(Full disclaimer: I worked at Panoply for a brief stint, well before it became what it is today.) Panoply officially rebranded as Megaphone in early 2019. As competition in the podcast space grew more intense, the company pivoted towards specifically focusing on hosting and ad tech in fall 2018, divesting from the content business as a result. That early incarnation saw Panoply spread out across multiple lines of businesses: content production, ad sales, and hosting technology. Megaphone was once known as Panoply Media, originating as a podcast-focused sister company spun out of Slate in February 2015. Also worth noting: Joel Withrow, the former Director of Product at Megaphone, joined Spotify in early 2019, and currently serves as a Group Product Manager at the company. This acquisition doesn’t quite come out of nowhere, as Spotify has been using Megaphone to support at least some of its original programming portfolio for some time now. The deal is expected to come in at around $235 million, pending review, according to a person familiar with the matter, and employment offers are expected to be made to all current Megaphone staffers.
The Swedish audio streaming platform announced the move to acquire Megapone this morning, stating in the official press release that it has “entered into a definitive agreement” to buy the podcast hosting platform currently owned by Graham Holdings. Photo-Illustration: Vulture, Spotify and Megaphone
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