Comprehensive coverage of the podcasting industry and its business ecosystem.
Acast, founded in 2014, released its Q2 earnings with a 10-year celebrative spirit. Key bragging points focused on net sales, gross margin, EBITDA, number of listens, and average revenue per listen. Click for muc more detail. Continue Reading
Triton Digital released its monthly US Podcast Ranker for June 2024, representing measurement from June 3 through June 30. (Triton rankers use 28-day months.) Triton’s ranker is actually two rankers: One for podcast shows, and one for podcast sales networks. We examine both.
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In an effort to maintain authenticity and leverage the convenience and accuracy of AI, podcast ad agency Adopter Media has placed limitations on AI voicings of host-read ads. Specifically, insertion orders will now define limits on the use of AI voicing of ad copy. More than just an in-house decision, the company calls for creators, networks, advertisers, and agencies to uphold similar standards. Details inside. Continue Reading
The New York Times is putting a lot of its podcast content behind paywalls, as it has done with cooking, games, and other categories. Should podcasters emulate? In this week’s guest column, Steve Goldstein observes: There is a lot of churn in subscription land. And the audio landscape is saturated with free content, much of it excellent. so it’s a mixed bag: “Good news: Some people are willing to pay. Bad news: not a lot of people.” But there are exceptions, and industry opinions, and no definitive answer for all shows. Click for a key review of strategic thinking. Continue Reading
The cleverly named Pionaire, a full-service network for podcasts and podcast talent, has signed Acast to handle Pionaire’s ad sales, hosting, and distribution. Pionaire’s best known podcast is The Bert Show, called “a pillar of the audio industry.” It started two decades ago as a radio show. Continue Reading
A newly announced change which will move stewardship of This American Life ad sales from The New York Times to National Public Media (NPM). Click for audience metrics, show rankings, and other details. Continue Reading
Wondery grabs Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard from Spotify in comprehensive sales, distribution, development, merchandise deal. Click for details. Continue Reading
Acast is stepping into the Japanese podcast advertising market. The expansion is facilitated by a partnership with Otonal Inc., which Acast characterizes as Japans’ premier digital audio advertising agency. Click for details and quotes. Continue Reading
The average cost per thousand (CPM) for podcast advertising in June rose from the previous month. According to Libsyn’s monthly reckoning. The highest categorical ad rate is measured at $29 per thousand ad plays. Click for more, including the detailed time chart. Continue Reading
New podcast production skidded downward for the fifth consecutive month in June, with just under 6,000 new podcasts released. Over 13,000 newcomers were launched in May. Click for more details, and graphs.
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The New York Times is planning to use paywalls to limit free listening to its podcasts. This according to an exclusive report in The Wall Street Journal. It’s a nuanced hybrid plan that varies among the Times’ top podcasts. Continue Reading
Hark Audio, a podcast curation service which organizes highlight clips from a wide range of shows, is today launching The Conversation. It is an email-delivered collection of 3-5 minute clips from a diverse range of podcasts. We asked about permissions. Continue Reading