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Monday, March 16, 2026
More video is coming. At Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW, Stacey Goers and Jake Shapiro from Apple Podcasts announced a number of new podcast hosting partners for the upcoming Apple Podcasts HLS video feature. Transistor, Audiomeans, PodBean, Captivate, RSS.com and Podigee are all soon to support HLS video on Apple Podcasts. The companies join Acast, Omny Studio, ART19 and Simplecast.
- This now means that almost all major podcast hosting companies - ones with more than 2% market share of new episodes - will be able to deliver HLS video to Apple Podcasts. But, no HLS video for you if you’re with competitor Spotify for Creators and Spotify-owned Megaphone (28% market share), Spreaker (14%), for which the obvious answer is an upgrade to Omny Studio, and two heritage podcast companies are also not yet offering HLS video: Buzzsprout (7.2%) and, surprisingly, Libsyn (2.7%). (It should probably also be noted that video is likely to be an additional charge, given the cost of hosting).
- Apple Podcasts also announced that there are now 12 million episodes in Apple Podcasts with chapters. The company announced AI-generated chapters in November. Their keynote at Podcast Movement Evolutions was the first time that the company has ever officially spoken at a podcast conference in North America.
Podcast Movement Evolutions will return to SXSW next year. “The event far exceeded our expectations”, said Bryan Barletta: "Showing up at SXSW with real talent, meaningful programming, and new voices in the room is the new baseline.” The event was covered by GritDaily.
Podcasthon is on right now - with 2,800 podcasters registered from 65 countries. The initiative - we covered it in January - invites podcasters to dedicate one episode of their show to a charity of their choice. Shows are being added to the Podcasthon website as they go live.
✔There's More HERE
More Americans are listening to podcasts every month than ever before, according to The Infinite Dial 2026 from Edison Research at SSRS. The research, with support from SiriusXM Media, was released yesterday afternoon and co-presented by VP Megan Lazovick and Editor of Podnews, James Cridland. It also shows the significant growth of online audio for Americans age 55+. You can watch the full presentation and download all the slides here.
YouTube announced new “top podcast lineups”. A blog post, which has a YouTube podcasts logo on it, says: "To further serve advertisers looking to tap into the podcast momentum on YouTube, today we’re introducing our US Top Podcasts lineup across key verticals - Sports, News, Comedy, True Crime and Society & Culture - enabling brands to tailor their approach to key podcast verticals.” (We’re not quite sure what this means).
Steve Ackerman has been appointed a Non-Executive Director of The Podcast Show. Most recently Executive Vice President and Head of Global Podcasts at Sony Music Entertainment, he has had more than thirty years experience across audio in the UK and US. He’s interviewed this week about his new role in the Podnews Weekly Review.
Substack has launched The Substack Recording Studio. It’s a remote recording tool, and automatically produces auto-generated clips and thumbnails. You can also add logos onto the output.
BBC Studios and Pushkin will announce a new partnership today at SXSW. The companies are launching Big Lives, a new podcast that will tap into the BBC’s extensive archive to profile iconic figures who have shaped our culture. It’ll be co-hosted by Kai Wright and Emmanuel Dzotsi.
YMH Studios is to make full multi-platform attribution available permanently free for every advertiser and agency, with Magellan AI Attribution is available across audio, Spotify streaming and YouTube video, with every campaign. The network says its the first to offer this with all campaigns, with no conditions.
Want to offer your listeners something a little different? Airwave has announced a partnership with Like Minds Travel to organise paid, creator-led tours. The company has already organised sold-out tours for podcasts like The History Chicks and The Bowery Boys.
Friday, March 13, 2026
YouTube announced new “top podcast lineups”. A blog post, which has a YouTube podcasts logo on it, says: "To further serve advertisers looking to tap into the podcast momentum on YouTube, today we’re introducing our US Top Podcasts lineup across key verticals - Sports, News, Comedy, True Crime and Society & Culture - enabling brands to tailor their approach to key podcast verticals.” (We’re not quite sure what this means).
Steve Ackerman has been appointed a Non-Executive Director of The Podcast Show. Most recently Executive Vice President and Head of Global Podcasts at Sony Music Entertainment, he has had more than thirty years experience across audio in the UK and US. He’s interviewed this week about his new role in the Podnews Weekly Review.
Substack has launched The Substack Recording Studio. It’s a remote recording tool, and automatically produces auto-generated clips and thumbnails. You can also add logos onto the output.
