• OpenAI has bought the TBPN podcast, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Financial Times says the purchase price is in the “low hundreds of millions”. If true, it’s likely that this is one of the biggest deals for a podcast in the medium’s history (Joe Rogan’s renewal at Spotify being $250mn in 2024). TBPN has eleven staff, has around 70,000 viewers per daily episode, and is reported to generate $30mn in revenue this year; it will remain editorially independent, the show says in a statement. The live tech show, which is also available as a relatively small podcast, “treats Silicon Valley like a sports league”, says Tubefilter.
• Newsletter platform Beehiiv has launched a full podcast hosting platform.. It contains full transcripts, distributes to Apple, Spotify and more, and comes with a full website; analytics are built “to IAB standards”, and you can bundle your podcast for paying subscribers to your newsletter; Beehiiv will take no additional fees. CEO Tyler Denk recently shared that Q1 2026 was beehiiv’s best quarter in history, as the company added $4.5M ARR, sent more than 10 billion emails, and crossed 50,000 active users.
  • We have a full review with Tyler Denk on The Podnews Weekly Review this week.
  • A number of shows have moved over to Beehiiv with the launch, including Tasteland, Womansplain, and AI Report.
  • Podnews has also learnt that Beehiiv is to hire a Head of Podcasts.
• Red Seat Ventures has launched its own invitation-only podcast hosting company, called Speakeasy. It offers hosting, ad-supported monetization, AI-powered analytics and support for RSS, HLS and video. It also integrates Supercast, the membership platform acquired in February.

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• Documenting what works on YouTube for podcasts — Unlisted is a private newsletter that shares notes on experiments, trade-offs, and outcomes while moving an audio show to a YouTube-first strategy.
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• Buzzsprout launched free automatic transcripts for all their hosting customers using a current paid plan. Transcripts appear in Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and other apps. It has a transcript editor to help fix any words before publishing, and (unlike Apple Podcasts's transcriber) will correctly identify different speakers. The company has also overhauled its chapters tool to work within the transcript editor.
  • Buzzsprout has also added a welcome feature to its fanmail service: you can now reply to people who send fanmail text messages to you. That’s in addition to a new voicemail service, which was added this week too.
• Eddy Cue from Apple spoke with technology podcast TBPN, and the interview is in video in the show on Apple Podcasts. TBPN’s podcast host, Transistor, has posted about the show - and has used an embedded video from Apple Podcasts in its blog, which we didn’t realise you could do. Until now.
• The shortlist for the Australian Audio Awards has been released. The awards, which are brand new this year, have a number of categories for podcasts.

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• Today marks the launch of this year’s Podnews Report Card, our fifth annual piece of research into what podcast creators think of the platforms we all use. Previous years have uncovered significant pain points which have since been fixed by podcast platforms, including an easier method of submissions to Apple Podcasts, and control of comments about your podcast in Spotify. It takes just ten minutes to give us your views; we’ll report back in mid-May at The Podcast Show in London, and in this newsletter.
• Exclusive: The 911 Podcasts sci-fi thriller podcast Cascadia has revealed six additional actors have joined the upcoming second season, which has just completed production.
• The Virginia Queer Film Festival has launched an audio storytelling program, Queer Ear. They’re looking for audio-only storytelling pieces under 25 minutes in length from podcast series, anthologies, and stand-alone projects.

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• Exclusive: We’ve a full list of the podcast nominees for the 30th annual Webby Awards, before anyone else. For the first time, the awards have dedicated categories for video podcasts. iHeartMedia has sixteen nominees, Audible has ten; and both SiriusXM and Wondery have six nominees each. The winners ceremony will be on May 11.
• Beehiiv is “making a push into podcasting”, says Semafor. For more information, we'll be talking to Beehiiv’s CEO, Tyler Denk, in the Podnews Weekly Review this week for all the details - once the embargo has been lifted.
• Branded podcasts are great - but once someone’s listened, they don’t necessarily connect with your brand until the next episode. Until now - JAR Replay launches today: a way to retarget those listeners again while they use other apps, to keep your brand and your message fresh in their mind.

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• 🎧 ➡️ 💰Podcast Content To Clients Workshop — If you want to use your podcast to attract new clients and grow your online business this Podcasting Business School workshop is for you! Join us for this 4-day virtual workshop April 21st-24th.
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• Vox Media’s podcasts may be being bought by Versant, the owners of CNBC and MS NOW, suggests The New York Times. The network includes On with Kara Swisher, A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe, and Stay Tuned with Preet. Speaking recently at the Podcast Business Summit, Kara Swisher advised the audience: “You should own what you make, there’s no other choice in this media environment ... entrepreneurism and media have to go together now.”
• Last year, the NZ Podcasting Summit managed to make a Mic Drop Marathon - 26 hosts and 25 guests in just 50 minutes, during the event. That session is coming back this year - the NZ Podcasting Summit 2026 is Sat May 9 in Auckland, New Zealand.
• More details - and pictures - of the new British Airways in-flight podcasts experience with Audible.

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• ⚠️ Most Podcasts Fail in the First Year — Not from talent—but bad decisions. The School of Podcasting shows you what actually works so your show doesn’t quietly fade out.
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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, SoundStack, The Podcast Haven, Truefans, POW PR, Blubrry, Castbox, PodAnalyst, Locked On Podcast Network, Compliance Podcast Network, Jonekiri, Podium , Companion Arts, Huberman Lab, The Roost, Ausha, Voxtopica, Red Seat Ventures, Frequency, Podcast Movement, Tink Media, Araeya Media, Health Podcast Network, Headliner, Double Elvis Productions, Rhapsody Voices, Rephonic, Diversion Podcasts, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Lemonada Media, Jam Street Media, Transistor, CreatorX, Content10x, Podcast Partnership, Cleanfeed, Lower Street, Adopter Media, Revolver Podcasts, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Signal Hill Insights

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• More people are listening to podcasts in Japan than ever before, according to a new survey on podcast usage from Otonal and the Asahi Shimbun Company. More than three-quarters of podcast users are watching video podcasts at least once a month, says the study; the number one platform for podcasts overall is YouTube. Among younger listeners (those aged 15-29), podcast usage is bigger than Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and TikTok.
• Podcast discovery platform Great Pods has relaunched with an expansion of user-facing features. The website features a comprehensive database of professional podcast criticism.
• Nomono released audio/video sync, a tool that automatically syncs your separate video files to your clean audio recorded using Nomono microphones. (There's a demo in the press release).

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• Podspun! Podspun! Podspun! — A tool for you and your fans. Make your channel fun. No more lost moments. Deep search, AI, harvested insights. Tap our community. For the Serious YouTuber.
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• Nominate for the HigherEd PodCon Awards — The first awards dedicated to higher education podcasting. Five categories recognizing excellence in student work, institutional storytelling, alumni engagement, and more. Submissions close April 17.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Companion Arts, SoundStack, Locked On Podcast Network, Araeya Media, Podium , Voxtopica, The Roost, Huberman Lab, Frequency, Jonekiri, Red Seat Ventures, Blubrry, Ausha, The Podcast Haven, Podcast Movement, PodAnalyst, Truefans, Compliance Podcast Network, Tink Media, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, POW PR, Castbox, Health Podcast Network, Rephonic, CreatorX, Lemonada Media, Diversion Podcasts, Rhapsody Voices, Double Elvis Productions, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Jam Street Media, Transistor, Headliner, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, Lower Street, Adopter Media, Podigy, School of Podcasting, Revolver Podcasts, Signal Hill Insights

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• Videos from Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW are now available, free for everyone, on YouTube The event contained quick-fire ten-minute talks as well as longer sessions; there are 25 sessions from the event earlier this month.
  • Signal Hill Insights share experiences at Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW.
• Podcast advertising works best with independent shows, according to a new study from Oxford Road. 80% of top-performing podcasts, according to actual sales results for products advertised, are produced outside major networks, the company says.
• True Native Media has added the Storybutton Network, a kids and family podcast network, to its podcast representation roster. The network includes a growing slate of popular podcasts such as Kids Short Stories, Spyology Squad, Bedtime Stories with Mr. Jim, and Pixel Quest, among others.

