Podcasting

Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.

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

Posted on by Brad Hill

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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Podcast to capture 20% ad market share; reach $1B+ in 2021 — eMarketer

Posted on by Brad Hill

In eMarketer’s latest projection of ad revenue to podcasting, the market research company forecasts two headline points: 1) Podcasting ad revenue will surpass $1-billion in 2021, and 2) Podcast ad revenue will capture 20% of digital radio ad spending in 2020. Click through for a chart and the company’s forecast of programmatic ad buying in podcasting. Continue Reading →

Pandora adds podcast controls to Alexa skill

Posted on by Brad Hill

Pandora is announcing that its Alexa “skill” set now includes podcast listening and controls. In addition to the basic hook-up between Alexa and Pandora’s podcasts, the new skill set includes a request for a specific episode (“Alexa, play the latest episode of Ted Talks Daily”), requesting an episode by topic (“Alexa, play the Ted Talks Daily episode about procrastination”) and using playback controls for hands-free podcast control while in the skill. Continue Reading →

APM announces new podcasts and a returning season

Posted on by Brad Hill

American Public media (APM) has sent PR descriptions of two new podcasts, and one returning show. The return is season two of Spectacular Failures, which is described as “ridiculous stories of business disasters. The new season drops on August 3. No trailer yet. One new show features comedian Tig Nagaro. The other comes from Marketplace and is a children’s show. Continue Reading →

Triton Digital’s latest U.S. Podcast Report: Stable, upward bumps in top-network downloads

Posted on by Brad Hill

Triton Digital has released its U.S. Podcast Report, an every-four-week rolling weekly average of downloads and listeners. This report covers the June 8 through July 5 period. Things look pretty much the same as the previous report, for the top 15 podcast networks. NPR is on top for average weekly downloads and listeners. Stitcher remains #2 for downloads, and moves up to #2 (displacing Entercom/Cadence13/Pineapple Street Studios to #3 — but we think Entercom/Cadence13/Pineapple Street Studios should win a special prize for longest network name). Click through to see the Top 15 Networks. Continue Reading →

NY Times acquires Serial Productions; $25M; podcast land rush continues

Posted on by Brad Hill


The New York Times has acquired Serial Productions, home to legendary podcast Serial. Both organizations have attained critical, audience, and monetary success with sparse portfolios. the Times promises to grow the Serial Productions catalog, which currently contains two active podcasts according to Podtrac. Click through for more analysis and acquisition details. Continue Reading →

PRX develops partnerships for new podcasts based on women’s suffrage

Posted on by Brad Hill

PRX is partnering with the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission (created by Congress) and the National Park Service, and a cast of celebrities, to create new podcasts inspired by the suffragists throughout U.S. history who have worked to secure women’s right to vote. PRX notes that 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. Click through for show details. Continue Reading →

Spotify announces video podcasts

Posted on by Brad Hill

On Spotify’s announcement blog, the company announced yesterday that video blogging is now native to the platform. The feature is not Spotify’s first foray in video presentation, but it is a new global feature for the company’s podcast service. This feature seems like a stage-setting for Joe Rogan’s video format, which moves exclusively to Spotify by end-of-year. Continue Reading →

IAB announces virtual Podcast Upfront, expands format and presenter list

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a dramatic adjustment to COVID-era realities, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has planned a different sort of Podcast Upfront than in past years. First, it will be online-only. Second, it will transpire over three days rather than one day. Third, there will be more than 20 presenters, instead of 8-10 as in the past. Click through for dates, list of presenters, and other details. Continue Reading →