Celebrities, Statistics, And New Show Announcements At IAB Podcast Upfront

Celebrities, Statistics, And New Show Announcements At 2019 IAB Podcast Upfront

The 2019 IAB Podcast Upfront was a star-studded event that presented many new shows and encouraging statistics to marketers about consumers increasing appetite for podcasts while making one thing clear - “engagement matters now more than ever.” That was a quote from Wondery CEO Hernan Lopez in a speech at the top of the program that was a call to action for marketers to invest in advertising in podcasts as he highlighted that pronouncement with information about how audio ads are more effective than video or print ads. 

Wondery’s big announcement was that they will be working with NBC News on new narrative podcasts premiering in 2020 and that they will be co-marketing each other’s content.

When Ira Glass of This American Life speaks, people listen. “Life” along with “Serial” is number nine on the top publishers list in terms of unique monthly audience according to Podtrac with only two active programs while the only other network in the top ten with close to that small of a number of shows is The New York Times with 10. “I don’t think everyone’s gotten the memo that narrative matters,” Glass said as he announced his new currently unnamed show about white children in Brooklyn moving into a mostly non-white school while commenting on integration in America overall. “I know integration doesn’t sound like a sexy topic,” he added, “but in the hands of the team behind Serial it’s fascinating.” The new four-episode series premieres Q1 2020.

WarnerMedia Podcast Network shared the stage with Rooster Teeth’s podcast network The Roost to announce several new shows while Jason Baron, Senior Vice President of “WarnerMedia” told the audience why they should buy from them. “Through our parent company AT&T we have access to over 170 million customers,” he said while sharing detailed statistics about how the listening habits of consumers can help inform marketers about their buying decisions.

New shows announced from WarnerMedia:

• Down the Hill: The Delphi Murders - True Crime podcast from HLN about the 2017 murders of two young girls from Delphi Historic Trails in Delphi, Indiana.
• Ledlow & Parker - Turner Sports basketball commentators Candace Parker and Kristen Ledlow will co-host a new podcast to debut during the 2019-20 NBA season.
• The Plot Thickens - TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz hosts this new podcast that features conversations with film director Peter Bogdonovich known for films like “The Last Picture Show” and “Paper Moon” and will premiere in spring 2020.

Rooster Teeth is owned by WarnerMedia and helps them reach a younger more media savvy audience. Burnie Burns one of the Executive Producers of The Roost and Geoff Ramsey the Executive Creative Director announced three new shows of their own.

• Beneath - a scripted horror podcast that explores the hidden mysteries from the wreck of the Titanic.
• Good Morning from Hell - a scripted comedy podcast about working on a morning television show in Hell.
• Atlas - a near-future scripted political thriller about the world’s first start up nation.

AEW World Champion Chris Jericho appeared in a panel discussion for Westwood One representing his podcast Talk is Jericho where he has long form discussions with figures from the world of wrestling, film, music, and other entertainment fields.

Conan O’Brien appeared in a video to promote his Earwolf podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend and thanked the audience for paying off the mortgage on his beach house before signing off saying, “Let’s do a lot of business together.”

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey of The Office talked onstage about their new podcast Office Ladies that premiered this week about their memories of the hit television program one episode at a time.

Dan Pashman of The Sporkful hosted the afternoon session and announced his own new show called Pasta Project about his quest to create a new pasta shape that he hopes to have sold in stores.

iHeart Podcast Network announced Forgotten about the people buried in the famous tunnels of El Chapo. 

Jake Brennan of Disgraceland appeared on stage with iHeart to announce his new show The 27 Club about famous musicians who died at age 27. He was followed by Questlove of The Roots and head of the Tonight Show house band to promote The Questlove Podcast Network.

Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy appeared in a pre-taped video wearing clown makeup to promote the third season of The Ron Burgundy Podcast.

Shondaland Audio announced a partnership with iHeartMedia to produce over a dozen shows over the next three years. Shondaland head Shonda Rhimes is well known for being the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and appeared on video to the attendees.

Meredith Corp announced new podcasts for their print brands People, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle and Parents. InStyle Editor-in-Chief Laura Brown will host Ladies First, for and about women “who are consistently brave, kind and curious.” Julia Dennison, Executive Editor of Parents.com will host It Takes a Village and interview a diverse lineup of parents in America to look at the problems we all face while People Magazine will launch a new daily podcast.

The actress Annie Murphy of the television show Schitt’s Creek sat down for a conversation to promote the newly announced EW On Set: Schitt’s Creek.

For ESPN Matthew Berry, a famous sportswriter once known as the “Talented Mr. Roto” for his fantasy sports picks, was on hand to promote Fantasy Focus Football.