Verizon Hearst’s Complex To Launch First Slate Of Original Podcasts

EXCLUSIVE: Complex Networks, the Verizon Hearst Media-backed youth-culture brand, is launching its first full slate of original podcasts – and yes it includes a show about sneakers.

The company, which is behind digital series such as spicy chicken wing interview series Hot Ones, is launching three new podcasts with podcast firm Acast.

It is launching Watch Less, hosted by Khal and Frazier Tharpe, Load Management, hosted by Zach “Chopz” Frydenlund and Adam Caparell and The Complex Sneakers Podcast.

Watch Less is dedicated to movies, television and pop culture. The goal is to strip away the excess from the biggest stories and moments hitting television and film to find out what’s hot, what’s not, and what’s being slept-on.

Load Management, from Complex’s Sports channel, explores everything going on in the world of sports. It will feature discussions with athletes, members of the sports media world and Complex staff.

Finally, The Complex Sneakers Podcast, hosted by Sneaker Shopping host Joe La Puma and Full Size Run co-hosts Matthew Welty and Brendan Dunne, is unsurprisingly dedicated to the world of sneakers. They will discuss the most important sneaker news and topics every week.

The three series launch in mid-November. While the company has dipped its toe into the audio medium before, this marks its full slate of shows.

This comes as the company launches a series of live podcasts at its ComplexCon Long Beach. The Complex Podcast Studio Presented by Acast will feature live tapings of The No Chill Podcast, The Read and Thug Motivation with Takashi Murakami giving a special presentation.

“We have a track record of building big universes and fandom around our IP, and audio continues to be a natural format for us to expand into,” said Myles O’Connell, SVP of Global Content Distribution for Complex Networks. “Based on our expertise of building communities online and off, we see a big whitespace opportunity for our fans to engage with this format and our talent IRL which is why we’re bringing it all to ComplexCon.”