For the second time, Blue Wire has made a deal with a newspaper company. The podcasting giant will take over ad sales for five shows from the Miami Herald and one from the Kansas City Star. McClatchy, the owner of both papers, gets an experienced digital audio company distributing and selling their podcasts. Blue Wire CEO Kevin Jones says the partnership adds more established journalists to its roster.
“We love that our content is a mix of fans and journalists,” Jones told Awful Announcing. “We have three beat reporters—Chris Biderman from The Sacramento Bee, Nicole Yang from The Boston Globe and Sarah Todd from The Deseret News on the network. Then lots of our best podcasts are from fans of the Lakers, Yankees, Warriors, Arsenal. We think a blended approach to our voices gives us a breadth that’s different than our competition like The Athletic or The Ringer. The Miami Herald and The Kansas City Star add to our journalistic credibility.”
Blue Wire has a similar partnership with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That paper’s podcasts have been part of the company’s offerings since 2020. Jones says that Blue Wire has improved the products and the Review-Journal has provided more valuable inventory. He describes it as “a solid relationship.”
The deal with McClatchy is a landmark for Blue Wire in Jones’s eyes. He told Awful Announcing that it proves the company is a destination where established podcasts can reach new heights, not just a place to launch new shows.
As a collection, Blue Wire podcasts deliver 10 million monthly downloads on average. Jones hopes those numbers and deals like the one the company just closed with McClatchy open the publishing industry’s eyes to the possibilities.
“This is an open PSA to other newspaper sports sections. We can make more money for your podcasts than you currently can. We can provide cross-promotions in other markets. Let’s talk.”
