Podcasts

Video podcasts from the Jonas Brothers and the cast of “Boy Meets World” are heading to Disney+ as part of a new licensing partnership with iHeartMedia designed to capture viewers on mobile and beyond.

The agreement will bring six iHeartMedia podcasts to Disney+ and Hulu, starting with “Hey Jonas!” hosted by Kevin, Nick and Joe Jonas on both streaming services. “Pod Meets World,” hosted by the stars of the ’90s sitcom “Boy Meets World,” will also appear on Disney+ later this month.

Other podcasts coming this fall to Hulu include “Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald” hosted by the stars of medical comedy “Scrubs,” “Desperately Devoted” that will discuss drama “Desperate Housewives,” “StraightioLab,” that delves into straight culture and “Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim.”

“Fans can’t get enough of the stories and talent they love, and podcasts have become one of the fastest growing ways for audiences to connect with them,” said Lauren Tempest, Head of Content Planning & Partnerships, DTC at The Walt Disney Company in a statement.

The additional iHeartMedia content adds to Disney+ and Hulu’s existing collection of 30 podcasts available to stream in the U.S.

Disney and iHeartMedia declined to comment on the financial terms of the deal.

“From iconic rewatch series and fan-favorite conversations to original storytelling, this deal gives both existing listeners and new viewers an easy way to discover and connect with some of podcasting’s most engaging voices through video,” Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO for iHeartMedia, said in a statement.

Podcasts initially started as audio only, but over the years, have delved into showing video too. Other streamers, including Netflix and HBO Max, have video podcasts available on their platforms.

Netflix made deals with Spotify and iHeartMedia to bring popular video podcasts, including “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” “The Breakfast Club” and “My Favorite Murder” to its streaming service.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in an April 16 earnings presentation that people consume podcasts on Netflix during the day, at a time when the streamer historically has less engagement and they’re watching the podcasts more on mobile devices, where professional TV and film historically makes up a small percentage of mobile viewing, he said.

“It’s great that we get to meet members where they are, even when they’re enjoying other forms of entertainment,” Sarandos said.

INBETWEENERS star James Buckley’s wife Clair was rushed to hospital in an ambulance after “not being able to stand up”.

The couple shared on their podcast that Clair, 38, had been unwell and needed to seek urgent medical attention.

In a snippet from the latest episode of The Buckleys, Clair revealed: “I’ve not been very well.”

James, 38, then replied: “No, you ended up in the old hospital there, didn’t you?

“Didn’t an ambulance come and take you away?”

Explaining what happened, the mum-of-two said: “So basically it was some sort of virus that I had had, but it was slowly sort of chipping away at me and I was getting more and more dehydrated and I didn’t even really know.”

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The Inbetweeners star then said: “I feel a little bit bad. Because I went away, I was working.

“And you were calling me up, sort of. I’d get to my hotel and I’d check, see how you’re getting on. You’d be going, ‘I’m really ill, I’m really sick.’

“And I was going, ‘Alright, see how you feel in the morning.’

“I came home and the only way I can describe you, you look like when little weak Lord Voldemort was being carried and he’s got his little thin little legs like hanging out and he’s got like a little shawl over him!”

James, who shot to fame in the noughties as Jay in The Inbetweeners, then revealed how once he saw how sick his wife was he called 999,

“Got an ambulance, didn’t we? Because you couldn’t move, you couldn’t get in the car and stuff. You were so weak,” the star revealed.

Finishing off the story, Clair then said: “So anyway, I got taken in and just got pumped full of fluids. There you go.”

Not one to miss a comic moment, James then joked: “That’s the title of the show. That’s the title of this episode. Claire Pumped Full of Fluid!”

The Buckleys podcast is a spin-off from their hugely successful YouTube vlogging series At Home With The Buckleys,

The pair thrill fans each week with their hilarious stories from their family life.

James and Clair first found love when they met on Twitter. 

Clair, then an actress and model living in Glasgow, previously revealed how she had never watched The Inbetweeners before meeting the actor – who was currently starring in season three of the hit show at the time.

“I knew of the show and what it was but I didn’t tune in. I didn’t watch it, which might have been a good thing,” the Scottish podcaster told The Sun in 2023.

“I did watch a couple of episodes after we met but to this day I don’t think I’ve seen every single episode. James and Jay are nothing alike thank God.”

The couple bonded on Twitter over their love of The Beatles before meeting in person .

After a whirlwind romance, they welcomed their first child Harrison, now 14, in 2011.

They then wed the following year, before Jude, 12, was born in 2013.