iHeartMedia is joining forces with a French multimedia group to curate a slate of its podcasts for a French audience.
iHeartMedia and the NRJ Group recently announced a strategic partnership in which the two will develop, translate, distribute and monetize iHeartRadio original podcast content for French listeners. The first translated podcasts will be available on the iHeartRadio app, in France on NRJ Group’s platforms and elsewhere in the last quarter of 2021.
As part of the partnership, NRJ Group will distribute certain iHeartRadio original English-language podcasts across its apps and websites and will lead the monetization efforts in France. NRJ Global will also leverage the supply-side platform Yield-Op from Triton Digital, a company recently acquired by iHeartMedia.
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The partnership illustrates that demand for podcasts has become a global one. “[It’s] beginning to grow meaningful fanbases around the world,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. The partnership allows NRJ to tap into iHeartMedia’s archives of existing programs for translation and allows both companies to co-produce new shows to better support the French podcast creator community, he said
The podcasts that will be translated include “Stuff You Should Know,” the first podcast to surpass one billion downloads, the company said. The podcast was launched in April 2008 and educates listeners on science, history, urban legends and other topics. Other shows to be translated include “Stuff You Missed in History Class,” “BrainStuff,” “Cabinet of Curiosities” and “Missing in Alaska” among others.
The partnership will also include new co-produced podcasts featuring French talent.
NRJ Group said it is pleased to be working with iHeart on a shared mission: making high-quality entertainment podcasts available to the widest audience. “This deal enables us to significantly enrich our offer to French listeners while clearly positioning NRJ Global as the top reference in France for the monetization of podcasts,” said Cécile Chambaudrie, NRJ global president and CEO of NRJ Group Digital Activities.
