A story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reported that Serial Productions, maker of influential podcast Serial, is seeking acquisition. While a great deal of institutional money has flowed into podcasting in the last three years, an acquisition headline focused on a single show is unusual and striking. Continue Reading
Spotify’s assertive growth in podcasting (see yesterday’s report of the company’s growing distribution influence) was headlined in 2019 by acquisitions of Gimlet, Anchor, and Parcast. But outright acquisition isn’t the only way to gain content. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Podnews apparently inspired podcast analytics and attribution company Chartable to crunch some numbers defining the share of podcasting distribution among leaders in that space. The question derives from Spotify’s rapid growth in this field. Apple is still #1, but Spotify’s influence in this field is growing impressively. Continue Reading
Yesterday we reported rumors that Spotify might acquire sports/pop podcast network The Ringer, founded by ex-ESPN Bill Simmons. Today a second swirl of rumors speculates that Simmons is asking $200-million for the deal. We scratch out some rough arithmetic. Continue Reading
The 2nd annual iHeartRadio Podcast Awards were celebrated Friday night at the iHeartRadio Theater in Burbank, CA., and RAIN was there to observe the show. Continue Reading
Podlists proliferate the podsphere. The latest? Podtoppen, which ranks the top 100 Norwegian podcasts. “Norway’s official top list and measurement of podcasts” is compiled by an entity which calls itself the Steering Group, comprised of five Norwegian media companies. Continue Reading
Spotify’s next podcast acquisition could be The Ringer, the network established by Bill Simmons in 2016. The Ringer is a sports and pop culture podcast publisher; Bill Simmons is ex-ESPN and helped start the 30 For 30 sports series. There is some fearful reaction on Twitter. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia is creating loud buzz today as the behemoth audio company announces a comprehensive reorganization of its national footprint with an emphasis on technology, shared resources, and transformation. Continue Reading
Podcatcher and subscription service Luminary has lowered its Premium subscription. Along with the price drop, Luminary is making some new investments in Premium content according to Podnews. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia is having a busy CES, and released a swarm of information about new apps and integrations into specific car models and controlling vehicle operating systems. Of interest is not only iHeart’s voracious appetite for partnerships and reach, but also the variety and diversity of platform players competing for real estate in car dashboards and the systems. Continue Reading
In which we match up two ad revenue projections: One for the entire internet channel (from AdAge) and one for podcasting (from the IAB/PwC). Guess which line is moving faster. Continue Reading
Podtrac sent around its monthly Top Podcast Publishers ranker this morning. the expected Top 10 is now Top 15, and Podtrac promises more expansion in future months. There is also a new column in the Podtrac ranker, naming an ad sales entity representing publishers on the list which have opted into that listing: Continue Reading