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The two competitors have launched a joint podcast platform called Podfront to enter the UK, which has a library of over 300 podcasts produced by the two companies, including “Dirty John,” “Dr. Death” and “Oprah’s Super Soul Sundays.” They plan to hire eight people in London.
Podfront will be led by podcast veteran Ruth Fitzsimons, who comes to Podfront UK from London-based Audioboom, where she was senior vice president of international operations and content partnerships, overseeing the growth of Audioboom’s U.K., Indian and Australian operations. In her new role as managing director of Podfront, Fitzsimons will build a sales, content and marketing team tasked with growing the Stitcher and Wondery networks by monetizing existing listening in the U.K., bringing U.K.-based brands to the U.S. market and expanding to European countries where there is demand.
“Our shows are resonating with audiences in the U.K., with two of them reaching No.1 on Apple Podcasts so far in 2019,” said Hernan Lopez, founder and CEO of Wondery. “Now we’ll be in a position to directly engage with brand advertisers in the U.K.”
“Stitcher has been at the forefront of podcast creation and monetization for over a decade in the U.S., and we have the breadth and depth of listener-provided data and resources to help brands and advertisers in the U.K. tap into this growing audience,” said Erik Diehn, CEO of Stitcher. “By partnering with Wondery in this endeavor, we bring together our networks and combined expertise to continue this momentum within the European market.”