Goalhanger
Founded 2022 · 105 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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Goalhanger produces podcast and video shows across history, politics, sport, business, entertainment and culture, hosted by journalists, historians, broadcasters and athletes. Its titles include The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics, Empire and The Rest Is Football, distributed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and other platforms.
Also known as Goalhanger Films · Goalhanger Podcasts Ltd
Founders & leadership
Goalhanger was founded in 2022 by Jack Davenport and Tony Pastor.
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Goalhanger Podcasts Ltd is a British podcast production and distribution company headquartered in Kennington, London. It creates story-first shows across history, politics, sport, business, entertainment, culture and audio drama, hosted by historians, journalists, broadcasters, writers and athletes including Alastair Campbell, Rory Stewart, Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook, Richard Osman, Marina Hyde, Gary Lineker and Hannah Fry.
Its catalogue spans the "The Rest Is..." franchise — History, Politics, Politics: Leading, Politics: US, Football, Football: Daly Brightness, Football: LaLiga, Money, Entertainment, Classified and Science — alongside We Have Ways of Making You Talk, Empire, Battleground, Football Clichés, Journey Through Time, Walking The Dog with Emily Dean, The Book Club and the scripted series Sherlock & Co. Shows are distributed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and other podcast platforms, with full video episodes and clips on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, plus streaming distribution deals covering Netflix, DAZN and LaLiga.
The company describes itself as independent, reaching tens of millions of people each month across audio, video and live events. It is characterised in trade coverage as the UK's largest independent podcast producer, and has recently shifted toward a video-first strategy on YouTube and connected TV.
Founding story
Goalhanger was established as Goalhanger Films by Tony Pastor, a former ITV controller of sport who left the broadcaster in 2013, together with sports broadcaster and former professional footballer Gary Lineker and Jack Davenport, a former senior BBC journalist. The company initially specialised in high-end sports documentaries, including films featuring Wayne Rooney and Mo Salah: A Football Fairytale. Trade coverage dates the founding to 2014.
Business model
Goalhanger owns and operates its show IP rather than producing primarily for hire, monetising through advertising and branded content, direct-to-consumer paid memberships, live ticketed events and merchandise, and licensing/distribution deals with platforms and sports rights holders.
Revenue lines include advertising and brand partnership series (for example a multi-episode history of Walt Disney featuring Bob Iger and a Beatles Anthology special with Conan O'Brien), subscription memberships such as The Rest Is History Club and The Rest Is Politics Plus priced at £6 per month or £60 per year with an "Athelstan" premium tier at £25 per month, live events including The Rest Is Fest (tickets £47) and Royal Albert Hall hospitality packages up to £235 per person, merchandise, and platform/licensing deals.
Traction
Goalhanger reported more than 750 million full-episode streams and views in 2025 and over 400 million downloads in 2024, with roughly $50 million of 2025 revenue and 80% year-on-year revenue growth. Membership passed 200,000 paying members in 2025 and is cited at over 250,000 across its Club subscriptions. Per Wikipedia, its 15 main shows collectively received more than 75 million full-episode streams per month. During the 2024 UK general election campaign, The Rest Is Politics and Leading recorded over 21.6 million downloads and full-episode YouTube views, and The Rest Is Football drew 19.6 million during Euro 2024.
Latest developments
In December 2025 Netflix signed a deal to carry The Rest Is Football during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, described elsewhere as a multimillion-pound arrangement for a daily World Cup show. In January 2026 The Chernin Group took a minority stake in the company. Rights deals include a three-year agreement with LALIGA EA Sports for weekly match clips and a global Premier League archive deal covering every season since 1992, plus video partnerships with DAZN for the FIFA Club World Cup. In June 2026 Goalhanger named the inaugural cohort of The Accelerator: Cody Dahler, Sophia Smith Galer, Tom Nicholas, Andrea Valls, Dr Eliza Filby and Tolly Shoneye.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Described in trade coverage as the UK's largest independent podcast producer and, by the company, as the UK's fastest-growing private company. It holds four of the top ten podcasts in the UK, including the number one and two slots, with more than ten shows regularly appearing in global top-50 rankings; The Rest Is History is presented as the world's most listened-to history podcast and was Apple Podcasts' 2025 Show of the Year.
