The podcasting monetization and listener relationship company that began as a spinoff of a Public Radio program distributor RadioPublic has been acquired by Acast.
RadioPublic was founded in 2016 as a spinoff from PRX with then CEO Jake Shapiro moving to the company. Investors included many involved in the public radio and digital news space including PRX, WGBH, American Public Media, Graham Holdings, New York Times, The McClatchy Company, and Automattic. While Shapiro has since exited for
Apple Podcasts as Head of Creator Partnerships, fellow co-founders Chris Quamme Rhoden (who was Chief Technology Officer) and Matt MacDonald (Chief Product Officer) will join Acast.
Podcast giant Acast today announces the acquisition of RadioPublic, a US podcast technology start-up founded in Boston, Massachusetts. The acquisition will boost Acast’s presence in the US and further develop its world class tools and talent. RadioPublic’s Listener Relationship Management platform, which allows podcasters to foster even deeper relationships with fans, is at the heart of the acquisition.
The deal comes off the back of several important moves for Acast in the Americas – including its recent collaboration with leading member platform Patreon, which enables podcasters on the platform to distribute private, patron-only content to their listeners’ podcast app of choice, – as well as the hiring of Heather Gordon as its new managing director for Canada, and the launch of Acast in Mexico last year.
Leandro Saucedo, Acast’s Chief Business and Strategy Officer said: “The acquisition of RadioPublic is fundamentally a partnership of values. We both firmly believe in the open ecosystem of podcasting and have a shared commitment to aid listener discovery and support all creators.
“We’re impressed by what RadioPublic has achieved and we believe that now — as podcasting is gaining more momentum than ever before — is the ideal time to bring RadioPublic’s talented team and company missions into the Acast fold. This deal continues our quest to support all audio storytellers around the world, giving their stories the audience they deserve.”
Along with a suite of industry-leading tools including the Listener Relationship Management platform — which helps podcasters identify potential new listeners, gain interest in their shows, and connect with fans — the acquisition also sees RadioPublic co-founders Chris Quamme Rhoden (CTO) and Matt MacDonald (Chief Product Officer) join the Acast team. Co-founder and CEO Jake Shapiro has joined Apple Podcasts as Head of Creator Partnerships.
Chris and Matt have more than a decade’s experience in podcasting as part of PRX’s pioneering tech team, where they helped build the first generation of podcast listening apps for This American Life and WNYC. At RadioPublic, Matt and Chris led the development of the innovative suite of Listener Relationship Management platform products including Podsites, HearMarks, PodPass, and RadioPublic’s popular web embed player, iOS, and Android apps.
MacDonald added: “I’m thrilled to scale up how we’ve helped podcasters grow their audience and make more money now that we’re working with the talented, global team at Acast. There’s such strong alignment between the Acast and RadioPublic philosophies in our mutual support for — and belief in — a financially healthy, robust, open podcast marketplace. It’s exciting to think about bringing our insights and growth marketing tools to a large community of global podcasters.”
RadioPublic was launched in 2016 with backing from a range of institutional and strategic investors, including Project 11, The New York Times, TechNexus, Automattic, Bose, GBH, American Public Media, PRX, and the Knight Foundation. The acquisition will not affect RadioPublic operationally and it will remain functional without change.
