After Entercom spent last year digesting its platform-changing merger with CBS Radio, 2019 has been marked by a focus on growing its digital business. Most notably, that’s included a rapid expansion into podcasting, by not only leveraging assets it already had but also spending tens of millions of dollars to acquire outside companies. Entercom says its podcast business is already break-even and now expects it will be a profitable endeavor beginning next year. Read more
War and food intersect in a new podcast dropping today, Veteran’s Day from the iHeartPodcast Network. In the series called Service: Stories of Hunger and War, food writer Jacqueline Raposo, a food writer and podcast producer, follows members of the military, veterans and wartime volunteers from their homes in the United States through overseas deployment and then back home again. Read more
The streaming TV battle has gotten crowded and one of the ways HBO Max has said it will be different is by offering podcasts. One analyst thinks that could help the subscription service stand out among competitors. The Motley Fool’s Stephen Lovely says podcasts could be “a differentiator” for HBO Max. Read more
As technology continues to evolve toward a screen-less world and consumers’ reliance on voice assistants grows, marketers and brands will be more effective by prioritizing audio messaging than visual communications. With consumers listening to more audio than ever, it’s never been more important for advertisers to be on point with their audio message. So says the Interactive Advertising Bureau in a new white paper. Read more
As podcasting has grown, more podcast studios have sprouted up in cities across America. The newest is coming to Washington, where the communications firm Nahigian Strategies is teaming up with the property developer Carr Companies to build a new media production center. The developers say they’ve seen a “surging popularity of podcasts.” Read more
Less really did amount to more for one U.K. newspaper publisher’s podcast effort. News UK, the British newspaper publisher that’s a subsidiary of U.S.-based News Corp, last year sliced the number of podcasts it produced in half. The result is that the 22 shows it still publishes—now have twice the collective downloads and triple the revenue. Read more
Podcast and digital audio investments are paying off for the E. W. Scripps Co. which reported third quarter revenue on Friday. It said Stitcher revenue soared 41.4% compared to a year ago. “The marketplace in digital audio is obviously growing quickly as consumer habits change,” CEO Adam Symson said. Meanwhile, Triton Digital revenue fell following its spin-off of one of its business lines. Read more
Audio is playing a growing role at the New York Times where its flagship podcast The Daily now averages more than two million downloads a day. Not only did the podcast boost the paper’s new TV show “The Weekly,” but growing advertising sales for its audio products helped offset a downturn in its overall digital ad revenue during third quarter. “We have lots of running room in audio,” CEO Mark Thompson said. Read more
Anchor FM, the software company that podcasters use to create and distribute their shows, has added a new tool to its app that will make it easier for show creators to make a trailer to promote their podcast. Anchor Trailers will allow producers to record a preview of up to one minute. Anchor will then turn the trailer into an animated video that can be easily shared on social media. Read more
Voxnest in July rolled out Spreaker Prime, which it describes as a “white glove service” for podcasters who have a minimum of five thousand downloads per month and are looking for a way to better monetize their shows. The company says after one quarter in operation, the programmatic ad service has generated $1 million in advertising revenue for the 140 podcasters it is working with. Read more
Disney-owned Marvel Entertainment is returning to the podcast space this month as it begins rolling out episodes of its new fictional podcast series Marvels Nov. 20. The show is produced in partnership with Stitcher and will be available only on Stitcher Premium, its $5 per month subscription product. A wider release on other podcast platforms is set for 2020. Read more
Google Podcasts has made updates to its home screen… eMarketer projects advertising revenue will grow 38% for Spotify thanks to podcasting… Kroger t plans to buy podcast and radio ads as part of a “brand transformation”… Triton Digital will begin publishing podcast audience reports in the Netherlands Read more
New business ventures are often focused on finding consumers and worrying about profits later. But for iHeartMedia the podcast business is growing so fast that, combined with its built-in advantages as the biggest broadcast radio company, the investment is already in the black. “The podcasting industry is growing rapidly and shows no signs of slowing down,” CEO Bob Pittman said. Read more
NPR held onto the top spot on Podrac’s monthly ranker of the most listened-to podcast publishers in October, as iHeartMedia remained the biggest commercial publisher. The monthly ranker also saw a first-time appearance by NBC News. With across the board audience growth, Podtrac reports the top ten publishers overall experienced an average 10% month-to-month increase in their unique monthly U.S. audience in October. Read more