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• Apple launched iOS 26.4, and with it, access to the new video experience within Apple Podcasts. Apple also confirmed additional podcast hosting companies will support HLS video: Podspace, Riverside, Ausha, and Firstory have been added to the list (see our story for the full set).
  • Your iPhone will offer an update within the next few weeks; but you can update it today by following Apple’s instructions.
  • One of the podcast hosting companies supporting it, Transistor, has posted a guide; in a video, Stephen Robles shows the iOS experience.
• The absence of support from Spotify/Megaphone at launch may mean that many users won’t see the shows they’re expecting in video within the app (including shows like Joe Rogan and The Ringer titles); Apple says more content will roll out throughout the year. John Spurlock reports just 48 shows available in video at launch; the majority with Acast.
  • The availability of video podcasts isn’t promoted within the iOS update overview, though it is promoted when a user opens the Apple Podcasts app for the first time after upgrading. The Apple Podcasts web app (which also works on Android) has been updated to offer full video support; but the Apple Podcasts macOS app doesn’t support HLS video. In the most glaring omission, the Apple TV doesn’t support HLS video podcasting either.
  • In a piece written in December 2024, Eric Johnson reminds us that video comes with trade-offs.
• About a quarter of Americans claim that they have never consumed a podcast. Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster today shares The Last Quarter, examining the people who haven’t, yet, tried a podcast - and whether we can still reach them. Nearly 6 in 10 of them are using ad-supported premium video streaming, we learn; and 57% of them are using YouTube.

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• 🎧 ➡️ 💰Podcast Content To Clients Workshop — If you want to use your podcast to attract new clients and grow your online business this Podcasting Business School workshop is for you! Join us for this 4-day virtual workshop April 21st-24th.
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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, PodAnalyst, The Roost, Locked On Podcast Network, Blubrry, POW PR, The Podcast Haven, Podcast Movement, Huberman Lab, Araeya Media, Red Seat Ventures, Ausha, Frequency, Jonekiri, Voxtopica, Compliance Podcast Network, SoundStack, Truefans, Companion Arts, Tink Media, Podium , Castbox, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Health Podcast Network, Jam Street Media, Rephonic, Headliner, CreatorX, Rhapsody Voices, Diversion Podcasts, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Lemonada Media, Double Elvis Productions, Transistor, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, Revolver Podcasts, Lower Street, Podigy, Adopter Media, School of Podcasting, Signal Hill Insights

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• Spotify has cut a number of jobs in its podcast division - “15 employees or about 3% of the team”, according to a report. Cuts are apparently in The Ringer and Spotify Studios, though Spotify wouldn't confirm. Those affected include The Ringer’s special projects lead Andrew Gruttadaro, and writer Miles Surrey. A show from The Ringer, New York New York with John Jastremski, is to be cancelled.
  • Over the past few weeks, Podnews has heard sustained chatter from different parts of the industry about significant changes to come at Spotify’s podcasting tools, including potential closures of revenue programs and brands. Spotify flatly deny any upcoming changes, describing them to us as “very much not true”.
• CNN loves podcasts so much, it appears to be making some of its programs look like them. Jake Tapper’s show appeared to “come from his office”, complete with visible microphones and a cheap sofa; Anderson Cooper also appears to be using large, in-vision microphones.
• The Wall Street Journal cover “the veteran podcasters hanging up their headphones”; reasons given are the additional stress from video.

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• Broadcast Radio Auto-Process — Well-produced ≠ broadcast processed. Audyllic uses Orban Optimod to add the radio processing layer your podcast is missing. That's what keeps people listening. Try free: audyllic.com
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• If you think there’s too much competition in podcasting, you might want to think again. The total number of new podcasts feeds in 2025 was 207,907, says Listen Notes. But the total number of new books in 2025? Just in the US, there were more than 4 million, notes Tom Webster on LinkedIn.
• The BBC is to get a new Director General (the name the corporation gives for its CEO). Matt Brittin is tipped to get the job; he was the head of Google for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for more than ten years.
• Semafor tells us that Vox Media tried to sell its podcast slate last year. It’s no longer for sale, says the piece.

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• Magellan AI released its top US podcast advertiser rankings for February. McDonald’s was the top mover, spending $5.1mn last month (is it just us, or did they forget to mention the brand name in the ad? Weird) Clothing company Quince is the #1 spender, spending $5.8mn.
• Podtrac published its global multi-channel podcast ranking for February. The MeidasTouch Podcast is still #1, but The Rest is History has jumped up to third place.
• PodcastOne renewed sales and distribution for five popular A+E Networks podcasts. The shows' combined downloads are more than 200 million.

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• FINAL CALL! Women Podcasters Awards — If you are a Podcaster, Broadcaster, Producer or Expert Guest, you are invited to submit your nomination today. Our mission is to elevate women's voices globally and within the podcasting industry.
• 🌷 Mix Up Your Strategy for Spring — Clean up your ad spending with Player FM’s self-serve ad portal. Drive more plays and subscribers with effective campaigns tailored to your budget.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Red Seat Ventures, The Roost, Ausha, Araeya Media, Companion Arts, Voxtopica, Castbox, Truefans, Podium , Blubrry, Podcast Movement, Tink Media, The Podcast Haven, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, PodAnalyst, Frequency, Huberman Lab, Jonekiri, Compliance Podcast Network, Locked On Podcast Network, SoundStack, POW PR, Health Podcast Network, Jam Street Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Rhapsody Voices, Double Elvis Productions, Transistor, CreatorX, Lemonada Media, Headliner, Diversion Podcasts, Rephonic, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Revolver Podcasts, Lower Street, Adopter Media, Signal Hill Insights

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• Transcripts are coming to Overcast, and will be free for everyone, says developer Marco Arment. We first reported on this feature in July. The service doesn’t yet use creator-produced transcripts, relying on AI; and the current beta says (see it here) that each transcript “probably contains errors”. However, Marco tells Podnews that today’s build already downloads any VTT specified in the feed using the Podcasting 2.0 tag - "I just haven’t finished the parsing and display of them yet”, he says. (It’ll transcribe everything - even private feeds).
• When is the new video experience in Apple Podcasts going to launch? It’s with iOS 26.4, which has just posted its release candidate. That might mean it’s released to the public “as soon as next Wednesday (Mar 25) or as late as the following Monday (Mar 30)”, says seasoned Apple watcher John Spurlock. The upgrade message does not appear to promote video in Apple Podcasts to iPhone users; but opening Apple Podcasts gives a new splash screen highlighting the new feature.
• Podcast app and hosting company Truefans has launched a video hosting service. The service charges by total bandwidth used, and works with a number of third-party podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts. Podcasters will gain access to a new ‘watch time’ metric.

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• The winners of the iHeart Podcast Awards 2026 were announced. Podcast of the year went to Acast’s Giggly Squad. The show was hosted by Ego Nwodim, and three Icon Awards were also given out, to Jay Shetty, Terry Gross and Hrishikesh Hirway.
• A new US tax change could be good news for podcasters, says Ralph V Estep Jr, but it could also be confusing. Today, with the Podcast Professionals Association, he writes for Podnews: No Tax on Tips: What Podcasters Must Know Now - detailing the new tax rule that might mean meaningful money, as long as you do it right.
• In Australia, the Australian Podcast Ranker was released for February. There have been two enhancements to Demos+, allowing media buyers to see top indexing podcasts by audience composition, and an enhanced category ranker. The full ranker shows Mamamia Out Loud as retaining the #1 slot. Three smart-speaker bulletins are also in the top 10 - ABC News Top Stories, Sky News Australia Update, and The Update from NOVA.

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• Podcast website company Podpage has acquired Dave Jackson's School of Podcasting. Podpage will offer a free tier of education courses, as well as access to 1:1 coaching with Dave and the team. The curriculum will be redesigned, and the School of Podcasting will be expanding to include expert guest instructors. The all-cash deal with ongoing revenue share will allow the Hall of Famer to focus on building the School of Podcasting further. There’s a Town Hall tomorrow for questions.
• In Australia, a new growth platform for independent podcasters, podtential, has launched. The company is built around a proprietary diagnostic tool which is used to deliver personalised coaching to help creators reach their goals.
• YouTube published a blog post recently, which we linked to - only for them to quietly remove the post. Here it was; of note, it contains an interesting stat that we don’t recall seeing before: globally, YouTube users are now viewing over 100 million hours of podcasts every day.

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• More video is coming. At Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW, Stacey Goers and Jake Shapiro from Apple Podcasts announced a number of new podcast hosting partners for the upcoming Apple Podcasts HLS video feature. Transistor, Audiomeans, PodBean, Captivate, RSS.com and Podigee are all soon to support HLS video on Apple Podcasts. The companies join Acast, Omny Studio, ART19 and Simplecast.
  • This now means that almost all major podcast hosting companies - ones with more than 2% market share of new episodes - will be able to deliver HLS video to Apple Podcasts. But, no HLS video for you if you’re with competitor Spotify for Creators and Spotify-owned Megaphone (28% market share), Spreaker (14%), for which the obvious answer is an upgrade to Omny Studio, and two heritage podcast companies are also not yet offering HLS video: Buzzsprout (7.2%) and, surprisingly, Libsyn (2.7%). (It should probably also be noted that video is likely to be an additional charge, given the cost of hosting).
  • Apple Podcasts also announced that there are now 12 million episodes in Apple Podcasts with chapters. The company announced AI-generated chapters in November. Their keynote at Podcast Movement Evolutions was the first time that the company has ever officially spoken at a podcast conference in North America.
• Podcast Movement Evolutions will return to SXSW next year. “The event far exceeded our expectations”, said Bryan Barletta: "Showing up at SXSW with real talent, meaningful programming, and new voices in the room is the new baseline.” The event was covered by GritDaily.
• Podcasthon is on right now - with 2,800 podcasters registered from 65 countries. The initiative - we covered it in January - invites podcasters to dedicate one episode of their show to a charity of their choice. Shows are being added to the Podcasthon website as they go live.

