Podcast Revenue Grows Double-Digits For Movie Producer Cineverse.

Movie producer Cineverse, best known for its horror films, says there is nothing scary about the impact that podcasting is having on its bottom line. The company reports another quarter of double-digit growth for the segment. Cineverse says its podcast revenue jumped 39% in the latest quarter as its show count increased to 57 with series like the true crime Creepy Places.

But while horror may be the most natural place to start, Erick Opeka, Cineverse’s President and Chief Strategy Officer, said Cinevese is expanding its podcast advertising base beyond horror with new content genres launching this year, including comedy, and women’s lifestyle and wellness, which he predicts will be the largest driver of new podcast revenue during 2025. “We’re doubling down on entertainment partnerships and actively engaging with studios to invest in the non-ore side of our business beyond our core genre business,” he said during a conference call with investors.

Cineverse has announced that it will debut a new series called Midnight Pulp this year. Hosted by Diana Prince, who plays “Darcy the Mail Girl” on Shudder’s top series “The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs,” each episode of the podcast will explore an entry from the streaming video channel, with Prince taking questions from listeners on everything from relationship advice to movie recommendations.

Cineverse has also soft-launched RetroCrush, its first podcast created for anime fans. On the show, hosts Malcolm Crawford, C2 and “it’s Eman” — three well-known anime fans — explore the hidden gems and popular shows featured on Cineverse’s RetroCrush streaming channel in weekly episodes. “While entertainment remains our lead vertical, we’re now securing deals with advertisers in retail, fashion, travel and packaged goods,” he said.

By moving beyond horror and true crime, Opeka says Cineverse has significantly expanded its advertising base to clients including Hulu, Sony Pictures, Macy’s, Paramount Plus, Mint Mobile, A24, Quint and Focus Features.

“Looking ahead, our focus is clear. We will continue expanding our IP-driven theatrical slate, scaling our subscription growth through premium content investment, deepening our direct ad sales relationships, advancing our AI-powered technology initiatives to Cineverse as the leader in next-generation media distribution,” Opeka said.

Helping drive the sales numbers is a growing listener base. Opeka told investors that Cineverse reached 15 million downloads during the fiscal quarter that ended Dec. 31. He said that 50% to 55% of its advertising slots are also sold via programmatic sales and bundling podcasts with other Cineverse products.

“Our advertisers love it,” Opeka explained. “It’s highly differentiated from pure-play CTV, which is in wide abundance and high availability right now and not very differentiated. So this is a very differentiated approach. That’s driving up CPMs.” While programmatic accounts for half of podcast sales right now, he said the target in the next 18 to 24 months is to push that well below 50% as the company continues to expand its podcast sales team. “To further drive this growth, we’re hiring up a new head of podcast sales to focus on evangelizing the Cineverse Podcast Network to more brands and buying agencies, accelerating revenue growth beyond the triple-digit growth we already have seen this year,” he said.

Cineverse reported total revenue of $40.7 million during the fiscal quarter ending Dec. 31, up 207% from a year earlier as its “Terrifier 3” moving release reached No.1 in North American theaters during October. It had net income of $7.2 million, with adjusted earnings of $10.8 million.