Group Nine and iHeartMedia Partner for Podcasts

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Group Nine Media and iHeartMedia have announced an exclusive slate of portfolio-wide, co-produced podcasts to join the iHeartPodcast Network. The new slate will include at least one podcast from each of Group Nine's four brands: NowThis, The Dodo, Seeker and Thrillist, as well as one from JASH, which is part of the media company's LA-based Studios team. The partnership will kick off with two new original podcasts from NowThis and Thrillist set to launch this fall. All podcasts will be overseen by Mickey Meyer, President of Network, and Brett Kushner, VP of New Initiatives at Group Nine and executive produced by Mangesh Hattikudur, Head of Development at the iHeartPodcast Network.

"Storytelling is at the core of any forward-looking media brand in today's industry," said Mickey Meyer, President of Group Nine's Network. "As a distributed media company and the leader on mobile, we've always met audiences where they are and podcasting is certainly the place to be. iHeartRadio knows this better than anyone and we're excited to partner with them to extend Group Nine's brands and creative prowess into the audio space."

"Group Nine's brands create content that resonates extremely well with their dedicated and loyal fans," said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. "They are pioneers in social-first publishing and have built meaningful online communities that connect with audiences. We are excited to work together with them to co-produce an amazing slate of shows and extend their brands into the burgeoning podcast space."