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During Cumulus’ Q4 2018 earnings conference call CEO Mary Berner had a lot of great things to say about the Westwood One Podcast Network.
Berner reported that Cumulus’ overall digital business - what’s called C-Suite - grew by more than 60% in 2018. And, she said that digital “meaningfully outpaced the radio industry.”
Starting off at 46% growth in Q1 of 2018, digital revenue in Q4 grew by 76% according, to Berner, who added the digital and podcasting businesses are hitting their stride for the company and have been solidly profitable from the beginning.;
And Berner says podcasting has been a nice addition to the Cumulus portfolio. The Westwood One Podcast Network includes show from Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin, Suze Orman, Dennis Miller and others. In 2016, according to Berner, Cumulus’ podcasting division generated $100,000 in revenue. In 2018 she says podcasting generated $12.5 million in profitable podcasting revenue and she remains excited about the future of podcasting. “We are thoughtfully building a profitable business despite ambitious growth targets.”
Berner says podcasting is not a winner-take-all game. “We expect to emerge as one of the leaders when the dust settles.”