PodMov Daily: Monday, February 22

Episode 375: Your Monday Mix

Acquisition by Acast Will ‘Supercharge’ RadioPublic

Podcast hosting and advertising company Acast has acquired the startup RadioPublic. A ‘spinoff’ of PRX, RadioPublic launched a podcast app in 2017 and has since focused on designing tools for creators. According to Tyler Falk of Current, engagement features like Podsite were the primary draw for Acast. 

Acast is known for its staunch support of an open podcasting ecosystem. Leandro Saucedo, the Stockholm-based company’s chief business and strategy officer, claims to The Verge that Acast is “the largest podcasting business in the world.” It now hosts 20,000 feeds but still revolves around advertising. 

For RadioPublic co-founder Matt MacDonald, the deal fuels new ways to expand podcasters’ autonomy: “How do we enable you, as the creator, to control the relationship you have with your audience? We believe that a podcast’s listeners are the podcast’s listeners. They are not the platform’s customers.”

Reply All: One Reckoning Leads to Another

A Reply All series about Bon Appétit’s racism scandal made it two episodes in. On Tuesday, former Gimlet employee Eric Eddings (The Nod) accused Reply All co-host PJ Vogt and senior reporter Sruthi Pinnamaneni of creating “a near identical toxic dynamic” for their coworkers of color during unionization.

“To me, it felt disingenuous to frame this story in that way, as if they had not participated in something similar,” Eddings told Jenny Gross of The New York Times. Vogt and Pinnamaneni have both publicly apologized for their behavior, such as working “aggressively” against the union and disparaging its organizers.

Lydia Polgreen, Gimlet’s managing director, told staff in an email that Vogt would be stepping down (a move that’s now permanent): “From the moment I arrived at Gimlet, it was clear that our culture needed work, and that there were big things that needed to change to make this a better, more equitable place.”

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Here's what else is going on:

• Worth it: What’s the difference between a $25 CPM and a $3 CPM? Edison Research SVP Tom Webster identifies the “secret sauce” of podcasting: “your ability to build a relationship with your listeners, engender trust, aspiration, and yes, goodwill — and to transfer those to an advertiser.”

• Just ask: Bethel Habte, a reporter and producer at Gimlet, presents “seven questions for people in narrative radio that truly want to do better, including its Black author.” Questioning oneself, she says, is the difference between intent and action. The thread will be published by Transom.

• Greener grass: How many podcasters are switching to different hosting companies? A new interactive graphic from Podnews visualizes that number, along with the companies they leave and where they choose to land. Updated daily, the page reflects findings over the last seven days. 

• Camera ready: The British Podcast Awards 2021 is officially open for entries. “To get you ready for putting your brilliant entry together,” its organizers suggest reading over (expanded) categories, rules/guidance, and last year’s winners/nominees. Entries will be accepted until March 29.