Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
Radiotopia introduced a new podcast called Showcase that will solely feature limited-run content. It will act as an aggregator, airing audio content across a range of topics, styles, and perspectives; the only uniting element is that each narrative is a contained arc instead of an ongoing series. Continue Reading
Podcasting company Gimlet Media has raised $15 million in a new financing round. Stripes Group led the financial support for the business, which may now be valued at as much as $70 million. Continue Reading
Spotify has made several developments this week aimed at expanding its footprint for podcasts. First, Bloomberg reports that Spotify will promote podcasts in its mobile app and in advertisements in exchange for positive buzz from show hosts. Second is a distribution deal with Australia’s Omny Studio. Continue Reading
GfK MRI conducted a study that explored the popularity and audience trends of podcasting. The Survey of the American Consumer determined that about 8.6% of U.S. adults, or about 21 million people, either downloaded or listened to a podcast in the past 30 days. That rate rose from 7% in last year’s survey. Continue Reading
A new company has joined the ranks of podcast networks. Podglomerate offers production, distribution, promotion, and monetization services for podcasts. Jeff Umbro, who hosts the Writers Who Don’t Write podcast, is the owner of Podglomerate. Continue Reading
audioBoom and Deezer have joined forces in a new podcast-focused deal. Through the new agreement, audioBoom broadcasters can reach the Deezer audience of 12 million international listeners for their shows. Deezer will have nearly 230 audioBoom shows in English and Spanish added to its burgeoning podcast division. Continue Reading
Podtrac’s June 2017 podcast rankings marked another month of shuffling. While many of the top players remained the same from May, a few familiar faces fell in the standings. The big change was NPR’s Invisibilia returning to the list, landing at the No. 4 spot. On the other side of the coin, Serial dropped out of the top 20 entirely. Continue Reading
Midroll Media announced the addition of seven new podcasts to its Earwolf comedy network. The new programming covers a wide breadth of styles and formats. The announcement also serves to mark the 500th episode of Comedy Bang! Bang!, the network’s flagship podcast hosted by comedian Scott Aukerman. Continue Reading
Edison Research has posted a new report titled The Podcast Consumer Australia 2017. The new geographic focus of the survey offers analysis not just of that market, but also provides comparisons with the U.S. podcast audience data from the Podcast Consumer report released earlier this year. The research was sponsored by Triton Digital, Commercial Radio Australia, and Southern Cross Austereo. Continue Reading
Amazon has ordered two seasons of a television adaptation of the podcast Homecoming. The Gimlet Media show is an audio drama, and is the second program from that podcast network to receive television treatment (a version of Start Up was picked up by ABC this spring). Hollywood’s recent forays into podcasting are further evidence that the audio format has entered mainstream awareness. Continue Reading
A new report has been issued by The Download on Podcasting, the ongoing collaborative study of on-demand audio from DMR Interactive and the Digital Media Research and Development Lab at Texas A&M University. In discussing audience measurement the paper spotlights Nielsen’s technology and compares podcasting to craft beer. Continue Reading
MTV is experimenting with a new approach to one of its popular television shows. Following the final season of its Teen Wolf show, the fictional universe could find new life as a podcast. The show is scheduled to end this summer, but the network is reportedly in early talks with show runner Jeff Davis to translate the concept into a podcast. Continue Reading