Conde Nast Entertainment Names First Global Head Of Audio Amid Podcast Push

Conde Nast Entertainment (CNE), the entertainment studio and distribution arm of the illustrious magazine publisher, has named former Stitcher exec Chris Bannon as its first head of global audio.

Bannon will be charged with expanding Conde Nast’s network of brands into the audio space . He will join the company on Oct. 11, reporting to CNE president Agnes Chu, based in Los Angeles.

CNE currently produces 40 podcasts, including In Vogue and Vanity Fair’s Love Is A Crime. The company says that CNE — which produces films, TV, digital video, social content, virtual reality, and podcasts — is key to its “ongoing global transformation,” and that it is currently leveraging a 25% increase in content investment across the company.

Prior to CNE, Bannon served as chief content officer for Stitcher, where he helped launch Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, Office Ladies, Heaven’s Gate, Science Rules! With Bill Nye, and Bitch Sesh. Before that, he served as program director and VP of content at WNYC. Bannon has has won three Peabody Awards and received a fourth nomination in 2020 for the audio documentary Unfinished: Deep South.

Last year, CNE says that viewers watched over 24 billion minutes of content on its YouTube channels, with average monthly viewership in the company’s 32 global markets up 41% year-over-year.