Crime Junkie creator and host Ashley Flowers‘ Audiochuck, a juggernaut podcast company in true crime and mystery storytelling, has received a $40 million minority investment from Peter Chernin‘s The Chernin Group. It will leverage its first-ever outside capital to scale the company into its next phase of growth.
Founded in 2017 by Flowers in Indianapolis, Audiochuck is one of the largest podcast networks in the industry. Its Crime Junkie flagship launched the powerhouse to prominence, ranking as Apple Podcasts’ No. 1 true crime podcast and No. 2 overall podcast of 2024.
In 2021, Audiochuck signed a 3-year (2022-2024) deal with SiriusXM, which SiriusXM renewed in 2024 for a fourth year (2025). Since its inception, Audiochuck has steadily expanded its audio portfolio to over 20 weekly and seasonal shows.
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“From launching Crime Junkie to growing our amazing network of shows, the incredible passion of our fans for gripping stories that make a difference has been the heart of everything we do at Audiochuck,” Flowers said in a statement. “With this investment from TCG, we’re excited to amplify our storytelling, grow our team, and bring even more innovative projects to life during an exciting new phase of growth. All this will allow us to have an even bigger impact on the cases and social issues we champion. The future of both Audiochuck and podcasting more broadly is brighter than ever, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together.”
Founding partner at TCG, Jesse Jacobs, added: “Ashley and the remarkable Audiochuck team have built a world-class company and brand at the forefront of the future of media. The next great media businesses are being built with personalities at the core and by distributing content across podcasts, social, digital video and live events. Ashley and Audiochuck check all the boxes of what a successful media company will look like moving forward. And, we love that they do it all from Indianapolis. Audiochuck has the full support of TCG and we are honored to be their first and only outside investor.”
As a multimedia business, Audiochuck has amassed a passionate subscriber base, launched a New York Times bestselling book (Flowers’ debut novel All Good People Here), led sold-out live events and established film and TV projects currently in the pipeline. The company will also soon publish the upcoming thriller The Missing Half from Flowers in May 2025 and expand its live experiences for the Crime Junkie community. During its meteoric rise, Audiochuck has donated more than $8.5 million to more than 150 nonprofits worldwide; Flowers has also established a foundation, called Season of Justice, committing $11 million to helping families and investigative agencies solve violent crime cold cases.
Though Audiochuck has been independently funded to date, the outside capital from TCG will help the company diversify and expand business operations, coming amid an optimistic outlook for the podcasting industry, the company said. The number of true crime weekly listeners has reached 19 million, surpassing sports and news as the third largest category in podcasts. With an audience median age of 34, the podcasts draw a more diverse and increasingly female set of listeners.
TCG is a multi-stage investment firm that has infused capital into other creator-driven media brands and emerging media platforms, like Barstool Sports, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Crunchyroll and more.
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