During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an unfortunate amount of industries that have taken a hit financially, and the sports media industry is no different. For Purple Insider host Matthew Coller however, when one door closed, another swung right open.

Coller formerly worked for 1500 SKOR Minnesota, but due to coronavirus related cutbacks, Coller was laid off from the station. However, no more than a few days later, an opportunity revealed itself.  

“After I lost my job, it was only a few days before I connected with Blue Wire and we were able to work out a deal to get me on the network, kind of with a snap of the fingers,” Coller said.

Immediately, the process started make Coller’s new show a reality. While actual production of a podcast was nothing new to Coller, who did so frequently at his previous position, the new challenge of marketing his brand became his focus.

“I knew a lot about producing one but I didn’t know a lot about running one, if that makes sense, getting it on Apple, Spotify, and all the places where people could find it and just answering questions from people who wanted to listen to it and so forth.”

Coller immediately worked with Blue Wire to get his transition from the radio industry to the podcasting industry going. The transition is something that Coller feels is a sign of the times to come in the sports media industry.

“It’s been fascinating over the last few months I think that transition was headed in that direction anyway and what we’ve seen is its been hugely accelerated because of COVID and just how many places and media outlets have been forced to make cuts,” Coller said. “I think we were headed in the direction of people realizing the value of their own brand.”

Coller’s brand of success is part of the reason he has been able to maintain a following at Blue Wire.

“What I was able to do is just take that brand, move it to a different spot and I was lucky enough that enough a lot of Minnesota Vikings fans had followed me.”

You can listen to Coller’s podcast on all streaming platforms and follow him on twitter @MatthewColler.