Back in 2018, I estimated revenue multiples between 4x – 6x for podcasts (see 2018 post), albeit with very limited data. At that time, podcast acquisitions were rare and if they did occur, they were rarely mentioned in the public.
Since 2018 until 2024, active podcast listeners in the US increased over 50%.
From 2024 to 2027, North American podcast listeners are projected to continue widening, with an estimation of ~180 million listeners.
Source: Edison ResearchIn the last 5 years, podcast acquisitions by major companies like Spotify, Amazon, SiriusXM have become the target exit goal for podcasts. We have certainly seen a number of these acquisitions arise during this timeframe.
Although we don’t have full visibility into the accurate data for the publicized acquisition headlines, the following assumptions were made:
- Advertising revenue of $20 – $50 per thousand downloads (CPM) being the industry average range.
- Number of annual downloads from publicly available data or estimate based on similar podcast and size.
- Advertising revenue makes up 70 – 80% of total revenue.
- Acquisition price in the table are based on public sources but are not confirmed.
From these assumptions, the median revenue multiple for podcast acquisitions is 5.8x and average of 6.3x. The minimum to max range is from 1.8x to 12.1x.
Below is the list of acquisitions gathered from public data.
| Podcast | Description of Target | Acquirer | Year | Acquisition Price | Annual Downloads | Avg Rev / 1000 Downloads | Annual Revenue from Ads (~70% Ad Rev) | Annual Total Revenue | Revenue Multiple | Source(s) | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuff Media | Publisher of HowStuffWorks podcasts | iHeartMedia | 2018 | $55,000,000 | 732,000,000 | $30 | $21,960,000 | $31,371,429 | 1.8x | Wikipedia | iHeartradio |
| Parcast | Scripted crime and mystery podcast network | Spotify | 2019 | $56,000,000 | 108,000,000 | $30 | $3,240,000 | $4,628,571 | 12.1x | Parcast | |
| Gimlet Media | Narrative podcast studio | Spotify | 2019 | $230,000,000 | N/A | $25 | $15,000,000 | $21,428,571 | 10.7x | Nieman | musicbusinessworldwide |
| The Ringer | Sports and pop culture podcast network founded by Bill Simmons | Spotify | 2020 | $200,000,000 | 420,000,000 | $50 | $21,000,000 | $30,000,000 | 6.7x | Market.us Scoop | |
| Wondery | Podcast network including "Dirty John" and "Dr. Death" | Amazon | 2020 | $300,000,000 | N/A | N/A | $40,000,000 | $57,142,857 | 5.3x | The Wrap | Nieman |
| Stitcher | Podcast platform, from E.W. Scripps Co. | SiriusXM | 2020 | $325,000,000 | N/A | N/A | $79,750,000 | $113,928,571 | 2.9x | Statista | |
| Wonder Media Network | Creative podcast studio focused on storytelling | Acast | 2023 | $7,800,000 | 24,000,000 | $30 | $720,000 | $1,028,571 | 7.6x | Acast | |
| Barstool Sports | Digital media company that produces sports and pop culture content, including podcasts, blogs, and videos | PENN Entertainment | 2023 | $388,000,000 | 1,000,000,000 | $50 | $50,000,000 | $71,428,571 | 5.4x | FrontOfficeSports | Jahani and Associates |
| Call Her Daddy | A comedy and advice podcast focusing on relationships, sex, and modern dating culture | Spotify | 2021 | $60,000,000 | 260,000,000 | $30 | $7,800,000 | $11,142,857 | 5.4x | Wikipedia | |
| The Joe Rogan Experience | Hosted by Joe Rogan, long-form conversational podcast covers a wide range of topics, including science, comedy, politics, fitness, and culture | Spotify | 2020 | $250,000,000 | 2,280,000,000 | $30 | $68,400,000 | $68,400,000 | 3.7x | WSJ | |
| Smartless | Podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes | SiriusXM | 2024 | $100,000,000 | 300,000,000 | $30 | $9,000,000 | $12,857,143 | 7.8x | The Verge | |
| Armchair Expert | Podcast hosted by Dax Sheperd | Amazon | 2024 | $80,000,000 | 300,000,000 | $30 | $9,000,000 | $12,857,143 | 6.2x | Variety |
If you have accurate source data or if there are podcast acquisitions I missed, leave a comment below.
As for public podcast companies, the median revenue multiple is 1.2x as of January 27th, 2025.
A contributing factor to a much lower median revenue multiple for public podcast companies is that these public companies have a lot of debt, so enterprise value was used rather than market cap.
Podcast revenue from advertising surged in 2021 during the pandemic lockdown as more people turned to digital entertainment. By 2026, revenue is forecasted to reach $2.56 billion by 2026.
We will sweep the internet for additional podcast acquisitions this year and add to the list above.