PodMov Daily: Wednesday, October 16

Episode 66: Your Midweek Update

From the Mic, On the Field: Women in Sports Podcasting

An article from Kristen Kidd of Discover the Best Podcasts calls attention to a “bold new frontier opening up for female storytellers in the American sports media universe.”

In mid-September The Athletic launched The Lead, “a highly polished Wondery studio production with original music and national sponsors.” The daily sports news podcast is co-hosted by writer Kavitha Davidson.

Now, ESPN senior writer Mina Kimes will continue her existing weekly podcast while kicking off “a new Monday through Friday morning podcast called ESPN Daily, starting October 21.” Kidd asks,

“Could this format be the way women’s sports finally gain regular coverage and the chance to build larger audiences?

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Cork is a Wrap: Festival Highlights in True Crime and Comedy

Eoghan O’Sullivan of The Irish Examiner covers several performances from the just-wrapped Cork Podcast Festival. From September 11 to 13, the inaugural event took place at venues around the city, including the sold-out Cork Opera House.

Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde, creators of the true crime series West Cork, performed a “riveting and compelling” continuation of where the podcast left off. As O’Sullivan describes, “the duo stand stage left reading from a script, interspersed with sound clips, while a cellist adds atmospherics.”

Comedy performances included a “rollicking mid-afternoon slapdown” from the Ask Audrey team and a “rip-roaring affair” from The Alison Spittle Show. The crowd enjoyed “hilarious quips and one-liners” from Spittle’s guest, food writer Lilly Higgins.

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Will Ferrell and iHeart Launching the “Big Money Players Network”

Inside Radio reports that Will Ferrell will be partnering with iHeartMedia to launch the Big Money Players Network, a “new podcast company focused on comedy shows.”

The actor and comedian will be an executive producer of new programs, “a variety of podcast formats and styles, both scripted and unscripted.” Ferrell’s podcast The Ron Burgundy Show has been a massive hit for iHeartMedia. The company’s president, Conal Byrne, spoke in detail about the network’s close relationship with Ferrell at the 2019 Radio Show.

Byrne praised the comedian’s innate understanding of the podcasting landscape — this fresh network isn’t a huge surprise. New shows will be released at an impressive pace: Big Money is “set to launch 10 podcasts over the next 24 months.”

#Podtober Ponder: Your Dream ~or Nightmare~ Podcast Guest

Happy Wednesday, readers. The middle of the week during the middle of Podtober calls for a fun ‘n spooky proposition. Members of the PM team will reveal a few answers on Friday

Happy Day 15 of #Podtober! Who would you resurrect to interview on your #podcast? #podcasts #podcaster #podcasting #podcasters #spookyscarypodcasts #Halloween pic.twitter.com/nlhyW9DMtX

— Podbean (@podbeancom) October 15, 2019

Cheers,
Team PM

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Here's what else is going on:

• Storied future: Audio tech company Voxnest has announced a deal between its podcasting platform, Spreaker, and the digital book distributor StreetLib. The partnership aims to “allow book publishers to create podcasts and podcasters to create and distribute digital books and audiobooks.”

• Testing positive: The biology podcast RadioBio has been created by graduate students at the University of California, Merced since 2016. The show highlights research, making it “more accessible and relatable,” and was recently picked up by the National Science Foundation’s Science 360 Radio.

• Five stars: Two members of the Resonate Recordings team wrote detailed recaps of their experiences at the recent She Podcasts LIVE conference. Resonate sponsored the event which they described as “tremendous,” with an “overwhelming feeling of community and empowerment.”

• From the top: Leading Wondery executives Jen Sargent and Marshall Lewy spoke to Business Insider about the production company’s “creative process, from generating ideas […] to final edits.” Among key takeaways: ‘Podcasting can’t just be a side hustle if you want your show to be a hit.’