Today is a strange feeling because at this moment in time, I have no podcasts scheduled to record in the next few weeks. I have had time away from The Caw and the NFL draft is coming up, so a show is on the horizon, but usually I am recording 1 or 2 shows every week. Now I am down to no shows on a weekly basis until August. I wanted to write about this past season of What The Puck and the new things that happened this year. Before the 2013-2014 season started I saw on twitter that the Baltimore Sports Report had started their own network. They got all the different Baltimore Orioles podcasts in the area together and centralized everyone’s shows. What a great idea. Since podcasting is about fan supported and listener supported content, competition between shows on the same topic remains fun not cutthroat. Podcasting has the PBS model for funding and I like that model. If you like what you hear, there are ways to support the shows and we won’t shove ads down your throat. So I tweeted to the Baltimore Sports Report and asked if they were still adding podcasts to their network.
@BalSportsReport still looking to add podcasts to your network? I do 2 @WTP_Podcast http://t.co/FuToq47o7q & The Caw http://t.co/C7P5YQV0NI
— Brandon Holthaus (@brandocash) August 1, 2013We exchanged emails and it was decided that they would add What The Puck to the Baltimore Sports Report Network. I was thrilled. I am a huge Washington Capitals fan and I live in Baltimore. I am a part of a rare breed that bleeds purple, orange, AND red. I grew up on Kevin Smith films that always feature hockey and I went to see Baltimore Bandits games. Then once Ovechkin hit DC, I was a full time Caps fan. When the Capitals season started, the Baltimore Sports Report held a contest to announce the show coming to the network and on our first show teamed with them we hit over 500 downloads. I couldn’t have been happier joining up with them especially since I am from Baltimore.
Later on in the season, my co-host, Coach Dan Hayden, and I discussed Capshill.com because they did a mock up of what the Winter Classic game would look like in Nationals Stadium. So of course we tweeted to capshill to let them know we discussed the mock up on What The Puck. After a few weeks, we talked and Capshill asked if we would be interested in writing for the site. Again, I was thrilled to be asked, but with my work load and podcasting schedule I have very little time to dedicate to anything else. So I said why not put What The Puck on your website every week. We are generating content that most Washington Capitals fan sites don’t have and that’s audio. Since being added to the Baltimore Sports Report Network and Capshill.com, our download numbers have averaged between 150-350 downloads an episode. I could not be prouder to be able to create content on a weekly basis that reaches that many people.
I love podcasting, it is one of my favorite things to do. I love recording with Coach Dan Hayden who has as much passion about hockey and the Capitals as I do. Yet the greatest thing about working with Coach Dan is he loves podcasting, too. It isn’t a chore to him; it’s not old and boring. We normally record on Wednesday nights because the Capitals did not play many Wednesday games this season. However, I work my normal 9-5 job and then my part time job from 5-8 on Wednesdays so by the time I get home I’m tired. Many times I’ll be tired and not want to record, but it’s Dan’s passion for podcasting makes me get up and record a show, laugh, and talk about the Caps, a team I love to watch play hockey.
So what’s next for What The Puck? I don’t know. We aren’t going anywhere. We will still be recording as news breaks this off season. Dan and I have both talked about our plans for next season and what we want to do with the show. As for me I have a few more podcasts starting up soon. I can’t really say what they are yet, but hopefully they will be joining the BrandoCash Network within the next couple weeks.
- BrandoCash
