Radio and podcasting have always had a synergistic yet complicated relationship. In podcasting's early days, podcasts were developed from existing radio shows, and they were often not edited for podcast consumption.
It makes sense that iHeart would combine these two media formats in a way that benefits the company and listeners. The company has announced today the premiere of a new on-air format, True Crime Tonight, in collaboration with KT Studios.
True Crime Tonight will initially launch on more than 20 broadcast radio stations across the country, airing live on Sunday through Thursday evenings at 10 p.m. local time, beginning June 1. It will then be available on demand through iHeartPodcasts, Monday through Friday, on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard.
The two-hour show will be led by Stephanie Lydecker, founder and CEO of KT Studios; Courtney McKenna Armstrong, producer and voice of KT Studios’ top-charting podcasts; and Baudi Moovan, acclaimed crime analyst and star of Netflix’s Don’t F*** with Cats documentary.
Stephanie Lydecker is the
founder and CEO of KT Studios, a true crime powerhouse behind some of
the most successful true-crime podcasts, television series, and
documentaries. At the helm of KT, Lydecker has created and executive
produced iHeart’s The Piketon Massacre, Murder 101, which is being adapted into a feature film for Amazon Studios, and the
recently announced The Idaho Student Murders for NBC’s Peacock
streamer, in connection with the podcast The Idaho Massacre.
Courtney McKenna Armstrong
is a producer and true crime storyteller behind some of iHeart’s most
successful podcasts, including the chart-topping The Piketon Massacre, The Idaho Massacre, Murder 101, and Death Island. She has developed and produced acclaimed
series for Peacock, Oxygen, Bravo, and E!, such as Murdered &
Missing in Montana, Injustice with Nancy Grace, and Co-Dependent.
.Baudi
Moovan is a true-crime analyst who rose to global prominence in
Netflix’s Don't F**k with Cats, where she helped lead the online hunt
for killer Luka Magnotta. Known for her sharp investigative skills and
digital detective work, she went on to host Re(Solved) on Vice and
co-host iHeart’s True Crimes with John and Deanna. In 2024, she
expanded her media presence as a contestant on Netflix’s The Mole.
"We're always exploring new formats for broadcast radio, and we're thrilled to introduce True Crime Tonight," said Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer for iHeartMedia. "The show will feature live caller interactions and real-time updates, ensuring it remains incredibly engaging and up to date."
“The idea of connecting live with audiences who are as passionate about the genre as we are is beyond exciting,” said Stephanie Lydecker, founder and CEO of KT Studios.
“Even as podcasting has exploded as the newest mass-ready medium in the United States, true crime has persisted as one of its most popular genres – and we wanted to bring that kind of storytelling to the world in a new way, with more interactivity and bigger audiences,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. “There are a few mediums that drive more conversation than podcasts, but one big challenge with the medium is that podcasts are not themselves interactive. Broadcast Radio - what we sometimes think of as the original social media - can add exactly this element, engaging people in the live conversation with a real-time, interactive component, taking the story to a new level.”
True Crime Tonight is part of iHeartMedia’s continued Podcast Meet Broadcast initiative, which leverages the company’s extensive consumer reach to introduce the rapidly growing podcast sector to iHeartMedia’s quarter of a billion monthly broadcast listeners, while also driving innovation in the podcast space.
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