Variety magazine and iHeartMedia have announced a joint venture to co-produce PLAYBACK, a film-focused podcast hosted by Variety Awards Editor Kris Tapley, and relaunch the weekly podcast on iHeartRadio. New PLAYBACK episodes will release every Thursday featuring exclusive in-depth interviews with the talents behind many of today’s hottest movies. As part of the collaboration, Variety and iHeartMedia will co-produce a 40-episode season which kicks off Wednesday, March 1. Tapley has covered the film industry and entertainment awards landscape since 2001.
“Aligning ourselves with the premiere media and entertainment company with the largest audience reach across digital and radio provides a tremendous opportunity for Variety,” said Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, Variety’s Group Publisher and CRO. “It is exciting for us to bring our esteemed journalists like Kris Tapley to iHeartMedia’s mass consumer audience.”
“We are excited to partner with Variety to bring this top film-focused podcast to the masses just in time for the Oscars,” said Adrienne Pabst, Senior Vice President of Connections for iHeartMedia. “iHeartMedia delivers more hours of live programming than any other media company. Our listeners rely on and trust us for the latest information from news and sports to music, entertainment and gossip, making us the perfect platform to relaunch PLAYBACK’s engaging content to millions of listeners, many who are discovering podcasting for the first time.”