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• More Americans are listening to podcasts every month than ever before, according to The Infinite Dial 2026 from Edison Research at SSRS. The research, with support from SiriusXM Media, was released yesterday afternoon and co-presented by VP Megan Lazovick and Editor of Podnews, James Cridland. It also shows the significant growth of online audio for Americans age 55+. You can watch the full presentation and download all the slides here.
• YouTube announced new “top podcast lineups”. A blog post, which has a YouTube podcasts logo on it, says: "To further serve advertisers looking to tap into the podcast momentum on YouTube, today we’re introducing our US Top Podcasts lineup across key verticals - Sports, News, Comedy, True Crime and Society & Culture - enabling brands to tailor their approach to key podcast verticals.” (We're not quite sure what this means).
• Steve Ackerman has been appointed a Non-Executive Director of The Podcast Show. Most recently Executive Vice President and Head of Global Podcasts at Sony Music Entertainment, he has had more than thirty years experience across audio in the UK and US. He’s interviewed this week about his new role in the Podnews Weekly Review.

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• “Podcasting isn’t broken - the system behind it is”. A new podcast hosting and production website, Rebel Audio, has been launched with $3.8 million in funding. Jared Gutstadt, the CEO and Founder, calls the system “the first native AI tool built for the podcast community”. It offers hosting and distribution (including video), and AI voice cloning for host-read ads.
• In Singapore, podcasts are more influential than influencers. Acast has shared new data focusing on the Singapore podcast market, saying that 69% of listeners have considered a brand for the first time because of a podcast, and podcasts are more credible than YouTubers and journalists.
• Today: the webinar of The Infinite Dial 2026 is at 2pm ET - you can register to watch for free here. The data includes a new monthly number for the number of Americans aged 12+ who consume podcasts. Hosted by Megan Lazovick of Edison Research at SSRS and our Editor, James Cridland, be the first to update your sales deck by watching at 2pm.

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• Libsyn’s podcast ad revenue grew 48% last year, the company has announced; downloads are up 17%, and the company served 4.5 billion ad impressions in 2025 - up 46%. The number of creators monetising on the platform has increased more than 2.5x. The company announced that the Libsyn Audience Network is now broadly available: a way for advertisers to buy across Libsyn shows.
  • Libsyn is making its SXSW debut next week at Podcast Movement Evolutions and the iHeartPodcasts Hotel; they’re also founding sponsor of Oxford Road’s Indie PaC Awards.
• In a major change in the UK, the Elis James and John Robins show will be the first podcast that is commercially available under a new BBC Audio Release policy. The new commercial opportunities include the back catalogue of the popular show, which won Best Comedy Show in the British Podcast Awards last October. It’s made by Significant Productions, and will be monetised by Audio Always.
  • The new BBC policy was announced in October last year. A significant amount of BBC radio output is made by independent programme makers. The new policy allows those “indies” to own the RSS feed for third-party platforms (like Apple or Spotify), and place ads into those podcasts. The shows will continue to be ad-free on BBC radio and within the BBC Sounds app. In return, the policy requires a minimum of 10% of revenue to the BBC, promotional trails to BBC Sounds in the podcast, and clear explanations “as may be supplied or directed by the BBC”. It’s a very limited trial: only twelve shows will get this treatment, and only two per supplier.
• Audible announced “localised experiences” in a further 11 new countries. Listeners in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will all have local-language recommendations and billing, and will be cross-promoted from their local Amazon sites. The company claims it has grown its number of members by 800% in the last ten years; and the company projects that number will double again in just three years. (Audible funds a number of exclusive podcasts).

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• Podcast hosting company Podbean has abruptly pulled its dynamic ad insertion tool across the whole of Europe. No notice was given; the affected countries imply that there is a concern with GDPR compliance. The company launched PodAds in 2019. “We rely on dynamic insertion,” one customer told us, “and without prior warning, this has a huge impact on us”. The company told Podnews that the decision was "based on a combination of evolving global privacy regulations and a shift in our internal product focus."
  • Podbean is also removing its Livestream product as of June. The livestream service has more than 65,000 shows, according to the company’s website. The company tells us it is being sunset as it "reallocates resources toward AI features".
• How much of your podcast do people listen to? Bumper analysed more than 100,000 episodes to discover that the average (on Apple and Spotify) is 76%. (But, for shows under half an hour, it’s 85%).
• And - how many people listen to podcasts every month in the US? You’ll be the first to know if you watch the webinar of The Infinite Dial 2026 this Thursday (2pm ET). It’s free; the data will be presented by VP of Edison Research at SSRS, Megan Lazovick, and Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland. You can register here.

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• When should you say you use AI in your podcast? RSS.com’s Alberto Betella has produced a new website called ’should I disclose’ to help creators know whether they should label their podcast episodes as AI-generated. The guidelines suggest disclosure is based on substance, rather than merely tools. It has an interactive questionnaire asking you six questions to help; and also links to platform guidelines.
  • When contacted by Podnews, Eric Nuzum from Magnificent Noise said that the website is “asking all the right questions”. However, he told us: "All podcasts require two things from their creators: passion and curiosity. AI can imitate the effects of those things, but it cannot be passionate or creative. So if anyone chooses to do the activities that the site suggests requires disclosure, I’m having trouble imagining it will ever achieve any audience impact worth considering."
  • John McDermott from Caloroga Shark Media, which produces content using AI as part of the process, tells us that "If an AI voice reads a story well, and allows something to get produced, I think it is a plus. I’m happy to disclose anything - I just don’t want to be unnecessarily penalized for it."
  • "Podcasting has been a medium built on authenticity and connection,” Amplifi Media’s Steven Goldstein told us. Adding that the website is helpful, he said: "In my view, the issue isn’t whether AI is used. The issue is whether the audience is intentionally misled. Listener trust is foundational to the medium. Transparency matters."
  • Inception Point AI was also contacted for comment, but the company had not responded by press time.
• Apple Podcasts was launched as an app on iPhone in June 2012. It wasn’t the first podcast app - and there was one that was launched three years earlier: with some features that we take for granted today. That app was Google Listen, the first podcast app experiment by Google. In a new article today as part of our history collection, we unveil the v2 design that was never launched, its inevitable pivot to video, and the astonishing engagement figures that the app got - even if that didn’t save it from the Google graveyard.
• On Purpose with Jay Shetty is to leave iHeartMedia in July. The show was conspicuously absent from the recent iHeart/Netflix deal. “We love Jay — we have enormous respect for him and what we’ve accomplished together, including both doubling his audience and his revenue, but as sometimes happens with professional relationships, we’re going in different directions,” the company said in an email to advertisers.

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• Cumulus Media has filed for bankruptcy. The company, which owns the Cumulus Podcast Network and Westwood One, is trying to eliminate around $600mn of debt. It’ll continue operating under chapter 11 protection in the meantime.
  • Competitors iHeartMedia filed for bankruptcy in Mar 2018, emerging in May 2019. Audacy also filed for bankruptcy in Jan 2024 (emerging in Sept). Cumulus itself last filed for bankruptcy less than ten years ago, in Nov 2017.
• Exclusive: SiriusXM has brought NBA news show The Deep 3 and NFL show House Call to the SiriusXM Media network, for ad sales and distribution. The agreement covers both short-form and long-form video and audio episodes, and SiriusXM subscribers will also get the show ad-free.
• On Netflix, video podcasts are watched more on mobile, and watched more during the day, said Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann.

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• Most podcasts post to YouTube. Few build for it — Unlisted shares the private notes, tests, and results from making that shift from audio-only to YouTube-first.

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• Exclusive: Predictive analytics and forecasting tool Flightpath has joined forces with monetisation company Frequency to give publishers a clear view of real-time sales opportunities across their network. The companies suggest it’s the foundation for an industry-wide solution to unsold podcast inventory; and describe it as “smarter monetization”.
• “It looks like you’re analysing your podcast's data. Would you like some help with that?” Podscribe has announced a conversational chatbot to help advertisers, agencies and publishers quickly get more from Podscribe’s datasets; and a smart modeling tool for YouTube campaigns, recognising that YouTube performs differently than audio ads.
• Headliner has added a social media scheduler, allowing you to control when and how your video content is shared across different platforms.

