• Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
No Result
View All Result
UK Herald
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Sports
    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • food
    • Health
    • Travel
    This ‘incredible’ road will leave you both amazed and terrified

    This ‘incredible’ road will leave you both amazed and terrified

    The world’s funniest country revealed — and Brits are way off the mark

    The world’s funniest country revealed — and Brits are way off the mark

    Wizz Air launches 5 new Spanish routes from the UK – but not everyone is happy

    Wizz Air launches 5 new Spanish routes from the UK – but not everyone is happy

    I flew 4,600 miles to a Jamaican resort that offers more than just ‘fly and flop’

    I flew 4,600 miles to a Jamaican resort that offers more than just ‘fly and flop’

    I was Jet2 and Virgin cabin crew – here’s 3 ‘secret’ European destinations

    I was Jet2 and Virgin cabin crew – here’s 3 ‘secret’ European destinations

    British airport announces ‘major redesign’ including new restaurants and runway views 

    British airport announces ‘major redesign’ including new restaurants and runway views 

    ‘Like the Caribbean’: Ibiza’s quiet little sister with lunar beaches and turquoise oceans 

    ‘Like the Caribbean’: Ibiza’s quiet little sister with lunar beaches and turquoise oceans 

    This street in Europe is just 50cm wide and has traffic lights so tourists don’t get stuck

    This street in Europe is just 50cm wide and has traffic lights so tourists don’t get stuck

    My holiday breakfast buffet hack is controversial but it’s a money saver

    My holiday breakfast buffet hack is controversial but it’s a money saver

    UK company launches £5,000 sex cruise — these are the rules passengers must follow

    UK company launches £5,000 sex cruise — these are the rules passengers must follow

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Crypto
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Sports
  • More
    • Press Release
UK Herald
No Result
View All Result

How social and video drive revenue for UK podcast network Crowd

by Justin Marsh
July 16, 2025
0
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterReddit


Crowd Network

“We don’t really call them podcasts any more,” says Mike Carr, CEO of one of Europe’s fastest-growing podcast networks.

Carr co-founded Crowd in Manchester in 2020 along with three other ex-BBC Sports journalists, and the company is now behind some of Britain’s top sports podcasts, including For The Love Of Rugby with Dan Cole and Ben Youngs and Joe Marler’s Things People Do.

It has produced more than 20 podcast strands and two shows (For the Love of Rugby and For the Love of Cricket) each claim a million listens per month. The company is said to have doubled its revenue every year since 2020.

But the podcast market has changed rapidly since 2020, says Carr, and today it’s crucial to meet customers where they are, which often means YouTube.

He said: “Five years ago, when we launched, it was all about audio.  If you think about the podcast industry at the start of 2020, it was all about Spotify, chucking millions of pounds at companies that had loads of podcasts, and then that quickly disappeared. 

“At that time, we were a podcast network. Social media was kind of used as an aside to promote our shows and drive them to the audio RSS feeds.

“That has absolutely turned on its head now: podcasts are shows. We don’t really call them podcasts: they are shows. They are audio shows and video shows on YouTube. Our teams are built around all video producers and social media producers.”

The company is on track for three million listens and 100 million social views in July.

Carr said that today, Crowd Network’s brand partnerships with organisations such as Red Bull are heavily centred on social and video, making YouTube even more important – with the company now launching podcasts simultaneously as audio and YouTube. 

This mirrors the experience of the UK’s biggest independent podcast production company Goalhanger which has seen “explosive” growth since launching all its shows on Youtube.

The company is currently said to be seeing 80% year-on-year revenue growth, driven by brand partnerships and advertising. 

The company’s business model sees it launch “joint ventures” with each of its stars, many of whom are keen to forge careers that will endure after their sporting careers end. This also mirrors the approach of Goalhanger which offers its hosts a lucrative revenue split on advertising. 

Carr said: “We think the most effective way of doing it is to give them some ownership of the project. That is a very important strategy in what we do. That basically creates a business with each of our athletes that we work with. They provide being themselves, basically, and clearly we know the industry and we know the content side of things. Decisions are made together.

“It’s an exciting proposal for certain athletes who don’t just want to be paid and do a project, they want something that they can grow, something they can make decisions around.

Crowd has also worked with brands such as Greenpeace on two series of Oceans: Life Under Water, but sport remains the focus.

Carr said: “[Cricketer] Jos Butler has 3.5 million on Instagram. He’s absolutely massive in India, and you have to effectively use those channels.”

Carr said: “When you bring someone into a joint venture, you’re basically inviting them into your life. Your work life, your personal life, everything. So you have to really get to understand them before anything is signed.

