Acast


Acast is a Swedish-founded company that provides hosting, monetization and growth support to podcasts. In 2014, it developed a dynamic insertion technology which can target advertising within podcasts based on location, time, and personal data.[1] Acast was founded by Karl Rosander and Måns Ulvestam in 2013;[2] with Johan Billgren as co-founder, amongst others.[3]

Acast
TypePrivately held company
Industry
Founded2013 (2013)
Headquarters
Stockholm 
Area served
Worldwide
Services
  • media
  • data and insights
  • production
Subsidiaries
  • RadioPublic
Websiteacast.com

Acast enables digital publishers to insert ads targeting niche audiences.[4][5] 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.[6][7]

History

In 2014, four months after launch, Acast was named Start-up of the Year by IDG magazine, Internetworld,[8] and ‘Most innovative media service’ at mobile industry awards Mobilgalan.[9]

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.[4][10]

In 2016 Acast launched a paid subscription service called Acast+.[11]

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.[12] In 2019, Acast acquired Pippa, another podcast hosting platform.[13]

Since 2019, Acast has offered a free hosting tier for podcasts.[14] The European Investment Bank invested €25 million in Acast in 2019.[15]

In early 2021, Acast announced the acquisition of RadioPublic, a Boston-based startup founded by the public radio organization PRX.[16][17]

In April 2021, rumours about an IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm surfaced.[18] Founders Rosander and Ulvestam sold their last shares earlier in 2021, to fund their new startup Sesamy.[19] Queerstories joined the Acast Creator Network in May 2021. [20][21][22]

In March 2022, Acast announced that they would be discontinuing 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.[23][24]

Notable podcasts hosted by Acast

References
  1. Dale, Brady (12 June 2015). "Stockholm Startup Acast Solves Podcasters' Advertising Problem". Observer.
  2. "Podcasts were guys talking about tech, then along came Serial". the Guardian. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  3. "Få spinn på din försäljning på Amazon – experten ger dig supertipsen". Breakit (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  4. Lawson, Alex (18 May 2015). "After Serial, funding pours into podcasting". The Independent.
  5. Cellan-Jones, Rory (19 August 2016). "Can podcasts turn a profit?". BBC News.
  6. "Acast Sets Its Sights On Smaller Podcasters". Insideradio.com. 21 November 2019.
  7. Thiessen, Connie (25 November 2019). "Acast to sell CBC/Radio-Canada podcast slate globally". Broadcast Dialogue.
  8. "Startuplistan 2014: Här är årets vinnare". Internetworld (in Swedish). 31 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014.
  9. "Guldmobilen: här är bilderna på årets vinnare". Mobil (in Swedish). 7 November 2014.
  10. Schweizer, Kristen (9 November 2015). "Swedish Startup Rides `Serial' Wave Taking Podcast App to U.S." Bloomberg.
  11. Perlberg, Steven (23 May 2016). "Podcasts Experiment With Paid Subscriptions". Wall Street Journal.
  12. "Acast raises $35M to help podcasters make money". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  13. Stories, Acast: For The (2019-05-02). "ACAST, THE LARGEST GLOBAL PODCAST COMPANY, ACQUIRES PIPPA". Acast. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  14. "Acast introduces free option to host podcasts". RadioToday. 21 November 2019.
  15. "Infrastructure for an era of crisis". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  16. "Acast acquires podcasting startup RadioPublic". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  17. Bloom, David. "Podcast Distributor Acast Buys PRX Tech Spinoff RadioPublic". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  18. Nordenstam, Sven; Karlsson, Johannes (2021-04-22). "Acast på väg till börsen – kan värderas till över 5 miljarder". Dagens industri (in Swedish).
  19. Wisterberg, Erik (2021-03-31). ""Ska riva ned varenda betalvägg som finns"". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  20. Cheik-Hussein, Mariam (21 May 2021). "Queerstories podcast joins Acast". AdNews. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  21. "F.Y.I.Podcast Queerstories joins Acast Creator Network for season 3". Mumbrella. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  22. "Queerstories Podcast Joins Acast Creator Network For Season 3". B&T. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  23. "Acast to shut down its podcast app". PodcastingToday. 4 March 2022.
  24. "Acast Is Shutting Down Its Own App In The Name Of An Open Podcast Ecosystem". Insideradio.com. 3 March 2022.
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