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Friday, April 4, 2025
- We’ve a short interview in the Podnews Weekly Review this week, from Evolutions.
Nick Viall has renewed his sales agreement with Libsyn Ads. He’d signed with AdvertiseCast, now Libsyn Ads, in Feb 2023 after Kast Media’s bankruptcy. Writing in Soundbite, Ashley Carman suggests that the near-four-year deal with Libsyn Ads is worth between $20-30mn. (Podnews readers get 25% off Soundbite with this link right here)
As covered yesterday, Oxford Road published its white paper containing the definition of podcasting, including a study of consumers. The study reveals that 72% of US podcast listeners now define the traditionally audio-only medium as being inexorably linked to video. What’s more, 52% say that videos of people discussing topics – available only on YouTube – still qualify as podcasts even without an audio-only component.
The new iOS 18.4 podcast widgets are praised by 9to5Mac.
The Independent Podcast Awards are open for entry; and the organisers have announced a new event - the Independent Podcast Forum, a one-day event for indie creators. The awards attracted more than 400 entries last year. Podnews is a partner of the event.
Lava for Good renewed its partnership with iHeartPodcasts. The announcement includes an expansion of its slate.
Edison Research will publish the Women’s Audio Report, with SiriusXM Media, in a two-part webinar series in April. The report examines women’s audio consumption behaviors, including listener demographics, content preferences, discovery habits, and advertising engagement.
👉There's More To Read: HERE
The Podnews Report Card results for 2025 were released on stage at Evolutions, with comments and scores by creators about the podcast platforms we all use. YouTube scored significantly higher for all categories, though creators expressed concern about walled gardens and about perceived complication getting listed. Apple continued to be creators’ favourite platform, though in the apps category, the independent podcast app Pocket Casts was #2. We’ve published the full results here.
What is a podcast? Dan Granger spoke at Evolutions, offering a new definition for podcasting. “The stakes are nothing less than the sustainability of the entire channel.“ The company has published a whitepaper for download; and, in The Media Roundtable, a three-part documentary that traces the evolution of podcasting from pirate radio roots to today’s billion-dollar ecosystem.
Spotify announced a number of changes and enhancements to advertising on its platform. It’s launched a new programmatic offering called Spotify Ad Exchange; and a new AI ad creator tool dubbed Spotify Gen AI Ads. Their launch notes contain a number of stats about how Spotify is working.
Podcasting is the highest earning category on Patreon with 6.7 million memberships, the company says, announcing a new podcast network partnership program, launching with Sony Music and Wondery. Shows will offer “exclusive media and fan experiences”, and Patreon will host premium audio.
Triton Digital is to expand its US Podcast Ranker to include all publishers. There will be a quarterly ranking of the podcasts with the most listeners, based on a survey. This additional ranker will also give audience profiles.
Thursday, April 3, 2025
What is a podcast? Dan Granger spoke at Evolutions, offering a new definition for podcasting. “The stakes are nothing less than the sustainability of the entire channel.“ The company has published a whitepaper for download; and, in The Media Roundtable, a three-part documentary that traces the evolution of podcasting from pirate radio roots to today’s billion-dollar ecosystem.
Spotify announced a number of changes and enhancements to advertising on its platform. It’s launched a new programmatic offering called Spotify Ad Exchange; and a new AI ad creator tool dubbed Spotify Gen AI Ads. Their launch notes contain a number of stats about how Spotify is working.
Podcasting is the highest earning category on Patreon with 6.7 million memberships, the company says, announcing a new podcast network partnership program, launching with Sony Music and Wondery. Shows will offer “exclusive media and fan experiences”, and Patreon will host premium audio.
Triton Digital is to expand its US Podcast Ranker to include all publishers. There will be a quarterly ranking of the podcasts with the most listeners, based on a survey. This additional ranker will also give audience profiles.
👉There's More to Read: HERE
Exclusive Apple Podcasts remains the #1 app in the US for podcast downloads for the biggest shows, according to new data from Podtrac. In a presentation this morning (keynote stage 9am) at Evolutions in Chicago, our Editor will reveal data showing that - even with YouTube views - Apple is still the largest podcast app out there for the 250 biggest shows.
Evolutions, by Podcast Movement, kicked off yesterday with a keynote from Tom Webster - who spoke about the need to convert occasional listeners to more frequent consumers. Organisers say that the event has 1,600 attendees.
