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Friday, January 9, 2026
Registration is now open for the PRX and AudioUK 2026 Podcast Creator Summit in London. The free summit will be held at Apple’s London offices at Battersea Power Station on Feb 6. Space is limited - hop to it!
Sounds Profitable will make its new head of comms, Molly DeMellier, available to help its partners for communications and PR, Tom Webster announced in the trade association’s weekly email. He also highlights that experimentation is good - as long as we don’t ruin what already works.
- From Jan 1, Podnews is no longer directly connected to the Sounds Profitable group of companies. Full disclosures
Audacy has partnered with Podscribe for attribution measurement across its digital audio and broadcast portfolio. Advertisers will gain faster, more transparent insights into campaign performance across Audacy’s properties.
Podtrac released its US rankings for December 2025. Year-on-year comparisons for publishers shows RSS consumption down by -2.3%; YouTube consumption up by +82%.
✔There's More: HERE
Spotify announced dynamically inserted video sponsorships are due for launch in April, allowing creators to add and remove sponsorships. Scheduling and measurement will also be offered. It’ll work with both Megaphone and Spotify for Creators - and others (see below).
Spotify announced a distribution API for video - allowing users to publish and monetise video content on Spotify direct from participating hosting platforms. Acast, Libsyn, Podigee, Audioboom and Omny Studio are the launch partners. Dynamic video sponsorship management will be available through these partners too.
Spotify made a significant change to its Spotify Partners Program, which offers a share of Premium video revenue and advertising - by lowering its eligibility requirements. Now, you’re eligible if you host on Spotify for Creators, have 1,000 Spotify audience members over the past 30 days (the figure was 2,000); you need 2,000 Spotify hours consumed over the last 30 days (the figure was 10,000); and just three published episodes (that’s down from 12). This is already live - if you’re now eligible you’ll see that in the Monetize tab in Spotify for Creators.
Spotify launched new podcast studios in Hollywood. Spotify Sycamore Studios has a number of flexible recording rooms, and will serve as home to The Ringer. Access will also be made “by invitation only” to selected video creators in the Spotify Partner Program.
Spotify also announced that the platform has contributed more than $10bn to the podcast industry over the past five years.
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Spotify announced dynamically inserted video sponsorships are due for launch in April, allowing creators to add and remove sponsorships. Scheduling and measurement will also be offered. It’ll work with both Megaphone and Spotify for Creators - and others (see below).
- This a feature that YouTube announced in September - but YouTube’s feature will only be available for “a small group of creators” early this year, and the company has yet to announce a date for a full rollout.
Spotify announced a distribution API for video - allowing users to publish and monetise video content on Spotify direct from participating hosting platforms. Acast, Libsyn, Podigee, Audioboom and Omny Studio are the launch partners. Dynamic video sponsorship management will be available through these partners too.
- The launch date for this is “soon”. FlightCast used a pre-release API at launch in October. It’s, of course, dependent on integration with launch partners. (Who’ll be first?)
Spotify made a significant change to its Spotify Partners Program, which offers a share of Premium video revenue and advertising - by lowering its eligibility requirements. Now, you’re eligible if you host on Spotify for Creators, have 1,000 Spotify audience members over the past 30 days (the figure was 2,000); you need 2,000 Spotify hours consumed over the last 30 days (the figure was 10,000); and just three published episodes (that’s down from 12). This is already live - if you’re now eligible you’ll see that in the Monetize tab in Spotify for Creators.
- Spotify’s new eligibility requirements are now comparable to YouTube - which needs 1,000 subscribers (not just audience members), and 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months.
Spotify launched new podcast studios in Hollywood. Spotify Sycamore Studios has a number of flexible recording rooms, and will serve as home to The Ringer. Access will also be made “by invitation only” to selected video creators in the Spotify Partner Program.
Spotify also announced that the platform has contributed more than $10bn to the podcast industry over the past five years.
- We asked the company how they calculated this number. A spokesperson would only tell us that “it reflects a mix of our contributions in technology, distribution, and direct creator payouts”.
