Former Investigation Discovery chief Kevin Bennett and “Anatomy of Murder” podcast co-host and producer Scott Weinberger are launching Authentic Wave, a new multi-media podcast venture focused on the true-crime genre.
The New York-based venture will develop and produce premium true-crime and mystery series with unique audio and video components available for distribution on multiple platforms, including original productions, co-produced, and re-versioned content.
Bennett, who exited Warner Bros. Discovery in 2021 after several years spent serving as the general manager of ID, and Weinberger, a vet of both the investigative journalism and law enforcement fields, have previously collaborated on multiple TV projects at ID.
“Scott and I worked to launch the true crime phenomenon on cable TV and now we are thrilled to bring our experience to this medium,” Bennett told PvNew. “With our combined expertise in the crime and mystery space, we know how to tell incredibly compelling true crime stories that satisfy audiences who are looking for original and authentic storytelling.”
Weinberger produced the ID series “On The Case with Paula Zahn” and “True Conviction” and currently co-hosts and produces the “Anatomy of Murder” podcast.
“Kevin and I have worked together for more than a decade creating hit true crime content for ID,” Weinberger said. “Now is the right time to bring this partnership to new platforms. With his expertise and my proven success in the podcast space, we are going to offer something truly unique to the true-crime market.”
Though an announcement regarding pricing for the Authentic Wave podcast hub is still forthcoming, Bennett says Authentic Wave is “absolutely exploring both advertising and subscription” models. “It depends on the project for sure, and the idea here is that there is absolutely going to be, for the vast majority of what we’re looking at, be an ad-supported version of that and perhaps a premium-tier subscription base, too, that listeners or viewers could get extra material, or hear uninterrupted by advertising.”
Weinberger says he and the former ID general manger also plan to utilize their respective TV experience to “step into a new sort of genre” with “vodcasting.” “Which really is sort of mixing the two: mixing television and podcasting, using music and video,” he added. “Without getting too specific on how we’re going to do that, it is something that we’re looking into and we’ve got some great collaborations planned with producers and partners on that. I think we’ll be able to really take some advanced steps within that genre.”
Bennett noted he and Weinberger are “moving very quickly” on their Authentic Wave launch titles, with “several shows in development that we’re very excited about.” “The most important thing about our rollout is we want to make sure everything we launch has a full distribution, marketing push behind it,” he said. “So that’s really our primary focus. Obviously, we’re very keyed in on the production side, too. We want these things to be done quickly and efficiently and, most importantly, be at the very high standard that we think this content should be at.”
