Pandora

Scripps sells Stitcher to SiriusXM: Confirmed by both companies

Posted on by Brad Hill

What was previously a Rumor Fact(ory) item is today finalized and confirmed: SiriusXM is buying Stitcher from Scripps. We received press releases from both SiriusXM (via the PR office of subsidiary Pandora) and E.W.Scripps. From Scripps, the news is about that company’s profitable investment in Stitcher over five years. for sirius, the vision gets big, fast, and the company isn’t shy about claiming preeminence in podcasting. Continue Reading →

Pandora enables podcast downloads — only for Plus and Premium users

Posted on by Brad Hill

In its latest app update, Pandora now offers offline listening to podcasts — in other words, downloading them. We had read that the feature was exclusive to subscribers, of which there are two tiers: Plus, and semi-interactive streaming service, and Premium, a fully interactive audio listening and collection service. We thought this limitation was unusual, and reached out to Pandora for confirmation, which we received. Click through for a perspective.
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April streaming flat from March; NPR’s COVID bump (Webcast Metrics)

Posted on by Brad Hill

Stream listening held steady in April compared to March (actually up by a fraction of a percent). The numbers come from Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker, and RAIN’s monthly tracking of the Ranker over 10+ years. The year-over-year view showed an unusually large 10% decline, due almost entirely to Pandora’s 14% drop in listenership during that span. Click through for the 10-year trendlines. Continue Reading →

SiriusXM buys Simplecast, pairs it with AdsWizz and connects it to Pandora

Posted on by Brad Hill

SiriusXM is hitting the nets this morning with a smart acquisition. The satellite radio and digital audio holding company is buying podcast host Simplecast. That’s the short story. The bigger picture is a full-on podcast distribution and monetization system for podcast creators at all levels. Continue Reading →

Pandora: survey results encourage advertisers during Covid-19; audio samples of streaming ads

Posted on by Brad Hill

The collapse of travel during the Covid-19 pandemic is discouraging to the tourism industry. But streaming giant Pandora is using consumer survey results to encourage advertisers to adjust their messaging in afeel-good, look-forward way. Click through for two streaming audio ads running on Pandora — from Costa Rica Tourism, and from Proctor & Gamble. Continue Reading →

March streaming down three percent in March (Webcast Metrics)

Posted on by Brad Hill

As we noted in last month’s coverage of Triton’s Webcast Metrics report: “Next month’s March report will be extremely interesting.” Stream listening slumped in March compared to February, perhaps unsurprisingly. The numbers come from Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker, and RAIN’s monthly tracking of the Ranker over 10+ years. The year-over-year view showed an unusually large 8% decline. As we said last month: March was a jolting Covid-19 month for all kinds of measured media. Continue Reading →

SoundCloud, Pandora, and Facebook roll out new content and features for artist support amid pandemic

Posted on by Anna Washenko

With many artists struggling to make ends meet as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, more and more audio companies are promoting their tools to help them better reach listeners and continue to make money. There have been several moves in this space in the past week, so here’s a round-up of what’s happening where. Continue Reading →

Sirius XM Q1 results: Small growth for satellite radio operation and mixed performance for Pandora

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Sirius XM has released its financials for the first quarter of 2020. The satellite radio and audio company reported revenue of $1.95 billion, up from $1.74 billion in the same period of 2019. Net income totaled $293 million, or 7 cents per share, up from $162 million, or 3 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Continue Reading →

February streaming rises with Pandora bump (Webcast Metrics)

Posted on by Brad Hill

Stream listening jumped in February compared to January, according to Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker. The year-over-year view showed a 3% decline. The monthly jump was fueled mostly by Pandora, the every-month leader of the group; the streaming giant gained 4% over january in a reversal of a months-long incremental decline. Continue Reading →

Podcast advertising reportedly takes a hit as coronavirus forces businesses to cut costs

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Ad Age interviewed several executives about how podcast advertising is changing along with listening in the coronavirus pandemic. Not only are many businesses cutting the ad budget due to shut-downs and stay-at-home orders, but many of those that are still running ads don’t want to be linked with discussions of the pandemic. Continue Reading →