Audioboom revenues double as more people tune into its podcasts

Audioboom‘s strong growth has continued into the new year, with revenues more than doubling as more people tuned into its podcasts. 

The company, which hosts the This is Money podcast, raked in a record $19.7million in revenues in the first quarter, up 107 per cent from the same period last year.

Average global monthly downloads increased by 45 per cent to 126.2million, as it benefited from new podcasts launches, including Devils in the Dark, which topped the UK True Crime podcast chart.  

The company’s production division also launched National Park After Dark, a podcast about parks and what can go wrong there, and Could I Get In Your Pantry?, a podcast about dating and food. 

Meanwhile, it secured long-term renewal of key partnerships including Casefile True Crime, Mile Higher, Strange & Unexplained, Lights Out and The Sesh.

In March alone, Audioboom global downloads hit a record 131million. 

The company, which turned a profit for the first time last year, hailed ‘record’ profit before nasties of $900,000 in the quarter as advertisers bought slots in its shows. 

It secured more than $60.5million of advertising bookings for 2022 – already more than the entirety of its 2021 revenue.

Audioboom also continued to see strong growth on its ad technology platform, which allows podcasters to add adverts to older episodes of their shows without needing to re-edit them. 

Revenue from advertising technology was more than 150 per cent ahead of the same period last year and now makes up over 11 per cent of total group revenues. 

Chief executive Stuart Last said: ‘I am delighted to report that our fast growth has continued into 2022, further increasing our market share, deepening our work with our creators, expanding our options for advertisers, and achieving success for our original programming.’

However, AIM-listed Audioboom shares tumbled 5 per cent in early trading. 

The company, founded in 2009, has seen stellar growth, with shares rising by almost 1,000 per cent in two years – from around £1.80 in April 2020 to £19.55 today. 

Property developer Nick Candy has seen a windfall as he is the company’s second biggest shareholder with a 15 per cent stake.

Audioboom’s studios division makes podcasts on topics such as the American Mafia, former President Donald Trump and famous military operations, and the interview programme presented by television star Sue Perkins. 

Content produced by its partners include No Such Thing as a Fish, hosted by the writers of BBC comedy show QI, F1: Beyond the Grid, and The Outlander Podcast, a discussion spin-off of the hit fantasy series.