NBC Sports Washington's "Redskins Talk" podcast has averaged a 20% month-over-month "increase in downloads over the past year," and show hosts J.P. Finlay and Rich Tandler "can feel the momentum building," according to Scott Allen of the WASHINGTON POST. The show "debuted as a two-man operation" before the first game of the '16 NFL season and is "fast approaching 300 episodes." Finlay said, "There weren’t that many people listening for a while. It kind of stayed off the radar and we got to build it our own way." Allen noted Finlay "handled everything related to the podcast that first season, in addition to his on-air responsibilities." Listeners "regularly knocked the podcast’s audio quality, which Finlay admits was terrible." While many episodes are "still recorded in the bowels of NFL stadiums, there’s now a podcast studio" at NBC Sports Washington’s Bethesda HQ. The network’s Capitals and Wizards podcasts, hosted by Rob Carlin and Chris Miller, respectively, "relaunched this week and will feature new episodes the morning after every game." “Capitals Talk” and “Wizards Talk” will look to "build off the success of 'Redskins Talk,' which over the last year was the most-downloaded podcast in the NBC Sports Regional Networks’ portfolio of more than 40 shows" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/13).
NEW ENDEAVORS: In N.Y., Brooks Barnes notes Endeavor "introduced a new division on Thursday dedicated to developing, financing, producing, distributing and marketing podcasts." Endeavor Audio, as the entity is called, will also "sell podcast ads and sponsorships" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/14).
