St. Paul, MN-based media company Hubbard Radio has taken a 30% ownership stake in PodcastOne, the podcasting network best known for its celebrity-driven shows. From a press release sent out earlier today:
The agreement maintains PodcastOne and parent company Courtside Entertainment Group’s independent control of all operations, as the network continues to expand its collection of more than 200 top-rated programs, delivering more than 400 million monthly impressions for advertisers. The network features many of America’s most popular podcasts, including Adam Carolla, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Austin, Dan Patrick, Chris Jericho, Penn Jillette, Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Shawn and Larry King, Laura Ingraham, Dr. Drew, TheCHIVE, the newly launched Mark Schlereth podcast, plus WNYC’s Radiolab, Freakonomics and many more.
Hubbard Broadcasting operates a variety of media outlets, including radio/TV stations, a satellite TV network called ReelzChannel, and the F&F Productions company. It seems natural that a company this established in traditional media would want to get a piece of the growing new media market. PodcastOne has proven its ability to create shows with big names that generate large audiences.
The press release is peppered with the usual corporate-speak of “synergies” and “brand development.” Could this mean some of PodcastOne’s shows will also be heard on terrestrial radio or other outlets controlled by Hubbard? It’s too early on in this partnership to know for sure. But this news, along with last week’s announcement of Scipps buying Midroll proves that legacy media companies are starting to take podcasting seriously.