Acast, the Swedish tech firm that helps companies and people publish and monetize podcasts, has introduced plans to amass podcast database Podchaser. Phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Based out of Stockholm in 2014, Acast is a outstanding model within the podcast expertise area, serving as a bunch and distribution platform that permits shops together with The Guardian and The Economist to publish their podcasts to just about any app, together with Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Acast additionally permits podcasters to dynamically insert ads into their reveals.
The corporate has raised some $126 million in its eight 12 months historical past, whereas it has a minimum of two earlier acquisitions to its title, together with RadioPublic which it purchased final 12 months.
Podchaser, for its half, was based out of Oklahoma in 2016, and closed a $4 million collection A spherical of funding final 12 months. Podchaser is like an IMDb for podcasts, permitting customers to seek for every part and something to do with podcasts, together with studying and posting critiques and filtering by class.
Billion-dollar business
Podcasting is about to turn into a $4 billion business by 2024 within the U.S. alone, in accordance with a latest report from the Interactive Promoting Bureau, representing virtually a threefold improve on the promoting income generated final 12 months. These numbers are vital when assessing why Acast is shopping for Podchaser.
Whereas Podchaser will proceed as a separate model and enterprise as soon as the acquisition closes, Acast mentioned that it plans a “deep integration” of Podchaser’s knowledge, giving its prospects “authoritative, structured metadata.” Certainly, whereas Podchaser is a consumer-focused platform by way of the way it aids discoverability, it’s additionally a utility for advertisers and entrepreneurs, because it permits them to seek out probably the most appropriate podcasts to promote their wares to. Focused promoting will play an vital a part of the fast-growing podcasting business, and it’s why Acast is bringing Podchaser beneath its wing.
Acast can also be fast to place itself as a champion of open podcasting, in distinction to a few of the different giants of the podcasting world comparable to Spotify — an organization that’s persevering with to take a position closely within the podcasting medium. Whereas Spotify and its ilk are creating what many argue are walled podcasting gardens replete with unique reveals and minimal knowledge insights, Acast touts its platform-agnostic ethos — one that offers advertisers deep insights into actions throughout the podcasting spectrum.
“Collectively we’ll unlock the huge alternative that we all know exists for open podcasting to not simply have parity with the information held by closed, paywalled platforms, however to leap ahead and surpass them,” Acast CEO Ross Adams mentioned in a press launch.