Subscribe by email, free
Your daily briefing for podcasting and on-demand

Search for ‘iHeartRadio’

Directory

iHeartRadio logo
iHeartRadio
Ad sales and monetisation · Listening apps · Production studios
iHeartRadio Australia logo
iHeartRadio Australia
Listening apps · Production studios

Stories

April 30, 2024:
April 9, 2024:
    The ranking also includes the iHeartRadio Audience Network for the first time, which is a comfortable #1 within the US.
March 14, 2024:
    Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs has been launched, with iHeart. The podcast itself is accompanied by an exclusive playlist on the iHeartRadio app with the songs mentioned. That list dates from 2021, and had more than 300 voters from across the music industry.
March 13, 2024:
    If you’re an indie podcaster in Aotearoa and want help with representation and distribution, The NZ Podcast Summit’s final session is about how to approach NZ’s two big networks, rova and iHeartRadio. There are fourteen speakers this year; the event is in Auckland on May 11.
March 7, 2024:
    Novel and iHeartRadio are bringing back The Girlfriends for a second series - with a bonus episode released today. It's back from May 6, working to try and find the true identity of an unidentified woman uncovered in the first season.
October 13, 2023:
    In Australia, Media Week published the "Power List" for 2023, the publication's top 100 list of media executives. From podcasting, congratulations to LiSTNR's Grant Tothill at #88, and iHeartRadio Australia's Corey Layton at #87.
August 17, 2023:
August 15, 2023:
July 21, 2023:

Pappalardo, Head of Audio at the LA Times Jazmin Aguilera, Executive Producer at iHeartRadio Anna Hossnieh, Co-host of Add-to-Cart SuChin Pak, Global Sciences Lead

June 16, 2023:
May 2, 2023:
February 21, 2023:
    The owner of ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Australia, HT&E released its annual report. It claims 4.7mn monthly podcast listeners, and 2.4mn registered users on the iHeartRadio app in the country. Digital revenue was AU$14.6mn (US $10mn), up 56% y/y: 4.6% of total audio revenue (the group also owns out-of-home businesses).
February 3, 2023:
    In a distant future, long after the apocalypse was forgotten and the history of civilization lost, three adventurers embark on a quest that could save the world. Created by Michael Freiberg, Intra Quest launches today: a "quirky fantasy-adventure scripted fiction podcast". It's made in 3D audio, and is a production of iHeartRadio and Astrum Media.
December 21, 2022:
December 16, 2022:
October 6, 2022:
    In the US, iHeartRadio is still #1 for podcasting according to Podtrac's publisher data for September. Numbers are slightly down, but that's misleading - September has 3% fewer days than August. It's an incomplete ranker, measuring participating publishers only.
September 22, 2022:
    Triton Digital published the New Zealand Podcast Ranker for August. The Mike Hosking Breakfast from iHeart NZ is the new #1 show; iHeartRadio is #1 for podcasts in the country. An incomplete ranker, Triton Digital does not measure RNZ or Spotify.
September 14, 2022:
    Spotify is the top podcast network in the US based on reach, according to new data from Edison Research. The data measures total listeners to shows from each podcast publisher for the 12 months ending June 30 2022. Spotify's numbers include Spotify Originals, as well as shows from The Ringer, Gimlet, Parcast and others. iHeartRadio remains in third place, behind SXM Media.
September 13, 2022:
August 24, 2022:
August 5, 2022:
August 4, 2022:
July 22, 2022:
July 19, 2022:
July 14, 2022:
    From the makers of the hit podcast Root of Evil, Facing Evil is launched today by Tenderfoot TV and iHeartRadio. Hosted by Rasha Pecoraro and Yvette Gentile, it's a new, weekly true-crime show that focuses on different, but equally resonant stories, and will apply the lessons of healing they've learned in their quest to overcome generational trauma in order to focus on the victims and individuals at the heart of the cases.
June 22, 2022:
June 17, 2022:
    "A corrupt cabal of football executives turned the beautiful game into an international con job", according to Lords of Soccer, which is a new podcast from iHeartRadio and Inside Voices Media. The podcast looks at how corruption, racism, sexism, and greed have tainted global soccer and the World Cup for decades.
