From its Podcast Perch, iHeart Continues Innovating and Experimenting

quotConsumers spend onethird of their media time today with audio and podcasting almost more than any other medium That has fueled growth Listening has doubled in podcasting in the last five yearsquotConal Burns CEO of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group said at the company39s 2002 IAB Podcast Upfront presentationIn fact Americans are streaming podcasts at record levels with 177 million adults listening to podcasts and onequarter tuning in monthly With its breadth and depth iHeart leads all publishers According to the latest Podtrac rankings the iHeart Podcast Network ranked as the No 1 publisher with 632 active shows and 4415 million global downloads and streamsAt the Upfront Burns offered up some more impressive stats iHeart has more downloads than the next three publishers combined per Podtrac and boasts topranked shows in all 19 of Podtrac39s genre categories What39s more 50 iHeart podcasts have tallied 100 million or more downloads he addedBy combining its massive audience and stable of hit shows iHeart says its ad partners can achieve reach and scale and effectively reach targeted niche audiencesquotFrom content distribution to cuttingedge ad technology to the best in class measurement tools you need to make your marketing truly effective we keep it simple and we39ve got you totally coveredquotBurns saidTo maximize its audience the company delivers its podcasts to any platform or device available Advertisers also benefit from this broadtent approach Burns noted When brands buy ads in iHeart podcasts their spots travel with them and run wherever the user accesses the podcastIn today39s fractured media environment as brands hunt for engaged consumers Burns said podcasting is highly effective Across publishers he said the majority of podcast users listen to podcast ads with just 1015 of listeners skipping forward iHeart39s skippage rate is even lower at just 10 he added That means ads are being heardTo keep fans engaged iHeart is launching fresh content and signing big names The company just inked podcast deals with two Hollywood heavyhitters in Ben Silverman39s Propagate and Ron Howard and Brian Grazer39s Imagine Entertainment They39ll join boldfaced hosts like Shonda Rhimes Will Ferrell and his fictional persona Ron Burgundy and Charlemagne the God iHeart also has partnerships with the National Football League the National Basketball Association Bloomberg Paramount and more There39s even a new slate of NFT podcasts in the worksThese creators quotare making some of the most exciting conversations happening anywhere in mediaquotBurns exclaimedFurther iHeart is nurturing the next generation To bring underrepresented voices and people of color to podcasting it recently debuted the Next Up Podcast network Toyota is the headline sponsor and so far the project has created eight new podcasts with more are on the wayTaking a page from Hollywood studios and TV networks iHeart is striking development deals with established and newbie podcasters With these deals Burns said creators can develop and test new ideas and hone their hosting skills The best concepts will get pilot orders and possibly full season runs In one deal Will Ferrell is creating a new series The Feed where emerging comics can try their hand at podcastingiHeart is also keenly focused on advancing diversity in podcasting which Burns called its quotnorth starquotIt publishes podcasts for networks that feature BIPOC and female creators including Black Effect Podcast Network and the Seneca Women39s Network Later this summer Burns said iHeart will add an LGBTQ networkFor brands looking to advertise in all this content iHeart is rolling out advanced solutions It recently integrated Spreaker a platform for indie podcast creators into its ad sales networkThe company39s biggest ad tech development is the new iHeart Audio Network a onestop marketplace with inventory from all of iHeart39s digital audio podcast and radio stations as well as other premium publishers Former Stitcher COO and digital audio veteran Sarah van Mosel is leading the new venture as executive vice presidentAs part of the ad network iHeart is creating an advanced brand safety tool Audio Intelligence which will launch by the end of the second quarter Built in partnership with tech firm Sounder Audio Intelligence uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to check content for brand safety and appropriateness How does it work First content is translated from speech to text and then put through natural language filters Each transcript is tagged at the episodic level where it can be analyzed for brand safetyquotAudio Intelligence will be the most advanced brand safety tool in the world addressing this critical need for the audio industryquotBurns saidAs iHeart sets its course for growth Burns said the best is yet to comequotWe39re just getting startedquothe concluded quotThe innovation of this medium the way people are reinventing storytelling amp8230 it makes this new medium new and fresh every weekamp8221Click the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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From its Podcast Perch, iHeart Continues Innovating and Experimenting

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Alli Romano

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From its Podcast Perch, iHeart Continues Innovating and Experimenting

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