Sponsored by Magellan AI. Rhapsody Voices uses Magellan AI to help land 30%+ of every show's sponsors. Read their story Yesterday's announcement from YouTube of a new way to calculate "views" should be ignored by all publishers, says Zachary Boone from YMH Studios. The company will only report on "Engaged Views", the original view metric from YouTube, which is widely believed to have a 30-second minimum. Boone says the change "opens the door for unsavory actors to misrepresent their numbers," and calls for other publishers and networks to commit to the same. Spotify Creative Lab has shown an example of how they helped UK television channel ITV promote a new spy thriller. The company worked with Goalhanger, with host-read content and a special episode of The Rest is Classified. As a well-produced sizzle reel, this is hard to beat - nice work. It appears that Spotify added a support page about the "skip ahead" button on Tues Aug 4, added shortly after Podnews exclusively revealed the unannounced feature. It's in the style of a Q&A, and remains remarkably coy about where they are testing it ("select markets"). It clarifies that no, you cannot opt out of your show having a "skip ahead" button, and also confirms that Spotify-sold ads are not exempt. New (to us): the page suggests that it works in both audio and video. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our

Sponsored by Magellan AI. With Magellan AI, Rhapsody Voices sold 80%+ of its ad inventory on two shows in back-to-back quarters. See how they did it A week after YouTube altered the numbers you need before you start making money, YouTube's visible definition of a "play" (or "view") is also to change. From August 24, a public view will be counted "the moment a video begins to play from the very first frame". Creators still have access to "engaged views", which YouTube publicly says is "how many times viewers stayed to watch past the first frame and initial seconds". This is the previous definition of a play/view, believed by many to be at least 30 seconds (though YouTube doesn't publicly say). If that's true, the "engaged view" roughly aligns to the AMP Accords definition of a play. So, what is a podcast play? We've written up a full article, with our own stats, to explain and compare the different platforms. Most - but not all - give a roughly consistent number. What will be the effect of YouTube's new "view" metric? The public numbers will be significantly bigger, we'd guess - but also, significantly less meaningful, since a play for one second will still count. However, the more comparable "engaged views" metric will, as far as we can see, become entirely private to the creator: it won't be seen on public pages, and it will not be available through the YouTube Public Data API. It remains accessible in YouTube Studio, and through the Analytics and Reporting APIs, for creators; but third-party rankers or data companies will no longer have access, unless they're specifically given that. After we published a video of a podcast ad that was unskippable in Spotify yesterday, Spotify contacted us to say: "Spotify does not make podcast ads unskippable. A bug caused

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Q2's podcast ad spend numbers are in. Get Magellan AI's Benchmark Report. Download now Exclusive: A few weeks ago, Podnews broke the story that Spotify is testing a "Skip ahead" ad-skipping tool for some customers. Perhaps making the most of its dominant market position, today we note that Spotify is selling its own unskippable podcast ads; and we discover that its terms and conditions gives Spotify the legal right to automatically skip everyone else's. The Ambies are open for entry from today. There are two new categories - best music and episode of the year - and there will be two listener's choice awards, for Best Podcast Host and Podcast of the Year. You get a discount if you're a member of The Podcast Academy. The New York Times focused on Inception Point AI in a front-page article in its Arts section about AI influencers. However this publicity comes at an odd time: because it appears that Inception Point AI has been rebranded as Liquify AI, "the company behind Liquid Studios". The company's new website suggests that the Quiet Please Podcast network "was never the destination", just "proof that content infrastructure works at this scale". They're now offering the same technology to other companies. Technology like yesterday's episode of Jay Shetty's Biography Flash podcast - which still says it's published by Inception Po

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Aircheck review across 30+ shows used to take days. Direct Results cut it to hours with Magellan AI. See their approach An appearance on a comedy podcast by the Australian Prime Minister has resulted in an international diplomatic incident. In July, Anthony Albanese was criticised for responding to a game of "shag, marry, date" with the answer "Kylie Minogue, all of the above", and was forced to apologise. Now, political opponents, aided by the Murdoch press, have complained about a gesture Albanese made when he was describing two melons he was gifted by Japan's (female) prime minister; a former Japanese ambassador has described it as "casually mocking" the gift. It's headline news in Australia. The show, launched by NOVA Podcasts in May, is called Bush Deep, which apparently wasn't enough of a red flag to Albanese's media team. The Basis DSP, an ad buying platform, has announced a partnership with Barometer to offer brand-suitability scores on an episode-by-episode basis. The company claims that this is "podcast advertising catching up with the controls advertisers expect from more mature programmatic channels". Barometer announced episode-level context in March with AdsWizz, and with Acast in January. Sony has highlighted how Jampot Produ

