Sponsored by Magellan AI. Who's setting the pace in podcast ad spend? Get the full list and sign up for our webinar Deloitte suggests that global ad revenue for "podcasts and vodcasts" will reach $5bn in 2026, up 20% year-on-year. The report suggests that consumers will also gravitate towards video - suggesting that users who watch vodcasts consume 1.5x more content than those who just listen to podcasts. The benefit of "something for your ears when your eyes are busy" is perhaps a disadvantage for advertisers - 44% of vodcast watchers say they don't multitask when watching, compared with 29% of podcast listeners. The report came out last month, but was reported again yesterday. Hernan Lopez, the former CEO of Wondery, has had all charges against him dropped by the US DoJ, which is to dismiss a long-running bribery case against him. He has written about the legal process, which has taken six years. He has also spoken with Variety. The BBC posted year-end figures for its proprietary podcast and radio app, BBC Sounds. Podcast plays on the platform, which is only available in the UK, grew by 15%. The most listened-to podcast (based on plays) was Newscast. The corporation hasn't broken out any play numbers for its podcasts. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad hereTry Audyllic - Podcast sound — Your podcast sounds great, but not like radio. That’s because it’s missing broadcast processing. Audyllic adds authentic Optimod processing automatically. Make every episode sound pro. Audyllic.comGot a new podcast? — Visit the "New Podcasts" website, and tell us about it! We'll add it to our new podcasts feed, get your show into Podnews, and get you more listeners - all free! Get started now!Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Mamamia, Sounds Profitable, PodMatch,