Happy New Year and welcome to 2026! D.J. Fluck and Ralph Schudel sit down and provide the update on the state of the Scene Media Group, Stadium Scene Media, Ralph losing his father in 2025, and finding a right balance of using AI.

Kicking off the show we discuss the names of college football bowl games and some of the funnier sounding ones. We then move into a deep discussion about using AI to generate content and what AI's role should be in content creation.

Next, we move on to Ralph discussing his challenging 2025 where his father passed away, dealing with the grief, and how his photography has led to other opportunities moving forward.

Finally, we get into the recap of Stadium Scene in 2025 and how it was a record year for both website page views and YouTube views/channels. D.J. also talks about hooks and using Google SEO to drive people into the site.

Thank you again for your ongoing support of Stadium Scene. We look forward to serving you with new content throughout 2026 and beyond!

⏱️⏱️VIDEO CHAPTERS⏱️⏱️:

• 00:00:00 - 2026 New Year Special: Stadium Scene Introduction
• 00:07:56 - Self-Driving Cars, DoorDash Robots, and AI in Everyday Life Explained
• 00:15:53 - AI Tools for Content Creation: ChatGPT, Grammarly, and what should AI's role be in content creation?
• 00:23:50 - Personal Stories: Family Loss, Mental Health, and Importance of Support
• 00:31:47 - Women’s Sports Advocacy, Photography Career, and Community Involvement
• 00:39:44 - Viral Moments, Social Media Trends, and the Impact on Modern Fame
• 00:47:41 - IndyCar, Formula 1, and the Evolution of Motorsports Popularity
• 00:55:38 - Stadium Scene Metrics: Page Views, SEO Strategies, and Social Media Growth
• 01:03:35 - Building Loyal Fans, Storytelling in Sports, and WWE as Entertainment
• 01:11:32 - YouTube Growth, and Embracing Live Streaming
• 01:19:30 - Charity Events, Collaborations, and Shifting Focus to Quality Content
• 01:27:27 - Friday Night Live Streams, Esports Banter, and Upcoming 2026 Announcements
  

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D.J. Fluck and Ralph Schudel sit down to look at the year so far at Stadium Scene, talk about what we're working on, what's new, and give our review of the new Lilo and Stitch Movie (because why not?)

Ralph unveils his new Substack, Arch City Sports talking with the lesser known people of the sports world like your neighbor who might be a semi-pro athlete and more! We also talk about the importance of grassroots sports including soccer. A discussion breaks out about the variety of results from leagues signing streaming deals (like MLS w/ Apple TV and NASCAR with Amazon Prime), the average age of a cable TV subscriber, and what do you expect ratings wise?

Next, we talk about the progress of Rocket League on Stadium Scene TV and we talk about our pilot tournament we quietly hosted in May. We talk about what worked and what didn't work as we clean up the tournament structure and broadcast before we roll out our first tourney (hopefully in July).

Finally, we give an update on our iRacing streaming events, how that's going and why free to play games like Rocket League creates lower barriers to entry for average gamers (versus sim racing).

Thank you again for your ongoing support of Stadium Scene. We look forward to serving you with new content throughout 2025 and beyond!

Be sure to give us a follow on social media:

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Today's episode is powered by Fanatics.

Kate and D.J. sit down for a review of 2024, a preview of 2025 (including an update on Stadium Scene's Rocket League), the launch of Stadium Scene Sports Jobs Hub, and some off-topic conversation, including the Astrodome Conservancy, a soap opera parody filmed in an IKEA without the store's knowledge, and much more on this episode of Stadium Scene's Main Event!

⏱️⏱️VIDEO CHAPTERS⏱️⏱️

• 00:00:00 - Introduction & Review of 2024
• 00:05:44 - Challenges of Sharing Workspace
• 00:10:46 - Planning a Wedding
• 00:16:09 - Stadium Naming Rights and Changes
• 00:21:12 - Astrodome's Future and Renovation Plans
• 00:26:33 - Diversifying Content and Revenue Streams
• 00:31:56 - Ikea Adventures and Unexpected Challenges
• 00:36:59 - Live Streaming Esports + Rocket League
• 00:42:19 - Launching Sports Jobs Hub Platform
• 00:47:31 - Celebrating 10 Years of Stadium Scene

Thank you again for your ongoing support of Stadium Scene. We look forward to serving you with new content throughout 2025 and beyond!

Be sure to give us a follow on social media:

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• ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠
• Bluesky

Sign up for the Stadium Scene Sports Jobs Hub using our $29 for the first-year launch special. Make that dream career move into sports.

As usual, the video for this episode can be found on our ⁠⁠⁠YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠. Be sure to hit subscribe!

Rogue Energy powers today's episode. ⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠ about how we used Rogue Energy to help train for a 10k race. Also, save 10% by using promo code stadiumscene at checkout.

We wanted to do at least two shows a year with an annual update in January and a mid-year review in July. Well, it is October and we slacked hard on the mid-year review, but we're doing it now! Kate Thompson returns to the show for the first time since early 2022. We learn what's been going on with her and an update after her 2022 car accident and major injury to her foot and ankle. On the social media front, we talk about the current state of Twitter/X and how after the major changes (paid blue check marks, controversy, etc.) it went from being our most reliable source of web traffic to our least reliable. The important lesson is to diversify your social media strategy because you never know when a platform may collapse, change policies, or get banned (like TikTok may in 2025). We made a big announcement regarding our project for next year. Stadium Scene has had great success live streaming iRacing Esports events that we are full-on developing our own Esports sanctioning body/league. We'll be finishing up development on a Rocket League series featuring a regular season and playoff format in early 2025. Outside of that, it's general shenanigans and catch-up since this is the first time the three of us have been together on a show since Ralph joined the organization.