Veritone, the provider of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and solutions, says it just had its strongest-ever quarter for its advertising business. The combination of organic growth in the podcast marketplace and its 2018 acquisition of the podcast agency Performance Bridge are paying now off. “Our podcast gross billings were up 39% year-over-year and now nearly equal our broadcast-based business,” said Veritone President Ryan Steelberg. Read more
The magazine publisher CurtCo Media is making a pivot to podcasting with the launch of a podcast studio and plans to launch six original shows. Best known for targeting affluent readers with titles such as Robb Report, CurtCowill leverage its contacts in the world of business, politics and the luxury market as it moves into audio. Read more
Veterans of MTV, SiriusXM and CBS Radio are behind the launch of Spkr, a new audio platform that’s focused on short-form content. The app features podcasts and other audio content similar to other offerings. But where Spkr says it is different is in how it uses audio to help users discover new content. Read more
Podfront UK, the joint venture created by Stitcher and Wondery to target U.K. audiences, has hired its first head of sales. Oli Walters has jumped from Audioboom to Podfront UK, where he’ll direct the sales efforts which the company says have “quickly scaled” since it launched last summer. Read more
Universal Content Productions is doubling down on podcasting. The NBCUniversal-owned studio has launched UCP Audio, a podcast network set to launch in 2020 with three shows already cueing up for release. “We at UCP are excited about all the potential that lives in the audio space,” said studio chief Dawn Olmstead. Read more
The Daily isn’t really daily. It only publishes five days a week. In fact none of the big news-driven podcasts release episodes seven days a week. NPR is now taking a step in that direction, expanding its morning news podcast Up First to Saturdays. The public radio network is leveraging the team it has in place for the “Weekend Edition” broadcast. NPR says the move is part of its commitment to provide short-form audio that listeners can easily fit into their daily routines. Read more
A new partnership between digital audio ad network Targetspot and location data provider Cuebiq will help advertisers gauge how their digital audio ad campaigns drove foot traffic to brick and mortar stores. The companies say their alliance will also provide insights into the offline consumer journey to help improve media planning and optimize an advertiser’s sales cycle. Read more
Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, Jet Blue is expanding its in-flight entertainment options with the addition of podcasts. The spoken word content will come as part of the airline’s alliance with Spotify, which will put shows created by its Anchor, Gimlet, Parcast and Spotify Studios into the in-flight lineup. Read more
Beasley Media Group’s WRIF (101.1) has been rocking Detroit since 1971 and that 48-year history has made it one of the long-running rock stations in the U.S. With that history and connection to the genre, WRIF is launching a new podcast that will celebrate the station. The History of WRIF Podcast will feature current and past air personalities reflecting on their memories of the station and the music that it played. Read more
“Saturday Night Live” star Kate McKinnon is set to star in a forthcoming television adaptationof the podcast Over My Dead Body. The show is set to become the latest Wondery-created show heading for the small screen. The TV series will be retitled “Joe Exotic” and it becomes McKinnon’s second podcast-inspired role. Read more
Looking to move beyond just music, Deezer has joined other streaming services and has embraced podcasting in 2019. The latest move from the Paris-based company is the creation of a dedicated hub for non-music audio content on its app. Deezer has also expanded its recommendation feature to podcasts. Read more
The Onion, the leading comedy and news satire brand, has partnered with Sony Music Entertainment to develop original podcast content. The first move from the two companies is the co-creation of a new daily satirical podcast focused on current events called The Topical, which is set to launch in January 2020. Read more
The digital lifestyle company Ozy Media has reportedly raised $35 million in financing and plans to use some of that new pool of money to fund a further expansion into podcasting. Variety reports iHeartMedia is among the investors in the company, which announced a multiyear partnership with iHeart in June. Read more
Signaling a renewed effort to improve the digital content experience for listeners, industry veteran Alex Luke joins SiriusXM and Pandora as Senior VP, Digital Content. Luke will lead programming for Pandora and editorial content on the Pandora and SiriusXM digital platforms in this newly created position. Luke, who programmed KPNT in St. Louis and WKQX Chicago early in his career, most recently led global programming at Amazon Music. Read more
One of podcasting’s most listened-to shows is getting a new host. The TED Radio Hour, the public radio show that’s one of the top-ranked podcasts, will be hosted by radio and podcast veteran Manoush Zomorodi. She succeeds Guy Raz, who has been the TED Radio Hour’s host since 2013. The TED Radio Hour is an editorial partnership between NPR and TED. Episodes hosted by Zomorodi will debut in the spring. Read more
