Dr. Phil McGraw, star of CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil, is partnering with E.W. Scripps’ Stitcher to launch new podcast Phil in the Blanks on Jan. 8, as well as three others throughout 2019.
While the podcasts will be available across podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Spotify, Stitcher will support the show launches and represent them for advertising through its advertising arm, Midroll.
Phil in the Blanks will feature McGraw speaking one- on-one with various celebrities, including, for starters, Vivica A. Fox, star of Face the Truth, which is produced by Phil and Jay McGraw’s Stage 29 Productions; Oscar-Winning actress Kathy Bates; radio and TV host Steve Harvey; actor Dax Shepard and former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmit Smith. McGraw also interviews less famous but still very successful people, such as neurosurgeon Dr. J. Patrick Johnson and Tracie Arlington, founder and lead instructor of Play It Safe, an organization that teaches life-saving self-defense techniques to women and children.
“I love trying to figure out what makes people tick – what or who moved them along on their journey,” said McGraw in a statement. “I’m excited about this platform because I can have intimate conversations with successful individuals. Just like on my television show, audiences will learn something valuable that they can apply to their lives.”
Stitcher and Midroll also have struck recent deals with TBS’ Conan O’Brien and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’s Jonathan Van Ness and have renewed their advertising partnership with Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, which includes the hit podcasts SuperSoul Sunday and MasterClass.
“The Dr. Phil show is a demonstrated, trusted brand coming to fans in a fresh new format with original content and advertising,” said Stitcher Chief Revenue Officer Korri Kolesa, also in a statement. “This movement toward podcasts from top TV talent validates the future power of podcasting as a content medium and monetization platform, with Stitcher as the end-to-end leader in this space.”
