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Acast

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Acast
Company typePublic
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]
SubsidiariesPodchaser,
  • RadioPublic
Websiteacast.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]

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

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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

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Present

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Past

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References

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  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. ^ a b 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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