As efforts to allow podcasters to begin integrating music into their shows gain traction, the options for rights holders to track where their music appears are also advancing. Music monitoring service Pex says it has begun to track all podcasts in the Apple Podcast database. It will allow rights holders to see whether their music appeared in a podcast and whether that use was adequately licensed. Read more
It has been five months since the Kansas City Chiefs launched their own podcast network and so far the NFL franchise says it has had more than a half million downloads of the four shows it produces. That success has spurred the Chiefs to put two additional podcasts into development. And it’s predicting the Chiefs Podcast Network could top a million downloads next year. Read more
A veterinarian and her comedian boyfriend are the unlikely pairing in a new podcast from The Podglomerate. The podcast production company has just published the first episode of We Don’t Deserve Dogs, a show that features Dr. Lisa Lippman and Richie Redding. The weekly podcast is an interview show that explores the lives of comedians, actors, authors, and influencers through the thing they love most: their pets. Read more
Podcasting is on track to create a record number of new shows in 2019 while the number of “dead” podcasts is tracking behind last year. That’s according to the podcast search engine Listen Notes, which reports there are at least 811,331 podcasts and 54,802,288 episodes in the world. Read more
“Podcasts will be the next $1 billion media market,” says the market research company Forrester in its newly-released Predictions 2020: Media outlook. Not only are podcast listener figures growing, but the report also points out the types of people who are consuming podcasts are especially appealing to marketers. Read more
Playlists can help listeners to streaming music services discover new songs. Now Soundstripe is borrowing that strategy as a way to help podcasters discover tracks they may want to use in their shows. Today it released several playlists of songs that are licensable for use by podcasters. Soundstripe has also become a podcaster itself, launching a bi-weekly podcast which the company describes as a “show of good faith” as it enters the space. Read more
The New York Times Company is dedicating additional financial resources to the podcast The Daily. The show has hired Dave Shaw to become a senior audio editor and the first Washington-based dedicated staff member for the top-ranked podcast. Shaw most recently worked at Politico since Jan. 2018 as an executive producer and head of Politico Audio, where he managed a team of producers that make the eight shows for the news site. Read more
If movie stars bring new ears to podcasting, then there’s some good news for the industry. Sister-and brother actors Kate and Oliver Hudson are bringing some more Hollywood to podcasting. The pair has just launched a new podcast called Sibling Revelry. The show is designed as a free-form conversation between the siblings and the guests they welcome onto the podcast. Read more
The number crunchers at eMarketer have increased their ad revenue forecast for Pandora. Analysts now expect the company to have $984 million in mobile ad revenue this year, an improvement over its earlier forecast of $899 million. But it’s not organic growth. Instead, analysts credit Pandora’s acquisition of AdsWizz, a platform that allows advertisers to buy ads programmatically. Read more
Netflix spends billions of dollars creating original video content for its streaming platform; now it is expanding its investment in podcasting. Netflix will release its first scripted podcast series next week. The six-episode The Only Podcast Left is being geared as a companion piece to its video series “Daybreak.” Read more
Another Hollywood production company is expanding into podcasting. OBB Media says it has launched a division called OBB Sound that will produce both original and branded podcasts. The company is already working on several projects, including a podcast called The Pursuit of Healthiness with NBA all-star Blake Griffin that will launch next year on Amazon-owned Audible. Read more
NBC News last week announced it’s working on a slate of news and politics podcasts that Wondery is set to rollout next year. But the network isn’t waiting until then to launch a new impeachment-focused show. MSNBC national political correspondent Steve Kornacki will host a new podcast called Article II: Inside Impeachment. Read more
Voxnest has partnered with Audion...Reba McEntire is launching a podcast...Pacific Content has hired Jonas Woost as Director of Business Development...Vox Media is growing its podcast business... Vice News is working on a pair of new podcasts that will appear exclusively on Spotify...And another podcast will leap to TV screens. Read more
Public media production house PRX and Google Podcasts have been working for the past two years on a series of programs and events designed to increase the diversity of voices in podcasting, while also lowering the barriers of entry into the medium. The latest manifestation of that is the release of a ten-episode video series geared to supporting early-stage podcasters. Read more