June 15, 2022:
June 8, 2022:
May 23, 2022:
May 19, 2022:
    Triton Digital has released the NZ Podcast Ranker for April 2022. iHeartRadio is #1 for podcasts in the country, operated by NZME, but the ranker doesn't measure public broadcaster RNZ.
May 12, 2022:
May 9, 2022:
April 15, 2022:
    Autism’s First Child is a new original podcast from iHeartRadio, tracing the history of autism; and interviewing Donald Triplett, the first person to have been diagnosed. He's now 88 years old. The podcast is hosted by Caren Zucker and John Donvan, who have also written a book and made a documentary about autism.
April 14, 2022:
    New from iHeartRadio, Sympathy Pains is a chilling new true crime podcast hosted by Laura Beil -- acclaimed medical journalist and host of the chart-topping podcast, Dr. Death. It's the true story of Sarah Delashmit, a scam artist who convinced everyone that she was amazingly ill. The story even involved Dr Phil.
April 12, 2022:

Thank you to mowPod for becoming our latest gold supporter. mowPod are a podcast audience growth agency, working with companies like iHeartRadio, The Gist and the Oprah Winfrey Network to grow their audience with real, engaged listeners. You should be a supporter of Podnews too.

April 11, 2022:
April 6, 2022:
March 31, 2022:
    Only a week after The Ambies, The Webbys have decided to launch their own podcast awards. It'll be called The Signal Awards, and set to take place in January 2023. This is the normal date for the iHeartPodcast Awards, and we'd note that Anna Hossnieh, Executive Producer at iHeartRadio is one of the judges. :hmm:
March 21, 2022:
    Who are they? Webster didn't spell those out in his post, but here's the data, released last month. The four biggest, now reaching 50% of all weekly podcast listeners, are SXM Media, Spotify, iHeartRadio and NPR.
March 17, 2022:
March 14, 2022:
    Podcast startup Kaleidoscope has raised $3.5m in funding, the founders have told Axios in a paywalled article. The company has signed a six-show deal with iHeartRadio; it was created by Oz Woloshyn, an author and podcaster, and Mangesh Hattikudur, a former SVP at iHeartRadio and co-host of Part-Time Genius.
March 7, 2022:
March 3, 2022:
March 2, 2022:
February 28, 2022:
February 24, 2022:
February 17, 2022:
February 8, 2022:
February 7, 2022:
February 4, 2022:
January 21, 2022:
    Sports Illustrated Weekly is new from iHeartRadio and Sports Illustrated. It's hosted by John Gonzalez, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, and former podcast host at The Ringer. - read more
January 5, 2022:
    Podtrac published their Dec 2021 top US publishers list. iHeartRadio is still #1 for podcasting, with more than one-and-a-half times the US audience of the #2, NPR. Total global downloads were up 19% year-on-year. The Daily remained #1 podcast; Jordan Harbinger made a new entry at #20. Podtrac measures participating publishers only.
December 21, 2021:
December 14, 2021:
    Podtrac has published its list of "top new shows for 2021", ranked by average downloads per episode for shows that were published for the first time in the last twelve months. Wondery and iHeartRadio both have nine shows in the top 25; The Apology Line was the most successful new release. Podtrac measures participating publishers only.
December 10, 2021:
    At iHeartRadio, podcast producers, editors, researchers, writers and hosts are unionising with the Writers Guild of America, East. The iHeart Podcast Union was launched yesterday; the website contains many concerns about working conditions. Saying that they "have been encouraged to embrace the dynamism of start-up culture without any of the associated benefits", the union says "iHeartMedia's overall compensation and benefits standards are wholly insufficient when compared to the greater podcast and scripted audio market". The union has support from around 70% of employees, we're told. The union hopes that iHeart will voluntarily recognise it; it's the latest unionising activity in the podcast space after Gimlet, Parcast, The Ringer, and others.
December 7, 2021:
    Podtrac has published their top podcast publishers for November. Total global downloads for the top 20 podcasters were flat, the company says, both month-over-month and year-over-year. iHeartRadio is still #1 for podcasts; it measures participating publishers only.
December 6, 2021:
    After dismal audience figures, the all-podcast radio format has been dropped by iHeartRadio from its two AM stations KABQ Albuquerque (in favour of Christmas music), and WSAN in Bethlehem PA (in favour of oldies). A radio executive described these stations to Podnews as "poorly executed and confusing" when they launched; iHeart-owned Inside Radio reports that both stations only managed a 0.1% market share. "iHeartPodcast 95.9" WEBG, an FM station, is still airing non-stop podcasts: that station, licenced to serve Mina NY (population 1,016) is audible in parts of Erie PA (pop 94,831).
