We've arrived at the 100th episode! It's a milestone for any podcast and few make it all the way. We're so thankful to everyone who has made this show possible and to the amazing participation of our community. In this installment of the podcast, Brian goes solo in order to reminisce on the last 100 episodes and play some sound bites from the community. If you didn't get a chance to pipe in, leave a comment on the blog post!
In the television world, 100 is an important number. It means that a show is viable for syndication. I was reading a bit about this and it's advantageous because the network can run consecutive weekday reruns for a longer period of time without having to repeat episodes, meaning that viewing audiences will feel like it's less repetitive.
However, there are a handful of shows which purposefully ended their run early to avoid being put into syndication, realizing that it is possible to over-saturate the market or that the value in each episode might decrease if they're overplayed. Reaching 100 episodes is difficult. In America it typically requires remaining on the air for five seasons (because there are 22-24 episodes per season). And then, even when that 100 episode mark is reached, there's no guarantee that syndication will be successful.
The point being, there are a number of factors that go into determining success. And though we love quantity, we also value impact and quality. Had we, at The Real Brian Show, valued sheer quantity and an unrelenting consistency, we actually might have reached the 100-episode threshold sooner. We acknowledge that this is an important milestone, but also acknowledge that numbers mean nothing without the quality of each one being met to the standards our community expects. As we look ahead to the next 100, 1000 or 1M episodes (a girl can wish), we strive to deliver content that is encouraging, beneficial, humorous, serious, nerdy, smart, clever, mouth-watering and memorable.
Thank you for being part of this journey! We look forward to sharing much, much more with you in the upcoming years.