City Cast
City Cast operates a network of daily local podcasts and newsletters across 13+ U.S. cities, including Chicago, Denver, Nashville, and Washington D.C. It serves listeners with ad-supported and membership-funded local journalism, distributed via major podcast platforms and email.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersArlington, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What City Cast does
City Cast is a digital local-media company that operates a network of daily local podcasts and companion email newsletters across 13 or more U.S. metropolitan markets, including Austin, Chicago, Washington D.C., Denver, Las Vegas, Madison, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and the Twin Cities. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the company is owned by Graham Holdings Co. and is led by CEO David Plotz (formerly CEO of Atlas Obscura and Editor in Chief of Slate). City Cast does not operate a mobile application; instead, content is distributed through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and RSS feeds hosted on Megaphone, with newsletters delivered via Sailthru and audience measurement handled through Google Analytics.
The company's core product is a daily, market-specific local podcast paired with a local newsletter, produced by on-air hosts embedded in each market. Distribution is direct-to-consumer and podcast-led, with the newsletter functioning as a secondary surface for retention and membership conversion. There is no publicly listed consumer pricing or app-based paywall; audience access is free at the point of consumption.
City Cast's revenue model is dual-track: (1) advertising and sponsorship across its podcast and newsletter inventory, including host-read spots and a dedicated sponsored-content podcast product, and (2) direct listener membership/subscription contributions, supplemented by audience-monetization mechanics such as sweepstakes. The company employs between 51 and 100 people and has actively expanded its city footprint, most recently adding Washington D.C. coverage following staff reductions at The Washington Post.
City Cast firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- City Cast
- Legal name
- City Cast LLC
- Website
- https://citycast.fm
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- City Cast operates a network of daily local podcasts and newsletters across 13+ U.S. cities, including Chicago, Denver, Nashville, and Washington D.C. It serves listeners with ad-supported and membership-funded local journalism, distributed via major podcast platforms and email.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
City Cast industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Local News Media
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Podcast Networks & Multi-Show Publishers (MPACADAB)
Keywords
Where City Cast is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Arlington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
City Cast business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription/Membership Services: City Cast offers subscription services accessible through membership accounts with fixed-term subscriptions that do not auto-renew unless disclosed. Users pay fees for access to subscription content.
- Advertising and Sponsorship: Multiple advertising options including host-read podcast advertisements (pre-roll up to 30 seconds, mid-roll up to 60 seconds), podcast sponsored content (up to 5-minute interview segments labeled as sponsored), newsletter advertisements (up to 80 words with styled formatting), and full newsletter sponsorships (logo/name in header for a week or more).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Subscription Services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels4 records
City Cast product offering
Product offeringCore offering
City Cast produces and distributes a network of daily local podcasts and companion daily email newsletters across 13 U.S. cities (Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake, DC, Philly, Portland, Madison, Austin, Nashville, Seattle, and Twin Cities), covering local news, politics, restaurants, events, and culture. The company monetizes these audiences through paid membership subscriptions and a suite of advertising products including host-read podcast ads, sponsored interview segments, newsletter ads, and full newsletter sponsorships.
Product overview
City Cast is a network of daily local podcasts and newsletters connecting people with the cities they love. The core offerings consist of the City Cast Podcast Network (daily local podcasts distributed via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and RSS across 13 cities) and the City Cast Newsletter (daily email newsletters tailored to each city). The company also offers advertising products including host-read podcast advertisements, podcast sponsored content interviews, newsletter advertisements, and full newsletter sponsorships. Additional offerings include membership/subscription services and promotional sweepstakes. City Cast is headquartered in the Washington DC area and is owned by Graham Holdings Co.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- City Cast Twin Cities: Local podcast and newsletter for Minneapolis-St. Paul area covering local news, events, food, and culture.
- City Cast Seattle
- City Cast Chicago
Products and services
- City Cast Podcast Network A network of daily local podcasts delivering news, culture, and community content tailored to specific U.S. cities (Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake, DC, Philly, Portland, Madison, Austin, Nashville, Seattle, Twin Cities). Distributed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and via RSS through Megaphone.
- City Cast Newsletter Daily email newsletters tailored to each city, providing local news updates, event recommendations, community highlights, and advertising placements, delivered to subscribers' inboxes.
- City Cast Membership / Subscription Subscription-based access to premium City Cast content and features, available as fixed-term subscriptions that do not auto-renew unless disclosed.
- Host-Read Podcast Advertisements Advertising product where City Cast hosts read sponsor messages as pre-roll (up to 30 seconds) or mid-roll (up to 60 seconds) segments within podcasts.
