Audacy has announced it will close its Cadence13 and 2400Sports podcast studios to unify the company’s podcast brands under one unit.
While no staffing cuts are expected, the company hopes utilizing one brand — Audacy Podcasts — will help in the sales effort of its burgeoning podcast efforts.
Audacy bought a 45% stake in Cadence13 in 2017 and completed a buyout of the company two years later. After valuing the podcast studio at $50 million at the time of purchase, the company reportedly prepped a 2022 sale of Cadence13 with hopes of garnering a $100 million purchase price. However, a deal never came to fruition. It launched 2400Sports in 2021 after becoming the official podcast partner of Major League Baseball.
“Consolidating our owned and operated podcasts under the Audacy umbrella enables us to deliver a single value proposition to the advertising community, streamline our portfolio narrative, and build further equity in the Audacy brand,” Chief Digital Officer J.D. Crowley told staffers in an internal memo.
While the company shutters two podcast brands, it will keep its Pineapple Street Studios brand active. Currently, that group offers production for outside content partners and advertisers, and hosts several companion podcasts for television companies like HBO and Netflix.
