BBC Sounds has announced a licensing deal for two popular Goalhanger titles, The Rest Is Football and The Rest Is History. Audiences will be able to enjoy episodes on BBC Sounds starting next week.

Hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, The Rest is Football brings quality analysis and insight on all the latest stories from the world of football from three of the biggest names in the game. BBC Sounds will air one episode per week, two days after general release. The first episode is due to drop on 27 November.

The Rest is History is the popular podcast-chart-topping show, hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook and covers a vast range of historical topics. It comes to BBC Sounds after a successful trial period which ran between September 2022 and January 2023. BBC Sounds will air two episodes a week, eight weeks after general release. The first episode is due to drop on 29 November.

Jonathan Wall, Director of BBC Sounds, says: “We’re delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with Goalhanger, adding not one, but two outstanding ‘The Rest Is’ podcasts to our existing world-class history and sports content on BBC Sounds. And these popular titles don’t just broaden our audio offering for listeners – they underscore our continued dedication to driving growth in the UK podcast industry and collaborating within the sector.”

Tony Pastor, Co-Founder at Goalhanger, says: “We’re excited to announce that episodes of ‘The Rest Is Football’ and ‘The Rest Is History’ are now available on BBC Sounds, giving listeners even more ways to enjoy the shows. While, of course, remaining available on all other podcast platforms and YouTube.”

The arrangement comes in the form of a one-year deal with the opportunity to extend, with episodes remaining available on BBC Sounds for three years.

The move is the latest in a string of successful acquisitions by BBC Sounds, aiming to broaden and deepen the content offer by acquiring independently produced podcasts, licensed for the UK, non-exclusively and ad-free. This recently included the acquisition of a trio of podcasts from Tortoise Media, which saw Hoaxed, Sweet Bobby and Pig Iron added to a dedicated Tortoise Investigates feed on BBC Sounds.

The BBC is committed to investing in British creativity, and supporting acquisitions is just one of the ways that the BBC fulfils its ongoing commitment to growing the podcasting industry in the UK. BBC Sounds just had its first month delivering three million listens for acquisitions, and just recently proudly signed independently made British podcast Weird in the Wade, which won gold at the 2024 British Podcast Awards.

AT2