Translations

Deal includes translation of a curated slate of iHeartRadio Original most popular titles, making hundreds of episodes accessible to French-speaking listeners each year

In France, NRJ will monetize translated podcasts as well as original-language iHeart podcasts, leveraging Triton Digital’s Advanced Tech Stack including its Supply Side Platform

Paris & New York – August 5, 2021 – iHeartMedia, the No. 1 audio company in America and the No. 1 podcast publisher globally as per podtrac, and the French multimedia group NRJ announced today a strategic partnership to develop, translate, distribute and monetize a specially curated slate of iHeartRadio Original podcasts for French listeners. The first translated podcasts will be available on the iHeartRadio app, in France on NRJ Group’s platforms and everywhere podcasts are heard from the last quarter of 2021, with regular new additions thereafter.

Podcasts to be translated include the iconic “Stuff You Should Know,” the first-ever podcast to surpass one billion downloads. Launched in April 2008, the podcast has continuously educated listeners on a variety of topics in science, history, pop culture, urban legends, conspiracy theories and more. With thousands of episodes, a number of sold-out live events, a television season and a book deal, the show and its riveting hosts have garnered a loyal following across the globe.

Additional shows in the curated slate are set to include other popular curiosity podcasts including “Stuff You Missed in History Class,” “BrainStuff,” “Unobscured with Aaron Mahnke” and “Cabinet of Curiosities,” music podcast “Rivals” as well as some of the most riveting true-crime podcasts like “Piketon Massacre,” “Missing in Alaska,” “Murder in Oregon,” and “Paper Ghosts” with more to come.

“NRJ Group is proud to work with the world’s leading podcast publisher, sharing the same mission : making high-quality entertainment podcasts available to the widest audience. This deal enables us to significantly enrich our offer to French listeners while clearly positioning NRJ Global as the top reference in France for the monetization of podcasts,” said Cécile Chambaudrie, NRJ Global President & CEO of NRJ Group digital activities.

In addition, the partnership will also include a slate of new co-produced podcasts featuring top French talent with more details to be announced in the future.

As part of the deal, NRJ Group will distribute select iHeartRadio Original English-language podcasts across their apps and websites; and will lead the monetization efforts in France with exclusive monetization rights for the French translation versions. and the co-produced slate of new podcasts from existing and emerging French talent. And to drive revenue faster, NRJ Global will leverage Triton Digital’s (recently acquired by iHeartMedia) industry-leading supply side platform Yield-Op and its programmatic audio marketplace.

“As podcast audiences continue to explode in the United States, the medium is also going global, beginning to grow meaningful fanbases around the world,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. “iHeartMedia is in a unique position to partner with the best audio companies from each territory - like NRJ in France - offering them deep archives of existing hits for translation, co-production of new shows to better support the French podcast creator community, and ad technology from Triton to build sustainable podcast revenue fast as part of the premiere worldwide audio marketplace.”

iHeartMedia’s iHeartPodcast Network is home to more than 750 iHeartRadio Original Podcasts which see more than 250 million downloads each month globally. These podcasts span every category from business, sports, spirituality and technology to entertainment, family, comedy and true crime – and everything in between – making iHeartMedia the largest publisher of podcast content in the world.

About NRJ Group

NRJ Group is among the main media groups in France, producing, publishing, distributing and monetizing a wide variety of content, with a leading position in privately-owned radios thanks to its 4 brands (NRJ, Chérie FM, Nostalgie and Rire & Chansons), a significant role in TV both free (NRJ12 and Chérie 25) and pay (NRJ Hits), and a major actor of broadcasting through its subsidiary TowerCast. NRJ brands also live online with websites, mobile and voice-operated apps and over 240 digital radios, making NRJ the 1st privately-owned digital radios’ publisher in France. NRJ Group operates in 17 other countries.

