On Air Fest Becomes On Air Presents: Full-Fledged, Year-Round Creative Studio and Events Company

On Air Fest, the premiere creator and storytelling festival, today announces its next chapter as On Air Presents - a year-round cultural platform and creative studio shaping the future of media, technology, and culture. Eight years after On Air Fest began in Brooklyn, the On Air Presents rebrand is the most significant expansion yet for the now-national event series as well as the award-winning global creative agency work x work, which will now be known as On Air Studio.

Launching September 23rd with a new live podcast series at Ludlow House (Soho House’s Lower East Side location) and leading into a slate of major events through the fall and winter, including On Air LA and the flagship On Air Fest in Brooklyn, On Air Presents grows from an annual festival into an always-on cultural organization producing live shows, special projects, and brand + creator collaborations all year long. Reflecting its status as the epicenter of the podcasting industry, On Air Fest 2026 will also play host for the first time ever for The Podcast Academy’s Sixth Annual Awards for Excellence in Audio on February 23rd in NYC. Also known as The Ambies, the medium’s prestigious award celebrates excellence in podcasting and elevates awareness and status of podcasts as a unique and personal medium for entertainment, information, storytelling and expression.

The first new initiative to begin under the On Air Presents umbrella will be the On Air @ Ludlow House live podcast series, beginning on September 23rd. From then on, exclusive, invite-only live tapings with top creative storytellers and podcasters across entertainment, comedy, film, business, culture, music, and fashion will be hosted at Ludlow House every other Tuesday, with resulting live episodes (video + audio) published on the individual show’s channels and promoted across networks.

On November 12th and 13th, the Los Angeles edition of On Air Fest - On Air LA - returns for the first time since 2023, offering a dynamic showcase of headliners and creators shaping the future of media and culture. On the first day, Bloomberg reporter Ashley Carman will co-host the LA edition of On Air’s twice-yearly Podcast Business Summit with Bloomberg, an invite-only convening of leaders across tech, advertising, publishing, and podcasting. The second day will feature a slate of speakers, live tapings, and activations across medium and genre. Previous talent at On Air LA has included Talk Easy host Sam Fragoso, Sam Sanders, New York Times bestselling author Felicia Day, pop star Jason Derulo, actor, producer, and director Brit Marling (the OA), and more.

Then from February 23rd - 26th next year, On Air Presents’ flagship event returns to Brooklyn with four days of programming across multiple venues. Since its launch in 2018, On Air’s Brooklyn festival has brought over 200 artists and storytellers to Williamsburg, Brooklyn each winter. Previous talent has included Anderson Cooper, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Meyers, Norah Jones, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Audie Cornish, David Remnick, Jad Abumrad, Terry Gross, Francis Ford Coppola, Ira Glass, and many more.

Ahead of On Air Fest’s public creative programming kicking off on the 25th and 26th, the Ambies will be awarded on the 23rd in a star studded celebrity celebration of the best of the medium, and the East Coast Podcast Business Summit with Bloomberg will return on the 24th.

Scott Newman, Founder and Director of On Air Presents, said:

“From the earliest days of work x work, we have seen podcasting as bigger than just a channel, and followed the pulse of culture to anticipate what audiences and creators will demand. On Air Fest was our big experiment, and championing the most boundary-pushing creatives, storytellers, and artists working across audio, video, film, art, writing, and music put us ahead of the podcasting curve.

Today, as media shifts toward independent creators and omni-channel storytelling (audio, video, social media and events), On Air Presents is our next chapter. Now that the podcast industry - including media & advertising - has caught up, we are broadening our scope and shifting our focus to breaking the next creative barriers, with the same artistic rigor, a stronger creative spirit, and a platform built to shape the trends of tomorrow.”

Scott Newman, Founder and Director of On Air Presents

Talent for On Air Fest, and On Air LA, will be announced soon, along with events and other activations by On Air Presents throughout the year. On Air’s expansion to On Air Presents also opens new opportunities for joint ventures with independent creators, publishers, and cultural organizations, alongside brand partnerships. With collaborations to be announced soon, On Air Presents is also building out a dedicated sales and partnerships team to foster brand deals around its growing slate of IP, and to help creators and publishers expand into events, video, social media, and overall omni-channel content.