Acast is launching a new program to help its podcasters put on live shows. It has entered a partnership with DICE to produce a run of events from late 2019 through 2020 in venues around London. Acast Live will feature shows curated from the company’s UK podcast network. Continue Reading
Audiotrade, the digital audio DSP under Latin American specialist Audio.ad, announced a new partnership in programmatic buying. The platform is working with Precision, the programmatic division of Publicis Media, in nine markets. Continue Reading
The BBC has introduced a new approach to providing news on voice-activated hardware. The broadcaster launched an interactive voice news service designed to let listeners have more control over what stories they hear. It is rolling out to Alexa-enabled devices initially, and the BBC expects to add other platforms in the future. Continue Reading
The IFPI and Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) announced a new deal that will see the two parties collaborate on a system for collecting recording industry data. The Repertoire Data Exchange, or RDx, is a centralized industry data exchange service that will allow record companies and music licensing companies (MLCs) to manage their recording rights. Continue Reading
The latest report shared by Edison Research is an examination into the gender divides in podcasting. The results were initially presented at the She Podcasts LIVE event earlier this month. The report found that 29% of women have listened to a podcast in the last month, compared with 36% of men. Women are also drawing closer to an even split in the makeup of the monthly podcast audience. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia is launching a new podcast in partnership with Mental Floss. The show is titled History Vs, with Mental Floss Editor-in-Chief Erin McCarthy hosting. Each season of the podcast will explore the live of an important historical figure and their impact on contemporary culture and society. Continue Reading
The IAB has released its half-year report, which found that Internet advertising revenue in the U.S. reached $57.9 billion in the first six months of 2019. The total is up 16.9% from the $49.5 billion generated in the first half of 2018. The half-year results showed continued favoring of mobile platforms, with digital audio revenue on mobile rising 40.9% on-year. Continue Reading
Marvel has already expanded its universe of popular superheroes to include audio storytelling. Now it has entered a multi-year podcast deal with Sirius XM to create more audio content. This deal will see the launch of scripted and unscripted series, as well as a live event angle. Continue Reading
Smart speakers have been hit with several scandals over privacy and user protections this year, and now there’s a new, even riskier one unfolding. Whitehat hackers based in Germany developed eight apps for smart speakers that were able to eavesdrop on users and phish their passwords. Continue Reading
Spotify has been putting an international spin on its original podcast productions, such as a daily news show in Spanish through a partnership with Colombian newspaper El Tiempo. The latest development is a fictional show in French called L’Employé that premieres today. Continue Reading
Crooked Media is adding a daily news podcast to its programming. The company, which most notably makes the Pod Save America show, joins a crowded landscape for tackling the current headlines in audio. Continue Reading
NPR and iHeartMedia continue their tug-of-war for the lead in Podtrac’s publisher ranker, and both have several shows on the analytics company’s latest podcast chart. iHeartMedia has two shows on the ranker, while NPR has eight. Continue Reading