Pod Drop: Winding paths, deep questions, and basketball
New podcasts of note.
The Path HERE (Scott Savlov)
Takeline (Crooked Media)
Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver (iHeartRadio)
Podcasting
Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
Will Packer Media partners with iHeartMedia for new podcasts
Will Packer Media is entering a formal and longer-range partnership to create a slate of scripted and unscripted podcasts for iHeart. Will Packer is a Hollywood producer. James Lopez is his production partner in the Fight Night podcast, a true crime show which was placed in iHeartRadio in 2020. The first spawn of this new arrangement will be an urban drama scripted series centered in present-day Oakland, California. It is set to launch in the second quarter of 2021. Continue Reading
Podsights ad validation company raises $4M and charts business growth
Podcasting attribution company Podsights has announced a $4-million fundraise from existing and new investors. Staff expansion is in the works, and the announcement includes several job listings. Also a growth chart. Continue Reading
Podcast Radio’s latest expansion: Birmingham
Podcast Radio, the UK all-podcast, 24/7 radio station on the DAB platform, has informed us that Birmingham has been added to the station reach. It is Britain’s second largest city. The expansion builds on the station’s existing footprint covering London, Surry, Manchester, and Glasgow. Continue Reading
First podcast bias chart emerges from Ad Fontes Media & Media Roundtable
Yesterday we reported on the creation of the Media Roundtable, a new podcast industry watchdog group started by Oxford Road CEO Dan Granger. Part of its mission is to collaborate with Ad Fontes Media on a podcast bias chart that graphically positions shows in a matrix of left/right bias, and factual/fabricated content. Today we received a first version of the chart. Click through. Continue Reading
Eight shows enter Triton Digital Podcast Report ranker; top publishers remain the same
Most podcast rankers illuminate the concentration and stability of success — in other words, they don’t change much. Triton Digital’s every-four-weeks list of ranked 100 shows provides more oxygen, enabling rising shows to breathe in the exposure. In the latest, eight new shows appear, five of them from Kast Media. Continue Reading
BetterHelp (online therapy) and Feather (furniture rental) highlighted in Magellan Feb. podcast advertising report
Magellan has released its always interesting Top 15 monthly report, this one for February. As always, it includes two rankers: Top 15 spenders, and Top 15 movers & shakers. Click for details and the Top Spenders list. Continue Reading
Pandemic vaults eMarketer digital audio forecast in UK to higher levels
“Digital audio has undoubtedly benefited from the UK lockdowns,” according to eMarketer, which has revised its projection for digital audio listening in the UK. The research company now says that digital listening will grow beyond its pre-pandemic forecast, which predicts percentage-of-population metrics through 2024. Two types of listening are documented in this forecast. Click for details and graphics. Continue Reading
Pod Drop: Bullet-point news; intellectual humility; teen genius
New podcasts of note.
CNN 5 Things (CNN)
Unexplainable (Vox)
The Genius Generation (TRAX from PRX)
Steve Goldstein: Finding “Shelf Space” for your Podcast is Hard
by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein gets real about podcast creators getting their shows into the mobile devices of prospective listeners, and then actually getting played as a separate challenge. “Our smartphones are loaded with the great intentions of downloaded podcasts that are never listened to.” Brace for numbers-based reality.
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The podcast pyramid: Most downloads pile into the top 1% (Omny Studio)
Omny Studio released a raft of interesting data illustrating a truism of media: Success is concentrated at the top. How many downloads does it take to be in the 1%? Or the top 50%? Click through for graphs. Continue Reading
Infinite Dial: Pandora is more recognized, but Spotify is more used
In a peculiar perception vs. reality quirk, more Americans recognize the Pandora name than any other online audio brand, but Spotify is the online audio brand used more often. Click through for graphic illustrations. Also — how does smart-speaker ownership affect which audio service Americans listen to? Continue Reading