“Sports people in the main are, you know, competitive beasts, and they do need management, however nice they are, they need to see improvement in themselves. They need to see improvement in the vision and the growth of the podcast. You know, they’re not going to settle for, ‘Yeah, that was all right’.”

Crowded content Director Steve Jones said both YouTube and Spotify are now starting to “reward” good content by making it more discoverable, which means it is easier to find an audience. 

He said: “I think you could have made the best content anyone’s ever heard in the podcast industry five years ago, and there’s a good chance it wouldn’t have been discovered. 

“If the content is good enough, there is now a way of getting it out there. You’ve got to be consistent, and you’ve got to get any workflow right. I think more so than ever, if an athlete has a good idea and makes good content, they will find an audience. That’s quite nice, because it’s definitely not always been the case.”

Jones says that a survey of 4,000 users found that the ways Crowd Network’s podcasts are discovered are very varied: with 14% arriving via Facebook, 20% via Instagram and a quarter via either Spotify or YouTube.

“None of them dominate,” said Jones.

Jones, who described the shows as “startups with athletes”, said: “The shift is each individual show has multiple revenue streams coming off it. Would I rather have ten shows or five shows: I’d rather have five valuable properties that can all sell live shows, go on tour, have merchandise, do big branded partnerships, as well as be a weekly thing that people enjoy listening and watching.”

The post How social and video drive revenue for UK podcast network Crowd appeared first on Press Gazette.



Source link

Related Posts

Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc) says premium ads up as programmatic declines

Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc) says premium ads up as programmatic declines

by Justin Marsh
August 5, 2025
0

People Inc, formerly Dotdash Meredith, has said it is seeing higher premium advertising revenue as programmatic ads decline. Dotdash Meredith renamed to People Inc last week, honouring its flagship title while moving...

David McCann appointed editor of Times and Sunday Times in Scotland

David McCann appointed editor of Times and Sunday Times in Scotland

by Justin Marsh
July 31, 2025
0

Former deputy editor David McCann has been appointed the new editor of The Times and Sunday Times in Scotland. McCann first joined the newsbrand in 2018 as news editor and became deputy...

News diary 28 July – 3 August: Starmer-Trump meeting, Edinburgh Fringe, Ofcom annual media data

News diary 28 July – 3 August: Starmer-Trump meeting, Edinburgh Fringe, Ofcom annual media data

by Justin Marsh
July 26, 2025
0

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Leading the Week Monday (July 28): Keir Starmer expected to meet Donald Trump...

PR agency sells AI tool which sends out automated expert comment to journalists

PR agency sells AI tool which sends out automated expert comment to journalists

by Justin Marsh
July 21, 2025
0

A PR agency is selling an AI tool that automatically answers pitches from journalists on services such as ResponseSource, HARO and Qwoted. The AI tool, called Synapse (not be confused with PR...

Journalist says 4,000 fake AI news websites created to game Google algorithms

Journalist says 4,000 fake AI news websites created to game Google algorithms

by Justin Marsh
July 11, 2025
0

More than 4,000 fake news websites powered by generative AI have been set up to game Google Discover and search, according to award-winning French journalist Jean-Marc Manach. The sites are largely in...

News diary 7-13 July: 7/7 bombings 20th anniversary, Netanyahu at White House, Macron state visit to UK

by Justin Marsh
July 6, 2025
0

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Leading the week Monday (July 7): St Paul’s service to mark the 20th...

Next Post
India Someday: Explore India your way!

India Someday: Explore India your way!

Popular News

The surprise strengthening of Rachel Reeves

The surprise strengthening of Rachel Reeves

August 5, 2025
Experts on what to do now if you think you Due Car Finance Compensation

Experts on what to do now if you think you Due Car Finance Compensation

August 5, 2025
This ‘incredible’ road will leave you both amazed and terrified

This ‘incredible’ road will leave you both amazed and terrified

August 5, 2025
Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc) says premium ads up as programmatic declines

Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc) says premium ads up as programmatic declines

August 5, 2025
One year of Labour and Europe — why the government must go further on EU reset 

One year of Labour and Europe — why the government must go further on EU reset 

August 3, 2025
New 1,250hp Corvette Zr1x Makes History at the Nurburgring

New 1,250hp Corvette Zr1x Makes History at the Nurburgring

August 2, 2025
The world’s funniest country revealed — and Brits are way off the mark

The world’s funniest country revealed — and Brits are way off the mark

August 2, 2025
UK Herald

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK

Important Links

  • Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise

...

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Science
  • National
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Sports
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Food

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK