Pod Drop: Food politics; grim history; financial healing
New podcasts of note.
Politics of Food (DCP Entertainment & Westwood One)
Tulsa’s Buried Truth (ABC Audio)
Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin (iHeartRadio)
Podcasting
Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
Within ad-supported audio, podcasting has greater “share of ear” than Spotify/Pandora (Edison)
Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights officer at Westwood One, is back at it in the company blog, divulging results of the subscription Share of Ear consumer survey conducted by Edison Research. One of Bouvard’s key points in this latest blog post is the time-spent leadership of podcasting over ad-supported Spotify Free and Pandora. Click through for that infograph, and more. Continue Reading
5 years ago in RAIN: NYTimes launches audio division
Five years ago today we reported that The New York Times created an audio division. Today the Times produces the most popular podcast in the U.S. (according to Podtrac), owns Serial Productions which launched the podcast resurgence in 2014, and also owns Audm. Click for the April 5, 2016 article. Continue Reading
Steve Goldstein: Some Numbers to Make You Stop and Think
by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein delivers a list of eye-catching, thought-provoking stats from the podcast realm. As far as we can tell, not a single one is April Foolery.
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Newly named Audacy app leaps into action with exclusive binge release of new podcasts
Audacy, the new branding of both Entercom radio group and its RADIO.COM listening app, is pushing its new identity into the public sphere today by announcing the two new podcasts from subsidiary Pineapple Street Studios. The shows will enjoy exclusive full-series binge listening on Audacy, while outside podcast apps will distribute normal RSS feeds on a weekly cadence. Continue Reading
Libsyn raises $25M and will acquire AdvertiseCast
Libsyn, one of the world’s largest podcast hosting companies, announces today that it will acquire AdvertiseCast, a podcast ad planning and buying platform. The purchase is supported by $25-million in funds that the publicly traded company raised privately. While this funding is apparently motivated chiefly to enable the AdvertiseCast purchase, the investment is also intended “to provide Libsyn with additional capital for other strategic acquisitions.” Continue Reading
Acast launches Acast+ offering hosted clients subscription tools for podcasts
Today global podcast platform Acast makes public Acast+, a suite of tools giving podcasts ways of offering subscriptions to their shows as aternatives (or additions) to ad-funded shows. With Acast+, podcasters can offer ad-free streams, exclusive content, early access and much more to paying subscribers. Continue Reading
NPR releases finalists in Student Podcast Challenge for college students during Covid
NPR announces the finalists in the netwrok’s most recent Student Podcast Challenge, targeted to college students for the first time. Fascinatingly, the contest intersected the Covid pandemic, a collision might have given students more time to focus on audio projects, and definitely influenced the content. Click through for links to each submission for listening. Continue Reading
Pod Drop: Rock and Roll, Drugs and Baseball, Health and Happiness
New podcasts of note.
The Rock Podcast (PodcastOne)
Crushed(Religion of Sports / PRX)
No Kidding? Me Too! (KMG Utopia Studios)
With new hires, True Native Media doubles staff in six months
Podcast ad-rep company True Native Media has hired three new account executives, doubling the firm’s staff, Founder/CEO Heather Osgood announced. “Today is a huge milestone,” she said, noting that the expansion is happening merely six months after founding the company, and without external funding. Continue Reading
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)
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