Industry News

PodcastOne Renews with Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinsky

PodcastOne announces that it enters into a new agreement with podcast host and comic Adam Carolla to continue producing and representing his long-running “The Adam Carolla Podcast”  and “The Adam and Dr. Drew Show.” PodcastOne says, “Since 2009, ‘The Adam Carolla Podcast’ with its host Adam Carolla has entertained millions of listeners. Completely uncensored, Carolla welcomes a wide range of guests such as Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, Nicolas Cage, and Matt Damon in the studio for in-depth interviews and a front row seat to his unparalleled ranting. With an unsurpassed library of episodesim available, ‘The Adam Carolla Podcast’ has remained one of the most popular podcasts on the planet for well over a decade. Fans grew to love the pairing of Adam Carolla & Dr. Drew Pinsky that originated on the world famous KROQ radio and became a cultural touchstone and in 2012 they reunited the partnership for ‘The Adam and Dr. Drew Show.’ In each episode Adam and Dr. Drew take uncensored, nothing-off-limits, calls about sex, drugs, medical and relationship issues. Dr. Drew brings the medicine while Adam’s comedic rants are the spoonful of sugar to make it go down.” PodcastOne president and co-founder Kit Gray adds, “Adam Carolla’s contributions to the medium of digital audio entertainment are immeasurable.  From his devoted audience of listeners and advertisers, Adam has inspired legions of loyal fans who tune in daily to hear his comedic take on a wide array of topics. His camaraderie with Dr. Drew is the stuff of legends. This is a podcasting duo that will go down in history as one of the greatest partnerships. As we have grown as a network, so have Adam and Drew and we are thrilled to keep the momentum growing.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

PodcastOne is planning a studio launch party on Monday in Beverly Hills with special guests including its longtime star podcaster Adam Carolla.

Benztown is releasing the holiday imaging and programming library “Christmas in a Box” that comes free to stations with Benztown library subscriptions. It includes more than 5,000 tracks of audio Christmas cheer.

Industry News

PodcastOne to Grant Company Stock to Talent and Staff

PodcastOne announces that it plans to award to its active hosts and all current employees equity in the company through shares of its common stock. PodcastOne debuted on the Nasdaq on September 8 and the company says it plans to award nearly 100 individuals with various equity awards. PodcastOne president and co-founder Kit Gray comments, “PodcastOne has first and foremost always been a family. Making these equity awards allows PodcastOne to honor the hard work and commitment to growth ourim employees and staff have shown throughout the years no matter what stage of their career they are currently in. We are all partners in this business of podcasting, some for over a decade, and now through company equity, we’re truly all in this together.” Podcasting partners the company says are anticipated to receive equity in PodcastOne include longtime podcast hosts Adam Carolla, Jordan Harbinger, Kaitlyn Bristowe, T-Pain, Brooke Miccio and Danielle Caroland, and Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin & Jac Vanek. Additionally, new PodcastOne talent Brendan Schaub (“The Fighter and The Kid,” “The Schaub Show”), Natalie Buck and Sara Gretzky (“Causing a Scene”) and Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan of “I’ve Had It,” received equity awards as well. The planned equity awards will be made subject to obtaining applicable approvals and complying with applicable securities laws, which PodcastOne anticipates to receive shortly.

Industry News

PodcastOne to Host Adam Carolla Pay-Per-View Event

PodcastOne is producing a live, pay-per-view event starring its leading podcast talent Adam Carolla. The June 4 show titled, “Adam Carolla & Friends,” airs at 9:30 pm ET from the Belly Up Tavern outside of San Diego and features Carolla plus comics Brad Williams, Kimbles Hume and other special guests. PodcastOneim says that in 2020, “Carolla made history when he partnered with LiveOne and PodcastOne for a livestream event that garnered an impressive 1.1 million views.”  PodcastOne president Kit Gray comments, “We are excited that PodcastOne and LiveOne have partnered with Adam to produce and distribute Adam’s very first headlining pay-per-view event. Very few comedians are as entertaining in an intimate club environment as Adam. Each show he performs is unique and tailored and to be able to bring this to a worldwide audience exemplifies how we’re able to create opportunities for our podcast hosts outside of the traditional audio driven mediums.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

— PodcastOne announces that it has secured renewals for several tentpole programs that keep top performing and fan favorite podcasts with the network for the foreseeable future. The podcasts include: “The Adam Carolla Podcast,” “The Jordan Harbinger Show,” “LADYGANG,” “Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe,” and “Court Junkies.” PodcastOne president Kit Gray says, “The secret to our success as a network is the strength and longevity of our relationships with our partners in podcasting. In the exciting landscape of digital audio entertainment, being able to continue those relationships with six of our top performing and most beloved programs is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication.”

