How Double Coverage turned short-form clips into a core podcast strategy
Sports betting creator Zach “Mystic Zach” Hirsch has built short-form video into more than a promotional tool for his podcast. For Double Coverage, clips influence the show’s pacing, editing and guest strategy, helping the program accumulate more than 200 million short-form views since the NFL season began, Hirsch said.
Hirsch, a sports betting analyst and commentator with nearly 2 million Instagram followers, co-hosts the Draft Kings-sponsored show. Its episodes and clips appear across YouTube and TikTok. His approach reflects a broader shift in creator-led programming: social distribution is not simply an afterthought for the finished episode, but a consideration in how the episode is produced.
Building a show for social discovery
Before Double Coverage, Hirsch spent nearly five years under contract with BetOnline, beginning when he turned 18. He co-hosted a sports prediction podcast with former NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones, but said he was a paid host rather than part of the show’s daily production and marketing. For his next project, he wanted a more hands-on role and saw opportunities to improve how the program reached audiences.
“The biggest soft spot for him was the lack of reliance on other social media platforms to drive discovery,” the account of Hirsch’s thinking makes clear. Hirsch said he had seen a 2024 Edison Research report indicating that 85% of Gen Z sports podcast listeners are introduced to shows through social media clips. He set out to make short-form distribution central to Double Coverage.
Existing relationships in sports and entertainment helped the podcast secure notable guests. Hirsch had developed those connections through Kiss and Myst, a separate podcast he co-hosted with Jadakiss. Double Coverage has featured WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes and boxer Mike Tyson, alongside NFL players and UFC fighters. Guest access supplies moments that can travel beyond the full-length episode, while the clips can introduce the show to viewers who may not otherwise seek out a podcast.
Hirsch said the show has generated more than 200 million short-form views since the NFL season began. He also described steady growth since July, citing platform statistics for cumulative views. The figures provided for individual platforms were not consistent, so the total is the clearest comparable measure.
Editing and pacing around the clip
The production process is designed to make those moments work in feeds. Hirsch said his team looks for what resonates, trims clips tightly—including removing a half-second or a word when it sharpens the delivery—and hires a professional designer to create thumbnails. The changes are tactical, but the larger adjustment is to the program itself.
For its second season, Double Coverage became faster-paced and easier to divide into short segments. Hirsch described the result as having little room to breathe, with the feel of a continuous TikTok clip. In that model, clip potential can shape the rhythm of the conversation before an editor begins selecting highlights.
The strategy also connects audience development to sponsorship. Draft Kings became an “anchor sponsor” this spring, Hirsch said. The exclusivity applies to sportsbooks and prediction markets, he said, leaving room for partnerships in other categories. He cited Hims, a direct-to-consumer telehealth and online pharmacy brand, as another partner. Hirsch did not disclose the value or duration of these deals.
Brand safety and betting partnerships
A previous YouTube takedown has made the choice of betting partner an important part of Hirsch’s business. One of his most-viewed videos, an interview with Jake Paul, was removed. Hirsch said he believed the strike was prompted by sponsorship from an unnamed offshore betting company that was not an approved Google vendor. He did not provide further details.
The incident underscored the risks of promoting betting services to a U.S. audience. Offshore sportsbooks may operate outside U.S. licensing frameworks, while gambling rules and the availability of legal platforms vary by state. Mat Micheli, co-CEO and co-founder of Viral Nation, said betting has become more culturally accepted among brands that consider it relevant, but emphasized that creators should promote services lawful for their audience to use.
Hirsch is also looking beyond online distribution. He said he is considering more experiential programming and in-person events, and is in talks about an NFL relationship. He does not have an official NFL partnership, but said he plans to have a major media-day presence for a second consecutive year.
His stated ambitions are to reach 100 million short-form views a week, exceed one million views per podcast episode and secure four long-term anchor sponsors. For now, Double Coverage’s operating model puts social clips at the center: they help attract viewers, shape the show’s format and give sponsors a route into a creator business built around sports.
