iHeartRadio’s Second Annual Major Live Podcast Awards Ceremony Will Return to the iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles on January 17, 2020
NEW YORK – September 30, 2019– In celebration of International Podcast Day, iHeartMedia, the No. 1 podcast publi
“The podcasting landscape has truly grown and is now reaching a mainstream audience,” said Anya Grundmann, Senior Vice President for Programming and Audience Development at NPR. “As a ‘Podcast Pioneer’ we are thrilled to see the range of terrific new programs out there and excited that iHeart has created such a powerful platform to showcase standout shows.” International Podcast Day celebrates the power of podcasts, which continues to see tremendous growth into mainstream audiences with millions of new listeners. Podcast listenership in the United States alone has grown exponentially with an estimated 17 million more monthly podcast listeners in 2019 than in 2018. Today podcasts reach 90 million active listeners in America, exceeding the listenership of both satellite radio and all major streaming music services. iHeartMedia, which reaches a quarter of billion monthly listeners in the U.S. with just its broadcast radio stations and on-air personalities alone, will celebrate the best in podcasts with existing fans, while also continuing to introduce millions of new listeners to this incredible medium every single day. “When we introduced the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards last year, we knew we wanted to celebrate the most talented podcast creators out there – the key reason that podcasting continues to grow exponentially,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “The response to last year’s awards was amazing. This is the one time of the year that all the most popular podcasters come together to celebrate the community of podcasting truly as colleagues, not competitors. The iHeartRadio Podcast Awards bring everyone into one room – the biggest hosts, producers and distributors – all committed to this amazing podcast medium and to seeing its incredible growth continue.” Podcast fans themselves will once again decide the winner of the “Podcast of the Year” award through online and social voting across Twitter and Instagram. Nominees will include podcasts from all creators, distributors and platforms, and a panel of blue-ribbon podcast industry leaders, creatives and visionaries will determine the winner across remaining categories including entertainment, comedy, crime, news, sports, food, LGBTQ+, business and more. In addition, this year’s awards will include three Icon Awards — The Innovator Award, The Social Impact Award and The Pioneer Award. Select category winners will be announced during the live show and stream filled with unique celebrations at the iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles. More details will be shared soon. The 2020 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards is part of iHeartMedia’s roster of incredibly successful, nationally-recognized events, including the iHeartRadio Music Awards, the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the nationwide iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Concert Tour, iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, iHeartCountry Festival, iHeartRadio ALTer Ego and iHeartRadio Wango Tango. For more information visit iHeartPodcastAwards.com.
