“Who’d a thunk it,” media critic Rob Feder wrote in a recent ‘Robservations’ column. “The entire internet infrastructure stressed out because of unprecedented listenership of podcasts.”
That’s what happened last week after thousands pounded TheHeckler.com to listen to a variety of interesting “Wellness Check” interviews sports and entertainment celebrities, including Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper, Laurence Holmes of The Score radio and former Cubs pitcher Kyle Farnsworth.
An executive from the satirical sports outlet, who spoke under anonymity, told Feder, “We’re ecstatic with the podcasts. In fact, if TV ratings were comparable, we’d be killing ‘Jerry Springer,’ reruns of ‘Two and a Half Men,’ and Channel 2 News.”
“Heck, we heard through the grapevine that, one night last week, we had more people on the podcasts than were watching ‘Tiger King,’” the representative said.
Asked if there were any problems setting up interviews, the Heckler executive said, “Only that Farnsworth insisted we do it at Tai’s Til 4.”
“In my nearly 40 years in this business, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Feder wrote.
“Blow-up traffic for any podcast causing the internet to go bust is comparable to Mitchell Trubisky passing for 300 yards or the Bulls winning 30 games.”