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Direct Results found 30-second ads drove more purchases than 60s, then shifted their whole mix. See what the data showed Podcast Movement has revealed featured speakers for the event in NYC in September. Among the speakers are Greg Glenday, the CEO of Acast, beehiiv's Ainsley Rossitto, and our Editor, James Cridland. Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster will also be unveiling new research. Tickets are available now. Alex Cooper's Unwell network has received a strategic investment from WTSL, an investment firm. The investment figure isn't known; but according to The Hollywood Reporter, values Unwell at $500mn. (As context, the entirety of iHeartMedia is currently valued at $450mn). Another set of podcasts have signed with Disney+ - this time, it's from the UK, as The Overlap signed a landmark sponsorship and distribution deal with Disney+ for its Stick to Football show, and a new show focusing on Manchester United. The shows will remain available on YouTube, though Disney+ will also get access to additional special episodes of Stick to Football. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad hereThe Finance Podcast Your Clients Listen To — Listeners decide whether to trust you before they ever book a call. This guide shows how financial services firms turn podcasting into a client acquisition

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Find out where Q2 podcast ad dollars went, live with Magellan AI on August 20. Sign up for the webinar Podcast marketplace Acast has acquired Backyard Ventures, a US-based podcast network, for US $20mn. Backyard Ventures is home to podcasts like Piers Morgan's Uncensored, Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic, and audiences of more than 230 million. The team from Backyard Ventures will stay with the business; the brand will be retired as the company is integrated into Acast. Backyard shows are currently hosted and monetised by ART19 and Megaphone. The Podcast Consultant has acquired B2B podcasting service Rise25. Rise25 co-founder Dr Jeremy Weisz becomes The Podcast Consultant's Director of Client Success. No terms were given. Spotify has announced its first EQUAL Ambassador for podcasts, Morgan Absher, to help amplify and celebrate women podcast creators. Podnews covered the story last week; our sister publication Podcast Business Journal has a full interview. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad here10,000+ Finance Episodes. Here's What Works. — We've produced finance podcasts since 2015 for RIAs, allocators, PE firms, and VCs. This is what we've learned about building shows that actually move the business. Free.Free Podcast Growth Report - Google Backed Data — Analyze your podcast using AI backed by real Google search data. Discover personali

Sponsored by Magellan AI. What shifted in podcast ad spend last quarter? Magellan AI's Q2 Benchmark Report breaks it down. Download the report It's going to be much harder to get money from YouTube. In "the first significant change since 2018", YouTube has made it twice as hard to get into the YouTube Partner Program, which pays creators based on consumption on the platform. New creators applying for the program will need 8,000 qualified watch hours (in the last year), or 20 million qualified Shorts views (in the last 90 days) - both double the amount that was required previously. Greg Glenday, CEO of Acast, has given a statement to The Hollywood Reporter about Spotify's "skip-ahead" ad-skipping button. "We do have some creators on the Acast platform who are not happy about this and we will support them completely as they evaluate any recourse. Acast is working privately with Spotify to understand if we could have collaborated more on the rollout or positioning," he said. Acast didn't give us a statement when we asked last week. Many stories are now appearing about Spotify's ad-skipping button: but some stories suggest that it doesn't skip ads sold by Spotify. This isn't true - our story specifically included a video with an ad on a Bill Simmons show being skipped by the tool, and Podnews understands that the feature is not targeted at competitors' ads. Podcast ad revenue is up +23% year-on-year, says Magellan AI's Q2/26 Podcast Advertising Quarterly Benchmark Report. The average ad load increased again, though - the average podcast is 8.75

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Attribution helped American Public Media reach its strongest digital sales performance since 2021. Read their story Podcast hosting company RSS.com has added HLS video podcasting for Apple Podcasts that you can earn from. Video ads will run automatically, and creators can receive 70% of the revenue - with no audience threshold. The "Max" plan offers unlimited video and audio podcasts, and is available now. Audible has unveiled a new global brand campaign, "Stories that Speak to You". It'll start running next week in eight different countries. "As more privacy models are rightfully coming into play and tamping down on some of the data, we're already ready for that, whereas other media are now going to have to do the kind of technology we've already built." Jim Ballas, the President of Measurement at Magellan AI, is the special guest on PodBiz this week, the podcast that looks at the money in podcasting. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad herePodcast Growth & Monetization tips every Thursday! — Subscribe to the FREE Podcasting Business School newsletter and get fresh tips every Thursday for podcast growth, monetization, and online business strategies. Join over 4,000+ Pod Pals on this list.Turn one podcast into *curated* social clips — Upload an episode, describe the answer, story, or exchange you need, and review the complete passage before rendering a captioned vertical, square, or widescreen clip. Start with 60 free minutes.

