Studio71 has formed a podcast division to produce shows with some of its top creators. The newly formed division, Studio71 Podcasts, is overseen by Adam Boorstin, Studio71’s EVP of Global Digital Distribution.
The team has produced 11 podcasts since March starring Studio71 creators. One of the early hits is Christine Sydelko’s podcast, Don’t Mess with Christine Sydelko, which has garnered 750,000 to 1 million listens per episode. Other podcasts launched so far include Fanboi with Harley Morenstein, featuring Morenstein, the host and creator of Epic Meal Time, which hit the top five podcasts on iTunes in the Games and Hobbies category on launch; and Kalyn’s Coffee Talk, and Sh*t They Don’t Tell You with Nikki Limo and Steve Greene.
“When we saw this large, fast-growing audio business growing in front of us we felt it was time for us to enter this space,” Studio71 co-Founder and Global CEO Reza Izad told Variety. “The real business opportunity is this: Digital-native social video YouTuber talent know how to talk really well, and they know how to drive audience development really effectively.”
Studio71 has partnered with podcast platform Castbox to distribute the podcasts on Apple, Spotify and other services. In addition, video versions of the podcasts can be posted on creators’ YouTube channels. Studio71 is looking to expand its line-up to 20-25 podcasts by the end of 2018, with 80 to 100 episodes airing per month across its slate.