iHM & Aaron Mahnke Extend Partnership for Podcast Development

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, April 8, 2020

iHeartMedia has announced a multi-year extension to the iHeartPodcast Network's exclusive partnership with esteemed author and podcast creator, Aaron Mahnke. The deal includes two more years of new content for the popular "Cabinet of Curiosities," two new seasons of "Unobscured" as well as an executive producer role for the newly launched hit "Strange Arrivals," additional seasons of "Noble Blood" and a new scripted series set to launch this fall. Additionally, the partnership will add a slate of five new podcasts to feature groundbreaking talent including Rabia Chaudry - attorney, advocate and author of the New York Times bestselling book "Adnan's Story."

A pioneer of the podcasting medium, Mahnke rose to fame several years ago with his megahit show, "Lore," which is still one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world and was spun off into a TV show, book series and live tour. In 2018, iHeartMedia and Mahnke entered into an exclusive partnership to create an original slate of podcasts. This resulted in new, huge hits like "Unobscured" and "Cabinet of Curiosities." As part of this deal, Mahnke also began to executive produce new shows including "Noble Blood," which reached the top of podcast charts everywhere when it launched last year.

"History is one of those areas that has a lot of value for us right now," said Mahnke. "We can be entertained by it, learn from it, and even add new pieces to its incomplete puzzles-and my partnership with iHeart allows me to do a lot more of all of that through their openness to new ideas and industry-leading production staff. I couldn't be more excited about the future."

In addition to being available on digital, full episodes and vignettes of the extended content slate will air on broadcast radio, bringing this exceptional storytelling to iHeartMedia's more than a quarter of a billion monthly broadcast listeners.

"Aaron ranks among the most innovative, groundbreaking creators at work today, in any medium, and so we are putting all of iHeartMedia's resources behind him to make more podcast content, faster, for bigger audiences," said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. "This is one of the best parts of our job-putting some of the best creators in the world, on the biggest stage in the world. Beyond being Aaron's business partner, we are also just huge fans and couldn't be more excited about what's to come."