Based on the success that it is seeing driving podcast subscription growth with the 48 Hours brand, Paramount Executive VP of Podcasting and Audio Steve Raizes says they plan to put more focus on growing the true crime vertical. The recent launch of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings broke all subscription records for Paramount Audio. Raizes says it led to a doubling of its yearly subscriptions and a six-figure revenue increase.
“In the coming months, we will continue to bolster the selection of titles for ‘48’ fans that are available early-access and ad free, bringing in a broader range of content,” Raizes says in a LinkedIn post. While the CBS-TV series is “creative DNA” for the 48 Hours brand, he says that podcasting allows for a widening of the types of stories they can tell.
“We are actively developing new stories that are very much in the world of 48 while simultaneously exploring areas that can engage new audiences in the podcast space who can then be transitioned over into the linear and streaming worlds,” Raizes says. “All of this will serve to create a robust pipeline of what the fans love to drive both engagement and financial materiality.”
The CBS News correspondent Peter Van Sant-hosted Blood is Thicker offers a potential template of what is coming. The team behind “48 Hours” unpacks a web of evidence from the complex case of the headline-grabbing Hargan family killings in their McLean, VA home. Since it debuted in May, fans of “48 Hours” have jumped onboard. Raizes says it drove an 985% increase in subscribers on Apple Podcasts. And now, he says Paramount Audio is working with Apple to super-serve the fanbase.
Paramount has another reason to celebrate. On the heels of his return to Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” Stewart has expanded his relationship with Paramount into audio. After its debut last week, The Weekly Show with Jon Stewartjumped to No. 1 on Apple Podcasts last weekend. Chartable says it has since slid back to third place, behind the new season debut of Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra and Lemonada Media’s Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
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