Club Shay Shay is the podcast founded by icon, Shannon Sharpe, and produced by The Volume. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, Sharpe has sought to break new ground and expand his legacy off the field. Club Shay Shay offers a unique platform that highlights his years of experience while giving him the space to share his hilarious sense of humor, charismatic nature, and A-list connections with fans of the football legend himself or those simply in need of a good laugh.
From celebrities to athletes to influencers, Club Shay Shay aims to cover all things sports, pop culture, and hot takes against a background of football legacy. By including guests from different sectors of media, Club Shay Shay expands its reach to countless new audiences. Sharing clips to social media from episodes featuring 21 Savage or Venus and Serena Williams unites audiences from all corners of media and entertainment as well as broadens the reach of the show across platforms.
The Volume production crew pulled out all the stops to breathe new life into the show. Before joining The Volume, Club Shay Shay had a loyal fanbase but lacked the reach and dominance in the sports media landscape that makes it great today. With a seasoned host, a robust social media presence, and a never-ending guest list of today’s biggest names, Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay is back and better than ever.
The decision to move Club Shay Shay to The Volume posed a challenge early on: The Volume needed to execute a seamless transition in content strategy without disrupting the show’s existing digital presence and brand. The social media team gradually transitioned into a new and improved strategy for Club Shay Shay's existing platforms, avoiding any disruption to existing love for the show.
Showcasing Club Shay Shay's standout moments on social media was key to driving interest in longer, full episodes. The format of the show relies on long-form, in-depth interviews with Sharpe’s guests, so pulling moments from extended conversations became a primary focus for the team at The Volume. The execution involved meticulous attention to guest appearances, ensuring conversation highlights were captured to channel social media excitement to full episode views. Consistent and frequent uploads across social platforms, particularly TikTok, played a crucial role in maintaining engagement and building anticipation for each episode.
The content strategy involved carefully selecting and editing clips that had the potential to go viral, showcasing guests' personalities, humor, and intriguing anecdotes. For example, in an especially viral TikTok post, Sharpe and guest Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson take a break from the sports content to discuss balancing a relationship and a career. This clip encapsulates exactly what makes the show great and speaks to the insane reach of the program– the TikTok video currently has over 9.3M views and 1.2M likes.
By inviting guests from across the entertainment landscape to join, Club Shay Shay accesses several different audiences– from fans of longtime sports legends to 2023’s top music artists. A large part of the team’s viral strategy benefits from A-list celebrity guests like Katt Williams and Usher and household sports names like Magic Johnson and Ric Flair. But these guests do more than just amplify reach— they create engaging, compelling content that captivates more than just sports fans. The show has transcended just being an athlete-led podcast and has become something more— a cultural phenomenon and hub for some of the most dynamic voices in celebrity to come together and let their guard down.
With unique insights that fans truly could not get anywhere else from a reliable and fascinating personality, Club Shay Shay has exploded on social platforms. The numbers speak for themselves; the show has 1.25M subscribers and, in the last year, has accumulated 25M impressions across all social platforms.
The podcast’s wide range of topics allows for a vast potential audience across social platforms– all grounded by Sharpe’s infectious sense of humor and entertainment prowess. For the past 4 months, Club Shay Shay has consistently garnered over 20 million monthly views on TikTok, which drove the TikTok follower count to increase from 584.1K to 1.3M in the same time frame. Thanks to these viral moments, Club Shay Shay’s TikTok has been an invaluable tool for increasing show awareness and has substantially bolstered episode views. Each month, Club Shay Shay sees over 2M podcast downloads and 40M YouTube views. Club Shay Shay’s YouTube channel has over 2.7M subscribers in total, and his recent hit episode with Katt Williams boasts over 57.8M views.
