Copenhagen-based Podimo has received a Series B funding round of $78-million dollars. Since 2019, the company has raised $115-million. Podimo operates a few different lines of business — click for info. Continue Reading
The Infinite Dial, globally recognized as a singular authoritative consumer survey and reference for how people consume digital media, will be extended to the UK next month. The annual American edition has been produced for 24 years, resulting in exceptionally valuable trend lines illustrating consumer uptake of streaming audio and podcasting. The brand has expanded to Canada, Australia, Germany, and South Africa. The December 2 release of a UK version will be Edison’s first for that region, and is supported by Bauer Media and Spotify. Click for the registration link. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Smart and Yum (The Podglomerate)
— Settle In (The Podcast Reader)
— Because NOW! (Spotify)
Global audio streaming app Deezer asks: “Why not turn your TV into your personal jukebox?” Providing the answer, Deezer has partnered with Samsung to create a Deezer-app listening experience on Samsung’s line of smart TVs. Click for details. Continue Reading
James Cridland returns with the latest installment of his weekly column. In this edition, James examines The Spoken Word Audio Report, produced by Edison Research with support from NPR. Speaking words is where radio should excel in the future, according to this perspective: “Radio’s unique selling proposition – the thing radio does that nobody else does – is the human being. Not the music; we can get that everywhere.” Continue Reading
For the second time this week, Audible’s executive staff has been raided. This time it’s an in-house raid. Jessica Radburn, formerly Senior Director of Global Content Programming at Audible, was hired by Amazon Music podcast subsidiary Wondery. Details within. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— The Llama, Still Getting Kicked (Winamp)
— High and Exclusive (Ed Sheeran & Deezer)
— The Power of Sound (Steve Keller)
Facebook launched podcast listening in its mobile apps during the summer. We tested it this week to learn its features and functions. We were interested in how the experience might contribute to raising awareness of podcasting in Facebook’s billions of users around the world — or even just the 221-million Americans on the platform — and how the experience compares to stand-alone podcatchers. Continue Reading
Vox Media has bought Criminal Productions, whose best-known show is Criminal, which has appeared on several “Best Of” lists. Vox plans to double the unit’s staff, expand Criminal to a weekly show, and develop new ones. All this takes place within Vox’s podcast division, Vox Media Podcast Network. Vox also takes over ad sales. Continue Reading
Bad Robot, the film/TV firm founded and run by J.J. Abrams, whose franchises include Star Trek and Cloverfield movies, has jumped into audio with the creation of a podcast unit. Abrams pulled Christina Choi away from Audible to head the venture. The whole thing is tied up with Spotify. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Ready To Go (Libsyn & Samsung)
— High and Exclusive (Ed Sheeran & Deezer)
Edison Research released the company’s quarterly report of top 50 podcasts, the result of an 8,000-person consumer survey, part of the company’s Podcast Consumer Tracking Report. Edison’s ranker is notable for its methodology. In this edition, as in previous releases, nearly all 50 shows carry over from the previous report. Click through for illustrations. Continue Reading