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October 21, 2024:
    Podnews keeps an eye on shows moving from one podcast host to another, and it’s worth a peek every so often. Spotify for Podcasters gains a lot of shows, but has a high churn rate, losing around half the number of the shows it gains. In the last thirty days, Simplecast, Captivate and Acast are the other winners; Soundcloud, Omny Studio, Libsyn and Buzzsprout are the losers.
August 30, 2024:
August 15, 2024:
    Edison Research revealed the Top 50 Podcasts in the US measured by weekly audience (and done through a survey, so every podcast gets measured). There’s no change in the top three: The Daily at #3, Crime Junkie at #2 and Joe Rogan at #1. 24 shows are hosted on Megaphone; 9 on Simplecast.
June 5, 2024:
May 22, 2024:
April 18, 2024:
April 4, 2024:
March 12, 2024:
January 30, 2024:
January 11, 2024:
January 8, 2024:
    Ten podcast companies are still not certified for the latest version of the IAB’s podcast measurement guidelines v2.1, in spite of being asked to do so by the end of 2022. More than a year later, the IAB’s list of compliant companies still shows AdsWizz, Anchor (now Spotify), Buzzsprout, Captivate, Chartable, Libsyn, Megaphone, Podbean, Podtrac and Simplecast as only compliant to v2.0 of the guidelines, something that means “they will lose current status”, according to the IAB Tech Lab.
December 22, 2023:
December 15, 2023:
December 5, 2023:
    What’s the future for IAB Podcast Measurement? In November 2022, we reported that the IAB’s v2.0 certification would no longer be valid after Dec 31 2023. As of today, some of podcasting’s largest names are still only compliant to v2.0, and all will lose their claim to certification by the end of the year unless recertified: Adswizz, Buzzsprout, Captivate, Chartable, “EmpireStreaming” (now Soundstack), Libsyn, PodBean, Podtrac, Simplecast, and “Anchor” (now Spotify Creator Studio).
November 29, 2023:
    Podnews has published Apple's top shows for 14 different countries, and analysed the results. From the 140 awarded shows, "true crime" and "culture" were the most popular categories. Megaphone hosts the most popular shows, with 15; Simplecast and Acast both host 13. The Huberman Lab was the only show to have made it to three country lists. You can also compare the lists from 2022.
October 5, 2022:
June 23, 2022:
May 17, 2022:
April 11, 2022:
March 7, 2022:
    In our sample, we observed Buzzsprout losing 27 podcasts last week, and Libsyn losing 14. The podcast hosts gaining the most were, as they always are, Anchor and Megaphone; though Simplecast and Acast also saw a good number of migrations.
November 24, 2021:
    Joe Rogan isn't the #1 podcast in Spotify again - The Always Sunny Podcast has beaten Rogan to the top slot. Hosted on Simplecast, it's a fan podcast about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a sitcom which returns for a fifteenth season on December 1. (It's not an exclusive show; and while we're sure they're there on merit, we've heard whispers that there's some chart manipulation going on elsewhere in Spotify. We're at editor@podnews.net if you want to give us a tip).
November 18, 2021:
    The Joe Rogan Experience is still #1. Call Her Daddy has climbed, even though it became a Spotify Exclusive in the last quarter; Serial has also climbed a place, in spite of not releasing an episode since 2018. NPR host 19 of the top 50; Megaphone 13; Simplecast 10. The highest new entry is True Crime Garage at #43. The top 10 is 50% hosted by women.
September 15, 2021:
    Simplecast founder and CEO Brad Smith has been promoted: he's been named Head of Podcast Products for SiriusXM. Simplecast was acquired by SiriusXM last year; SiriusXM also owns Pandora, Stitcher and Adswizz. Smith will be responsible for podcast strategy across platforms for creators and listeners. SiriusXM's CEO, Jennifer Witz, said on Monday that the company plans a broader set of podcasts available to Pandora listeners, and will continue to publish across multiple platforms, though also suggested some opportunities for exclusivity.
August 23, 2021:
June 24, 2021:
April 29, 2021:
    Q1/21 revenue is 5% up at SiriusXM, which owns AdsWizz, Simplecast, Stitcher and 99% Invisible. Revenue was boosted by Stitcher and AdsWizz revenue. Pandora has lost 8% of its monthly users over the past year, though.
April 26, 2021:
    Sounds Profitable suggests that postrolls are nonsense, and interviews Dane Cardiel from Simplecast about how to rebrand post-roll and to use DCI better.
February 3, 2021:
    SiriusXM has published their annual report. Their Pandora business (which includes AdsWizz, Stitcher and Simplecast) saw a 1% drop in ad revenue in 2020, and a drop of 2% for subscriber revenue.
