Acast, the international podcast hosting platform and advertising marketplace, has acquired RadioPublic, the podcast network and tech innovator founded in 2016. No financials are included in Acast’s announcement.
Acast calls itself “the power source of podcasting,” and claims to be the world’s biggest podcast marketplace. Its hosting platform serves 20,000 customers, and those podcasts reach 300-million listeners. The company’s brand advertising business owns a client list in the thousands of brands.
“The acquisition of RadioPublic is fundamentally a partnership of values,” said Leandro Saucedo, Acast’s Chief Business and Strategy Officer. “We both firmly believe in the open ecosystem of podcasting and have a shared commitment to aid listener discovery and support all creators.”
We see a technology affinity also; both companies have innovated on behalf of podcasters. In that department Acast might be best recognized for its arrangement with Patreon which enables podcast patrons of Acast-hosted shows to access exclusive episodes in any podcast app, not just in Patreon as is traditional. RadioPublic, for its part, built the Listener Relationship Management platform — which helps podcasters identify potential new listeners, gain interest in their shows, and connect with fans.
RadioPublic’s commitment to podcaster development goes beyond platform technology. Last year the company operated Podfund, a venture-backed podcast incubator backed by $2.3-million in venture investments — an open-door competition that any audio producer could enter. Our archive of reporting on RadioPublic is a drumbeat of announcements designed to support podcast growth on the creator level, and as a media category.
Acast is a sophisticated enterprise-level podcast technology developer and progressive advertising provider. The company grew its programmatic sales revenue 215% in 2020, and expects that line item to represent 10% of its 2021 business. Acast also placed its entire advertising inventory in the Strata, a campaign planning and buying platform for all media categories — the first podcast company to do so.
Matt MacDonald, Acast Chief Product Officer, said “There’s such strong alignment between the Acast and RadioPublic philosophies in our mutual support for — and belief in — a financially healthy, robust, open podcast marketplace. It’s exciting to think about bringing our insights and growth marketing tools to a large community of global podcasters.”
“We’re impressed by what RadioPublic has achieved and we believe that now — as podcasting is gaining more momentum than ever before — is the ideal time to bring RadioPublic’s talented team and company missions into the Acast fold,” said Saucedo. “This deal continues our quest to support all audio storytellers around the world, giving their stories the audience they deserve.”
RadioPublic will continue operating with no change in leadership or staffing.
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