PodShow’s first acquisition: Podcast Alley

Podcast Alley, the grassroots podcast directory that played a big role in spurring the popularity of podcasting, has been acquired by PodShow. The deal happened last month, we’re told, and founder Chris McIntyre is already making the move from Nashville to San Francisco.

This is the first acquisition for PodShow, the podcasting company started by Adam Curry and Ron Bloom to commercialize podcasting. It comes less than a month after we learned that PodShow had received a round of funding from Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia.

PodShow’s business model centers around promoting podcasts and finding sponsors for them. It also works with mainstream media companies to help them produce and distribute podcasts (the company has worked with Paris Hilton and is currently working with director Spike Lee).

The deal is a marriage of two of the podcasting pioneers. Curry is viewed by many as the originator of podcasting. And Podcast Alley has been one of the key players in the still-young podcasting ecosystem. Podcast Alley has nearly 7,000 podcasts and 120,000 podcast episodes in its directory. For podcasters seekng fame and fortune, a spot in Podcast Alley’s top ten list is one of the most coveted prizes (along now with Apple’s new iTunes podcast directory).

Since Adam Curry lives in Europe and Ron Bloom’s home base was in Florida, we wondered where PodShow would set up shop. It turns out it’s San Francisco’s South of Market area, not far, coincidentally, from the headquarters of podcasting start-up Odeo. Curry has apparently vowed to spend a lot of time in California, and Bloom has already moved here.