“Hidden Brain” podcast moves to Midroll Media for exclusive repping

The Hidden Brain podcast, hosted by Shankar Vedantam, has moved its ad representation exclusively to Midroll Media, the ad sales division of Stitcher. (Stitcher has recently been acquired by SiriusXM, from E.W. Scripps, in a deal which will close by Q3). Alongside this deal, Hidden Brain will be produced independently by Hidden Brain Media, starting October 1. The podcast will continue to be distributed by NPR. It’s a chart success — click through to see its placements.
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Audioboom sees 20% revenue growth in H1; earnings release

Audioboom released information about its finances for the first half of 2020 in a blog post. The document, signed by CEO Stuart Last, contains the main bullet points at the top, followed by interesting discussions of various aspects of the podcast industry, COVID-19, Audioboom’s partnerships, and more finances at the bottom. Revenue increased 20% year-over-year. EBIDTA loss was trimmed. Continue Reading

Acast launches Virtual Storefront for podcast ad buyers

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

DAX scores exclusive sales for Wondery in Canada

Podcast content network Wondery has appointed DAX as its exclusive advertising partner in Canada, we are learning today. DAX will offer Canadian advertisers spot ads and host-read sponsorship messages. Wondery continues to be enterprisingly international. Although translation is probably not necessary for the Canadian market, wondery has been a pioneer in translating hit shows for non-English speaking audiences in other parts of the world. Continue Reading

“What was that promo code again?” Spotify testing a universal answer

Spotify, the global audio listening platform which is grabbing chunks of the podcast industry through acquisition, is also applying its customary tech chops to improving advertising effectiveness … while making life a little bit smoother for discount-minded consumers. The prospective feature is called “In-App Offers,” and is basically a link on a podcast’s show page which leads to an advertiser’s discounted offering. Tap through for details. Continue Reading

Acast Open podcasts now can enter Acast Marketplace for dynamic ad insertions

Acast Open, which launched last fall after the Pippa acquisition, and which allows any podcast to host a show on Acast, can now (as of today) participate in the Acast Marketplace. Acast Open podcasters must apply to enter the monetization service. Dynamic ad insertion is used to deliver targeted messages in shows throughout a podcast’s entire catalog. Continue Reading