ESPN’s Pin Kings is the company’s first episodic podcast story

ESPN announced a new addition to its programming with a multimedia documentary called Pin Kings. The project tells the story of two high school wrestlers, one of whom became a notable drug dealer and another who joined the DEA and was tasked with tracking down his former teammate. It is a multimedia venture covering television, print, and digital outlets in addition to the 16 episodes of podcasting. The audio segment is ESPN’s first foray into episodic podcasting where a long-form story is told over a single season. It is a production style popularized by ‘Serial’.

ESPN’s leaders emphasized that the different media channels will not be identical repackagings of the same content. “Without the constraints of a one-hour television special, the Pin Kings podcast series is more expansive and detailed than repetitive,” said Pete Gianesini, ESPN senior director of radio programming and digital audio content.