Acast has posted its first year in profit in its year-end report following 19 per cent sales growth across the calendar year.
The company also revealed that it has paid creators in Australia and New Zealand to the tune of $44.9 million since launching locally in 2017.
Acast’s ANZ Creator Network saw an increase in homegrown talent achieving international success, with new additions including global podcasting phenomenon Casefile True Crime and iconic comedy show Toni and Ryan. The platform now hosts more than 140,000 shows and 3,300 advertisers globally, a number that grew by 24 per cent in 2024.
Earlier this month, Acast began its new partnership with Casefile, one of the world’s leading true crime podcasts and Australia’s most successful podcasting export. Casefile has grown into a multi award-winning global phenomenon since launching in 2016, when it became a mainstay in the Australian, UK and US charts within its first year. With over 800 million total listens to date, Casefile adds 80 million annual listens to Acast and consistently ranks among the top podcasts globally.
In August 2024, Acast announced a new multichannel partnership with iconic Australian podcast duo Toni Lodge and Ryan Jon, whose daily podcast consistently delivers 3 million monthly listens alongside a combined social media reach of 4.2 million followers. The show boasts a mammoth audience across both audio and video, locally and internationally, with highly engaged ‘TARPers’ (Toni and Ryan Podcasters) in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and beyond.
Henrik Isaksson, regional MD of Acast AU/NZ said: “Podcast advertising is growing and is now firmly cemented as a go-to choice for many Australian brands. Being able to share revenue numbers like these – in what has been a pretty tough couple of years in the Australian advertising market – proves that you can launch a podcast independently and thrive whilst doing so. What is even more exciting is the return on investment that advertisers and brands are seeing when utilising the medium correctly. One of the main drivers of growth has been our ability to move with market demand and expand our omnichannel capabilities by delivering campaigns that span audio, video, social and more.”
Acast has also continued its focus on expanding its Creator Network in New Zealand, with recent additions including the #1 long-form interview podcast, Between Two Beers, and Frances Cook’s newly launched financial show Making Cents with Frances Cook. Hosted by Steve Holloway and Seamus Marten, Between Two Beers boasts more than four million total downloads and features in-depth conversations with New Zealand’s biggest stars across the fields of sport, business and entertainment.
