Warner Bros. Discovery Inks Podcast Deal With Acast for Multiple Brands (Exclusive)

Warner Bros. Discovery has inked an exclusive podcast distribution and monetization partnership with Acast for several of its brands.

In the revenue-sharing deal, Acast will host, distribute and work as the exclusive sales partner for podcasts from the Food Network, TLC, HGTV, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and the Travel Channel, including Curiosity Daily, Food Network Obsessed, A Ghost Ruined My Life With Eli Roth. There will also be the opportunity to advise on the development of new podcasts. The shows will be distributed widely.

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Acast has been working with Warner Bros. Discovery Investigation Discovery brand since 2020 on its true crime podcasts, including Disappeared, Unraveled and Mind of a Monster.

“Our experience with Acast and their technology-driven approach to monetizing and growing audiences for our true crime content with Investigation Discovery was a proven success, making it easy to choose them as a partner to represent the rest of our select slate,” said Lisa DeCanio, vp podcasts at Warner Bros. Discovery.

This comes as Acast has struck similar partnerships with companies including BuzzFeed, The Economist, Daily Beast, BBC and A+E. Veronika Taylor, senior vp creator network at Acast, notes that media and entertainment companies make ideal partners because they know their brands and are good storytellers, while Acast can assist with expertise on the podcasting ecosystem.

“I know that advertisers are looking for that type of brand-safe media company content and there’s not a lot in the spaces that a lot of brands are really great at, so I think HGTV Food Network, Animal Planet are all wonderful kind of brands and verticals to grow in the audio space,” Taylor said of the Warner Bros. Discovery partnership.

Acast also struck a recent partnership with podcasting network Luminary, in which Acast will provide wider distribution and exclusive monetization for five of Luminary’s original podcasts.

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