Presenters including Fearne Cotton, Matt Lucas and James Acaster feature among 20 new podcasts and music programmes announced today by BBC Sounds.
Earlier this month, outgoing Director General Tony Hall revealed that MediaCityUK would become “the heart” of BBC Sounds, with the curation team joining Controller Jonathan Wall at the Salford base “within weeks”.
And the corporation has unveiled some of the new podcasts and voices to be heard on BBC Sounds.
Panorama, the world’s longest running current affairs programme, is to launch a podcast, and Americast with Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel will share the latest drama from the race for the White House.
The most popular podcast on Sounds at the end of last year – Brexitcast – is evolving into Newscast, taking listeners behind the scenes for an inside look at the biggest news stories.
New true crime podcasts include Manhunt: Finding Kevin Parle from Radio 5 Live, hosted by Peter Bleksley, Where is George Gibney? in which journalist Mark Horgan investigates the internationally-renowned Olympic swimming coach, and Mortem, which tells the story of three bodies through forensics science.
Seven new podcasts will feature younger voices exploring the subjects that matter to them, such as This Game Changed My Life, presented by gaming journalists Julia Hardy and Aoife Wilson, and 5 Live’s Hope High, which will follow the families of secondary school students in Huddersfield.
Matt Lucas, 1Xtra’s Sideman and Dotty will feature in new comedy podcasts, Sounds Of The 90s with Fearne Cotton will take a nostalgic look back at the best music and pop culture from the decade, and in James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds the comedian proposes that 2016 is the greatest year for music of all time.
Jonathan Wall, Controller of BBC Sounds, said: “Sounds is growing and growing with 3 million people now coming to us for music, radio and podcasts each week.
“We keep upping the ambition for our on demand audio and I’m delighted with the variety of great podcasts and music we’ve got coming up. Whether people want laughs and entertainment, or insight and intrigue, Sounds has something relevant for everyone. It lets us give new voices a platform to talk about what matters as well as bring the best of what the BBC does to new listeners.”
