TuneIn and Cumulus expands deal, adds 325 podcasts, plus radio programming

Sections

Axios Local

Axios gets you smarter faster with news & information that matters

About

Subscribe

Exclusive TuneIn expands deal with Cumulus

, author of Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/AxiosExit Content Preview TuneIn will add 325 podcasts to its audio streaming platform as part of a renewed deal with media company Cumulus, CEO Richard Stern tells Axios. Why it matters: The expanded content partnership helps TuneIn better compete with Spotify, Apple and other audio platforms for listeners' time. It's the latest in a series of deals by TuneIn to improve its service after recapitalizing in 2020. Details: The deal adds podcasts from Cumulus Podcast Network to TuneIn including sports, comedy and news shows. Cumulus' radio programming from 405 stations in 86 U.S. markets also will be available on TuneIn. "For us, it's about having everything our listeners might want to listen to in the world of live content on the platform," Stern says. Context: Stern, a former executive at Amazon and Sony, joined TuneIn in 2020 after a consortium of existing and new investors led by Innovation Endeavors acquired the company, recapitalized it and brought on a new management team and board. The new leadership reworked TuneIn's business strategy, leaning away from play-by-play sports content and into providing radio shows and podcasts, says Rick Scanlon, a founding partner at Innovation Endeavors."We saw this incredible long tail of content as being a key differentiating factor for TuneIn, all the world's radio, everything, everywhere in infinite dial and really reinventing that space," says Scanlon, who serves as executive chairperson of TuneIn. TuneIn also has signed a content distribution deal with and added as another car partner. By the numbers: TuneIn began operating profitably, for the first time in the company's history, shortly after the recapitalization, Stern says. TuneIn's annual revenue exceeds $100 million, and the company's growing 40% year-over-year, he says.TuneIn has about 200 employees, mostly in the U.S., and is expanding in Europe. TuneIn has 75 million total monthly listeners, with about 70% tuning in outside the U.S., and with Western Europe, Central America and South America as its biggest markets. Of note: Stern says TuneIn is not fundraising at the moment."Because we're profitable, we don't need a whole lot of cash," he says. "On the other side, I do want to create opportunities for our strategic partners to participate in the equity side of TuneIn."

Go deeper