Podimo expands international studios division, adds to executive leadership team
Left to right; Lara Johnen, Georgia Brown, Hendrik Nage, Eva Lægdsgaard, Morten Strunge
Danish podcast subscription platform Podimo is continuing its push into video with the acquisition of German podcast label arc.studio and the appointment of a former director of production at Netflix.
The transaction, financial details of which were not disclosed, will see arc.studio become part of Podimo Studios, the company’s international content business focused on developing original IP across audio, video and digital formats.
It comes as video podcasts are rapidly becoming a mainstream form of video entertainment, with one in five internet users now watching them on social platforms, according to recent research from Ampere Analysis.
Founded in 2024 and based in Hamburg, arc.studio specialises in creator-led, multiplatform video-first formats in the German-speaking market, with shows including Girls Girls, Kaffee mit Zitrone, Clare on Air and DES ISSES!.
By becoming part of Podimo Studios, arc.studio will continue to operate independently, while benefiting from Podimo’s international scale, long-term investment and production expertise.
Co-founders and managing directors Lara Johnen and Hendrik Nagel will continue to lead arc.studio and will report to former Amazon Studios executive Georgia Brown, chief content officer at Podimo, who joined the company last year.
Arc.studio joins other podcast labels Tonny Media and Dag en Nacht in the Netherlands and Danish podcast agency and advertising platform, Podads, within Podimo Studios.
Alongside the expansion of Podimo Studios, the company has added to its executive leadership team as it targets international growth.
Following the appointments of Brown and Stephen Ruegg as chief financial officer, the company has made a series of senior hires across commercial, product, communications and content operations.
Jason Crosby, a former director of production for non-fiction in the UK at Netflix and chief operating officer at NBCUniversal-owned Monkey Kingdom, has joined as VP of content and studio operations.
Iain Sawbridge, who has previously worked at the BBC, Channel 5 and Beano Studios and was most recently at games developer King, has joined as chief commercial officer.
Former Google executive Mehul Fotedar has joined as VP of product, while former senior Disney communications exec Daniel Maynard is leading global communications. All are based in London and work with co-founder and CEO Morten Strunge.
In Denmark, Podimo has appointed journalist Mette Østergaard as market director, content, while co-founder Nikolaj Koppel transitions into a newly created international role as VP, editorial strategy.
In Germany, former Amazon Music executive Benedikt Treuer joins as head of content, following the appointments of Patrick Fina as director of Podimo Studios Germany and Sean Wheatley to lead business affairs in the market.