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• Audible has a new, lower-priced, subscription offering for people who really like podcasts. The $8.99 “standard” plan gives users unlimited access to Audible Originals, as well as nearly 200 shows previously available on Wondery+. You also get access to one audiobook a month.
  • This replaces Wondery+, which has been announced to be closing “in the coming months”. Not all of those shows are making it to Audible. If you are interested in the Audible standard plan, for the next week or so, you can get it for $5.99 a month for the first year by going through the Wondery+ website. Shh.
  • Amazon’s choice is a bit bewildering. For $11.99 a month, Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers get access to one free audiobook from Audible each month, but no Audible Originals podcasts. Or, Audible’s Premium Plus plan is $14.95 a month, which gives one credit a month for an audiobook (ie one audiobook a month, though these credits only expire after twelve months) but no music. And you can buy a different plan, still called Audible’s Premium Plus plan, for $22.95 a month which gives you two credits a month.
  • Spotify also offers audiobooks. For $9.99 a month, you get access to 15 hours of audiobooks “from our audiobooks subscriber catalog” (with ad-funded music and podcasts); and for $12.99 a month, you get the full premium music and podcasts and 15 hours of audiobooks.
• Apple Podcasts will be talking at Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW, it has been announced today. The company will be spotlighting its new video podcast experience - it’s the first time that Apple Podcasts has officially spoken at a US podcast conference. The event has also confirmed actor Sean Astin, the President of SAG-AFTRA, for the Sunday keynote; and a live performance from Penn Badgley.
• First look: The Podscribe Rankings were released for February. Acast has climbed to the world’s second biggest podcast publisher in terms of audience reach, the data says, while BetterHelp remains the #1 podcast advertiser.

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• Want to take a popular podcast and turn it into video - but you have no actual video? The BBC is launching five AI-animated video adaptations of its Witness History podcast. Here’s the first, about the labradoodle, produced with Singapore’s 1UpMedia and following the BBC’s AI Editorial Guidance. 1UpMedia’s Guang Jin Yeo tells Podnews that the company has worked on a structured workflow designed for broadcaster environments.
• Podcast hosting company RSS.com has added an AI disclosure feature for all its podcasters. For now, it uses the podcast:txt tag, to ensure compatibility; and has issued guidelines on when to use it. The company suggests that it is the first to add an AI disclosure tag to podcasts. It’s in place in the company’s Podcasting Innovation show: Podnews podcast pages also support it.
  • Apple Podcasts requires that "Creators using AI to generate a material portion of the podcast’s audio must prominently disclose this in the audio and metadata for each episode and/or show.”
• Half of Americans are using AI chat on a weekly basis, says Edison Research. The company has launched a new AI User Metrics service.

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• Exclusive: The free podcast hosting platform from Audacy, Audacy Creator Lab, has now added an integration with YouTube, allowing creators to publish video directly to their YouTube accounts. “Podcasting today is no longer audio or video - it’s both,” said Head of Podcasts Leah Reis-Dennis. The new feature simplifies workflow for podcast creators; the company describes it as a “first step in video distribution”.
• Podtrac released its “multi-channel podcast ranking” for January. Of the top 200, 69% of the shows do best in audio. 36% of shows are more consumed using clips than the whole episode. The data is global; Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO has risen to #3; Rogan is at #2 and The MeidasTouch is #1 (mostly driven by video and clips).
• The American Writing Awards announced its podcast winners. Podcast of the year went to abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.

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• For the first time in history, podcasts are now bigger than spoken-word radio, according to new data from Edison Research at SSRS. This time ten years ago, podcasting was more than seven times smaller than AM/FM radio, which was a dominant force in spoken-word listening. But, over the last decade in the US, the share of time spent using AM/FM radio to listen to spoken-word audio has almost halved - shifting to time spent with podcasts.
  • There will be more data about podcasting next month, with the publication of The Infinite Dial® 2026, with support from SiriusXM Media. The gold standard of research on podcast consumption, the new data will be unveiled by Megan Lazovick, VP of Edison Research at SSRS, in a free webinar on Mar 12. She’ll be joined by our Editor, James Cridland.
• A new report on ad spend from Guideline says that US digital audio ad revenue will increase +9.3% this year, to $2.9bn. Podcasts are expected to hit 35% of digital audio ad spend (suggesting podcast ad spend of just over $1bn). Figures are worked out differently to the IAB, which suggested podcasting was $2.4bn in 2024.
  • Guideline also reported that growth in digital audio ad spend is at the expense of TV budgets - $87mn was shifted out of TV into digital audio advertising in 2025 - and radio declined by $29.3mn. Digital audio advertising was still less than 5% of the total media mix in 2025.
• Piling on to radio’s diminishing place in audio, in the UK, radio charity association The Radio Academy is now The Audio Academy, "as it deepens its focus across the rapidly expanding audio landscape”. Nick Pitts was made Chair.

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• Exclusive: Podcast Movement in New York will be part of an ambitious, week-long event in mid-September, Podnews can reveal today. The venue will be Terminal 5, an iconic venue in New York City’s Hell's Kitchen district. We’ve all the details.
  • The event will take place September 14-18, with two days of The Sounds Profitable Business Summit (Sep 14/15), a mid-week pause for the IAB Upfronts, and Podcast Movement (Sep 17/18). Parties and other social experiences are all planned, including a party on Sep 16.
  • "This isn’t a venue change. It’s a statement. Podcasting has gone from underestimated to unavoidable, and when the right crowd gets together, the energy is real,” said Bryan Barletta, President of Podcast Movement and founder of Sounds Profitable.
  • Opinion: It’s a new look for the popular event - away from a conference hotel with its swirly carpets, inconvenient fire alarms and captive dining options, and in a new venue with a new focus, right in the middle of a city where media, technology and creators rub shoulders every day. This is a welcome change, which injects new energy into Podcast Movement, and allows attendees of either event to make a New York weekend of things (and to stay where they want, thanks to New York’s transport options). And last year, that week was around 70ºF... and no snow.
• Podpage has launched a brand new feature - migration of your Wordpress website into the service. Blog posts, pages, redirects and SEO metadata are all carried over - the endless maintenance and insecure plugins are not. One good example website is one of our long-time supporters, The School of Podcasting.
• Magellan AI has launched “The Podscape 2026”. In order to get it, you’ll need to sign-up; but it is a good overview of the industry to put on the wall. We should mention that Podnews has our own Directory, which is updated every few days, and contains news articles about each company mentioned.

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• The winners of the sixth annual Ambies awards were announced last night - Tenderfoot TV’s Wisecrack walked away with four awards including Podcast of the Year. Jodie Tovay, the co-host, accepted the award, noting twice that the show had been turned down by all the major (television) streamers. Kara Swisher was given the Governors Award. You can watch the ceremony here.
• Good news: while Apple’s general specification for HLS streaming includes an option to make the ads unskippable, we’ve heard from multiple sources that Apple Podcasts will not be supporting that feature. We’ve updated our technical detail article with that information , and made a few other edits to keep it up to date.
• iHeartMedia released “the state of podcasting 2026 - what advertisers need to know”. “When compared to social media, Americans find podcasts 23x more trustworthy."

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• Due to the weather - not least, the cancellation of all trains into NYC - The Ambies award ceremony, due to take place last night, was postponed until tonight. In a new development, you’ll be able to livestream it, from 8pm ET. We’ll have all the winners tomorrow.
• Goalhanger boss Tony Pastor spoke at MIP London, saying people are connecting with podcasts that “no commissioner at a TV station in the UK would dream of commissioning.” He added: “We realized that the closer we are to television on YouTube, the better we do”.
• A new analytics platform for podcasts has launched called Podlytic. We’d spotted it in its pre-launch period on Feb 2; the platform claims to eliminate the fragmentation of podcast analytics, and help show the complete history of a show as it moves from one podcast host to another.

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• Podcast ad skipping "isn’t as bad as I thought”, says Bumper’s Dan Misener, suggesting that - for Bumper’s clients - for most shows, 90% of their audience listen right through the ad breaks. He concludes “The longer your ad break, the greater your ad avoidance, and the lower your ad retention”.
• The CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, was on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. The company has donated £1mn to the National Film and Television School. In a wide-ranging interview covering the future of television, he highlighted how much of a competitor YouTube is, criticised the BBC for “giving free programming” to them, and criticised YouTube for not investing in creativity. He also spoke about podcasts: in the absence of a listen-again facility on the BBC’s international website, we’ve clipped those comments here should you want a listen. “I think podcasts are just an extension of chat shows”, Sarandos said, adding “I think that there’s a million podcasts now around the world, literally”. (The most conservative number is literally three times higher).
• Ozen FM, an audio monetization network, has expanded to Brazil with the appointment of a Commercial Director for the country, Priscila Falcone.

