BBC Studios and iHeartMedia Forge Podcast Partnership

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, January 30, 2025

iHeartMedia

BBC Studios and iHeartMedia have announced a multi-year exclusive agreement. Under this deal, iHeartMedia will become the sole third-party advertising reseller for BBC's podcasts in the U.S. This collaboration will utilize iHeartMedia's audio sales force to represent BBC Studios' portfolio of premium podcasts and enhance their presence in the U.S. market.

BBC Studios is known for its popular podcasts like the Global News Podcast, World of Secrets, In Our Time, History's Secret Heroes and Infinite Monkey Cage. Early in 2024, the company established a dedicated audio unit aimed at maximizing both creative and commercial prospects of its premium podcast offerings globally.

Louise la Grange, Senior Vice President of BBC Audio, Digital News, and Streaming at BBC Studios, stated, "We are delighted to expand our partnership with iHeart to represent BBC podcasts in the U.S. ad market. This collaboration with a major player like iHeart introduces new brands to our exceptional content and marks an exciting step in our international growth ambitions for audio."

Conal Byrne, CEO of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group, added, "BBC has been a pinnacle of quality in media for decades, and we are thrilled to broaden our relationship and promote their podcast titles in the booming U.S. podcast market. With iHeartMedia's unmatched reach across radio and podcasting and the largest audio sales force in the industry, we are poised to significantly boost their podcast growth in the U.S."

This announcement follows a recent disclosure by BBC Studios about its partnership with Triton Digital, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia.