From The Host's Chair: Party Hard | 4/24

Callan McClurg
Apr 24, 2016
3 min read

STUDIO 171: Ever since the re brand and relaunch of the WNBA 365 Network back on October 15, 2015, fans of the league and sport have come to embrace the Network as the main hub for live web streaming coverage from five WNBA and Women's Basketball fans living across the country. Every category of analytics since the re brand and relaunch has sky rocketed and increased, along with the fan and broadcast team interaction during the course of the show or even while we've been off-air.

Along with the viewership and social interaction with the great WNBA and Women's Basketball fan bases, some of the brightest minds in the Women's Basketball media have also joined the fans in both viewing Network programming along with their social interaction has vastly helped our Network broadcast team in times of needing talking points on a show, or just giving their overall opinion on the hot news of the day in the league or in other areas of Women's Hoops.

About two days before the 2016 WNBA Draft, freelance writer Aneela Kahn had approached myself, Kristul Thomas and Eric Nemchock via Twitter about an idea she had for an alternate live stream for the Draft. Aneela's idea was a live, two hour web stream featuring the three hosts from WNBA 365, along with an All-Star lineup of fellow WNBA and Women's Basketball media colleagues from websites, team beat writers, freelance writers and more.

The entire lineup featured Callan McClurg, Kristul Thomas, Eric Nemchock, Aneela Kahn, Steve Rice, TJ Centinaro, Myron Crawford, James Bowman, Caleb Currier and Albert Lee. The ten (10) people who joined the live hangout set the tone that this show was going to be something special. It also set the bar on the largest number of people joining the show at one time, breaking the record of five (5) set on October 16, 2015 when the new WNBA 365 broadcast team hit the air on the second night of the re branding.

Not only were we able to be joined by all of our colleagues, we also made Network history by having current and former WNBA players actually join the show! Dearica Hamby from the San Antonio Stars became the first ever player to join the live show while she was on her travel day home to Atlanta. Dearica hopped on to chat about the Stars selection of Moriah Jefferson from UCONN and what she expects for San Antonio in the 2016 season.

A former WNBA standout player who joined us while we were still under the former brand, Chasity Melvin dropped by during and allowed all ten of us ask her questions about her career, the injury she suffered during her career and how life has been for her since she retired from playing and what her plans are in the future. During the middle half of Round 2 and into parts of Round 3, Chasity offered her thoughts on the draft and what her story lines for training camp would be.

Our final player guest was Ruth Hamblin, the Oregon State standout who was selected in the second round by the Dallas Wings. Ruth joined the broadcast from her draft party with family and friends when she saw her name scroll across the television screen. Hamblin joined the show roughly half an hour after her draft selection and much like Chasity Melvin, took questions from our assembled team of hosts and gave her thoughts on playing for the Wings in 2016.

Over the span of the two hour and twenty minute show, the program has now set and shattered Network records in a variety of categories:

HANGOUT MEMBERS: 10

PLAYER GUESTS: 3

LIVE VIEWERS: 15

ARCHIVED/ON-DEMAND VIEWS: 342

SUBSCRIBERS GAINED: 6

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for this amazing event. All of us at the WNBA 365 Network appreciate you taking the time out of your day to join us and talk Women's Basketball during the course of the 2016 WNBA Draft.

And those are the thoughts...FROM THE HOST'S CHAIR