In November, iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman called podcasts the company’s “growth engine.” As radio crosses the threshold to 2024, iHeart’s Digital Audio Group CEO Conal Byrne is previewing their digital audio plans for the year – and they hinge on AI.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Byrne said artificial intelligence is going to play a pivotal role in translating podcasts for international audiences, and iHeart aims to leverage AI for multilingual content dissemination. With tests on the horizon, Byrne says the technology should be more rollout-ready in the latter half of 2024, adding, “It’s not just meaningful for the creators to be able to access audiences in the language they want, but also to actually build businesses in those territories.”
Byrne predicts a surge in podcast advertising revenue, driven by national brands and more precise measurement techniques. Podcasting is on track to see ad revenues jump to approximately $4 billion by 2025. iHeart also plans to move faster on partnerships with Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries and Will Ferrell’s Big Money Players Network.
iHeartMedia, currently the largest podcast publisher, is also eyeing the growing Black and Hispanic listener demographics, leveraging networks like Charlamagne tha God’s Black Effect Podcast Network and Wilmer Valderrama’s My Cultura to cater to these booming audiences. Byrne concluded, “Podcasters can look beyond the amount of impressions they’re bringing to the table and start to package things a little bigger. We will be doing a lot more of that in 2024 for all of our creators.”
Pitchman would know all about “growth engines “. I mean look at how many profitable quarters he has turned in since he bought his job: 0.