Over the past few months, Acast has been establishing on-the-ground operations in Spain. It’s a hugely promising country for podcasting, with a sizable audience of listeners — and we want to help supercharge growth for podcasters here.

We launched in Mexico two years ago, because we saw the great potential of the Spanish-language podcasts being created there, and we’re now established as the largest podcast company operating in the region. We support podcast creators’ growth, and connect them with advertisers to help them make more money.

Globally, Acast is home to more than 40,000 podcasts, and since the company was founded in 2014 we’ve paid out more than $150 million directly to our podcasters. Having identified the appetite for podcasts from listeners in Spain, we felt it was the right time to invest in the country and bring our expertise to this market. 

It might surprise you to read that, of the EU5 countries — France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK — Spain leads the way in podcast listening. According to eMarketer, for example, 30% of internet users in Spain listen to podcasts at least once per month — while Spotify says that figure is more like half the population.

Advertiser interest in Spanish podcasts is also on the rise and, while we’re already working with several high-profile brands to help them reach local listeners, we’ve grown our sales team to meet increased demand — as well as appointing two international directors to help our local Creator Network podcasts make the most of the opportunity. 

Acast’s network of podcasts receive more than three million listens in Spain every month, and we’re home to a wide range of popular Spanish-language shows — including Ted en Español, Libros para Emprendedores, Relatos de la Noche, Reload, Memorias de Pez and Se Regalan Dudas.

But it’s clear that the market is dominated by big networks, with the same shows featuring in the listening charts week after week — and many popular ‘podcasts’ are in fact radio shows published for on-demand listening. We think this presents a big opportunity for the diversification of content, with plenty of room for independent creators to quickly grow and make an impact.

According to listens to Acast podcasts, categories like Business and Health & Wellness tend to be the most popular with Spanish listeners. But there’s also a chance for bold creators to branch out into new genres and topics not currently being covered by other podcasts — or ones where content creation is not meeting listener demand.

There are very few Parenting & Family podcasts, for example, while fans of Lifestyle and Sports shows are not yet being satisfied. We also see plenty of room for social influencers to branch into podcasting — just as we’re seeing in other markets, with TikTok and YouTube stars making audio their new home.

Like most markets, Spaniards are also listening to their share of English-language podcasts. Their favorites are shows like the BBC’s Global New Podcast and The Intelligence from The Economist.

Of course, every market has its cultural nuances, and Spain is no different. It’s important for non-native creators and advertisers to understand that, while there’s an opportunity to reach Spanish listeners with English-language content, you can’t follow the same rulebook.

The most popular listening app, for example, isn’t Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it’s iVoox. So being part of the open podcast ecosystem, and available across all listening apps and platforms, is vital. Needless to say, Acast already distributes to iVoox and hundreds of other apps that support open podcasting.

Our own research suggests that the majority of Spanish listeners are also open to paying for exclusive content and premium features — ensuring we’re able to help podcasters in the region make money in different ways, and get fairly reimbursed for their craft. 

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