Vox Media said it is acquiring Cafe Studios Inc., publisher of a popular podcast hosted by former Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, part of a bid to expand its growing audio business.
The companies didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal. Mr. Bharara will join Vox Media as a host, co-founder and creative director of Cafe, which will continue to exist as a brand. Mr. Bharara will report to Vox Media Studios President Marty Moe.
Spun off from Some Spider Inc. in 2020, Cafe Studios publishes a handful of podcasts, including “Stay Tuned With Preet,” Mr. Bharara’s current-events and pop-culture talk show; “Third Degree,” a legal-analysis show; and “Doing Justice,” a narrative podcast based on a book by Mr. Bharara of the same name.
In an interview, Vox Media Chief Executive Officer Jim Bankoff said Cafe Studios was worth buying because of its strong advertising business, the quality of its shows and its subscription business. Cafe Studios charges subscribers for access to exclusive podcasts, a business model that Mr. Bankoff said he is interested in exploring.
“Vox Media is a company that is built on talented, creative people who connect and create authority and community with large audiences,” Mr. Bankoff said. “And that’s precisely what Preet and the Cafe team have done.”