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Smarter signals, smarter podcast decisions. See how in Beyond the Buy, from Magellan AI and True Native Media. Download the guide Cumulus Media has laid-off a large number of people in the Cumulus Podcast Network; some reports suggested the entire department has been gutted, though the company has said that those reports are inaccurate, and that the company "remains committed" to its network. A LinkedIn post by former VP of Podcast Operations and Production, Jay "PodVader" Soderberg, suggests he is one of those affected; it's also reported that SVP of Marketing and Podcasting Carolyn Chauncey has also left, as well as Executive Producer Tanya Bustos. A previous team member, John Wordock, looks back at better days. In signings, WABC Radio has signed with Spreaker Prime for premium podcast monetisation ... Realm is to produce, distribute and monetise Disney, National Geographic Kids and Marvel audio properties in a new partnership ... The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast has joined Mercury for distribution and monetisation. Podscribe has added AI optimisation delivery tools and lookalike audience targeting to its SmartServe tool. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds -

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Let's talk podcast ad spend benchmarks. Get the Q2 rundown from Cameron, live on August 20. Join the webinar 13% of US weekly podcast consumers say they consume podcasts most often... on the television. Edison Podcast Metrics report that it's the highest figure yet - and reflects the growing number of podcasts making it to YouTube, Netflix, Tubi and other video platforms. It does beg the question: what is Apple Podcasts doing about Roku and Android TV, which dominate the connected TV world? Apple Podcasts on an Apple TV will get access to video podcasting in the next few months - but isn't available at all from a Google TV streamer or a Roku device. Spotify has expanded its EQUAL program with its first EQUAL Podcast Ambassador, hoping that the company can help elevate women podcasters and help promote women creators behind the podcast microphone. It's Morgan Absher, the host of Spotify show Two Hot Takes, who told Podnews: "When I started podcasting, the first place you look is the charts, and there weren't really many women at the top. A program like this really helps get us on an even playing field and makes the success stories a lot easier to come by. And I hope to hear more of them." We have a full interview in tomorrow's Podnews Weekly Review podcast. The founder of Crooked Media, Tommy Vietor, isn't happy with Spotify - he starts an X post saying "Very cool of Spotify to try and destroy the podcast industry". He's quoting our story unveiling Spotify's controversial new Skip Ahead feature; and Mediaite has taken up the story.

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Earmax Media grew podcast conversion rates 12x over two years by tracking which shows and formats converted. Read their playbook How much could video increase your show? "Adding video saw an estimated increase of around 25% in weekly sessions on Apple Podcasts" says Acast, announcing today that any Acast creator can now publish video to Apple Podcasts; the feature had previously been invitation-only. All creators have potential to earn from video as well, through Acast's marketplace. The video plan starts at $39.99/month on an annual plan. (If you're already on the Acast Creator Network, just ask your partner manager). Buzzsprout has expanded its video hosting to now support Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. One of the biggest podcast hosts in the world, the company's users can now deliver 1080p video to all three platforms. The audio + video plan starts at $25/month on an annual plan. Yesterday, we reported on new "skip ahead" functionality from Spotify, which can be used to skip ads, intros or promos in podcasts with just one button. Being tested by selected Premium users in the US, it now appears that this is also available for some Premium users in the UK, the world's second-biggest podcast market. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad here🎙️ Your Podcast ➡️ Thousands of New Listeners — Affordable sponsorship wit

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Explore Worldwide quadrupled its podcast spend with Earmax Media, and the work won a Campaign Audio Award. See how they did it Exclusive: Spotify releases its latest earnings report this morning - but they won't be promoting this. In a significant threat to podcasting, Podnews can reveal today that Spotify is testing an ad-skipping tool for podcasts - a "Skip ahead" button that appears in podcast ads and sponsorship messages. Spotify's new ad-blocker is even blocking ads that Spotify has sold, leading some to wonder whether this is fraudulent behaviour by the company. Ads are still delivered to the user's device, but a button appears to encourage listeners to skip them. Spotify is a major podcast app - delivering the majority of all podcast downloads in many countries. However, not only does its "skip ahead" feature push listeners to bypass ads, it even encourages listeners to skip creators talking about their Patreon-style premium subscriptions. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad hereThis one mistake kills podcast → client conversion — Most coaches & consultants accidentally design episodes that suppress sales. This free case study shows you the 3 elements every episode needs to attract, prime, and convert your ideal buyers fast.🔊 Grow Your Podcast on RSS Podcasts — Ad placements are available for the first time on RSS Podcas

