Audible Strikes Multi-Project Podcast Deal With OBB Sound, Sets Scripted Horror Series ‘The Glowing’ From ‘The Ranch’ Writer Jason Zumwalt

Peter White
·3 min read
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Audible has struck a significant, multi-project deal with OBB Sound, the audio division of Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil producer OBB Media.

The Amazon-owned audio service has signed a multi-project, two-year deal with Michael D. Ratner’s company. Deadline understands that the deal is for a double-digit number of projects and is worth in the seven-figure range.

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The agreement will include a second season of Pursuit of Healthiness with Blake Griffin. The series, hosted by the NBA star returns on March 25, with guests including Kevin Durant, Jessica Alba and Malcom Gladwell.

It has also set The Glowing, a ten-part scripted podcast series. The Glowing is part survival tale and part possession horror which chronicles the story of a young woman undergoing a clinical trial cancer treatment who begins hearing a voice in her head that takes her from her home in the U.S. to a mystery buried deep within the ruins of Chernobyl.

The show, which will start production later this year, is written by Jason Zumwalt, who wrote on Netflix’s The Ranch, and was developed with OBB’s Elias Tanner. Zumwalt, who will also direct, exec produces alongside Tanner, Ratner and Scott Ratner.

OBB Sound produces podcasts such as Pretty Big Deal with Ashley Graham and Country Shine with Graham Bunn. CEO Michael D. Ratner, who executive produced The Pursuit of Healthiness will continue to executive produce all projects across the OBB Sound slate, alongside co-founder & COO Scott Ratner, and development and strategy exec Elias Tanner, who also serves as head of OBB Sound. Grace Delia will produce on behalf of OBB Sound.

The non-exclusive deal is Audible’s latest after striking similar pacts with the likes of LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company, Kevin Hart’s Hart Beat Productions, Charlamagne Tha God’s CTHAGOD World Productions and Stephen Curry and Erick Peyton’s Unanimous Media.

“OBB has a strong team of storytellers whose series and vision span genres, as proven through their work on our successful first hit together, Pursuit of Healthiness with Blake Griffin, and their forthcoming horror thriller, The Glowing. We’re excited to see what we can develop and create with them,” said Rachel Ghiazza, Audible’s EVP, Head of US Content.

“When we launched OBB Sound, it was with the collective vision as storytellers to create unmissable audio content alongside our great collaborators. I can think of no better collaborator than Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, to distribute our podcasts and series,” said Michael D. Ratner. “We are also excited about the endless potential synergies between our growing audio IP and our TV and film businesses as we see our podcasts as a go-to source for adaptation inspiration—whether an unknown character study, a scripted sci-fi epic or an A-list driven format, we are looking forward to sharing these powerful projects with our audiences globally.”

The deal was negotiated by UTA, where Ratner and the company are repped, as well as 3 Arts Entertainment, and Morris Yorn.

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