Wondery and The Athletic Launch The Lead

The new series will be the first-ever in-depth daily sports news podcast

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wondery, the largest independent podcast publisher in the world, is partnering with The Athletic, home to the best storytelling in sports, to create the first ever in-depth daily sports news podcast. The series, titled The Lead, will make its debut on September 16th, 2019.

Every weekday morning, The Lead co-hosts Kavitha Davidson and Anders Kelto will take listeners beyond the box score, reporting on the biggest and most fascinating sports-driven stories of the day. By bringing a refreshing, story-driven approach to major news and headlines, The Lead provides in-depth, on-the-ground coverage of the best stories in sports, straight from The Athletic’s all-star roster of sports journalist and reporters.

“We are thrilled to be co-producing The Lead with The Athletic,” said Hernan Lopez, Founder and CEO of Wondery. “Our emotionally immersive story-telling coupled with The Athletic’s in-depth reporting will differentiate The Lead and give our listeners stories that stay with them.”

Following the success of “Sports Wars” and “Gladiator,” Wondery is continuing to break down barriers to entry by giving all fans the opportunity to access The Lead. This new series aims to stand out from the noise of sports media by bringing sports up close, with deep storytelling about players, hometowns, and the teams listeners love. Topics covered on this season of The Lead include the 2018 NFC Championship, The Ice Bucket Challenge, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and more.

“Every day we look for new ways to leverage our incredible newsroom in order to bring more of The Athletic’s signature brand of in-depth storytelling to a wider audience,” said Alex Mather, Co-Founder and CEO of The Athletic. “Our partnership with Wondery to produce The Lead is the perfect marriage of two companies that are both fanatical about producing the most quality content possible and we can’t wait for listeners to subscribe.”

Season 1 will be available on Apple Podcasts and other free listening platforms. For more from Wondery, visit: https://wondery.com.

About Wondery

Wondery, creator of hits such as Dr. Death, The Shrink Next Door and Business Wars, is both the largest independent and fastest growing company on Podtrac’s ranking of top podcast publishers, responsible for the #1 and #2 top new shows in 2018. Wondery’s mission is to bring a world of entertainment and knowledge to our audiences, wherever they listen, by providing listeners with high-quality, emotionally immersive podcasts that allow them to feel the story. With 21 #1 Apple Podcasts chart topping shows since its 2016 launch, Wondery has gained critical acclaim and commercial success for its immersive approach to sonic storytelling. The world-renowned series Dirty John was adapted into a highly-rated TV series for Bravo and Netflix, and five other series have been optioned for TV by Universal Content Productions, FX and WarnerMedia.

About The Athletic

Founded in 2016, The Athletic is a direct-to-consumer subscription media company offering local and national sports coverage. With an editorial team of more than 400 writers covering 280 professional teams across the U.S., Canada and the UK, The Athletic has produced thousands of in-depth articles as well 
as more than 80 podcasts and a full video offering. The Athletic is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York and London.

Contacts

PR:

Wondery

Laura Finkelstein

Tel: 646-723-3827

Email: wondery@id-pr.com

The Athletic

Taylor Patterson

Email: taylor@theathletic.com