Mark Asquith Named Third Hero of Indie Podcasting as Mercury Podcasts Reveals Legendary Inductee

Mercury Podcasts has today revealed the identity of the third and final inductee into its inaugural Heroes of Indie Podcasting Hall of Fame: Mark Asquith, CEO of Rebel Base Media and the co-creator of Captivate.fm, the UK’s leading podcast hosting and growth platform.The Heroes of Indie Podcasting is an annual initiative designed to honour individuals whose work has helped shape and strengthen the independent podcasting ecosystem.

The announcement was made at Global’s headquarters in London, where Mercury founder Liam Heffernan surprised Mark in person in front of his team, by making a speech and showing a special presentation that included colleagues and industry peers sharing their kind words about Mark’s contribution to podcasting. Mark was presented with Mercury’s iconic trophy to mark the occasion.

The win recognised Mark’s extraordinary contribution to independent podcasting, both as a builder of essential podcast infrastructure and as one of the most respected voices in the global podcasting community.

Speaking on his win, Mark said: “This is incredible, genuinely, thank you. When Liam said this was an award for the mantle, I thought, this is going straight to the office, because that’s exactly where it belongs. It belongs to the team. I’ve known Liam a long time, and we’ve been part of what feels like a real family in this industry. But none of what I do would mean anything without the people behind it. So, I’m honoured, and yes, this means everything — but I’m accepting it on behalf of everyone behind the scenes at Captivate and for every person who helped us get here.”

Mark Asquith is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in independent podcasting. He has spent over a decade building the tools, platforms, and communities that have given independent podcasters the infrastructure to grow, monetise, and thrive.

Today, Captivate.fm sits at the heart of Rebel Base Media, the UK podcast technology group Mark leads as CEO. The platform is used by tens of thousands of independent podcasters globally, and is recognised for its growth-centric approach built by a podcaster, for podcasters.

Liam Heffernan, founder of Mercury Podcasts, said: “When we launched the Heroes of Indie Podcasting, we said the third inductee was a certified legend — and Mark Asquith is exactly that. He has spent years building the infrastructure that independent podcasters rely on every day, and doing it in a way that consistently puts creators first. We couldn’t be prouder to honour him as one of our inaugural Heroes.”

The Heroes of Indie Podcasting was created by Mercury Podcasts to celebrate the individuals whose work has helped build, shape, and sustain the independent podcasting ecosystem. This concludes the inaugural 2026 inductees as:

• Arielle Nissenblatt — Founder, EarBuds Podcast Collective
• Emma Turner — Co-Founder, Independent Podcast Awards
• Mark Asquith — CEO, Rebel Base Media / Captivate.fm

Each Hero receives one of Mercury’s newly unveiled trophies, with new inductees to be celebrated annually.