OG multi-channel network Studio71 announced a buzzy new podcast and top-level creator signing at its NewFront presentation today.
The company, which has seen podcast streams increase by 400% (to the tune of 12 million downloads in the last 30 days) and its number of new audio shows triple over the past six months (it now counts more than 30), announced OHoney, in which veteran influencers Amanda Cerny and Sommer Ray (who count 60 million collective followers across YouTube and Instagram) will take calls from lovesick listeners and offer millennial relationship advice. It will bow in June.
Studio71 has also partnered with an existing podcast called Group Chat — hosted by friends Chris ‘Drama’ Pfaff and Dee and Anand Murthy — through its recently-formed podcast network. On Group Chat, the three friends and entrepreneurs chat all things business, culture, and current events.
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On the video side — where one in three Americans watch over two hours of Studio71 content every month, said the network, which also nabs 10 billion views on YouTube every month — it has added to its creator roster with Smosh. Smosh, which was acquired by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal‘s Mythical Entertainment after the dissolution of previous owner Defy Media, has partnered all eight of its YouTube channels (that count a collective 45 million subscribers and 15 billion lifetime views) to the Studio71 MCN, where it will join Rhett & Link‘s Good Mythical Morning channel and newly-crowned late-night host Lilly Singh. Studio71 will also help Smosh to iterate on new formats as well as forge onward with existing hits like Every [Blank] Ever and Vs.
Finally, Studio71 unveiled three new tools for advertisers at its fifth annual NewFront presentation: a brand safety product called Context that scans its library content to ensure a contained, manageable environment; new tech enabling marketers to better understand an influencer’s ability to inspire actual purchases; and Studio71 Xpand, a new ad product that turns social posts into standard display ads.
You can check out our interviews with Studio71 co-founder and president Dan Weinstein and EVP of sales Matt Crowley below:
And you can check out the rest of Tubefilter‘s interviews from our ‘Insights from the 2019 Digital Content NewFronts’ video series right here.
