Global has acquired podcast hosting, analytics and monetisation platform, Captivate.
Based in Sheffield, Captivate hosts over 14,000 podcasts and has developed a range of innovative features to help podcasters with distribution, first-party attribution and podcast promotion, helping creators to harness, grow and monetise their audio influence.
The acquisition will see the Captivate platform integrated into Global Player, and podcast creators will be able to scale up monetisation opportunities with Global’s proprietary digital ad platform DAX.
Co-founder, Mark Asquith, who set up Captivate alongside Kieran McKeefery, both of whom will stay with the business, said: “Our vision for Captivate has always been clear: to proactively help independent podcast creators build their audio brand and to deliver a diverse range of monetisation options for them. Joining Global allows us to continue to fulfil that vision by bringing DAX and Global Player to Captivate podcasters, while also providing more opportunities for the platform to positively contribute to future of the industry.”
Stephen Miron, Group CEO, Global, said: “We’re delighted to be acquiring Captivate, a best in class self-serve platform for podcast creators, with access to market leading analytics and monetisation. This acquisition will enable us to support all talent in the podcast community from the very largest to emerging new talent. We believe that this platform, combined with the massive scale and reach of Global Player and DAX will give all our podcast partners an unrivalled advantage.”
The rising popularity of smart speakers and increased digital listening is driving growth of Global Player. As well as streaming live radio, Global Player users can skip songs and go to playlists, watch video from guest interviews, listen to a wide range of podcasts and watch live streams of Global’s events.
The acquisition of Captivate follows Global’s recent acquisition of US-based digital audio content and technology start-up, Remixd. Now integrated into Global Player and DAX, Remixd technology means digital publishers can convert online written articles into audio content with targeted adverts inserted.