The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released its annual Podcast Advertising Revenue Study for 2019. It contains last year’s metrics and projections for full-year 2020. COVID-19 is built into the forecast research. $1B annual revenue is in sight, though projections have slowed down that track. Host-read ads still dominate. So do direct-to-consumer ads. Click through for much more. Continue Reading
Pod Drop features new and returning podcasts. Today — A guru who’s also a convicted felon; a series about addiction; and unusual stories tracked down by CNN. Continue Reading
Toronto-based TPX (more lengthily known as The Podcast Exchange) is announcing the availability of programmatic podcast advertising. The tech is powered by Triton Digital. While this initiative obviously targetsCanad, TPX’s home market, the PR carefully points out it is for “premium domestic and international podcast publishers.” TPX anticipastes questions about the initiative, and answers important ones in an unusually detailed press release. Continue Reading
by Jeff Umbro
RAIN News welcomes Jeff Umbro in his first weekly appearance as guest columnist. In this edition, he offers in-depth analysis of siriusXM’s pending acquisition of Stitcher, and covers other podcasting news as well. Jeff is CEO of the Podglomerate podcast network. Click through for more details about Jeff, and of course to read the column. Continue Reading
Podcast content network Wondery has appointed DAX as its exclusive advertising partner in Canada, we are learning today. DAX will offer Canadian advertisers spot ads and host-read sponsorship messages. Wondery continues to be enterprisingly international. Although translation is probably not necessary for the Canadian market, wondery has been a pioneer in translating hit shows for non-English speaking audiences in other parts of the world. Continue Reading
Another legacy media brand dives deeper into podcasting. New York Magazine (a Vox company) hired its first editorial director of audio, Hanna Rosin. A Stanford University alumna, D.C.-based Rosin comes to New York Magazine from The Atlantic and Slate, according to her LinkedIn page, but is probably better known to many as co-host of NPR’s Invisibilia. Continue Reading
The enterprise podcast hosting and monetization company Megaphone announced a partnership with podcast advertising attribution company Podshights. In this arrangement, Megaphone will provide attribution metrics to all campaigns run through the Megaphone Targeted Marketplace. Continue Reading
In its latest app update, Pandora now offers offline listening to podcasts — in other words, downloading them. We had read that the feature was exclusive to subscribers, of which there are two tiers: Plus, and semi-interactive streaming service, and Premium, a fully interactive audio listening and collection service. We thought this limitation was unusual, and reached out to Pandora for confirmation, which we received. Click through for a perspective.
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by Steve Goldstein
A deep and interesting conversation with Scott Simonelli, CEO of Veritonic. Includes links to sonic identity examples. Continue Reading
After 48 hours of rumors, today we get … well, sort-of confirmation that SiriusXM will acquire Stitcher from E.W.Scripps. The confirmation part is from the Wall Street Journal. The sort-of part is the article’s first sentence: “Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is near a deal to buy E.W. Scripps Co.’s Stitcher.” There is no visible confirmation from Sirius, Stitcher, or Scripps. But, as of this morning, industry-wide assumption is that the deal is all but done … in a “poised to buy” sort of way. This acquisition adds a chapter in the corporate life of each company involved. Continue Reading
by Michael Robertson
This guest contribution by iconic digital audio entrepreneur Michael Robertson digs into the U.S. copyright code and finds a statute which might relate to, and potentially invalidate, Spotify’s exclusive distribution deal with Joe Rogan. Continue Reading