December 3, 2021:
November 17, 2021:
    Hosted by Philadelphia journalist and author Mike Sielski, I Am Kobe features intimate, never-before-heard tapes of professional basketball player Kobe Bryant as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Some tapes are from when Kobe was a senior in high school. It launched yesterday from Diversion Podcasts and iHeartRadio. - read more
November 16, 2021:
November 4, 2021:
October 21, 2021:
    Now we know what Audacy spent $40m on - the company has bought WideOrbit's digital audio streaming technology, and will rebrand it AmperWave. Audacy's announcement just mentions digital audio streaming (for live radio); but WideOrbit's announcement mentions podcasting, too: the company does some hosting for clients. Audacy currently uses Omny Studio, a company now owned by competitor iHeartRadio.
October 20, 2021:
October 14, 2021:
October 12, 2021:
    The data also reveals that most independent podcast apps are shrinking in users and downloads; that iHeartRadio's app grew the most last year; and a significant difference in the behaviour of users on Spotify vs Apple.
October 6, 2021:
    iHeartRadio is still #1 for podcasts, according to Podtrac's Top US Podcast Publishers for September. iHeart added 29m global downloads last month; but also added 30 new shows. (Podtrac contains participating publishers only).
September 21, 2021:
    River Cafe Table 4 is new from iHeartRadio - from the famous River Cafe in London, a podcast about how food impacts every aspect of our lives, with guests and recipes. It launches today; and gets a focus by The New York Times.
September 10, 2021:
September 8, 2021:
    Podtrac reports that iHeartRadio is still #1 for podcasting, according to their US podcast publishers list for August. The average US monthly audience was up 15% from July - a figure affected by Apple Podcasts's download bug - but down 2% year-on-year. Podtrac measures participating publishers only.
September 3, 2021:
    I Hear Things, the weekly podcast from Tom Webster, focuses on iHeartRadio's Sunday Night Podcasts, and whether podcasts on the radio is something that works.
August 25, 2021:
August 9, 2021:
August 6, 2021:
August 2, 2021:
July 29, 2021:
    First look: Podcast producer Jam Street Media has been acquired by Amaze Media Labs, in a deal announced today. No terms were given. Amaze Media Labs owns a number of podcast networks; Jam Street Media is run by Matty Staudt, a member of the start-up team at Stitcher and iHeartRadio's first VP of Podcast Programming.
July 23, 2021:
    iHeartRadio is #1 for podcasts, according to the Media Monitors Podcast Listener Survey for the second half of June. Joe Rogan and The Daily are #1 and #2 shows; comedy is the #1 genre. The research is based on recall; Media Monitors is owned by iHeartMedia.
July 8, 2021:
July 2, 2021:
    iHeartRadio has launched NextUp, an initiative "that takes underrepresented diverse creators and gives them a chance to learn all about the world of podcasting from one of the largest global podcasting networks". Submissions open on Monday.
June 21, 2021:
June 18, 2021:
    Stitcher Media is the new #1 podcast publisher in the US, according to the latest Triton Digital US Podcast Report for the four weeks ending May 30. The company, owned by SiriusXM, beat NPR for both average weekly downloads and listeners. NPR News Now is still the #1 podcast, though. It's the first to be compiled to v2.1 of the IAB Podcast Technical Guidelines: the result is a reduction in average weekly users by around 5% for the top 5 publishers. The ranker measures participating publishers only; iHeartRadio owns Triton Digital, but it is not included in the ranker.
May 24, 2021:
May 21, 2021:
April 20, 2021:
April 7, 2021:
April 6, 2021:
    Money Rehab is a new call-in-style daily financial podcast from Nicole Lapin and iHeartRadio. It aims to demystify money topics for everyday people.
April 5, 2021:
    Good Assassins: Hunting the Butcher is new from iHeartRadio and Diversion Podcasts: a weekly true-crime podcast hunting down an escaped Nazi murderer. It launched last Friday.