The Sacks Family Foundation has created a fellowship for podcast journalism in public broadcasting at three U.S. universities. The grants totaling $315,000 will allow the universities to partner with local public radio stations or broadcast production studios where the students can supplement their classroom work with paid professional experience researching, writing, and producing podcast journalism. Read more
A Florida public radio station is racking up the downloads with its first show, an exploration of the science mystery that’s become known as the "Betz Sphere.” USA Today uses the fight over Reno strip clubs as the basis for a podcast about gentrification. Couples therapist and TED Talk regular Esther Perel takes on workplace relationships. And Team Coco takes a satirical scripted comedic look at Silicon Valley. Here’s some of what’s new in podcasting this week. Read more
“Podcasting is no longer an emerging medium but an emerged medium.” That’s the read on the red-hot channel from Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network, speaking on the latest episode of the Inside Radio Podcast. On the heels of a sold-out IAB Up Front, packed with advertisers and content creators, Byrne senses a “new sentiment” within the industry, now that it has “real scale” with 90 to 100 million Americans listening on a monthly basis. Read more
Aiming to catch up to rival streaming music services iHeartRadio and Spotify that have staked out claims in the podcasting business, SiriusXM Radio says recent updates it has made to Pandora have made it easier for producers to submit content. In addition, improving technology that will match music and spoken word content is helping it become a podcast player as well, the company said Thursday morning. Pandora has quietly accumulated nearly 7,000 podcasts on its platform to date. Read more
Halloween is the launch pad for a new sci-fi podcast from the iHeartPodcast Network with a TV adaption already in the works. The Second Oil Age is a scripted podcast that takes listeners to a post-energy crisis world in which humanity’s thirst for oil is satisfied through a bargain with a mysterious deep-sea species. Read more
The Ringer founder Bill Simmons is extending his best-selling 2009 title Book of Basketball into a new podcast that takes on all that’s changed in the NBA during the past decade. “Why write a sequel when I can turn that book into a living, breathing podcast,” Simmons says in a preview of his new podcast, called Book of Basketball 2.0. Read more
The two newest recipients of an investment from Podfund illustrate the wide net the firm is casting as it helps podcasters get off the ground or accelerate the growth path they’ve already begun to journey down. Podfund’s latest investments are in the sports-focused Locked On Podcast Network and the show If These Ovaries Could Talk, where two lesbians chat about making babies and non-traditional families. Read more
The virtual podcast studio Soundtrap is expanding its transcription service tool beyond English to five additional languages, including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish. It’s part of Soundtrap for Storytellers, the cloud-based studio it launched in May. Transcriptions had previously been only available in English. Read more
Warner Media has already been making inroads into podcasting and now the company will also have another distribution point for its content. HBO Max, the video streaming service set to launch next year, will also feature podcast content. During a two-hour unveiling of the service, executives described the podcast component on HBO Max’s mobile app as a way to stay connected with subscribers even when they are on the go. Read more
To some people they’re just sneakers. For listeners to the just-launched Legit Check podcast, they’re a passion. Premiere Networks and Dr. Dave Creative Entertainment are teaming up for a new iHeartPodcast Network show hosted by Yeezy Busta, the internet’s most infamous sneaker authenticator. Read more
Podcasters targeting children will soon have a new outlet to reach young listeners and their parents. Spotify has begun rolling out a new, standalone app called Spotify Kids that will feature ad-free content, music and podcasts specifically geared for kids and families. Spotify Kids will be available exclusively for Premium Family subscribers and intended for kids aged three and older. Read more
Television station owner Tegna continues to stretch its reach into podcasting with the release of another true crime podcast leveraging the resources of a local TV newsroom. The latest show is Urge to Kill, a story produced by KGW-TV in Portland, OR and Tegna’s Vault Studios. It tells the story about the murder of a Bend, OR woman and her killer’s odd defense. Read more
A new podcast hosted by Benztown President Dave “Chachi” Denes, entitled “Chachi Loves Everybody,” features Denes speaking with radio execs and programmers, brand builders and audio innovators who tell the stories behind their successes and share insights into building iconic brands through audio. Emmis’ Rick Cummings, programmer Jhani Kaye and Saga’s Bob Lawrence are some of Denes’ first guests. Read more
