A few interesting notes related to podcasting from Cumulus Media in the company’s Q3 earnings report. Cumulus owns Westwood One and the Westwood One Podcast Network, although neither entity was mentioned by name in the earnings call remarks by CEO Mary Berner and CFO Frank Lopez-Balboa. Podcasting provided a bulward during trouble performance of streaming and local digital marketing. Continue Reading
One key takeaway from the drop of Westwood One’s annual Podcast Download report, released last Friday, is that “heavy” podcast listeners (6+ hours per week) are increasing. There is much more to this sprawling 65-page study, which covers podcasting’s rebound from the Covid disruption, listening apps, age breakdowns, and behavior of “newcomers” and “pioneers.” Click through for charts, key points, and the download link. Continue Reading
Westwood One has released its fifth annual podcast advertising study, in collaboration with Advertiser Perceptions. This report is synced with the IAB Podcast Upfront, also in its fifth year. One key takeaway is that advertiser interest in podcasts, and intent to buy, have grown by multiples since 2015. Click through for details, numbers, links, and charts. Continue Reading
In a data-rich blog post informed by Magellan AI research, Westwood One has published a raft of research findings about podcast advertising. The headline is that podcast advertising is “pandemic proof,” based on the field’s resiliency from pandemic disruption. The study examines month-over-month and quarterly trendlines to track the stability of podcast advertising, a consistently low spot load (to use a radio term), and the continued emergence of brand advertising. Click through for numbers and graphics. Continue Reading
In a two-way press release from Westwood One, Magellan AI is announcing an expansion of its podcast insights service. Westwood One, already a subscriber, is expanding its buy-in to take advantage of the broader service. The company’s scope covers 22,000 podcasts and millions of ads. Continue Reading
Westwood One and Magellan AI teamed for an investigation into advertising on top 400 podcasts in the United States. Their review collected between the Q4 2018 and Q4 2019. The pair found that the number of podcast ads has risen on the back of similar growth in the number of episodes. Continue Reading
Westwood One released its 2020 Audioscape, a roundup of listening and device-use trends from Q3 of Share of Ear — an ongoing subscription research project produced by Edison Research. Continue Reading
Westwood One shared results from a survey of podcast sellers, asking them about the current state of the market and infrastructure. The results provide a counterpoint to a survey of advertisers and agencies released last month. Both surveys revealed a spectrum of marks for existing podcast measurement tools. Continue Reading
Last week we poked around a public Westwood One podcast survey, and reported our impressions. Today, Westwood One releases the results, in both an executive summary format, and a detailed Powerpoint PDF. One of the most interesting aspects of the PDF is that it relates dozens of verbatim predictions about podcasting revenue growth. Continue Reading
Westwood One is running an open survey to gather data which will inform the company’s upcoming Podcast Executive Study. It is a B2B approach that any podcaster could take a run through, but is really intended for mainly professional ventures familiar with the advertising ecosystem of podcasting. Continue Reading
Westwood One, the audio network owned by Cumulus Media, has entered a podcasting partnership with the Associated Press. Under their arrangement, Westwood One will exclusively distribute, monetize, and market three of the AP’s podcasts. Continue Reading
In last week’s Q3 earnings call for Cumulus Media, one of the largest radio groups in the U.S., CEO Mary Berner laid out the growth of her digital business. One interesting fact: The podcast network serves 70-million monthly downloads, probably making it one of the biggest podcast publishers. Continue Reading