March 23, 2021:
March 19, 2021:
    Triton Digital released their new US Podcast Report for February. The #1 publisher is NPR; but Triton Digital, which is owned by iHeartRadio, does not measure iHeartRadio, the #1 publisher according to Podtrac. (Incomplete: participating publishers only)
March 18, 2021:
    Minnie Questions is new from iHeartRadio. Minnie Driver, an actor and songwriter, will be asking the same seven questions to every guest.
March 12, 2021:
    Meanwhile, iHeartRadio's Inside Radio reports data from Edison Research's Share of Ear study (Q4 2020). That claims that podcast listening accounts for 6% of all audio consumption; radio (AM/FM and SiriusXM) takes almost eight times that (47%). There's plenty more space to grow.
February 24, 2021:
    Triton Digital has released the latest Podcast Rankers for the US and LATAM. These rankers are incomplete and contain participating publishers only; notably these rankers do not include iHeartRadio's podcasts. Triton Digital is being bought by iHeartRadio.
February 10, 2021:
February 3, 2021:
January 29, 2021:
    Math & Magic from iHeartRadio boss Bob Pittman has Gary Vaynerchuck as a guest this week.
January 28, 2021:
    Triton Digital has released its latest US Podcast Report, covering December 2020. Total downloads for the top 10 publishers slumped by almost 10% during the holiday month; NPR remains at #1. An incomplete ranker, it measures participating publishers only (and notably, not iHeartRadio).
January 26, 2021:
January 18, 2021:
January 7, 2021:
December 21, 2020:
December 18, 2020:
    Triton Digital has released the latest US Podcast Report. The data covers most of November; the top 5 remains unchanged, with NPR at #1. The total downloads from the top ten publishers dropped by more than 5%, in a period that included the US Presidential Election and Thanksgiving. An incomplete ranker, it measures participating publishers only - notably, not iHeartRadio.
December 14, 2020:
December 9, 2020:
December 8, 2020:
December 3, 2020:
December 1, 2020:
    About a Girl is new from Double Elvis Productions and iHeartRadio: the stories of twelve women who inspired and supported some of the most celebrated and enduring music of the modern age, from Angie Bowie and Jane Asher, to Rita Marley and Pam Courson.
November 6, 2020:
October 28, 2020:
October 26, 2020:
    iHeartMedia is to acquire Voxnest. Voxnest will provide dynamic ad serving for iHeartRadio's podcasts and analytics. Voxnest also owns Spreaker, the 6th largest podcast host with 61,000 shows, and BlogTalkRadio, with a further 8,300. Terms weren't disclosed.
October 16, 2020:
    VICE News Reports has launched. From VICE News and iHeartRadio, episode 1 focuses on the NBA/WNBA bubble; episode 2 looks at the pandemic in India, and the rise of alternative medicine as cures.
October 9, 2020:
    Tenderfoot TV and Double Elvis, with Entercom's Cadence13, are working on Dead and Gone, a show that looks at fans of the Grateful Dead - known as Dead Heads - who have unexpectedly ended up literally dead heads. Is their demise a surprise? (Jake Brennan and Double Elvis have previously been working with iHeartRadio).
October 7, 2020:
    Is it that time of the month already? Podtrac have published their US Top Podcasts list for September; The Daily is still #1. In their US Top Podcast Publishers, NPR also remains the US #1 for audience; iHeartRadio, the #2, is measuring 44 new shows and remains the global #1 for downloads. An incomplete ranker, it measures participating publishers only.
October 6, 2020:
September 23, 2020:
September 21, 2020:
September 17, 2020:
    CNN and iHeartRadio have launched Election 101, a new co-produced podcast that demystifies the American political system. (As a Brit looking in from afar - good luck with that.) It's hosted by CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes, distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network and hosted on Megaphone; last month, a shortform podcast CNN Political Briefing was launched using Omny Studio.
September 4, 2020:
September 3, 2020:
    Owen Grover, formerly of Pocket Casts and iHeartRadio, appears as a guest on Kinsider. Discover what he's doing now; and what he thinks of Joe Budden, indie podcasters, Apple, media, and more.
September 1, 2020:
August 18, 2020:
    If that 240m downloads number includes all podcast listening for the BBC (it's a little unclear if BBC Sounds's podcast plays are included), that would mean an equivalent of 80m downloads per month, and would place it behind iHeartRadio, NPR and the New York Times in the Podtrac rankings. The BBC blocks Google Podcasts.
