Partnerships

New, Original Podcasts Created by NowThis, The Dodo, Seeker, Thrillist and JASH to be Co-Produced and Distributed Across iHeartRadio Properties

Partnership Marks Group Nine’s Company-Wide Expansion into Audio-First Storytelling

NowThis’ “Who Is?” and Thrillist’s “Re-Rank (WT)” Podcasts to Launch in Fall 2019

NEW YORK (August 13, 2019) - Group Nine Media, the no. 1 publisher on mobile, and iHeartMedia, the no. 1 commercial podcast publisher globally, today announced an exclusive slate of portfolio-wide, co-produced podcasts to join the iHeartPodcast Network. The new slate will include at least one podcast from each of Group Nine’s four brands: NowThis, The Dodo, Seeker and Thrillist, as well as one from JASH, which is part of the media company’s LA-based Studios team. The partnership will kick off with two new original podcasts from NowThis and Thrillist set to launch this fall. All podcasts will be overseen by Mickey Meyer, President of Network, and Brett Kushner, VP of New Initiatives at Group Nine and executive produced by Mangesh Hattikudur, Head of Development at the iHeartPodcast Network.

"Storytelling is at the core of any forward-looking media brand in today's industry,” said Mickey Meyer, President of Group Nine's Network. “As a distributed media company and the leader on mobile, we've always met audiences where they are and podcasting is certainly the place to be. iHeartRadio knows this better than anyone and we're excited to partner with them to extend Group Nine’s brands and creative prowess into the audio space."

“Group Nine’s brands create content that resonates extremely well with their dedicated and loyal fans,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “They are pioneers in social-first publishing and have built meaningful online communities that connect with audiences. We are excited to work together with them to co-produce an amazing slate of shows and extend their brands into the burgeoning podcast space.” 

Group Nine’s brand NowThis will introduce the “Who is?” podcast, which will explore backstories of America’s most powerful people, while Thrillist will premiere the “Re-Rank (WT)” podcast, which will re-examine some of Thrillists most iconic lists. Full descriptions for the new podcasts below:

“Who is?” from NowThis

16 episodes, 30 minutes long

‘‘Who Is?’’explores the backstories of America's most powerful people from top leaders in Washington and President Trump's inner circle to the field of presidential hopefuls and major political donors. Each week, our host, NowThis correspondent, Sean Morrow, dives deep into a different political character with a complicated history and examines the power player's story and their connections to one another. “Who Is?” is already a successful multi-platform series across YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and IGTV, with short biography videos voiced by celebrities. As a podcast extension, “Who Is?” will dive deep into conversations with the people and experts closest to our subject of the week.

“Re-Rank (WT)” from Thrillist

20 episodes, 35-45 minutes long

Thrillist is famous for finding the best of the best in food, drink, travel, and entertainment. Hosted by Thrillist writer and producer, Wil Fulton, “Re-Rank (WT)”  takes one iconic Thrillist list and sets it up for discussion, bringing in the Thrillist writers and editors behind the pieces to detail their process, reveal how internal decisions were made, and -- in some cases -- defend their choices. In each episode, we'll explore and try to define what is the "best" in the topic at hand, debate the findings, and touch on relevant topics in the Thrillist zeitgeist.

iHeartRadio is available on more than 250 platforms and over 2,000 different connected devices — including smart speakers, digital auto dashes, tablets, wearables, smartphones, virtual assistants, televisions and gaming consoles — allowing listeners to hear their favorite music and podcasts anywhere they are. Visit iHeart.com/apps to download and follow “Who is?” and “Re-Rank (WT)” for podcast updates.

About Group Nine

Group Nine reaches more people on mobile than any publisher in the U.S. Our mission is to tell great stories that spark action and make a real difference. With nearly 45M Americans engaging with our content every day [source: Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, January 2019], Group Nine's brands are built for the platforms where young people spend the majority of their time. We reach over 70% of Americans ages 18-34 every month [source: Nielsen, December 2018]. Audiences spend nearly 3 billion minutes a month engaging with our category-defining brands - NowThis, the no. 1 most watched mobile news brand in the world; The Dodo, the no. 1 animal brand on digital; Thrillist, the most trusted digital brand in food, drink, travel & entertainment; and Seeker, the no. 1 science brand in the U.S. In 2017, Group Nine acquired Emmy nominated, Cannes Lion and Sundance Film Festival award-winning production studio, JASH.

