A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. Podcasts are primarily an audio medium, with some programs offering a supplemental video component. Streaming applications and podcasting services provide a convenient and integrated way to manage a personal consumption queue across many podcast sources and playback devices. There are also podcast search engines, which help users find and share podcast episodes.
Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which was broken up in 2007; Cumulus owned the portion of the network that was purchased by Citadel Broadcasting that year.
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media markets.
Podcasts, previously known as "audioblogs", have roots dating back to the 1980s. With the advent of broadband Internet access and portable digital audio playback devices such as the iPod, podcasting began to catch hold in late 2004. Today there are more than 115,000 English-language podcasts available on the Internet, and dozens of websites available for distribution at little or no cost to the producer or listener.
ABC Audio is a radio syndicator, radio network and digital audio network in the United States. It is under the ownership of The Walt Disney Company, parent company of American Broadcasting Company (ABC), with satellite distribution being handled by Linkup Communications. It launched on January 1, 2015, as ABC Radio; it was renamed ABC Audio in 2019.
7digital Group PLC is a British publicly listed company that offers access to music, tracking and reporting for clients. London-based, 7digital provides end-to-end music services for the fitness, social media, DSPs, and gaming industries with brands such as Barry's and Triller. Advertising Age described 7digital in 2008 as a British download store, while the New York Times referred to them as a digital music company. 7digital's Smooth Operations, Unique Production and Above the Title companies are now branded 7digital Creative, and produce content for BBC Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 3. In 2009 HMV bought 50% of 7digital. In 2019, the company replaced their second CEO, Simon Cole, who had replaced founder/CEO Ben Drury. In February 2023, it was announced 7digital had been acquired by the Santa Monica-headquartered B2B music licensing company, Songtradr.
UBC Media Group was a production and content creation company which began as the Unique Broadcasting Company in 1989. In June 2014 the company merged with 7digital to form a global digital music and radio platform. The new company was called 7digital Group Plc.
TuneIn is a global audio streaming service providing news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users.
Stitcher was a media company that specialized in the creation, distribution, and monetization of podcasts. Stitcher created original shows through networks such as Earwolf and Witness Docs. Stitcher provided ad sales and distribution services to 300+ shows. Stitcher was home to one of the largest podcast listening apps. In July 2020, it was acquired by SiriusXM. The acquisition was finalized by 19 October 2020.
Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 590 million monthly active users, including 226 million paying subscribers, as of September 2023. Spotify is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts.
ITVX is a British ad-supported video-on-demand streaming service operated by ITV. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, as well as some exclusive and licensed programming.
Civolution is a provider of technology and services for identifying, managing, and monetizing audio and video media content. The company offers a portfolio of proprietary and patented digital watermarking and digital audio and video fingerprinting technology for media protection: forensic tracking of media assets in pre-release, digital cinema, pay TV and online; media intelligence: audience measurement, broadcast monitoring, internet and radio tracking; media interaction: automatic content recognition and triggering for second screen and connected television.
SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming services in the world and is available in 190 countries and territories. The service has more than 76 million active monthly users and over 200 million audio tracks as of November 2021. SoundCloud offers both free and paid memberships on the platform, available for mobile, desktop and Xbox devices. SoundCloud has evolved from a traditional online streaming platform to an entertainment company.
iHeartRadio is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. As of 2019, iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHeartMedia's radio network, the largest radio broadcaster in the United States with 128 million registered users as of 2019. Its main competitors are Audacy, TuneIn and Sirius XM.
Dubset is an online mixed-audio distribution platform that allows DJs to upload, host and share their mixes, podcasts, etc. It assures DJs that the underlying rights holders sampled within the mix will be paid royalties for their works. Dubset is the distribution arm of Dubset Media Holdings, which is based in New York City.
Mixcloud is a popular British online music streaming service that allows for the listening and distribution of radio shows, DJ mixes and podcasts, which are crowdsourced by its registered users.
Swell Radio was a mobile radio streaming application that learned user listening preferences based on listening behavior, community filtering, and a proprietary algorithm. Originally designed for use while commuting to and from work, the service focused on delivering spoken-word audio content to users. Major streaming partners included ABC News Radio, NPR, PRI, and TED
Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform developed by the namesake company Audacy, Inc.. The Audacy platform functions as a music recommender system and is the national umbrella brand for the company’s radio network aggregating its over 235 local radio stations across the United States. In addition, the service includes thousands of podcasts, created for the platform, hosted elsewhere, or station programming on demand. It was originally created by CBS Radio and was acquired by the former Entercom as part of the company's takeover of CBS Radio. The service's main competitors are rival station group iHeartMedia's iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Audacy is available online, via mobile devices, and devices such as Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV.
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, it developed a dynamic insertion technology which can target advertising within podcasts based on location, time, and personal data. The company champions an independent and open ecosystem for podcasting, where podcasts hosted with Acast are available on all podcast listening apps. Acast was founded by Karl Rosander and Måns Ulvestam in 2014; together with Johan Billgren as co-founder. 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.
Wondery is an American podcast network and publisher of podcasts including Dirty John, Dr. Death, and The Shrink Next Door. Wondery was founded in 2016 by entrepreneur and media executive Hernan Lopez. The company was launched with backing from 20th Century Fox. In late 2020, it was announced that Wondery had been purchased and is now owned by Amazon Music.
