Smart speakers have been hit with several scandals over privacy and user protections this year, and now there’s a new, even riskier one unfolding. Whitehat hackers based in Germany developed eight apps for smart speakers that were able to eavesdrop on users and phish their passwords. Continue Reading
Spotify has been putting an international spin on its original podcast productions, such as a daily news show in Spanish through a partnership with Colombian newspaper El Tiempo. The latest development is a fictional show in French called L’Employé that premieres today. Continue Reading
Crooked Media is adding a daily news podcast to its programming. The company, which most notably makes the Pod Save America show, joins a crowded landscape for tackling the current headlines in audio. Continue Reading
NPR and iHeartMedia continue their tug-of-war for the lead in Podtrac’s publisher ranker, and both have several shows on the analytics company’s latest podcast chart. iHeartMedia has two shows on the ranker, while NPR has eight. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Diving into data from the RAJAR MIDAS in the UK, the Radio Alive presentations in Australia, and the Infinite Dial Germany. Continue Reading
Few subjects in culture and entertainment escape the notice of the writers at Saturday Night Live. The sketch show turned its humor on podcasting late last year with a bit about The Poddy’s, and now it’s back with a silly commercial for any father-son podcasters. Continue Reading
Along with its annual Podcast Download report, Westwood One has shared some insights from its survey by Advertiser Perceptions this week. The 2019 edition included 302 agencies and marketers. It found that although consideration of podcast advertising flattened after several years of growth, discussions about the subject has continued to increase. Continue Reading
Digital audio advertising technology platform has announced its entry into podcast hosting. The extension of the company’s core business seems natural enough. Details are spare at this point, and the hosting platform seems to be a complementary component to the Targetspot Podcast Marketplace, announced a year ago. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has launched the Australian Podcast Ranker, the first of a (presumed) series of podcast reports. The first edition of the Australian Podcast Ranker, which will be released in four-week reporting periods, starts with shows representing a few of Australia’s top audio publishers. Continue Reading
Google has rebranded its smart speaker collection, with the line now falling under its Nest brand. The latest addition is the Google Nest Mini, a second iteration of the Google Home Mini that launched in 2017. Continue Reading
News Corp Australia and NOVA Entertainment have entered a podcasting partnership. This arrangement will combine NOVA’s experience in audio sales with News Corp Australia’s content creation. News Corp Australia will also start working with Acast for hosting, distribution, and monetization of its podcasts. Continue Reading
Live radio is still the leading audio format in Australia, but its dominance has declined slightly from last year. That’s a key finding from the fourth annual GfK Share of Audio survey from Commercial Radio Australia, which tracks listening habits and trends for Australian audiences. The survey found that live radio is responsible for a 61.3% share of all audio listening. Continue Reading