August 12, 2020:
August 7, 2020:
    iHeartMedia, the owner of iHeartRadio, says that its podcast revenue grew 103% year-on-year in Q2 - total digital revenue was $93m. Unique podcast listeners grew by 30% year-on-year; downloads grew by 62%. Revenue for the quarter across the company, however, was down by 46.6%: we can blame the pandemic for that.
August 5, 2020:
    The biggest radio advertiser in the US last week was the podcast Forgotten: Women of Juárez, with 71,630 spots - beating the second-biggest advertiser, insurance company Progressive, which had 53,260 spots. The podcast is owned by iHeartRadio, as are the radio stations the ads aired on, the website that reported on the story, and the monitoring company that released the data.
August 4, 2020:
July 8, 2020:
July 6, 2020:
    Podtrac has released its top US podcast publishers ranker for June 2020. NPR regains the #1 slot, followed by iHeartRadio and the New York Times. The ranker includes participating publishers only.
June 23, 2020:
June 11, 2020:
    Waiting on Reparations is new from iHeartRadio: it explores the intersection of public policy and hip-hop music, what hip-hop culture can tell us about our political reality and how this genre has shaped our political future. The first edition, available now, focused on the murder of George Floyd by an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department and how Floyd’s death has highlighted systemic racism and oppression in the US.
June 9, 2020:
    Jam Street Media, an LA-based production and consulting firm, has launched a podcast network. It was founded by Matty Staudt, former vice president of podcast programming at iHeartRadio and director of content at Stitcher.
June 5, 2020:
    Podtrac has also released their US publisher report for May. iHeartRadio, absent from the Triton Digital report, is at #1; NPR is at #2. Their service, too, only measures participating publishers.
May 18, 2020:
    The BBC had 230m podcast downloads in Q1 2020, it says, excluding its own UK-only BBC Sounds app, which claimed a further 123m plays of on-demand radio and podcasts. That roughly translates to 117m downloads per month, making the British broadcaster bigger than the New York Times, but smaller than NPR or iHeartRadio. The number of podcast downloads in Q1 2020 was flat based on last quarter. The BBC is still blocking Google Podcasts.
May 11, 2020:
May 8, 2020:
    Podtrac have revealed their top publishers ranking for April 2020. Surprisingly, NPR falls to second place in terms of US audience: they're beaten by iHeartRadio, who have also added 18 new shows. The service only measures participating publishers.
April 23, 2020:
    iHeartRadio is getting into audio fiction in the US, with the release this week of Light House, a ten-part scripted horror/thriller.
April 17, 2020:
    News O'Clock is a new daily podcast from Buzzfeed News and iHeartRadio; "a 20-minute news digest debuting every weeknight that breaks down the day’s headlines from the worlds of politics, culture, and entertainment", it launches Monday.
March 20, 2020:
    The Women is focusing on women on the front lines of the coronavirus. This week, Dr Antoinette Ward, leading testing for COVID-19 at a major hospital in Atlanta GA, on why she sings Stevie Wonder to her patients and the strain to her family. (iHeartRadio)
March 11, 2020:
March 10, 2020:
    Triton Digital have released new rankers for the four weeks ending Feb 16: their new LATAM ranker; and their Australian Podcast Ranker, which was delayed after a typo. The Aussie ranker has a new #1: Stuff You Should Know from iHeartRadio, which is sold in Australia by ARN. From The Newsroom is the highest Aussie podcast in the list, debuting at #2 even though it launched a week into the data period.
March 6, 2020:
    It's kind of a big deal: The Ron Burgundy Podcast is back for a third season. The press release bravely uses the word "shenanigans"; and also promotes a live taping of the show in San Diego on Mar 17. (iHeartRadio)
February 28, 2020:
February 13, 2020:
February 11, 2020:
    Citizen Critic features Scott Janovitz and Greg Conley discussing "beloved slices of pop culture", like the 1989 Batman film. It's also new this week. (Double Elvis Productions / iHeartRadio / Megaphone)
February 5, 2020:
    All's Fair with Laura Wasser is new from iHeartRadio - launching Feb 11. Wasser, who has been podcasting for two years, is a celebrity family law attorney and founder of an online divorce platform, and she'll be joined in the first episode by Kim Kardashian West. The podcast is a expanded rebrand of Divorce Sucks!, widening its focus to cover all kinds of human nature.
