The Guardian, The FT, The Economist and more team up with Acast to launch new consortium

Acast launches Publishers in Podcasting, a UK consortium dedicated to advancing the podcasting industry, promoting trusted audio journalism and encouraging healthy debate.

Publishers in Podcasting (PiP) is the very first membership consortium of its kind. Bringing together some of the most influential publishers in the UK, the purpose is to use members’ collective experience and trust to progress the podcast industry for the common good. By sharing information, experience and expertise, the consortium will aim to continue to further the power of the podcasting industry for publishers, advertisers and listeners alike.

Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast platform, has a long history of working closely with household-name publishers. Since 2014, the company has hosted and monetised global publishing powerhouses, including podcast networks from The Economist, The Guardian, and the BBC. With such a pedigree of premium publishers, Acast provides advertisers access to the highest-quality content, the most financially-secure audiences, with the most significant scale, through the most relevant stories.

Alongside Acast, members of Publishers in Podcasting will be; The Economist, The FT, The Guardian, News Broadcasting and Tortoise Media. This core membership will be the foundation for Publishers in Podcasting, with the scope to expand as the consortium develops.

The consortium will aim to share ideas, celebrate success, overcome challenges and develop standards across the publishing podcast industry in the UK. One of the most extensive outputs from publisher podcast networks is news podcasts. There is a growing demand for trusted news sources, and this has led to an increase in the popularity of news podcasts. Acast has seen an 18% growth in listens across UK publishers in the last two years, and 1 in 5 news podcast listeners say they use podcasts as their primary news source. One of the first topics the consortium will approach is how to continue that growth.

Alexandra Fuller, Senior Partnerships Manager for Publishers, Acast: ‘For the first time, the UK’s biggest publisher podcast networks are coming together alongside Acast to discuss the biggest topics in podcasting. This is a seminal moment and proves that the power of podcasting can bring leaders together to outline the next steps for growth in our industry. We’ll aim to meet each challenge collectively and work together to further establish podcasting as one of the most trusted news sources for listeners and advertisers.”

For more information on getting involved, visit publishersinpodcasting.com or advertise.acast.com.

About Acast

Since 2014, Acast has been creating the world’s most valuable podcast marketplace, building the technology which connects podcast creators, advertisers and listeners. Its marketplace spans 100,000 podcasts, 2,300 advertisers and 400 million monthly listens. Crucially, those listens are monetized wherever they happen - across any podcasting app or other listening platform.

The company operates worldwide and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Acast is listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (ACAST.ST).