iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell Partner to Launch New Podcast Company

iHeartMedia, the No. 1 commercial podcast publisher globally, and actor, comedian and producer Will Ferrell, today announced a partnership to launch "Big Money Players Network," a new podcast company focused on comedy shows. Listeners can expect the new shows to roll out in 2020.

The Big Money Players Network will recruit top comedic talent and curate a variety of formats and styles - both scripted and unscripted - within the podcast medium. The network is set to launch 10 podcasts over the next 24 months all produced by Ferrell and iHeartMedia that will be available on iHeartRadio and everywhere else podcasts are heard.

"Will Ferrell is one of the greatest comedians of our lifetime, and the unique synergy between Will and iHeartMedia will continue to lead us in accomplishing even more great audio content together," said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. "We've worked extremely close with Will over the past year and our listeners love what we've offered them so far. The creative opportunities that an iHeart and Will Ferrell collaboration offer are limitless, and we can't wait to introduce fresh, hilarious, new content to listeners."

"The iHeartPodcast Network has been such a pleasure to work with. I love hanging out in the offices and I've only been yelled at once for using someone's computer, which I shouldn't have done," said Will Ferrell. "Its creative, multiplatform assets and ability to market and reach millions of new podcast listeners is unprecedented. I'm looking forward to continuing our journey as creative partners and helping to define how comedy and podcasting will merge in the next couple years."

"As we were looking to expand Will's presence in the audio space, we needed a partner who fundamentally understood his brand of premium comedy, stated UTA Head of Emerging Platforms, Oren Rosenbaum. "iHeartMedia has proven to be just that-they have an innate understanding of the podcasting landscape and will help bring this partnership to the next level."

Up next, Ferrell is set to star in the comedy feature Eurovision and the drama Downhill. Additionally, he has recently produced a number of popular titles across film and television including Succession, Dead To Me, Hustlers, Booksmart and Vice, to name a few.

iHeartMedia has continued to invest heavily in podcasting, from acquiring HowStuffWorks in 2018 to producing an ongoing slate of new iHeartRadio Original shows like "The Ron Burgundy Podcast," "Disgraceland," "Chelsea Handler: Life will be the Death of Me," "Noble Blood" and "Committed," as well as fostering over a hundred shows from its on-air talent like the popular "Bobbycast" and "The Breakfast Club" radio show podcasts. These shows are distributed on all major podcast platforms, including the iHeartRadio app, which additionally distributes more than 250,000 shows.