Thank you again for your ongoing support of Stadium Scene and we look forward to serving you with new content for the rest of 2024 and beyond!

Be sure to give us a follow on social media:

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• ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠
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• ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠
• ⁠Threads⁠

As usual, the video for this episode can be found on our ⁠⁠YouTube channel⁠⁠. Be sure to hit subscribe!

Rogue Energy powers today's episode. ⁠Learn more⁠ about how we used Rogue Energy to help train for a 10k race. Also save 10% by using promo code stadiumscene at checkout.

It's been well over a year since the last episode of Stadium Scene's Main Event. In this special edition we talk about what's been up, officially welcome our long-time friend Ralph Schudel to the team, and go over the direction of Stadium Scene in 2024 and beyond. Initially, we talked about 2023 and how the law known as "Section 230" and the formal end of the COVID-19 pandemic shifted our strategy. Had the US Supreme Court overturned Section 230, it likely would have resulted in us having to shut down. We go into why. The big changes for 2024 include: - No longer taking on new blog partners (our current blog partners will be supported as long as they continue to run their blogs) - Rebranding of our podcast section to Stadium Scene Radio which includes a plan to introduce live radio in late 2024 - Continued growth of the Stadium Scene TV channel with sports talk shows, Wednesday Night Dash, and a new IndyCar-themed iRacing league that will debut in February as long as the iRacing/IndyCar licensing issues are resolved by then. In part two of the episode, Ralph and D.J. play True/False with sports stories that could happen in 2024. Does Messi "slow down", do the Las Vegas Aces repeat as WNBA champions, and much more! Thank you again for your ongoing support of Stadium Scene and we look forward to serving you with new content in 2024!

Be sure to give us a follow on social media:

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As usual, the video for this episode can be found on our ⁠YouTube channel⁠. Be sure to hit subscribe!

Today's episode is brought to you by Bev Wines. Learn more about a canned wine you want to drink!

Yes indeed, we still record this show! Kate had a scheduling conflict, but D.J. runs the show (long as usual when he is by himself) and is joined by Joshua Gupton and Trevor Everette of The Two Pointers Podcast! The Two Pointers Podcast is the latest member of the Stadium Scene Network and they have easily a top five epic story about how the two of them met dating back to elementary school. It's very clear their love for all things college and pro basketball led to the creation and the success of this show, which is about to reach the 100-episode milestone.

We talk about how they were a "Pandemic Podcast", although they started much later than the usual podcasts, some early luck with the pilot episode that is the exception to the rule, and how they kept things going after most of the podcasts created at the start of the pandemic shut down and were never heard from again.

We close out the show talking about a really good piece of advice that they wish they knew when they were starting their show.

Be sure to check out this new episode and don't forget to check out The Two Pointers Podcast where you download your favorite podcasts.

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As usual, the video for this episode can be found on our YouTube channel and streamed live on Twitch. Be sure to hit subscribe!

Today's episode is brought to you by Linq Business Cards. Move into the digital age and stop carrying paper cards. Visit Linq and save 15% using promo code stadiumscene at checkout!

Our friend Gianna Belcastro from Women's Sports Matter Podcast joins D.J. for a special Sunday edition of the show. Gianna is graduating from Community College in May and has decided to move on to complete their education at a four-year school.

We're super excited to have Gianna break the news here. Before we get to the decision, we talk about the podcast, the new season coming up in May, and the positive experiences of Community College. The college decision starts around the 14:00 mark.

Be sure to check out this new episode and don't forget to check out Women's Sports Matters wherever you download your favorite podcasts.

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Today's episode is brought to you by Linq Business Cards. Move into the digital age and stop carrying paper cards. Visit Linq and save 15% using promo code stadiumscene at checkout!

D.J. and Kate are back with the second "Ten Minutes With..." episode of 2022. Yes, we know the episode is 24 minutes long. Just like the Big Ten Conference, we cannot count either.

Today we are joined by Gianna Belcastro, host of "Women's Sports Matter Podcast". Gianna is another "pandemic created podcast" that has continued on even after most of the pandemic created podcasts have ended. They feature some of the top women and women's sports leagues in the world along with interview coaches, players, and other important people in the sports.

In addition, we discuss the challenges of being a woman/non-binary person in sports and the importance of discussing and bringing to light scandals such as the NWSL player abuse scandal and how they went for so long without the general public being aware. Gianna also discusses being invited to podcast row of the United Soccer Coaches Convention and performing a live audience broadcast at a convention just outside of Chicago. A very packed 24 minutes with some incredible deep discussion.

Be sure to check out this new episode and don't forget to check out Women's Sports Matters wherever you download your favorite podcasts.

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As usual, the video for this episode can be found on our YouTube channel. Be sure to hit subscribe!

Today's episode is brought to you by Linq Business Cards. Move into the digital age and stop carrying paper cards. Visit Linq and save 15% using promo code stadiumscene at checkout!