Acast’s acquisition of US network Backyard Ventures is much more significant than the relatively modest $20m price tag would suggest.
Founded in Stockholm in 2014, Acast is the world’s leading podcast advertising network, helping brands connect with influential creators and their audiences.
Based in Austin, Texas, Backyard Ventures may not be instantly recognisable, but its roster of 200+ creators includes some of the most recognisable names in podcasting and beyond, including Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic and Piers Morgan’s Uncensored, which now has 4.6m subscribers on YouTube.
The $20m deal – comprising $16m in cash and $4m in Acast shares – is relatively modest, but the deeper significance should not be underplayed.
As well as cementing Acast’s position as the world’s largest pure-play podcast company, the acquisition extends its ability to monetise podcasters across every channel.
The reach is impressive. Backyard Ventures delivers 11.5 million monthly listens globally, along with 46 million simulcast views, and its creators’ audiences extend further still to 230 million monthly YouTube views and 35.5 million newsletter subscribers.
This gives Acast an even larger foothold in the premium US creator market, and the two businesses have an obvious synergy across video, social, newsletters and beyond.
This is a big selling point to advertisers seeking to reach highly engaged audiences across every platform.
While Acast brings enterprise-grade ad technology and the global infrastructure to run, measure and optimise campaigns across all of a creator’s channels, Backyard Ventures brings premium US inventory, video sponsorship expertise and specialist channel-by-channel selling.
By coming together, they will become market leaders in true omnichannel creator monetisation, giving brands a single, frictionless point of entry.
Greg Glenday, CEO of Acast, said it was a ‘milestone’ deal for Acast’s M&A team.
“Backyard Ventures has curated one of the strongest creator rosters in the US, alongside specialist teams with deep expertise in selling audio, video, social and newsletters,” he said
“That’s the perfect complement to what we’ve spent years developing – the technology, demand, and global scale to run omnichannel campaigns for creators: it’s an incredibly powerful combination. This is the future of podcast monetisation, and we’re building it now.”
Matt Cisneros, founder and CEO of Backyard Ventures, added: “Acast is the ideal home for our business, sharing our people-centric, entrepreneurial culture and our belief that creators deserve a partner who can serve their entire audience, not just one channel.
“Joining Acast gives our creators and sellers the infrastructure and scale, both in the US and globally, that would have taken us years to build, while allowing us to keep doing what we do best. We have always been creator-first, and I’m excited to accelerate that success with our shared vision.”
Backyard Ventures’ team is staying with the business, and its Austin operation will become Acast’s base in the city. The Backyard Ventures brand will be retired as the company is integrated into Acast.
‘I became a first-time founder in my 50s – and never looked back’
With exclusive access to over 140,000 shows and more than one billion listens each quarter, Acast gives advertisers unmatched reach across every major podcast app – and that reach just got bigger with the acquisition of Backyard Ventures.