Goalhanger has passed a major milestone in its paid membership business, surpassing 250,000 paying members across its fast-growing network of podcasts.
The UK-based media and podcast production company now offers paid membership across eight of its fourteen shows, with listeners paying an average of £6 per month or £60 per year, split broadly evenly between monthly and annual subscriptions.
Membership benefits include ad-free listening, bonus episodes, early access to live shows, merchandise offers, newsletters, and deeper engagement with presenters, as Goalhanger continues to build communities around chart-topping titles such as The Rest Is Politics, The Rest Is Entertainment, Empire, Sherlock & Co., and We Have Ways of Making You Talk.
While some shows are experimenting with higher-tier options, including The Rest Is History’s premium Athelstan tier, the company says its core membership tiers remain the primary driver of growth across the network.
The milestone was revealed by Goalhanger’s Chief Commercial Officer Conrad Withey during an appearance on The Media Club with Matt Deegan. He said the achievement arrived sooner than expected, following an internal push to accelerate growth.
“We’ve hit a pretty key milestone. We’ve now got 250,000 paying members across our clubs – something that, about a year ago, we probably didn’t think would happen around this time,” he said, adding that the company originally expected to reach the figure later in the spring but ultimately achieved it on 12 January.
Withey said viewing the business through a membership lens has become central to Goalhanger’s strategy, helping to deepen relationships with audiences while strengthening its wider commercial model.
“At the end of the day, we’re creating fandoms around our shows and nearly always, those fans want more,” he said. “Membership gives you a much more intimate relationship with your listener or viewer, and that insight also helps the advertising side. In effect, all boats rise.”
The membership operation sits alongside Goalhanger’s broader commercial activity of advertising across audio, video and social platforms, as well as live events and merchandise tied to its shows and talent.
This latest news comes after a record-breaking year for the business. Last year, Goalhanger’s 14 shows delivered more than 1.8 billion views and streams across audio, video and social platforms, including around 750 million full-episode views and streams, alongside more than 1.2 billion social media views.
