Podcasting and digital content are as hot as they’ve ever been. You could probably say the same for the Locked On Podcast Network, which produces more than 180 podcasts, covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and major college sports teams. In terms of networks that have fully immersed themselves in the podcast space, Locked On is one the best when it comes to sports. It’s been a very successful model that enjoyed a 48-percent year-over-year growth and registered an audience of over 115 million listens and views in 2021. Times are good right now for Locked On.
But recently, the creator of Locked On, David Locke, who also serves as the radio voice for the Utah Jazz, saw a quicker and more aggressive path for growth. Locke and his team wanted to go all-in on two markets, and hire talent that could bring compelling and unique content to fans in those cities.
The move combines the podcast world and the digital world, bringing daily content centered around Minnesota and Atlanta sports. If a fan in Minneapolis prefers podcasts, there are two shows a day that are released on the Locked On Sports Minnesota podcast and YouTube pages. If a fan in Atlanta prefers digital video on YouTube, the Locked On Sports Atlanta page has multiple videos per day covering the Falcons, Braves, Hawks, Bulldogs, Yellow Jackets and the SEC.
“The thing about sports talk and what makes it so great, you’ve got entertainment, information and passion,” said Locke. “We’re doing post-casts, which are 10-minute postgame shows after every game in Minneapolis, and for the Braves and Falcons in Atlanta. I think that’s our passion we’re touching on there. I also think it was just a natural expansion. We have this incredible foundation and listener base with our team shows, and this seemed like a natural translation to the next spot.”
The expansion of the network with Locked On Sports Minnesota and Locked on Sports Atlanta is already showing a lot of momentum. But creating these brands took a lot of time, ideas, and the willingness to invest in multiple people in each market. The thing is, you don’t just make the decision to expand without a well-thought-out plan. Locke and his team first had to identify which markets they wanted to tap into. After speaking with a consultant, Locke decided Minneapolis and Atlanta were the best two sports to expand into first.
“Minneapolis is a unique market, because it’s been at the forefront of digital innovation with multiple other groups,” said Locke. “KFAN is a sportstalk beast that has done incredible, amazing work and has built up the sports audience there in a strongly provincial sports town. Atlanta is kind of a contrast, right? It’s the melting pot of several different markets. I feel like it’s the southern hub. It did have the unique circumstance of a particularly large amount of talent.”
Mark Zinno is one of the talents in Atlanta that Locke found and wanted to bring on. An Atlanta sports radio veteran, Zinno brings instant credibility to Locked On Sports Atlanta. But as familiar of a face and voice as he may be, the success of the Locked On Network was one of the biggest reasons why he wanted to jump into the new digital venture.
“I decided to join Locked On Sports Atlanta because it was a recognizable national platform and of course, the opportunity to be back behind the mic every single day,” said Zinno. “Plus, combined with the success of my Hazard Ground podcast, this was another opportunity to dive deeper into the digital audio space. Locked On was the first real company to be part of the digital audio space on a by-market basis. I’m so glad they’ve chosen to make a great sports city like Atlanta part of their footprint.”
Zinno isn’t the only talented host that’s been hired at Locked On Sports Atlanta. He has an entire team around him that has experience in the digital space.
“Tenitra Batiste is a rising star and I think the same about Jarvis Davis,” said Locke. “Jon Chuckery has done a great job there and was available because of the uniqueness with his night show. I think we’ve built a great lineup and have a unique marketplace that has a vibrant city with a lot of really good sports talk but a lot of recent turnover. We had a really good consultant that told us Atlanta was loaded with talent.”
All talent, be it in Atlanta or Minnesota, is brand new to the network, outside of Sam Ekstrom, who is the executive producer in Minneapolis. At one point, he hosted Locked On Vikings. Everyone had the familiarity of Locked On, but now they’re fully immersed in the network.
A huge development for Locked On was the integration of TEGNA in January of 2021. With TEGNA wanting to expand its footprint in sports, Locked On was the perfect platform to help it expand in the digital space.
“In both of those markets, there’s a massive TEGNA TV station,” said Locke. “You’ve got KARE in Minneapolis and 11 Alive in Atlanta that are powerhouses stations. One of our hosts in Minneapolis is Reggie Wilson who’s the lead sports anchor. And then Reg Chapman and Maria Martin are stars that we hope to integrate them as much as we can. TEGNA’s powerhouse TV stations matter a great deal in those marketplaces.”
It seems as though Locked On is in a great position to take another giant step. Consider that the brand already has several hosts with built-in followings that can serve as experts on each team in the market. That means the talent covering the teams in Minneapolis and Atlanta will extend past the crew that was initially hired.
“We’re seeing a rise with people in the car listening,” said Locke. “It’s audio and video that’s available to you all the time. The beauty of on-demand is the power of it. You’re going to see it become more and more a part of people’s listening habits. I really think it’s going to be listening through different mechanisms than they’ve been used to listening.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
