The National Hockey League is making its play for podcast listeners as it inks a deal with iHeartPodcasts to produce and distribute two new shows over the next year. The deal marks a proverbial hat trick for iHeart, which already works with the NFL and NBA.
“We know NHL fans are avid consumers of audio content and will be amped up about the creation of these new, engaging, and fun podcasts that will further connect them to our great game, and provide NHL insight they won’t get anywhere else,” says Matt Nicholson, VP of Production and Creative Development at the NHL. “We’re excited to partner with iHeartMedia for its global reach and powerful distribution channels.”
The relationship between the NHL and iHeart will provide access to the company’s massive reach across multiple audio platforms including podcasts, streaming and broadcast radio. All shows in the slate will be distributed by iHeartPodcasts and will be available everywhere podcasts are heard.
“Our listeners crave sports content and iHeart continues to be the audio sports destination for fans, delivering top sports talent and programming from insider access and interviews to play-by-play coverage and live reports across all our platforms,” said Will Pearson, President of iHeartPodcasts. “Partnering with the NHL to develop, co-produce and distribute new podcasts amplifies our continued commitment to providing the very best audio sports content to audiences everywhere.”
The first show — NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers — features hockey broadcaster Adnan Virk and former NHL player Jason Demers in a weekly discussion about all things hockey, on and off the ice. The spirited talk will also occasionally stray from the game and venture into topics ranging from food to movies, comedy to wrestling and more. New episodes will be released each Thursday. Comedian, actor, writer and producer The Kid Mero will be featured in the first episode.
The show is a return to podcasting for Kirk, who previously hosted the movie podcast Cinephile for eight years and co-hosted the NFL podcast GM Shuffle with Michael Lombardi for three years.
“I love podcasts, and I love hockey,” Kirk says. “I can’t wait to share my thoughts on all facets of the game and I’m confident my past experience will benefit me to keep the conversation fresh and fun.” In September, Virk was named co-host of Monday Night Hockey on Amazon Prime after working at ESPN, MLB Network, DAZN, and WWE.
Demers played in exactly 700 career regular-season games from 2009-10 to 2022-23 between the San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers.
“Hockey has always been part of who I am, whether it’s on the ice or off. I’ve been fortunate to stay connected to the hockey world through my work at the NHL Network and I’m super excited to be sharing the sound waves with Adnan on our newest venture,” Demers says. “I think the listeners will really enjoy the podcast style and variety of topics — and will definitely tune in to hear what unusual discussions we’re going to have each week.”
The second NHL podcast is expected to debut early in the new year.
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