iHeart podcast division (not) for sale?

Sponsored by Gamut Podcast Network. When did your network last call you? Big networks sell their top shows and forget the rest. At Gamut, every show gets a real sales plan. Visit our website or email [email protected] iHeart is "exploring the sale of part - or potentially all - of its podcast business", says Bloomberg in a paid article. It cites apparent discussions with an investment bank. iHeart has "no plan to sell our podcasting business", says iHeart in response. Given it's a successful part of the company - reporting $174mn in revenue for the past quarter, up 24.6% year-on-year - some have expressed surprise that iHeart would want to sell. The CEO, Bob Pittman, said in this week's earnings call that iHeart plans to split out its podcast business from its Digital Audio Group, to report them as stand-alone segments to help investors understand its value. That isn't the sound of a man looking to sell; though one industry observer cryptically said to us: "but, where there's smoke..." iHeart's share price rallied slightly on the news - and perhaps that was the plan; our sister publication Podcast Business Journal reports that iHeart's shares have lost two-thirds of their value this week. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that iHeart was in merger talks with SiriusXM. Goalhanger's thriller fiction podcast Bear Hunt is to get a second season, as the show hits 1 million downloads. Billed as a “British Bourne”, Bear Hunt follows a fictional British mission to assassinate the President of Russia, with a story spanning Westminster, Washington and deep behind enemy lines. "I left podcast production because of video. Now I have a video podcast" writes former employee of The Ringer, Bobby Wagner, looking back at his start in podcasting, and how the industry developed. He began working for The Ringer in 2018; he noted with excitement at the time that "I thought it was a borderline miracle that we occupied a corner of the internet that was interesting enough for there to be whole newsletters dedicated to it." Hey! 👋 > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter. Classifieds - your job or ad here Rise25 builds podcasts designed to generate deals — We design your show to turn guests and listeners into warm introductions and signed clients, backed by 30+ years of combined production and business-development experience. Book a free strategy call. Audiencelift = More YouTube Views + Watch Time — Audiencelift.com helps your videos reach more viewers and generate valuable watch time, not just empty clicks. Turn great content into measurable channel growth. Learn more. Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, The $100 MBA, Podbean, The Podglomerate, Cloud10, Simplecast, The Content Creator's Accountant, audioBoom, Podscribe, Libsyn, Sounds Profitable, RedCircle, Magid, Audiohook, Cohost, PodProtect - podcast identity pr, PAVE Studios, Scicomm Media, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, Acast, We Edit Podcasts, Podpage websites Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Nomono, Magellan AI, Blubrry, Castbox, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Ausha, POW PR, Podcast Movement, Locked On Podcast Network, Tink Media, PodAnalyst, iono.fm, Hypecast, Frequency, Voxtopica, Jonekiri, Podium , Red Seat Ventures, The Podcast Haven, Truefans, Compliance Podcast Network, SoundStack, Companion Arts, Podium, Health Podcast Library, Lemonada Media, Double Elvis Productions, Jam Street Media, Transistor, Diversion Podcasts, Rhapsody Voices, Rephonic, CreatorX, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Headliner, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Lower Street, Adopter Media, Revolver Podcasts, Signal Hill Insights Our supporters pay for Podnews, so everyone can read it. Join them today. Image: Rick Kern/Getty Images for iHeartPodcasts