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• With all the excitement about video podcasting this week, you'd be forgiven for thinking that podcast consumption is now video-first. New US data released today by Triton Digital says that it isn't: only 7% of people exclusively watch podcasts; 80% of podcast listeners both watch and listen. The data is part of Triton Digital's 2025 Podcast Report, which is a free (with registration) download. Triton Digital's Omny Studio was a launch partner of Apple Podcasts new video service) earlier this week.
• Crooked Media podcasts will be shown on US news channel MS NOW, in a new deal starting next weekend. Saturdays at 9pm ET, a specially produced show for the news network will include clips of a number of Crooked's US shows. MS NOW is what was once MSNBC.
• The Ambies have announced that Kara Swisher will receive the Governors Award, recognizing meaningful contributions to the growth of podcasting. TPA will also posthumously honor Reggie Ossé with the Impact Award, celebrating his lasting influence on cultural storytelling and the evolution of the medium.

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• Global, which owns radio and podcast companies including Captivate in the UK and ad exchange DAX, has launched its Global Player app directly in cars, through Android Automotive. It means that podcasts and radio stations are available in cars from BMW, MINI Volvo, Polestar, Renault and Nissan - without fiddling with your phone. The app includes many third-party podcasts; indeed, you can enjoy our daily podcast update directly on Global Player.
• More people are writing about Apple Podcasts video, and what it means for the industry. There's a lot to think about.
  • "Another proprietary take on the otherwise open standards world of podcasting ... a lock-in strategy to a format based on open standards" writes Nick Heer.
  • "The real story isn’t that Apple added video. The real story is that Apple is choosing how video enters the podcasting ecosystem," writes Rob Greenlee.
• Something else to look forward to when your iPhone gets iOS 26.4, apart from video podcasts, is a new feature called "Audio Zoom" in the camera app. It causes audio to be focused on the subject of your video when the camera is zoomed in. (Appearing in the developer beta is no guarantee it'll be launched in its current form).

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• A new feature from Android podcast app PodcastAddict has been adding x-rated chapter images to podcasts, without creator consent. The Digitalia podcast discussed a successful court appeal by a website against age verification laws in Italy; and called the podcast chapter "(WebsiteName) Wins", as you can see above. But, PodcastAddict has a feature enabling automatic chapter images, which a listener had turned on: that displayed an x-rated image for that chapter; which, using Android Auto, was also visible in his car for the whole family to see.
  • The listener complained to the podcaster, Franco Solerio (who is also developer of Castamatic), who suggested that "injecting arbitrary content with no way in the UI to tell it's not from the podcast producer is quite bad behaviour ... if a podcaster wanted to associate images to their own chapters, they would specify them". PodcastAddict's developer, Xavier Guillemane, told Podnews that the feature was opt-in; adding that he was "very surprised [at] this kind of image as the safe search should be on."
  • PodcastAddict, which OP3 data shows is a top 10 podcast app with 1.8% of all podcast downloads, says it is making alterations to the feature "to produce safer results". However, we believe that the unwritten contract between podcast publishers and apps means that podcast apps should not alter accompanying metadata without creator control.
• RØDE has announced new firmware for Wireless GO (Gen 3) and Wireless PRO microphones, which allow them to pair directly with iPhones via Bluetooth.
• The business model behind video on Apple Podcasts is explored by Adam Bowie. Meanwhile, we notice that if we watch an episode with a video, we appear to always get the video's audio track; we've asked for clarification on what plays, when.

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• Apple Podcasts announced support for video podcasts in the next version of iOS.
  • Unlike Spotify or YouTube, your podcast host will continue to host the video files, using HLS to deliver video in good quality. However, it only works with participating podcast hosts; Apple has launched with just four participating companies: Acast, ART19, Omny Studio and Simplecast.
  • For the first time, dynamic advertising will be available for video podcasting. Apple Podcasts will charge a per-impression fee for each dynamic ad shown; however, the ads will be controlled by the podcast hosts and their ad networks. (All four launch partners, Acast, ART19, Omny Studio/Triton and Simplecast/AdsWizz, are also ad networks.)
  • Podnews has taken a long look at how the new service works. We've posed plenty of questions to Apple, and got plenty of answers; as well as playing with the new service hands-on, and hearing what others think. There is lots more detail over here.
• Apple Podcasts also seems to have made a lot of changes to its documentation about Apple Podcasts Connect. (Why, yes, we do have an automated system checking that). Show Settings now explains how to tell if you can do video with your existing podcast host; a new Availability table tells us that video podcasts will not be available in mainland China; how to publish video tells us about API keys and talks more about analytics - and clarifies that paid subscriptions are audio-only; Analytics tells us that video analytics aren't broken out by Apple; here's a page trying to sell Final Cut Pro as an editing tool, and how to 'shape up your podcast copy' with advice on Apple's AI tools; and local capture on iPad which apparently does a very good job of capturing video and audio during live calls on FaceTime or other apps.
• Away from Apple Podcasts - PodRanker claims to have checked 128 episodes to discover how much ads are in podcasts. The median figure is 3.7%, which is about two minutes per hour. 13% had no ads at all. The heaviest was 27.6% ads. These numbers are highly dependent on where podcasts are downloaded from, and also how; many podcast ad systems won't supply ads to automated requests, especially those coming from server farms. We've asked for more detail.
  • This data comes after we highlighted Magellan AI's report that included an average ad-load of 8.82%. Our mistake: we suggested that was 7 minutes every hour; it's closer to 5. We've worked out a better way to math for next time.

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• Filling up with fuel is now a great place to also learn more about a new podcast. Purple Daily, a Minnesota Vikings podcast from Gamut Podcast Network, will now accompany you as you fill up your car at regional gas stations Kwik Trip in the area. As you fill up, you get a 30 second taster on the gas pump screen. Here's a video of the whole thing.
• Hosting on Substack? A Guardian investigation reveals some concerning other publications on the platform.
• The Age of Audio movie is to get an East Coast premiere on Feb 25 in Kevin Smith’s Smodcastle Cinemas, in Atlantic Highlands NJ, USA. If you're looking for a great documentary that traces the history of our medium, you'll be wanting this one.

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• A Wild Way Home Podcast — Ever dreamt of living off the land, or trading your house for a van? Philly and Ollie meet incredible people living alternative lifestyles - to find one that might suit them. Listen now!
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• Joe Rogan has plenty of fans - including one who, in 2017, asked a friend "Could you introduce me, I think he's funny". That person? Jeffrey Epstein. Today, Podnews looks at the Epstein podcast files - shows he listened to, that he was recommended, podcasts he was asked to help pay to make, and even the video podcasts filmed in his house.
• Cheap and relatively dumb flip phones are selling well, for people who want to quit their smartphone addiction: but they don't have a podcast app on them. Step forward PodLP, which has launched a version of its podcast app for so-called dumbphones. (From today, Podnews podcast pages link to PodLP, too - here's what our daily podcast looks like).
• The EarBuds Podcast Collective is nine years old today - and its founder and curator Arielle Nissenblatt is celebrating by launching a reader survey to help plot the next nine years.

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• Exclusive: Rob and Elsie are back working together in podcasting today, with the news that Captivate has appointed Rob Walch and Elsie Escobar. Rob Walch is VP of Podcaster Relations, working with Captivate and DAX US on its podcast advertising and monetisation offering; Elsie Escobar is Creator Success & Community Manager, supporting creators and community growth. They both come from Libsyn. They'll also be back behind the microphone, as the new hosts of In & Around Podcasting. Including Mark Asquith's induction this year, we think that makes Captivate the company that now has more Podcast Hall of Famers than anyone else.
• Nigerian podcasters are much less likely to "podfade", says new data from the country. The Nigerian Podcast Index has published the first comprehensive snapshot of the country's podcast industry. Spotify for Creators is the #1 podcast host in the country, and over 90% of shows are in English, with local languages achieving an 8% share.
• ESPN's Murder at the U, a new podcast released today, is responsible for finding new information that resulted in the arrest of a suspect for murder. The show looks at the 2006 murder of University of Miami star Bryan Pata, and discovers missteps and opportunities from the original investigation team.

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• Red Seat Ventures, part of FOX's Tubi group, has acquired premium subscription tool Supercast. Terms weren't given. Supercast’s top 10 podcasters gross more than $26 million per year in subscription revenue, the press release notes; paid subscriptions are a fast-growing part of the podcast ecosystem. Acast partnered with Supercast last April; Supercast is also used by Huberman Lab and This American Life.
• First look: The Ambies award ceremony this year will be hosted by Wyatt Cenac, it's just been announced. The Emmy and WGA award-winning comedian, writer, and producer will be joined by Donwill, who will serve as the evening’s official house DJ.
  • TPA also unveiled its inaugural Vanguard Jury, a "collective of industry leaders and emerging voices dedicated to shaping and elevating the podcasting medium", who selected the 2026 Vanguard Podcaster of the Year.
• Spotify posted its Q4/25 earnings report. The company now has more than 750mn users across the world - more added in the past quarter than ever - and 290mn paid subscribers (up 10% year-on-year). The company claims the success is due to their popular Wrapped campaign - and shared than 300mn users accessed it (which also means 400mn didn't). By this morning, shares were up nearly +15% (but still almost a third lower than a year ago).
  • In terms of podcasting, the prepared remarks tell us that there are 530,000 video podcast shows now on Spotify (and 7mn podcasts). "Video podcast consumption has increased by more than +90%" since Jan 2025; though without absolute numbers, this isn't too helpful. Podcasting wasn't mentioned other than in respect to video podcasts.
  • Ad sales over all of Spotify dropped in 2025 by a total of $21.5mn (-1%); but podcast ad sales dropped in the year by almost $99mn ("due to optimization of podcast inventory"). However, the costs to Spotify of making podcasts also decreased in 2025, helping ad-supported gross margin improve.
  • In 2023, Spotify had 9,123 employees. By the end of 2025, there were -20% fewer, at 7,287.