January 22, 2021:
    The New York Times, including The Daily, appear to have quietly switched to host with Simplecast. They were hosting with ART19.
January 7, 2021:
January 1, 2021:
December 31, 2020:

the last big piece of M&A activity in podcasting? It was certainly the largest company still available: but there will be more acquisitions on the horizon. In particular, Amazon lacks the long tail that a consumer podcast host can give them - just as Acast bought Pippa, Spotify bought Anchor and SiriusXM bought Simplecast, Amazon could own a host of its own as a way to reach other platforms and to incubate new talent. Amazon also lacks any podcasting ad-tech companies; ART19, which hosts a number of the largest podcasts in the world, remains privately-owned. Let's watch this space.

December 11, 2020:
November 19, 2020:
    SiriusXM has become "the exclusive advertising representative and end-to-end ad tech platform for a broad slate of NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC podcasts", says a press release. The agreement includes Stitcher, AdsWizz and Simplecast, which the company owns.
September 16, 2020:
    SiriusXM announces a new CEO and CFO. James E Meyer will retire at the end of this year to be replaced by Jennifer C Witz, who is currently the President of Sales, Marketing and Operations. Sean S Sullivan is appointed the new CFO; David J Frear is "pursuing other opportunities, effective immediately". The company owns Pandora, Simplecast and Stitcher.
August 11, 2020:

Thank you to podcast host Simplecast, who have increased their amount of support as their company grows. An IAB-certified host, they offer comprehensive analytics and unlimited storage. We're grateful to them for their support. Be like them.

July 31, 2020:
July 30, 2020:
    Anne Frisbie from AdsWizz and Brad Smith from Simplecast spoke to our Editor at the RAIN Global Business Summit yesterday. Smith spoke about the additional targeting opportunities from making audio more personalised, which Simplecast offers in a number of ways; Frisbie highlighted the auto transcription services that AdsWizz offer, which allows advertisers to advertise alongside individual topics - or to avoid them completely.
July 7, 2020:
    Sirius XM is in advanced talks to buy Stitcher. SiriusXM owns Pandora, a US-only music service and podcast app), AdsWizz, a programmatic audio ads technology company, and Simplecast, a podcast host and analytics service, along with the US satellite radio service. Stitcher encompasses Midroll, a podcast advertising company selling ads for 350 shows, podcast production networks Stitcher Podcasts and Earwolf which make 50 shows, and a podcast app.
June 19, 2020:

Thank you to podcast editor and voiceover Harlie who became our 14,000th subscriber today, joining new subscribers this week from Spotify, NOVA Entertainment, Condé Nast, Megaphone, Simplecast and Gimlet Media among many others.

June 18, 2020:
May 28, 2020:
March 26, 2020:
    Lantigua Williams & Co.’s 70 Million has become part of The Democracy Group, "a network of podcasts united around the goal of helping listeners understand what’s broken in our democracy, and how people are working together to fix it." (Simplecast)
March 23, 2020:
    Cavalry Audio and Cloud 10 launch Made Women, a Sopranos re-watch podcast. It's the first release from the newly-announced Cavalry Audio, and is hosted by actor and Sopranos star, Drea De Matteo and her close friend, entrepreneur and New Jersey native Chris Kushner. (Simplecast)
March 17, 2020:
    Podcast Junkies has interviewed our Editor, James Cridland, on what podcasting can learn from radio. It's a wide-ranging interview with lots of our Editor's back story. (Harry Duran / Simplecast)
March 16, 2020:
    The Carlötta Beautox Chronicles, a comedy fiction podcast that follows a wannabe actress in Hollywood, debuts its musical episode today - with five original songs performed by the series's stars. The show promises a variety of styles including blues, jazz, and rap. (Simplecast)
March 11, 2020:
March 4, 2020:
March 2, 2020:
    "It’s good to be in something from the ground floor. I came too late for that." Talking Sopranos is a new podcast from two actors on the show, launching next month that focuses on the show, episode by episode. (Simplecast)
February 25, 2020:
    Blinkist is launching their first original podcast. State of Mind launches tomorrow, and features, as guests, Carles Puyol (FC Barça), Kickstarter's founder Ryan Holiday, and the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel. It's hosted by Blinkist's co-founder Niklas Jansen. (Simplecast)
February 24, 2020:
February 7, 2020:
    For Black History Month, try Following Harriet - a companion podcast to the film Harriet, telling the story of Harriet Tubman, who brought hundreds of slaves to freedom in 19th century America. (Tanner Latham / Simplecast)
February 6, 2020:
January 21, 2020:
    Twitter's careers department has launched a podcast. Called #Building Characters, each episode features University Recruiters at Twitter, uncovering the secret to launching your career in tech. (Pod People / Simplecast)
January 13, 2020:
    Equity, the podcast from TechCrunch focused on venture capital, now has a Monday edition - a short episode designed to get your week started. (Simplecast)
December 24, 2019:
    Were you raised by wolves?, a podcast about etiquette and manners, has a Christmas special episode. Is it rude to regift? If you're feeling stressed about money, is it rude to give handmade gifts to your friends? Is it rude to not see all my friends and extended family when I go home for the holidays? They have the answer. (Simplecast)
December 20, 2019:
    In an email, Stephen Hallgren from Simplecast has noted that preload="metadata" behaviour has changed on Android Chrome at some point recently, possibly since a new release in late October - trebling the amount of download data (and bringing it way above the IAB minimum). This potentially means that any player could succumb to the same issue that we noted earlier this week. Podtrac are keeping a close eye on this latest development: it may explain why the Us Weekly podcast saw such a traffic jump in November.