BBC Studios and Pushkin will announce a new partnership today at SXSW. The companies are launching Big Lives, a new podcast that will tap into the BBC’s extensive archive to profile iconic figures who have shaped our culture. It’ll be co-hosted by Kai Wright and Emmanuel Dzotsi.
YMH Studios is to make full multi-platform attribution available permanently free for every advertiser and agency, with Magellan AI Attribution is available across audio, Spotify streaming and YouTube video, with every campaign. The network says its the first to offer this with all campaigns, with no conditions.
Want to offer your listeners something a little different? Airwave has announced a partnership with Like Minds Travel to organise paid, creator-led tours. The company has already organised sold-out tours for podcasts like The History Chicks and The Bowery Boys.
✔There's More: HERE
“Podcasting isn’t broken - the system behind it is”. A new podcast hosting and production website, Rebel Audio, has been launched with $3.8 million in funding. Jared Gutstadt, the CEO and Founder, calls the system “the first native AI tool built for the podcast community”. It offers hosting and distribution (including video), and AI voice cloning for host-read ads.
In Singapore, podcasts are more influential than influencers. Acast has shared new data focusing on the Singapore podcast market, saying that 69% of listeners have considered a brand for the first time because of a podcast, and podcasts are more credible than YouTubers and journalists.
Today: the webinar of The Infinite Dial 2026 is at 2pm ET - you can register to watch for free here. The data includes a new monthly number for the number of Americans aged 12+ who consume podcasts. Hosted by Megan Lazovick of Edison Research at SSRS and our Editor, James Cridland, be the first to update your sales deck by watching at 2pm.
Bryan Barletta writes a piece about Apple Podcasts’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) for Sounds Profitable. It goes into the technical specifics of delivering advertising for episodes using video in Apple Podcasts (which always plays even if the listener has chosen audio-only).
After Louis Theroux described his video podcast in a slightly less than positive way, GoodTape has interviewed a set of film and TV experts on what video podcasts look like. “Amateur”, “looks like the corner of a mall”, “a fun set”, “just a purple void”, and "I would love to see those large microphones go away” are some of the phrases used.
PodLP, the podcast app for the next billion listeners - using feature phones across India, Africa and Southeast Asia (and even the US) - has launched a sponsor portal for promotion of shows. The self-service tool guides you through the process, with screen grabs and more information.
Libsyn’s podcast ad revenue grew 48% last year, the company has announced; downloads are up 17%, and the company served 4.5 billion ad impressions in 2025 - up 46%. The number of creators monetising on the platform has increased more than 2.5x. The company announced that the Libsyn Audience Network is now broadly available: a way for advertisers to buy across Libsyn shows.
In a major change in the UK, the Elis James and John Robins show will be the first podcast that is commercially available under a new BBC Audio Release policy. The new commercial opportunities include the back catalogue of the popular show, which won Best Comedy Show in the British Podcast Awards last October. It’s made by Significant Productions, and will be monetised by Audio Always.
Audible announced “localised experiences” in a further 11 new countries. Listeners in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will all have local-language recommendations and billing, and will be cross-promoted from their local Amazon sites. The company claims it has grown its number of members by 800% in the last ten years; and the company projects that number will double again in just three years. (Audible funds a number of exclusive podcasts).
Thursday, March 12, 2026
“Podcasting isn’t broken - the system behind it is”. A new podcast hosting and production website, Rebel Audio, has been launched with $3.8 million in funding. Jared Gutstadt, the CEO and Founder, calls the system “the first native AI tool built for the podcast community”. It offers hosting and distribution (including video), and AI voice cloning for host-read ads.
In Singapore, podcasts are more influential than influencers. Acast has shared new data focusing on the Singapore podcast market, saying that 69% of listeners have considered a brand for the first time because of a podcast, and podcasts are more credible than YouTubers and journalists.
Today: the webinar of The Infinite Dial 2026 is at 2pm ET - you can register to watch for free here. The data includes a new monthly number for the number of Americans aged 12+ who consume podcasts. Hosted by Megan Lazovick of Edison Research at SSRS and our Editor, James Cridland, be the first to update your sales deck by watching at 2pm.
Bryan Barletta writes a piece about Apple Podcasts’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) for Sounds Profitable. It goes into the technical specifics of delivering advertising for episodes using video in Apple Podcasts (which always plays even if the listener has chosen audio-only).