It’s been called the “Coachella of Podcasts” and now the podcast festival that got its start in Brooklyn, NY is making the leap to Los Angeles for the first time. Santa Monica’s KCRW (89.9) has teamed up with the On Air Fest to create the first On Air LA Annex. The two-day event is described as a two-day celebration of audio culture. It will take place Nov. 7 and 8 at the KCRW Annenberg Performance Studio. Read more
Since launching five years ago, Acast has been focused on podcast hosting and content, working with producers around the world. Now for the first time the company is launching a dedicated effort focused on the content side of the business, with the launch of its new original content development arm called Acast Studios and the release of its first show, a true-crime podcast. Read more
Good Karma Brands is dipping a toe into subscription-based podcasting. The company has launched “Wisconsin On Demand,” a subscription-based service that provides on-demand versions of “ESPN Madison” and “ESPN Milwaukee” shows in their entirety with limited commercials. The subscription rate is $5 per month or $50 per year. Read more
Stitcher’s hit documentary podcast Heaven’s Gate produced just ten episodes, the last of which was released in Dec. 2017. But illustrating the potential for podcasters to license their intellectual property, the show is now being made into a television series. CNN Originals will produce a four-part docuseries that will air as part of its program slate on HBO Max, the soon-to-launch subscription video service. Read more
The podcast hosting and monetization company Acast has become the latest company to secure the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Tech Lab Podcast Measurement Compliance “seal of approval.” Acast has been working on their implementation, with data engineers spending months analyzing how the company measures listening data across multiple countries. Read more
Glow, a podcast platform that allows show producers to offer “memberships” to fans, who in exchange gain access to content, says it is no longer going to take a cut of the money raised by podcasters from their supporters. Glow will only charge credit card processing fees. CEO Amira Valliani says they’ll instead make money from a growing podcast industry. Read more
Voxnest has been mining data collected as part of its advertising-focused Voxnest Audience Network for the past six months to offer insight into how the faceoff between Apple and Spotify around the globe is playing out. Each month it reported as Apple lost its lead as the dominant listening platform in more countries. That trend continued into September as Voxnest reports Spotify overtook Apple in six more markets. Read more
Fourteen percent of Spotify users also listened to a podcast during the third quarter, while the number of podcast hours streamed on the platform grew 39% during the quarter, compared to a year ago. The numbers are giving executives increasing confidence in their decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to marry podcasting with streaming music. But Spotify says it’s not yet focused on monetizing its podcast business. Read more
The Financial Times is signaling it wants to carve out a bigger slice of the podcast market with the hiring of its first chief of audio and its first subscriber-only podcast. FT has also launched its first podcast that can only be accessed by the newspaper’s subscribers. Read more
The Megaphone podcast hosting platform is adding shows from a big content producer. The Westwood One Podcast Network will tap Megaphone for hosting, publishing, dynamic ad insertion, campaign management, and analytics tools to deliver targeted ads to its podcast listeners. Read more
NBA coverage was the genesis of the Locked On Podcast Network. It later expanded to the NFL and Major League Baseball. Now the company focused on producing team-focused shows is expanding to another sport: hockey. Locked On is launching a roster of podcasts targeting fans of nearly two dozen NHL teams. Read more
The cable television network Reelz is expanding its podcast investment. It will launch two new shows as part of an expanding partnership with PodcastOne. Reelz executives say since launching their first show last August, the response to its podcast effort has “exceeded expectations.” Read more
The good news for actress Felicity Huffman is she was released three days early from her 14-day jail sentence on Friday. The bad news is the comedy team at Forever Dog is releasing the satirical comedy podcast 14 Days with Felicity. They’ll publish one 10-15 minute episode per day over the course of two weeks, each dedicated to a fictional day-in-the-life behind bars for the “Desperate Housewives” star. Read more
Podcasting represents a “permanent new way that at least a subset of listeners are going to get talk content,” says Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “And when you have this level of engagement, all of the major outlets and companies are going to take notice.” Byrne is one of a panel of experts talking about the platform in the latest RAB “Radio On Main Street” podcast. Read more
iHeartMedia is launching a new daily podcast with BuzzFeed News that covers the Trump impeachment process. “Impeachment Today” will be co-produced by the two companies and distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network, beginning Wednesday, Oct. 24. It is hosted by BuzzFeed News’ Senior Reporter Hayes Brown. Read more
