Entercom, the second-largest commercial radio group in the U.S., announced in an earnings call this morning two investments which dramatically deepen its commitment, inventory, and reach in podcasting. It is acquiring two podcast businesses: Cadence13 and Pineapple Street Media. Continue Reading
Entercom made multiple announcements today, including one focused on sports programming. The company shared its plans for the RADIO.COM Sports Digital Network. This platform is slated to debut on August 19. Continue Reading
In addition to announcing two podcast acquisitions and an upcoming digital sports network, Entercom also shared its latest financial results today. The company’s second-quarter revenue was $380.7 million. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group posted a 10.4% increase in total revenue for its third quarter of the 2019 fiscal year, reaching nearly $1.06 billion. Digital revenue reached $648 million, up 12.5% on-year for the period ending June 30. Continue Reading
Westwood One Podcast Network has hired four new production hires to its team. “This latest round of hiring further demonstrates Westwood One’s commitment to quality and scale as we grow our podcast business and serve our extraordinary partners and content providers,” Executive Editor John Wordock said of the new additions. Continue Reading
Vivendi has been looking for a buyer to take over up to 50% of Universal Music Group for several months, and the process has yielded interested parties. Now, the French conglomerate has officially entered talks with China’s Tencent Holdings for a deal around the major label. Continue Reading
Pod Drop highlights noteworthy new and upcoming podcasts from across the vast and fast-growing category. iHeartRadio, Thrive Global, Radiotopia, and Podglomerate all announced new titles for the summer. Continue Reading
Both Apple and Google responded to privacy issues surrounding their voice assistants last week. Now Amazon is also heading off potential issues for its Alexa platform. Continue Reading
Spotify has launched a new partnership with AT&T. This deal will make Spotify’s paid service available as one of the options for a free entertainment subscription through the Unlimited &More Premium wireless plan. Continue Reading
Podtrac shared its ranking of the top ten podcast publishers for July 2019. Overall, average U.S. monthly audience remained flat from June and rose 50% from July 2018. Continue Reading
Apple detailed its plans for revising category options in its podcast app back in June. Today, the new classification system is rolling out. Continue Reading
Human review of voice assistant recordings has been a fiery topic of late, and actions are already being taken to improve privacy for their users. Apple announced that it will globally suspend its grading program, while Google has stopped the practice in Europe. Continue Reading