Under a new partnership announced Thursday, Acast becomes the exclusive ad sales, hosting, and distribution partner for the entire TED Audio Collective in all global regions outside of Australia and New Zealand. Soundrise, the podcast sales arm of public media organization PRX, had been serving as the official sales and distribution partner to the TED Audio Collective.
Best known for its long running Ted Talks series, the TED Audio Collective is home to 26 podcasts across business, tech, health and wellness, and a variety of other genres. The network says it has 176 million listens globally for popular titles such as TED Talks Daily, How to be a Better Human, TED Business, and TED en Español, among others.
“The TED brand is synonymous with excellence and is a known destination for the curious,” Acast CEO Ross Adams said in the announcement. “The addition of the entire TED Audio Collective to Acast brings a massive and highly engaged global audience — and importantly monetizable listens — for advertisers around the world to connect with.”
According to Podcast Pulse, a recent report from Acast and Dentsu with Edison Research, 92% of podcast listeners tune in to podcasts to learn more about specific topics. Additionally, 80% listen to niche podcasts with content made for people with specific interests. Among these niche podcast listeners, 94% have taken action after hearing a podcast ad.
“At TED, we are dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation across our global network,” said Alan Seiffert, Head of Global Business Development at TED. “With Acast’s leading ad tech tools and partnerships, we’re confident that this partnership will help to continue to scale the TED Audio Collective around the world.”