Podcasters have another hosting option with the launch of Sounder. The company, founded by former Google and Spotify executives, says its main mission will be to make podcasts it hosts more discoverable. It will do that by employing what it is calling its Pinpoint Audio Search technology. The patent-pending system allows consumers to locate and share precise moments in any podcast. Read more
Podcasters continue to put the “community” in podcast community with two more locally-focus events for people in the industry to come together to network, learn and share ideas as well as celebrate content that’s being produced. Two events are planned next month targeting podcasters and show fans in Toronto and Chicago. Read more
Sony Music has already formed a podcast venture in the U.S. with radio-podcasting veterans Adam Davidson and Laura Mayer. Three Uncanny Four Productions released it first podcast, Broken: Jeffrey Epstein, last month. Now Sony Music has created a similar alliance in the U.K. market. It has teamed with veteran podcast producer Renay Richardson on its first podcasting venture outside the U.S. Read more
As Me with Sinéad, the second weekly podcast series from the new podcast network Lemonada Media. Hosted by disabled activist Sinéad Burke, the series features candid conversations with diverse and notable guests that explore the human condition. The first episode features Spice Girl-turned fashion designer Victoria Beckham and the second includes comedian and actress Tig Notaro. Read more
New true crime podcasts have been released, both exploring unsolved crimes. One from iHeartRadio looks at a 1989 murder that made headlines this year when the man convicted was set free after almost 30 years in prison. Another, from Tegna, focuses on a long-unsolved murder of a 10-year old Cleveland girl. Here’s some of what’s new this week in podcasting. Read more
What happens when a radio veteran goes to work for a local government? A podcast is born. Alex Quigley, who most recently programmed suburban Chicago classic rock station “103.9 The Fox” WFXF, now works for the city of Elgin, IL as its content developer. This summer he began the host and producer of the city’s What Would You Say You Do Here? podcast. It features city employees talking about their jobs. Read more
Audio, thanks in large part to podcast, is enjoying a burst of attention and the head of radio’s largest operator says how the two platforms harmonize is working to its advantage. “These new forms like podcast have really super-charged radio again because it’s really an extension of the radio experience,” said iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman in an interview with CNBC. Read more
Luminary founder Matt Sacks is turning day-to-day operational oversight of the subscription podcast service over to an executive from the world of pay cable television. Simon Sutton, former President and Chief Revenue Officer of HBO, has joined Luminary as its new chief executive. Sacks will now serve as Executive Chairman. Luminary has also raised another $30 million in financing. Read more
Entercom’s move to make the podcast studio Cadence13 a wholly-owned division has been completed. The deal, valued at roughly $50 million, gives Entercom the 55% of Cadence13 it did not already own. The buyout was announced in August and illustrated how the value of podcast companies has grown in recent years. When Entercom bought its 45% stake in the company in 2017, it paid just $9.7 million. Read more
Podcasters are sure to benefit from what will be another growth year in streaming audio advertising spending next year. In fact Borrell Associates, the media research and consulting firm, says no other digital media segment will grow faster. It forecasts streaming audio local ad spending will increase 17.1% next year. Read more
Podcasting is about to get a lot more romantic, thanks to the launch of the Frolic Podcast Network. It’s the partnership of Frolic Media, the integrated media brand for romance fans, and MWM Universe, a company that focuses on building out intellectual property into new media outlets. The new network launches with 13 podcasts. Read more
Fox Sports Radio is launching a Dallas Cowboys-focused podcast, “The ‘Boys and Girl Podcast,” available now via the Herd Podcast Network. It is hosted by Dallas-based NFL Network reporter Jane Slater and NFL Network field producer Bobby Belt. Fox is a division of Premiere Networks. Read more
While podcasting’s biggest listeners generally avoid advertising, they pay more attention to ads on podcasts and say podcast ads are an effective way to reach them. In fact, 70% of what Edison Research and PodcastOne call “super listeners” have considered a new product or service based on a podcast ad. But as more ad dollars funnel into podcasting, there are “early warning” signs about spot loads that the industry should take heed of. Read more
Pineapple Street Studios, the Brooklyn, NY-based podcast company Entercom bought in August, will produce a companion podcast to journalist Ronan Farrow’s explosive new book, “Catch And Kill.” Farrow is the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who penned the Oct. 10, 2017 expose for The New Yorker featuring eight women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct that ultimately transformed gender politics in Hollywood. Read more
