Cumulus Media announced Wednesday that the Bleav Network, a sports and entertainment production company with a specialty in producing original, localized content, will be joining the Cumulus Podcast Network.
As part of the agreement, the Cumulus Podcast Network will now be responsible for marketing, monetizing and distributing over 300 shows produced by the Bleav Network, expanding its vast audio repertoire.
“Bleav is thrilled to announce our partnership with Cumulus/Westwood One: an industry-leading, audio-first media company,” Bleav President Eric Weinberger said in a statement. “We are eager to embark on this journey together as we continue to empower our creators and remain on the cutting edge of athlete-driven content.”
Bleav was founded by Bron Heussenstamm in 2018 and covers, “Every team, every topic, everywhere.” Its programming is distributed across various audio platforms – including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music – and also has two free, ad-supported television channels (FAST), with one of them being exclusively focused on football. The partnership makes Bleav the first podcast network to feature a player from every professional and major college sports team, giving fans unparalleled insight and expertise into their favorite teams.
“Bleav has created a broad and deep well of programming for sports fans with content from virtually every professional and major college team in America,” said Suzanne Grimes, EVP Marketing at Cumulus Media and President of Westwood One. “Listeners and advertisers alike turn to Westwood One for the very best sports programming, so it’s a natural fit for us to partner with Bleav and offer our advertisers access to this extensive podcast portfolio.”
Westwood One is the largest audio network in the United States, with Cumulus Media distributing programming in sports, entertainment, news and talk to over 9,400 affiliate stations around the country. The company itself owns and operates 405 radio stations across 85 markets, along with the Cumulus Podcast Network, featuring sports programming including The Jim Rome Podcast, The Rich Eisen Show and To Be The Man featuring Ric Flair.
Bleav has over 500 shows of its own producing over 1,000 hours of original audiovisual content each month. Over 800 hosts appear across the network with 175 professional athletes, connecting fans to their favorite teams while keeping them simultaneously informed and entertained. The network has previously announced partnerships with Gow Media, SiriusXM, Auddia and TuneIn to help expand the reach and distribution of its content.