✔There's More: HERE
Two days ago, we covered a company that is copying podcasts to remove the ads, and then selling access. Glenn Rubenstein at Adopter Media covers the story, suggesting it raises a question of why tools like this may gain traction. “PodcastAdBlock didn’t appear because people don’t want to hear ads. It appeared because some shows are starting to cross an invisible line with their listeners,” and suggests a path forward that podcast networks can make to improve the listener experience. (It’s one reason why we run our “Having a bad DAI” feature, where we highlight ways we can improve - try the bottom of Jan 2 for an example).We learn today that PodcastAdBlock’s “24/7 support” email address is now bouncing back.
Exclusive: Sounds Profitable has hired its first-ever Head of Communications, Molly DeMellier. She will oversee all global communications functions, including media relations and marketing, for Sounds Profitable and Podcast Movement. She previously worked with Sundaze PR and Acast.From Jan 1, Podnews is no longer directly connected to the Sounds Profitable group of companies. Full disclosures
First look: CBC has launched its Winter 2026 slate of podcasts. Many of the broadcaster’s biggest shows have new seasons planned, including Uncover, Personally and Someone Knows Something.
Goalhanger show The Rest is Football has acquired the rights for the Premier League video archive, for all matches until the end of last season. A new show, “Premier League Greats: The Moments That Made Them”, is now appearing within The Rest is Football feeds. The company says: “viewers watching on Spotify Video or YouTube (and socials) will be able to see the iconic match footage as those moments are discussed on screen. Audio listeners will still receive the full episode as usual.” Last month we reported that the show will be on Netflix during the World Cup as a daily show.
Glenn Beck has released a podcast episode entirely produced by AI. The show is here - it’s apparently built by his own, proprietary, AI tool.
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Two days ago, we covered a company that is copying podcasts to remove the ads, and then selling access. Glenn Rubenstein at Adopter Media covers the story, suggesting it raises a question of why tools like this may gain traction. “PodcastAdBlock didn’t appear because people don’t want to hear ads. It appeared because some shows are starting to cross an invisible line with their listeners,” and suggests a path forward that podcast networks can make to improve the listener experience. (It’s one reason why we run our “Having a bad DAI” feature, where we highlight ways we can improve - try the bottom of Jan 2 for an example).We learn today that PodcastAdBlock’s “24/7 support” email address is now bouncing back.
Exclusive: Sounds Profitable has hired its first-ever Head of Communications, Molly DeMellier. She will oversee all global communications functions, including media relations and marketing, for Sounds Profitable and Podcast Movement. She previously worked with Sundaze PR and Acast.From Jan 1, Podnews is no longer directly connected to the Sounds Profitable group of companies. Full disclosures
First look: CBC has launched its Winter 2026 slate of podcasts. Many of the broadcaster’s biggest shows have new seasons planned, including Uncover, Personally and Someone Knows Something.
Goalhanger show The Rest is Football has acquired the rights for the Premier League video archive, for all matches until the end of last season. A new show, “Premier League Greats: The Moments That Made Them”, is now appearing within The Rest is Football feeds. The company says: “viewers watching on Spotify Video or YouTube (and socials) will be able to see the iconic match footage as those moments are discussed on screen. Audio listeners will still receive the full episode as usual.” Last month we reported that the show will be on Netflix during the World Cup as a daily show.
Glenn Beck has released a podcast episode entirely produced by AI. The show is here - it’s apparently built by his own, proprietary, AI tool.
✔There's More: HERE
In the UK, Global have acquired a majority stake in The Overlap, one of the world’s most popular football and sports destinations with more than 38 million monthly views on YouTube. The Overlap was founded by footballer Gary Neville, and recently acquired broadcasting rights for the German Bundesliga. The news comes in a World Cup year, after the launch of Global Studios and Sport by Global last October, and Global’s acquisition of The Fellas Studios. No terms were given.
Exclusive: Imagine a podcast containing lots of deeply unimportant things. The 1922 Western Softwood Lumber Grading Rules, for example. Or, one containing the 1954 Singer Sewing Machine Manual. Deeply Unimportant has launched today from Dallas Kachan, a former Canadian national news anchor who now wants you to pay no attention at all to what he’s talking about - to stop your brain from focusing on everything else that’s happened today. The latest episode goes into 45 minutes of boring and unimportant detail about the CSC 1972 International Convention for Safe Containers - and long, all-night episodes, are available for premium subscribers.
The Nigerian Podcast Index has been announced - a definitive, independent record of Nigerian podcasts, according to the founder, Tony Doe.