January 31, 2020:
January 29, 2020:
    A surprising amount of musicians died at the age of 27. Jake Brennan's new music-meets-true-crime podcast, 27 Club, tells their story, starting with Jimi Hendrix. (iHeartRadio / Jake Brennan)
January 20, 2020:
January 1, 2020:
    A British radio professional has listened to iHeartRadio's Podcast Channel, and shared his thoughts, describing it as "poorly executed" and "without any sense of love, careful crafting or curation."
December 30, 2019:
    iHeartRadio have launched a third all-podcast radio station. Listeners in Erie PA will find the iHeartRadio Podcast Channel on WLTM, 95.9 FM. It joins Allentown-Bethlehem PA's WSAN 1470 AM, and Albuquerque NM, KABQ 1350 AM. It's the first podcast station to make it to FM in the US, reports iHeartRadio-owned Inside Radio.
December 6, 2019:
    The Munk Debates, a Canadian debating event, has launched its own podcast. The first season started a few weeks ago, and runs weekly until June 2020, including speakers like Steve Bannon, Stephen Fry, Tony Blair and Christopher Hitchens. (Antica Productions / iHeartRadio / Omny Studio)
December 4, 2019:
    Podtrac have published a "top 20 new podcasts of 2019" list (which like all Podtrac lists are US-centric and opt-in). Wondery has eight titles in the top 20; iHeartRadio has five.
November 13, 2019:
    The nominees for the iHeartMedia Podcast Awards 2020 are out. "In addition, the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards will present three Icon Awards to pay tribute to the creators, organizations and podcasts that have made groundbreaking contributions to podcasting’s expanding role in today’s popular culture."
November 6, 2019:
November 1, 2019:
    The Second Oil Age, written and created by host Robert Lamb, follows Synøve Pan, voiced by Angèle Masters, a specially-conditioned agent of the UDEX Oil Corporation as she investigates the disappearance of an oil executive on the deep-sea Atlas Station. The first three episodes were released yesterday. (iHeartRadio)
October 25, 2019:
    Bob Pittman, iHeartRadio's CEO, has been interviewed on CNBC, a US business news network. In the interview, he said that podcasting is "an extension to radio", adding that the company is encouraging everyone to get into podcasting because "we're the leader, we've got the big library and the big shows".
October 11, 2019:
October 8, 2019:
October 2, 2019:
    iHeartRadio's Bob Pittman made a strong statement at the recent NAB RadioShow: "podcasting is radio's birthright". Fred Jacobs, the brains behind the Broadcasters meet Podcasters session at Podcast Movement, urges us to take a deep breath before reacting in a blog post.
October 1, 2019:
    iHeartRadio have announced the return of the iHeart Podcast Awards. They'll take place on January 17th in Los Angeles CA, USA. The official website says "this year's nominees and your opportunity to vote are coming soon" - we look forward to the "podcast industry news short form" category.
September 30, 2019:
    Bell Media and Stingray, two large Canadian media companies, have partnered to launch Audio360, a multi-platform audio sales solution for advertisers. It will include sales of podcasts on the iHeartRadio Canada app.
September 26, 2019:
    Amazon has announced new podcast integration for their Alexa smart speaker service. US users will now be able to ask for podcasts on Spotify - "Hey Alexa, play My Favorite Murder on Spotify" - as well as adding a preferred podcast setting so that you can pick your default podcast provider. If you listen to content through Spotify, SiriusXM or iHeartRadio, Alexa will sync progress between individual speakers, too. (Here's how to set up Spotify on Alexa).
September 20, 2019:
    InsideRadio reports on the positive effect that joining iHeartRadio had on Disgraceland in terms of downloads. (For noting: InsideRadio is owned by iHeartMedia).
September 18, 2019:
September 12, 2019:
    Podtrac have released their Top 10 Podcast Publishers data for August. The data is opt-in. NPR remains the #1 global podcaster, while iHeartRadio has achieved the #1 spot for US unique audience, with figures that increased 26% apparently due to the return of Ron Burgundy. The figure includes 258 active iHeart shows monitored by Podtrac.
