Acast Explained

Acast
Type:Public
Area Served:Worldwide
Num Employees:386[1]
Subsid:Podchaser,
Hq Location City:Stockholm
Hq Location Country:Sweden

Acast is a Swedish-founded company that provides hosting, monetization and growth support for podcasts, and podcast advertising solutions for brands and media agencies. Launching in 2014,[2] it developed a dynamic insertion technology which can target advertising within podcasts based on location, time, and personal data.[3] The company champions an independent and open ecosystem for podcasting, where podcasts hosted with Acast are available on all podcast listening apps.[4] Acast was founded by and Måns Ulvestam in 2013;[5] [6] together with Johan Billgren as co-founder.[7] Acast hosts over 88,000 podcasts, with over 430 million listens every month. The company operates worldwide with a physical presence in 15 countries, and has its headquarters in Stockholm.[8]

In addition to the founders, Bonnier has also invested in the company.[9] In 2018, additional investors had stepped in with more than $67 million. In 2019, the European Investment Bank invested 25 million euros in Acast,[10] and on June 17, 2021, Acast was listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier Market at a valuation of approximately SEK 7 billion.[11]

Acast enables digital publishers to insert ads targeting niche audiences.[12] [13] The platform distributes, monetizes and markets podcasts including My Dad Wrote A Porno, The Adam Buxton Podcast and Shagged Married Annoyed, as well as publishers including The Guardian, The Economist, Vice, Vogue and the Financial Times.[14] [15]

History

In 2014, four months after launch, Acast was named Start-up of the Year by IDG magazine, Internetworld,[16] and ‘Most innovative media service’ at mobile industry awards .[17]

In May 2015, Acast closed a $5m Series A funding round, led by Bonnier Growth Media. This was supplemented by an undisclosed follow-on investment from early-stage venture capital firm MOOR, owned by Kaj Hed, majority owner of Rovio Entertainment.[12] [18]

In 2016, Acast launched a paid subscription service called Acast+.[19]

In December 2018 the company raised $35 million from AP1 and Swedbank Robur (sv) funds Ny Teknik and Microcap in Series C funding. This has brought total funding to more than $67 million.[20] In 2019, Acast acquired Pippa, another podcast hosting platform.[21]

Since 2019, Acast has offered a free hosting tier for podcasts.[22] The European Investment Bank invested €25 million in Acast in 2019.[23]

In early 2021, Acast announced the acquisition of RadioPublic, a Boston-based startup founded by the public radio organization PRX.[24] [25]

In April 2021, rumours about an IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm surfaced.[26] Founders Rosander and Ulvestam sold their last shares earlier in 2021, to fund their new startup .[27] Queerstories joined the Acast Creator Network in May 2021.[28] [29] [30]

In March 2022, Acast announced that they would be discontinuing their podcast client app. The company cited its decreased importance as a source of user data and their preference for platform-independence in the decision.[31] [32]

In July 2022, Acast signed an agreement to acquire Podchaser, a platform-agnostic podcast database with user reviews, for $27 million by August 2022.[33] [34] [35]

In August 2022, Acast was ranked #2 in Podtrac's ranking of ad sales networks for podcasts in the US.[36]

In November 2022, Acast entered into a partnership with Amazon. Through the agreement Amazon Music bought all advertising space for thousands of Acast's podcasts, allowing Amazon customers to listen to those shows ad-free.[37]

In February 2024, RadioPublic announced their app would close permanently at the end of March.[38] After that date, RadioPublic show links began redirecting to the same shows on Podchaser.

