Broadcaster and cousin of US President Joe Biden, Laurita Blewitt’s podcasting firm has recorded profits of over €190,000 in its first year in business.
The Co Mayo woman is a member of the highly successful Tommy, Hector and Laurita (THL) podcast along with comedian and presenter, Tommy Tiernan and presenter, Hector O’hEeochagain that has generated over 20 million listens in its first two and a half years.
Now, new accounts for Ms Blewitt’s podcast firm, Lightning Seeds Ltd show the podcast venture has been a very lucrative one to date.
READ MORE - Podcast co-host says Tommy Tiernan would accept Late Late Show hosting role on one condition
Ms Blewitt only incorporated her Ballina podcast company on August 17, 2021 and the accounts to the end of September 30 of last year show that the company recorded post-tax profits of €190,775.
The accounts show that the firm paid out a dividend of €150,000 last year from the profits and the company had accumulated profits of €40,775 at the end of September.
The success of the THL podcast has also coincided with a surge in profits at Hector O’hEeochagain’s media firm, Low Profile Ltd.
Separate accounts show that the well-known presenter’s Low Profile Ltd recorded post-tax profits of €172,181 in 2022 and this followed post tax profits of €132,548 during the first full year of the podcast in 2021.
Ms Blewitt is one half of one of the country’s best-known media couples after her marriage to outspoken GAA pundit, Joe Brolly in August of this year.
The most recent accounts for Brolly’s JB Sports Analysis Ltd show that it had cash funds of €278,475 at the end of September 2021.
The company - since renamed Gold Hat Productions Ltd - paid out dividends of €74,329 in 2021 and this followed dividends paid out of €131,284 paid out in 2020.
The company recorded profits of €48,733 in 2021 and profits of €74,329 in 2020.
The former RTE pundit recently made his own foray into the world of podcasting, launching his own Freestate podcast with Dion Fanning.
The stars of the THL podcast recently announced that they are taking "a well-earned break" for the summer and new episodes are due out again in September.
The podcast took home the Spotlight Award and Best Entertainment Award at the 2022 Irish Podcast Awards, and regularly tops the Irish podcast charts.
The podcast generates income through subscriber-only content, advertising and the sale of merchandise.
Asked to comment on the success of the THL Podcast, MD of Creative Campaigning at TENEO, Sean Earley stated that the podcast "employs pretty much the entire suite of revenue generation tactics" by podcasters "which is paying dividends to them."
He said: "Successful podcasting is rooted in good radio. Strong hosts with chemistry, digestible content chunks, recurring segments and good audio design….The opportunities for commercialisation are vast once you’ve found your audience and the appetite is certainly there in this market."
He added: "It may be said that the world and its mother now has a podcast but with the continued growth of the format especially in Ireland – Reuters Institute Digital News Report from June 2022 put us top of the league table for podcast listenership with 46 per cent of us saying we had listened to one in the past month - showing that there’s plenty of demand for new content in a still growing in the sector domestically."
READ NEXT:
- Toilet roll shortage fears as new EU law comes into effect
- Covid Ireland: First cases of new Arcturus strain confirmed here as unique symptom reported
- 'Fat' Freddie Thompson pens funeral tribute to his late mother: 'You're the best mother in the world'
- Mobster Cornelius Price 'paid over €100,000 for Robbie Lawlor to be assassinated' - after luring him with fake hit
- Woman's body found in water near popular walking route in Cork
Get news updates direct to your inbox by signing up to our daily newsletter here
