Webby Award Winning Podcast Boasts Nearly 9 Million Downloads, 32 Episodes Since 2021 Launch
Was I In A Cult? is the 22nd Podcast Added to the PodcastOne Network in 2023
LOS ANGELES, CA, Dec. 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via NewMediaWire – PodcastOne (NASDAQ: PODC), a leading podcast platform and a subsidiary of LiveOne (NASDAQ: LVO), which owns ~80% of the PODC outstanding common stock, announced today that is has acquired the exclusive distribution and sales rights to the critically acclaimed and award winning podcast, Was I In A Cult? from hosts Liz Iacuzzi and Tyler Measom who lend their own personal cultic experiences to the pod.
Named Best Podcast by multiple publications including Vulture and Good Housekeeping, Was I In A Cult? is a documentary-style podcast showcasing individuals who have been in, and most importantly, successfully left a cult. Told first-hand by the experiencer themself, these are raw, riveting and inspirational tales of what it means to be a survivor. Using levity and info-tainment, the show humanized the cultic experience and may leave some of our listeners asking themselves… “Wait… Was I In A Cult?” Guests have included the original male supermodel Hoyt Richards and Roberta Blevins (Hulu’s LulaRich). The hosts are currently in development on a television series adaptation of the podcast with Edgeline Films (Couples Therapy).
“PodcastOne is thrilled to team with Liz and Tyler to reignite the fervor and phenomenon that surrounded Was I In a Cult? through their initial round of episodes. The cultural impact that this podcast had and the watercooler talk left a lasting impression in the world of podcasting, and we cannot wait to bring new episodes to listeners and to advertisers in 2024,” said Kit Gray, President and Co-Founder of PodcastOne.
“We are so excited to get our show back up and running. We have incredible and important stories to share and feel like we’ve finally found the right home in PodcastOne. We’re looking forward to our partnership and all the possibilities that lie ahead,” said Iacuzzi and Measom.
Born and raised in Chicago, Iacuzzi’s comedy and performing background began in Improv Olympic and Chicago’s famed Second City. When she decided to take her talents to LA, Iacuzzi initially launched her own private yoga studio with clients ranging from Britney Spears to Ron Artest — while shifting her focus from performing to writing. She then made her way onto LA’s stand-up stages and has come out the other side with a strong passion for writing multi-dimensional female characters, focusing on important, sometimes hard-to-swallow subject matters but always maintaining a sense of humor.
Award-winning filmmaker Measom specializes in high profile, character-based documentaries. He is the director of the Paramount+ series I Wanna Rock and the hit Netflix series Murder Among the Mormons, the documentaries I Want My MTV (Tribeca, A&E), An Honest Liar (Tribeca, ITVS) and Sons of Perdition (Tribeca, Oprah Documentary Club). He has produced the films TAKE (Tribeca, Showtime), the Showtime doc Jesus Town, USA, the NYTimes documentary ELDER and the film Space Cowboy. Measom is currently directing the music documentaries Lost and Found and If These Walls Could Rock.
PodcastOne’s full roster of top ranked podcasts includes programming across top genres such as news, comedy, true crime and society and culture, including shows such as Bad Bad Thing, True Crime All The Time Unsolved, The Prosecutors, Court Junkie, Cold Case Files, I Survived, Baby Mamas No Drama, The Adam Carolla Show, and The Schaub Show. PodcastOne shows are available through PodcastOne, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon and wherever podcasts are heard.
About PodcastOne
PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC) is a Los Angeles based podcast network founded in 2012 by Kit Gray and Norm Pattiz providing creators and advertisers with a full 360-degree solution in sales, marketing, public relations, production, and distribution delivering over 2.1 billion downloads per year with a community of 250 of the top podcasters, including Adam Carolla, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Jordan Harbinger, LadyGang, and A&E’s Cold Case Files. PodcastOne has built a distribution network reaching over 1 billion listeners a month across all of its own properties, LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO), Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Samsung and over 150 shows exclusively available in Tesla vehicles. PodcastOne is also the parent company of LaunchpadOne, an innovative self-serve platform developed to launch, host, distribute and monetize independent user-generated podcasts. For more information, visit podcastone.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter at @podcastone.
About LiveOne, Inc.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO) is an award-winning, creator-first, music, entertainment, and technology platform focused on delivering premium experiences and content worldwide through memberships and live and virtual events. The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries include Slacker Radio, PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC), PPVOne, Palm Beach Records, CPS, LiveXLive, DayOne Music Publishing, Drumify and Splitmind. LiveOne is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Spotify, Samsung, Amazon Fire, Android TV, and through STIRR’s OTT applications. For more information, visit liveone.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter at @liveone.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements,” which may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words as “may,” “might,” “will,” “will likely result,” “would,” “should,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “continue,” “target” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including: LiveOne’s reliance on one key customer for a substantial percentage of its revenue; LiveOne’s and PodcastOne’s ability to consummate any proposed financing, acquisition, spin-out, special dividend, merger, distribution or transaction, including LiveOne’s pay-per-view business, the timing of the consummation of any such proposed event, including the risks that a condition to the consummation of any such event would not be satisfied within the expected timeframe or at all, or that the consummation of any proposed financing, acquisition, spin-out, merger, special dividend, distribution or transaction will not occur or whether any such event will enhance shareholder value; PodcastOne’s ability to continue as a going concern; PodcastOne’s ability to attract, maintain and increase the number of its listeners; PodcastOne identifying, acquiring, securing and developing content; LiveOne’s intent to repurchase shares of its and PodcastOne’s common stock from time to time under LiveOne’s announced stock repurchase program and the timing, price, and quantity of repurchases, if any, under the program; LiveOne’s ability to maintain compliance with certain financial and other covenants; PodcastOne successfully implementing its growth strategy, including relating to its technology platforms and applications; management’s relationships with industry stakeholders; the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic; uncertain and unfavorable outcomes in legal proceedings; changes in economic conditions; competition; risks and uncertainties applicable to the businesses of PodcastOne’s subsidiaries; and other risks, uncertainties and factors including, but not limited to, those described in PodcastOne’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on June 29, 2023, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter year ended September 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on November 20, 2023, and in PodcastOne’s other filings and submissions with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and PodcastOne disclaims any obligation to update these statements, except as may be required by law. PodcastOne intends that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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