Spotify Partners Chernin Entertainment to Adapt Podcasts for Movies, TV Shows

Spotify wants to turn more of its original podcasts into TV shows and movies. The company recently announced a partnership with Chernin Entertainment, the production company behind Ford v Ferrari, Hidden Figures, and New Girl, to develop TV and movie pitches based on Spotify-exclusive and original podcasts. The “first look” partnership means Chernin will get first dibs on developing pitches around Spotify IP. Spotify says its library now consists of more than 250 original shows from which Chernin can work off initially.

“Spotify has one of the largest libraries of unattached IP that exists in the world today and that library is being added to daily,” Chernin said in a prepared statement. “This treasure trove of content plus the acceleration of new voices and stories provides an enormous opportunity to transform these addictive stories and IP into content for the screen.”

Turning podcasts into movies and shows has already proven to be a potential moneymaker for companies. Chernin, Spotify, and Pineapple Street Media are already collaborating on a TV adaptation of The Clearing, and Gimlet Media, which is now owned by Spotify, also turned its show Homecoming into a Prime Video original series.

Podcasts are cheaper and easier to make than TV shows and can prove a story’s worth before studios commit to funding expensive, on-screen production. Even movie stars, like Rami Malek, are starring in fictional podcasts, setting themselves up to be audio stars with the potential to be cast in a visual adaption of their show, too.

Spotify partnering with Chernin means it has a reputable production company at the ready, looking for opportunities to capitalize on the company’s catalog without Spotify having to staff up in Hollywood.

September 28, 2020