State of AFS (Patreon)

Hello AFS members! We have fielded a number of questions/concerns privately as of late, and with that, wanted to address the community as a whole.

It goes without saying that it stings to see a number of weekly podcasts on the platform, each for their own reasons, decide to end their respective shows, all within a short time period. It sucks, but it's the reality unfortunately.

Over the 4 years since AFS was launched, we had the pleasure of, what started with 5 shows, to bring on a number of other weekly programs to the platform, at one point peaking at close to a dozen weekly pods. Will we get back to that number? Candidly probably not, as the wrestling podcast space is a crowded one, and new podcasts aren't popping up all the time like they may have at one point.

Moreover, if and when we do bring a new weekly show to the platform, we want it to be something that is unique and offers value that the 250+ other wrestling podcasts don't currently offer. Not to mention all of the work that's needed behind the scenes to bring a show to life - research, graphics, production, etc. If and when we bring a new weekly show onto the platform, we want it to not only be something you guys/gals enjoy, but that it does have staying power and is around for many years to come.

On the bonus content front, we have made a concerted effort, now more than ever, to pump out as much quality bonus content than ever - with the 2 Mailbags, weekly Taskmaster, Lex, Sandman, Beyond Nitro, Ask Conrad, The Book, Insiders, False Finish, monthly bonus episodes etc. With that said, we are ALWAYS open to your feedback on what we can be doing more of, less of, different than on the bonus content front.

Another concern we've seen pop up is in regards to YouTube. Certainly, there is a concerted effort and focus to grow the YouTube channels, most notably Eric's as of late. From a business perspective, there is a lot of opportunity with YouTube that the show's are just now tapping into. HOWEVER, as AFS members, you have - and will continue to get - everything! All of the live YouTube shows are being posted here for AFS members to join live. And as you have seen, we are also dropping the audio versions directly into the feed afterwards. So, if Eric's "Wise Choices" pop-up show, for example, becomes a weekly thing, you'll get the live link in your feed to attend live, as well as the ad-free audio version of it shortly thereafter to enjoy anytime on-demand. We are also working hard to figure out some type of 'gifting' of YouTube memberships to AFS members at certain levels. More to come on that.

In closing, we will ALWAYS continue to try and look for ways to offer more value for your buck, and we hope that you'll continue on this 4+ year journey with us. And, as always, we welcome further dialogue on how we can do better. 

Have a great weekend.

-Evan, AFS