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- Jul 9: YouTube is now the most popular service used for podcast consumption in the UK - two years after YouTube edged out Spotify in the US for the first time. Apple Podcasts is the fourth most popular in the country, after BBC Sounds, the corporation's proprietary app. The data is from Edison Research at SSRS, who present The UK Podcast Consumer 2026 in a free webinar on Jul 16.
- Jul 6: The British Podcast Awards 2026 released its longlist - recognising 409 entrants across 27 categories. Almost half the longlist are claimed to be independent titles and talent. We see at least 53 nominations for the BBC, eleven for Audible, eight for Audio Always, Platform Media and Bauer Media, seven for Persephonica and Fun Kids, five for Rethink Audio, Sky News, Bloomberg and History Hit, four for Novel and Podmasters, three for Sony and Avalon. One notable indie who has a nomination: the 19 year-old Answer Me This!. Goalhanger, the UK's largest independent podcast company, did not enter; Global also appears not to have put their shows forward.
- Jul 3: At some point 1 in 2 people will be affected by cancer. "Whenever I read that stat, I just always felt sorry for the other guy. Plot twist… you will occasionally be the other guy," says Jamie East, who releases Bad Blood: The Diary of a Cancer today. Jamie, who is Head of Podcasts at DMG Media, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in June 2025; the show, which starts today, includes real-life conversations from his doctors appointments, and an audio diary.
- Jul 1: Happy Canada Day. The podcast Gloves Off was only intended to be a limited series last year, but it's back for a new season from today, after being honoured at the Webby Awards and becoming one of the most listened-to podcasts in Canada. This year, it'll also be available in video, as well as an after show, called Cross Check; and focuses on lessons Canada could adopt to form alliances with other middle powers.
- Jun 30: Apple Podcasts released "Creators We Love: UK & Ireland", a feature in the Apple Podcasts app which "celebrates some of the UK and Ireland’s most influential, entertaining, and trailblazing voices in podcasting". The five shows selected are NewlyParents, The Receipts Podcast, I'm Grand Mam, Happy Place, and The High Performance Podcast. All shows are in video on Apple Podcasts; and all are hosted by Acast.
Data credits: Podnews newsletter