Notable podcasts hosted by Acast

Present

Past

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Acast Interim report January – March 2022 . Acast . 23 July 2022.
  2. Web site: 2015-02-01 . Acast öppnar för reklam i podden - Dagens Media . 2022-11-29 . 2015-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150201001217/http://www.dagensmedia.se/nyheter/dig/article3822928.ece . dead .
  3. News: Dale . Brady . Stockholm Startup Acast Solves Podcasters' Advertising Problem . Observer . 12 June 2015.
  4. News: Sinclair . Sophia . 2020-09-23 . Acasts kamp för att fortsätta dominera poddvärlden . sv . Svenska Dagbladet . 2022-11-29 . 1101-2412.
  5. News: Podcast platform Acast raises $19.5 mln to fund expansion, boost staff . Reuters . 20 September 2017 . en.
  6. Web site: 2017-07-31. Podcasts were guys talking about tech, then along came Serial. 2020-11-25. the Guardian. en.
  7. Web site: Få spinn på din försäljning på Amazon – experten ger dig supertipsen. 2020-11-25. Breakit. sv.
  8. Web site: Acast lanserar Keyword Targeting och öppnar upp nya möjligheter för podcastannonsering . 2022-11-15 . 2022-11-29 . investors.acast.com.
  9. Web site: Redaktionen . Bonnier Ventures köper aktier i Acast för 150 miljoner . 15 February 2022 . 2022-11-29 . sv-SE.
  10. Web site: Ha . Anthony . 2018-12-05 . Acast raises $35M to help podcasters make money . 2022-11-29 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  11. Web site: WendelText . Analys:Johan . 2021-06-11 . Ledningen de största vinnarna när Acast noteras . 2022-11-29 . Dagens industri . sv.
  12. News: Lawson . Alex . After Serial, funding pours into podcasting . https://web.archive.org/web/20210522143205/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/podcast-boom-serial-s-wake-sees-acast-record-5m-funding-10257029.html . 2021-05-22 . limited . live . The Independent . 18 May 2015 . en.
  13. News: Cellan-Jones . Rory . Can podcasts turn a profit? . BBC News . 19 August 2016.
  14. News: Acast Sets Its Sights On Smaller Podcasters. . Insideradio.com . 21 November 2019 . en.
  15. News: Thiessen . Connie . Acast to sell CBC/Radio-Canada podcast slate globally . Broadcast Dialogue . 25 November 2019.
  16. News: Startuplistan 2014: Här är årets vinnare . Internetworld . 31 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141103173711/http://internetworld.idg.se/2.1006/1.591814/startuplistan-2014-har-ar-arets-vinnare . 3 November 2014 . sv.
  17. News: Guldmobilen: här är bilderna på årets vinnare . Mobil . 7 November 2014 . sv-SE.
  18. News: Schweizer . Kristen . Swedish Startup Rides 'Serial' Wave Taking Podcast App to U.S. . Bloomberg . 9 November 2015 . en.
  19. News: Perlberg . Steven . Podcasts Experiment With Paid Subscriptions . Wall Street Journal . 23 May 2016.
  20. Web site: Acast raises $35M to help podcasters make money. TechCrunch. 5 December 2018 . 2018-12-05.
  21. Web site: Stories. Acast: For The. 2019-05-02. ACAST, THE LARGEST GLOBAL PODCAST COMPANY, ACQUIRES PIPPA. 2021-12-03. Acast. en.
  22. News: Acast introduces free option to host podcasts . RadioToday . 21 November 2019.
  23. Web site: Infrastructure for an era of crisis. 2020-08-24. European Investment Bank. en.
  24. Web site: Acast acquires podcasting startup RadioPublic . 2022-05-03 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  25. Web site: Bloom . David . Podcast Distributor Acast Buys PRX Tech Spinoff RadioPublic . 2022-05-03 . Forbes . en.
  26. Web site: Nordenstam . Sven . Karlsson . Johannes . 2021-04-22 . Acast på väg till börsen – kan värderas till över 5 miljarder . Dagens industri . sv.
  27. News: Wisterberg. Erik. 2021-03-31. "Ska riva ned varenda betalvägg som finns". sv. Svenska Dagbladet. 2021-04-30. 1101-2412.
  28. Web site: Queerstories podcast joins Acast . Mariam . Cheik-Hussein . 21 May 2021 . AdNews . 23 May 2021.
  29. Web site: Mumbrella . F.Y.I.Podcast Queerstories joins Acast Creator Network for season 3 . 19 May 2021 . 23 May 2021.
  30. Web site: B&T . Queerstories Podcast Joins Acast Creator Network For Season 3 . 19 May 2021 . 23 May 2021 .
  31. News: Acast to shut down its podcast app . PodcastingToday . 4 March 2022.
  32. News: Acast Is Shutting Down Its Own App In The Name Of An Open Podcast Ecosystem. . Insideradio.com . 3 March 2022 . en.
  33. Web site: Acast acquires podcast database Podchaser . 2022-07-18 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  34. Web site: 2022-07-18 . Acast Acquires Podchaser – The World's Most Comprehensive Podcast Database . 2022-07-18 . Investors.Acast.com . Acast.
  35. Web site: Podchaser Joins Acast Articles on Podchaser . 2022-07-18 . Podchaser . en.
  36. Web site: 2022-10-19 . Podtrac Launches New Podcast Sales Network Ranking . 2022-11-29 . podnews.net . en.
  37. Web site: EkText . Henrik . 2022-11-03 . Acast i nytt samarbete med Amazon – aktien rusar . 2022-11-29 . Dagens industri . sv.
  38. Web site: RadioPublic is Shutting Down . RadioPublic . 2024-02-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240319182358/https://radiopublic.com/farewell-from-radiopublic-69MjRZ/s1!c639f . 2024-03-19 . 2024-04-14 .

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