iHeartMedia Declares NPR A Podcast Pioneer
• iHeartMedia announced that NPR will be honored with the first-ever iHeartRadio Podcast Pioneer Award at its inaugural iHeartRadio Podcast Awards Presented By Capital One® on January 18, 2019 at the iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles. The 90-minute live show will be hosted by Holly Frey, co-host of Stuff You Missed in History Class; Charlamagne Tha God, co-host of the syndicated The Breakfast Club and the Breakfast Club and Brilliant Idiots podcasts; and Bobby Bones, host of the Country-focused Bobbycast and creator of the Nashville Podcast Network. The event will also include a live-stream hosted by Mario Lopez.
iHeartMedia will recognize NPR as a driving, innovative force in the creation of the podcasting industry and will pay tribute to the renowned non-profit multimedia organization’s groundbreaking contributions to podcasting’s expanding role in today’s popular culture. NPR launched its first digital-only podcasting predecessor, All Songs Considered, in April 2000 and officially debuted NPR Podcasts in August 2005 with a full slate of 174 programs. Today, NPR remains a leading podcasting publisher with over 40 active podcasts that reach a unique monthly audience of 16,386,000 (per podtrac).
“When we decided to honor the biggest names in podcasting with our first awards show for podcasts, we knew we wanted to recognize NPR’s unparalleled impact on how millions of listeners consume audio content,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “We’re thrilled to be able to honor their trailblazing efforts with our first-ever iHeartRadio Podcast Pioneer Award in January.”
Anya Grundmann, SVP of Programming and Audience Development at NPR remarked, “We are honored to receive the Podcast Pioneer Award. Podcasts have been a major source of innovation for NPR. They have given our reporters the chance to flex their storytelling muscles, pursue creative ideas and longer stories, and play with form in ways not always possible on a daily show. They have also helped us connect with listeners in new ways and helped us evolve our sound.” Fans can vote for their favorite podcasts through January 6, 2019 online and via Twitter and Instagram. Visit iHeartPodcastAwards.com for a complete list of nominees and voting details.
