ESPN teams with FiveThirtyEight for new sports documentary podcast

FiveThirtyEight canvasESPN Audio and FiveThirtyEight are planning a new podcast project, and are hiring staff for it. The show is based on the sports documentary series 30 For 30, and will be spearheaded by Jody Avirgan. In a blog post, Avrigan announced openings for three producers and two production assistants for the series. He said candidates don’t need to have a background in podcasting or radio: “If you love finding great characters and know how to string together a story, we want you. We’ll teach you how to make radio.”

Sports-centric audio content has been generating lots of interest, both among media companies and podcast-specific platforms. ESPN Radio is also going the documentary route with Dunkumentaries. Former ESPN juggernaut Bill Simmons has launched a new podcast network under the HBO banner. Panoply snagged a partnership with Sports Illustrated and TuneIn has added content for baseball, soccer, and football.

Anna Washenko