The company emphasises editorial independence, ownership of its show IP and talent equity rather than production-for-hire work, and pairs high-authority expert hosts with long-form conversational formats. Its "The Rest Is..." brand architecture allows extension into new verticals and spin-offs, and it has coupled audio with a video-first output across YouTube, connected TV and streaming partners.
Go-to-market
Shows are launched around recognisable expert hosts and distributed free across all major podcast platforms, with short-form clips on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts used as a discovery layer that funnels audiences to long-form episodes and to paid membership tiers. The company also distributes full episodes via streaming partners including Netflix, DAZN and LaLiga, and runs live events. Talent representation is handled through WME. In 2026 it launched The Accelerator, a three-month incubator offering selected UK digital creators up to £10,000 in production investment, mentorship, access to Goalhanger ad inventory and a first-look deal for long-form development.
Podcast and video audiences interested in history, politics, sport, business, science, entertainment and culture, with a substantial share of listeners under 44; advertisers and brand partners seeking those audiences; and paying members who subscribe for ad-free feeds, early access, bonus material and priority entry to live events.
Geography
Headquartered in Kennington, London, England, with UK-focused shows that also reach international audiences; The Rest Is Politics: US covers American politics and several shows rank in global top-50 charts.
History
After starting in sports documentary production, the company moved into podcasting in 2018 with Behind Closed Doors, a football series with Gary Lineker and Danny Baker, followed in April 2019 by the Second World War show We Have Ways of Making You Talk with James Holland and Al Murray. Podcasting became the main focus after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with The Rest Is History launching in November 2020, The Rest Is Politics in March 2022, Empire in August 2022 and The Rest Is Football in August 2023. In 2022 the company signed with WME to expand podcast output. Subscription memberships were introduced from 2023. Later launches included The Rest Is Politics: US (2024), The Rest Is Classified (2024), The Rest Is Science (2025) and The Book Club (2026). In December 2025 Netflix agreed a deal to carry The Rest Is Football during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and in January 2026 The Chernin Group took a minority stake.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 19
launches, deals, and filingsGoalhanger named six creators to the first Accelerator cohort: Cody Dahler, Sophia Smith Galer, Tom Nicholas, Andrea Valls, Dr Eliza Filby and Tolly Shoneye, each receiving up to £10,000 (about $13,400) in content investment. Hundreds of applications were assessed by a selection committee of Goalhanger leaders and external executives.
Weekly literature podcast hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and producer Tabitha Syrett.
The Chernin Group, a private investment firm focused on media, entertainment and consumer-facing digital businesses, acquired a minority stake in Goalhanger. Terms were not stated.
Goalhanger secured a global archive deal with the Premier League covering every season since 1992.
Goalhanger agreed a three-year deal with LALIGA EA Sports to feature weekly match clips, used in The Rest Is Football: La Liga.
A three-month creative business incubator for UK digital creators offering up to £10,000 in production investment, mentorship, business training, access to Goalhanger ad inventory and a first-look deal for long-form development.
Netflix signed a deal with Goalhanger to carry The Rest Is Football during the 2026 FIFA World Cup; described in trade coverage as a multimillion-pound deal for a daily World Cup show.
Science podcast hosted by mathematician Hannah Fry and creator Michael Stevens (Vsauce).
Video-first weekly LaLiga show hosted by Gary Lineker and Alex Aljoe with official licensed match clips.
Intelligence and espionage podcast hosted by former CIA analyst David McCloskey and former security correspondent Gordon Corera.
US politics podcast hosted by Anthony Scaramucci and Katty Kay.
Football podcast co-hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
Politics podcast hosted by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart.
Second World War podcast co-hosted by historian James Holland and comedian Al Murray, marking the company's move into podcasting.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Goalhangergoalhanger.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Goalhanger do?
- British independent podcast and video producer behind The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Football.
- Who founded Goalhanger?
- Goalhanger was founded by Jack Davenport, Tony Pastor in 2022.
- Who are Goalhanger's investors?
- Goalhanger's investors include The Chernin Group (TCG Crypto).