Meet The Podcasters: Will Pearson, iHeartPodcasts

Meet The Podcasters is a special 9-week series created in partnership with Point to Point Marketing. Our fourth feature is on President of iHeartPodcasts, Will Pearson. Follow along with the series, and revisit former conversations by checking out the entire category. 

Will Pearson joined iHeartMedia in 2018 when the company acquired Stuff Media. At Stuff Media, he served on the leadership team responsible for growing the podcast division, secured an investment from the Raine Group and led the integration of the division into iHeartMedia. Prior to joining HowStuffWorks, Pearson was the Co-Founder and President of Mental Floss, a media company he launched in 2001 where he oversaw the launch of Mental Floss Magazine, the publication of several bestselling books, the creation of a children’s education series and the growth of a digital audience of more than 20 million regular readers and viewers. 

In this edition of our ‘Meet The Podcasters’ series, we explore Pearson’s priorities with the top global podcast publisher, what he considers successful metrics, and what he looks for when adding new shows and properties to the iHeartMedia podcast umbrella. 

Will Pearson spoke with Barrett Media from the iHeartMedia offices in Richmond, Virgina. 

*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.* 

John Mamola: Provide a 30,000 foot explanation of the iHeartPodcast wing as it relates to iHeartMedia in general. 

Will Pearson:  One of my favorite parts about the job here at iHeart, is the fact that we’re one of the few podcast companies that gets to think about every single category under the sun.  

We’re responsible for creating, distributing, marketing, monetizing about 900 national podcasts. Then a couple thousand podcasts that are created out of all of our local market stations. Those run the gamut from true crime, health and wellness, sports, food, travel, and comedy across the board. 

Our job is to help get those out into the world. To get as many listeners to them as possible, and in some case, eyeballs as possible. Then to effectively monetize those, so we’re the part of the company that’s responsible for the distribution, marketing and monetization of all of those podcasts. 

John Mamola: The latest PodTrac numbers came out for February, with over 164 million downloads and nearly 33 million of a monthly audience. iHeartPodcast is a dominant beast. In your role as president of iHeartPodcast, what defines successful for you and what’s successful for the company in the podcast space? Also, how do you make iHeartPodcast product listens more unique than any other place where you can get a podcast? 

Will Pearson: The huge advantage that iHeartPodcast has, and of course people know how big iHeart is on the radio side, but they often don’t realize the role that it plays in the growth of our podcast business. The reason we are, by far, the largest podcast network out there is because we’re able to lean into this massive megaphone that is the radio stations.  

Every day, if you’re listening to any one of our radio stations around the country, you’re going to hear ads for promotions for various podcasts that are out there. That’s the way we get the word out in an even bigger way.  

The other thing we’re able to do because of the scale of our existing podcast network is to find the right audiences. If I’m talking to a great history podcast, I’m able to say to them you should come on board here because we’ve got these other nine or ten amazing history podcasts. People flock to what they like, so if they’re already a self-proclaimed history lover or self-identified history lover, they’re likely to check out another history podcast.  

That’s what we tend to do, is bring on shows that we know we have the right audiences for. Thankfully we have big podcasts across just about every category, so we’re able to help get the word out about them.  

I do think it’s worth noting you could look at a network like this and say, oh my gosh there’s 900 podcasts. How do you even keep up with that? The reality is that the way we organize is similar to 20 to 25 networks or slates of shows that are almost all like their own small podcast network.  

You’ve got a comedy team in Burbank; you have a true crime team in Atlanta. We’ve got our partnership with Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin industries or Bloomberg in the world of business. Each one of these functions as their own small unit, but being able to tap into the resources of a much larger organization.  

When we’re doing it right and functioning at our best, that’s how we organize. Ssall groups that get to tap into this tremendous resource. 

John Mamola: You’re heading into your sixth or seventh year with the company. Is that the main piece of the evolution from when you first started with iHeartPodcasts? Are those added assets how you can continually build the platform? 

Will Pearson: That’s what we’ve tried to do over the past several years. When we when we first started here, after the acquisition of StuffMedia, we looked at the percentage of downloads or listens that were driven by our top five or so podcasts. That ratio was a little heavier toward those top five podcasts, much heavier than we wanted it to be.  

We recognized we needed to find growth across all categories in podcasting. We’ve got shows ranking in all nineteen categories in Podtrac. That was really the goal. To make sure that not only are you spreading out the risk, but you’re also just building these networks across the board building a healthier, more sustainable Podcast Network. We’re not relying on any one, two or three shows that are part of it. 

