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Friday, Aug 14
An appearance on a comedy podcast by the Australian Prime Minister has resulted in an international diplomatic incident. In July, Anthony Albanese was criticised for responding to a game of “shag, marry, date” with the answer “Kylie Minogue, all of the above”, and was forced to apologise. Now, political opponents, aided by the Murdoch press, have complained about a gesture Albanese made when he was describing two melons he was gifted by Japan’s (female) prime minister; a former Japanese ambassador has described it as “casually mocking” the gift. It’s headline news in Australia. The show, launched by NOVA Podcasts in May, is called Bush Deep, which apparently wasn’t enough of a red flag to Albanese’s media team.
The Basis DSP, an ad buying platform, has announced a partnership with Barometer to offer brand-suitability scores on an episode-by-episode basis. The company claims that this is “podcast advertising catching up with the controls advertisers expect from more mature programmatic channels”. Barometer announced episode-level context in March with AdsWizz, and with Acast in January.
Sony has highlighted how Jampot Productions have been using Sony cameras to make their video podcasts. The company is based in London, and was founded by Jamie Laing.
Nobody Signing These Giant Podcast Deals Expects to Make the Money Back, writes Steve Raizes in a LinkedIn post.
How many top podcasts have video? Amplifi Media suggests that only six shows in the Edison Research US top 50 are audio-only.
Spotify Spain published a list of songs people played during the solar eclipse, in comparison with the number of plays they usually get. “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles was played 27% more than usual; Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” got 92% more plays than normal, Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” got 227% more, and the biggest song, with 969% more plays than normal? Eclipse by Pink Floyd, the last track on The Dark Side of the Moon.
✅There's More: HERE
Podcast Movement has revealed featured speakers for the event in NYC in September. Among the speakers are Greg Glenday, the CEO of Acast, beehiiv’s Ainsley Rossitto, and our Editor, James Cridland. Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster will also be unveiling new research. Tickets are available now.
Alex Cooper’s Unwell network has received a strategic investment from WTSL, an investment firm. The investment figure isn’t known; but according to The Hollywood Reporter, values Unwell at $500mn. (As context, the entirety of iHeartMedia is currently valued at $450mn).
Another set of podcasts have signed with Disney+ - this time, it’s from the UK, as The Overlap signed a landmark sponsorship and distribution deal with Disney+ for its Stick to Football show, and a new show focusing on Manchester United. The shows will remain available on YouTube, though Disney+ will also get access to additional special episodes of Stick to Football.
The Sounds Profitable Business Summit unveiled its first set of speakers, including Ira Glass. Representatives from YouTube and Amazon are also to speak. The event is exclusive to Sounds Profitable Partners, and takes place Sept 14-15; Podnews will be reporting from the event.
A new ad-tech tool called VAUDIO has launched, which promises to make video ads from audio spots. It should unlock $12mn of new revenue for creators, the company suggests.
What’s a podcast? We have a short definition - “if it works with your eyes closed, it’s a podcast” - but Signal Hill Insights asked more than 4,800 Americans how they’d describe what a podcast is to someone who has never heard of podcasts. (Not sure that “something people waste time watching or listening to” is going to catch on)
Thursday, Aug 13
Alex Cooper’s Unwell network has received a strategic investment from WTSL, an investment firm. The investment figure isn’t known; but according to The Hollywood Reporter, values Unwell at $500mn. (As context, the entirety of iHeartMedia is currently valued at $450mn).
Another set of podcasts have signed with Disney+ - this time, it’s from the UK, as The Overlap signed a landmark sponsorship and distribution deal with Disney+ for its Stick to Football show, and a new show focusing on Manchester United. The shows will remain available on YouTube, though Disney+ will also get access to additional special episodes of Stick to Football.
The Sounds Profitable Business Summit unveiled its first set of speakers, including Ira Glass. Representatives from YouTube and Amazon are also to speak. The event is exclusive to Sounds Profitable Partners, and takes place Sept 14-15; Podnews will be reporting from the event.
A new ad-tech tool called VAUDIO has launched, which promises to make video ads from audio spots. It should unlock $12mn of new revenue for creators, the company suggests.
What’s a podcast? We have a short definition - “if it works with your eyes closed, it’s a podcast” - but Signal Hill Insights asked more than 4,800 Americans how they’d describe what a podcast is to someone who has never heard of podcasts. (Not sure that “something people waste time watching or listening to” is going to catch on)
✅There's More: HERE
Podcast marketplace Acast has acquired Backyard Ventures, a US-based podcast network, for US $20mn. Backyard Ventures is home to podcasts like Piers Morgan’s Uncensored, Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic, and audiences of more than 230 million. The team from Backyard Ventures will stay with the business; the brand will be retired as the company is integrated into Acast. Backyard shows are currently hosted and monetised by ART19 and Megaphone.
The Podcast Consultant has acquired B2B podcasting service Rise25. Rise25 co-founder Dr Jeremy Weisz becomes The Podcast Consultant’s Director of Client Success. No terms were given.
Spotify has announced its first EQUAL Ambassador for podcasts, Morgan Absher, to help amplify and celebrate women podcast creators. Podnews covered the story last week; our sister publication Podcast Business Journal has a full interview.
The Ringer’s gambling and sports podcast Wise Guys is to stream on Twitch, says the Like & Subscribe newsletter.
Podcast growth technology company Audiencelift has ranked on the Inc 5000, which ranks companies according to percentage revenue growth from 2022 through 2025. It’s the third company to reach the Inc list built by cofounders, Robert Tuchman and Brett Sklar.
