Pandemic Podcasting: Industry Disruption, Organizational Adaptation, and Covering Sports When the World Stops


Ryan Broussard
Lindsey A. Sherrill & Marcus Funk

Received 28 Feb 2024, Accepted 08 Jul 2024, Published online: 18 Jul 2024

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 brought U.S. sports to an abrupt halt. As leagues struggled to find a path forward, so did sports podcasters, who had to find content to satisfy listeners and advertisers. Some print sports journalists covered health news or focused on the business side of sports. Sports podcasters had to similarly pivot to survive the environmental disruption to the field, but little research has been conducted on sports podcasters compared to sports journalists in other fields. Organizational ecology theory is a framework that allows researchers to examine the various avenues that organizations adapt to environmental disruptions. Using purposive sampling and inductive thematic analysis, we interviewed 14 podcasters about how they navigated this industry disruption. Key findings include how sports podcasters moved to more interview-based formats, changed their runtime, or started covering the business side of sports, while increasing their interaction with fans and fostering a community, and saying they would carry the pandemic-forced changes into the future as sporting events return.