Chip and Joanna Gaines have become a multimedia powerhouse, leveraging their HGTV popularity into programming the Magnolia television network and launching a magazine. Now they are turning their attention to audio. The couple’s Blind Nil Media is teaming with The Roost Podcast Network to build their own podcast portfolio. In a joint announcement, they say Blind Nil Audio will feature “inspiring and empowering content” that will “inform, entertain, and catalyze new ways of thinking to expand perspectives and bring people together.”
Aligned with their tag, “stories that elevate, voices to celebrate,” Blind Nil Media launches with two podcasts. The first is called 50 Fires: A Conversation of Money and Meaning. The chat show features financial advice author Carl Richards hosting “hard conversations” that navigate the complexities of money while uncovering the profoundly personal nature of our financial choices. The other podcast that will be part of the network is the year and a half old series This Morning Walk, a podcast hosted by Libby DeLana and Alex Elle that motivates listeners with the power of an everyday walk. Chip and Joanna Gaines will serve as executive producers of both series.
“We believe in the power of storytelling and are excited to explore new formats with this platform,” said Chip and Joanna Gaines in a joint statement. “The Roost has done incredible things in podcasts, and we’re thrilled to bring our teams together to see what new voices and stories there are to share with the world.”
There is no word on whether Chip or Joanna Gaines will host any shows for their new podcast network, but Joanna Gaines is already a podcaster. She produces the Stories We Tell series for Spotify.
The alliance unites two Texas companies. Blind Nil Media is based in Waco, while The Roost – a Rooster Teeth and Warner Bros Discovery division – is based in Austin.
"Chip and Joanna have a distinct vision for programming that will resonate with their community and welcome more listeners,” said AJ Feliciano, head of the Roost Podcast Network. “As a Texan myself, I appreciate their dedication to building a storytelling platform that will support the thriving podcast industry in the state. I am excited to see what we can create together."
Rooster Teeth has produced podcasts since 2005 and it launched The Roost to monetize and distribute podcasting. Blind Nil Media will lean on The Roost’s infrastructure for production, sales and other partnerships, as well as developing its podcast strategy going forward.
Chip and Joanna Gaines founded Blind Nil Media in 2018 as a production studio with a variety of television titles to its name so far, including "Fixer Upper: Welcome Home," "First Time Fixer," "Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines," and "Art in Bloom with Helen Dealtry.” But the couple has said that it sees Blind Nil going beyond broadcast TV and into streaming, branded content, commercials, and podcasts. It has a deep bench to work with, since Blind Nil is also working with production professionals in 26 states.
As for the name of the media company, Blind Nil is based on the card game spades, which they note is a “game of high-risk, high reward.”