One of our goals at Orangebloods is to forever remain ahead of the curve when it comes to our content creation inside of the industry that we compete in.
From the launch of the site in 2001 to the post-game shows we did at Champions Sports Bar in downtown Austin in 2006 to hiring game-changers with national reputations to headline our content to experimenting with live online post-game content through social media a year ago, our quest for content excellence never ends.
On the eve of the 2018 season, I'm proud to say that in announcing our partnership with The Yakk, we're taking the next step in our evolution as a content creator in the Austin market.
Ok, ok, ok... I know what you're thinking... what the hell is The Yakk? I'm going to get to that and other questions in just a moment in an effort to spell out exactly what's happening in the easiest form possible. Let's call it a section of frequently asked questions (I promise if you hang with me, you'll have some goodies by the end, especially for those of you travelling to Maryland for the game.
What the hell is The Yakk?
The Yakk is a brand new premium podcast network that Orangebloods is partnering with in an effort to take our podcast content to the next level. The mission statement of the network is to form a growing sonic map of local voices, united in their commitment to the best in podcasting. Each city on The Yakk is represented by the buzz of exclusive content, the spark of electric attitude, the focus of hyperlocal interest and the trust of experienced aficionados.
What is Orangebloods' role in all of this?
The city of Austin represents the very first market to launch on the network and within that network, Orangebloods will be creating exclusive daily Texas Longhorns sports content involving all of the writers on our staff, as well as a number of former Texas athletes. For the last few years, all of us have discussed expanding our podcast presence and this is the path that will enable us to do exactly that.
How many shows are we talking about?
The current line-up of shows will include the following:
* The Orangebloods Podcast (hosted three times per week by Geoff Ketchum)
* Your Drunk Uncle's Sports Podcast (Weekly football show hosted by Anwar Richardson)
* Something's Brewing (Weekly football recruiting show hosted by Jason Suchomel
* Extra Bases (Weekly UT baseball show hosted by Dustin McComas)
* Droppin Dimes (Weekly UT basketball show hosted by Dustin McComas)
* The Deep Dig (Weekly football show hosted by Alex Dunlap)
* Daddy Day Care (Weekly life free-for-all hosted by Alex Dunlap)
* Until the Whistle (Weekly football show hosted by Texas-ex Marcus Myers)
Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we'll be announcing more UT-themed shows that will be led by former UT athletes, including podcast content on the women's side of UT athletics.
What does this mean for my Orangebloods subscription and experience?
Not much. It was with great consideration and respect to all of the subscribers on the site, especially those that might be turned off by an onslaught of new content that they don't care for, that we not not create something that will cause their experience to become disrupted.
The TicketCity Podcast will continue to be a free podcast that features on the site on Thursdays and Fridays. As it relates to the rest of the podcast content, we'll keep all of it inside of a daily pinned thread. Our goal is to make this a great thing for those that love podcasts and as little of an inconvenience as possible for those that don't. It's that simple.
Will this cost me money?
Yes. Similarly to Rivals, there's a monthly ($9.99) and annual ($99.00) option for a subscription to the network. Upon signing up, everyone gets a free month trial period. Like Orangebloods, you'll be paying mere pennies for each piece of available content.
Is the Orangebloods stuff all I get?
Not even close. In addition to all of the UT sports podcasts that your subscription will provide, you're also going to get access to all of the local tech, music, movie, pop culture, etc... podcast content inside of the network. As new markets debut within the network (Houston/Dallas are coming soon!), you'll also have access to all of the podcasts created in those cities. Within a year, our hope is that you'll have dozens of podcasts from around the nation at your fingertips on a daily basis.
Is there an App?
It's coming very, very soon. It's at the forefront of everything we're doing, so I can't stress enough that we understand its importance and our goal is to build a tremendous mobile app. In the meantime, the website is mobile friendly and we're making every effort possible to ensure that the audio quality is at its very best.
What's available right now?
To celebrate our soft launch today, we've created an onslaught of podcast content to lead you into the weekend and the opening game. Here's what's available to right now upon signing up today or this weekend:
Orangebloods Podcast Special: The Tom Herman Inquisition
Orangebloods Podcast Special: The Kids Are All Right (A spotlight on the freshman class)
Somethings Brewing: State of the Recruiting Union
The Deep Dig: Breaking down the 2018 Texas Offense
The Deep Dig: Breaking down the 2018 Texas Defense
Your Drunk Uncle's Sports Podcast
Droppin' Dimes
Extra Bases
Keep it Simple Stupid (our first tech podcast)
Beginning with a post-game podcast on Saturday and continuing with the first official Orangebloods Podcast on Monday, we're hitting the ground running. Everything is still very much a work in progress, but it was critical for us to time our piece of the launch with the beginning of the college football season.
We hope you'll come to love our vision.
Click here to visit TheYakk's Austin Page.