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Bring digital-grade attribution to broadcast radio with Magellan AI. See what listeners do after the spot airs. Explore broadcast attribution The EU Artificial Intelligence Act comes into law today - which is relevant if your content is consumed in the EU, like all podcasts are. Article 50 requires clear disclosure if you use AI to "generate or manipulate" audio or video content. In an article, Production Expert clarifies that manipulation doesn't mean de-noising or repairing audio (or using AI editing tools); but it does mean that clear disclosure is required if you're generating whole phrases that a voice never actually recorded. Anything made before today does not need retroactive labelling. Fines can reach a maximum of around $40mn. (We're not your lawyer). Here is how the BBC uses AI, if you're interested The submission deadline has been extended for the International Women's Podcast Awards. You now have until Aug 14 to enter; entries can be from anywhere in the world, and are just $50. Podcast hosting platform CoHost now supports Apple Podcasts video on all CoHost plans at no extra cost. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds -

Sponsored by SpotsNow. Want to fill more ad space? SpotsNow's AI Search routes advertisers to the right shows by audience fit, at the time of planning. Set up a free account, list your shows, and requests land straight in your ad sales inbox. Book a demo today Forbes has published a list of the twenty Highest-Paid Podcasters of 2026. The full list is, ironically, behind a paywall; the top five is Joe Rogan The Joe Rogan Experience($82mn) at #1, John Coogan and Jordi Hayes of TBPN($70mn), Steven Bartlett of Diary of a CEO ($45mn), Ashley Flowers of Crime Junkie ($42mn), and Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes from SmartLess ($37mn). Charlamagne Tha God is at #10, earning $27mn. For the networks, Spotify has four shows; SiriusXM has three; Red Seat Ventures and Wondery have two each. For context - the #2, TBPN seems to have about 6,800 views per episode on its YouTube podcast, and Podscribe suggests its audio podcast attracts an estimated 1,600 listeners a month. Financial results: Apple released its Q3/26 financial results. "Services" revenue, under which Apple Podcasts revenue falls, was up +12% year-on-year to $30.7bn ... SiriusXM released its Q2/26 financial results. The company doesn't split out its podcast financials in its report, combining it with its declining Pandora business; ho

Sponsored by SpotsNow. Want to fill more ad space? SpotsNow's AI Search routes advertisers to the right shows by audience fit, at the time of planning. Set up a free account, list your shows, and requests land straight in your ad sales inbox. Book a demo today Podcast newsletters (ones you run for your podcast, not this one) are "the best real estate to own in podcasting", says Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster in an article this week. 87% of subscribers to podcast newsletters have listened to an episode because of them (42% often have), and of course they allow you to speak directly to your audience (and get more information from them, like surveys or even merch sales). It's part of The Podcast Atlas, research released earlier this month; Webster also notes that all the best newsletters let you hit reply and talk directly to the creator: we agree, and you're more than welcome to try with this newsletter too. The UK media regulator, Ofcom, released research on the UK's media habits. There is lots of data on podcast listening, with the word mentioned 135 times (!) - of interest, 53% of the UK listen to "speech audio" such as podcasts or talk radio: people aged 25-34 have the highest reach across speech radio, podcasts and audiobooks. YouTube is the most-used platform for any audio content. Only 45% of Brits think there are too many adverts in the podcasts they listen to (it should be said that all BBC podcasts are free of advertising). Blubrry has announced new, time-based hosting plans for new customers - what the company describes as "a simpler way to choose a plan based on how much audio and video content they publish each month". The plans include one start

Sponsored by SpotsNow. Want to fill more ad space? SpotsNow's AI Search routes advertisers to the right shows by audience fit, at the time of planning. Set up a free account, list your shows, and requests land straight in your ad sales inbox. Book a demo today 9 out of 10 Canadians listened to some form of audio yesterday - and half of it is ad-supported. However, podcasts get just 9% of all ad-supported audio time in Canada, says a new piece of research from Signal Hill Insights. Music on YouTube, or streaming services, are listened-to more than 2.5x more, the study says. How does this compare? Podcasts are just 6% of all audio in the UK, according to RAJAR's MIDAS study; 8.9% of ad-supported audio in Australia, says GfK; but 20% of ad-supported audio in the US, says Edison Research's Share of Ear. Meanwhile, in the US's TV landscape, Nielsen reports that streaming services were responsible for 48.6% of total TV usage in May. YouTube is on 13.8%; Netflix is on 8%. YouTube is making custom thumbnails available for YouTube Shorts, and giving more control about how they look. In the US, ABC News Podcast network has launched a subscription channel through Apple Podcasts for its 20/20 true crime shows. Subscribers will receive