Magellan AI is not rebranding. Yesterday, Apr 1, they announced a rebrand to Podgellan AI - but it was an April Fool’s joke. “Of course we won’t use the word ‘pod’ in our company name,” Magellan AI CEO and co-founder Cameron Hendrix said, adding “Who would do that?” Magellan AI is this month’s sponsor of, um, Podnews.
Podcast hosting platform Disctopia announced a partnership with EarBuds Podcast Collective to deliver podcast recommendations to Disctopia users.
Audacy announced the Audacy Creator Lab. It’s a enhancement of Podcorn, which the company acquired in 2021, and will offer free “limitless” hosting and monetisation services for emerging podcasters.
The Webby Awards are open for public voting today, after the nominations were published. Award-winning podcast Dan Taberski is up for yet another award, after his hit show Hysterical was named Apple Podcasts’ Podcast of the Year. The awards also recognise the organization with the most overall nominations and wins across the podcast categories. Organizations in contention include Audible (14), SiriusXM (10), Wondery (9), and iHeartMedia (8).
The winners of The 2025 Ambies were announced in Chicago - the fifth annual awards for excellence in audio, in a ceremony hosted by Tig Notaro ahead of Podcast Movement Evolutions. Hysterical won Podcast of the Year; Ira Glass was honored with the esteemed Governors Award; and Sam Sanders received the Impact Award. We link to all the winners.
In a bold move, Magellan AI has announced a rebrand to Podgellan AI. The podcast advertising intelligence platform tells Podnews that the change reflects a deep commitment to the podcast space.
iOS 18.4 is now available as an update for iPhone and iPad. Among many other improvements, the update offers two new home-screen widgets for Apple Podcasts: a “followed show” widget to directly place the Podnews Daily your favourite show’s latest episodes on your home screen; and a library widget to get to your most used sections, like latest episodes or Stations.
Submissions are now open for the CrimeCon’s 2025 Clue Awards. The awards, recognising excellence and responsible true crime storytelling, include two podcast categories: “Outstanding Episodic Series” and “Outstanding Docuseries”
In Spanish, the 100th edition of the AudioGen 3x3 newsletter has been published. The edition features three voices in the global spoken audio industry: Daniel Alarcón (co-founder of Radio Ambulante, USA and Latin America), Lucas Fridman (OLGA, Argentina) and Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland.
Voices, a voiceover marketplace, has released a report saying that more than half of ad agencies have used an AI voice at some point in the creative process. However, the company suggests that they’re used for initial drafts, not final work.
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Exclusive Apple Podcasts remains the #1 app in the US for podcast downloads for the biggest shows, according to new data from Podtrac. In a presentation this morning (keynote stage 9am) at Evolutions in Chicago, our Editor will reveal data showing that - even with YouTube views - Apple is still the largest podcast app out there for the 250 biggest shows.
Evolutions, by Podcast Movement, kicked off yesterday with a keynote from Tom Webster - who spoke about the need to convert occasional listeners to more frequent consumers. Organisers say that the event has 1,600 attendees.
Magellan AI is not rebranding. Yesterday, Apr 1, they announced a rebrand to Podgellan AI - but it was an April Fool’s joke. “Of course we won’t use the word ‘pod’ in our company name,” Magellan AI CEO and co-founder Cameron Hendrix said, adding “Who would do that?” Magellan AI is this month’s sponsor of, um, Podnews.
Podcast hosting platform Disctopia announced a partnership with EarBuds Podcast Collective to deliver podcast recommendations to Disctopia users.
Audacy announced the Audacy Creator Lab. It’s a enhancement of Podcorn, which the company acquired in 2021, and will offer free “limitless” hosting and monetisation services for emerging podcasters.
The Webby Awards are open for public voting today, after the nominations were published. Award-winning podcast Dan Taberski is up for yet another award, after his hit show Hysterical was named Apple Podcasts’ Podcast of the Year. The awards also recognise the organization with the most overall nominations and wins across the podcast categories. Organizations in contention include Audible (14), SiriusXM (10), Wondery (9), and iHeartMedia (8).
