All of us at Rocky Top Insider are excited to announce that our daily sports show, RTI Radio, is about to become bigger and better than ever. Since launching on Labor Day of 2014, we’ve watched the number of live streamers grow by leaps and bounds every single month. Same thing with the number of downloads.
And as our audience grew, many members of it had the exact same two questions.
The first: Will y’all ever do more than just a one-hour show? And the second (at least from local peeps): Can we listen to your show on the radio?
We’re thrilled to finally be able to answer those questions in the following manner: Yes and Yes. Because starting next Monday, February 2nd, RTI Radio will air each and every day in the Knoxville market from 1:00 to 3:00pm on 1180 am, The VLZ.
How does this affect RTI’s longterm strategy, you might be wondering. Not one bit. RTI is and always will be a digital media entity. Our goal is the exact same as it’s always been. As is our message. We want to be your one-stop digital destination for UT Sports.
And by accessing a terrestrial radio signal — by bringing RTI Radio to 1180 am — that message will reach more people than ever before. Simply put, we’re widening our net with the specific intent of growing our digital brand. Only now, it’ll grow even faster than it has in our first six months.
Other questions you might have:
Can I still stream RTI Radio on the RTI app?
YES! We’ve worked hard to build up our streaming audience. No way would we ever want to take a step backwards on that front. Stream away via our Android app or our iPhone app. Or download the podcast, which we’ll post each and every day to this very site as we always have. The only difference from a streaming standpoint would be the hours for the live stream. It’s now 1:00 to 3:00 pm. (To help you through that post-lunch lull!)
What will happen to the 10:00 to 11:00 am time slot? Will there be RTI Radio during that time?
No. Not right now, at least. That said, remember this: we’re a digital brand that can create digital content any time we choose. And, believe you me, as we continue to grow, we’ll have more and more content that we’ll want to get out there. So there’s no question that RTI will eventually have additional programming, and another podcast certainly possible. And since that time slot obviously worked for us, we’d not hesitate to use it again. Or any other time slot for that matter.
How will this affect your website and or the digital TV studios you’ve been talking about?
Not one bit. In other words, we still aim to be your one-stop digital destinations for UT Sports. We still aim to provide that content across a number of different mediums. Our website is more popular than ever (we set yet another record for volume in January and still have an entire week to add to that mark). RTI Radio has more listeners than ever before. And we’re literally putting the cherry atop the sundae that will be our our digital TV studio as we speak. Which means, soon, you’ll be able to access articles, radio shows AND hi-def-quality video, all from your RTI app.
Desktop? Outstanding. Got you covered.
Mobile? Yeah, man. Naturally.
On your iPad? Roger that. We’re right there with you.
The moral of the story is this: The only thing that changes through our relationship with The VLZ is that we’ll now be able to reach more people than ever before. And by doing that, we’ll strengthen our brand and add members to RTI Nation.
And speaking of RTI Nation, two words real quick for all y’all. THANK YOU. Without you, we’d never be able to take this next step. Or any step for that matter. Without you, there’d be no reason to build a digital TV studio. Without you, there’d be no reason to build this digital brand.
So, again, thank you. Not just for following us, but for being the most important part of what you do.
So carry on, RTI Nation, but don’t forget this important programming note. Starting next Monday, February 2nd, RTI Radio will air from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Stream us on your app. Or catch us on 1180am. Regardless of how you access us, we promise you one thing.
We’ll be bringing it. Just like always.
OH. And you might want to keep your ears open. As I have a feeling we’ll be making another exciting announcement here soon.
Because we’re not done yet. Not even close.
