iHeartMedia introduces podcasts to its Top 40 broadcast stations with Anna Faris

iHeartMedia announced a new development in its “Podcast, Meet Broadcast” strategy. The company has landed an agreement to air Anna Faris is Unqualified on its Top 40 broadcast radio stations and on the iHeartRadio Podcast Network. The iHeartMedia strategy aims to use its broadcast radio reach to assist podcast creators in finding new audiences and growing their base.

The podcast includes celebrity interviews and offers relationship advice to listeners who call in. iHeartMedia will work with production company Unqualified Media to create a long-form radio broadcast version of the show to air on weekends across the company’s Top 40 stations. The show will benefit from short-form promotional content from iHeartMedia to air on weekdays. Finally, the podcast will be an official partner for the iHeartRadio Podcast Network and will create exclusive podcast content for the platform’s listeners.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be partnering with iHeartMedia to bring Unqualified to millions of new listeners,” said Faris. “At Unqualified, we pride ourselves on generally not knowing what we are doing, and it seems iHeart is willing to accept our values and form this expansive partnership with us. Being able to embarrass Sim to millions of new listeners is simply a dream come true.”

“We are so excited to introduce our podcast to millions of new listeners that may not have known that Anna Faris had a podcast – or even what a podcast is,” said Sim Sarna, co-host and producer on the podcast. “We hope that by working with iHeartMedia, we can give even more people deeply unqualified advice.”

“As big fans of Anna Faris and Unqualified, we know this series is the perfect partner to launch this Podcast-to-Broadcast opportunity,” said Chris Peterson, iHeartMedia’s senior vice president of podcasting. “We can help podcasts like Anna Faris is Unqualified scale in a big way by introducing them to our quarter of a billion broadcast listeners each month. While podcasting continues to grow on iHeartRadio and across the industry, nearly three-quarters of the country still do not listen to podcasts. We have the ability to reach those listeners through radio’s massive reach, helping to introduce podcasts to the vast majority of people often for the first time.”

Anna Washenko