September 2, 2019:
    iHeartRadio has overhauled how they display podcast show notes - and now has basic formatting and text hyperlinks. Look at this, or even better, this one. Good job, iHeartRadio!
August 22, 2019:
    iHeartMedia's earnings call was last week. Bob Pittman highlighted iHeartRadio's promotional power, noting that "Disgraceland went from 100,000 downloads in the last month it was published on its former platform to two million" once it had moved to iHeart.
August 20, 2019:
    Podtrac have released their top 20 podcasts list for July. iHeartRadio's Stuff You Should Know has dropped to #3, being overtaken by This American Life at 2. The Daily still remains at #1. The data is opt-in and US-only.
August 19, 2019:
    Hitman is a new true crime podcast from iHeartRadio, following the real story of Lawrence Horn — an engineer at Motown records who was behind some of Motown’s greatest hits by the Supremes and the Jackson 5 — and the peculiar circumstances surrounding the murder of his ex-wife, son and friend. (iHeartRadio / Megaphone)
August 9, 2019:
August 8, 2019:
August 5, 2019:
July 26, 2019:
    Season two of iHeartRadio's Hell and Gone delves into the mysterious death of Janie Ward, a 16-year-old high school student who died at a party in 1989 in Marshall AK, USA. (iHeartRadio / School of Humans / Megaphone)
July 12, 2019:
    iHeartRadio has launched their first travel podcast. It's called Everywhere, and is hosted by Daniel Scheffler, a New York Times and Conde Nast published travel writer. (iHeartRadio / Megaphone)
July 10, 2019:
    Noble Blood is new from iHeartRadio - a "podcast that discusses the salacious, secret and tragic stories of monarchs like you’ve never heard them before." (Megaphone)
July 2, 2019:
    iHeartRadio have launched their own podcasts top 100 - consisting of podcasts carried on the iHeartRadio platform. The company says it now lists 250,000 different shows, and describes this chart as "most listened-to"; it goes back to mid-April. The current top 3: #1 The Ron Burgundy Podcast; #2 The Bobby Bones Show; #3 The Joe Rogan Experience. RAIN compares it with Podtrac.
July 1, 2019:
May 30, 2019:
    Podcast host Spreaker has launched a new tool - one-click distribution, making it easier to get a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts and Castbox.
May 22, 2019:
    The new (still opaque) methodology from Podtrac has been applied to their (opt-in, self-selecting) April 2019 statistics. The effect appears to be a drop of around 20% for streams/downloads for the top 3 publishers, which remain #1 NPR, #2 iHeartRadio, #3 PRX.
May 21, 2019:
May 2, 2019:
April 1, 2019:
    iHeartRadio President Darren Davis, speaking at Radiodays Europe, said that the iHeartRadio app, which includes podcasts, has been downloaded 2.1bn times, and has 127m registered users. "Be everywhere the consumers are, with the services and the products they expect." is their strategy; Davis said that podcasting was a new audience development tool for talk radio, reaching younger audiences.
March 20, 2019:
March 19, 2019:
March 14, 2019:
    The iHeart Podcast Channel on AM 1470 in Allentown-Bethlehem PA, USA, is the first station owned by iHeartRadio that will just air "the most creative stories from over 25,000 podcasts available on our free iHeartRadio app", according to iHeart-owned InsideRadio, which also reproduces a program schedule. The station, WSAN, had a 0.3 share (12+) with its previous format of spanish-language sport from ESPN; it covers 728,100 people.
March 13, 2019:
    Podtrac have published their stats for February 2019. February included the much-hyped Ron Burgundy podcast, which released its trail on Feb 1 and launched on Feb 8; yet iHeartRadio's figures in total were virtually flat, at 5.28m downloads a day (rather than 5.22m the previous month). iHeart remains the global leader for downloads, while NPR remains the US #1 based on unique audience. (As ever: Podtrac only measures some US-based publishers and their methodology is proprietary and opaque. Here's more on podcast stats.)
March 6, 2019:
    Podtrac have restored total global download numbers to their industry rankings. They reveal that iHeartRadio is #1 global podcaster with 162,159,000 downloads in January, beating NPR's 157m downloads. NPR remain #1 when judged on US unique users.
February 21, 2019:
February 14, 2019:
January 22, 2019:
    A somewhat downbeat review of the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards reminds us that podcast award shows are quite hard. Cole Raven also reviewed the show, and offers some advice. (We'd have reviewed it too, but the coverage wasn't available to foreigners).
