NewsNation Sees Podcasting As ‘New Frontier’ As Audio Push Expands.

The first signal that the cable network NewsNation planned to do more in podcasting came last December when it announced host Ashleigh Banfield would step away from her nightlight live television true crime program to focus on audio. Network executives say it sees podcasting as a “new frontier” as the Nexstar-owned TV network looks to find an audience.

Michael Corn, President of Programming & Specials at NewsNation, tells Variety that he sees a “vast audience” in audio that is “completely complementary” to the television network’s programming. “A lot of the audience really seems to be searching for deeper understanding and deeper explainers,” he says. “It’s a remarkable new frontier.”

NewsNation has been quietly building out a broader podcast slate tied to its on-air talent and reporting. In recent months it has launched shows including “Unreported with Meagan Medick” about the stories that don’t make the headlines. It joins a lineup that also includes shows such as “Reality Check with Ross Coulthart,” “Cuomo: Let’s Get After It,” “Missing with Marni Hughes,” “One Nation Under God,” “The Hill Podcast,” “On Balance,” “NewsNation Now,” “Entin Across America,” “Kellie in the Capitol,” and “Kurt’s Country,” spanning news analysis, investigations, politics, and culture.

NewsNation is hardly the first cable news network to expand into podcasting. The gameplan is similar to what CNN, Fox News Channel, and MS Now have each deployed during the past several years.

Nexstar is also poised to become a bigger player in podcasting through its pending $6.2 billion deal to buy local television owner Tegna — which is the parent of the Locked On Podcast Network and Vault Studios. The sale is currently tied up in the courts, but if it crosses the finish line it will open an opportunity for Locked On to work with even more local television newsrooms. 

Tegna was early seeing the podcast opportunity for local TV stations. In 2019 it launched Vault Studios as a podcast company focusing on true crime, cold cases and unsolved mysteries with stories pulled from the reporting done by Tegna’s local reporters around the country. Its biggest hit to date was the series Bardstown. 

Then in 2021, it struck a $13.8 million deal to buy the Locked On Podcast Network. It saw a way to pair up Locked On’s team-specific podcasts for each of the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL franchises as well as more than 30 college sports programs with the local television station sports teams Tegna has in markets nationwide. In the years since, Locked On has continued to operate as a standalone business within Tegna.