
When it comes to U.K. podcast producers, Immediate Media stands out. In 2022, the studio published more than 750 podcast episodes and averaged more than 5 million downloads per month across its 12 ongoing series. One of its most popular podcasts, HistoryExtra, also just celebrated a major milestone by hitting 200 million downloads. And now, we're excited to announce our new partnership with Immediate Media that will help the company take its content to the next level.
Starting in March, Immediate Media's podcasts will be hosted and monetized through Spotify's enterprise podcasting platform, Megaphone. With its portfolio-including the Radio Times Podcast, The olive magazine podcast, and the aforementioned HistoryExtra, along with BBC's Top Gear Magazine Podcast, BBC Good Food Podcast, and BBC Gardeners' World Magazine-Immediate Media offers content from premium brands that advertisers love.
With Megaphone's comprehensive set of industry-leading tools, Immediate Media can more effectively publish and grow its podcast business, by creating podcast ads for use on Spotify and other listening platforms.
NEXT
To celebrate this new partnership, we threw a launch event at our London office where attendees discovered more about the brand opportunities across the Immediate Media Portfolio. They also had the chance to meet HistoryExtra hosts Ellie Cawthorne and Dr. David Musgrove.
For the Record had the chance to sit down with Ben Youatt, Immediate Media's Head of Podcasts, and Dr. David Musgrove, who, in addition to being a host for HistoryExtra, also serves as a Content Director at Immediate Media, to learn more about how podcasting is evolving and what makes this partnership so exciting.
Immediate Media has been in publishing in the U.K. for quite some time. How has podcasting changed the game for media brands? Ben: Podcasting has allowed publishers to create an entirely new means of building relationships with their users and listeners because podcasting is built around intimacy. The nature of spending 40 minutes of your personal time listening to hosts and guests you are interested in has allowed publishers to garnish an incredibly loyal and heavily engaged audience in a way that is unique to the format.
Podcasts have also allowed publishers to make more efficient use of their content. At Immediate Media we make use of well-organized modes of production and 360-degree content strategies to ensure one piece of content no longer sits in one location. A podcast can easily generate video, social, and written content, helping our customers get the most out of their passions, regardless of the platform they use.
Tell us more about the partnership between Immediate Media and Spotify. Ben: Our brands already shine in the podcast space and reach a global audience, so a renewed focus on scaling our audience development across the podcast portfolio is key to our revenue growth. Not only through the continued success of our flagship HistoryExtra podcast, but also through the strategies we have in place for the full portfolio of brands we represent. We are excited to develop our relationship with Spotify and Megaphone to make sure that our household-name brands reach new audiences.
In addition to reaching an impressive 200 million downloads, HistoryExtra recently celebrated its 15th anniversary. What are some of the key factors behind the show's success? David: We've focused on quality conversations from the start, with world-leading guests and experts on the show. We've also brought the most exciting and cutting-edge historians to the ears of our listeners. And crucially, we've committed to releasing episodes at a regular cadence-and increasing that cadence to suit listener demand-which means that our listeners can trust that they're going to get a quality product on a regular basis. That matters when you're choosing which podcast to subscribe to.
But we've also invited the listeners to be part of our community. We've given them opportunities to submit their questions to our experts in our very popular Everything You Want To Know episodes, and delivered our HistoryExtra podcast newsletter so they can find out what is coming up on the show and get access to extra content online.
How does Immediate Media's coming to Spotify help the show continue to grow and thrive? David: I'm hoping it will give us an opportunity to reach out to even more listeners and serve our quality, trusted content to an even wider audience. From a commercial perspective we are equally excited about using data and shared learnings to explore how we increase brand count to work with partners across all categories, from finance to food, motoring to travel, fast-moving consumer goods to entertainment.
The benefit of having such a large, highly engaged audience is that we are relevant to so many advertisers. And so with Spotify's vast audio sales operation and ambitious plans, it makes for a very exciting journey ahead.
What are you most excited about for this next chapter of the HistoryExtra podcast? David: We'll be carrying on with the popular strands that we already do and making sure that we book the very best historians and cover the most exciting research projects in the months ahead.
We also have some great multipart investigative series on the way that explore timely topics like the American civil rights movement, the start of the First World War, and the story of the First Crusade. And we'll introduce a new interview format called Contested Reputations where we'll ask historians to consider how the legacies of key historical figures have changed over time.
Anything you can share about what's coming from Immediate Media in 2023? Ben: We have a number of exciting new formats and shows that we will be releasing
More from Spotify
30/06/2025
There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...
30/06/2025
When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...
27/06/2025
K-Pop remains one of the biggest genres globally, and many fans just can't get enough of it. That's why Spotify has launched a new series of K-Pop perf...
25/06/2025
Last week, content creators from all over the world flocked to Anaheim for VidCon 2025, one of the largest creator conferences in the U.S. As an official sponso...
24/06/2025
Last week, Spotify returned to the Croisette for our 11th year at the Cannes Lio...
20/06/2025
In just a few days, the pilgrimage to Worthy Farm begins. Glastonbury, the legen...
19/06/2025
On Wednesday, Spotify and Miley Cyrus tangoed in Paris during an unforgettable e...
