The latest accounts reveal that last year, Eoin McDevitt, renowned broadcaster and his fellow team members from the award-winning Second Captains podcast divided up a production fee fund worth €817,000. The company, named Second Captains Ltd, operates the successful podcast and financial reports for 2023 show that firms owned by Simon Hick, Ciaran Murphy, Ken Early, Mark Horgan, and McDevitt each received €149,000 in production cost fees incurred by Second Captains Ltd.
Compared to the prior fees of €620,000, equating to €124,000 each, paid in 2022 by Second Captains Ltd to these businesses, the total fees last year amount to €745,000, which represents a 20% escalation. Additionally, director’s salaries came to €72,000 overall–an average of €14,400 per person.
Highlighting the financial success of the podcast in 2023, the company’s cash holdings went up by €160,995, from €321,585 to €482,580. A substantial improvement from the closing cash balance of €239,070 in 2021.
Following the distribution of payments to the directors and other associated expenses, the company posted a profit of €4,711 for 2023, slightly higher than the modest €1,947 profit reported in 2022. Accumulated profit figures reached €51,129 by year-end.
Revenue streams in 2023 were bolstered by the organisation of a packed live podcast extravaganza at Dublin’s renowned Olympia, featuring Liverpool football legend Graeme Souness in celebration of Second Captain’s 10th anniversary.
Each of the five directors at Second Captains holds a 20% stake in the company. Most of the company’s earnings are derived from paying subscribers. According to the accounts, the primary activities of Second Captains Ltd encompass online content creation, radio, television, live event production, and publishing.
Since launching their paid membership model in February 2017, which had an immediate response of 2,500 subscribers, they’ve been able to increase their subscriber base by 17% from 14,250 in October to 16,678 today – each paying €5+VAT every month. This surge in subscriptions has positively impacted the company’s revenue positions for the past year.
The Second Captains media company, boasting a roster of 16,678 paying members, generates an annual income of €1 million, stemming from their €5 monthly subscription fee. Recognised as a prolific content producer, Second Captains was among numerous external companies contracted to create shows for RTÉ last year. The media firm developed and aired ‘Second Captains Saturday’ on RTÉ 1 Radio in 2023, with plans to repeat this arrangement in the upcoming summer season.
Second Captains’ team were the original creators and hosts of the ‘Off The Ball’ programme on Newstalk radio, and over the course of eight years, they secured nine PPI national radio accolades. In 2013, they departed from the station, making a pit stop at The Irish Times prior to carving their own independent path in 2017.