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• Theo Von and The Roost Podcast Network did a clever campaign for Pepsi over the weekend - amplifying the effect of the Pepsi Superbowl "The Choice" ad, with the bear popping into This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von. A clever way to get more value from the TV spot. (The Roost's Catherine Brown writes more about it on LinkedIn).
• A new show has been announced by Goalhanger - The Book Club, which "brings the historical context behind famous books to life". It's hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and his producer, Tabitha Syrett. Wuthering Heights will be the subject of the first episode (there's a new spicy movie adaptation out shortly, too).
• Magellan AI has released its Q4 2025 Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report. Podcast ad revenue was almost a third higher, year-on-year, with 1,482 new brands buying ads on podcasts. However, in the last three months alone, there was an increase in ad load of +6%; now, 8.82% of the average podcast - 5 minutes in every hour - is advertising.
  • (Correction: We said 7 minutes in every hour when we published this, but we evidently can't do maths. Apologies.)

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• The Daily Beast has signed with Daylight Media for ad sales, distribution and monetization of The Daily Beast's portfolio of podcasts, including The Daily Beast Podcast, Inside Trump's Head and Obsessed.
• Podtrac released its January ranker. Overall, total audience was up for January over December. The Ezra Klein Show is highest new entry at #14. The ranker measures participating publishers only.
• Ultimate Pods is a new app that bills itself "the future of books and podcasts". The idea is that listeners can pause any episode, ask a question, and hear the host answer them in their actual voice using AI synthesis. It's $4.99 a week; the developer, Ben Ganz, claims more than 50 paying subscribers already, and 20+ creators already signed up.

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• The Washington Post cut more than a third of its employees, including more than 300 of its 800 newsroom staff. We gather that their audio department has been "all but eliminated". The flagship podcast Post Reports is cancelled - and did not publish yesterday; the show reached almost half a million people a month, according to Podscribe. The host of the show, Martine Powers, is one of those affected; there are reports that the company has laid-off all but two staffers in their audio team (here are some of those affected). That audio team won two Peabody Awards in 2024; but in December, the newspaper made AI-generated podcasts that were "riddled with errors", but were reportedly launched even knowing that they were a bad experience. The newspaper, which broke the Watergate scandal, was purchased by Jeff Bezos in 2013.
  • Podnews's jobs board is free for everyone.
• A new weekly news podcast in the Netherlands is to be entirely written, researched and fact-checked by AI. High Profile, a podcast made by Airborne Network, is human-hosted (at least, for now), but the company says that the "engaging" show provides depth and context to news. Today’s episode tells the story of Ayatollah Khamenei and the tensions within and around Iran.
• Are you in the podcasting or audio industry in the UK? AudioUK is helping the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, with a new project examining the size and scale of the UK’s podcasting and audio industry. There's a short confidential survey for you to fill in by Tuesday.

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• In the UK, comedians Elis James and John Robins, alongside long-term producer Dave Masterman, have teamed up to launch a brand new production company: Significant Productions. The trio have made some of the UK's most successful podcasts over the past twelve years.
• First look: Analytics and management solution Podstock has announced agreements with a number of sports media brands including Goalhanger, Playmaker, and others - joining existing publishers including Locked On and Blue Wire.
  • Meanwhile, Acast tells us that sports listening rises 44% during sporting events - and posts its Sports Podcast Game Plan.
• Slate's podcast portfolio is to be represented by Acast, the companies announced. The agreement brings more than 1.5mn weekly listens to Acast. Slate describes it as "a crucial step in scaling our podcast network while maintaining our unique editorial voice".

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• UK comedy podcast awards The Golden Lobes are open for entries. In 2025, winners included both solo creators and global platforms; the awards now have a wider number of categories (including a 'Best International Show' for shows made outside the UK), and the prize isn't just a trophy, but £5000 worth of prizes.
• Sony Playstation has been awarded a patent to use AI to present podcasts from game characters. Here's the patent in full. The podcasts would be personalised, and not available via RSS.
• YouTube has removed a number of "AI slop" channels from its platform. It's removed sixteen channels, which had a total of 4.7 billion views.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, PodAnalyst, Truefans, Companion Arts, Araeya Media, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Ausha, Tink Media, Huberman Lab, SoundStack, Compliance Podcast Network, Jonekiri, Red Seat Ventures, Blubrry, Frequency, Voxtopica, Podcast Movement, POW PR, Locked On Podcast Network, Podium , The Roost, The Podcast Haven, Castbox, Health Podcast Network, Transistor, Headliner, Double Elvis Productions, Rephonic, Diversion Podcasts, Jam Street Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, CreatorX, Rhapsody Voices, Lemonada Media, Content10x, Podcast Partnership, Cleanfeed, Adopter Media, Revolver Podcasts, Lower Street, Podigy, School of Podcasting, Signal Hill Insights

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• A new voice enhancement tool, Voice Regen, has been launched - but this one is different. It's from Waves Audio, an Emmy® and Technical Grammy® Award-winning audio technology company, rather than a random guy with an AI account. The tool provides content creators with instant, professional-quality voice cleanup. It removes background noise, room echo, and fixes uneven volume. Pricing starts for free, but $4.99 currently gets WAV export and 300 minutes a month. It also does video.
  • If you'd like to know what it sounds like - you've probably already heard it. The Podnews Weekly Review from Dec 19 included lots of individual pieces of bad-quality audio, recorded all over the world on laptop microphones, via AirPods, the tiny microphone on your headphone lead, or who knows how - some seemingly in bathrooms or echoey offices, others in low-quality low-resolution files. Testing the tool, we pushed them all through Voice Regen; and the sound is consistent throughout.
• Audioboom has signed Crooked Media for hosting, global distribution and network advertising sales. Audioboom will also represent host read ads within Pod Save the UK.
• In Australia, SXSW Sydney has been cancelled. It's reported that the NSW government, which had part-funded the event in previous years, had pulled out (in spite of having signed a five year agreement). There were "two dedicated stages" for podcasts at the event last year.
  • SXSW in Austin TX continues, including this year's Podcast Movement Evolutions.
  • The Domefest podcast festival in Sydney takes place on Mar 29.

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• "Some true crime podcast episodes have hit a 34% ad load. One minute of ads for every two minutes of show." A new website has appeared, criticising the increasing amount of advertising in podcasts. The numbers are compelling - and the site suggests that some genres have already reached breaking point in the number of ads they carry. While the website is advertising for an ad-skipping podcast app, it poses a number of valid questions about whether the level of advertising in some podcasts - particularly when heard in the US - is too great. (Time will tell whether anyone takes notice).
• Semafor reports that podcast producer Kaleidoscope is staffing up, and has hired three new senior staff. The company has also reportedly bought Christy Mirabal's podcast marketing agency The Listening Party: Mirabal (who is also Chair of The Podcast Academy) will become Kaleidoscope's Head of Marketing. The company launched in Mar 2022, and raised a further $5mn last year.
• CBC Podcasts has posted an open call for pitches.

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• Perhaps video is the new gateway drug for podcasting. 72% of new podcast listeners, and 68% of long-time podcast listeners say they have started listening to the audio-only version of a podcast after discovering its video version. That's according to data that Edison Research revealed earlier this week in The Evolving Ear. The company also says that video podcasts are now more popular than audio-only podcasts among new podcast consumers; though this popularity is based on number of people, not necessarily time spent. The research cautions us to be prepared for changes in consumption.
• Spotify says that sports podcast consumption goes wild on the run up to the Super Bowl - +172% above average last year on the lead-up to the game - but in fact the days following the game saw a +358% surge. You'd expect this to also be the case for other podcast platforms. Spotify's Brian Berner tells us that “Sports fandom doesn’t start at kickoff or end at the final whistle anymore — it lives in the conversations that happen before and after the game. The level of engagement we see creates a powerful environment for brands to show up in ways that feel timely, relevant, and aligned with fan passion.” The Super Bowl is on Feb 8.
  • By the way - Spotify coyly called it "The Big Game" in their email to us; here's why. We're calling the Super Bowl in our coverage (because 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(3)(B)), but for your podcast, you may wish to check whether you, too, have to call it "The Big Game".
• Apple released their financial results - posting an all-time quarterly record. Apple Services (which includes the revenue from Apple Podcasts) reached a record of $30bn, up +14% year-on-year. The company acquired an audio AI startup called Q.ai for $2bn, for reasons that weren't disclosed.

