Broad • Casting

The monetization of a changing podcast market.

This post covers TBPN’s recent acquisition by OpenAI and studies its implications on the future of the podcasting space. If you like content focused on finance, macro analysis, current events and general opinions, consider subscribing to Apaquet Investment. Have a good read.

Nearly two weeks ago, OpenAI acquired TBPN, one of the tech world’s favorite new podcast, coming out from the minds of the so-called Technology Brothers John Coogan and Jordi Hays. Whereas the transaction is seen as a bold move from the AI company’s point of view, crowds are sharing a broadening positive sentiment for the two founders, which project, not even 2 years old, has been growing at an exponential pace, which helped them get official filming locations such as the New York Stock Exchange or some Silicon Valley tech hubs. The everyday tech show is now one of the biggest in the world, maybe the more important, and influenced young or already established creators to follow the same bold style.

But in which market does TBPN exactly evolves ? Is it still avant-gardiste, or there’s no room left for expansion ?

Tech Media

TBPN is a master project from both entrepreneurs, not only because it launched a totally new style of long form podcasting, but also because it led them to change the way tech companies might be interested in advertising themselves. Behind these, some really known names like Ramp, Framer for the European alternative (which we’re going to talk about later) and lastly, Polymarket.

We already know these companies to have bold marketing teams in general. Ramp, for example, has in latest months notably conquered social media and the Superbowl with the resurrection of the beloved The Office character Kevin Malone, this time under the actor’s real name Brian Baumgartner, turning him into the CFO of the financial company in a masterful marketing campaign. This led to gather crowds in all parts of the country, and bring back fun into the tech’s new finance leader — which is slowly turning in the European market as well. The law focused AI company Legora has also released its new campaign two days ago, with the legendary Jude Law as the face card behind the slogan “Law just got more attractive”. Actors are turning in on AI, some mobilising against it while their colleagues embrace it.

Polymarket as well has made itself known not only for offering its always more impressive bets on the platform — leading to astronomical gains from nobodies but also possibly from insiders, but also with its real life projects as the Free Supermarket the company opened for a short time in New York, and for its opening of a temporary bar in Washington, D.C. called The Situation Room. At the same time, they explored the project of revolutionizing the stablecoin market through new funding for a parent company, alongside its strategic partnership with the Intercontinental Exchange, the latter having made a $600m investment in the prediction market leader in early 2026.

It is no surprise that these already well advanced marketing teams have chosen to approach the new tech media at its launch and to fuel its trajectory. Both TBPN hosts are well positioned to talk about the topics they present, founders themselves of several companies since they came out of school. Coogan even admitted that this link with OpenAI isn’t new, as Sam Altman invested in the host’s first ever company. Another very positive point is that they understand that fellow entrepreneurs don’t have much time, and then created a diet version of their podcast, which resumes in 30 minutes the full two hours episodes they release hours before. A key part of this new type of media is that it exactly knows who they’re talking to.

Yet positive comments haven’t been the only thing that made numbers on social media since April 2nd, as it happens in a time resumed in this way by the New York Times ; “…OpenAI, which, along with the rest of the industry, has faced intensifying criticism over the transformation that the technology [AI] could bring. From environmental groups to labor rights crusaders like Senator Bernie Sanders, public views of AI are shifting from skepticism of its cababilities to a growing fear of them.” CNN called the transaction as OpenAI “buying influence”, while other news platforms like Arstechnica and Barron’s wrote that this was another side project from the company, that will probably fail. Some aren’t worried about the expansion of ChatGPT’s creator, but about its new entry in the place where thoughts are formed, decreasing the free speech and free thought spirit the project has at its core. To counter negative arguments, OpenAI has increasingly funded policy papers and thinktanks, possibly trying to change that ever growing image problem. Media is a dangerous industry to get your first steps into as an AI company.

Tech media has since TBPN’s creation risen steadily and many such projects have appeared in the United States and elsewhere. On my own university campus a group of students have been exploring such a podcast project for the Belgian technology and financial landscapes, something fellow students like us should support wholeheartedly. They’re not afraid to talk about it too, having first made the announcement during a conference the finance club I’m a part of organised in early march with another french content creator in the entrepreneurial and financial space.

Inspired by the same expectations for the European continent, another podcast called etn came to existence to represent the old continent’s tech and finance sectors, founded and hosted by the two entrepreneurs Luke Knight and Ronan Chambers, and having already assembled a team of first class sponsors such as Polymarket (again), Framer and Coinbase’s Base. They respect the same codes and same energy as their american counterparts and act as a power fuel for European founders’ spirits.