👉There's More To Read: HERE
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
In a bold move, Magellan AI has announced a rebrand to Podgellan AI. The podcast advertising intelligence platform tells Podnews that the change reflects a deep commitment to the podcast space.
iOS 18.4 is now available as an update for iPhone and iPad. Among many other improvements, the update offers two new home-screen widgets for Apple Podcasts: a “followed show” widget to directly place the Podnews Daily your favourite show’s latest episodes on your home screen; and a library widget to get to your most used sections, like latest episodes or Stations.
Submissions are now open for the CrimeCon’s 2025 Clue Awards. The awards, recognising excellence and responsible true crime storytelling, include two podcast categories: “Outstanding Episodic Series” and “Outstanding Docuseries”
In Spanish, the 100th edition of the AudioGen 3x3 newsletter has been published. The edition features three voices in the global spoken audio industry: Daniel Alarcón (co-founder of Radio Ambulante, USA and Latin America), Lucas Fridman (OLGA, Argentina) and Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland.
Voices, a voiceover marketplace, has released a report saying that more than half of ad agencies have used an AI voice at some point in the creative process. However, the company suggests that they’re used for initial drafts, not final work.
👉There's More to Read: HERE
Exclusive: Hubbard Radio has announced the launch of the Gamut Podcast Network, a dedicated podcast division for the 102 year-old company. “The launch of Gamut is more than a rebrand; it’s a pivotal evolution for our company,” said Ginny Hubbard, CEO of Hubbard Radio; the VP/GM is John Goforth, who joined the company last August.
Another snippet of data from Amplifi Media and Coleman Insights: “We asked YouTube podcast consumers which devices they use to tune in. Smartphones remain the top choice at 79%: but the big story is the rise of Smart TVs and computers — each now used by 46% of YouTube podcast consumers.”
Linus Media Group (on YouTube as Linus Tech Tips, among others) shares how the content company makes money. Revenue from YouTube is just 11.6% of total revenue; of that, 37.3% comes from a revenue share from YouTube Premium subscribers, which operates similarly to Spotify’s Partner Program.
The Podcast Academy announced nine newly elected people to the Board of Governors. They are: Christy Mirabal, Donald Albright, E.B. Moss, Jennifer Sargent, Matty Staudt, Nikki Boyer, Pat Shah, Sirisha Kuchimanchi, and Ti King. Governors serve two-year terms, with at least 40% representing independent podcast professionals from companies with 20 or fewer employees. Tonight is the The Ambies award ceremony.
AdLarge’s fwd. network has acquired the podcasts in the Adalyst Media network. The fwd. network now boasts over 75 shows, elevating female voices, amplifying meaningful conversations, and connecting brands with highly engaged female audiences.
Monday, March 31, 2025
Exclusive: Hubbard Radio has announced the launch of the Gamut Podcast Network, a dedicated podcast division for the 102 year-old company. “The launch of Gamut is more than a rebrand; it’s a pivotal evolution for our company,” said Ginny Hubbard, CEO of Hubbard Radio; the VP/GM is John Goforth, who joined the company last August.
Another snippet of data from Amplifi Media and Coleman Insights: “We asked YouTube podcast consumers which devices they use to tune in. Smartphones remain the top choice at 79%: but the big story is the rise of Smart TVs and computers — each now used by 46% of YouTube podcast consumers.”
- The State of Video Podcasting 2025 is on Thursday at 9am on the main keynote stage at Evolutions - 24 hours after the Podnews Report Card.
Linus Media Group (on YouTube as Linus Tech Tips, among others) shares how the content company makes money. Revenue from YouTube is just 11.6% of total revenue; of that, 37.3% comes from a revenue share from YouTube Premium subscribers, which operates similarly to Spotify’s Partner Program.
The Podcast Academy announced nine newly elected people to the Board of Governors. They are: Christy Mirabal, Donald Albright, E.B. Moss, Jennifer Sargent, Matty Staudt, Nikki Boyer, Pat Shah, Sirisha Kuchimanchi, and Ti King. Governors serve two-year terms, with at least 40% representing independent podcast professionals from companies with 20 or fewer employees. Tonight is the The Ambies award ceremony.
AdLarge’s fwd. network has acquired the podcasts in the Adalyst Media network. The fwd. network now boasts over 75 shows, elevating female voices, amplifying meaningful conversations, and connecting brands with highly engaged female audiences.
👉There's More to Read: HERE
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