ESPN Podcasts announced another record-breaking month. The network’s audio shows reported 43.6 million downloads in October, a new high after September’s previous record of 39.3 million downloads. “ESPN Podcasts continues to set new highs,” said Tom Ricks, vice president of digital strategy and marketing. Continue Reading
Echo Nest was once a top name in music recommendations. The startup was acquired by Spotify in 2014, and since then its technology has been leveraged into some wildly popular personalized playlists for that streaming service. Now, a former Echo Nest exec has flown the Spotify coop and is striking out with a new approach to personalized discovery. Continue Reading
Pandora announced that its full on-demand subscription tier can now be accessed via Amazon Alexa. Pandora Premium has added support for voice commands, meaning subscribers can issue commands to control playback for songs, stations, and playlists on Alexa-enabled devices. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia announced that it has acquired Jelli, a specialist in programmatic audio advertising for radio and the creator of the SpotPlan platform. Jelli’s technology has been pivotal as audio moves toward programmatic buying and selling. Its work has been especially relevant to the broadcast industry. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James suggests improvements for car radio in his column. Other news includes items about community radio and some astonishing audio unearthed from World War I. Continue Reading
Podtrac released its podcast publisher ranking for October 2018. The chart reflected some recent developments in the podcast space, with iHeartRadio moving up to the second spot following its acquisition of HowStuffWorks. Continue Reading
Canalys has released its third-quarter market research on the global smart speaker industry. Worldwide shipments increased 137% on-year for a total of 19.7 million units. After a strong Q2 for Google, Amazon has regained its lead in the latest period, likely thanks to its big sales push on Prime Day. Continue Reading
Steve Pratt of Pacific Content looks to TV news for inspiration in the podcast world. Drawing on his own experience in local television, Pratt explores the importance of consistency in staying on top. Continue Reading
Sonos posted positive results for its fiscal fourth quarter, and Wall Street celebrated the news. The audio company makes wireless speakers and is quickly asserting expertise in mid-tier and high-end smart speakers. The newly launched Sonos Beam in particular boosted the company’s performance, and investors boosted stock prices 20% in after-hours trading. Continue Reading
Universal Music Group has reported its earnings for the third quarter as rumors swirl that the major label could be moving toward a sale. Revenue rose 13.5% on-year to €1.495 billion ($1.732 billion) for the period. Parent company Vivendi said in the earnings update that it is in talks with about 15 banks, looking for assistance in finding a strategic partner for the major label. Continue Reading
Podcasting received the Saturday Night Live treatment with a send-up of some tropes that will likely be familiar to any regular listeners. Is it a good or a bad thing when late night comedy leans into the audio format’s stereotypes? Continue Reading
AdLarge’s digital audio advertising unit, cabana, announced that it has added Bear Brook to its content portfolio. The investigative podcast is from New Hampshire Public Radio, and is hosted by reporter Jason Moon. Continue Reading