January 21, 2019:
January 9, 2019:
    CES #2: iHeartRadio will now be integrated into the Honda Dream Drive Platform, Roku devices, and Google’s Android TV and Android Auto, along with Bixby, Samsung’s voice-powered digital assistant.". The platform is only available in a few countries, including the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
December 6, 2018:
November 19, 2018:
    RAIN does some interesting maths on the latest Podtrac stats, showing data per show. An interesting way to look at the data.
November 16, 2018:
    Podtrac, a podcast measurement company, have published October 2018's podcast publisher numbers. The numbers are ranked in terms of US monthly audience. iHeartRadio's acquisition of HowStuffWorks have propelled them up to #2: the company now claims 147m global downloads.
November 14, 2018:
    iHeartRadio's podcast awards already have a winner: NPR is to be honoured with the Podcast Pioneer Award. The largest podcast publisher in the world, NPR has been officially podcasting since August 2005. (And talking of podcasting history: no, Adam Curry wasn't first. Here's some alternative podcasting history from the RadioSurvivor website).
October 30, 2018:
    The iHeartRadio app is coming to Mexico, as part of a deal with radio group Grupo ACIR. The app includes podcasts (there's an add yours link in our big list of directories), as well as radio stations. iHeartRadio is also available in Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
October 29, 2018:
October 26, 2018:
    iHeartRadio's Podcasting Awards - Jeffrey Cranor, co-writer for Welcome to Night Vale, has views. As do many indie podcasters in Facebook groups.
October 23, 2018:
    iHeartRadio announces the "first podcast awards", says the Hollywood Reporter. "The podcast industry is getting its own awards show," says the story, "and will be the first live awards show for podcasting where listeners will decide on the winners." Nominees have been announced on the awards website, and listeners can vote now. (Numerous podcast award ceremonies have previously been held, many with listener-voted winners).
September 27, 2018:
    Aaron Mahnke's Unobscured podcast debuts October 3rd, and is being highlighted as a launch "from iHeartRadio and HowStuffWorks". The podcast focuses on the Salem witch trials.
September 20, 2018:
September 4, 2018:
    If you're on iHeartRadio, you can embed your podcast into any website you like (and no, you don't have to log in to listen). Here are their instructions.
August 14, 2018:

Thank you to iHeartRadio for your generous support.

August 9, 2018:
    iHeartRadio has reached over 120m registered users. "iHeartRadio now hosts more than 20,000 podcasts across 20 distinct topics, including 750 iHeartRadio Original shows."
May 9, 2018:
May 4, 2018:
    Pocket Casts, which is an iOS, Android and desktop podcast app, has been purchased by a combined public radio group of WNYC, NPR, WBEZ and This American Life. The team announced on their blog that they're all joining the new venture, and the ethos behind it will not change. Here's the full press release. Congratulations to Russell (who's a very nice man) and the rest of the team; of note: Owen Grover (ex iHeartRadio) will serve as CEO.
February 12, 2018:
January 9, 2018:
December 14, 2017:
    Jibo, a smart speaker with personality, announces a deal with iHeartRadio to get the radio company's content on their device.
December 6, 2017:
December 1, 2017:
    iHeartRadio Australia is celebrating one million registered users. Their app claims to include the "largest podcasting library in Australia". The press release also claims "iHeartRadio continues to experience impressive growth in usage and engagement across the platform and in just three months have seen a 350% increase in streaming hours from iHeartRadio’s integration into Google Home."
November 30, 2017:
    iHeartMedia launches an app on Comcast cable set-top boxes. Content includes live streaming radio stations, music channels, and podcasts. (Listening to audio on the TV accounts for 5% of all radio listening in the UK, so it's an interesting market. In other news, the iOS app has been updated to give access to podcasts while using Apple CarPlay.
November 29, 2017:
October 27, 2017:
September 11, 2017:
July 24, 2017:
    Jacobs Media interviews the Senior VP of Podcasting for US radio broadcaster iHeartRadio, Chris Peterson. "Better data will open the floodgates to new advertisers that have typically shied away from podcasts due to limited listener analytics."

Get a global view on podcasting and on-demand with our daily news briefing

Subscribe to our daily newsletter by email, free