OZY Media

 As part of the deal, two popular OZY Media podcasts “The Thread” and “OZY Confidential” will also join the iHeartPodcast Network

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. and NEW YORK (January 30, 2020) - iHeartMedia and OZY Media today announce a new multi-year deal to co-produce and promote a slate of iHeartRadio Original Podcasts, with three shows set to be released in 2020 and distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network. The partnership reflects iHeartRadio’s focus to growing its library of high-quality original podcasts for its hundreds of millions of listeners across the country and OZY Media’s continued expansion into original content for audio and TV.

“OZY’s global suite of diverse storytellers and story-finders focuses on what’s new and what’s next. These podcasts reflect the desire of younger audiences to broaden their minds and think bigger,” said Carlos Watson, co-founder and CEO of OZY Media. “We are thrilled to be collaborating with the massively talented team at iHeartMedia to co-produce powerful and diverse podcasts for listeners.”

The first co-produced podcast in the slate will be “Around the World,” a travel and culture podcast featuring stories of changemakers and renegades from around the world who are doing the unexpected in the face of adversity. The content will originate from OZY's groundbreaking year-long editorial project that saw them report three stories from every country on earth. The two additional podcasts set to launch this year include a spin-off series from OZY’s “The Thread” and a scripted series.

These narratives draw from OZY’s cutting-edge digital news stories and have evolved into podcasts that appeal to a wide range of curious listeners interested in seeing a broader and bolder world. In addition to co-producing the new slate of original podcasts, two of OZY’s existing news and culture podcasts – “The Thread” and “OZY Confidential” – will join the iHeartPodcast Network’s deep catalog of podcast titles.

“The OZY team has a remarkable way of reporting on stories that really make people think and often change the way we see important issues,” said Will Pearson, COO of the iHeartPodcast Network. “They have an impressive ability to find fascinating stories before anyone else is reporting on them and we’re thrilled to be partnering with them to bring these voices to iHeart and into the world of podcasting.”

As part of the deal, iHeartMedia and OZY Media will work together to co-produce these original podcasts for distribution and promotion across iHeartMedia’s multiple platforms including broadcast radio stations, iHeartRadio, its digital streaming platform, as well as its social media channels. As the largest publisher of podcasts in the country, the iHeartPodcast Network has more than 750 original shows available to listeners nationwide.

About OZY Media

OZY Media is a next-generation media and entertainment company delivering unique and relevant stories and experiences across multiple mediums, from original series and investigative editorial to addictive podcasts and live events. OZY aims to help curious people see the world more broadly and more boldly by introducing them to “the New and the Next” — narratives that defy convention, change perspectives and ignite ideas. Started as a digital magazine in 2013, OZY has evolved into a modern media company, with 8 original TV series with leading networks, including Amazon, Hulu, OWN, PBS and BBC. Led by Emmy Award–winning journalist Carlos Watson and co-founder Samir Rao, OZY Media is based in Mountain View, California, and backed by leading Silicon Valley investors such as Emerson Collective, Ron Conway, Marc Lasry and Tom Franco, with a significant investment from German publishing giant Axel Springer. Learn more at OZY.com.

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.