Podcasting

Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.

iHeartRadio Podcast Awards 2021 (virtual) — all the nominees here

Posted on by Brad Hill

iHeartRadio announces today that its Podcast Awards program will continue in 2021, in a virtual format. In past years the January event was staged at the iHeartRadio Theater in Burbank, CA. The 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards will be on January 21, streamed on iHeart’s Facebook and YouTube locations, the iHeartRadio app (naturally), and broadcast or streamed on some iHeartMedia radio stations and virtual sites. Click through for a complete list of categories and finalists. Continue Reading →

Bill Rosenblatt: The Axis Collision of Amazon Possibly Acquiring Wondery

Posted on by Bill Rosenblatt

by Bill Rosenblatt
Guest columnist Bill Rosenblatt speculates a podcast world in which Amazon has acquired Wondery, fulfilling that rumor. A certain bifurcation would become evident in that scenario, pitching an Amazon/Spotify axis pushing for exclusivity of content, and an iHeartRadio/NPR axis pushing for ad revenue. A must-read column. Continue Reading →

As podcasts run more ads, listener attidues remain mostly favorable (Edison Research)

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a new study from Edison Research, supported by content and sales network PodcastOne, and digital ad ad rep firm Ad Results Media, podcast “Super Listeners” were queried about their feelings about, and responses to, podcast advertising. The results are mostly favorable, with year-over-year rises in key favorability answers compared to a year-ago survey. Click through for details. Continue Reading →

Podtrac Top Podcasts for November: Nothing new; slight shuffling

Posted on by Brad Hill

File this under “Nothing new under the sun.” Or, “Nothing succeeds like success.” Or, wow, podcasting is like every other media category. In the November edition of Podtrac’s Top Podcasts industry ranking, not a single new show entered the list from October. In October, three new shows came in, a reasonable 15% turnover. The top four slots remained resolutely unchanged. Click through for the list. Continue Reading →

Magellan AI releases October Movers and Shakers. Geely (which owns Volvo) on top.

Posted on by Brad Hill

Magellan AI has released the October edition of the company’s Top Movers and Shakers list, a monthly survey of podcast advertisers which have increased their month-over-month spend the most. October’s top mover/shaker is Geely. Who? Magellan explains that Geely is the parent company of Volvo. Geely spent about $2.1-million in October, nearly a $2-million increase over September. Click through for more details. Continue Reading →

Dan Misener: I analyzed 20 million Apple Podcasts star ratings. Here’s what I learned.

Posted on by Brad Hill

by Dan Misener
“Leave us a five-star review!” — the plea of podcasters everywhere. How well does that work? Pacific Content’s head of audience development offers another fascinating research project in which he dives deep into star ratings, breaking out where they are concentrated. You’ll be surprised. Click through. Continue Reading →

Global partners with The Story Lab (Dentsu) for podcast commissioning

Posted on by Brad Hill

UK-centered media company Global has struck a partnership with The Story Lab, an offshoot of dentsu international. The arrangement is focused on podcasts, with the two entities co-commissioning a slate of six new shows over the next 12 months. The launch show is set — it is Hunting Ghislaine, investigating the elusive and controversial life of Ghislaine Maxwell. Other original productions could be in True Crime, Comedy, Entertainment, and Sports. Continue Reading →

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Steve Goldstein: How to improve podcast listening on 60 million smart speakers. A talk with Tom Webster.

Posted on by Steve Goldstein

by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein chats with Edison Research SVP and ubiquitous keynote speaker Tom Webster about the podcast experience through smart speakers. the conversation is informed by stats and charts from the Edison/NPR Smart Audio Report. Continue Reading →

Acast partners with Patreon to simplify private distribution of premium episodes for patrons

Posted on by Brad Hill

Podcast content, hosting, and monetization platform Acast is announcing a partnership with Patreon, the crowdfunding platform used by many podcasters to support their ongoing projects. In this arrangement, Patreon podcasters can manage both their public feeds and private patron-only episodes in one place, and patronage listeners can hear public and private content in their favorite app. Continue Reading →