In a buy-side survey of marketers by WARC and iHeartMedia, an interesting chart catches our eye. It is a budget outlook for 2021, indicating which media categories will be increased, and which are not used, by percentage of responses. Click for details and graphics. Continue Reading
A newly released study from marketing/strategy firm WARC tells a story of missed opportunity on the buy side, and missing revenue on the sell side of audio. While 31% of the average consumer’s media consumption is now audio, only 8.8% of the average media budget is allocated to audio, and 25% of advertisers do not invest in audio at all. The research identifies audio buyer types, and evangelizes the values of audio marketing. Continue Reading
In a trans-continental venture, iHeartMedia is partnering with French media company NRJ Group to create new French podcasts, translate existing iHeart podcasts, and use iHeart subsidiary Triton Digital to monetize everything via French audiences. Click for details. Continue Reading
In a hefty, wide-ranging partnership, iHeartMedia and its Triton Digital subsidiary are going into business with TuneIn. In the agreement iHM’s 850 radio stations will be piled into TuneIn. iHeart will also become TuneIn’s premier local ad sales representation partner. Further, Triton will monetize TuneIn’s local inventory, which promises to help advertisers reach new audiences at scale, according to the press notice.
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iHeartMedia has announced a multi-year deal with Sports Illustrated. It includes original podcast production and the formation of Sports Illustrated Studios. iHeartPodcast Network will distribute the new shows, naturally, as well as SI’s existing portfolio. Most of the new shows will be launched in 2022; one new title scheduled for later this year. One of the new audio sports network podcasts will dip its toe into the true crime genre. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia has disclosed a trio of launch sponsors for the company’s My Cultura podcast network, which seeks to amplify Latinx voices. In addition, four new shows with July launch dates are detailed. The company promises a monthly drumbeat of new My Cultura shows. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia is announcing a multiyear agreement with Bloomberg Media which will see Bloomberg’s nearly 30 podcasts hosted on iHeart, and the two companies co-produce a dozen new ones. Continue Reading
On the day of its presentation at the IAB Podcast Upfront, iHeartMedia announces a partnership with Catalina, a shopper intelligence and real-time database company, to provide podcast advertising attribution related to offline shopping. The alliance and the information it delivers are targeted to CPG companies. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia sent us details on its latest partnership: The audio giant will team with the National Football League for an NFL podcast network. The NFL already owns a slate of podcasts in its NFL Media unit, so while there is a creative element to the deal, part of the plan is about distribution and (presumably) monetization. New shows will emerge before the 2021-2022 season starts. Continue Reading
Will Packer Media is entering a formal and longer-range partnership to create a slate of scripted and unscripted podcasts for iHeart. Will Packer is a Hollywood producer. James Lopez is his production partner in the Fight Night podcast, a true crime show which was placed in iHeartRadio in 2020. The first spawn of this new arrangement will be an urban drama scripted series centered in present-day Oakland, California. It is set to launch in the second quarter of 2021. Continue Reading
UK-based radio and technology behemoth Global is attempting to acquire 49.9% of iHeartMedia, the largest commercial radio group in the U.S. Doing so would require exemption from U.S. government rules that regulate foreign ownership of U.S. broadcasting companies. Global is seeking that exemption now, and in doing so seems to be revealing a potential misunderstanding between the two companies. There are precedents in which the FCC has granted exemptions, but not of this scale. Continue Reading
In the company’s Q4 earnings call last week, iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman and COO/CFO Rich Bressler emphasized podcasting and recent digital audio acquisitions, and touched on a new view of international opportunity for iHeart. Click of tap through for details and quotes. Continue Reading