December 11, 2019:
    Limitless with Josh Patterson is back for its second season, after being #1 on the Apple Podcasts trending chart earlier this year. It features "incredible people who have shown that resilience and determination provide endless opportunities". (Simplecast)
December 10, 2019:
    Podcast host Transistor now supports WebSub, to help get your episodes quicker to podcast apps. Captivate, Simplecast, Zencast, Transistor, Powerpress and Buzzsprout now all support the standard.
December 4, 2019:
    The Sydney Opera House has launched Arty Farty: A Podcast for Kids - a feed that contains two different shows, Creative Conversations, an interview podcast, and This Kid Life, where kids "discuss life as they see and experience it". They describe the combined feed as "a brand new hub for podcasts" (Simplecast)
December 3, 2019:
    Starting Greatness offers lessons from startup super performers before they were successful, and features interviews with some of Silicon Valley’s most influential business leaders including Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Nextdoor co-founder Sarah Leary, and Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger. It's hosted by Mike Maples from Floodgate. (Simplecast)
November 18, 2019:
    The Royal Family are in the news again - but Netflix's latest move into podcasting comes with The Crown, launched today to accompany season 3 of the show. Presented by Edith Bowman, the twice-weekly podcast delves deeper into the stories, with insights from those involved with the show. Earlier this month, the streaming giant launched a podcast accompaniment to Daybreak. (Netflix / Somethin'Else / Simplecast)
November 15, 2019:
    Secret Leaders, featuring interviews with high-flying CEOs and forward-thinking founders, is back for a new season, starting with the British-born founder of Slack. (Simplecast)
November 13, 2019:
    Microsoft have launched a podcast. "The In Culture podcast brought to you by Microsoft is a platform for musicians, artists, fashion designers, gamers, and creators to tell their stories and how they have harnessed Microsoft's technology to make strides in their prospective artistic fields!" Interesting to note, no prominent "subscribe with Apple Podcasts" link on the podcast's homepage. (Simplecast)
November 6, 2019:
    Uncommon, a long-form interview podcast "helping you build your knowledge, skills and mindset through interviews with unique individuals", interviews James Cridland, Podnews's Editor. Here's the episode on YouTube. (Neuralle Media / Simplecast)
October 24, 2019:
October 22, 2019:
October 21, 2019:
October 10, 2019:
    Camp Monsters focuses on stories of impossibly scary creatures across the wildest corners of North America. ("Camp" like campfire not like RuPaul's Drag Race, although the enormous frog sounds fabulous). The trailer's in our podcast today. (REI Co-op / Simplecast)
October 2, 2019:
October 1, 2019:
September 25, 2019:
    Were you raised by wolves? will teach you proper behavior, good manners, and impeccable etiquette. The hosts, Emmy Award-winning journalist Nick Leighton and stand-up comic Leah Bonnema, say that it will help you be a better person... "or at least make people think you are, which is all that really matters anyway". (Simplecast)
September 23, 2019:
    Just launched: School Colors - a new podcast from Brooklyn Deep about how race, class, and power shape American cities and schools. Bedford-Stuyvesant is one of the largest and most iconic historically Black communities in the United States. Schools there used to be so overcrowded that students went to school in shifts. Now, they’re half-empty. Why? (Brooklyn Deep / Simplecast)
September 20, 2019:
    Only 14% of podcast listens on Apple Podcasts are downloads, according to new data from Simplecast: the rest are streams. In comparison, on Overcast 87% of podcasts are downloaded first. "Podcasts apps ought to default their audio delivery to streaming", says the company.
