“Top true crime podcaster Ashley Flowers and her Audiochuck podcast network are exiting SiriusXM and planting roots at Tubi. Audiochuck has signed a multi-year deal with the Fox-owned media company that covers exclusive distribution and advertising sales rights for Crime Junkie, the second most popular podcast in the US, as well as The Deck, So”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
Audiochuck has signed a multi-year deal with the Fox-owned media company that covers exclusive distribution and advertising sales rights for Crime Junkie, the second most popular podcast in the US, as well as The Deck, So Supernatural, Dark Downeast, Park Predators and more. The deal also encompasses development of a Crime Junkie FAST Channel that to be distributed across Fox streaming platforms Tubi and Fox One, third-party platforms and an on-demand collection of video podcast episodes.
“This first of its kind partnership represents the next evolution of what independent media can achieve,” said Flowers, Audiochuck founder and chief creative officer. “By joining forces with Tubi, we’re not just expanding our reach, we’re redefining how true crime stories are experienced across audio and video. It’s an incredible opportunity to innovate while staying true to the purpose and integrity that have guided Audiochuck from day one.”
Said Tubi Media Group CEO Paul Cheesbrough: “Ashley and her team have built a truly unique and premium media company with a strong commitment to meaningful, award-winning storytelling that carries positive social impact. Having admired her achievements for some time, we’re now thrilled to be in partnership with Audiochuck, bringing to bear our platforms and commercial expertise in the continued evolution and growth of the business.”
The move better positions Flowers’ Crime Junkie for video, which has been exploding in popularity and raking in ad dollars. In February, Audiochuck received a $40 million investment from Peter Chernin to scale the company.
This appears to be the first outright podcast acquisition by Tubi, the Fox-owned, free streamer, but comes after Fox acquired podcasting firm Red Seat Ventures, in February 2025.
Red Seat Ventures, which acts as Tubi’s in-house creator services company, has a robust business around true crime, with podcasts from Chris Hansen (of To Catch a Predator fame) and Nancy Grace among its clients. Red Seat also operates CrimeCon, a convention for true crime and mystery fanatics. Red Seat will shoulder responsibility for ad sales across Audiochuck’s stable of programs and podcasts.
“Audiochuck is the clear leader in true crime,” said Red Seat Ventures CEO Christopher Balfe. “We’re thrilled to partner with Ashley, Matt, and the team to help drive their next phase of growth.” Added Audiochuck CEO Matt Starker: “Partnering with Tubi Media Group allows us to extend our reach and reimagine how true crime stories are told across both audio and video. I believe deeply in Tubi Media Group’s creator-led media vision and am excited to help them build a world-class creator monetization business. This is an exciting new chapter for the industry — and for our fans.”
It’s unclear how big of an impact the departure will have on SiriusXM, which uses its popular podcasts to propel its large podcasting ad sales unit.
In the past two years, SiriusXM made major deals for top-charting podcasts including SmartlessAlex Cooper’s Call Her Daddyand other highly ranked true crime podcasts including Crime Junkie, Dateline NBC and Rotten Mango. Morbidanother top true crime podcast, made the move to SiriusXM in July and The MrBallen Podcast announced the move to SiriusXM Monday.
Still, Crime Junkie has long dominated the podcast charts, coming in as the second most popular podcast in the US since 2024, just behind The Joe Rogan Experience and ahead of The Dailyaccording to Edison Research. The podcast is even more popular than Cooper’s Call Her Daddywhich has ranked fourth. Flowers launched Crime Junkie in December 2017 with a goal to “redefine true crime content” through researched storytelling.
It does so now with the support of more than 20 full-time writers, fact-checkers, researchers and editors, all of whom analyze and investigate more than 50 cases at once. Audiochuck, an independent media company, has reported on nearly 1,000 cases in its history. Audiochuck as a whole employs a team 100 strong with headquarters in Indianapolis where it’s home to more than 18 original shows.
Flowers had signed an exclusive deal with SiriusXM in 2021, giving the company exclusivity on sales of ad sales for Crime Junkieas well as all the shows in the Audiochuck network, including Anatomy of a Murder, CounterClock and Park Predators. She also had an Audiochuck channel on the SiriusXM satellite subscription service. The departure from SiriusXM is being characterized as a mutual decision; the two parties were not able to come to an agreement on the terms of the deal.
SiriusXM president Scott Greenstein previously told The Hollywood Reporterthat the company looks to shows with large, monetizable audiences with the potential to grow and evaluates metrics such as downloads, ad revenue and social media buzz when evaluating shows, and sets contracts with download floors and metrics that the podcasts must meet.
The company also still faces the question of whether its popular satellite radio host Howard Stern will renew his deal.
In other Audiochuck news, the company is poised to launch a new podcast next month. In partnership with Campside Media, Audiochuck will debut Chameleona series that promises to explore “the fascinating and often shocking world of people pretending to be someone they’re not.” Think scammers, con artists and deceptive individuals who operate in plain sight. Chameleon launches with two episodes on Nov. 13, with additional episodes to drop weekly on Thursdays.
Alex Weprin contributed reporting.