Breakaway Podcast Hit Crime Junkie Surpasses 18 Million Downloads in Two Months

New York NY, USA—Fan-favorite podcast Crime Junkie has skyrocketed to more than 18 million downloads in the past two months. The breakaway true crime hit launched just 15 months ago and has been grabbing the attention of listeners and advertisers, alike. Expanding on a relationship that began more than a year ago, cabana, the digital audio business of AdLarge Media, is now the exclusive ad sales partner for Crime Junkie.

The phenomena behind the meteoric rise of Crime Junkie are hosts Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, two lifelong friends with a passion for digging up the truth. Flowers is a volunteer at Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. Prawat had worked at a private detective agency. Being fans of true crime, they set out to make the best true crime podcast and share their obsession for underreported or misreported cases.

“We’re ecstatic about Crime Junkie’s explosive growth,” stated Cathy Csukas, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of cabana and AdLarge Media. “It’s even more extraordinary when you consider that the growth has been 100 percent organic. Driven by the strength and passion of Ashley’s storytelling, fans and advertisers have discovered Crime Junkie and spread the word about this addictive podcast. It’s one of the best true crime podcasts out there.”

Flowers has been described as an “engaging storyteller” by Rolling Stone Magazine, which listed Crime Junkie as one of the Best True Crime Podcasts of 2018. _Crime Junkie_has been referenced in numerous articles, including most recently in In Touch Weekly and in Good Housekeeping, which identified Crime Junkie as a potential ‘next Serial.” It has been featured in Vulture and spotlighted in Podcast Business Daily and is consistently in the Top 10 Podcasts on Apple and Spotify. Last month, Crime Junkie beat outThis American Life, Serial, and My Favorite Murder to earn a spot in the championship round of USA Today’s Bracket Madness fan-voted competition.

“Ashley clearly has tapped the true crime audience in a unique way,” noted Ilwira Marciszek, Vice President of Digital Sales Strategy & Partnerships for cabana. “Each episode is tightly focused yet delivered as if Ashley and Brit are sitting around with their best friends talking about true crime. It’s not just the listeners -- advertisers are flocking to Crime Junkie, which delivers a loyal, engaged audience at scale.”

“When I started the podcast as a way to bring attention to the non-profit Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana, I never dreamed that it would become so big,” Flowers commented. “We really have the most loyal fans who are constantly sharing our show with their friends and family and on social media. The show’s success is due to our listeners, and we will always be grateful to them and to cabana for taking a chance on us a year ago when we were still growing. cabana has been a great partner with an unparalleled commitment to supporting the show and my growing business.”

Crime Junkie explores true crime stories culled from across the country, including new evidence on unsolved mysteries, unexpected twists on current investigations, insightful analysis of manhunts and captures, and more. Their storytelling is straight-forward and free of rabbit holes, so the cases remain suspenseful and easy to follow.

This June, Crime Junkie will be in front of a live audience during a four-city tour in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Crime Junkie is produced by audiochuck, owned by Ashley Flowers. To listen to Crime Junkie, visit www.crimejunkiepodcast.com or your favorite podcast platform.

About cabana

cabana specializes in selling podcast advertising for its portfolio of more than 175 titles, including top shows in comedy, female lifestyle, sports, gaming, true crime, and more. cabana’s exclusive sales partnerships include content from New Hampshire Public Radio, Inc Magazine, audiochuck’s Crime Junkie, and content networks Recorded History, Murder.ly, and Almighty Baller. All cabana downloads are IABv2 compliant. cabana is the digital audio division of AdLarge Media. For more information, please visitwww.letscabana.com.

About AdLarge Media

AdLarge Media is the leading independent ad sales and content company with lifestyle-driven audio environments that span am/fm, podcasting, on-demand, and streaming. Its diverse portfolio reaches 207 million listeners a week across 5,000 radio stations and 35 million unique listeners a month across digital audio platforms. The company was founded by industry leaders Cathy Csukas and Gary Schonfeld in 2011, and its digital division was relaunched as cabana in 2017. AdLarge has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and Denver. For more information, please visit www.adlarge.com.