SpokenEditions Now Available on iHeartRadio

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, April 21, 2017 | 0:12am CT

SpokenLayer and iHeartRadio have announced the release of nearly forty SpokenEditions onto iHeartMedia's digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service. SpokenEditions are human-read versions of written content from premium publishers. The collaboration will bring audio versions of some of the top written publications across a number of subjects allowing users to stay up to date on world affairs, tech, politics, gaming, science, and lifestyle news from premium publishers including:

• Bustle
• Fusion
• Gizmodo
• Huffington Post
• IGN
• The Intercept
• Jezebel
• Lifehacker
• Mashable
• OZY
• Playboy
• Reuters
• Skift
• Slate
• TechCrunch
• Time
• Wired

Listenership for podcasts is at an all time high, according to Edison research. 112 million people reported having listened to a podcast. Whether it's at home, on their commute, as they work, or at the gym, podcast listeners are consuming an average of 5 episodes per week. As people start to experience "screen fatigue" at work and at home, listening to news stories has become a welcome alternative to reading.

"We're excited to offer SpokenEditions to our millions of iHeartRadio listeners," said iHeartRadio Senior VP/Podcasting Chris Peterson. "We are committed to providing a robust all-in-one listening experience for our users and by teaming up with SpokenLayer, it allows us to bring innovative new content to iHeartRadio that we know our users will love."

"No other partner offers the massive and multi-channel reach of iHeartRadio. Adding our SpokenEditions to iHeartRadio gives their 100 million registered users access to unique news content from top sources every day unlike traditional weekly podcast content. The deal is a major win for all of our content publishing partners and most of all for listeners," added SpokenLayer CEO Will Mayo.

Fred Jacobs to Step Down as Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs Jacobs Media founder and President Fred Jacobs will step down at the end of 2026, with his brother, Paul Jacobs, succeeding him. Fred will become Chairman and remain involved in research, select client work and other areas of the business. "I've been thinking about this for a couple of years now, and I'm More

Civic Media's IA, IL Station Deals Total $3.3 Million Civic Media Civic Media's planned acquisition of 16 radio signals in Iowa and Illinois carries a combined purchase price of $3.3 million, according to asset purchase agreements filed with the FCC. Financial terms were not disclosed when the transactions were announced in October. Under More

Zimmer Names Mike Stern Director of Programming Mike Stern Zimmer Communications has named Mike Stern Director of Programming, effective November 16. The veteran programmer joins the company after 13 years as a consultant at Jacobs Media, where his clients included Zimmer for more than a decade. Stern will oversee programming, music and on-air strategy across More

Voiceover Talent Steve 'Zeus' Stewart Dies at 59 Steve ''Zeus'' Stewart Steve "Zeus" Stewart, a voiceover talent whose work spanned radio imaging, television networks and sports promotions, died October 26 at age 59, according to his obituary. He lived in Little River, SC. A cause of death was not disclosed. Born Steven Curran Stewart in Greensboro, NC, he grew up in Raleigh More

KS95 Names Gabe & Angie to Afternoon Drive Greg and Angie Hubbard's KSTP-FM (KS95) in Minneapolis-St. Paul has named Gabe Glidden and Angie Morales as its new afternoon hosts, effective December 28. The duo most recently hosted mornings at BIG 98.7 in Fargo-Moorhead. "We're thrilled to welcome Gabe & Angie to KS95," said Hubbard Vice President/Brand and Content More

Nikki Preston Joins Kiss 98.5 Buffalo Morning Show Nikki Preston Audacy's WKSE-FM (Kiss 98.5) in Buffalo has added Nikki Preston as morning co-host alongside Nicholas Picholas and Wease. The show airs weekdays from 6-10am ET. Preston returns to Western New York after more than a decade working in Southern California. She most recently hosted middays on 96.7 KCAL Rocks. More