More is better, plus key knowledge points from Podsights Conversion Benchmarks report

Podcast attribution company Podsights has released a Conversion Benchmarks report (download HERE) that shines lights onto key factors in a successful podcast advertising campaign. In addition, a hefty appendix section illuminates parts of the anatomy of the podcast ad business. Click through for tons of detail, graphics, and a download link. Continue Reading

Podcast is a lean-in, attention-holding medium for advertisers (Canadian Podcast Listener)

In a “sneak peek” at the 2020 edition of the Canadian Podcast Listener research report, listening to podcasts is revealed to be an intensely attentive activity compared to social media, listening to music, and watching short videos. Listening to podcasts takes roughly the same level of concentration as checking news and watching shows. Although podcast advertising success metrics are not part of this preview, the report does obliquely mention value to marketers in a key takeaway, and it seems self-evident that an attentive, concentrated audience is favorable to advertising generally. Continue Reading

“Hello friends, we have a situation.” Covid reaches Rogan staff.

In an Instagram video, Joe Rogan — the world’s most successful podcaster, by consensus and most measurement — announced that a member of his production staff has tested positive for Covid. Production of The Joe Rogan Experience is halted indefinitely. Rogan speculates “deep into next week” before the show resumes. Continue Reading

SiriusXM closes Stitcher: 150M addressable audience, new lines of reporting, Pandora gets more podcasts

SiriusXM has closed its acquisition of Stitcher, three months after the July announcement that the satellite giant would buy the pioneering podcast company. Stitcher joins Pandora as a wholly-owned Sirius company. SiriusXM also has an exclusive ad sales partnership with Soundcloud. Today’s announcement puts the combined audience at 150-million listeners, and calls that reach “the largest addressable audience in North America across all categories of digital audio – music, sports, talk, and podcasts.” Continue Reading

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Steve Goldstein: Music Finally Meets Podcasts

by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein discusses spotify’s new feature which allows music into podcasts, via the Anchor service. He recognizes the important (while noting some clunkiness in the end product), and also notes that broadcast radio has spent years decreasing the role of “the passionate musicologist DJ’s of FM radios early days.” Continue Reading

Joe Biden, Penn State, and others leap into podcast advertising (Magellan)

Magellan AI has released its always interesting Top 15 Advertisers reports. One is “Movers and Shakers” (greatest increase from the previous month), and the other is top advertisers overall by spend. The Joe Biden campaign dipped its toe into the water with $163,000. By contrast, the top overall podcast advertiser in Magellan’s view was Better Help, spending $5.4-million. Therapy is clearly more lucrative than politics. Continue Reading

Curiouscast, Corus Entertainment’s pod network, announces fall slate

Curiouscast, the podcast network owned and operated by Canada’s Corus Entertainment, has released its fall schedule of new and returning shows. The lineup features three investigative podcasts including the award-winning Crime Beat (Season 3), and new shows 13 Hours: Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre and Whatever Happened To. Four shows are featured in today’s announcement. Continue Reading

Wondery pulls “Business Wars” into Wondery Plus subscription service

One of Wondery’s best known shows, Business Wars, is preparing a new season that will be distributed exclusively by Wondery Plus, the company’s ad-free subscription service. Some podcasts presented in Wondery Plus also are distributed via RSS normally, with ads in the programs. In this case, the new season of Business Wars is called and “Wondery + Exclusive.”  Continue Reading

Stream listening dipped in August (Triton Digital Webcast Metrics)

U.S. stream listening slipped about 3% month-over-month in August, according to the Triton Digital Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker. The two leaders, Pandora and iHeartRadio, each slipped a bit from the month before. Click through for other details and RAIN’s unique long-term Webcast Metrics tracker. Continue Reading

Local podcast network (Loudspeaker) broadens reach with new name and multiple strategies

If you don’t live in northern Colorado you’ve possibly not heard of NoCo FM, a digital media outlet featuring regional musicians. After expansion to include some California voices, the company has rebranded as Loudspeaker. It’s a three-pronged strategy: Podcast network, streaming music/talk platform, and a live event on Halloween. Click through for more info. Continue Reading

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Spotify/Anchor launch radio-style DJ’ing, leaping into both radio and music-rich podcasting

“Think of your favorite drive-time radio show,” Spotify says in an announcement. That is the only mention of “radio,” but it is telling. The company has launched a new listening product which jabs an arrow straight into radio’s underbelly, or apparently aspires to. This new product is (oddly) unnamed, but it mixes music and commentary similar to radio and enables users to become public DJs within the Spotify app. Click through for details, commentary, and how to find it. Continue Reading