Listen carefully guys, Europe builds.

How’s the podcast market going ?

But that doesn’t exactly enlightens the understanding we have of the podcast market, so let’s come back to basics. A little research can give you the following information : the word podcast has first been coined in a Guardian article in 2004, after the journalist Ben Hammersley mixed the iPod and the word broadcast, now shining in the spotlight with titles such as futurist, alongside his current position of broadcaster and keynote speaker around the world. The podcast market was probably born at the very instant Hammersley pushed on the publish button. It has had a tremendous ride since then.

In 2026, the market’s estimated total worth is about $30B, with of course a tremendous rise during COVID has global listenership grew by approximately 40% between 2019 and 2022, revenues in the sector following a similar path. According to estimates and studies on the topic, its total worth would be estimated to fall between $80 and $100B by 2030, which already indicates a possible large room for expansion. Gotta start that podcast. That in a country, specifically the US, where more than half of the total population has said to be listening podcasts on a regular basis, as this following graph by the Pew Research Center shows. In these groups, around 10% has even declared to get their news from the podcasts it listens to — whether or not this is a good statistic isn’t the focus of today’s post.

Yet no creator who succeeds with its project has solely done it without partnerships. Advertising has been known to be very lucrative in the podcasting space, TBPN’s large amount of sponsors before its OpenAI acquisition showing it well. To be defined if the AI company will allow that system to continue or if its editorial independence will take a blow, which is one of the ongoing debates on social media around the transaction announcement since the beginning of the month. While ads and sponsorships have been known to add several numbers to a podcaster’s payroll, podcast revenues in themselves are growing over time. According to company data, Spotify transferred more than $100m in Q1 2025 alone. Since then, expectations for a podcast with over 50 000 listeners are close to $100,000 per month, and additional subscriptions to exclusive content, on which the platform takes a percentage, grows the project bottom line as well. It’s no surprise though that the majority of the money is made through more advanced licensing deals with well established companies. And ads through podcasts are working. A recent article shared that around 46% of weekly podcast listeners have made a purchase after hearing a podcast ad, on which the article continues “a conversion rate that explains why ad spend keeps growing.”

This acquisition demonstrates one thing. That making money in the podcast space is possible, and this deal is probably the first of many in the same style. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see etn being offered a contract by a european leader, or for a company to start a spin-off podcast project by itself. By acquiring TBPN, OpenAI might be assuring itself of good advertising from Tech’s most important podcast at the moment, but also securing good advice on how to manage a successful marketing team, as the AI company’s one is far from perfect, and as reporters are every day trying to destroy the founder and some of his colleagues’ reputation. They needed a new team, they’ll now have the best one. This happening in a context where more than 40% of Americans believe that podcasters can be considered as true journalists.

Where will it go ?

Long-form news and debate podcasts will probably be the norm in the future, and its possible that traditional media outlets will get inspired. CNBC might be the closest to that model, and that for years, inviting its investors and tech CEOs to exchange on current information about tech and finance.

Because like legacy media before it, podcast has to evolve. One podcast where all the information is given by two interesting and knowledgable hosts is far more interesting than a series of 10 minutes podcasts released by the same company (Hello Bloomberg) but on different profiles because it talks about something else. What legendary companies like Bloomberg should do is launching a full length podcast with their hosts, in a TBPN style, discussing of the latest news and reactions on the internet, and dividing it in sections, instead of talking about Private Credit on one podcasting profile, and VC funding on another. But that’s personal.

It’s probable, as we discussed before, that many other AI related companies or broad tech corporations will try to acquire new types of media in TBPN’s style, as it offers an every day widening range of advertising possibilities and development capabilities. The remaining worry being that this transactions shuts down a door for the podcast, only allowing them to invite OpenAI related people or partners. Will these projects unite the entire tech workforce or divide it even more ? Some understood it before others, as several companies have already tried to launch projects into the media ecosystem in order to deepen their relationships to their user bases. Robinhood, for example, launched Sherwood News a couple of years ago, which now became a prominent publication in the finance and tech sectors, and which I recommend you to read, as I do every single day. But what will happen next ? Mistral to acquire etn as Europe Capital suggested ? Or Framer ? Or even Polymarket to found its own podcast among its other projects ? It remains to be seen.

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