In late 2019, Chelsea continued to innovate through a Club-verified podcast crafted with American listener in mind - the first international soccer team to do so.
As the first international soccer club to launch a podcast designed for the American listener, the show further reinforced Chelsea’s commitment to the U.S. territory, offered stand-alone value in key scale environments, and enriched other digital and social media programs in the region.
Over 15 months, and two seasons, Chelsea Mike’d Up has become a consistent market leader while generating more than 18MM listens (full episodes + audio clips), exceeding all internal KPIs and delivering tremendous value back to Chelsea’s business.
We aspired to be the top official soccer Club podcast in America by:
- Involving reputable and attainable talent
- Leading with humor and personality
- Working Chelsea / soccer into greater U.S. cultural context
- Inviting A-list guests
Achieving and maintaining this single goal means hitting performance KPIs:
- Cumulative episode downloads / streams
- Average completion rate thresholds
- U.S. based share-of-audience thresholds
Additionally, the podcast needed to add value back to the business:
- Lift in organic and paid social CTR, organic Google directs and ‘time spent’ on CFC website
But, market segmentation get complicated with five unique constituencies:
- The ‘Super Fan’ who follows Chelsea religiously
- The ‘Lover of the Game' who loves soccer, adores Pulisic (American superstar) & is open to supporting Chelsea
- The ‘Socialite’ who enjoys the camaraderie / viewing occasion as much as the game itself
- The ‘Culture Fan’ who pays attention when Chelsea / soccer transcend into pop culture
- The ‘Newbie’ who is motivated to learn & searching for a welcoming soccer community
To reach these audiences, we focused on bringing in the right talent.
Mike Ryan Ruiz is the namesake & host, a passionate Chelsea fan known nationwide as a key member of ESPN’s top rated Dan LeBatard Show.
Chris Wittyngham is the neutral observer, bringing level-headed analysis shaped by soccer broadcasting across Univision, ESPN, beIN Sports & Inter Miami FC.
Together, they bring listeners Blues news with an American focus, featuring players, staff, media, celebrities, superfans & more. An uncensored & uninhibited discussion about the world of soccer through blue-tinted lenses.
In season two, Chelsea Mike’d Up was licensed to Sirius XM, simulcasting each Thursday evening to a significantly incremental audience.
We became America’s top official soccer Club podcast within weeks, and have maintained that ranking through to today – charting consistently higher than of official soccer Club podcasts from top Clubs across the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, MLS, NWSL and more.
In many months, Chelsea Mike’d Up charted as one of the top 200 sports podcasts in the U.S… a significant feat for a soccer program in America when competing with NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, sports debate and sports gambling podcasts.
In just 15 months, we delivered:
- More than 18MM total downloads + audio clip listens
- 76% episode completion rate
- 91% U.S. listenership
- 33% lift in organic Facebook CTR to Chelsea website
- 25% lift in organic Twitter CTR to Chelsea website
- 10% lift in organic Google directs to CFC website
- 5% lift in ‘time spent’ on CFC website
