Acast has signed an agreement to acquire Podchaser, one of the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative podcast databases. The planned acquisition strengthens Acast’s commitment to ensuring podcasts are accessible across all platforms, says the company.
Podchaser, which will continue to operate as a separate brand and independent business, was founded in 2016 and is home to a global podcast database, covering more than 4.5 million podcasts and more than 1.7 billion data points — including hundreds of thousands of ratings and reviews, and the advertisers of the world’s top 5,000 podcasts, says the company. This proprietary data — which will also remain open to all — spans and powers the entire open podcast ecosystem, and is used by listeners, podcasters, advertisers and industry professionals.
Through verified listener and podcaster contributions, Podchaser’s database allows listeners to discover new podcasts and find information about existing ones — across all listening apps — as well as providing transparent data for advertisers and marketing professionals to find and reach engaged podcast audiences. This increased visibility helps creators grow their shows and make more money, says the company.
The acquisition of Podchaser follows a number of recent announcements from Acast, including its integration with Facebook owner Meta and podcast creator Marc Maron joining the Acast Creator Network.
Ross Adams, Acast’s CEO, said: “As true champions of open podcasting, Acast and Podchaser combined will accelerate the innovation and democratization of the podcasting ecosystem for podcasters, listeners and advertisers everywhere. Together we will unlock the vast opportunity that we know exists for open podcasting to not just have parity with the data held by closed, paywalled platforms, but to leap forward and surpass them.”
Bradley Davis, CEO at Podchaser, commented: “Podchaser and Acast have a shared ethos around supercharging the open podcast ecosystem and creating the best tools possible for listeners, podcasters, and advertisers. It’s this conviction, coupled with Acast’s relentless execution, that makes it the perfect home for Podchaser’s continued mission.”
