ABC AUDIO EXPANDS AWARD-WINNING DAILY NEWS PODCAST ‘START HERE’ WITH NEW WEEKEND EDITION AVAILABLE TO ABC NEWS RADIO AFFILIATES

ABC Audio announced today the award-winning daily news podcast “Start Here,” hosted by Brad Mielke, will expand to a new weekend edition, “Start Here Weekend,” for ABC News Radio affiliates beginning Feb. 21. The new hourlong radio show will dive deeper into the stories driving headlines from the week through in-depth conversations with ABC News correspondents, experts and newsmakers joining Mielke each episode.

“The expansion of ‘Start Here’ into radio programming underscores ABC News’ dedication to delivering engaging, insightful journalism and commitment to meeting audience demand for high-quality, trustworthy reporting anytime, anywhere and on any platform,” said Liz Alesse, vice president of ABC Audio. “We’re excited to introduce new listeners to ‘Start Here,’ extend the show’s multiplatform reach, and further solidify ABC News’ leadership in the audio space.”

Year over year, “Start Here” has retained a highly engaged, daily podcast audience and regularly lands on the Top News Podcast chart on Apple Podcasts. The show is the third-most downloaded of all major ABC podcasts and maintains the highest listen-through rate. The expansion of the series from podcast to radio is the first of its kind for ABC Audio, growing audience access to the series across the audio space. For more “Start Here” content, listeners can subscribe to the weekday edition across all podcast platforms or watch mornings on ABC News Live.

For more information about ABC News Radio’s suite of audio and digital products, please contact Chris Venice at christopher.venice@abc.com.

About ABC Audio
ABC Audio is America’s premiere source for radio news, entertainment content, and podcasts. ABC News Radio reaches more Americans than any other commercial broadcaster through its network of more than 1,600 radio stations and digital distributors. ABC Audio offers affiliates on-demand access to original audio, video and social media content, as well as news, entertainment and lifestyle digital text stories. ABC Audio is part of the top-ranked Walt Disney Company podcasting network. The growing podcast portfolio includes ABC News’ flagship daily news podcast, “Start Here,” chart-topping hits like “The Dropout,” “20/20,” and “538: Politics,” and Edward R. Murrow Award winner “Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley” as well as “The King Road Killings,” “The View: Behind the Table,” and “In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson.”

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ABC News Media Relations
Amanda Long
amanda.long2@abc.com