PFL and iHeartMedia to Enhance Fan Experience Through Music, Talent, Audio Content, Consumer Promotions and More 

NEW YORK CITY and WASHINGTON, DC (May 3, 2019) -- The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the first organization ever to present MMA in the sport-season format of Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship,and leading audio company iHeartMedia, today announced a marketing, content and promotion partnership designed to promote fight events and enhance the fan experience through the fusion of music and MMA.  

iHeartMedia on-air hosts and talent will make appearances at select events, kicking off with New York’s Hip Hop and R&B station Power 105.1’s DJ Suss-One spinning live at the first event of the PFL 2019 Season May 9 at Nassau Coliseum.  Promotional opportunities continue with DJ Envy of The Breakfast Club, the popular morning show syndicated on Hip-Hop and R&B stations nationwide, to drive tune-in for the events.

The partnership also includes creating music experiences in connection with each fight night and providing fans with access to PFL “in the life” fighter interviews. Fans will gain insight into what happens behind-the-scenes during fight week through the lens of iHeart and PFL influencers. Promotional contests will run across iHeartMedia stations throughout the country and on iHeartRadio, the all-in-one digital live streaming radio service.  

“The goal of our partnership with iHeart is to create an immersive and exciting experience for fans through music, entertainment and fighter interactions in connection with our regular season, playoff and championship events,” said Peter Murray, CEO of the PFL. “As the leader in audio, with more than 270 million listeners a month on their broadcast stations alone, iHeartMedia will help us reach a massive audience as we enhance and promote our season, which starts May 9 on ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.” 

“We are thrilled to be working with the PFL and have the ability to create significant awareness for them through our leading broadcast and digital assets,” said Joe Robinson, President of Corporate Development & Ventures. “We are also excited to have the opportunity to reach this new enthusiastic audience and offer our listeners even more exclusive content and entertainment that they can’t hear anywhere else.” 

Every PFL event will air across ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+, — the leading multi-sport streaming service, in addition to TSN in Canada, and on a wide and diverse group of premier global distribution partner platforms reaching over 130 countries around the world. 

The first half of the regular season – PFL 1, 2 and 3 – will be held on May 9, May 23 and June 6 at NYCB LIVE’s Nassau Coliseum. Following a five-week break, PFL action will resume from Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City on July 11, July 25 and August 8. The top eight fighters in the five men’s weight classes and top four in the women’s lightweight division will earn spots in the Playoffs this October in hopes of advancing to the PFL Championship on New Year’s Eve.

About Professional Fighters League

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) presents MMA for the first time in the sport-season format where individual fighters control their own destiny, competing in a regular season, playoffs, and championship.  PFL’s differentiated format and exciting fights sparked breakout growth for the league.   PFL events are Thursday nights primetime live on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The PFL 2019 Season features elite MMA athletes across six weight classes, including the first-ever 155-pound women’s division, with each fighter having two fights during the PFL Regular Season in May, June, July, and August.  The top eight fighters in each weight class advance to the single-elimination PFL Playoffs in October, where fighters must fight twice and win twice in the same night to advance to the finals.  PFL Championship is New Year’s Eve with the winners of each title bout being crowned PFL World Champion of their respective weight class and earning $1 million. Viewers will be delivered next-gen stats never before seen in MMA through the PFL’s proprietary SmartCage™ platform and Cagenomics™ technology.

PFL is backed by an investor group of sports, media, entertainment, and business titans.  Watch PFL live Thursday nights in the U.S. on ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes.  PFL is also available in 130 countries around the world with leading local broadcasters.  

For more info visit www.PFLmma.com and follow PFL on Instagram (@PFLmma), Twitter (@ProFightLeague), and Facebook (/ProFightLeague).

