Podcast hosting and advertising company Libsyn is expanding its ad network with the purchase of Podcast Ad Reps (PAR). Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in first quarter 2022, were not immediately released.
PAR and its employees will be combined with Libsyn’s advertising arm AdvertiseCast. PAR founders and Co-CEOs Rick Selah and Anthony Savelli will join AdvertiseCast’s leadership team.
“On the heels of AdvertiseCast’s continued growth, we looked throughout the industry for additional opportunities to connect great content with our growing roster of advertisers,” Libsyn Chief Revenue Officer Dave Hanley said in the announcement. “We quickly identified PAR and its leadership team as best-in-class and believe they will be a great addition to the AdvertiseCast organization. On behalf of everyone at Libsyn, we feel fortunate to partner with industry leaders like Rick and Anthony and to embark on this new chapter of growth as we all look forward to helping more creators thrive.”
Founded in 2018 when Selah and Savelli left Himalaya and its HiStudios, PAR handles podcast advertising for 120 exclusive podcasts on its network, including New Rockstars Inside Marvel, The Official Yellowstone Podcast, Almost 30, and Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast. Libsyn says PAR revenue more than doubled year-over-year in 2021 to $8 million. And Selah told Inside Radio sister publication Podcast News Daily in December that 2022 ad sales were already pacing at 60% of what they billed in 2021.
The acquisition will give Libsyn more host-read inventory to sell along with more publishers for Libsyn’s fledgling programmatic advertising business.
“Our goal at PAR is to empower the creator economy by offering a no-strings-attached, simple advertising service that can amplify the specific creative processes of our podcasters,” Selah and Savelli said in a joint statement. “We are incredibly proud that the vast majority of our original publishers have remained with us since our launch and credit the company’s success to our incredible team and our brand-friendly approach. We are excited to partner with Libsyn and AdvertiseCast and to deliver more services to even more creators on this larger platform.”
The acquisition comes on the heels of Libsyn’s $30 million deal to buy the podcast rep firm AdvertiseCast in June 2021, which greatly expanded its podcast ad inventory. Libsyn followed that up last November with a deal to buy the small podcast-focused Podgo Media, adding more “niche content” to the AdvertiseCast platform.
“With the acquisitions of AdvertiseCast in June 2021 and now PAR, Libsyn is well-positioned to continue to rapidly scale in the podcast advertising market, which PWC estimates will reach $3.5 billion by 2025,” Libsyn CEO Brad Tirpak said. “We plan to continue to invest in our award-winning hosting platform, expand both our host-read and programmatic advertising efforts, and look for new ways to make Libsyn the preferred destination for both creators and advertisers.”
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