iHeartMedia is teaming with Pride Media, the media company whose brands include Out, The Advocate and Pride, to co-produce a slate of LGBTQ+ podcasts in 2019-20.
The partnership will kick off with “The Outcast,” an iHeartRadio original podcast co-produced with Out Magazine. Hosted by Out Magazine deputy editor Fran Tirado, the weekly podcast will explore queer and queer-adjacent topics pertaining to politics, pop culture, fashion, relationships, money and more, with each episode taking a deep dive into one theme or story. The first episode of the series will launch on July 18.
In addition, the iHeartPodcast Network later this month will launch Pride Media’s “Food 4 Thot,” a podcast hosted by four queer men (pictured above) — Fran Tirado, Tommy “Teebs” Pico, Dennis Norris II and Joe Osmundson — who discuss sex, relationships, race and identity.
Pride Media and iHeartMedia companies plan to co-produce more podcasts, to be announced later. The shows will be available on the iHeartRadio app and over 250 different podcast platforms.
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“A podcast by the world’s premiere queer media brand is long overdue, and I am more than honored to help it along the way,” Tirado said in a statement. “Podcasting and audio storytelling, particularly in the LGBTQ+ space, needs more voices in it. I can’t wait to help elevate and uplift those voices.”
Pride Media is pacting with iHeartMedia to tap into its “massive scale,” according to interim CEO Orlando Reece. “We’ve seen the power of podcasting firsthand, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with the leading podcast platform to create shows that we know our audience will love,” Reece said.
iHeartRadio features more than 250,000 podcasts, including more than 750 original shows. It’s the second biggest podcast publisher, with a unique U.S. audience of 19.1 million for June 2019, behind NPR at 20.4 million, per measurement firm Podtrac. The company’s No. 1 podcast currently is “Stuff You Should Know,” hosted by HowStuffWorks’ Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant; iHeartMedia acquired HowStuffWorks last year for $55 million.
“At iHeartMedia, our goal is to connect exceptional content with diverse audiences,” said Conal Byrne, president of iHeartMedia Podcast Network. “Pride Media has been an authentic voice for the LGBTQ+ community for years, and this partnership would not be possible without their unique expertise.”