Audacy Shuts Down Podcast Studio Pineapple Street, Lays Off Staff

Radio broadcaster and podcast company Audacy is shuttering Pineapple Street Studios, which had produced original audio shows and companion podcasts for TV shows like “House of the Dragon,” “Severance” and “The Last of Us.”

With the shutdown of Pineapple Street, nearly 30 employees are being laid off, according to sources familiar with the company. Audacy, previously known as Entercom Communications, had acquired Pineapple Street for a reported $18 million in 2019.

An Audacy spokesperson said in a statement, “This difficult decision aligns our resources with our core strengths and the most promising growth areas for our podcasting business. We’re sorry to say goodbye to talented colleagues and are grateful for their contributions.”

Audacy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year as it looked to reduce its debt load. The one-time publicly traded company emerged from bankruptcy in September 2024 under a new ownership group led by controlling shareholder Soros Fund Management. In March, Audacy conducted a broad round of layoffs, cutting about 200 employees across divisions.

Pineapple’s shows for TV networks included official podcasts for HBO and HBO Max series “And Just Like That…,” “Chernobyl,” “Dune: Prophecy,” “Hacks,” “House of the Dragon” and “The Last of Us.” Its companion shows for Apple TV+ include podcasts for “Foundation” and “Severance.” According to its website, Pineapple also sold multiple originals for TV and film development, including “Wind of Change” to Hulu, “Missing Richard Simmons” to Amazon Studios, “Heaven’s Gate” to HBO Max and “The Clearing” to Chernin Entertainment.

Audacy plans to continue producing podcasts in association with other media companies. Pineapple Street had produced the first two seasons of Apple TV+’s official “Severance” podcast. Going forward, that is now being produced by Audacy Podcasts, in partnership with Red Hour and Great Scott. Five new episodes of “The Severance Podcast With Ben Stiller & Adam Scott” will be released weekly on Thursdays beginning June 26, available across all podcast platforms. In addition, a set of new episodes is slated to be released in the fall of 2025.

According to the Pineapple Street Studios site, the company was founded in 2016 by Jenna Weiss-Berman and Max Linsky. The studio has staff based in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

In March, Audacy named Kelli Turner its permanent president and CEO while also announcing the departure of four top execs.

The shutdown of Pineapple Street was first reported by Bloomberg.