The winners of the Women Who Podcast Magazine awards were anounced. The Hairy Chin podcast won four awards, including Best in Show.
Wednesday, Aug 12
The Podcast Consultant has acquired B2B podcasting service Rise25. Rise25 co-founder Dr Jeremy Weisz becomes The Podcast Consultant’s Director of Client Success. No terms were given.
Spotify has announced its first EQUAL Ambassador for podcasts, Morgan Absher, to help amplify and celebrate women podcast creators. Podnews covered the story last week; our sister publication Podcast Business Journal has a full interview.
The Ringer’s gambling and sports podcast Wise Guys is to stream on Twitch, says the Like & Subscribe newsletter.
Podcast growth technology company Audiencelift has ranked on the Inc 5000, which ranks companies according to percentage revenue growth from 2022 through 2025. It’s the third company to reach the Inc list built by cofounders, Robert Tuchman and Brett Sklar.
The winners of the Women Who Podcast Magazine awards were anounced. The Hairy Chin podcast won four awards, including Best in Show.
✅There's More: HERE
It’s going to be much harder to get money from YouTube. In “the first significant change since 2018”, YouTube has made it twice as hard to get into the YouTube Partner Program, which pays creators based on consumption on the platform. New creators applying for the program will need 8,000 qualified watch hours (in the last year), or 20 million qualified Shorts views (in the last 90 days) - both double the amount that was required previously.
Greg Glenday, CEO of Acast, has given a statement to The Hollywood Reporter about Spotify’s “skip-ahead” ad-skipping button. “We do have some creators on the Acast platform who are not happy about this and we will support them completely as they evaluate any recourse. Acast is working privately with Spotify to understand if we could have collaborated more on the rollout or positioning,” he said. Acast didn’t give us a statement when we asked last week.
Podcast ad revenue is up +23% year-on-year, says Magellan AI’s Q2/26 Podcast Advertising Quarterly Benchmark Report. The average ad load increased again, though - the average podcast is 8.75% ads (up from 8.25% last quarter). That’s an average of 5 and a half minutes an hour.There’s a free webinar going through the data on Aug 20.
Podcast hosting company RSS.com has added HLS video podcasting for Apple Podcasts that you can earn from. Video ads will run automatically, and creators can receive 70% of the revenue - with no audience threshold. The “Max” plan offers unlimited video and audio podcasts, and is available now.
Audible has unveiled a new global brand campaign, “Stories that Speak to You”. It’ll start running next week in eight different countries.
“As more privacy models are rightfully coming into play and tamping down on some of the data, we’re already ready for that, whereas other media are now going to have to do the kind of technology we’ve already built.” Jim Ballas, the President of Measurement at Magellan AI, is the special guest on PodBiz this week, the podcast that looks at the money in podcasting.
The New Media Show last week interviewed Barry Krantz, the CEO of Blubrry. He suggests that hosting, storage, and delivery have become commodities. The competitive difference now comes from the tools, services, support, analytics, workflows, distribution options, and human expertise built around the infrastructure.
Tuesday, Aug 11
It’s going to be much harder to get money from YouTube. In “the first significant change since 2018”, YouTube has made it twice as hard to get into the YouTube Partner Program, which pays creators based on consumption on the platform. New creators applying for the program will need 8,000 qualified watch hours (in the last year), or 20 million qualified Shorts views (in the last 90 days) - both double the amount that was required previously.
Greg Glenday, CEO of Acast, has given a statement to The Hollywood Reporter about Spotify’s “skip-ahead” ad-skipping button. “We do have some creators on the Acast platform who are not happy about this and we will support them completely as they evaluate any recourse. Acast is working privately with Spotify to understand if we could have collaborated more on the rollout or positioning,” he said. Acast didn’t give us a statement when we asked last week.
- Many stories are now appearing about Spotify’s ad-skipping button: but some stories suggest that it doesn’t skip ads sold by Spotify. This isn’t true - our story specifically included a video with an ad on a Bill Simmons show being skipped by the tool, and Podnews understands that the feature is not targeted at competitors’ ads.
Podcast ad revenue is up +23% year-on-year, says Magellan AI’s Q2/26 Podcast Advertising Quarterly Benchmark Report. The average ad load increased again, though - the average podcast is 8.75% ads (up from 8.25% last quarter). That’s an average of 5 and a half minutes an hour.There’s a free webinar going through the data on Aug 20.
There's More: HERE
Monday, Aug 10
Podcast hosting company RSS.com has added HLS video podcasting for Apple Podcasts that you can earn from. Video ads will run automatically, and creators can receive 70% of the revenue - with no audience threshold. The “Max” plan offers unlimited video and audio podcasts, and is available now.
Audible has unveiled a new global brand campaign, “Stories that Speak to You”. It’ll start running next week in eight different countries.
“As more privacy models are rightfully coming into play and tamping down on some of the data, we’re already ready for that, whereas other media are now going to have to do the kind of technology we’ve already built.” Jim Ballas, the President of Measurement at Magellan AI, is the special guest on PodBiz this week, the podcast that looks at the money in podcasting.
The New Media Show last week interviewed Barry Krantz, the CEO of Blubrry. He suggests that hosting, storage, and delivery have become commodities. The competitive difference now comes from the tools, services, support, analytics, workflows, distribution options, and human expertise built around the infrastructure.
There's More: HERE
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