth across all of its podcasts this year. Fans who haven’t been subscribing to some of the bigger projects may want to consider jumping on the bandwagon now.

For instance, this season marks the 10th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2008 championship run. Bryant McFadden was a cornerback on that Pittsburgh team and now spends his days as an analyst for CBS Sports HQ. In early November, CBS Sports launched “The Season: 2008 Steelers,” a serialized podcast where McFadden details that magical season week by week (starting at Week 11) with the help of players and coaches who were by his side that year.

Jeff Gerttula, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Sports Digital, explained how this idea came to fruition.

“The idea was a collaboration,” he said. “Our content team was looking for a good anniversary hook heading into this Super Bowl season for CBS. We realized we had an analyst in Bryant McFadden, who played on the Steelers 2008 Super Bowl team. We ran the idea of revisiting the season by him, and he was very interested, so we decided to run with it and start recording. He still has relationships with many of the coaches and players on that team, and he’s had a lot of great conversations on the episodes we’ve recorded.”

Guests on released episodes of the show include Hines Ward, Ike Taylor, and Lamar Woodley, with coaching legends Dick LaBeau and Bruce Arians (along with other players) slated to appear later this season. The show already has a perfect five-star rating on iTunes.

With the impending success of “The Season” and the serialized aspect still being an easy sell for podcast fans at large, Gerttula believes that the format is something that CBS Sports will explore further down the line, provided that it can offer fans the same peek under the hood they will get with the 2008 Steelers team this season.

READ MORE: CBS Sports Turns to Voice to Help Fantasy Football Players

“‘The Season’ falls into a category of podcasts that we will look to do more of in the future — they’re event-driven, around CBS Sports tentpoles, and serialized. With podcasts like ‘The Season,’ we can put a stake in the ground and bring new users into our ecosystem by offering access to these tentpole events.

“We know there’s an enormous audience of Steelers fans, and we’re able to deliver something cool to them with the insider access that we have to this team and their path to the Super Bowl. We’re able to talk to the audience on a more personal level with this kind of podcast.”

In addition to “The Season,” CBS Sports also offers what Gerttula calls their core sports vertical podcasts. This includes shows like “Fantasy Football Today,” “Eye on College Basketball,” and “Pick Six” (an NFL podcast). The brand is also moving some of these shows in new directions in order to better serve fans. “Pick Six,” for example, now offers daily episodes during football season as well as expanding the social content offerings on the @picksixpod social channels.

“One of the goals with the ‘Pick Six’ podcast is to build a brand that’s more than just an audio product,” Gerttula explained. “We have original content on the podcast every morning that’s waiting for you when you wake up, but we also have ‘Pick Six’ social channels, where we can be with you during real-time coverage of games. We give you everything you need to know about what’s happening in the NFL in your inbox each day with our ‘Pick Six’ newsletter; it’s a good template for what we’re trying do with all of our shows.”

READ MORE: CBS Sports HQ Places Its Bets on Sports Betting Show

After a podcast succeeds at the daily episodes strategy, live streaming episodes like a traditional radio show as opposed to the usual podcasting route of recording, editing, then releasing is a logical next step. Notably, the brand is going this route with “Off The Bench,” featuring Danny Kanell and Raja Bell, which made its debut in November.

“We launched ‘Off The Bench’ as a podcast last November, and Danny Kanell and Raja Bell really developed a strong chemistry and rapport. They’re able to offer unique insight into the top stories in sports every day as former pro athletes, and we thought it would be a natural fit as a morning show on our new 24/7 streaming network CBS Sports HQ, which launched in February. We first expanded the podcast from three days a week to every weekday before we started streaming it live on HQ in August.”

[mc4wp_form id=”8260″]

The lesson here for media brands is to be constantly looking for new ways to highlight the unique voices within the organization. With shows like “The Season” and “Off The Bench,” CBS Sports is continuing to innovate and set itself apart from others in the space competing for the same audience.

“This has been a good year for us to really develop some of our key voices in that space,” Gerttula said. “Our podcasts give us a more personal touch on the news and game coverage, as well as data-driven discussions we have on CBSSports.com and CBS Sports HQ. The podcasts give us the ability to do more of something that CBS Sports is known for — storytelling.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Feb 5, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell during the NFLPA press conference at the Super Bowl LIX media center at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

NFLPA Head Has Side Hustle With PE Firm That Can Invest in..

The NFLPA’s executive director is embroiled in multiple controversies.

Deion Sanders Rips ‘Bulljunk’ in CFB, Calls for NFL-Style Salary Cap

Coach Prime is frustrated with the new revenue-sharing era.
Jul 9, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Head coaches Willie Fritz of Houston, Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State, Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia, Lance Leipold of Kansas, Sonny Dykes of TCU, Kyle Whittingham of Utah, Brent Brennan of Arizona and Deion Sanders of Colorado all sit on stage for a Coaches Roundtable during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star.

Big 12 Commish: Conference Is ‘All In’ on International Expansion

The conference had once planned a large initiative in Mexico.

NFL’s Alternate Uniforms Fuel Big Business—and Lots of Nostalgia

The Commanders kick off a run of new NFL helmets and uniforms.

Featured Today

Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
July 6, 2025

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
July 5, 2025

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.
July 4, 2025

3,000 Hot Dogs, $20K in Prizes: Behind the Nathan’s Eating Contest

Nathan’s serves up thousands of hot dogs and $20,000 in prize money.
Jul 10, 2025; Wimbledon, United Kingdom; Iga Swiatek of Poland at her on court interview after winning her match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland on day 11 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Wimbledon Set to Deliver Strong Finals Matchup for ESPN

Novak Djokovic is still in the hunt for his 25th Grand Slam.
Feb 7, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies center Tarris Reed Jr. (5) reacts after his basket against the St. John's Red Storm in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
July 8, 2025

After Decade Apart, ESPN and Big East Rekindle Media Rights Relationship

After a decade-plus apart, the network will stream hundreds of conference events.
Paige Bueckers
exclusive
July 8, 2025

Women’s March Madness Expansion Wouldn’t Yield More ESPN Money

ESPN is not required to pay extra if women’s March Madness expands.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Jul 6, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Mexico forward Marcel Ruiz (14) heads the ball in front of United States midfielder Brenden Aaronson (11) in the second half during the 2025 Gold Cup Final at NRG Stadium.
July 7, 2025

USMNT Struggles Still Produce Big Gold Cup Ratings for Fox

The U.S. team’s recent issues culminated in a loss to Mexico.
July 2, 2025

Paramount Settles Trump Suit Ahead of NFL Season, Skydance Merger

The deal likely allows the much larger Skydance merger deal to proceed.
Leo Messi
June 27, 2025

TNT, Club World Cup Ride Messi to Surprisingly Solid Debut Ratings

TNT Sports carries about a third of matches in the U.S.
June 24, 2025

Fever vs. Aces Draws 5th-Largest TV Audience of 2025 WNBA Season

ESPN will carry seven more Indiana Fever games this year.