 | |
Type of site | Sports |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Colin Cowherd |
| Key people | Logan Swaim (Head of content) |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | February 1, 2021 |
The Volume is a sports media company founded by Colin Cowherd. [1] [2] The network currently hosts podcasts and produces video content for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. It produces content to meet fan demand around sporting events rather than following a traditional schedule. [3]
Cowherd founded the company to both produce his own content and host other commentators. At its launch, Cowherd partnered with iHeartRadio to sell the company's advertising space, [4] with fantasy sports company FanDuel as its gambling partner and presenting sponsor. [5]
The Volume was launched on February 1, 2021, with its flagship program, The Colin Cowherd Podcast, on which Cowherd discusses sports stories and interviews guests. [2] [6]
In March 2021, The Volume entered into a partnership with the Action Network to produce a slate of sports gambling podcasts. [7] [8]
Sports media executive Logan Swaim joined the company as head of content in May 2021. [9] [10] In 2022, several executives from companies such as ESPN, Fox Sports 1, Overtime and Activision Blizzard joined the company. These included Andrew Samson, a former director of content for the XFL, who became executive producer of The Colin Cowherd Podcast. [11]
The network partnered with Wave Sports + Entertainment to provide joint coverage of the 2022 NBA Finals. [12]
The Volume had 1.2 million subscribers, and its podcasts averaged a combined total of 40 million downloads per month in 2022. [3]
In September 2023, the Volume announced a multi-year partnership with DraftKings, in which the sportsbook would become the presenting sponsor of all of The Volume’s podcast and video content. [13]
The Volume hosts 21 podcasts and digital shows by athletes and commentators, [14] including The Draymond Green Show, hosted by NBA player Draymond Green. [15] The Draymond Green Show launched successfully, growing to 500,000 monthly downloads in February 2022. [16] By June 2022, it was the 11th highest ranked show on iTunes. [17] It has been noted for Green's unfiltered commentary and personal analysis, which Nicholas Quah of Vulture opined was more interesting than traditional sports media. [18] In March 2023, The Draymond Green Show won the iHeart Media Podcast Award for Best Sports Podcast. [19]
In August 2022, Richard Sherman moved his podcast from Pro Football Focus to The Volume. [17]
The network has been noted for being one of the first major sports media platforms to host college football players after the National Collegiate Athletic Association made it possible for them to monetize their own brands. [20] [21] In its first year, The Volume launched Inside the Garage, a show that originated from four Notre Dame football players - Kyle Hamilton, Cam Hart, Conor Ratigan and KJ Wallace - discussing football and their personal lives. [22] [21] University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young also had a podcast with The Volume in its first year. [23]
In 2021, the network acquired the distribution rights to Boxing with Chris Mannix. [24] The network also hosts live coverage of wrestling events like WWE's SummerSlam. [25] Also in 2021, the network acquired John Middlekauff's 3 and Out podcast. [26]
In 2022, the network launched Snaps with Aaron and T-Bob, hosted by Aaron Murray and T-Bob Hebert, [27] and Cowherd began co-hosting a podcast with Joe Burrow. [28] Daniel Cormier and Darius Slay also signed on with the company. [29] [30]
The network's podcasts related to sports betting include Alex Monaco's Moneyline Monaco, Olivia Moody's Liv Moods Live, and The Favorites with Chad Millman and Simon Hunter, which moved to The Volume as part of its deal with Action Network. [31] [32]
In 2023, they acquired the Nerd Sesh podcast. On August 23, 2023 it was announced that Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast would now live on the network after departing Fox Sports in June of that year. In September 2023, Sharpe announced he would be hosting another show on The Volume with former star wide receiver, Chad Johnson, called Nightcap with Unc & Ocho. [33] [34] [35]
Shannon Sharpe is an American former football tight end who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Denver Broncos. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he ranks third in tight end receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He was also the first NFL tight end to amass over 10,000 receiving yards. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
The Herd with Colin Cowherd is an American sports talk radio show hosted by Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1. The show features commentary on the day's sports news, perspective on other news stories, and interviews with celebrities, sports analysts and sports figures.
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Michael Swaim is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, podcaster, and writer. While attending the University of California, San Diego, he became a columnist for the humor website Cracked.com, and after graduating from college in 2007, he joined with Abe Epperson to co-found the internet sketch comedy troupe Those Aren't Muskets. Along with Epperson and another frequent collaborator, Daniel O'Brien, he spent the late 2000s establishing a video department for Cracked. His subsequent tenure as Head of Video for the website produced several viral web series that he and O'Brien often starred in; these include the Webby Award-winning After Hours and the Streamy Award-winning Agents of Cracked.
Fox NFL Kickoff is an American sports television program that originally debuted on FS1 on September 8, 2013, and moved to Fox on September 13, 2015, and serves as the secondary pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the NFL on Fox brand.
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Peter Schrager is an American sportscaster for Fox Sports and the NFL Network. Schrager serves as an analyst on Fox NFL Kickoff as well as a sideline reporter for the NFL on Fox.
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First Things First is an American sports and entertainment talk show starring Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Kevin Wildes. Originally titled First Things First with Cris Carter and Nick Wright, the series premiered on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) on September 5, 2017. The show is also released as a podcast and radio simulcast.
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