John Mamola: What’s a typical day for you? You have so many different brands spread across the country. It’s a big brand with the umbrella being with iHeartMedia. What’s like a normal day for you? 

Will Pearson: Working with any part of our management team on anything that they’re trying to build, or any problems they’re trying to solve. It can run across any of the three main areas of what we’re trying to do. That includes the content development, the marketing of what we’re doing, and that’s the selling of what we’re doing.  

Last week, I started the week out in Austin where we had our iHeartPodcast Awards. That’s really more on the marketing wing of what we’re doing. Getting the word out about podcasts, talking to others to just make sure people know what we’re doing. I ended up a couple days later in Richmond with a with some of our sellers on a sales pitch, so that’s the sales part. Then I’ll spend much of today with some of our team on the development of a few shows that we have. One in sports, one in health, and a couple other categories to just help us think about what we want to be creating six months from now.  

No one day is exactly the same as the next, which is part of what keeps it interesting and fun. I think about it across those three different categories. Truly, none of this is possible without the leadership over each of those pieces that I mentioned. 

If you don’t have a great head of our comedy team, or a great head of our health and wellness team; it’s really hard to build a successful slate of shows. A lot of it is also just making sure we’re building and fostering those relationships with our management teams. 

John Mamola: You referenced SXSW in Austin, TX. 

Will Pearson: We just went a lot bigger this year. For the past four years, we take over this incredible boutique hotel there called the Hotel Saint Cecilla and we do programming all weekend.  

Because we moved our iHeartPodcast Awards to ACL Live where they record Austin City Limits, it just gave us a much bigger splash there this year in terms of the visibility and the buzz created there at SXSW. It’s amazing to see how much podcasting has grown, and its presence there at SXSW over the past few years. 

John Mamola: I can imagine that’s a key partnership for you. When you think of partnerships to continually expand, what are the ones that pique your curiosity the most as President of IHeartPodcasts? 

Will Pearson: We really lean into our partnerships with some of the best podcast networks out there. 

We’re the official partner for Pushkin industries, that’s Malcolm Gladwell company for the NFL. When we want to be able to talk about our sports podcasts, having that relationship and official partnership with the NFL is a huge one. I mentioned Bloomberg earlier on the business side.  

What we’re trying to do is partner with those that we see as the best in their respective categories. In comedy that’s Will Ferrell, where we created Big Money Players. We know that we’re not going to create the best comedy network out there without great partners in the space that are already doing such an amazing job at it within their respective categories. Those would be a few that really just help us make sure that we’re expanding in the right categories. 

John Mamola: The one major benefit that working for iHeartMedia has, and you mentioned this already, is the traditional radio platform where you can promote all of those podcasts in all of those individual markets. 

It’s no secret traditional radio business is having some troubles. iHeartMedia has had to make a number of cuts over time, as is Audacy more recently along with Cumulus. 

How important is the continued growth of the traditional radio medium, because it is a huge megaphone for the podcast wing and for the success and promotion. So for you as the president of iHeartPodcasts, how important is the viability of the traditional radio brands with the company? 

Will Pearson: It’s hugely important. A really important fact is that broadcast radio still does reach about 90% of Americans. A lot of times at the conversation of the evolution of media, it (radio) gets lumped in with what’s happened in broadcast TV which has just seen huge declines over the past decade. 

In radio, the reality is it’s actually still reaching about 90% of Americans. Of course, industries evolve and you look for ways to operate more efficiently and effectively. For us, that is the reason that our podcast division is able to reach so many people.  

We find the best way to get somebody to listen to a new podcast is by reaching them in another form of audio, either through podcast or through broadcast radio. It’s a massive part of our success story. 

John Mamola: We have a lot of talent across the country that work for iHeartMedia stations that read Barrett Media. I, myself, worked for iHeartMedia as a program director.  

One of the things that that we always had a challenge with on the local market level was trying to get the talent more excited and interested in doing something outside of just their typical show. This sort of thing plays into the iHeartPodcast wing with all the on-demand channels lumped into the podcast wing with iHeartPodcast. 

Because of the recent cuts, some talents have been asked to do a little bit more. However, they are still interested in finding a way a podcast idea outside of what they typically do. What piece of guidance that you would give those type of people that would be in those kinds of situations? 

Will Pearson: It’s been really interesting how the evolution of how podcasts are sold, and how they’re monetized has really created some opportunities for a lot of our talent coming out of the markets. 

