iHeart, Ferrell Cut Kind Of A Big Deal
• iHeartMedia has teamed up with actor, comedian and producer Will Ferrell to launch Big Money Players Network, a new podcast company focused on comedy shows. The deal, which was brokered by UTA, marks a serious expansion of Ferrell’s existing relationship with iHeartMedia as the host of The Ron Burgundy Podcast, now in its second season.
The mission of Big Money Players Network is to recruit top comedic talent and produce a variety of podcasts in various formats and styles — both scripted and unscripted. The network plans to launch 10 podcasts over the next two years, all produced by Ferrell and iHeartMedia that will be available on iHeartRadio and everywhere else podcasts are heard.
“Will Ferrell is one of the greatest comedians of our lifetime, and the unique synergy between Will and iHeartMedia will continue to lead us in accomplishing even more great audio content together,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “We’ve worked extremely close with Will over the past year and our listeners love what we’ve offered them so far. The creative opportunities that an iHeart and Will Ferrell collaboration offer are limitless, and we can’t wait to introduce fresh, hilarious, new content to listeners.”
Ferrell commented, “The iHeartPodcast Network has been such a pleasure to work with. I love hanging out in the offices, and I’ve only been yelled at once for using someone’s computer, which I shouldn’t have done. Its creative, multiplatform assets and ability to market and reach millions of new podcast listeners is unprecedented. I’m looking forward to continuing our journey as creative partners and helping to define how comedy and podcasting will merge in the next couple years.”
Oren Rosenbaum, UTA’s Head of Emerging Platforms, remarked, “As we were looking to expand Will’s presence in the audio space, we needed a partner who fundamentally understood his brand of premium comedy, and iHeartMedia has proven to be just that — they have an innate understanding of the podcasting landscape and will help bring this partnership to… the next level™.”
