(1) Seems like $15 million is the magic number, huh? According to Digiday, Barstool Sports brought in about $15 million in podcast revenue last year, which makes up for more than half of its overall advertising revenue. The company previously did not disclose its podcast or overall revenue numbers, but it feels like recent messaging from The Ringer — which disclosed its $15 million 2018 podcast revenue in January, along with the fact of its podcast centrality — along with the recent major acquisitions (which came with specific dollar amounts) opened up a permission structure for competitors to make similar proclamations in the press. All these disclosures are great for us, of course, which I imagine will go pretty far in raising the general, amorphous confidence level around feelings about the broader size of this industry.
(2) WaitWhat, the studio responsible for the production of shows like Masters of Scale, announced that it has raised $4.3 million in Series A funding. The company was founded by former TED executives June Cohen and Deron Triff. The round was led by Cue Ball and Burda Principal Investments, with participation from Reid Hoffman, Jacki Zehner, Joi Ito, Julia Popowitz, Roy Martin, Ann Lovell, Will Allen, Maria Thomas, Joshua Schacter, Liminal Ventures, Scott Green, Victress Capital, Human Ventures, and Able Partners.
Venture funding for a content company, huh? Didn’t think that was still possible — or feasible — in the winds of early 2019.