Global signs Love Island podcast deal with ITV
Media giant Global has secured a two-year deal to host ITV podcasts on its Global Player app and promote them across its radio stations.
Global, which is the UK’s largest commercial radio company, will acquire a string of hit podcasts including Love Island: The Morning After, which coincides with the return of ITV’s wildly-popular reality dating show.
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The Global Player app will also host ITV’s Six Nations podcast and the upcoming Rugby World Cup podcast.
The deal includes the promotion of the Love Island podcast on Capital, which last month launched its new breakfast show nationwide after slashing dozens of regional shows.
Sister stations Heart and Capital Xtra, which have weekly audiences of 9.7m and 1.8m listeners respectively, will also promote the podcast.
“Podcasts are exciting extensions to our shows, feeding the thirst of fans for more content and comment,” said Bhavit Chandrani, ITV controller of sponsorship.
“Our tie-up with Global will enable even more ITV viewers to become ITV listeners and present new creative partnership opportunities for brands.”
Adam Johnson, director of marketing at Global, said: “We’re delighted to team up with ITV to bring their fantastic selection of podcasts to Global Player.
“Our listeners are massive Love Island fans, so we’re looking forward to working with ITV to give them even more content from the Island.”
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The move will come as a boost for ITV, which has been looking to promote its programmes through new platforms as it battles a decline in advertising revenue.
The broadcaster is set to launch Britbox, its joint streaming venture with the BBC, in the second half of the year. But the two companies are reportedly at loggerheads over priorities for the platform, which has been slated as a new rival to Netflix.