Annual Event Celebrating the Best in Podcasting Will Video Stream On iHeartRadio’s YouTube and Facebook Pages and Broadcast Across iHeartMedia Stations Nationwide and on the iHeartRadio App
Podcast of the Year Nominees Include “Bunga Bunga,” “Dolly Parton’s America,” “Nice White Parents,” “Office Ladies,” “Reply All,” “Stuff You Should Know,” “The Breakfast Club,” “The Daily,” “The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos” and “Wind of Change”
The Virtual Ceremony Will Honor the Very Best in Podcasting in 30 Categories; Baratunde Thurston, Serial Productions’ Sarah Koenig and Julie Synder and QCODE Will Receive This Year’s Icon Awards
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- iHeartMedia, the No. 1 podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, today announced the return of the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards on Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 9 p.m. local time. Since nominees will be unable to attend the third annual iHeartRadio Podcast Awards in person given the limitations on live events during the pandemic, this year’s virtual event will be recorded from multiple locations, span 30 categories and honor the most entertaining and innovative podcasts of 2020, celebrating the incredible talent and wide variety of leaders across the booming podcasting industry. The virtual awards event will exclusively video stream on iHeartRadio’s YouTube and Facebook pages and broadcast across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio App.
Podcast fans themselves will once again decide the winner of the Podcast of the Year award by voting on Twitter through December 31, 2020. This year’s Podcast of the Year nominees include “Bunga Bunga,” “Dolly Parton’s America,” “Nice White Parents,” “Office Ladies,” “Reply All,” “Stuff You Should Know,” “The Breakfast Club,” “The Daily,” “The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos” and “Wind of Change.” Nominees in other categories include podcasts from all creators, distributors and platforms with a judging panel composed of blue-ribbon podcast industry leaders, creatives and visionaries who will determine the winners across categories including entertainment, comedy, crime, news, sports, food, business and more. More information can be found at iHeartPodcastAwards.com.
In addition, the 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards will present three Icon Awards to pay tribute to the creators, organizations and podcasts that have made groundbreaking contributions to podcasting’s expanding role in today’s popular culture. Baratunde Thurston will be honored with the 2021 Social Impact Award, Serial Productions’ Sarah Koenig and Julie Synder will receive the 2021 Audible Audio Pioneer Award and QCODE will be honored with the 2021 Innovator Award.
“We’re thrilled by the opportunity to recognize today’s most talented podcast creators for the third straight year at the 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “Today, Americans are consuming more podcasts than ever before, across an increasingly broad array of subjects including business, entertainment, education, news and more as a result of how COVID-19 has affected our daily lives. And although we all won’t be in the same room this year, we’ll still be able to celebrate the best of the best in the podcast medium.”
Last year’s winners at the second annual iHeartRadio Podcast Awards included “The Dropout” (ABC News) for Podcast of the Year; “Man in the Window” (L.A. Times/Wondery) for Best Crime Podcast; “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” (Team Coco/Earwolf)) for Best Comedy Podcast; “30 For 30” (ESPN) for Best Sports and Recreation Podcast; Nora McInerny (American Public Media) for Best Overall Host – Female and Aaron Mahnke (Lore) for Best Overall Host – Male, among many other categories and winners. In addition, the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards honored the New York Times' “1619” podcast with the Icon Social Impact Award, NPR's “Life Kit” with the Icon Innovator Award and Tenderfoot TV's Payne Lindsey and Donald Albright with the Icon Audible Audio Pioneer Award.
The event also featured appearances by award nominees, an array of celebrity presenters and other special guests including Will Ferrell, Conan O’Brien, Sebastian Maniscalco, Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon, Becca Tilley, Brooke Burke, Brooks Laich, Dean Unglert, Eric Winter and Roselyn Sanchez, Gavin DeGraw, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Meghan King Edmonds, Nick Viall, Stassi Schroeder, Teddi Mellencamp and Yeardley Smith as well as podcast nominees Aaron Mahnke, Holly Frey, Jake Brennan, Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, plus many more. In addition, the event also featured iHeartRadio top on-air personalities Tanya Rad, Ellen K, The Breakfast Club’s Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee and DJ Envy as well as Enrique Santos.
Podcast listenership in the United States alone has grown exponentially with listening now exceeding 50 percent of the population. iHeartMedia, which reaches a quarter of a billion monthly listeners in the U.S. with just its broadcast radio stations and on-air personalities alone, will celebrate the best in podcasts with existing fans, while also continuing to introduce millions of new listeners to this incredible medium every single day.
Category finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
Podcast of the Year: Socially Voted Category
Best Business & Finance Podcast:
Best ComedyPodcast:
Best Crime Podcast:
Best Pop Culture Podcast:
Best FoodPodcast:
Best Wellness & FitnessPodcast:
Best History Podcast:
Best Kids & FamilyPodcast:
Best MusicPodcast:
Best News Podcast:
Best Fiction Podcast:
Best SportsPodcast:
Best Science Podcast:
Best Technology Podcast:
Best Ad Read:
Best Overall Host – Male:
Best Overall Host – Female:
Best Political Podcast:
Best TV & Film Podcast:
Best Spanish Language Podcast:
Best Advice/Inspirational Podcast:
Best Beauty & Fashion Podcast:
Best Travel Podcast:
Best Spirituality & Religion Podcast:
Best Green Podcast:
Best Branded Podcast:
The 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards is part of iHeartMedia’s roster of incredibly successful, nationally-recognized events, including the iHeartRadio Music Awards, the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the nationwide iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Concert Tour, iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, iHeartCountry Festival, iHeartRadio ALTer Ego and iHeartRadio Wango Tango.
Select category winners will be announced during the virtual show and stream with more details to be shared soon. For more information visit iHeartPodcastAwards.com.
Executive producers for the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards are John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Conal Byrne for iHeartMedia and Deviants Media Studio founder Ivan Dudynsky and Buzz Chatman. Proud sponsors of this year’s event include Audible with more to be announced.
About iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia (NASDAQ: IHRT) is the number one audio company in the United States, reaching nine out of 10 Americans every month – and with its quarter of a billion monthly listeners, has a greater reach than any other media company in the U.S. The company’s leadership position in audio extends across multiple platforms, including more than 850 live broadcast stations in over 160 markets nationwide; through its iHeartRadio digital service available across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices; through its influencers; social; branded iconic live music events; other digital products and newsletters; and podcasts as the #1 commercial podcast publisher. iHeartMedia also leads the audio industry in analytics, targeting and attribution for its marketing partners with its SmartAudio product, using data from its massive consumer base. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
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iHeartMedia Angel AristoneAngelaristone@iHeartMedia.com 347-380-2271 iHeartMedia Jenn PowersJennPowers@iHeartMedia.com 718-909-4767
Source: iHeartMedia