ATLANTA -- And here it is ...
Or, I might say, since that was just a 10-minute pilot we whipped up yesterday at the Downtown HQ, here it comes: Our newest show will debut Monday afternoon, and it'll be called 'Double Shot,' this, of course, being a play off my every-morning Daily Shot podcasts. It'll go up at 4 p.m. Eastern, it'll be a fixture on all five weekdays, it'll be available to see or hear on pretty much every platform in existence, and it'll be ... wow, something I've wanted to do for as long as I can recall.
A few additional details:
• It'll go off at 4 p.m. for the primary reason that it allows everyone to have it set for a post-work commute, jog, dog-walk, whatever. And again, it'll be on all platforms, which means both video and audio. We'll strive, in fact, to ensure the audio version won't feel like you're missing much visually. So, you know, don't wreck.
• Chris Halicke will be accompany most often -- he's really the one who pushed hardest for this -- and especially amid football season. But we'll have other staffers and guests aboard, as well.
• Yes, we'll have a participatory component. But unlike old-school radio, most of which still gets driven by Bill from Blawnox sharing with everyone that it's time to 'BOYCOTT THE BUCCOS!' ... we'll be compiling 20-second video submissions for the final segment that'll be tantamount to a P.M. edition of our 'J1Q' in the mornings. And we've made the process easy. Here's how.
• It'll cover all three of our teams, but it won't be evenly split, and it'll be much more based on which seasons are in effect. Now, for instance, it'll be very heavy on Steelers, obviously.
• For anyone who found the opening familar, that's our way of expressing appreciation to those who've been with us long enough to remember the old Morning Java program, its coffee-based intro and the pleasant little piano jingle. I loved the mood that set with Java, where he kept things cool and free of hot-takery, and it felt logical to bring it back.
As ever, let's keep talking it out in comments. Your previous input on this, as you might've noticed, was very much weighed.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• No, we won't have the updated commenting platform or the new Feed fronts in time for football. I haven't heard anything on either count in about a week, and I don't really have anything else to say until I do hear something.
• Just so this sort of thing doesn't get ignored: We're traveling to cover Pitt football today and all season. That's a considerable expense. Our Pitt Live Qs yesterday drew a grand total of four questions. Greg Macafee's bringing significant, informed coverage of the Panthers, and the response/participation hasn't been close to being a match.
• A new Pitt podcast's now in our weekend mix, this also from Greg. It'll be there before and after each football game, so Fridays and Sundays.
• A new Rob Ullman book, one that collects the overwhelming majority of his Cartoon Canon run here, will be available by Christmas. It'll take you through the history of our city's sports, in chronological order, through our staff artist's eyes. More details as they arrive, but this week found us a printer. Big first step.
• Everyone loving being ad-free? If you're not there yet, it's only for paying subscribers. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: This is our subscribe page. From there, make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/renew at the monthly or annual level. We also offer mega-discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• Grateful that so many of you continue to leave us good reviews on outside platforms. For anyone who hasn't yet, feel free to add your own on our Google business listing, our Apple or Spotify podcast channels, our YouTube channels for the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates and, last but not least, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version. And again, thank you!
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 810,658, with 45,271 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, Aug. 30-Sept. 5. Our most-read original piece -- and No. 1 for the entire year -- was my Grind from Cleveland on the sorry state of the Pirates, at 51,410.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 85,716, and our YouTube video views were 95,157.
• Our company social media accounts are at 56,633 followers on X, 41,214 on Facebook, 32,270 on YouTube, 15,286 on Instagram, 5,057 on Threads, and 916 on TikTok.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
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• Thanks for reading and, as ever, for your support of this independent venture.
