Podcast production company Keep It Light Media has joined Spotify’s podcast hosting platform Megaphone, officially making its popular podcast Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's Parenting Hell exclusive to Spotify as part of the move.
Megaphone is a podcast ad company and platform that was acquired by Spotify in 2020 which introduced greater ad targeting tools through the Spotify Audience Network. The acquisition was part of Spotify’s podcast expansion, which also included buying out other audio companies like Gimlet Media and Parcast.
Alongside Parenting Hell’s transition to becoming a Spotify Exclusive, other shows under Keep It Light Media - including comedy podcast Life’s A Beach hosted by TV presenter Alan Carr and entertainment podcast Wolf and Owl hosted by comedians Tom Davis and Romesh Ranganathan - will also join the Spotify Audience Network but will continue to be distributed on and off Spotify.
“We are delighted that Keep It Light Media has chosen Megaphone by Spotify as its podcast platform of choice,” said head of UK publisher partnerships for Megaphone Chelsea Bradbury. “With our differentiated offering for podcast publishers, we’re more than excited to be able to work with Keep It Light Media and its incredible podcast catalogue to help grow its business and unlock more advertiser demand."
Parenting Hell is a popular bi-weekly podcast with 55 million downloads that speaks about ‘relatable parenting adventures’. It is hosted by comedian Rob Beckett - also known for co-hosting ITV2’s spin-off show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! - and Josh Widdicombe - known for his appearances on Channel 4’s late-night television show The Last Leg.
“The best thing about podcasts for comedy is that it’s far more personal and far more immediate than television or radio or all these other things,” said Widdicombe. “And that’s because you’re actively deciding to put it on, and it feels like a personal experience with the people [hosting].”
The announcement of the move by Beckett on Twitter received numerous replies criticising the decision to go exclusive and the co-host had to clarify multiple times that the podcast will continue to be accessible to everyone and remain on schedule.
“Spotify has studios we can use in town, which is really helpful, rather than rickety offices that we do in other jobs,” said Beckett. “So it’s enabled us to prioritise it and make sure that it comes out every Friday, every Tuesday, without fail. Plus, it’s free and there’s no paywall. So that really excited us about joining up.”