After Louis Theroux described his video podcast in a slightly less than positive way, GoodTape has interviewed a set of film and TV experts on what video podcasts look like. “Amateur”, “looks like the corner of a mall”, “a fun set”, “just a purple void”, and "I would love to see those large microphones go away” are some of the phrases used.
PodLP, the podcast app for the next billion listeners - using feature phones across India, Africa and Southeast Asia (and even the US) - has launched a sponsor portal for promotion of shows. The self-service tool guides you through the process, with screen grabs and more information.
✔There's More: HERE
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
- Libsyn is making its SXSW debut next week at Podcast Movement Evolutions and the iHeartPodcasts Hotel; they’re also founding sponsor of Oxford Road’s Indie PaC Awards.
In a major change in the UK, the Elis James and John Robins show will be the first podcast that is commercially available under a new BBC Audio Release policy. The new commercial opportunities include the back catalogue of the popular show, which won Best Comedy Show in the British Podcast Awards last October. It’s made by Significant Productions, and will be monetised by Audio Always.
- The new BBC policy was announced in October last year. A significant amount of BBC radio output is made by independent programme makers. The new policy allows those “indies” to own the RSS feed for third-party platforms (like Apple or Spotify), and place ads into those podcasts. The shows will continue to be ad-free on BBC radio and within the BBC Sounds app. In return, the policy requires a minimum of 10% of revenue to the BBC, promotional trails to BBC Sounds in the podcast, and clear explanations “as may be supplied or directed by the BBC”. It’s a very limited trial: only twelve shows will get this treatment, and only two per supplier.
Audible announced “localised experiences” in a further 11 new countries. Listeners in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will all have local-language recommendations and billing, and will be cross-promoted from their local Amazon sites. The company claims it has grown its number of members by 800% in the last ten years; and the company projects that number will double again in just three years. (Audible funds a number of exclusive podcasts).
✔There's More: HERE
Podcast hosting company Podbean has abruptly pulled its dynamic ad insertion tool across the whole of Europe. No notice was given; the affected countries imply that there is a concern with GDPR compliance. The company launched PodAds in 2019. “We rely on dynamic insertion,” one customer told us, “and without prior warning, this has a huge impact on us”. The company told Podnews that the decision was “based on a combination of evolving global privacy regulations and a shift in our internal product focus.”
How much of your podcast do people listen to? Bumper analysed more than 100,000 episodes to discover that the average (on Apple and Spotify) is 76%. (But, for shows under half an hour, it’s 85%).
And - how many people listen to podcasts every month in the US? You’ll be the first to know if you watch the webinar of The Infinite Dial 2026 this Thursday (2pm ET). It’s free; the data will be presented by VP of Edison Research at SSRS, Megan Lazovick, and Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland. You can register here.
Bauer Media’s AudioXI is to be the exclusive third-party ad-sales company for BBC podcast ads in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Slovakia and Portugal. The deal doesn’t include Bauer’s other markets in the UK (where the BBC doesn’t have advertising), nor Ireland (where ads are sold by Digitize).
Heritage podcaster Libsyn has launched a new update to publishing episodes, turning a one-page form into four separate pages (step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4). The company broke some 301 redirects in late 2025, and still haven’t fixed them, so it’s hard to move away; we asked for an update last week but the company didn’t respond. Livewire reports the company at an all-time low in terms of the share of new episodes.
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
- Podbean is also removing its Livestream product as of June. The livestream service has more than 65,000 shows, according to the company’s website. The company tells us it is being sunset as it “reallocates resources toward AI features”.
How much of your podcast do people listen to? Bumper analysed more than 100,000 episodes to discover that the average (on Apple and Spotify) is 76%. (But, for shows under half an hour, it’s 85%).
And - how many people listen to podcasts every month in the US? You’ll be the first to know if you watch the webinar of The Infinite Dial 2026 this Thursday (2pm ET). It’s free; the data will be presented by VP of Edison Research at SSRS, Megan Lazovick, and Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland. You can register here.
Bauer Media’s AudioXI is to be the exclusive third-party ad-sales company for BBC podcast ads in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Slovakia and Portugal. The deal doesn’t include Bauer’s other markets in the UK (where the BBC doesn’t have advertising), nor Ireland (where ads are sold by Digitize).
Heritage podcaster Libsyn has launched a new update to publishing episodes, turning a one-page form into four separate pages (step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4). The company broke some 301 redirects in late 2025, and still haven’t fixed them, so it’s hard to move away; we asked for an update last week but the company didn’t respond. Livewire reports the company at an all-time low in terms of the share of new episodes.
✔There's More HERE
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