Courtside Group, INC.

PodcastOne IPO

PodcastOne officially filed for its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on December 27, 2022.

The IPO was a result of the company being spun off from its parent company, LiveOne, with the goal of increasing shareholder value and raising funds for other podcasting acquisitions.

The exact IPO date is currently unknown as the spinoff was expected to take place before the end of 2022, but no specific date was provided.

Company Overview & History

PodcastOne, founded in 2012, is a leading podcast platform and publisher, distributing its content via all podcasting distribution platforms including its own website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more. It is a majority-owned subsidiary of LiveOne, a Delaware corporation and a Nasdaq-listed company.

The company is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, and as of the time of the IPO filing, it had 41 employees.

PodcastOne covers a wide variety of content verticals, including sports, entertainment, true-crime, business, society & culture, and self-help, providing a platform for brands to reach their targeted audiences.

As of 2022, the company had a valuation of $60 million and had more than 2.1 billion downloads a year, with an expected revenue of over $9 million for the quarter that ended June 30, 2023

Financial Performance

Year	Revenue($M)	Net Income($MB)	EBITDA($B)	Operational Cash Flow($B)
2022	32.3	-4.1	-	-

Business Model

PodcastOne’s business model primarily revolves around ad revenue, sponsorships, direct selling of premium content, and affiliate marketing. Sponsorships, where companies sponsor the podcast, is the number one way podcasters make money.

These ads are usually read in the designated slots, and they generally fall into three categories: pre-roll podcast ads at the intro, mid-roll podcast ads during the podcast at various points, and post-roll podcast ads at the end of the podcast.

Direct support involves gaining direct audience support in the form of donations, subscriptions (for premium content), and selling their own product or service.

Finally, affiliate sales occur when a custom link is generated that takes listeners to another website to purchase a product/service, whereby the podcaster earns a set commission on each sale

Market Cap Over the Years

Year	Market Cap($M)
2023	230 - 274
2022	230 - 274
2020	18.1

Risk Factors

A significant risk factor for PodcastOne is its reliance on advertising revenue. The company’s business model is centered around providing advertisers with monthly impression opportunities.

However, there’s a risk associated with this model as the company’s success is highly contingent on its ability to attract and retain advertisers.

The dynamics of the advertising market, fluctuations in advertising spend, and shifts in advertiser preferences could all potentially impact the company’s revenue.

Another risk factor lies in the competitive nature of the podcast industry. PodcastOne is up against several other well-established platforms, many of which have significantly larger user bases. For instance, Spotify had 144 million premium subscribers at the end of 2022, a figure that far exceeds PodcastOne’s reach.

Market Opportunity

Podcasting is a rapidly growing industry with significant market opportunity.

The current market size is between $10-15 billion, and it is projected to grow at a Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25-30%. This rate of growth would enable it to surpass a $100 billion market size by 2030.

Given this, PodcastOne is well-positioned to capitalize on this expanding market, especially given its status as a leading podcast platform and its broad range of content verticals

Competitors

Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Amazon Music
Stitcher
iHeartMedia
Spotify
SiriusXM
Entercom
TuneIn
SoundCloud
Cumulus Media

Key/Fun Company Facts

PodcastOne is one of the largest podcasting networks in the world, known for hosting and distributing a wide range of popular podcasts across various genres.
The company was founded by Norm Pattiz, who is also the founder of Westwood One, one of the largest radio networks in the United States.
The network boasts a vast library of podcasts, featuring a diverse lineup of hosts and content creators. Some notable podcasts on PodcastOne include “The Adam Carolla Show,” “The Steve Austin Show,” and “The Dan Patrick Show.”
PodcastOne has collaborations and partnerships with numerous well-known personalities and celebrities, such as Shaquille O’Neal, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Laura Ingraham, and many others.
PodcastOne has garnered a significant audience base, with millions of monthly listeners tuning in to their podcasts from around the world.
The company has received several awards and accolades, including multiple Webby Awards and a 2020 Gold Award from the Cynopsis Podcast Awards for the “LadyGang” podcast.