Age of The Nerd
Podcast industry leader Stitcher today unveiled its expanding roster of new shows, original content and advertising partnerships at the Winter Podcast Upfront in Los Angeles.
Hosted by Stitcher and six other top podcast networks, the Winter Podcast Upfront gave advertisers, agencies and media a first look at the newest partnerships, talent and shows slated for 2019, with presentations featuring stars, producers and leading industry executives.
Actor and comedian Paul Scheer joined Stitcher Chief Revenue Officer Korri Kolesa to unveil Stitcher’s slate of new programming. Scheer launched his movie critique podcast “Unspooled” on Stitcher’s Earwolf comedy podcast network last year and is the host of Earwolf’s long-running hit show “How Did This Get Made?”
Also joining Stitcher onstage were writers, actors and New York Times best-selling authors Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn. On March 13, the pair will debut “Just Between Us,” based on their hit odd-couple comedy YouTube series of the same name, as a Stitcher Original series.
Sean Rameswaram, host of “Today, Explained,” unveiled Vox Media’s expanded partnership with Stitcher to launch a new technology news podcast from Recode, Vox Media’s technology and business news network. This week also marks the one-year anniversary of “Today, Explained,” Vox’s popular daily news podcast produced in partnership with Stitcher. In its first year, the show published more than 250 episodes and topped the list of the most downloaded new podcasts of 2018.
“Stitcher continues to lead the way in all parts of the podcast ecosystem, from listening and discovery to partnering with top talent on some of the world’s most popular podcasts and helping brands reach engaged audiences,” said Kolesa. “We are thrilled to welcome these new shows to our roster as we continue to make Stitcher the best place in the world for podcasting.”
Stitcher unveiled several new additions to its Stitcher Originals and Earwolf networks, presented by Jenny Radelet Mast, executive producer of original content at Stitcher, and Colin Anderson, executive producer of Stitcher’s Earwolf network:
- “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” launched as a runaway hit last November, featuring guests including Kristen Bell, Will Ferrell and Stephen Colbert. Team Coco will again partner with Earwolf to launch a behind-the-scenes show, “Inside Conan: An Important Hollywood Podcast,” on March 1.
- Bill Nye takes listener calls on “Science Rules!” And with a little help from his co-host Corey Powell, field experts and special celebrity guests, he’ll answer the curliest science questions. “Science Rules!” launches on the Stitcher Originals network in May.
- On “Lost at the Smithsonian,” actor, comedian and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” star Aasif Mandvi goes on an extraordinary journey behind the scenes of the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The show launches on the Stitcher Originals network in June.
- “Jensen and Holes: Murder Squad” joins the Exactly Right network April 1. It’s a new spin on true crime, with Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator, and investigative journalist Billy Jensen teaming up to solve crimes. “My Favorite Murder” hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark partnered with Stitcher to launch the true crime and comedy podcast network last fall.
Stitcher’s presentation also highlighted previously announced and new seasons of some of the most popular shows on its networks:
- Following the success of “Wolverine: The Long Night,” Stitcher is again partnering with Marvel to produce season two of the scripted podcast, “Wolverine: The Lost Trail.” New episodes debut exclusively on Stitcher Premium March 25 and will be available for free on Stitcher and all podcast-listening platforms July 8.
- On season three of “Bad With Money,” which comes to the Stitcher Originals network from Panoply, TV writer, actor and New York Times best-selling author Gaby Dunn brings a queer, feminist, unabashedly radical point of view to conversations with celebrities, journalists, politicians, authors and activists.
- After a successful launch on Stitcher Premium, “Purple Panties” will be available on all podcast-listening platforms April 17. In this 10-part series, New York Times best-selling erotic fiction writer Zane follows the love and sex lives of three women in Atlanta.
- “LeVar Burton Reads” returns to the Stitcher Originals network with a new season on March 26, featuring the beloved actor reading stories from an exciting lineup of writers. More details to be announced soon.
- “Voyage to the Stars,” an improvised narrative podcast that launched on Earwolf Feb. 12, follows the misadventures of a group of misfits that accidentally found themselves on the wrong side of a wormhole. Their mission: try not to blow up the galaxy in their attempts to return home. On the voyage are the wholly unqualified Captain Tucker Lentz (Colton Dunn), scatterbrained scientist Elsa Rankfort (Felicia Day), apathetic technician Stew Merkel (Steve Berg) and the misanthropic A.I. Sorry (Janet Varney).
Stitcher is a producer of original podcast content, advertising rep for some of the world’s most popular podcasts through its advertising arm, Midroll, and a leading podcast-listening app. It has launched popular series including “Wolverine: The Long Night,” “Phil in the Blanks,” “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Gossip,” “LeVar Burton Reads” and more.
