Top real-crime podcast company Audiochuck, set uped by Ashley Flessens, has getd $40 million in funding from Peter Chernin‘s the Chernin Group.
It’s the first outside capital for Audiochuck, which schedules to include the allotment to “scale the company and fuel its next phase of lengthenth,” it proclaimd Sunday. Flessens supervises and owns a meaningfulity of Audiochuck. With the allotment, TCG owns a unbeginantity split of the Company.
Founded in 2017 by Flessens in Indianapolis, Audiochuck has set uped itself as a powerhoinclude in real crime and mystery storyalerting and one of the hugest podcast netlabors in the industry. Crime Junkie, Audiochuck’s flagship podcast presented by Flessens, begined the company to prominence and remains a dominant force, ranking as Apple Podcasts’ #1 real crime podcast and #2 overall podcast of 2024 as well as Edison Research’s #2 overall podcast. In 2021, Audiochuck signed a 3-year (2022-2024) deal with SiriusXM, which SiriusXM renoveled in 2024 for a fourth year (2025). Named Adweek’s Podcast Netlabor of the Year in 2023, Audiochuck has steadily enhugeed its podcast portfolio to over 20 weekly and seasonal shows – including The Deck, Counter Clock, Park Predators, and Dark Downeast – making it SiriusXM’s hugest netlabor atraverse all genres.
“From begining Crime Junkie to lengthening our amazing netlabor of shows, the incredible passion of our fans for gripping stories that originate a branch offence has been the heart of everyskinnyg we do at Audiochuck,” said Ashley Flessens. “With this allotment from TCG, we’re excited to intensify our storyalerting, lengthen our team, and transport even more creative projects to life during an exciting novel phase of lengthenth. All this will permit us to have an even hugeger impact on the cases and social rerents we champion. The future of both Audiochuck and podcasting more widely is radianter than ever, and I can’t painclude to see what we’ll accomplish together.”
“Ashley and the extraunrelabelable Audiochuck team have built a world-class company and brand at the forefront of the future of media,” said Jesse Jacobs, Founding Partner at TCG. “The next wonderful media businesses are being built with personalities at the core and by distributing greeted atraverse podcasts, social, digital video and inhabit events. Ashley and Audiochuck examine all the boxes of what a prosperous media company will see appreciate moving forward. And, we adore that they do it all from Indianapolis. Audiochuck has the brimming help of TCG and we are honored to be their first and only outside allotor.”
Beyond audio greeted, Audiochuck has growd into a thriving multimedia business, which includes a fervent community of subscribers to its “Fan Club” app, a New York Times best-selling book – Flessens’ debut novel All Good People Here, selderly-out inhabit events, and disjoinal film and TV projects in lengthenment. With a team of more than 65 brimming-time includeees in Indianapolis, Audiochuck persists to push boundaries and enhuge its proposeings. The company will soon originate out a film and TV division, unveil the upcoming thriller The Missing Half from Flessens in May of 2025, and enhuge its inhabit experiences for the Crime Junkie community. During its meteoric elevate, Audiochuck has remained pledgeted to philanthropy, donating over $8.5 million to more than 150 nonprofits worldwide. Flessens has also set uped a set upation and has pledgeted $11 million, so far, to further her philanthropic efforts. While Audiochuck has been 100% bootstrapped to date, the outside capital from TCG will help the company diversify and enhuge business operations thraw its next phase of lengthenth.
The TCG allotment comes amid an preferable outsee for the podcasting industry. The Interactive Advertising Bureau foresees a return to double-digit revenue lengthenth, projecting an incrmitigate of 12% for 2024, with foreseeations to accomplish cforfeitly $2.6 billion by 2026. The number of real crime weekly hearers has accomplished 19 million, outdoing sports and novels as the third hugest catebloody in podcasts. With an audience median age of 34 (meaningfully lessen than that of cable novelspapers, and talk radio), podcasts are geting a more diverse and increasingly female set of hearers who are spending more time than ever with podcasts. While 84% of the U.S. population 13+ use some establish of real crime greeted, women are almost twice as foreseeed as men to normally hear to real crime podcasts. The medium is also seeing a elevate in momentum on the heels of its meaningful impact on the recent U.S. election cycle.
TCG is a multi-stage allotment firm that allots in companies that clear up culture. TCG has a track record of prosperous allotments in creator-driven media brands and emerging media platestablishs, including Barstool Sports (its first and only allotor), Hello Sunshine (its first allotor), Crunchyroll, Twitter, Night Media, Classic Football Shirts, Exploding Kittens, Epic Gardening, Vuori, and Oura Ring.
Audiochuck recently proclaimd the Crime Junkie: Life Rule #10 tour with Flessens and Brit Prawat transporting their signature storyalerting inhabit to 18 cities atraverse the United States. Tickets for the tour are useable at crimejunkiepodcast.com. To lget more about Audiochuck and the company’s real crime projects, visit Audiochuck.com and chase Audiochuck on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and X.