A few years ago, if you started a podcast out of Des Moines, and you were trying to build up an audience around it. The sales part of that really only depended on your local sales force to be able to monetize it. These days, because we are able to take to market audience targeting in podcasting and in digital, it is so much easier to target specific audiences than it used to be. 

Now that creator in Des Moines is able to put out a podcast and not just rely on the local sellers there to sell it, but it can actually be bought. Let’s say you started a hunting and fishing podcast, and people who are trying to reach that audience across the country are able to buy those audiences as part of a much bigger package that we’re selling.  

We’re able to monetize those local podcasts in a way that we weren’t as effectively years ago. The other piece of it is we’re really leaning into those creators now in a way that we didn’t previously say three to four years ago.  

Let’s go back to that example of a hunting and fishing podcast. 

When we’ve got executive team members, and podcast producers that are all sitting in offices in New York or Los Angeles. At the same time, we’re missing the content creation there that might be better created out of those local markets. That example that I gave. We’ve got creators that are in Birmingham, Nashville, and in other locations that are now jumping in and trying to jump into categories where we previously haven’t had as much strength.  

We may have the best creators right here to make those. We’re really leaning into those teams in a way that that we weren’t in previous years. I think creators across the country should be looking of how they can fill those gaps, and how they can jump in and create something that creators in other parts of the country may not be suited to do. 

We’re seeing that happening more in a way that we previously were. 

John Mamola: Video is becoming the player, if it’s not the player already in the podcast space. iHeartMedia is traditionally an audio company. Explain the thought process, or the transition that you’re aiming for to be more of a visual product, as opposed to just an audio company when it comes to the podcasting. 

Will Pearson: I love it that it’s happening. I think unfortunately, a lot of times, you see these headlines that are positioning this as audio versus video. There’s no question we are an audio company at our core, and probably 85% of our podcasts are only meant for audio. 

When you think about a show like Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, a video version of that is a documentary. It’s now just its own thing.  

However, for the shows that are very personality driven, especially celebrity driven, our goal is to be wherever the fans are. If there are fans that want to see this instead of just listening to it, we are creating those versions for those specific shows.  

I think some of the nuance is lost when you just see the headline saying ‘podcasting is moving toward video’ instead of understanding that this is a sign. The podcast consumption has grown so much that there are now multiple ways to be able to access this content from these creators.  

For some creators, it’s primarily social. For some, it’s now video, but in all cases, audio should be at the core of that. I actually really love seeing what’s happening right now. We have more shows that are creating video for new audiences, incremental audiences that might not have already been in the podcast space. 

John Mamola: Talking with a number of industry leaders of the past couple of weeks, there is some concern that the podcasting space is becoming too crowded for its own good. 

From your perspective, is there a ceiling on how far the podcast space can grow for its own good? 

Will Pearson: One, if there is a ceiling, I don’t think we’re anywhere near it. It’s definitely a competitive space, and there’s a lot of shows in this space.  

Recalling the earlier part of the conversation, the percentage of downloads and revenue driven by those top five to ten podcasts is less today than it was three or four years ago. Part of this is back to the advantage that we have, being able to grow across so many different categories. It’s very much an effort of ours to just keep growing in so many different categories.  

I would much rather have the twenty-five shows each doing two million downloads a month, and not be reliant on one show that’s driving fifty million downloads a month. We can offer advertisers variation of audiences and content, and give so many different partners what they’re looking for across the board. 

For me, it’s not a huge concern. It is a more crowded space, certainly, than it was a few years ago. It makes it harder to get an individual show to cut through, but that’s where we really lean into that megaphone that we have to get the word out about a show. 

John Mamola: What’s the one thing you know now about the podcast space, about growth in the podcast space that you wish you knew five years ago? 

Will Pearson: Consistency of publishing in this space, and consistency of marketing is so critical to the growth of podcasts. 

You rarely have a show that you can just count on for explosive growth at the very beginning, and then it maintains. That fostering of that relationship with ongoing shows that are publishing every single week. Building that audience a little bit each time as opposed to yards and miles at a time is really critical. 

Our healthiest and most sustainable shows are the ones that have been willing to jump in and do the grind day in, and day out. They continue to build as opposed to those right out of the gate and explosive growth type shows. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when a show takes off from the beginning. 

That’s a that’s a key part of it, not that we didn’t know that. Just that consistency, in many ways, is such a huge part of building a sustainable show over time. 

To learn more about Point-To-Point Marketing’s Podcast and Broadcast Audience Development Marketing strategies, contact Tim Bronsil at tim@ptpmarketing.com or 513-702-5072.