Regulatory press release

Acast to open up Acast+ to all podcasters

Following a successful beta, Acast — the world’s leading independent podcasting company — has today announced its Acast+ offering is now widely available to all podcasts hosted with Acast.

Available in 135 countries, Acast+ is a raft of powerful subscription tools created to support podcasters across most podcast listening apps.

Acast+ demonstrates Acast’s creator-first mission by giving podcasters of all sizes creative freedom and even more ways to connect with their listeners and make money from their craft. With Acast+, podcasters can offer paying subscribers ad-free streams, early access, exclusive content such as bonus segments, whole exclusive episodes, spin-off series, and so much more.

The beta period saw 25 Acast shows across eight different markets engaging with fans and increasing their revenue through Acast+. With tens of thousands of listeners signing up (and a 40% leap in subscribers from November to December 2021 alone), beta partners saw an average revenue increase of 25% within the testing period.

The Acast+ beta suggests that subscription programs that focus on producing bonus content, in addition to having a strong presence and activity on social media, resonate with listeners the most. This combination converted in some cases up to 5% of listeners to paying subscribers during the testing phase. One notable beta partner — The Tommy, Hector, and Laurita Show, based in Ireland — converted nearly 7% of its total regular audience to paying subscribers, resulting in a 46% boost in recurring revenue.

“Sorry, Everything Went To Hell”, a 12-part weekly documentary series in Sweden that offers its full season in advance to Acast+ subscribers, saw 3,400 paying subscribers just one week after launch.

In addition to driving additional revenue, beta partners have also used the opportunity to develop their listener relationships. Daily US podcast The Bert Show uses Acast+ to give fans a look behind the scenes, bringing them closer to its presenters and production, and driving fan loyalty. Subsequently, they too have seen an increase in revenue.

"The Bert Show's authenticity and vulnerability is what really drove me to become a member. I feel less lonely having that connection to the world." Subscriber feedback

Acast+ is an important part of Acast’s future growth and scaling plans, and will support the company in growing and diversifying its own revenue streams. Going forward, Acast will generate c. 15% revenue per listener contribution. These revenues will be accounted for net of the podcaster’s share in Acast’s financial statements.

As Acast+ becomes available to all podcasters on Acast, the next stage of the product roll-out will include providing additional formats, such as bundling and seasonal offerings.

Acast CEO, Ross Adams said: “Acast+ gives all podcasters even more ways to get closer to their audiences, providing them with richer data to better understand their listenership and shape their future content.

“And, as we’ve seen in the beta phase, there’s significant money to be made — this launch is an important step in supporting creators to keep making the shows people love, and protecting the open podcasting ecosystem.”

About Acast

Acast was founded in 2014 and is one of the most eminent podcast platforms, and a pioneer in the open podcast ecosystem, connecting all podcasting stakeholders to one common software infrastructure. Through its infrastructure, Acast allows advertisers to efficiently target an engaged audience of listeners through dynamic ad insertion, while podcasters are given access to a range of monetization opportunities and the necessary tools to expand their listener base. The company has a global footprint across 12 countries and, during 2020, had approximately three billion listens on Acast-connected podcasts. Today, Acast hosts more than 30,000 shows. Acast’s headquarters are located in Stockholm, Sweden and the Company has nine local subsidiaries including UK, US, Australia, Norway, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico and Canada. In recent years, Acast has undergone an expansion with continued strong growth, with net sales increasing from SEK 180 million in 2018 to SEK 592 million in 2020. As a result of Acast’s recent growth initiatives, the number of listens grew from approximately one billion (2018) to three billion (2020). In the third quarter of 2021, Acast had 891 million listens and an organic net sales growth of 89% (versus Q3 2020). Acast was co-founded by Johan Billgren, its current Chief Innovation Officer, and is listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market. Certified Adviser is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399.