FashionTelevision.com recorded more than one million downloads of its daily podcasts during the month of March, and the brand is now heading into spring marking another first – a podcast sponsor. FT just kicked off a sponsorship tie-in for fashion designer Betsey Johnson, bundling a pre-roll ad within podcasts with a banner ad buy on FashionTelevision.com.

CHUM Television director of interactive Stephan Argent says the fashion portal has recorded a 50% increase in monthly downloads since December. About 30% of that growth is attributed to audiences in Asia and Europe. Updated daily, the podcasts feature the latest content from the site’s 12 video channels covering fashion, photography and architecture news, plus designer interviews.

FashionTelevision launched as a TV show in 1985 and is now syndicated in more than 120 countries. CHUM reports audience reach in Canada for the brand is about 14 million.