Podcasts are getting a new home on two of the biggest streamers in the country. Disney+, Hulu, and iHeartMedia announced a deal today bringing six iHeartPodcasts titles to the platforms in video form, starting with the Jonas Brothers’ Hey Jonas! on August 14. It’s a modest move on the surface, but it points to something bigger: podcasting is no longer staying in your earbuds.
Hey Jonas! kicks things off, streaming simultaneously on Disney+ and Hulu starting August 14. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas, the launch episode centers on Camp Rock, timed to the upcoming premiere of Camp Rock 3, with a follow up episode capturing the brothers live from D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event that same weekend.
Ten days later, Pod Meets World arrives exclusively on Disney+ on August 24. Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong, who spent seven seasons together on Boy Meets World as teenagers, have already turned the podcast into a hit with more than 55 million audio downloads. The video version promises the same three decade friendship, just with the cameras finally rolling.
Hulu is adding four more titles later this year. Desperately Devoted premieres November 2, reuniting actor Teri Hatcher with her Desperate Housewives daughter Andrea Bowen and her real life daughter Emerson Tenney for a Wisteria Lane rewatch that doubles as a conversation about womanhood, identity, and more. Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald brings Scrubs co-stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison back together for an episode by episode rewatch complete with behind the scenes stories and cast interviews. StraightioLab, the comedy podcast from George Civeris and Sam Taggart that spends each episode dissecting a different corner of straight culture, also makes the jump to video after six years of building a following. And Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim rounds out the slate, with the Saturday Night Live star talking to guests about the fathers, present or absent, who shaped who they became. All three are expected sometime this fall on Hulu.
The deal builds on a podcast library Disney+ and Hulu already had in place, including companion shows for American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and Paradise, along with rewatch podcasts for shows like Prison Break. What makes this expansion different is the scale of the partner. iHeartMedia is one of the largest audio companies in the country, and handing several of its most established shows a video life on two of the biggest streaming platforms in the US signals how seriously legacy platforms are starting to treat podcast video, a space that has mostly belonged to YouTube until now.
iHeartMedia chairman and CEO Bob Pittman said the deal is about meeting audiences “across more platforms,” while Disney’s head of content planning and partnerships for direct to consumer, Lauren Tempest, framed it as a way to deepen the connection between fans and the shows and creators they already love. Both points get at the same underlying shift. Streaming subscriber growth has slowed across the industry, and podcasts remain one of the few content categories still reliably pulling in new engagement. Folding that into an existing subscription is a low cost way to add value without greenlighting a single new scripted series.
Six shows is a modest start, but Disney rarely tests something without eyeing a bigger rollout down the line. If Hey Jonas! and Pod Meets World perform well with Disney+’s existing audience, don’t be surprised if this “coming months” list grows considerably longer by next year.
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