HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Acast is a Swedish-founded company that provides hosting, monetization and growth support for
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s, 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 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. In addition to the founders, Bonnier has also invested in the company. In 2018, additional investors had stepped in with more than $67 million. In 2019, the European Investment Bank invested 25 million euros in Acast, and on June 17, 2021, Acast was listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier Market at a valuation of approximately SEK 7 billion. Acast enables digital publishers to insert ads targeting niche audiences. The platform distributes, monetizes and markets podcasts including My Dad Wrote A Porno,
The Adam Buxton Podcast ''The Adam Buxton Podcast'' is a podcast in which the English comedian Adam Buxton interviews friends and celebrities. The first episode was released on 15 September 2015. Recurring guests include Buxton's comedy partner Joe Cornish of Adam a ...
and Shagged Married Annoyed, as well as publishers including ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'', ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econ ...
'', ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or Habit (psychology), habit generally considered immorality, immoral, sinful, crime, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refe ...
'', '' Vogue'' and the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikke ...
''.


History

In 2014, four months after launch, Acast was named Start-up of the Year by IDG magazine, '' Internetworld'', and ‘Most innovative media service’ at mobile industry awards . In May 2015, Acast closed a $5m
Series A funding A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...
round, led by Bonnier Growth Media. This was supplemented by an undisclosed follow-on investment from early-stage
venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...
firm MOOR, owned by Kaj Hed, majority owner of
Rovio Entertainment Rovio Entertainment Oyj (formerly Relude Oy and Rovio Mobile Oy and doing business internationally as the Rovio Entertainment Corporation) is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Founded in 2003 by Helsinki University of Technology ...
. In 2016 Acast launched a paid subscription service called Acast+. In December 2018 the company raised $35 million from AP1 and
Swedbank Swedbank AB () is a Nordic- Baltic banking group based in Stockholm, Sweden, offering retail banking, asset management, financial, and other services. In 2019 Swedbank had 900,000 private and 130,000 corporate clients and a 60% market share ...
Robur ( sv) funds Ny Teknik and Microcap in Series C funding. This has brought total funding to more than $67 million. In 2019, Acast acquired Pippa, another podcast hosting platform. Since 2019, Acast has offered a free hosting tier for podcasts. The European Investment Bank invested €25 million in Acast in 2019. In early 2021, Acast announced the acquisition of RadioPublic, a Boston-based startup founded by the public radio organization PRX. In April 2021, rumours about an IPO on
Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
Stockholm surfaced. Founders Rosander and Ulvestam sold their last shares earlier in 2021, to fund their new startup . Queerstories joined the Acast Creator Network in May 2021. In March 2022, Acast announced that they would be discontinuing their podcast client
app App, Apps or APP may refer to: Computing * Application software * Mobile app, software designed to run on smartphones and other mobile devices * Web application or web app, software designed to run inside a web browser * Adjusted Peak Performan ...
. The company cited its decreased importance as a source of user data and their preference for platform-independence in the decision. In July 2022, Acast signed an agreement to acquire Podchaser, a platform-agnostic podcast database with user reviews, for $27 million by August 2022. In August 2022, Acast was ranked #2 in Podtrac's ranking of ad sales networks for podcasts in the US. 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, meaning Amazon customers can listen to those shows ad-free, opening up a new revenue channel for the company and broadens the revenue stream for creators.


Notable podcasts hosted by Acast

* ''
Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast ''Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast'' (or ''RHLSTP'' ()) and ''Richard Herring's Edinburgh Fringe Podcast'' are two related comedy podcasts, created and hosted by British comedian Richard Herring. Hosted on The British Comedy ...
'' * ''
The Adam Buxton Podcast ''The Adam Buxton Podcast'' is a podcast in which the English comedian Adam Buxton interviews friends and celebrities. The first episode was released on 15 September 2015. Recurring guests include Buxton's comedy partner Joe Cornish of Adam a ...
'' * '' Distraction Pieces Podcast'' * '' Dungeons & Daddies'' * '' The Magnus Archives'' * '' My Dad Wrote a Porno'' * '' The Penguin Podcast'' * '' The Indy Football Podcast'' * ''
The Football Ramble ''The Football Ramble'' is a podcast, book and website about association football, produced in London by The Football Ramble Ltd. Originally provided fortnightly, this was increased to a weekly show at the beginning of the 09/10 football sea ...
'' * '' Shagged Married Annoyed'' * ''
The Young Turks ''The Young Turks'' (TYT) is an American progressive news commentary show on YouTube that additionally appears on selected television channels. TYT serves as the flagship program of the TYT Network, a multi-channel network of associated web ser ...
'' * '' Aunty Donna Podcast'' * ''
WTF with Marc Maron ''WTF with Marc Maron'' is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand-up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald. Background The show's t ...
''


References

{{reflist Podcasting companies Companies based in Stockholm