Copenhagen - March 5, 2021- To honor International Women’s Day on March 8th, the popular true crime podcast “Forgotten: Women of Juáre‪z” is released simultaneously and globally in three new languages. The translation into new languages will allow Forgotten to shed more light on the hundreds of Mexican women who have been abducted in the world’s most dangerous city, and on the misogyny and systemic sexual femicide in Mexico and around the world. Hosted by influential local voices, the podcast is launched in Spanish, German and Danish and is the first in a planned pipeline of locally adapted content initiated by iHeart and Podimo to expand the reach of powerful stories to bigger and more relevant audiences.

The adapted titles “Olvidadas: Las muertas de Juárez” for the Spanish speaking, “Vergessen: Frauen von Juárez” in German, and “De Glemte Kvinder fra Juárez” for the Danish listeners revisit and explore a chilling phenomenon in the Mexican city of Juárez beginning in the early 1990’s: Young women were abducted, sexually abused and killed during their trips from home to school or work. Their remains were later found in ditches, dumps and sewages - even in mass graves in the desert - but the crimes were never solved.

Eva Lægdsgaard, Chief of Strategic Relations at Podimo says: “The aim of Podimo’s and iHeart’s multi-language release is to broaden the scope and expand the reach of powerful stories to bigger and more relevant audiences, benefitting creators and listeners. But ultimately, it is about making sure these women are never forgotten.”

Originally produced by iHeartMedia and Unusual Productions and translated by Podimo, the adapted versions feature existing content from the original podcast created by journalists Mónica Ortiz Uribe and Oz Woloshyn. But also introduces new elements, including interviews with families of the victims and statements from journalists and police authorities on both sides of the border.

Mónica Ortiz Uribe says: "So many storytellers have come to Juárez to tell the stories of these missing and murdered women. And often the final project isn't in Spanish, so it's not something that the families, who make a huge emotional investment in the projects, can ultimately listen to and judge. That is why it is so important to me that we give them that opportunity."

The Spanish version “Olvidadas: Las muertas de Juárez” is hosted by investigative journalists Rossana Fuentes Berain and Sandra Romandía (among the most influential women in Mexico), who guide their listeners closer to answers. Closer to understanding what actually happened in Juárez, and why it could happen? An understanding that is more crucial than ever, when it comes to raising awareness and stopping the violence against women - and the ensuing impunity. In additional episodes in Danish and German, renowned journalists Ane Cortzen, Düzen Tekkal, and Leyla Yenirce bring the misogynist themes of the Mexican story closer to home in Denmark and Germany.

“Olvidadas: Las muertas de Juárez” will be released exclusively on Podimo on March 8, 2021, and is the first in a planned series of adapted podcasts that bring important stories to life in a local context. The translated series will be distributed worldwide via the iHeartPodcast Network beginning March 22, 2021 and will be available on iHeartRadio and all major podcast platforms.

“As podcast audiences continue to grow here in the United States, with more than

100 million Americans a month now listening to a podcast, the medium is also

starting to explode around the world,” says Conal Byrne from iHeartMedia, and continues: “So, while we distribute all of our shows everywhere listeners want to listen, we’ve also been working on translating select shows into listeners’ native languages. This all ties back to our simple, consistent goal: Meet listeners where they are, so as to get the best creators in the world, the audiences they deserve, and brand partners the scale that they need.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Ad funded versions of the show will be released on the open RSS feed on March 22nd in Spain and Denmark. In Germany, the show will be released both on Podimo and the open RSS feed on March 8th. Bonus episodes will be available exclusively on Podimo in the Danish, Spanish and German versions of the show.

Germany

Hosts: Leyla Yenirce & Düzen Tekkal

Link to German version.

Denmark

Host: Ane Cortzen

Link to Danish version.

Spain & LatAm

Hosts: Rossana Fuentes Berain & Sandra Romandia

Link to Spanish & Latin America version.

About Podimo

Podimo is a European podcast platform that offers personal recommendations for users, while supporting creators through a new revenue share model. Currently live in Denmark, Germany, Spain, and across Latin America, the app features great podcasts from anywhere in the world via RSS feeds, and is free to download and listen with no login required. As a Premium member, you’ll unlock access to an additional 600+ Podimo produced and licensed shows that can’t be heard anywhere else, and your membership fee is shared directly with the podcast creators you listen to each month. Visit podimo.com for more information