Meta, the owner of Facebook, has announced SAM Audio - an AI tool that separates speech from background noise (or, indeed, guitars from a noisy bar, or a chirping bird from the sounds of the seaside). You can give it a go here.
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Exclusive: Imagine a podcast containing lots of deeply unimportant things. The 1922 Western Softwood Lumber Grading Rules, for example. Or, one containing the 1954 Singer Sewing Machine Manual. Deeply Unimportant has launched today from Dallas Kachan, a former Canadian national news anchor who now wants you to pay no attention at all to what he’s talking about - to stop your brain from focusing on everything else that’s happened today. The latest episode goes into 45 minutes of boring and unimportant detail about the CSC 1972 International Convention for Safe Containers - and long, all-night episodes, are available for premium subscribers.
The Nigerian Podcast Index has been announced - a definitive, independent record of Nigerian podcasts, according to the founder, Tony Doe.
Meta, the owner of Facebook, has announced SAM Audio - an AI tool that separates speech from background noise (or, indeed, guitars from a noisy bar, or a chirping bird from the sounds of the seaside). You can give it a go here.
✔There's More: HERE
Exclusive: A website called PodcastAdBlock is using AI to copy popular podcasts and resell them without the ads. Shows from publishers like Spotify, NPR, the New York Times, Slate, iHeart, and New York Magazine are all promoted on the website. We’ve taken a full look at the product, and how much it might be costing us.
In India, The Economic Times discovers that some guests pay a fee between US $15,000 and $30,000 to be interviewed on “some of India’s most-watched podcasts”, and these paid appearances are rarely disclosed to audiences. That’s against the law in India (and against FTC rules in the US).
Podscribe published its rankers for December 2025. Amazon was the biggest advertiser; Audacy has returned as a top ten publisher; and the top five podcasts remain unchanged.
The audience for podcasts aren’t actually the same people as the audience for streaming, according to new data from Magellan AI and Ad Results Media. The companies suggest that buying all forms of digital audio reaches more people than podcasting (or streaming) alone.
Video podcasting is growing, says podcast monetisation company Audioboom, announcing Audioboom’s 2025 in numbers. The company claims to be the number one video podcast publisher in the world.
BuzzFeed write 9 Ways My New AirPods Max Made Producing Podcasts So Much Easier, from one of the hosts of Buzzfeed’s Office Hours with Sohan & Hameda.
How-To Geek publishes Why I stopped listening to podcasts on YouTube. “Instead of letting me passively listen to a conversation while I was driving or doing chores, I felt like I was totally stuck looking at the device.” The author has moved to… Audible. Meanwhile, MakeUseOf discovers AntennaPod.
Monday, January 5, 2026
Exclusive: A website called PodcastAdBlock is using AI to copy popular podcasts and resell them without the ads. Shows from publishers like Spotify, NPR, the New York Times, Slate, iHeart, and New York Magazine are all promoted on the website. We’ve taken a full look at the product, and how much it might be costing us.
In India, The Economic Times discovers that some guests pay a fee between US $15,000 and $30,000 to be interviewed on “some of India’s most-watched podcasts”, and these paid appearances are rarely disclosed to audiences. That’s against the law in India (and against FTC rules in the US).
Podscribe published its rankers for December 2025. Amazon was the biggest advertiser; Audacy has returned as a top ten publisher; and the top five podcasts remain unchanged.
The audience for podcasts aren’t actually the same people as the audience for streaming, according to new data from Magellan AI and Ad Results Media. The companies suggest that buying all forms of digital audio reaches more people than podcasting (or streaming) alone.
Video podcasting is growing, says podcast monetisation company Audioboom, announcing Audioboom’s 2025 in numbers. The company claims to be the number one video podcast publisher in the world.
BuzzFeed write 9 Ways My New AirPods Max Made Producing Podcasts So Much Easier, from one of the hosts of Buzzfeed’s Office Hours with Sohan & Hameda.
How-To Geek publishes Why I stopped listening to podcasts on YouTube. “Instead of letting me passively listen to a conversation while I was driving or doing chores, I felt like I was totally stuck looking at the device.” The author has moved to… Audible. Meanwhile, MakeUseOf discovers AntennaPod.
✔There's More: HERE
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