➽From podnews.net, your complete daily briefing for podcasting and on-demand. Subscribe to get the full newsletter free
Thursday, December 4, 2025
- Nina Yiamsamantha, Spotify’s Head of Creator Marketing, Podcasts, told Podnews: “Wrapped for Creators this year is bigger than ever and dedicated to creators and their fans. It’s a look at which episodes sparked the most engagement, where new fans discovered your show, what kept them coming back, and more. We hope you enjoy exploring the experience as much as we enjoyed building it!”
Spotify Wrapped included the Spotify top podcasts for 2025 in various countries. Notably, in the UK, Steven Bartlett has overtaken Joe Rogan for the first time; and Goalhanger’s “Rest Is” has four shows in the top ten.
Within the consumer Spotify Wrapped, “Your Top Podcasts” appears if you’ve consumed podcasts during the year, says a post about methodology. Podcasts in this list are ranked by total minutes listened. Interestingly, if you listen to a podcast at 2x, Spotify only counts the actual minutes you spend listening, not of the original content.
Spotify published The Year in Podcasting, a look back at 2025’s highlights for creators and culture in podcasting, from Spotify’s lens.
- While “video” doesn’t appear once in Spotify’s look back at the culture of podcasting, it sure appeared in the figures. More than 80% of the US top 50 podcasts features a video episode. That was “up from 2024”, the company says. The top 20 video podcasts grew their consumption by 24%+ since December 2024.
✔There's More To Read: HERE
Wednesday, Dec 3, 2025
- The company is also rolling out YouTube Recap, a personalised look back across your activity across all of YouTube for the first time. It also links to YouTube Music’s Recap too, which is currently rolling out.
AI tools for podcasting offer an exciting opportunity - but also a legal minefield. Writing for Podnews, Gordon P Firemark reminds us what to look for when we use AI. (As one example - if you make a logo using AI, you can’t copyright it.)
With a hundred days until the event, Podcasthon has revealed that it already has more than 1,000 registrations from more than 40 different countries. The event in March asks you to dedicate one of your episodes to a charity of your choice, and has support from companies like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Headliner is running a survey on whether you use captions on YouTube. Up for grabs is a free year’s Headliner Pro account for one user.
✔There's More To Read; HERE
Tuesday, Dec 2, 2025
First look: Details of The Podcast Show 2026, in London, have been announced. The show will include additional stages and more networking opportunities, including what the event calls “the ultimate networking party”. Day passes are now on sale. Jason Carter, the Festival Director, tells Podnews: “Next May promises to be our biggest yet. We are delighted to hear from so many in the industry that the event has now become one of the most important shows on the global podcasting calendar.”
- Reflecting the high number of international visitors, the event will also include an international stage, curated by Podimo.
- Podnews readers get a discount on all passes.
Edison Research released the top 25 podcasts in the UK for Q3/25. Wondery’s RedHanded makes it to the top 25 for the first time. Goalhanger have four shows in the list; the BBC have five. Acast and Megaphone both host six shows.
PodcastOne has partnered with Dr Phil’s Envoy Media to launch a new multi-platform podcast network. Podcast content will broadcast on national TV networks, with Envoy podcast content and talent from PodcastOne.
Matt Medeiros has produced an AI-powered analysis tool for podcasts - and let it loose on the Podnews Weekly Review. This YouTube video goes through his report; the full report is here, and the code used is here. Amazing.
✔There's More to Read: HERE
Monday, Dec 1, 2025
YouTube’s algorithm appears to have changed in September: it now heavily favours recency, according to Mario Joos on LinkedIn - who shares a way you can isolate the data for yourself. (You could argue that this algorithm change is a benefit to podcasting - where ‘recency’ is the algorithm in many apps.)
Hindenburg has launched an advent calendar with “a daily treat for storytellers”.
Spotify wants you to update your app. It’s almost like they’ve got something to unwrap shortly.
The Pod Radar has launched. A little like ProductHunt but for podcasts, a new ranker is produced from listener votes for indie podcast episodes every week. It’s free to submit a show.
AudienceLift has launched an API for its growth engine, allowing integration with podcast hosting platforms, networks and brand studios.
The 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report was released by the IAB. Ad Results Media has given its take - that the creator economy doesn’t replace (marketing through) audio: it amplifies it.
✔There's More to Read: HERE
The winners of the APAs from AudioUK were announced in London. The organisers of Sheffield’s Crossed Wires Festival, which took place in early July, were presented with the AudioUK Award. We’ve a full list of the winners.
404 Media says that Apple Podcasts is being used for a sophisticated hack. The article suggests simply visiting a website can trigger Apple Podcasts to open and go to a podcast episode without user intervention. Apple has not responded to them for comment. GadgetHacks suggests the hack works by putting unsafe links into episode descriptions, and hoping you’ll click on them.
In the UK, media regulator Ofcom has published its eighth annual report on the BBC. The regulator notes that the BBC has remained trusted by the majority of those in the UK, with 70% of regular BBC television viewers rating it highly for accuracy, and 68% for trust. However, it notes that BBC podcasts don’t appear in the Edison Research top ten for listeners aged 15-34.Ofcom also released its latest data for equity, diversity and inclusion in broadcasting. Disabled people are “woefully” underrepresented in the industry, the regulator says. (We’d love equivalent data for the podcast industry.)
Swell, a simple podcast app, has announced that it is to close on Dec 15. “Swell never reached the sustainable long-term growth needed to keep it running,” says the email sent to users. You’ve until Dec 10 to request your audio files if you need them.
Friday, Nov 28, 2025
The winners of the APAs from AudioUK were announced in London. The organisers of Sheffield’s Crossed Wires Festival, which took place in early July, were presented with the AudioUK Award. We’ve a full list of the winners.
404 Media says that Apple Podcasts is being used for a sophisticated hack. The article suggests simply visiting a website can trigger Apple Podcasts to open and go to a podcast episode without user intervention. Apple has not responded to them for comment. GadgetHacks suggests the hack works by putting unsafe links into episode descriptions, and hoping you’ll click on them.
- This web page will open Apple Podcasts - but will ask first.
In the UK, media regulator Ofcom has published its eighth annual report on the BBC. The regulator notes that the BBC has remained trusted by the majority of those in the UK, with 70% of regular BBC television viewers rating it highly for accuracy, and 68% for trust. However, it notes that BBC podcasts don’t appear in the Edison Research top ten for listeners aged 15-34.Ofcom also released its latest data for equity, diversity and inclusion in broadcasting. Disabled people are “woefully” underrepresented in the industry, the regulator says. (We’d love equivalent data for the podcast industry.)
Swell, a simple podcast app, has announced that it is to close on Dec 15. “Swell never reached the sustainable long-term growth needed to keep it running,” says the email sent to users. You’ve until Dec 10 to request your audio files if you need them.
✔There's More to read: HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.