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• First look: Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW has unveiled the first wave of speakers, including the acclaimed storyteller MrBallen. There will be live programming through the weekend, as well as a morning keynote from YouTube.
• Opting in for Spotify Video? You'll harm the measurability of your podcast, warns Podscribe in an email to subscribers today. This harms your measurement whether your listeners choose video or audio, since even if your listeners choose an audio version of a show that's available in video, they still get served the audio track of the video direct from Spotify - with no measurement from Podscribe or similar. Podscribe describes a part-workaround.
  • Spotify breaking open RSS in this way also extends to some podcast rankers like the Triton Digital ranker, which is based on logfile analysis. This led to Australian publisher Shameless Media coming out of the Australian ranker, as we reported last week. Analytics tools like OP3, which is based on server redirects, also cannot measure any plays on Spotify if that episode opted into video. It also means that you can't serve dynamic ads on these shows as well, which means you may significantly lower your revenue. A Sounds Profitable piece from April 2025 highlights the issues - and bluntly tells the podcast industry not to take part.
• UK podcast production company Goalhanger has formed a strategic partnership with The Chernin Group to accelerate the company's US expansion. TCG is Goalhanger's first external investor (the company has been entirely bootstrapped until now, though co-founder Gary Lineker is a multi-millionaire). TCG has also invested in Audiochuck, Barstool Sports, and Substack.

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• Wondercraft launched a new AI Video Studio, that can - among other things - make videos from your podcasts, with animations and images. The tool allows you to select what kind of outcome you want (a business video, a social promo, etc), and give it your podcast's audio (or a prompt about what audio you want). You can even set an avatar of your hosts.
• How do most podcast agencies show their clients that their work was a success? By talking about downloads, according to a new report, State of Podcast Agencies 2026, by CoHost and Quill. The data also shows that most podcast agencies are small - with 76% operating with fewer than ten employees - and 92% use AI in some part of their workflow.
• The Castro podcast app has launched listening stats. Castro's Dustin Black says: "You can see how much you listened in any given day, week, month, or year, and you can drill down and see the exact episodes you were listening to at an exact time. It's really cool!"

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, The Podcast Haven, Voxtopica, Locked On Podcast Network, Tink Media, Castbox, Companion Arts, PodAnalyst, Araeya Media, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Truefans, Frequency, Ausha, Podium , Red Seat Ventures, Compliance Podcast Network, Podcast Movement, Jonekiri, Blubrry, SoundStack, Huberman Lab, The Roost, POW PR, Health Podcast Network, Diversion Podcasts, Lemonada Media, Transistor, Rhapsody Voices, CreatorX, Jam Street Media, Rephonic, Double Elvis Productions, Headliner, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Content10x, Podcast Partnership, Cleanfeed, Adopter Media, School of Podcasting, Revolver Podcasts, Lower Street, Podigy, Signal Hill Insights

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• The Podcast Show London 2026 has announced its Advisory Board, including Steve Ackerman, Ruth Fitzsimons, Arif Noorani, Vicky Etchells, and our Editor, James Cridland. The event, which takes place in late May, also outlined its submission process for speakers and sessions.
  • First Release discount passes close on Jan 30 - so if you want to save up to £100 (US$135) on tickets then you'll want to book now. (Podnews subscribers save even more).
• Podcast app Truefans has closed a funding round, valuing the company at £10 million (US $13.5mn). The total amount raised was not disclosed. The funding will accelerate product development, including a new hosting service, updated mobile apps, and, says founder Sam Sethi, "new Voice AI agents called Kevin and Kelly". Sethi is also the co-host of the Podnews Weekly Review.
• Audacy has removed a number of third-party podcasts from its radio and podcast app (including the Podnews Weekly Review, which was here). An Audacy spokesperson told Podnews: "We’ve removed a number of lower-engagement third-party podcasts from the app which accounted for a very small percentage of overall listening. The Audacy App remains the home for a robust slate of podcasts, including all Audacy originals and time-shifted shows, all podcasts from our premium podcast network and Audacy Creator Lab, key affiliate partners, and other industry-leading titles." The company, which exited a bankruptcy process last year, added all its podcasts and radio stations to the iHeart app, by its main competitor iHeartMedia, in July.

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• Edison Podcast Metrics released the top 50 Podcasts in the US for Q4/25. No change in the top five, but new entries from, among others, The Diary of a CEO, Dumb Blonde, and Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce. Serial, which had been in the chart forever, has finally dropped out of the top 50, more than 11 years since its release.
  • The top 5 differs from Podtrac's global multi-channel ranker announced last week; of course, it's US-only rather than Podtrac's global list. Podtrac placed The MeidasTouch podcast at #1; Edison places it at #18. The MeidasTouch's numbers in Podtrac includes video clips.
• Kia-ora, podcasters in New Zealand: Aotearoa’s podcasting community will be meeting once more at The NZ Podcasting Summit on Sat May 9 in Auckland, which has announced its first set of speakers. This time round, there's a session about AI, and one about video. Tickets are available now.
• Voting is open until Feb 5 for The Ambies, which is available to all TPA members. Cast your vote at The Ambies website.
  • Also, watch for another email today - TPA is switching membership platform to a tool called Glue Up, and you'll need to re-register.

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• The actor Sean Bean is hosting a podcast for the first time. He has been announced as the new host of the Get Birding podcast. The two-time BAFTA TV & International Emmy-winning actor, who is globally recognised for his starring roles in The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, grew up as a keen birdwatcher.
• For the past few months, Libsyn has been unable to correctly offer "301 redirects" for all customers, meaning that it's hard to switch away from the podcast host. Podnews has learnt that the issue, which started in October last year, is being fixed; in messages from support, Libsyn has been blaming other companies for the issue, behaviour that a company spokesperson tells Podnews "doesn't meet our bar for customer support".
• Earsay is another podcast app that claims to skip ads automatically: but this does it on your iPhone, using Apple's AI model. "When an ad is detected, you can skip it, listen through it, or let earsay handle it automatically." The company highlights that when earsay detects an ad, it extracts sponsor information — brand names, promo codes, special offers, website links — and shows them as visual cards instead; it also does full transcripts of every show. The developer claims that podcast creators won't be harmed - it doesn't cache or interfere with podcast downloads, though it does remove links for OP3 and other trackers.

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• Exclusive: Podnews has investigated The International Podcast Awards, a new award ceremony launched last year in Arizona, and discovered a website with misleading images, made-up winners, and a unique business model. As we report today, it's an award that looks great... but looks aren't everything.
• The Ambie Awards nominations were announced yesterday. Winners in 32 categories will be selected by the full voting membership of TPA; there are 227 nominees. The ceremony will take place as part of On Air Fest in Brooklyn on Feb 23.
  • The Golden Globes winner, Amy Poehler's Good Hang, is not among the nominees; indeed, Spotify is only nominated once, for its co-production with the Wall Street Journal.
• Spotify released a new set of data, in a piece by Spotify product director Frances McNamara. The total number of followed shows has doubled in the past three years on Spotify, with more than 34 million shows discovered every week by users. 93% of podcast listeners on Spotify say they expect Spotify to help them find their next favorite show.
  • The company also says that auto-generated chapters are "rolling out to more shows"; Apple Podcasts recently launched the feature for every single eligible show in the Apple Podcasts directory.

