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Monday, June 29
- We also learn that audio and video listeners demonstrated nearly identical episode completion rates.
The winners of the Scottish Podcast Awards were announced. The Podcast of the Year went to comedy show The Ford & Shelby Show.
iHeartMedia announced an expanded relationship with Amazon Ads. iHeartMedia customers can now leverage Amazon DSP; iHeart is also a local reseller of its audio and video inventory.
From podcast producers Collision Productions, Castly has launched a tool that turns a podcast RSS feed into a podcast website. The French service charges €9.99 a month (about US $11.50); there’s a free tier, and you can see how it looks for your podcast almost instantly.
In the US, cable news network MS NOW is to expand the amount of podcasts that it airs on weekend evenings. The move will lead to job cuts, including the departure of the network’s longest-serving anchor, Alex Witt, who has been on the channel, formerly known as MSNBC, since 1999.
Thursday, June 11
Ahead of the Jun 26 closing date for this year’s award entries, The Signal Awards has published a new report, Recognizing The Risk Takers: Eleven Podcasters Making Bold Bets; the report features creators from WaitWhat to Psychopedia to Lower Street, each of whom made a bet on experimentation and are sharing what they’ve learned. “The willingness to experiment, it turns out, is its own form of excellence,” the report finds.
In the UK, Global has launched AdPower - the first self-service ad platform to let you book both mainstream audio and outdoor media. The tool gives access to live and on-demand radio, but not, yet, to Global’s podcasts - they’ll be added later, we’re told.
In the next version of iOS, Apple Podcasts video will add transcription features that, until now, have been only available in audio podcasts. An Apple spokesperson tells us that from iOS 27 - “Video playback will, for the first time, support read along with transcripts with the ability to search and seek to a specific part of the episode by clicking the transcript text. Chapters are also available for ease of navigation.”
What is the Podcast Standards Project? How does it differ from AMP, Podcasting 2.0, or any of the other industry groups? Now, there’s an explanation - including a video.
One of the most successful podcasters in the world, Adam Buxton, is producing a new podcast for Audible, called Successpod. The (very good) video spots have been shared, and you can see them here. The press release excitedly tells us that “the campaign breaks today on paid social and YouTube pre-rolls, DOOH and radio.” (You’d have thought that advertising on podcasts would be a good place for this too, but, what do we know.)
✅There's More: HERE
Wednesday, June 10
Apple released more information on upcoming features, as part of the company’s WWDC event. In the announcement, we learn that from “fall” this year - Mac users will get access to video podcasts in the Podcasts app; Apple Podcasts on tvOS also will support video playback and will have a full redesign; and there is a new “search within a show” feature to find an episode.
- Apple Podcasts video allows creators to include an optional 4K version of their show, which, while overkill on a phone, will look good on the big screen.
- Typically, these new features roll-out in mid-September, with public betas in July. Development betas are available now, though are confidential (so, we can’t report on them).
A Canadian podcast network has agreed to pay CAD $885,000 (US $634,000) in a negotiated settlement after an unfounded allegation in a podcast. The founder of Canadaland, Jesse Brown must make an apology on the website and the podcast. The show appeared to repeat a false claim from a 1996 magazine article as a statement of fact; and Canadaland did not seek comment before publishing. In 2024, a judge suggested Brown showed a “callous disregard of reputation and personal damage”. CTV News reports that it is one of the larger sums paid in recent years. Podnews has learnt that Canadaland was fully insured for the settlement amount.
- Jesse Brown told Podnews: “The WE Charity Scandal was never about anything Theresa Kielburger did. It was about what Craig and Marc did, and what Justin Trudeau did. That’s why Marc and Craig apologized to their donors and why Justin Trudeau apologized to all Canadians. Theresa Kielburger had nothing to apologize for, and that’s why I apologized to her today.”
- We asked podcast lawyer Gordon Firemark what we should learn from this case. He told us: “Cases like this illustrate the importance of independent fact checking and verification. Good practice is to ensure that every potentially damaging allegation can be corroborated from two, three or more credible sources. Relying on a single source exposes you to just this scenario, and potentially significant damages awards.”
Those who host their podcasts on Substack will be able to distribute video to Apple Podcasts “in a few weeks”, according to a webinar with Substack Product Manager Zach Taylor (spotted by webinar-watcher Chris Stone). The platform also delivers video automatically to YouTube; it doesn’t support Spotify video.
