In a newly released annual study from Stitcher, we learn that top podcasts remain mostly unchanged in an annual comparison of Stitcher app data, much as they do in the many monthly rankers we report. Click through for details, other metrics, and illustrations. Continue Reading
In a deal whose details are undisclosed, ex-FOX-NBC anchor and interviewer Megyn Kelly will move her popular podcast (The Megyn Kelly Show) to SiriusXM on the Triumph Channel. Doing so moves the show behind a subscription paywall and out of… Continue Reading
The boutique market of in-house podcasting for distributing company-private information might be warming up with a new investment: Castos, a wordPress-powere private podcasting host has raised $756,000 from a coalition of investors. Continue Reading
The rationale of branded podcasts is to build an audience around a show which is affiliated with a brand, but avoids outright marketing. In many, the brand is rarely mentioned. SXM packaged a Buick sponsorship production of a bonus episode of “Office Ladies.” Click for audio. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Dutch Downloads (Triton Digital)
— Hispanic Excellence (Hispanic Radio Conference)
— Summer Predictions (Spotify)
It has been nearly two weeks since Facebook’s June 21 announcement that podcast listening was added to the platform. The plan was a limited roll-out with four selected podcasters. We check their pages excitedly to try Facebook’s first audio-specific platform experience. Crickets. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Sitting in the Chair (Bill Wilson / NAB)
— Advising (Gary Krantz / Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips)
— Bilingual Research (Edison Research)
The rights to the Smartless podcast, a comedy/celebrity interview show hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes, have been acquired by Amazon. The reported price for the three-year deal is $80-million, and Amazon will deploy a windowed exclusivity model, starting August 1. Continue Reading
We got a note from Podcast Radio, the all-podcast DAB station in the UK, revealing a newly produced video ad. The spot, produced by by award-winning production agency Contented, will run in several UK movie chain theaters nationwide. It’s quite dynamic — click through to see the ad. Continue Reading
Acast enters Finland, via a partnership with Finnish marketing agency Asennemedia. In the agreement, the 50 podcasts represented by Asennemedia will be hosted on Acast, and exposed to Finnish advertisers through the Acast marketplace. Continue Reading
In a major and meaningful corporate reorg, Townsquare Media has united its previously separate linear and digital content teams. A key executive promotion leads this development on the company’s news page: Jared Willig is named Chief Content Officer, overseeing content across all radio and digital platforms and consumer touchpoints. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio is announcing a mentoring and incubation program called NextUp, to cultivate and fund what the program’s leader, Anna Hossnieh, calls “underrepresented diverse creators.” Hossnieh is an iHeart executive producer and host of the Ethnically Ambiguous podcast. Continue Reading