That is quite a jump from the $100,000 the Cumulus CEO says the company took in before this year. There is no doubt Berner sees podcasting as a major source of new revenue for the company as it grows the Westwood One Podcast Network, which Cumulus says reaches a quarter of a billion people each week.
Berner mentioned the IAB prediction of $650 million in podcasting revenue by 2020 and believes Cumulus and Westwood One are well positioned to take a chunk of those dollars. She also mentioned something we’ve been writing about for some time: radio’s ability to promote its podcasting products, using the big bullhorn of its radio stations.
The CEO specifically called out several podcasts from the Westwood One Network that have become very popular with listeners, including the Ben Shapiro (News/Talk), Chris Jericho (Wrestling), and True Crime podcasts. Berner said there were 35 million downloads from the network last month, and she expects that division to generate $10 million in revenue this year.
As of now Cumulus’ total digital revenue is about 5%. The goal of the company is to get that closer to 8%.
