Bloomberg is reporting that podcast network Wondery is for sale, hopin to attract a buyer in the $200-400-million range. This according to unidentified sources for the Bloomberg report. According to those sources, Wondery revenue will surpass $40-million this year. Continue Reading
COVID couldn’t stop it. RAIN’s eminently successful Canadian business conference continued with its third annual presentation, this time with a new name: RAIN Digital Canada. Continue Reading
AdsWizz has announced that it is a finalist in three OMMA Awards. The OMMA Awards (Online Marketing Media and Advertising) exist to honor agencies and advertisers that engage and advance digital advertising. Click through to see the categories. Continue Reading
The benchmark study of American listening preferences, The Infinite Dial produced by Edison Research and Triton Digital, collects more information than is annually publicized every March. Thanks to an Edison release and webinar (yesterday) titled Radio Listener Profiles, we know that this year’s data include an understanding of how radio’s best listeners (so-called P1 listeners) map to social media, in-home technology, traditional AM/FM listening, and much more. Click through for a ton of detail, graphics, and download links. Continue Reading
by Bill Rosenblatt
Guest columnist Bill Rosenblatt analyzes Amazon’s most significant entry to podcasting — a podcast listening service integrated with Amazon Music. Comparing Amazon to Spotify is instructive, and this piece also takes into account how Amazon’s lead in the smart speaker market plays into strategic decision around podcasting. One question for the near future, according to rosenblatt: How will audiobooks play in these global audio platforms? Continue Reading
Research firm Kantar has released its Media Reactions 2020 report, self-defined as “a global ad equity ranking for media channels and media brands.” The report is authored by Jane Ostler, Global Head of Media, and Duncan Southgate, Global Brand Director. Podcasts rank 2nd in ad equity ranking of online channels, among marketers surveyed. Click through for details and graphics. Continue Reading
Titles You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton, the ex-Secratary of State is down for hosting an iHeartRadio Original Podcast. It’s too facile to say this project was inspired by Michelle Obama’s show on Spotify, but it does optically represent a counterpoint. Launching september 29, it’ll be a conversational program, featuring what we think is a pretty interesting lineup of guests. Click through for details and to hear the trailer. Continue Reading
Podcast hosting giant Libsyn is announcing a new partnership with Player FM, a podcast listening app and discovery engine. The deal is effective immediately, and Libsyn’s clients can distribute their shows to Player FM starting now. Libsyn’s research indicates that Player FM is a top-10 3rd-party aggregation app by number of downloads. Continue Reading
by Steve Goldstein
Everyone knows about podfades, podcasts that start but don’t continue due to lack of initiative. “Many are started on a whim; some creators hope for instant stardom and riches,” Steve Goldstein observes. But this column is about making a strategic choice to end a podcast run. “The ongoing question for podcast producers and creators to ask when thinking of pulling the plug is whether a show is on its way up, sideways, or out.” Goldstein itemizes and explains six decision points in this important column. Continue Reading
According to a newly released consumer survey study by Adobe, twice as many smart speaker users report hearing advertisements than in the year-ago study. When you consider Amazon’s lead over Google in the realm of smart speaker devices, a general shift in the balance of advertising power could be underway as the marketplace becomes more saturated with the devices. Continue Reading
Spotify employees are more than unhappy with Joe Rogan’s controversial guests and remarks in some catalog episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience, which is starting an exclusive distribution deal. Much of the turmoil is reportedly centered around perceived transphobia expressed in the show. rogan recently apologized … for something else. Spotify staff have petitioned leadership for pre-publishing editorial control of the podcast. According to anonymously sourced reports, Daniel Ek has decided against that. Continue Reading