✅There's More: HERE
Dish from Waitrose is the world’s most successful branded podcast, according to a release today. The show has had more than a billion downloads, views and listens since launching in 2022; and is the only branded podcast featured in both Apple and Spotify’s top 100 charts. The show is sponsored by Waitrose, a UK supermarket.
Apple’s WWDC made a number of announcements. Relevant updates, coming soon, include a redesigned Podcasts app on tvOS (which will likely bring podcast video to the Apple TV device), and a customizable EQ feature for AirPods. We expect more detailed announcements as the conference continues.
Fire TV is to launch “in the coming months” in the UK, Germany and Canada - it’s already live in the US. In the UK, Bauer Media Audio has announced that it is a launch partner, and will bring its podcasts and radio stations to the platform.
Podtrac released its May 2026 rankers. The ranker also includes a global multichannel ranking, which includes audio and video podcasts and video clips. (“Video Podcasts” is Spotify and YouTube only, and doesn’t include Apple Podcasts). The Daily becomes the #1 podcast, overtaking NPR News Now.
Combat sports podcast network SmashCast Media has partnered with Backyard Ventures for advertising representation.
Campbell McLaren, the cofounder of UFC, is to take part in a new podcast about the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. There Are No Rules launches later this month, distributed by reVolver Podcasts.
A measurement tool combining data from different sources, the Bumper Dashboard is now available for every podcast, free. The tool’s new “Bumper Score” will also be available - what the company calls a standard benchmark that compares podcast performance in context. The company has also announced MCP server access for AI assistants.
Koolio.ai, a podcast production platform, has unveiled a significant upgrade. The tool aims to combine recording, editing, sound design and publishing; it now allows collaboration and automated audio cleaning and mastering tools.
It’s Black Music Month, and The Almanac of Rap podcast is celebrating with a “podcast mixtape”, highlighting a handpicked collection of independent podcasts covering music, culture, history and wellness. The list is available on Castbox.
In Indonesia, Podcast Day Asia is to return this year as Podcast Creators Day. It’s part of Radiodays Asia (you can just register for Podcast Creators Day if you prefer). Our Editor, James Cridland, will be speaking at the event in Jakarta; Podnews is a sponsor.
How are lawyers and legal professionals using podcasts in Canada? A new study from One Stone Creative examines these shows; suggesting that podcasting is effective for law firms.
What did you miss at The Podcast Show, London? The Podglomerate writes a recap and analysis about what they saw - and what it means. So did Rachel Corbett from NOVA Podcasts in her monthly newsletter.
Tuesday, June 9
Apple’s WWDC made a number of announcements. Relevant updates, coming soon, include a redesigned Podcasts app on tvOS (which will likely bring podcast video to the Apple TV device), and a customizable EQ feature for AirPods. We expect more detailed announcements as the conference continues.
Fire TV is to launch “in the coming months” in the UK, Germany and Canada - it’s already live in the US. In the UK, Bauer Media Audio has announced that it is a launch partner, and will bring its podcasts and radio stations to the platform.
Podtrac released its May 2026 rankers. The ranker also includes a global multichannel ranking, which includes audio and video podcasts and video clips. (“Video Podcasts” is Spotify and YouTube only, and doesn’t include Apple Podcasts). The Daily becomes the #1 podcast, overtaking NPR News Now.
Combat sports podcast network SmashCast Media has partnered with Backyard Ventures for advertising representation.
Campbell McLaren, the cofounder of UFC, is to take part in a new podcast about the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. There Are No Rules launches later this month, distributed by reVolver Podcasts.
✅There's More: HERE
Monday, June 8
Koolio.ai, a podcast production platform, has unveiled a significant upgrade. The tool aims to combine recording, editing, sound design and publishing; it now allows collaboration and automated audio cleaning and mastering tools.
It’s Black Music Month, and The Almanac of Rap podcast is celebrating with a “podcast mixtape”, highlighting a handpicked collection of independent podcasts covering music, culture, history and wellness. The list is available on Castbox.
In Indonesia, Podcast Day Asia is to return this year as Podcast Creators Day. It’s part of Radiodays Asia (you can just register for Podcast Creators Day if you prefer). Our Editor, James Cridland, will be speaking at the event in Jakarta; Podnews is a sponsor.
How are lawyers and legal professionals using podcasts in Canada? A new study from One Stone Creative examines these shows; suggesting that podcasting is effective for law firms.
What did you miss at The Podcast Show, London? The Podglomerate writes a recap and analysis about what they saw - and what it means. So did Rachel Corbett from NOVA Podcasts in her monthly newsletter.
✅There's More: HERE
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