Turning old videos into new hits: How KFC Radio drives 43% more views with a new YouTube strategy
January 18, 2025
The problem
When variety content hits the wall of YouTube's new algorithm
In a world where 94% of podcasts never reach 100 episodes, KFC Radio stands as a titan of longevity. After 13 years and over 1,000 episodes under the Barstool Sports banner, they've interviewed practically every guest imaginable and built a massive content archive that most creators can only dream of.
But the podcast powerhouse hit an unexpected wall in recent years. Their challenge wasn't about content quality or production - it was about YouTube's evolving landscape. Since 2021, YouTube had been shifting towards "audience first" metrics, and KFC Radio's variety show format that had worked for years suddenly became a liability:
Their broad content approach, once a strength, was now working against YouTube's "audience first" algorithm
Viewership of their main show had plateaued despite consistent content quality
Their massive archive of celebrity interviews and comedian content wasn't reaching the right viewers
In addition to these challenges, they faced an urgent task: generating 1 million additional video impressions by the end of 2024 to meet their advertising commitments.
"Being a variety show used to be our superpower," says the KFC Radio team. "But YouTube's new algorithm isn't helping new viewers find it, which means we need to completely rethink how we present our content."
Turning old videos into new hits: How KFC Radio drives 43% more views with a new YouTube strategy
The problem
When variety content hits the wall of YouTube's new algorithm
In a world where 94% of podcasts never reach 100 episodes, KFC Radio stands as a titan of longevity. After 13 years and over 1,000 episodes under the Barstool Sports banner, they've interviewed practically every guest imaginable and built a massive content archive that most creators can only dream of.
But the podcast powerhouse hit an unexpected wall in recent years. Their challenge wasn't about content quality or production - it was about YouTube's evolving landscape. Since 2021, YouTube had been shifting towards "audience first" metrics, and KFC Radio's variety show format that had worked for years suddenly became a liability:
Their broad content approach, once a strength, was now working against YouTube's "audience first" algorithm
Viewership of their main show had plateaued despite consistent content quality
Their massive archive of celebrity interviews and comedian content wasn't reaching the right viewers
In addition to these challenges, they faced an urgent task: generating 1 million additional video impressions by the end of 2024 to meet their advertising commitments.
"Being a variety show used to be our superpower," says the KFC Radio team. "But YouTube's new algorithm isn't helping new viewers find it, which means we need to completely rethink how we present our content."
Creator name
KFC Radio
Creator type
Podcast
Team size
3
Channels
Pain point
Struggle to adapt variety content to YouTube’s new audience-first algorithm, and turn evergreen clips into a growth driver
Time to see positive ROI
45 days
About the creator
KFC Radio is an original Barstool Sports podcast. Hosted by Kevin Clancy and John Feitelberg, they bring the quintessential bar conversation to podcast form.
The Solution
Turn massive archive into fresh, discoverable, and monetizable videos
KFC Radio came up with a brilliant strategy: instead of fighting YouTube's algorithm with broad content, they would feed it exactly what it wants - focused, theme-based content. Their plan? Mine their massive archive specifically for comedian interviews and transform them into highly targeted clips.
Using OpusSearch, the team strategically rebuilt their YouTube presence around their strongest content theme - comedy. Their approach was beautifully simple:
Search
Searched and instantly located their best comedian interviews from their years of archive content on their main channel
Create
Repackaged these evergreen clips into fresh, focused content
Distribute
Published the clips on a new channel focused on the comedy theme to play into the algorithm and increase watch time
Grow
Create new ad inventory out of these old clips to hit advertising goals
The best part? It was so straightforward that a 15-year-old team member could manage the entire content search and repurposing process.
Videos posted by KFC Radio using OpusSearch
The Result
A new, scalable YouTube growth strategy with more views and faster earnings in 45 days
By turning what could have been outdated content buried in their archive into highly relevant, focused videos, KFC Radio didn't just solve their immediate challenges of hitting 1 million extra video impressions for advertising commitment - they created a new model for sustainable YouTube growth. Within just 45 days, their strategic content repurposing delivered impressive results across every key metric.
The new strategy significantly increased KFC Radio's YouTube growth metrics.
