Audacy has elevated Jenna Weiss-Berman to Executive Vice President of Podcasts, reporting to J.D. Crowley, Audacy’s Chief Digital Officer and President, Podcast and Streaming. In this role, Weiss-Berman will oversee Audacy’s podcast network and studios, including Pineapple Street Studios and Cadence13, along with strategy and development of new podcast content and distribution partnerships. She will also collaborate with programming leadership in sports and news in the growth and development of new original podcast content for podcast studio 2400Sports and across Audacy’s 28 local newsrooms in top U.S. markets.
Max Linsky, co-founder of Pineapple Street Studios, will continue to co-lead the studio alongside Bari Finkel, Pineapple’s Head of Operations and the studio’s first employee.
“As we commit to accelerating our digital growth and enhancing performance, we’re thrilled to expand Jenna’s role to further unify and streamline our content and business efforts across our leading podcast portfolio, enabling even more rapid development of new and original IP and better leveraging our talent across the entire Audacy portfolio,” said Crowley. “Jenna’s strong leadership and deep industry relationships will propel us forward on our mission to be a leading partner of audio creators, while super-serving listeners of all backgrounds and interests and enabling our sales teams to better serve our customers and partners with unique and compelling podcast opportunities. I’d also like to acknowledge Chris Corcoran who will be moving on from Audacy to pursue other opportunities. His leadership, passion and dedication are the creative force that successfully launched and built Cadence13 into the business that it is today, while also helping to position Audacy as a leading podcast company. I wish him continued success in his future endeavors.”
“I’m excited to help bring together the world class podcast businesses that already exist under the Audacy umbrella,” said Weiss-Berman. “We have a real opportunity to build a cohesive podcast brand that is greater than the sum of its parts, and I look forward to all that’s ahead.”
Weiss-Berman has been with Audacy since its 2019 acquisition of Pineapple Street Studios. Prior to starting Pineapple Street, Weiss-Berman was head of audio at BuzzFeed and worked in public radio for almost a decade.
Audacy has a number of development deals in place across its portfolio. These include:
- Pineapple Street Studios recently announced a multi-show deal with Dan Taberski, host of prior Pineapple productions Missing Richard Simmons, the Peabody-nominated Running From Cops, and the multi-Ambie-Award-winning 9/12. The studio also inked a deal to produce the next series by Shima Oliaee, creator of the acclaimed “Pink Card ” series for ESPN and co-creator of Dolly Parton’s America, which won both the Peabody and Murrow Awards. Pineapple Street Studios has become the home for prestige content and award-winning investigative journalism, as well as the go-to studio for premium podcast companions for programming on Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon and others.
- Cadence13 recently announced a 30-episode podcast partnership with Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning writer, actress, producer and director Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions. Cadence13 is home to blockbuster franchises featuring top names in entertainment and media, as well as innovative formats.
- 2400Sports is partnering with former MLB second baseman Bret Boone on a new twice-weekly show, The Bret Boone Podcast. 2400Sports has also launched a new podcast in partnership with Special Olympics, Agents of Inclusion, hosted by JR Jackson of CBS Sports Radio. 2400Sports leverages Audacy’s industry leadership in live sports, sports betting and its league relationships to deliver original content that sports fans crave, with in-depth analysis, post and pre-game discussions and more.
- In addition to the above studios, Audacy Digital Audience Network and Podcorn provide innovative ways for advertisers to reach Audacy’s digital audience and large community of influencers with unprecedented precision.
