The latest development from Amazon Alexa is a more nuanced change in its language skills. The assistant now has the option to adopt the speech cadences and delivery of a professional newscaster. We tested it — click for the audio. Continue Reading
CBS News has conducted a poll into podcast listening habits and found an upward trend over the past year. In December 2017, 53% of adults said they never listened to podcasts, but in the latest results the rate shrank to 30%. The drop was even more extreme for listeners who fall in the Millennial age group. Continue Reading
Audio news has never been so resplendent with listening options. Today brings news (and a trailer) from The Economist, a global current events publication, called The Intelligence. The Economist has been in podcasting since 2006, and claims that podcast revenue has increased 50% in the last year. Continue Reading
Political podcaster Ben Shapiro, recently noted in RAIN News for his wide syndicated extension into broadcast radio, has lost two sponsors after a live podcast performance at a Right To Life rally. The fallout shines a new light on brand safety — a constant concern in advertising that messaging does not appear connected to controversial content. Continue Reading
UK-based podcast company AudioBoom, which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, released its full-year 2018 financials. In a story familiar to leading streaming music services, the bottom line is in the red even as revenue jumped upward, and the earning per thousand listens (CPM) likewise spiked. It is a growth picture after a rough road in 2018. Continue Reading
RAIN News attended the inaugural iHeartRadio Podcast Awards presented by Capital One on January 18. At the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles, many notable figures from podcasting appeared to recognize the successes of the audio format. Continue Reading
Digital audio advertising solutions company Audio.ad has released its Digital Audio in the US Hispanic Market 2019 report. The research, performed by consumer intelligence company qriously, sketches the broad strokes of a highly engaged listening population. Continue Reading
TuneIn announced some figures from the end of both December and 2018. The audio company said that its platform generated more than half a billion hours of listening during December. It also reported that overall listening hours rose 31% year-over-year. Continue Reading
The Daily topped another month of Podtrac’s monthly ranking of the top 20 podcasts. The rankings are based on Podtrac measurement data for unique U.S. monthly audience. Continue Reading
The winter results from the RAJAR Midas survey have brought another flurry of insight into how the UK is consuming audio. Live radio has a 90% reach for audio formats, just trailing any TV with 91% reach. Online video/audio clips took a distant third place with 33% reach, while on-demand music services posted 25% and podcasts 12%. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James takes a deep dive on the BBC and Fortunately. Other updates on audio come from France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and more. Continue Reading
Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is one of NPR’s more popular shows thanks to its blend of humor and trivia, and now you can play along on a smart speaker. Owners of devices with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa can try out an interactive game hosted by the radio show’s Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis. Continue Reading