Enhanced discoverability of their massive archive content
Evergreen content found new life with fresh audiences
Sustainable growth model: Created repeatable process for content discovery and optimization
KFC Radio is now able to create high-performing videos faster and turn them into valuable ad inventory more easily.
KFC Radio proved that age of content doesn't matter - even long-running shows can adapt to platform changes and find new audience growth opportunities through smart content repurposing.
Their success offers a blueprint for other creators facing similar challenges:
A focused content strategy beats broad variety when it comes to YouTube growth now
Growth doesn't always require filming new videos. Your archive is a goldmine, and you should use it strategically
Use the right AI tools to efficiently discover and repurpose valuable content
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Turning old videos into new hits: How KFC Radio drives 43% more views with a new YouTube strategy
January 18, 2025
Rebecca Xu
Head of Product Marketing at OpusClip
The problem
When variety content hits the wall of YouTube's new algorithm
In a world where 94% of podcasts never reach 100 episodes, KFC Radio stands as a titan of longevity. After 13 years and over 1,000 episodes under the Barstool Sports banner, they've interviewed practically every guest imaginable and built a massive content archive that most creators can only dream of.
But the podcast powerhouse hit an unexpected wall in recent years. Their challenge wasn't about content quality or production - it was about YouTube's evolving landscape. Since 2021, YouTube had been shifting towards "audience first" metrics, and KFC Radio's variety show format that had worked for years suddenly became a liability:
Their broad content approach, once a strength, was now working against YouTube's "audience first" algorithm
Viewership of their main show had plateaued despite consistent content quality
Their massive archive of celebrity interviews and comedian content wasn't reaching the right viewers
In addition to these challenges, they faced an urgent task: generating 1 million additional video impressions by the end of 2024 to meet their advertising commitments.
"Being a variety show used to be our superpower," says the KFC Radio team. "But YouTube's new algorithm isn't helping new viewers find it, which means we need to completely rethink how we present our content."
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Turn massive archive into fresh, discoverable, and monetizable videos
KFC Radio came up with a brilliant strategy: instead of fighting YouTube's algorithm with broad content, they would feed it exactly what it wants - focused, theme-based content. Their plan? Mine their massive archive specifically for comedian interviews and transform them into highly targeted clips.
Using OpusSearch, the team strategically rebuilt their YouTube presence around their strongest content theme - comedy. Their approach was beautifully simple:
Search
Searched and instantly located their best comedian interviews from their years of archive content on their main channel
Create
Repackaged these evergreen clips into fresh, focused content
Distribute
Published the clips on a new channel focused on the comedy theme to play into the algorithm and increase watch time
Grow
Create new ad inventory out of these old clips to hit advertising goals
The best part? It was so straightforward that a 15-year-old team member could manage the entire content search and repurposing process.
Videos posted by KFC Radio using OpusSearch
The Result
A new, scalable YouTube growth strategy with more views and faster earnings in 45 days
By turning what could have been outdated content buried in their archive into highly relevant, focused videos, KFC Radio didn't just solve their immediate challenges of hitting 1 million extra video impressions for advertising commitment - they created a new model for sustainable YouTube growth. Within just 45 days, their strategic content repurposing delivered impressive results across every key metric.
The new strategy significantly increased KFC Radio's YouTube growth metrics.
Enhanced discoverability of their massive archive content
Evergreen content found new life with fresh audiences
Sustainable growth model: Created repeatable process for content discovery and optimization
KFC Radio is now able to create high-performing videos faster and turn them into valuable ad inventory more easily.
KFC Radio proved that age of content doesn't matter - even long-running shows can adapt to platform changes and find new audience growth opportunities through smart content repurposing.
Their success offers a blueprint for other creators facing similar challenges:
A focused content strategy beats broad variety when it comes to YouTube growth now
Growth doesn't always require filming new videos. Your archive is a goldmine, and you should use it strategically
Use the right AI tools to efficiently discover and repurpose valuable content
Rebecca Xu is the Head of Product Marketing at Opus, and a professional simultaneous interpreter. She is a story teller, food lover, globe trotter, and sarcasm connoisseur. She loves learning new things through reading, traveling, and exploring. Most of the time, you can find her either in an ice-cream shop, or on her way to an ice-cream shop.
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