— SiriusXM announced a new show inspired by The Last Mile (TLM), a unique in-prison program that’s changing lives through technology-based education by preparing currently incarcerated students for careers upon their release. “The Last Mile Radio,” hosted by the program’s co-founder, Chris Redlitz, and formerly incarcerated musician and audio producer, Eric Abercrombie (known as Maserati-E), premieres on Saturday (3/4). Every week “The Last Mile Radio” will amplify the voices of influencers who are helping evolve the U.S. Justice System as we know it.

— iHeartMedia and the NBA unveil a new slate of team-specific shows coming to the iHeart/NBA Podcast Network. The lineup includes original podcasts from six NBA teams – the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs. iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group CEO Conal Byrne says, “We are proud to leverage iHeart’s unmatched scale, reach and digital platform to continue to deliver compelling NBA content to fans. Together with the NBA and its teams, we look forward to bringing even more one-of-a-kind stories and cultural experiences to fans across the country.”

Industry Views

Stars and Their Platforms

By Walter Sabo
Host/Producer, Sterling on Sunday
Media Consultant

Lucille Ball earned 50 shares with her classic TV series, “I Love Lucy.” Every year during her summer hiatus she would make a movie. Name a Lucille Ball movie.

Lucy was the all-time star of television but couldn’t open a movie. Each medium creates its own stars and rarely does a star transfer from one medium to another.

Some examples: “NYPD Blue” first season star David Caruso couldn’t wait to break out from TV and become a movie star. He recently retired from 10 years of work on the TV show “CSI Miami.” Exceptions? Maybe three: Michael J FoxWill SmithSteve McQueen.

The phenomenon of single medium stardom is true throughout all crafts. Great magazine writers struggle to turn in a publishable book. Book authors are challenged to condense their thoughts to 1,000 words. Megyn Kelly is a cable star but couldn’t cross the golden bridge to broadcast TV.

Every year a local TV weather person bugs the local talk station to fill-in on a talk show over a holiday. How does it go? Beware the fifth minute. After five minutes all of the passionate feelings the TV talent has about their pet topic have been expressed. With two hours and 55 minutes to go, the local weatherman is in trouble hosting an unscripted radio show. Where is the prompter? Where are the phone calls? But put a radio morning host on TV and the results are just as awful. The radio host looks fat because they have no idea how to dress for TV, they don’t understand the cue lights on the cameras and the prompter is confusing.

Which brings us to the relationship between radio and podcasting

One of the burdensome falsehoods of the moment is that radio talent should be churning out original content podcasts. It’s just audio right? Radio is good at talking! Podcasting has fostered its own stable of stars including Joe RoganAdam CarollaAnna Farris and Ben Shapiro (I know he’s a radio guy, but he’s a better podcaster). To a listener, the production styles of a podcast and live radio are strikingly similar, but you know that the production environments are completely different. Talent who intuitively understand on-demand audience preferences thrive hosting commercial-free podcasts. Radio talent excel within the disposable, often-interrupted flow of a live broadcast. Podcasts allow for thinking time, pausing, editing, correcting and fancy production beds. Live radio? You just better get to the next thing. The mindset of a podcast star versus a radio star must of necessity be appropriate to their unique performance stage.

Most radio managers have met with resistance when asking their talent to make original content podcasts. (Not air checks.) Radio talent is right to resist! Creating a very good radio show is demanding and often exhausting. After three or more hours on the air, no performer has the energy to hop into a production chair and attract a million downloads. Tragically mandatory podcast dictates leave little opportunity for talent to say, “I can’t do a podcast well. I’m a radio performer and isn’t that what you hired me for?” My goodness – such a radio talent would be labelled insubordinate, not a team player, and not part of the future!!!

To be productive and on-brand podcasts offered by a radio station should be hosted by podcast stars. The odds of a radio star creating a winning podcast are about the same as finding a Lucille Ball hit movie.

Walter Sabo is a long-time radio industry consultant and thought leader.  He hosts and produces a network radio show titled “Sterling on Sunday” 10:00 pm-1:00 am ET.  www.waltersterlingshow.com.   walter@sabomedia.com

Features

Salem Rises to Prominence in Conservative Media

By Kevin Casey
TALKERS magazine
VP/Executive Editor

 

IRVING, Tex. — The last few years have brought enormous change to the media landscape and one of the bright lights in the sea of change is what’s been happening at Salem Media Group. Officials at the company say its rise to prominence in the conservative media arena has been building for more than 10 years. In fact, in April 2019, The Hollywood Reporter published an article titled, “How Salem has Quietly Become a Giant in Conservative Media.” In the three-plus years since, the Irving, Texas-based company has continued that trajectory and in many eyes verifies the claims in that piece. When it comes to conservative media, it’s impossible not to see Salem’s giant footprint.  

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