As the radio industry continues to lose reception with Earth, iHeartMedia has agreed to acquire Stuff Media, the company that owns the massive HowStuffWorks podcasting empire.
The move comes a week after iHeart announced it was partnering with the how-to network to launch a new season of its hit podcast, Atlanta Monster, on its network of radio stations.
Early reports indicate the acquisition was ~$55m — but that figure is still unconfirmed.
Since filing for bankruptcy protection in March, iHeart has been hellbent on making itself a major podcast contender. So far, it’s been working pretty dang well.
According to Fast Company, podcast listening ballooned by 73% between 2017 and 2018 for the company, primarily from its “Podcast, Meet Broadcast” initiative that coupled the media conglomerate with the biggest podcast publishers (NPR, ESPN, Gimlet, etc.).
iHeart also hosts more than 750 iHeartRadio Original podcasts, including Anna Faris is Unqualified.
The learn-it-yourself platform was originally founded in 1998 and reportedly had a number of owners before going independent and raising a $15m Series A last year.
HowStuff’s podcasts receive more than 61m downloads and streams a month, with the company’s flagship series, Stuff You Should Know, on pace to surpass 500m downloads this year.