18/06/2025
Since popping up in 2020, RADAR Italia has not only supported emerging artists but also reflected the cultural and musical richness of Italy. Over the past five...
17/06/2025
In South Africa, the rebirth and resurgence of the vibrant folk genre Maskandi has captured the attention of music fans, becoming the country's fastest-grow...
16/06/2025
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is officially underway for...
16/06/2025
On Spotify, francophone content continues to cross borders at an unprecedented rate. In 2024 alone, more than 123 million listeners worldwide streamed audio con...
13/06/2025
Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima
If you're a true lover of rom-coms, chances...
12/06/2025
In 2018, Spotify launched Heart & Soul, a mental health initiative developed to ...
11/06/2025
When a music fan creates a playlist on Spotify, it's not just for listening-...
11/06/2025
Hur s krar vi Europas konkurrenskraft i en tid av snabb teknikutveckling? Och hur rustar vi samh llet f r framtidens kompetensbehov inom AI, tech och kultur? Un...
11/06/2025
Spotify and ENHYPEN are inviting fans to step inside the world of DESIRE : UNLEA...
10/06/2025
A new generation of artists is redefining Morocco's pop music scene, blending their deep-rooted heritage with contemporary influences to create sounds that ...
10/06/2025
Since Audiobooks in Premium launched on Spotify in 2023, we've seen strong g...
09/06/2025
It was Thursday night in New York City and The Box was buzzing with excitement. The edgy nightclub, known for its lavish theatrics, provided the perfect backdro...
06/06/2025
Spotify is dedicated to lifting up the voices and contributions of all artists, creators, and authors. This Pride Month and beyond, we're also taking a mome...
06/06/2025
Spotify is heading back to France for the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and this year we'll showcase how Spotify is more alive t...
05/06/2025
Whether she's in the studio, on a tour bus, or traveling the world, there...
05/06/2025
Spotify and United are teaming up to deliver an even more entertaining in-flight...
05/06/2025
On Wednesday, Spotify brought together Mexico's vibrant podcast community fo...
05/06/2025
Last month, Spotify brought Travis Scott to Barcelona to play his first-ever show in the city and celebrate the release of his Spotify x Cactus Jack x Bar a jer...
04/06/2025
Today, Spotify launches its Loud & Clear report-our annual deep dive into the economics of music streaming-in Canada, and with it, a powerful story of how Canad...
29/05/2025
Japan's music scene is entering an exciting new chapter. Long known for its ...
28/05/2025
Spotify is all about bringing you closer to the voices and stories you love. Tha...
28/05/2025
A ind stria musical do Brasil est passando por uma transforma o hist rica - e o Spotify segue iluminando esse caminho. A vers o mais recente do relat rio Loud...
28/05/2025
Brazil's music industry is in the midst of a historic transformation-and Spotify continues to help illuminate the path. Our most recent Loud & Clear report,...
28/05/2025
Spotify's commitment to transparency and artist empowerment continues to res...
21/05/2025
When CMA Fest springs to life in Nashville each year, Spotify House is always one of the top destinations-and 2025 was no different. For the sixth year, Spotify...
21/05/2025
Marking a first, Spotify has launched the Upcoming Releases hub-a destination so...
20/05/2025
Throughout the month of May, Spotify is celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by amplifying the many artists, creators, and authors who share th...
20/05/2025
It's officially summer on Spotify and, once again, our team of best-in-class...
19/05/2025
For the past decade, Spotify's Fresh Finds playlists have served as a launchpad for emerging independent artists, helping them break through and connect wit...
17/05/2025
Globally, Asian and Pacific Islander (API) artists, creators, and authors contin...
16/05/2025
As Beyonc s COWBOY CARTER Tour sparks excitement around the world, Spotify is helping the BeyHive get concert-ready with a limited-edition collection of playli...
14/05/2025
Spotify and FC Barcelona's partnership saw its sixth jersey takeover this we...
14/05/2025
At Spotify, we believe that our incredible bandmates (that's what we call our team) are the driving force behind our success. Longtime Spotifier Anna Lundst...
13/05/2025
Spotify aims to bring compelling audiobooks to as many consumers as possible, and we're eager to give fans even more options as they discover their next gre...
13/05/2025
People all over the world love DJ. At the gym, at home, whenever and wherever you want a deeper experience with great music, DJ is the answer. In fact, DJ liste...
09/05/2025
As excitement builds for the annual Eurovision Song Contest, Spotify data offers...
07/05/2025
Discovering music should feel effortless and fun. That's why Spotify continu...
06/05/2025
In Colombia, music isn't just background noise-it's center stage. It'...
06/05/2025
En Colombia, la m sica no suena de fondo: es el centro del escenario. Es el cora...
06/05/2025
Updated May 16, 2025: We always aim to provide the best Spotify experience, and ...
06/05/2025
Since Spotify's 2019 launch in India, the growth of the country's local ...
05/05/2025
As Europe gears up for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, Spotify is celebrating the spirit of unity and musical legacy with a new series of Spotify Singles. Fiv...
02/05/2025
Updated May 19, 2025: Spotify submitted a new app update that Apple has approved...