iHeartMedia’s partnership with the leading UK podcasting company will include eleven new podcast docuseries over the next three years, focused on stranger-than-fiction true stories

NEW YORK – February 24, 2021 – iHeartMedia, the No. 1 podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, today announced a new partnership with Novel, one of the UK’s leading independent podcast companies, to co-produce a series of narrative, in-depth investigative podcasts. Together, iHeartMedia and Novel will launch eleven new, original podcast series over the next three years, starting with “The Assault on America” and “Deliver Us From Ervil.”           

The expansive new slate features a collection of ambitious audio docuseries aimed at giving listeners access to worlds they never knew existed. From the real-life superheroes appearing at Black Lives Matter protests to a violent fundamentalist Mormon cult installed near the US-Mexican border, these new iHeartRadio Original Podcasts feature in-depth, narrative investigations of unexplored subcultures and stranger-than-fiction true stories.

"We're thrilled to be entering into such an exciting partnership with iHeartMedia,” said Sean Glynn, CEO of Novel. “Pairing Novel's best-in-class storytelling credentials with iHeartMedia's excellent editorial judgment and global distribution is an incredibly compelling combination.”

“This new partnership will allow us to produce deeply researched, narratively rich investigative series at scale that grip listeners right off the bat,” added Max O’Brien, Head of Content at Novel. “We couldn't be more proud to be the first UK-based podcast company to sign a slate deal with iHeartMedia."

In addition to announcing the deal, the companies also shared details on the first two podcast series set to debut as part of the partnership. 

“The Assault on America” tells the inside story of the insurrection at the Capitol like you’ve never heard before. Working with open-source investigative journalists Bellingcat, Novel painstakingly collected thousands of hours of smartphone footage, including 1,200 videos that directly incriminate protestors. Scouring the darkest corners of right-wing websites like 8chan, Parler and Gab, this series uncovers chilling, never-before-heard footage and comments posted by mob members. Much of this exclusive material has since been deleted from the web, but has been preserved by Bellingcat. Now, we’ll hear the events of January 6th brought to life in 360-degree detail.

“Deliver Us From Ervil” is an investigative true-crime series in which a groundbreaking team of journalists enters a lawless town on the border of Mexico run by a secretive religious sect living in exile and outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. government since 1924. The journalists will speak to the inhabitants of this strange town and uncover the secrets behind the surreal desert fortress with a murderous past that continues to haunt all who enter.     

“We’re eager to collaborate with the brilliant minds at Novel to bring listeners an incredible new lineup of history, true-crime and documentary podcasts,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “Novel has a penchant for producing award-winning docuseries, and we couldn’t be more excited to join forces and bring their storytelling talent and expertise to the iHeartPodcast Network.”

The new slate of co-produced podcasts will be distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network, which is home to more than 750 original podcasts with over 253 million downloads and streams each month.

About Novel

Novel is one of the UK’s leading independent podcasting companies. The team is made up of 13 members of full-time in-house staff and two board members, one of whom is the former CEO of VICE UK. Recent highlights include: The Bellingcat Podcast (Audio Production Award Gold winner, two-time ARIA winner, British Podcast Award winner, PSA Political Podcast Of The Year — Financial Times: “Extraordinary in detail, tenacity and execution;” Esquire: “Clear-eyed original reporting … dramatic”); Kim Noble’s Futile Attempts (At Surviving Tomorrow) (The Observer: “Wilder and more interesting than almost everything else out there;” The Sunday Times: “Brutal and deeply compelling;” Financial Times: “Unlike anything else you’ve heard;” The Guardian: “Darkly comic and beautiful”); The Political Butterfly Effect (Sunday Times: “Neatly, briskly, sharply produced;” New Statesman: “Fun, forensic hypothesizing ;” Politico “Essential listening”) and Remembering Christopher Hitchens. Visit we-are-novel.com for more company information.