Former Trump administration advisor Steve Bannon is returning to his roots. The former Breitbart News head this week launched a new radio show and podcast designed to defend the President against a growing impeachment effort in Congress. Politico reports War Room: Impeachment launches on a half dozen talk radio stations in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida with affiliates in other cities in the works. Read more
As more podcasters turn to live events as a way to monetize their shows, Acast is taking steps to help clients bring their podcasts to the stage. The podcast hosting and analytics company has launched Acast Live, a series of events it will produce across London beginning later this year and continuing in 2020. Read more
Wolf Entertainment, the production company behind the TV hits “Law & Order” and the “Chicago” franchise, says its first foray into podcasting will feature actors Parker Posey and Brandon Scott. They will star in the audio fiction series Hunted, which Wolf is co-producing with Endeavor Audio. Hunted will premiere Nov. 12. Read more
Sunny Hostin, one of the hosts of ABC-TV’s “The View,” is expanding her true crime storytelling to a new podcast for ABC News. Hostin, who also hosts the “Truth About Murder” documentary series on Investigation Discovery, is working with ABC Audio to produce a podcast that follows the search for notorious murderer Lester Eubanks who has been on the run for more than 45 years. Read more
How popular is the NPR Student Podcast Challenge? Nearly six thousand entries from more than 25,000 students in every state were submitted last year. It’s likely those numbers will only grow as NPR has announced the competition returns for a second year. The contest gives students an opportunity to have their podcast air on NPR radio shows “Morning Edition” or “All Things Considered.” Read more
Millions of American adults grew up with Fred Rogers, whose show “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” made him a public television legend. Fatherly, the digital media company geared toward dads, is teaming up with the iHeartPodcast Network to produce Finding Fred. The new ten-episode podcast will explore the legacy and teachings of Rogers. Read more
The podcast gap between men and women continues to close according to newly-released data from Edison Research from its annual Infinite Dial report. The increase in female listening is especially encouraging for podcasters since women podcast listeners tend to listen to more podcasts than guys. Why aren’t more women listening? A lot of industry conversation has been focused on content and host gender. But the data suggest technological barriers are a bigger hurdle. Read more
The Walt Disney Company is bringing the Marvel Entertainment brand to audio as part of a multiyear deal to create original podcasts for SiriusXM and Pandora. In Marvel's most sweeping podcast deal to date, the venture will include both scripted and unscripted series, in addition to themed live events. The alliance will give the sister audio companies an exclusive window on the shows before they’re widely distributed more broadly. Read more
There’s more evidence that podcast advertising works. This time it comes from a study conducted by Art19 and Veritonic. The two companies teamed up to track the impact of a brand campaign targeting small and mid-sized companies. The data shows the ad resulted in increases in brand metrics by as much as 65% for the advertiser, including relevancy, intent and likelihood to purchase. Read more
Crooked Media, the progressive media company behind podcasts including Pod Save America and Keep It, is launching its first daily news podcast. What A Day will be published each weekday morning at 5am ET and feature a looser take on the day’s news. Hosted by comedian and author Akilah Hughes and political journalist Gideon Resnick, the show says its aim is to be not only relatable and funny, but also inspiring. Read more
Another radio show no longer on the air may be revived as a podcast. Kim “The Kimmer” Peterson, Pete Davis and Jim Gossett, who previously hosted afternoon drive on Cumulus Media’s “Talk 106.7” WYAY Atlanta before it was sold, are working to launch a $5.99 per month subscription podcast. Read more
Digital audio revenue reached $1.217 billion during the first half of 2019, up 30% from the $935 million recorded during the first half of last year as the number of Americans who consumed online audio, including podcasts, continued to climb. The Interactive Advertising Bureau reported audio’s share of the overall digital advertising marketplace remained steady at 2%. Read more
More than seven years after the “MJ Morning Show” left the radio airwaves, host Todd “MJ” Schnitt is bringing the show back to life as a podcast, joined by two other former cast members: Fester and Froggy. Schnitt has partnered with the Tampa-based digital media company Radio Influence to produce what’s expected to be a weekly podcast. Read more
LinkedIn and Instagram have so far outperformed Facebook and Twitter when it comes to using social media to spur show downloads for Pacific Content. That’s according to analysis done by Dan Misener, head of audience development at the company, which creates branded podcasts for clients such as Dell, Mozilla and Charles Schwab. Read more
