Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
The Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research, which had its world release at yesterday’s RAIN Podcast Business Summit, revealed that the voice-activated devices (e.g. Amazon Echo/Dot and Google Home) encourage audio listening, music service subscription, and have become extremely valued additions to their owners’ lifestyles in sometimes surprising ways. Continue Reading
Podcast company Midroll Media announced three new additions to its team. “As we grow Midroll’s role as the leader in all parts of the podcast ecosystem — including content creation, monetization and distribution — we continue to build out a world-class leadership team,” Midroll CEO Erik Diehn said. Continue Reading
Media company HowStuffWorks announced that Jack O’Brien is joining its podcast team. O’Brien will be launching the company’s operations on the west coast, including a new comedy division. He brings more than a decade of experience as founder and editor-in-chief at Cracked to HowStuffWorks. Continue Reading
Fox News show The Five has launched a new podcast through a partnership with TargetSpot. The involvement of digital audio ad company TargetSpot means that The Five audio show will be free to listeners and supported by advertisements. All of Fox News’ other program podcasts are available only by paid access. Continue Reading
USA Today Network announced the addition of investigative journalist Robin Amer to its podcasting lineup. Amer will be hosting a new show called The City, which was the winner of the WNYC 2015 Podcast Accelerator competition. Continue Reading
Audio publishing platform Omny Studio announced an option for video pre-roll ads in web-based listening. The new feature is the result of a collaboration with Macquarie Media. It offers a new revenue stream option for podcasters, who are usually limited to audio ad inventory on their shows. Continue Reading
Podtrac has published its May 2017 rankings of the top podcasts. All 20 members of the podcast ranking are the same as the previous month, but have seen a shake-up in placements. Most notable is S-Town dropping from the top of the chart down to eighth. Continue Reading
Two podcast hosts and distributors have announced additions to their show rosters. PodcastOne unveiled two new podcasts. Westwood One detailed a partnership with Live Nation and three new shows. Continue Reading
audioBoom announced that it is joining the ranks of original content producers. The host, distributor, and monetization expert is debuting five new podcasts through fall 2017. The shows represent several different topics across arts, comedy, news, and culture. Continue Reading
The latest blog post from Amplifi Media CEO Steve Goldstein reviews the updates Apple has announced for its podcast service. Analytics have arrived. Continue Reading
Podtrac has shared its podcast publisher rankings for May 2017. Most of the ranking remains unchanged from the April 2017 results, barring one new addition. The Washington Post took the No. 10 spot away from The Moth. The journalism outfit’s nine shows pulled in a unique monthly audience of 1.38 million. Continue Reading
At last week’s WorldWide Developer Conference, James O. Boggs, Business Manager of Apple’s podcast division, announced that Apple will introduce podcast consumption analytics later this year. The announcement was tucked quietly onto the end of a long session of WWDC speeches, masking its importance as a much-needed, long-awaited decision by Apple that some industry insiders believed might never come. Continue Reading