BBC Studios taps Audacia as first third-party ad partner in Asia

BBC Studios has signed a new deal with global audio advertising marketplace Audacia to bring premium BBC podcasts to Asia. Audacia will now serve advertisers across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam.

This comes after BBC Studios strengthened its commitment to the global audio market last year with the launch of a dedicated BBC Audio division. The move marked a step toward capitalising on the growing commercial opportunities in the international podcast space.

Currently, leadership in Asia continues to rise for BBC’s diverse slate of audio content, including The Global News Podcast, Learning English Conversations, The Documentary, Football Daily, and Business Daily, according to a statement seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. The programmes are accessible via BBC.com, the BBC app, and various partner platforms across the region.

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“This is a big moment for BBC podcasts, following their recent introduction onto BBC.com and the BBC app. Our groundbreaking content and storytelling are reaching new global audiences, and we are seeing good success with sales partners internationally," said Louise la Grange, SVP, BBC Audio, digital news and streaming for BBC Studios. 

"This new partnership is an exciting one for Asian advertisers who can now access the BBC’s premium podcasts alongside other BBC inventory," she added.

Similarly, John Williams VP ad sales, Asia, BBC Studios said, "The BBC Studios portfolio and routes to market are continually increasing, enabling brands to reach audiences in a variety of effective ways. We look forward to working with Audacia to deepen our engagement with commercial clients in Asia who want to leverage the power of our world-leading audio content." 

"We are honoured to have the opportunity to be the exclusive third-party representative of BBC podcast inventory across the Southeast Asian region. BBC podcasts are known and loved across the world, reaching audiences in the most personal and informative way. This unrivalled, genre-spanning podcast catalogue brings new opportunities for brands and media agencies across Asia," added Jonathan Pacey, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Audacia Audio.

"The ability to buy podcast advertising across multiple Asian countries via Audacia Audio on BBC podcasts offers something unique for the local podcast industry, and with so many world-leading assets, the opportunities for brands are unparalleled," Pacey said. 

In addition, BBC Studios ad sales team will continue to offer audio advertising placement in the region alongside this partnership.

Podcasts have perked the interest of marketers in recent times with them being 10 times more likely to expect an increase, rather than a decrease, in podcast ad spend over the next five years. More specifically, 49% of marketers expect increased spending on the medium.

In Singapore, 37% expect a significant increase in ad spend over the same period, highlighting a continued and growing recognition of the value of podcast advertising within this emerging podcast market, according to a 2024 study by Acast. However, 11% expect spend on the medium to decrease.

The also revealed that 62% of marketers who have invested in podcast advertising before project increased ad spend in the coming years.

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