Exclusive Half-Hour Radio Special Hosted by Ryan Seacrest to Air Ahead of Season Premiere of Renowned Singing Competition on Sunday, March 3 on The ABC Television Network 

New York, NY – February 28, 2019 – iHeartMedia announced today it will celebrate the highly anticipated March 3 season premiere of The ABC Television Network’s beloved singing competition series “American Idol” with a radio special hosted by Ryan Seacrest and broadcast across more than 90 iHeartMedia AC and Hot AC radio stations nationwide.

The thirty-minute special will air Sunday, March 3 (between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time depending the station and market) and will feature songs from current “American Idol” judges and past contestants, exclusive content and information about the iconic series, providing unparalleled access ahead of the show’s two-hour season premiere that night at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC. 

As part of the promotion, local iHeartMedia stations in key markets will feature a commercial free “American Idol” PM drive takeover on March 6 to build excitement for the show’s second premiere week episode, airing that night at 8:00 p.m. EST. In addition to playing today’s biggest hits, the hour-long broadcast will include special audio content from the show. The “American Idol” promotion will also feature content from the hit show on iHeartMedia’s array of national and local brand social platforms.

“‘American Idol’ continues to be one of America’s favorite singing competition shows,” Adrienne Pabst EVP, Connections & Agency Partnerships. “We can’t wait to help ABC celebrate its return with a week of amazing content across iHeartMedia’s extensive network of media platforms that will make music fans across the country even more excited for the premiere.”

“Fans of ‘American Idol’ are always in search of more access to music and personal stories, and we are thrilled to work with iHeartMedia to give our audiences what they want via this exclusive show airing across America,” said Gary Shanas, Vice President, Media Strategy & Planning, Disney-ABC Television.

“American Idol” returns to The ABC Television Network on Sunday, March 3 (8:00–10:01 p.m. EST), streaming and on demand, after first making its return to the airwaves as the No. 1 reality show launch for its inaugural season on the network during the 2017-2018 season. Returning this season to discover an all-new crop of inspiring singers are music industry legends and all-star judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, as well as Emmy^® Award-winning host and producer Seacrest as host. Famed iHeartMedia multimedia personality Bobby Bones will take on the role of in-house mentor.

In the highly anticipated premiere episode, viewers will embark on a nation-wide journey starting with the shows’ famed judge auditions in Louisville, Kentucky; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; and Denver, Colorado, where aspiring singers will see if they have what it takes to earn a coveted golden ticket to Hollywood.

“American Idol” is produced by Fremantle and Industrial Media’s 19 Entertainment. Executive producers include Fremantle’s Trish Kinane, also serving as showrunner, Jennifer Mullin, Megan Wolflick and Industrial Media’s Chris Anokute. Fremantle distributes the series worldwide. 

About ABC Entertainment

ABC Entertainment airs compelling programming across all day parts, including the new dramas “A Million Little Things” and “The Rookie,” starring Nathan Fillion; and new comedies “The Conners,” “The Kids Are Alright” and “Single Parents.” The ABC Television Network is also home to the groundbreaking dramas “The Good Doctor,” “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Grey’s Anatomy”; the Emmy® Award-winning “Modern Family” and trailblazing comedy favorites “black-ish,” “American Housewife,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “The Goldbergs,” “Speechless” and “Splitting Up Together”; hit game shows “The $100,000 Pyramid,” “Celebrity Family Feud,” “Match Game” and “To Tell the Truth”; star-making sensation “American Idol”; reality phenomenon “Shark Tank,” iconic “The Bachelor” franchise, long-running hits “Dancing with the Stars” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos”; “General Hospital,” which has aired for over 50 years on the network; and late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The network also boasts some of television’s most prestigious awards shows, including “The Oscars®,” “The CMA Awards” and “The American Music Awards.”

ABC’s multiplatform business initiative also allows viewers to watch current episodes of their favorite ABC shows anytime, anywhere on ABC.com and the ABC app for desktop, smartphone, tablet or connected TV devices.

About Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest is a creative entrepreneur and holds preeminent positions in broadcast and cable television, as well as nationally syndicated and local radio. Seacrest is host of the iconic music competitions series “American Idol” on ABC and executive producer of the annual live ABC broadcast of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.” He is co-host and executive producer of the Disney/ABC nationally syndicated entertainment talk show “Live with Kelly and Ryan.” Seacrest also serves as host and executive producer of “E! Live from the Red Carpet” award season shows. On radio, Seacrest is host of "On Air with Ryan Seacrest," his market-topping #1 nationally syndicated LA morning drive-time show for iHeartMedia's 102.7 KIIS-FM, as well as a nationally-syndicated Top 40 radio show. Seacrest helms Ryan Seacrest Productions (RSP) an Emmy-winning entertainment production company. RSP produces the E! hit cable series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and its spin-offs, “E! Live from the Red Carpet” award shows, as well as Bravo’s “Shahs of Sunset.” Additionally, RSP produces “Insatiable” for Netflix. The company also produced the Emmy Award-winning reality series "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.”

Companies to Co-Produce Original Podcasts; OZY’s hit Podcast ‘The Thread’ to Join the iHeartRadio Podcast Network

NEW YORK (June XX, 2018)— iHeartMedia and OZY Media today announced a creative multiyear partnership leveraging OZY Media’s compelling news and storytelling capabilities and iHeartMedia’s national cross-platform network to reach hundreds of millions of consumers across the country.

Beginning today, OZY stories on a range of topics from politics, to culture to technology to sports, will be featured in iHeartMedia’s top-rated morning shows across 150 markets in the U.S. The new partnership also includes promotion across iHeartMedia’s multiplatform network including radio, digital, social and live events.

“We are impressed with OZY’s rapid growth, diverse content and versatility across platforms, especially in today’s competitive media landscape,” said Joe Robinson, President of Ventures for iHeartMedia. “We are excited to partner with OZY, and with our massive reach of a quarter of a billion listeners a month across the country, this partnership gives us the opportunity to share even more critical news and information with our diverse audience.”

iHeartMedia and OZY will work together to co-produce iHeartRadio Original podcasts and develop shared revenue opportunities for advertisers. iHeartMedia is the largest publisher of podcasts in the country and the iHeartRadio Podcast Network has more than 630 original shows available to listeners nationwide.

In addition, OZY Media’s hit podcast series “The Thread,” which takes listeners through nearly a century of great American stories, will join iHeartRadio, the free all-in-one digital music, podcast, on demand and live radio streaming service – which is available across more than 250 device platforms including in-car, in-home, on wearables, across gaming consoles and more.  

“OZY wants to be everywhere you are, so what better company to partner with then iHeartMedia which reaches more than 90 percent of Americans a month” said Carlos Watson, co-founder and CEO of OZY Media. “We’re proud to bring the best of OZY to iHeart listeners, and hope they will be surprised, delighted, and enlightened by this offering, and what’s to come.”

OZY Media recently announced their third primetime television series with PBS, Breaking Big, profiling 12 celebrities and influencers and telling the stories of how they “broke big.”  The series premieres on Friday, June 15^th at 8:30pm ET.

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About OZY Media

With 40 million monthly unique users and 4 million subscribers, OZY brings readers “the new and the next,” offering 100 percent original content with a focus on the future, via unique OZY News, OZY Magazine, OZY TV and OZY Events products. Called “the new media magnet for the news hungry” by Fortune magazine, OZY’s in-depth and high-quality journalism has attracted a number of high-profile media partners including The New York Times, NPR, PBS NewsHour, TED, The Financial Times, The Huffington Post and many more, as well as guest editors including Bill Gates, President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Founded in 2013 by Emmy Award–winning journalist Carlos Watson and co-founder Samir Rao, the OZY team is based in Mountain View, California, and backed by leading Silicon Valley investors including Laurene Powell Jobs, Ron Conway, David Drummond, Larry Sonsini and Dan Rosensweig and a significant investment from publishing giant Axel Springer.