Courtesy of iHeart Media
iHeart Media
Kevin LeGrett (president, iHeartMedia Sports)
Will Pearson (president, iHeartPodcasts)
Julie Talbott (president, Premiere Networks)
iHeartMedia is the largest audio company in the nation, and since taking over its sports operations two years ago, Kevin LeGrett is the one tasked with coordinating its veritable empire of sports radio and podcast programming. LeGrett, who played high school basketball under Jeff Van Gundy, now oversees iHeartSports Network content aired on over 500 radio stations, the national syndication of Fox Sports radio shows (including those of hosts like Colin Cowherd and Dan Patrick), podcasting deals with the NBA and NFL, and a collection of hit sports podcasts like “All the Smoke,” from former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, and Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay.”
Podcasting at iHeart is led by Will Pearson, who has been at the company for four years. He oversees expansive sports operations — iHeart’s network of Fox Sports Radio podcasts alone generated nearly 700 million listens in 2022 — and league-level deals with the NBA and NFL. The latter kicked off in 2021 and included the launch of the NFL’s podcast network, which combined existing NFL Media podcasts with dozens of new properties co-produced with iHeart. That same year, iHeart linked up with the NBA on a multiyear deal to launch 20 new podcasts co-produced with the league.
And Julie Talbott has been at the helm of iHeart subsidiary Premiere Networks for over a decade. In that role at Premiere, which syndicates radio programs to some 250 million listeners monthly, she spearheaded the additions of Cowherd and Patrick — and, subsequently, their expansive podcast networks — as well as talents like LaVar Arrington, Chris Broussard, Doug Gottlieb and Brady Quinn, among others. Last year, Fox Sports podcasts increased their Instagram engagement by more than 600%, along with a 32% growth in YouTube viewership. — Chris Smith