- Podcast Sponsored Content Unique sponsored interview segment where a City Cast staffer interviews an organization representative for up to five minutes, formatted to match regular podcast content and clearly labeled as sponsored.
- Newsletter Advertisement Sponsored item placed in the daily City Cast newsletter, up to 80 words with a bold headline and styled text treatment, labeled as sponsor content.
- Full Newsletter Sponsorship Marquee sponsorship placing the advertiser's name and/or logo in the newsletter header for a week or longer, plus body content placement.
- City Cast Sweepstakes Promotional sweepstakes offered to City Cast audiences, governed by official rules with eligibility requirements and a defined winner selection process.
Companies that use City Cast
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
City Cast technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature1 record
City Cast partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
City Cast competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- 6AM City: 6AM City operates a near-identical model to City Cast: a network of daily local email newsletters and adjacent content covering multiple U.S. cities, monetized via advertising and sponsorships. It is the closest direct comparable in both product surface (daily newsletter + city-focused content) and GTM motion.
- Axios: Axios built a national digital news brand on local newsletters and smart brevity, and via Axios Local pursued hyperlocal coverage in select cities. It overlaps City Cast on daily local newsletter product and on advertiser demand from SMBs and regional brands.
- Block Club Chicago: Block Club Chicago is a nonprofit, membership-supported daily local news outlet covering Chicago neighborhoods, founded by former DNAinfo Chicago staff. It is a direct peer for City Cast Chicago on local-news gap-filling, daily newsletter cadence, and audience-supported revenue.
- Townsquare Media: Townsquare is a local-focused media operator combining terrestrial radio, digital, and live events in small-to-mid U.S. markets. Its local-market advertising and digital-news assets directly overlap City Cast's targeted mid-market playbook.
Broad incumbents
- Gimlet Media: Gimlet (now part of Spotify) is a pioneering narrative podcast network with branded, host-produced shows. While not city-specific, it is a comparable digital audio news/storytelling network competing for premium podcast-ad budgets in the same category.
- iHeartMedia: iHeartMedia is the largest U.S. radio broadcaster and a major podcast publisher with local-market presence in most major U.S. cities. It competes with City Cast for the same local advertiser dollars via radio-repurposed podcasts and city-focused audio inventory.
- Audacy: Audacy is a major U.S. radio broadcaster with a growing podcast network, including local-market news and talk. It overlaps City Cast's city-level audio advertising surface and competes for host-read local ad budgets.
- Wondery: Wondery (Amazon) is a large narrative-podcast network; while its shows are national rather than city-focused, it competes for the same premium podcast ad spend that City Cast's host-read inventory targets, and operates podcast-network economics at scale.
- Vox Media: Vox Media operates a portfolio of city-curious and vertical-specific news brands (Vox, The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, Vulture) plus podcast properties and a Chorus ad platform. Its newsletter-first editorial model and podcast ad sales motion are structurally similar to City Cast's stack.
Emerging players
- Slate: Slate runs slate.com news commentary and multiple podcasts including Political Gabfest, formerly under CEO David Plotz. Its news + podcast network plus Slate Plus membership provides a comparable digital media + paid-membership model and shares executive DNA with City Cast.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
City Cast social profiles
Digital presenceCity Cast financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
City Cast leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
City Cast funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
City Cast M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about City Cast
What does City Cast do?
City Cast produces and distributes a network of daily local podcasts and companion daily email newsletters across 13 U.S. cities (Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake, DC, Philly, Portland, Madison, Austin, Nashville, Seattle, and Twin Cities), covering local news, politics, restaurants, events, and culture. The company monetizes these audiences through paid membership subscriptions and a suite of advertising products including host-read podcast ads, sponsored interview segments, newsletter ads, and full newsletter sponsorships.
Is City Cast a public or private company?
City Cast is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was City Cast founded?
City Cast was founded in 2020. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is City Cast based?
City Cast is headquartered in Arlington, United States, in the North America region.
How does City Cast make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription/Membership Services are the primary driver. The others are advertising and Sponsorship.
Who are City Cast's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are 6AM City, Axios, Block Club Chicago and Townsquare Media. Broad incumbents are Gimlet Media, iHeartMedia, Audacy, Wondery and Vox Media. Slate is listed as an emerging player.
Does City Cast have an API?
No public API is recorded for City Cast.
What industry is City Cast in?
City Cast's product category is Digital Local News Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACADAB, Podcast Networks & Multi-Show Publishers. Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.