Survival in the sports podcast industry is not easy. Every day, hundreds of new competitors enter a space that many already consider to be oversaturated. It’s a battle of identifying your audience, creating unique content for consumers, and navigating every change and shift in the evolving ways that content is distributed. A battle that the Locked On Podcast Network continues to win year after year for the last decade.
Yesterday, Locked On celebrated the network’s tenth anniversary. What began as a project by founder David Locke to find a way to pay the fees for his children’s ski academy has grown into a model the rest of the industry continues to marvel at.
“The initial conversation with my wife about this included two rules when I started Locked On. One, I couldn’t do anything that would harm us financially. Two, I had to admit it when it wasn’t working and stop working on it,” explained Locke, who still serves as the President of the Locked On Podcast Network. “We never would have thought what if it works, and ten years later you’re still running it. That was never a discussion point.”
What started as a single team-focused podcast hosted by Locke on the Utah Jazz, the team for which he serves as play-by-play voice, has grown into a behemoth of on-demand local voices providing daily content about nearly every team in every professional league. The Locked On Podcast Network currently consists of 275 daily programs. The network relies on hosts who bring firsthand knowledge of their local markets and teams to every show.
Last year, Locked On set new records with 515 million listens and views and is currently pacing to eclipse one billion listens, views, and social engagements in 2026.
“It’s local passion on a national scale,” said Locke. “Our local hosts connect with each local fanbase, connecting fans with a product they care about most in life: their sports team.”
Investing For Success
Locke says his vision to launch his own company with the Locked On model stemmed from his time working alongside Carl Weinstein, who now serves as Locked On’s COO. When Weinstein launched his SeasonTicket.com company near the turn of the century, his approach sparked Locke’s creative mindset while he was working in local sports radio in Seattle and Salt Lake City.
After Locke began building Locked On, the two remained in touch throughout the process. So much so that Weinstein was impressed by the model and decided to join the Locked On team just two years after its launch.
“I was at a point in my career where I wanted to get my hands dirty again. I love building businesses,” said Weinstein about what attracted him to joining Locked On. “It was a perfect mix of my sports, media, and entrepreneurial backgrounds. I always try to be involved with building what’s next. Podcasts were the next thing. Plus, doing something on a large scale with integrity and professionalism was appealing.”
Identifying the podcasting boom so early has played a major role in the success of the Locked On model. Equally important was identifying how the company could stand out from the competition. Locked On prides itself on a talent-friendly model. The company identifies and hires talent who are deeply passionate about the teams they cover while maintaining an objective perspective.
In return, Locked On supports its talent with assets, coaching, data, and technology, much like Locke experienced during his sports radio programming days. That investment has helped the company retain a large percentage of its talent across the country. Those hosts have reinforced the bond between creator and consumer for years, contributing to the success Locked On enjoys today. It’s a story the company isn’t afraid to share.
“We get to tell that story because we’ve been fortunate and smart. Nonstop growth for ten years, that’s a great story to tell,” explained Weinstein. “There’s a tendency that businesses have to hold things close to the vest… David and I don’t believe that’s a good strategy. Telling our story is important for everyone involved with Locked On.”
Earning Consumer Trust
For the last decade, Locked On’s approach has been to improve the local sports fan experience through daily content from trusted voices offering objective and informed opinions. For Locke, maintaining that objectivity remains essential.
Especially as the lines continue to blur between creators, influencers, and talent in the podcast industry.
“Our talent are not influencers,” said Locke. “We can offer unique perspectives because we have experts on every single team… We have always sided on the side that our content must be great but also authentic to be successful.”
Another key to Locked On’s continued success was its forward-thinking decision to expand all content to video distribution platforms. In 2021, the company went all-in on video. It ensured every Locked On program was either recorded or streamed live on YouTube while also being available across podcast platforms.
“We give ourselves permission to win, as well as permission to fail,” said Locke. “We try a lot of things. The audience will tell you where they want your content.”
More recently, research has shown a growing audience for podcast content on video platforms, while audio remains a strong consumption channel. Because of that forward thinking five years ago, Locked On today is operating from a position of strength compared to many of its competitors.
“We’ve seen massive growth on video while continuing to see growth on audio. To us though, it’s all podcast. Some people like to differentiate where one is audio, one is video. It’s all podcast, because the consumer defines it that way,” said Weinstein. “Locked On has always embraced bottom-up thinking. Companies often try to drive corporate objectives toward the way consumers actually behave. We choose to listen to the audience. They told us they were watching and listening to podcasts.”
Navigating Challenges Of Change
With success comes greater demand for more content. When that demand increases, Locked On leans on its talent-friendly approach when adapting to AI.
Locke says the company is “robust” in its use of AI. While the company embraces AI when it leads to greater productivity, it has not ventured into using AI to create Locked On content.
However, content discoverability faces new challenges because of AI. Consumers increasingly rely on AI instead of traditional search. Weinstein says Locked On is responding aggressively, viewing the technology as an opportunity and another way to identify what’s next for the company.
“The world has changed with AI. The tools we used to drive search don’t work the way they used to. The whole search business is a shell of what it used to be,” explains Weinstein. “With every technology, there are still opportunities. So, we’re constantly evaluating how people are using AI to find the information or content they want. At the end of the day, we serve local sports fans. How we ultimately do that could come in a variety of forms, especially in the AI era we live in.”
The future of Locked On also comes with plenty of questions. The company was acquired by TEGNA in 2021. TEGNA was then acquired by Nexstar Media Group in March, though a recent court order halted the acquisition just one month later. Weinstein noted his understanding that TEGNA is owned by Nexstar, but the two companies currently continue to operate separately.
The delay in the acquisition hasn’t diminished Weinstein’s optimism about the future of Locked On.
“We’re optimistic about the prospect of being a part of a much larger media company with a bigger footprint. Also, the ability to do some bigger things with some assets we didn’t have previously,” said Weinstein, noting Locked On worked with Nexstar for only three days before the court order. “We’re operating as usual, and pretty good at that. Being part of TEGNA was a great move for us, but they let Locked On be Locked On. We’re grateful for that.”
Focus Towards The Future
Ten years after David Locke launched a single Utah Jazz podcast with no guarantee it would ever become a business, Locked On finds itself in a position few media companies ever reach. The network has survived industry consolidation, platform shifts, changing consumer habits, and now the emergence of artificial intelligence.
Through each challenge, its core mission has remained remarkably consistent, supported by a powerful commitment to that mission.
“Without the commitment of everyone involved. Especially those that joined Locked On early when they weren’t making a dime. Had those people bailed, there’s no next day for Locked On,” said Locke. “Our success is literally because of them, and their willingness to believe there is something down the road. They’re the people and a big part of the reason we’re still here ten years later.”
In an era when many media companies chase scale by becoming broader, Locked On has grown by becoming more specific. The company bet that local fans would always crave trusted voices who understand their teams, markets, and communities.
A decade later, the numbers suggest that bet was right.
The next ten years will undoubtedly bring new platforms, new technologies, and new questions about how audiences consume content. But if Locked On’s first decade proved anything, it’s that while distribution methods may change, passionate sports fans still want the same thing they’ve always wanted: reliable voices who share their obsession and understand what matters most to them.
As long as that remains true, Locked On appears well-positioned to keep finding ways to meet fans wherever they are, locked on.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
