Podcast production company, Goalhanger, has formed a strategic partnership with The Chernin Group (TCG), a US based emerging media and sports investment firm founded by Peter Chernin.
The partnership sees TCG making a minority investment and taking a seat on the Goalhanger board. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the transaction was completed this week.
Founded in 2014, Goalhanger has never taken external investment until now. TCG is the company’s first external investor. The partnership is intended to support Goalhanger’s next phase of growth – scaling hit show franchises into global, multi-platform IP and accelerating expansion in the United States.
Through the strategic partnership, Goalhanger will draw on TCG’s expertise in creator-led and fandom-driven media businesses to expand hit shows such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Football into new formats across television, film, digital video, written formats and live experiences.
The company has already built strong momentum, including a new partnership with Netflix to bring The Rest Is Football to the streaming platform for the 2026 World Cup, The Rest Is History being named Apple Podcasts’ Global Show of the Year 2025, winning Brand of the Year at the 2025 ARIAS, and being ranked the UK’s leading news podcast producer by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Goalhanger produces chart-topping shows including The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics, The Rest Is Entertainment, Empire, The Rest Is Science, The Rest Is Politics: US, Sherlock & Co., The Rest Is Football and We Have Ways of Making You Talk, among others, and now employs more than 80 people.
In 2025 alone, the company generated more than 750 million full-episode views and streams across its 14-show network, while building a fast-growing membership business that now surpasses 250,000 paying members. This growth is matched by increasing activity across video, live events, merchandise, publishing and new formats.
The investment will accelerate Goalhanger’s momentum in the U.S. Over the past 12 months, the network has seen strong growth in American listenership, expanding YouTube audiences, a rising North American share of total downloads, and increasing demand for U.S.-based live shows. This has been driven by high-profile editorial partnerships, including a multi-episode series on the history of Walt Disney featuring The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, and a collaboration on The Beatles Anthology with special guest Conan O’Brien on The Rest Is History.
Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport and Gary Lineker, Co-Founders of Goalhanger, said: “From launching our first podcast to building a global network of chart-topping shows, the passion of our audiences for smart, gripping conversations has been at the heart of everything we do. Since we first met Peter and the TCG team more than a year ago, it has become increasingly clear that they share our vision for what Goalhanger can become, and are the perfect partner to help us realise that ambition. This allows us to accelerate our U.S. expansion, develop new IP from our hit shows, and take our ideas into new formats, platforms and markets. With a record number of paying members, we’re building a next-generation media company rooted in trust, creativity and curiosity and this partnership marks an exciting new chapter in that journey.”
Greg Bettinelli, Partner of TCG, added: “We are thrilled to be able to work with Tony, Jack and Gary as well as their amazingly talented team. Goalhanger is truly one of the world’s most compelling emerging media businesses and we can’t wait for the rest of their historical journey.”
As previously referenced, the transaction was completed this week, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acting as legal advisers to Goalhanger, and Galloways Accounting providing accounting support.
Picture: Copyright Garry Jones
Jon Creamer
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