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• Podtrac launched a new, global, multi-channel podcast ranker that measures podcast consumption across media platforms and content types - including, for the first time, video clips in Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
  • The number 1 is The MeidasTouch Podcast, which appears to see around 43% of its consumption via video clips, rather than full-length podcasts. Joe Rogan is at #2, with roughly equal consumption in audio and video, but just 9% of its consumption via video clips. And, despite poor video figures, The Rest Is History makes it to #3. The data also makes it clear where video is missing: such as The Daily from the New York Times, or Up First from NPR, which deliver virtually all their consumption via audio podcast.
  • For the top 50 ranked podcasts, total delivery is 51% video and 49% audio; but the percentage of video consumption falls away quickly lower down the chart. There's (slightly) more plays of clips on YouTube (53%) than there are full podcasts.
  • All the data measures total downloads/streams/views, not duration. The data is partly actual data reported by the platforms, and partly estimations. Access to the full 200 is available on subscription. Video clips are rarely monetised in the same ways as full shows.
• The Australian Podcast Ranker was released for December. Hamish & Andy remain #1, with The Grade Cricketer jumping into the top 5 (coinciding with The Ashes, a series of cricket matches, during the month). The ranker's Demos+ data suggests that 12% of monthly podcast listeners enjoy Health & Fitness content, and 35% of those are planning to buy gym memberships or fitness equipment in the next year.
  • Pop culture podcast Shameless - previously #4 - has left the ranker, coinciding with a shift to full video episodes. Video podcasts on Spotify or YouTube cannot be measured by logfile analysis tools like the Australian Podcast Ranker (or prefix analysis tools like Podtrac). Even audio listens become entirely hosted by Spotify and can no longer be measured on a like-for-like basis.
  • The ranker, calculated by Triton Digital, is administered by CRA. They gave Podnews a long statement, suggesting that "individual participation shifts don't change the fundamental value" of the ranker, and highlighting that they are "constantly ... reviewing video podcast measurement for inclusion when we find tested, validated and best practice approaches. Video is new and moving fast, requiring measurement to be rigorous and accurate."
• Magellan AI released its rankings for top podcast advertisers in the US. Wifi-enabled photo frame Aura Frames spent $7.1mn in December, just beating Amazon's $7mn or T-Mobile's $6.8mn. IBM showed the biggest increase, dropping $2.6mn into podcasts.

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• CBC and the Toronto Star have announced a partnership between CBC's Uncover and the Toronto Star's Suspicion, two hit investigative crime podcast series. A new podcast, as yet untitled, will tell the story of Ryan Wedding, a Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned FBI Most Wanted fugitive and alleged drug lord. It'll come out later this year on both feeds.
• Podspun is a new tool that turns your podcast into a searchable archive of information. We looked at its example channel for Diary of a CEO, and asked it ways to reduce stress; it gave us five different strategies from three different shows. The tool also can generate pull-quotes, episode summaries and key insights.
• One use of AI might be to translate your show into other languages. Conor Lennon, who works for the United Nations, tried out Wondercraft's tools on a podcast that includes our own Editor, James Cridland, speaking at about 4'15 in; he speaks French and Urdu.

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• Dave Ramsey led tributes to Dan Miller, the host of the 48 Days to the Work You Love podcast, at the Podcast Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday evening. The popular podcaster was given the recognition posthumously, accepted by his family who attended the event. He died in Jan 2024. The awards also remembered Hall of Famer Todd Cochrane, who passed away last September.
  • New inductees to the Hall of Fame included former attorney at EFF Julie Samuels, who successfully fought a legal battle against a patent troll, Captivate founder Mark Asquith, Podcast Partnership's Paul Colligan, PRX's Kerri Hoffman, Arielle Nissenblatt, and our Editor, James Cridland. A video of the event, hosted by John Lee Dumas, is on the Podcast Hall of Fame website.
• UK podcast company Goalhanger has announced it has more than 250,000 paid subscribers. Each paid subscriber pays on average £6 a month or £60 a year (US $8 / $80), suggesting that the company earns around $20mn a year from paid subscribers.
  • Assuming Apple Podcasts is responsible for 50% of those subscriptions, that suggests Apple earns between $1.5mn and $3mn per year from Goalhanger. Supporting Cast, who Goalhanger use for other platforms, charges 10% (perhaps earning $1mn from the other 50%).
  • Paid subscribers get shows ad-free. Given two shows a week per subscriber, that's at least 26 million downloads delivered ad-free; assuming 4 ads per episode at $20 CPM, that's a loss of around $2mn in ad revenue.
• Do people turn to podcasts for breaking news? Yes, they do. Podcast411's Rob Walch, speaking at Podfest, discovered that durations for the top 200 (US) episodes in Apple Podcasts dipped notably on 3rd January - with the median duration dropping from 58 minutes to just 51 minutes. The reason? The capture of Nicolás Maduro: many more shows that day were news shows, as audiences caught up with the news.

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• Podfest kicked off its twelfth annual event, with an expected attendance of 2,000 people under a new CEO, Nick Pavilidis. There's a full schedule here. The organisation expanded its "Podtours" across North America, and claims significant growth.
  • The Podcast Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is at Podfest tonight at 7pm with a record attendance - 2026 inductees include our Editor, James Cridland.
• Podcast Movement Evolutions will be at SXSW this year; more details have been released about the event including a morning keynote from YouTube, a dedicated recording space for creators, and a roster of leading sponsors.
• Podcasthon has crossed a significant milestone, with more than 2,000 podcasts now signed up worldwide. The annual charity podcasting initiative continues to expand across languages, countries, and causes, signaling growing momentum for coordinated podcast-led social impact. As Doug Downs reports for Podnews, it's showing significant growth.

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• A new platform for video podcasts has appeared. CNN has struck a deal with Lemonada Media for video podcasts on CNN's All Access streaming service. Some existing shows will be made available to CNN subscribers. Unlike recent Netflix deals, though, these shows will continue to be available on all other platforms.
  • Netflix announced a new video podcast, The Pete Davidson Show. The video podcast won't be available on podcast platforms.
• A new exchange for creator-led advertising has been launched, ahead of Podfest. Creator Exchange, or CreatorX, is built to address frustrations in the market. "Brands want simpler, more measurable ways to test and scale creator-led advertising, while creators want flexible, non-exclusive monetization without being sidelined, bundled unfairly, or sold with bias." The Managing Director is Matty Staudt.
• The nominations for the iHeartPodcastAwards were announced. The awards will be held at SXSW on Mar 16. There will also be three Icon Awards being presented - to Jay Shetty, Terry Gross and Hrishikesh Hirway.

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• Apple Podcasts had its "best year yet" in 2025, achieving record listeners, plays and subscribers, said the company. 2025 was Apple Podcasts' twentieth year, launching automated chapters, timed links, and dialog enhancement tools. It was also the year that Apple Podcasts made its submission process easier, and spoke at a podcast event for what the company said was the first time ever. It also remained the #1 podcast app for consumption in the US.
  • Apple also launched a subscription for its creator apps, including Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, for $12.99 a month.
• YouTube is used by more people in the UK than BBC television, according to some new analysis. The data measured so-called "three-minute" monthly reach: people who have used each platform for at least three minutes a month. However, in a parallel with podcasting figures, people don't use YouTube for long - if you compare a "fifteen-minute" monthly reach, BBC tv still comfortably beats YouTube by 6 million users (and then there's the radio and podcasts to add in).
• In Canada, 40% of podcast consumers "use YouTube most often for podcasts" according to new data from Signal Hill Insights released today. 24% say they only consume video podcasts in the country, though.

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• The Simplify podcast, which is nearing episode 100, is now independent - it has been bought by its co-hosts from its previous owner, Blinkist. The show, which interviews non-fiction authors, will record in a Berlin-based bookshop.
• Goalhanger has made three senior leadership hires. Chloe Straw joins as Director of Operations; she was formerly at industry trade body AudioUK. Emily Kent Smith joins from The Sunday Times as Editorial Director; and Andy Hodgson is the new Chief Financial Officer. The company is now delivering over 70 million full-episode streams monthly.
• Podstock is to work across the PodX Group to provide analytics and management tools. The integration will allow PodX to streamline operations across studios and to easily measure performance for its entire portfolio.

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• As widely predicted, Amy Poehler's Good Hang won the Best Podcast at the Golden Globes. Given the prize by Snoop Dogg, in her acceptance speech she said that her podcast was "an attempt to make a very rough and unkind world fill with a little more love and laughter - and laughing with people, not at them". It's the first time that the Golden Globes have had a podcast category; there were six nominees and a little controversy, with some suggesting the awards don't understand the industry. Good Hang only launched in March 2025; in an interview, Poehler said she was a fan of the medium of podcasting and a huge listener.
  • Spotify Global Head of Podcasts Roman Wasenmüller told Podnews: “Good Hang with Amy Poehler winning Best Podcast at the Golden Globes is a powerful validation of what we’ve long believed—that podcasts are one of the most impactful and culturally relevant forms of storytelling today. Amy, with her team and The Ringer, have created something truly special, and this recognition celebrates the creativity, heart, and ambition behind their work. To see a podcast honored on this global stage is not only a win for Good Hang, but a defining moment for podcasting and Spotify.”
  • SiriusXM had three of the six nominees, and hosted a pre-Golden Globes brunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles.
• Nikki Glaser, the host of the Golden Globes, also ran a comedy bit making fun of podcasts, including skipping ads and "vulnerable moments hijacked by inappropriate ad copy".
• Netflix launched "podcasting" on its service, with The Bill Simmons Podcast. It posted a video promoting upcoming shows from Spotify Studios, The Ringer, iHeartMedia and Barstool Sports, on a social media site. The Bill Simmons Podcast has 257,000 subscribers on YouTube and each episode got around 100,000 views; but will no longer be available on YouTube as a result of the deal. Podcasts are only available on Netflix in the US, so international viewers are now out of luck.

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