I'm going to be as transparent as possible here while hopefully not ruining relationships I value.
In July, I was approached about moving McCready & Siskey, powered by Reign Total Body Fuel to The Next Round. For me, it was a no-brainer. They had a bigger following, it would allow the show an opportunity to grow and establish itself, etc. I thought, given the immediate exposure to that audience, the show could take off and it would be good for my career. I consulted with several people in my life and they all agreed. The talks intensified late that month. I had one question repeatedly: "So everything will be in one place, right?" I was told, repeatedly, that was the case.
It wasn't the case. I don't think I was deliberately misled. I just think there was a fundamental misunderstanding. By the time I fully realized it was not what I had been told it would be, we had moved the show. I repeatedly expressed my concerns, as did Tyler, and over the past few weeks, I began to have major regrets about the decision we made in August to move the show away from MPW to Disrupt. I like all of those guys, and they've been nothing but nice to me and Tyler, but the bottom line is I don't really believe in what they're doing with Disrupt (building a channel from scratch but not utilizing the primary asset, The Next Round, as part of that venture), and I don't see the point in being a part of something I don't believe in. I see what we do at MPW, stacking content at one YouTube channel and on one podcast network, and I've seen the numbers that strategy produces. I'm convinced it's how one builds a network. They disagree, and that is certainly their prerogative.
So, starting today, M&S will be moving back to MPW. For now, we'll continue to do three shows a week, though that might be pared back to two fairly soon. I've got to figure out a way to better monetize the show. By putting it on Disrupt and then having a stand-alone podcast channel, it had no chance to grow. Can it grow on MPW? I honestly don't know. I've got some ideas, but I'm not sure they'll work. What's the longterm future of the show? I don't know. Will we be able to get guests on the show if they perceive it be an Ole Miss show and not a regional show? I don't know. That's just me being totally honest. There's no point in it being an Ole Miss show. That just competes against OEP and Rippee Writes and other Ole Miss-centric content we have. For it to thrive, it has to a regional show. We'll continue to try to build that, but I'll freely admit I have no idea if it can really be successful.
There are no hard feelings with TNR and Disrupt. They're great people, but they're playing the long game and I'm a little old for that. I can't commit eight hours (or more) a week of my time to something that isn't going to produce revenue. I just can't justify it.
I'm sure there will be some sarcastic jabs here, and I probably deserve them. The decision to move it from MPW wasn't one I took lightly. I believed it gave us a chance to make some real money and I thought it could be something that could be good for my career down the road. I obviously was incorrect, but sometimes you have to try. Failure isn't always a bad thing. I tell my kids that all the time and I believe it's true. I learned some things from this and down the road, should another opportunity come about, I'll know precisely what questions to ask.
So we'll be back on MPW's YouTube channel starting today at 2 and the podcast will be loaded into the MPW podcast stream as well.
In July, I was approached about moving McCready & Siskey, powered by Reign Total Body Fuel to The Next Round. For me, it was a no-brainer. They had a bigger following, it would allow the show an opportunity to grow and establish itself, etc. I thought, given the immediate exposure to that audience, the show could take off and it would be good for my career. I consulted with several people in my life and they all agreed. The talks intensified late that month. I had one question repeatedly: "So everything will be in one place, right?" I was told, repeatedly, that was the case.
It wasn't the case. I don't think I was deliberately misled. I just think there was a fundamental misunderstanding. By the time I fully realized it was not what I had been told it would be, we had moved the show. I repeatedly expressed my concerns, as did Tyler, and over the past few weeks, I began to have major regrets about the decision we made in August to move the show away from MPW to Disrupt. I like all of those guys, and they've been nothing but nice to me and Tyler, but the bottom line is I don't really believe in what they're doing with Disrupt (building a channel from scratch but not utilizing the primary asset, The Next Round, as part of that venture), and I don't see the point in being a part of something I don't believe in. I see what we do at MPW, stacking content at one YouTube channel and on one podcast network, and I've seen the numbers that strategy produces. I'm convinced it's how one builds a network. They disagree, and that is certainly their prerogative.
So, starting today, M&S will be moving back to MPW. For now, we'll continue to do three shows a week, though that might be pared back to two fairly soon. I've got to figure out a way to better monetize the show. By putting it on Disrupt and then having a stand-alone podcast channel, it had no chance to grow. Can it grow on MPW? I honestly don't know. I've got some ideas, but I'm not sure they'll work. What's the longterm future of the show? I don't know. Will we be able to get guests on the show if they perceive it be an Ole Miss show and not a regional show? I don't know. That's just me being totally honest. There's no point in it being an Ole Miss show. That just competes against OEP and Rippee Writes and other Ole Miss-centric content we have. For it to thrive, it has to a regional show. We'll continue to try to build that, but I'll freely admit I have no idea if it can really be successful.
There are no hard feelings with TNR and Disrupt. They're great people, but they're playing the long game and I'm a little old for that. I can't commit eight hours (or more) a week of my time to something that isn't going to produce revenue. I just can't justify it.
I'm sure there will be some sarcastic jabs here, and I probably deserve them. The decision to move it from MPW wasn't one I took lightly. I believed it gave us a chance to make some real money and I thought it could be something that could be good for my career down the road. I obviously was incorrect, but sometimes you have to try. Failure isn't always a bad thing. I tell my kids that all the time and I believe it's true. I learned some things from this and down the road, should another opportunity come about, I'll know precisely what questions to ask.
So we'll be back on MPW's YouTube channel starting today at 2 and the podcast will be loaded into the MPW podcast stream as well.
