Acast

Last updated

Acast
Company type Public
Nasdaq First North:  ACAST
Industry
Founded2013;11 years ago (2013)
Founder
  • Karl Rosander
  • Måns Ulvestam
Headquarters
Stockholm
,
Sweden
Area served
Worldwide
Services
  • media
  • data and insights
  • production
Number of employees
386 [1]
Subsidiaries Podchaser,
  • RadioPublic
Website acast.com

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 Karl Rosander  [ sv ] 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]

Contents

In addition to the founders, Bonnier has also invested in the company. [9] In 2018, additional investors stepped in with more than $67 million. In 2019, the European Investment Bank invested 25 million euros in Acast, [10] and on 17 June 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 the mobile industry awards Mobilgalan  [ sv ]. [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 Sesamy  [ sv ]. [27] Queerstories joined the Acast Creator Network in May 2021. [28] [29] [30]

In March 2022, Acast announced that they would discontinue 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

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References

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