Top true-crime podcast company Audiochuck, founded by Ashley Flowers, has received $40 million in funding from Peter Chernin‘s the Chernin Group.
It’s the first outside capital for Audiochuck, which plans to use the investment to “scale the company and fuel its next phase of growth,” it announced Sunday. Flowers controls and owns a majority of Audiochuck. With the investment, TCG owns a minority share of the company.
Founded in 2017 by Flowers, Audiochuck today has 65 full-time employees. The Indianapolis-based company specializes in true crime and mystery storytelling. Its flagship podcast is “Crime Junkie,” hosted by Flowers and Brit Prawat, which ranked as Apple Podcasts’ No. 1 true-crime podcast of 2024 (and the No. 2 overall podcast after the New York Times’ “The Daily”).
In 2021, Audiochuck signed a three-year deal with SiriusXM, which last year SiriusXM renewed for a fourth year through 2025. In addition to “Crime Junkie,” Audiochuck’s podcast network now includes more than 20 weekly and seasonal shows including “The Deck,” “Counter Clock,” “Park Predators” and “Dark Downeast.” Audiochuck is SiriusXM’s largest network across all genres.
Audiochuck recently announced the Crime Junkie: Life Rule #10 tour with Flowers and Prawat, which will will travel to 18 cities across the U.S. In addition, Audiochuck’s business includes the Fan Club subscription app, Flowers’ debut novel “All Good People Here,” and several film and TV projects that are in development.
Audiochuck plans to build out a film and TV division, publish thriller “The Missing Half” from Flowers in May 2025, and expand its live events lineup for “Crime Junkie.” Audiochuck has remained committed to philanthropy, donating over $8.5 million to more than 150 nonprofits worldwide. Flowers also has established a foundation and to date has committed $11 million to further philanthropic efforts.
“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.”
Flowers added, “All this will allow us to have an even bigger impact on the cases and social issues we champion.”
Jesse Jacobs, founding partner at TCG, said, “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.”
TCG is a multi-stage investment firm that invests in companies that define culture. TCG has a track record of successful investments in creator-driven media brands and emerging media platforms, including Barstool Sports (its first and only investor), Hello Sunshine (its first investor), Crunchyroll, Twitter, Night Media, Classic Football Shirts, Exploding Kittens, Epic Gardening, Vuori, and Oura Ring.
