Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place joins the Acast Creator Network

Acast has expanded its podcasting portfolio with the addition of Fearne Cotton’s acclaimed wellness podcast, Happy Place. 

Established with independent management company YMU, the exclusive deal will see Acast host and distribute Happy Place on a global basis. It will also provide Cotton with additional opportunities to monetise her content through the Acast Marketplace.

Happy Place will also be eligible to receive fan-supported revenue through Acast’s premium subscription model Acast+, allowing Cotton to continue building a devoted community of listeners and contributors.

Now entering its 11th series, Happy Place has garnered over 40 million total listens to date.

The podcast’s latest season, which launches today, sees Cotton partake in discussions about wellbeing and mental health with a number of prominent guests, including Hillary Clinton, Sam Smith, Alicia Keys and Tom Daley.

Fearne, who was recently crowned as Podcast Champion at the 2021 British Podcast Awards, said that the Acast deal would allow Happy Place to reach worldwide audiences and continue to resonate with listeners.

“Our commitment to growing the Happy Place podcast and reaching more people has never been more important, as so many people face loneliness and mental health problems. And we chose Acast for this exact reason — we want to reach as many people as we can, all around the world,” Cotton said.

“Acast’s position at the heart of the open podcasting ecosystem, and its global footprint, will help us continue to grow the Happy Place brand worldwide, giving us the potential to engage with millions of brand new listeners.”

Acast’s local content director, Guy Scott-Wilson, welcomed the announcement of the deal, highlighting the company’s plans to drive the growth of the podcast within the Australian and New Zealand market.

“While Happy Place is the UK’s most-listened-to wellness podcast, it is also a much loved and listened to podcast here in Australia. Audience numbers are strong and there is huge growth potential for Happy Place within the Australian and New Zealand markets,” Scott-Wilson said.

“Working with Fearne and the team at YMU, we have plans in place to supercharge the show’s growth locally and monetise the brand on Fearne’s terms.”