Sponsored by SpotsNow. Want to fill more ad space? SpotsNow's AI Search routes advertisers to the right shows by audience fit, at the time of planning. Set up a free account, list your shows, and requests land straight in your ad sales inbox. Book a demo today Programmatic ads are fine - until they're not. Some companies are a little too "creative" with their categories, so they can slip past creator filters and you can get ads for things you don't want in your show. RedCircle has launched Mic Check for Programmatic Ads - a tool that checks programmatic ads have been properly categorised, so they don't get past your filters. The company estimates that 1 in 50 ads are miscategorized - and tell us that gambling ads often appear categorised as "financial planning" or "investing". Pocket Casts is now available on the big screen - as the podcast app launches a new Apple TV app. The Apple TV app is built to automatically sync with your phone's app, so you can listen in the car or on the bus; then continue listening when you get home on the big screen (and the decent speakers). Android TV is coming soon, the company says. We asked about video support, and we were told: "The app is not audio-only. HLS support is currently in beta, and we’re planning for HLS video to work on Apple TV as well." Last week, our Editor suggested that we should stop expecting podcast apps to work for free, and cut them into revenue in return for better measurement data. We've published a response from Amy Dugger, who accuses us of not wanting to report on the real issues for creators. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad here

Sponsored by SpotsNow. Want to fill more ad space? SpotsNow's AI Search routes advertisers to the right shows by audience fit, at the time of planning. Set up a free account, list your shows, and requests land straight in your ad sales inbox. Book a demo today The world's funniest podcast festival returns this October. Cheerful Earful will be in London, Brighton, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Dublin and New York from Sep 28 - Oct 28, with the largest lineup in the festival's history. Is video the future for podcasting? It depends, suggests Losh Moodaley, writing for Podnews today - the hidden economics of the price of visibility mean you might consider calculating your own video threshold: when does it make sense to add video so that it starts funding itself? In Dec 2024, the BBC World Service ran an investigation on harmful health misinformation on Steven Bartlett's podcast, and focused on claims by Thomas Seyfried. Private Eye reports that FlightStory's Diary of a CEO has welcomed Thomas Seyfried back in an episode released on Jul 16, which also acts as a fundraiser for Seyfried's work. Seyfried claims that chemotherapy and radiotherapy are little better than medieval quackery, and the real way to beat cancer is a ketogenic diet - claims that could significantly harm listeners if they followed them without real medical advice. Bartlett quietly announced a commitment to

Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free The AMP Accords published what it calls "the first cross-platform measurement standard in history". The document defines a podcast, and aims to set implementation standards for attribution and exposure metrics. It argues that these standards are required to grow the industry further - and could, potentially, unlock a billion dollars in extra revenue. The document, which has been produced by twelve different companies, will now be taken to standards bodies, including the IAB. The document itself is gated content, and the website requires your email address to read it. As a service to our readers (and to protect our own business) you can download the document directly here. "It's time that we take ourselves seriously and we create some legitimate standards that make it a little bit easier for all of us to do our jobs," Oxford Road's Dan Granger, who has been driving the agreement, tells us in the Podnews Weekly Review this week. He's interviewed with Giles Martin, who is positive about the "play" definition in the document. "Spotify and YouTube both being in that ballpark, that's very meaningful for the industry and perhaps encouraging for others in the sense that already parts of (the AMP Accords) are getting some some meaningful traction." Opinion: The "exposure metrics" section of the AMP document asks for podcast apps to share a large amount of data every thirty seconds of content

Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free Acast released its Q2/26 financial report. The company reported +28% sales growth - significantly, +34% in North America and +25% in Europe (growth this time last year in Europe was just +9%). The company made a profit of US$3.3mn. Total consumption is up +2%; total average revenue per listen-or-view is up +26%. The AMP Task Force paper is released later today, with a definition of a "podcast", as well as consumption metrics. Podnews will cover these on Friday, as well as reactions: if you're publishing something in response (or would like something published), editor@podnews.net SpotsNow launched curated bundles - a new way for advertisers to buy premium podcast inventory in ready-made sets built around specific audiences. It's free for advertisers, and free for networks to list their shows. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad here🌱 Is Your Show Ready to Grow this Summer? — Get started with Player FM’s self-serve audience growth campaigns this Summer. Low commitment, flexible pricing, and an easy way to reach engaged listeners.Fast track your podcast success in one weekend. — Creators in the know will be at the Empowered Podcasting Conference this August. If podcast growth is your goal, this is the cheat code