Entertainment studio Imperative Entertainment has hired producer Jason Hoch to lead its newly formed podcast division, Variety has learned.
The new division will create and produce podcasts based on both original ideas and third-party IP, in addition to exploring opportunities within the company’s existing slate of feature and TV projects.
Hoch has over 20 years of experience with both major media companies and tech start-ups. Most recently, he served as head of new initiatives and EP at HowStuffWorks, one of the largest commercial podcast producers in the world. In this role, Hoch launched three hit podcast in 2018: Atlanta Monster, its follow-up, Monster: The Zodiac Killer; and Broken Harts, in collaboration with Glamour Magazine. Previously Hoch worked as the SVP of Digital Operations at WWE.
“As the podcast industry continues to explode, the audience is hungry for amazing, intimate stories to personally connect with,” Hoch said. “Imperative’s slate of feature and TV projects offers an incredible array of character-driven stories that are both deeply human and emotionally raw. I’m excited to work with the Imperative team to build a podcast slate of the same caliber and provide a platform to entertain and connect with fans across multiple forms of media.”
Imperative Entertainment is coming off the recent success of Clint Eastwood’s “The Mule,” which recently crossed $100 million milestone at the domestic box office.