Art19 Acquires South Korea's BirchSound

South Korean Expansion

ART19 has acquired SOUTH KOREA domestic podcast advertising sales representative BIRCHSOUND for an undisclosed price, and has struck exclusive deals with Korean broadcasters SBS, KBS, CBS, and CHOSUN.

BIRCHSOUND Founder/CEO HANSOO KIM, who will serve as CEO of ART19 KOREA, said, “SOUTH KOREA’s unique storytelling is captivating audiences. K-Drama and K-Pop are now global phenomena. SOUTH KOREA is also a leading digital consumer culture with very high smartphone and social media usage, as well as long average commute times. As a result, podcasting is seeing explosive growth here, and we are excited to partner with many of SOUTH KOREA’s greatest content creators to build this new market.”

SBS RADIO CENTER Head T.I. CHUNG said,  “Over the past several years, SBS has been developing different types of podcast content and closely monitoring the growing on-demand audio market in SOUTH KOREA. ART19 provides best-in-class technology and has deep experience with monetization. After many meetings with Founder and CEO, SEAN CARR, and his team here in SEOUL, it was clear that we share the same vision. We look forward to our long term partnership and building this new market together.”

“SOUTH KOREA has witnessed astonishing growth in online video consumption, and we are optimistic that podcasting is going to follow the same trajectory,” said CHOSUN ILBO Creative Editor EUN-JOO PARK, “In 2020, we are planning several collaborations between ART19 and the nation's top newspaper, CHOSUN ILBO. These co-productions not only include creating compelling, unique content, but also diversifying our ad portfolio and enhancing engagement with our readership.”

ART19 Founder and CEO SEAN CARR added, “ART19 has benefited greatly as an early mover in the US podcast market, and we are aiming to replicate this success internationally. We are honored to launch our efforts in SOUTH KOREA with such an esteemed group of publishers. SBS is the leading radio broadcaster, CHOSUN is the number one newspaper, and KBS is both the country’s public and top overall broadcaster. Podcasting is seeing tremendous growth in SOUTH KOREA, and we believe it will be a model for growth in ASIA and around the world.”

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