Audio market research company MIDiA Research is announcing a January webinar to unleash its 2026 predictions. It’s an annual thing, in which the company forecasts the biggest entertainment trends of the new year. The promise is to deliver “evidence-based insight across the entertainment landscape.” That encompasses music, video, podcasts, social media, and the creator economy. MIDiA claims an 80 percent forecasting accuracy in this exercise, and promises “actionable takeaways.” Free registration is HERE.
Global podcast giant Acast has upgraded its proposition to podcast clients with what the company calls an industry-first YouTube program. Partnering with digital media network and production company Little Dot Studios, Acast’s new pitch promises new advertiser opportunities and increased podcaster revenue. A cohort of 20 podcasts serve as demonstrative launch partners. Acast observes: “These launch shows deliver a massive aggregated audience, comprising more than 45 million monthly plays across their combined audio feeds and YouTube channels.” Acast is also entering what it calls an inventory partnership with Little Dot, which scales that program across 11 billion monthly views on YouTube. Josh Woodhouse, Managing Director UK & Ireland at Acast, said: “We’ve built the UK’s most technologically-advanced and valuable marketplace for podcast advertising. Now, by unifying our premium audio inventory with immense video scale, Acast has created the definitive, single-point solution for brands and creators seeking measurable impact.”
In an eye-popping investment, entrepreneur, investor, and podcaster Steven Bartlett is putting a considerable stake (itemized as “a seven-figure strategic investment) in Hot Smart Rich, a podcast and media brand created by Maggie Seller Reum — founder of Hot Smart Rich, also an investor and iconic trend setter. Her property will join Bartlett’s Flight Story, the parent entity of his well established podcast Diary of a CEO. The magnitude of the deal has Forbes characterizing it as more than a typical monetization story: “This is about the rise of the founder-creator, a new archetype of entrepreneurial leader.” More HERE.
The Podcast Creator Summit is in the works for February 6 of the new year, and staged at the Apple headquarters in the Battersea district in southeast London. The target audience is early stage podcast creators, and the content will present workshops and panels. Presenting companies include Goalhanger, Podmasters, Acast, PRX, and podcast agency Distorted. We could not find an active registration page, oddly, but you can subscribe to receive updatess HERE https://
December 12, 2025
