Acast is announcing the Acast Marketplace Virtual Storefront. It is a self-service campaign planning tool which gives advertisers and agency buyers a way to browse podcasts and their targeting characteristics, before engaging the Acast sales team. The Virtual Storefront gives the buyer more hands-on control than previously. Click through for a screenshot. Continue Reading
Pod Drop features new and returning podcasts. Today — A TV show history involving the whole cast, how historical figures dealt with epidemics, and a show about forgiveness. Continue Reading
Spotify knows a magnetic star when it sees one. Last month, Joe Rogan. today, Michelle Obama. The audio platform has signed the former First Lady and memoir author for a conversational podcast that promises real-life inspiration. In the trailer (listen below) Obama plans to speak with members of her inner circle to start, then expand outward. Click through to hear the trailer. Continue Reading
UK-based podcast network Audioboom is announcing today the acquisition of three existing podcasts, and the renewal of two others already in the network. Audioboom claims a premium network of 250 podcasts. The company also produces the Audioboom Originals Network. Continue Reading
Through its parent company Triton Digital, Omny Studio announced today the launch of secure distribution of podcasts. Systems like this enable podcasters to separate some content from the main feed. Access to the private content can be regulated by subscription payment or some other premium system. The typical secure distribution model is creating ad-free episodes for paid subscription listening. Continue Reading
Spotify has offered podcast recommendation lists for a long time. today comes the announcement that the mobile apps (Android and iOS) now feature numbered lists — podcast rankings. The two flagship charts are Top Podcasts and Trending Podcasts — nothing innovative there, as other charting apps do the same. Click through for our experience prowling through the charts. Continue Reading
In the wake of SiriusXM’s acquisition of podcast hosting and tech company Simplecast, RAIN is pleased to announce that CEO Brad Smith will speak at the Global Podcast Leadership Summit, a ZOOM event, on July 29. Smith will speak with Anne Frisbie, SVP of Global Supply & Partnerships at ad-tech company AdsWizz, in a session titled The Evolution of Podcast Content: From Creation to Monetization. Continue Reading
Podcast listening app Pocket Casts has filled the CEO position that was exited by predecessor Owen Grover in march, with the hiring o f John W. Gibbons. Gibbons brings with him more than 20 years of experience in digital media and entertainment with globally recognized brands. Most recently, he served as a Principal at Atom Tickets as well as a strategic advisor to Podchaser and Props Project. Continue Reading
Podtrac released its monthly Top Podcasts ranking for June, among Podtrac-measured shows. NPR appears most often, as owner of nine shows, two more than in the May ranker. Three new shows entered the list in June. Continue Reading
ARN, the Australian media group which manages the iHeartPodcast Network on that continent, released listening numbers that could fairly describe a COVID success story. Podcast tech company Megaphone measured ARN listening from January to mid-March, and compared it to mid-March through June. Several categories, and overall listening, rose during the COVID period.
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Edison Research put out a fact blast from its subscription Share of Ear study, an ongoing quarterly examination of what Americans listen to. From the Q2 study of mid-May surveys, the company found that Americans (13+) have shifted their morning audio routines. Before COVID-19, 50% of the population started listening to any kind of audio by 7:15am. Since COVID-19, that audio start time for 50% of the population is 8:30. What does this imply for the future? Continue Reading
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