Radio Host Elvis Duran Launches Video Podcast Venture Podrophenia With Paul Heyman, MCM Studios for Creator-Led Shows (EXCLUSIVE)

Elvis Duran, one of terrestrial radio’s biggest talk-show hosts, has formed a new partnership to develop, produce and monetize creators’ video podcasts — providing what he claims are Hollywood-level production facilities in New York City.

Duran already oversees a slate of more than a dozen podcasts under the Elvis Duran Podcast Network, which is operated by iHeartMedia. The company is home to “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show,” which has aired on iHeart’s Z100 station for more than three decades and is syndicated nationwide.

But Duran says the time is ripe for a new approach to producing podcasts and vodcasts. “We are seeing the need for a different level of production quality for new video podcasts,” he told Variety.

Duran is one of the partners behind Podrophenia, touted as a “next-generation podcast, vodcast and creator development company.” The venture brings together the Elvis Duran Group; Looking4Larry, a creative marketing agency co-founded by WWE personality Paul Heyman and producer Mitchell Stuart; and production company MCM Studios, headed by Michael Canzoniero.

“We felt there had to be a place to take our talent for these shows,” Duran said. “You need more than a microphone and booth” to make a breakthrough podcast show today.

Podrophenia’s inaugural flagship series is “Hello Randy,” hosted by Randy Fenoli, longtime host of TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress.” Fenoli’s show is expected to premiere later this year through iHeartMedia and the Elvis Duran Podcast Network; details about the podcast are being kept under wraps for now. Additional original programming announcements are expected throughout 2026, according to the company. Duran said he’ll use his daily radio show to promote the Podrophenia shows and podcasts.

In its deals with creators, Podrophenia will provide upfront compensation as well as profit-sharing terms. Some of the shows will be distributed via iHeart, but Podrophenia also is eyeing other platforms, according to Duran.

The partners behind Podrophenia say their key differentiator is that they can provide an array of services, spanning show development, premium production, post-production, audience growth strategy, marketing support, sponsorship opportunities and strategic distribution.

“In looking at today’s landscape, we’ve seen so many studios that are turnkey and therefore built on the premise of minimal alterations” to their sets, said Heyman, who performs for WWE as a villainous wrestling manager. “Podrophenia is the first studio specifically customized to the host’s personality and also the concept. We’re not just building a content hub for creators — we’re building a creator hub for the content.”

Podrophenia’s partners are looking at all kinds of creators for potential shows, Heyman said. “It’s a matter of, Is there an audience for this? Is there a lure for advertisers and sponsors to come on board? The lens I’m scouting for is ‘uninhibited’ — if a hot dog vendor on Lexington Avenue has a compelling story to tell, I want that person in Podrophenia’s studios.”

Podrophenia will operate from MCM Studios’ production facility located in Chelsea, which features sound-controlled studios, customizable sets, broadcast-quality audio infrastructure, cinematic lighting systems, creator green rooms, post-production capabilities and collaborative production spaces. MCM Studios has hosted productions including those associated with Steven Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO,” wing-eating talk show “Hot Ones,” Keke Palmer and more.

Stuart, of Looking4Larry, said that podcasting has “evolved far beyond simply recording conversations.” Podrophenia’s ambitions are to build creator-led content brands that extend beyond podcasts, into films, merchandise and more, he said. “We are going to look at people who, yes, have a big fanbase. But it’s not the Instagram version of them,” he said. “We’re looking at authentic storytelling.”

Meanwhile, Duran said he’s interested in hosting his own show for Podrophenia at some point. On his daily radio show, he typically sits alongside three co-hosts. “I would like to go to a place of doing one-on-one interviews,” Duran said. Heyman also said he’s been “toying with the idea of a podcast” since 2011: “When the time is right, and the marketplace is ready, I’ll come out of the gates blasting.”

The Podrophenia name is a play on “Quadrophenia,” The Who’s classic double album released in 1973. More info is available on the Podrophenia website.