Endemol Shine North America enters podcast space with KT Studios

Endemol Shine North America (ESNA) is entering the podcasting business through a partnership with LA-based production company KT Studios.

Stephanie Lydecker

ESNA, a division of Banijay Americas, will develop and produce podcasts with KT Studios and its founder and CEO Stephanie Lydecker.

Initially, the companies will focus on true crime, music, food, relationships and “female-centric” genres.

Through the multi-faceted partnership they will also develop and produce podcast adaptations of titles from Banijay’s formats library; test concepts and incubate IP for potential TV adaptations; and produce companion podcasts for on-air series in the US.

North Hollywood-based ESNA is the studio behind series including Big Brother (CBS), MasterChef (Fox), Lego Masters (Fox) and Wipeout (TBS), as well as the upcoming Disney+ series Foodtastic and Peacock original Pride & Prejudice: An Experiment in Romance.

KT Studios’ screen-based credits include the documentary Murdered & Missing in Montana (Peacock and Oxygen) and the true-crime series Injustice with Nancy Grace (Oxygen). On the podcasting front, KT Studios has produced The Piketon Massacre, The Dougherty Gang, Crazy in Love and Death Island (all for iHeartMedia) and a companion podcast for Fox’s The Masked Singer.

“Expanding our storytelling approach to the podcast space is incredibly important to us as creators,” said ESNA’s chief content officer Sharon Levy, who was promoted to the role in February.

“Stephanie [Lydecker] and her team have enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in the podcast space and pairing them with our development department and our company’s vast library should make for a potent combination.”