Even without sports, leading sports podcast network audience still growing

Park City, UT—The Locked On Podcast Network (www.lockedonpodcasts.com) posted a record number of listens last week and is up 75% year over year despite the lack of live sports action amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. For the third time in four weeks, its lineup of NFL podcasts boasted more listens than any week since the network’s 2016 inception.

The Locked On Podcast Network is the nation’s leading network for daily, local sports podcasts. Its founder, David Locke, says, “The uptick in our listening audience really shows how much sports fans are missing their favorite teams, and our content is able to help fill that void. With the NFL in particular, fans are fervent to know more about their team and the upcoming NFL Draft, pushing our NFL listens up 83% year over year.” Locked On NFL, the network’s podcast that covers the entire league, hosted a 6-day “as live” mock draft with hosts of all 32 team podcasts acting as GM and draft experts from across the network serving as analysts. The programming drew the largest audience in the podcast’s history. Both Locked On NFL and Locked On NFL Draft podcasts have consistently been in the Top-50 on the Spotify and Apple Podcast sports charts.

Football is not the only sport that has fans turning to the Locked On Podcast Network. The network’s NBA podcasts have been looking back at the best seasons and games in franchise history. Locked On Kings and Locked On Jazz recently produced multi-episode audio documentaries, with the Kings series focusing on the team’s 2002 run to the Western Conference Finals and the Jazz series highlighting the thrill of the team’s 1991-1992 season that finished with a trip to the Conference Finals for the first time.

Locked On Celtics is releasing decade retrospectives on the NBA’s most storied franchise. This week, Celtics GM Danny Ainge reflects on the glory days of the 1980’s. Other podcast highlights include Shane Battier reliving his title runs in Miami with Locked On Heat, and former Milwaukee Bucks head coach George Karl reminiscing about his 2001 Eastern Conference Finals team with Locked On Bucks.

In addition to podcasts covering every NBA team, the network’s recently added Chad Ford’s NBA Big Board podcast has taken off. Ford draws on his nearly 25 years of NBA Draft knowledge on his new podcast that debuted on March 30th. Locke says, “NBA Draft junkies are so eager to hear Ford’s take on the draft and dig into his encyclopedic NBA memory. The show’s audience has grown a staggering 300% from the first three shows to the most recent ones.”

The Locked On Podcast Network is the nation’s number one producer of daily, local sports podcasts and a top producer of podcast episodes. Locked On covers NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL teams, as well as leading major college sports teams and conferences. Locked On’s more than 150 podcast shows, each producing daily episodes, reach avid sports fans wherever they live. The company also produces league-wide podcasts covering the major sports leagues and has some of the industry’s top-ranked draft and fantasy sports podcasts. Locked On’s audience has more than doubled every year since 2016 and is now among the top five podcast networks in sports media.