September 18, 2019:
    The first podcast from a street? Shaping the Future by Regent Street is a new podcast to celebrate the 200th anniversary year of Regent Street in London, which "has hosted and helped shaped so many of the cultural milestones over the years". It's hosted by novelist and journalist Elizabeth Day. (Mags Creative / Simplecast)
September 11, 2019:
    Exclusive: The amount of listening to podcasts on the web is increasing, according to new data supplied to Podnews by Simplecast. The data represents all Simplecast shows, and shows plays from Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts on the web. "Many podcast hosts would just credit 'web browsers' with this data," said Stephen Hallgren, CTO of Simplecast. "But because Simplecast is able to check HTTP referrers, we're also able to see how successful Apple Podcasts Preview is on the web, and how popular Google Podcasts plays are within Google Search. All these metrics are IAB compliant and are reportable through our Audience dashboard."
September 5, 2019:
    Simplecast has enabled "passthrough" from Spotify, and integrated Spotify data in their dashboard. Of note: "You may notice differences between your Dashboard’s Spotify numbers and what you see in your Spotify Podcast Portal - typically Simplecast will be lower."
August 21, 2019:
    Spotify's plans for podcasting are the subject of this article in E-Commerce Times. (I must have had a Simplecast press release in front of me at the time!)
August 14, 2019:
August 6, 2019:
    Geek Speak has, as guest in its latest episode, Brad Smith from podcast host Simplecast. His first computer? A 386. Your Editor's was a Commodore PET, young man.
July 26, 2019:
July 22, 2019:
July 18, 2019:
    The Back Up Plan celebrates what happens when people choose their "Plan B". Hosted by Alice Judge-Talbot, this week's edition features Em Clarkson talking about activism, feminism and the happiness she has found from self acceptance. (Mags Creative / Simplecast)
July 17, 2019:
July 8, 2019:
June 26, 2019:
    The NZ Tech Show is a weekly podcast from New Zealand, talking tech news. Host Paul Spain is joined by our Editor, James Cridland, this week. (Podcasts NZ / Simplecast)
June 25, 2019:
    The Cool Kids Table from non-profit NikoFrank Productions, celebrates kindness in the entertainment business. Each guest is "specifically chosen for their unique motivational story and how any obstacle can be overcome with dedication, hard work and most importantly, kindness". (Simplecast)
June 21, 2019:
June 11, 2019:
June 6, 2019:
May 29, 2019:
    Wildfire is a new podcast from REI Co-op, a camping equipment company. It's a six-part investigative series into a controversial wildfire in Oregon, US, that trapped over 150 hikers and burnt over 50,000 acres; and a broader look at forest fires. (Simplecast)
May 28, 2019:
    Biceps & Banter contains stories of physical and mental resilience. Just launched, it promises to "tackle preconceptions about health, wellness and strength in a way that will leave you feeling lifted and ready to take on anything". (Mags Creative / Simplecast)
May 27, 2019:
May 22, 2019:
    Photo Business Help is a new podcast from Natalie Jennings, promising to teach "effective strategies to tackle productivity, organization, and content creation while recognizing that in order to do grow a business we must first care for mind, body, and spirit." (Simplecast)
May 21, 2019:
May 17, 2019:
May 15, 2019:
    We regularly see which podcast app is most popular; but Simplecast have shared which web player is most popular for their podcasts. Ignoring their own player, Apple Podcasts leads the pack, driving about 2.5 times more plays than Google Podcasts - so far.
May 9, 2019:
    An Alien In Hollywood is the story about the life and times of legendary filmmaker and “Godfather of Hollywood science fiction” Ronald Shusett - the man behind Alien, Total Recall and Minority Report. (Simplecast)
April 29, 2019:
April 24, 2019:
    The Daily Talk Show bills itself as "a conversation sometimes worth recording", with two business owners Josh and Tommy (who own Melbourne's Big Media Company). Recording every weekday for over a year, they've already done over 330 episodes. They're new Podnews supporters today: thank you. (Simplecast)
March 29, 2019:
    Podcast host Simplecast has unveiled a new podcast distribution and analytics platform, which includes clipping for social media, granular analytics, and one-click distribution to multiple platforms. The company has also put support for pubsubhubbub live after our piece last week, allowing podcast listeners on supported platforms to see new episodes as soon as they're published. The company has also raised $5m in funding.
March 28, 2019:
    Launching on March 31, Minor Adventures with Topher Grace promises "exciting adventures with your favorite celebrities, Informative and eye-opening explorations of niche topics, hands-on demonstrations and entertaining experiments." In the upcoming season, Nina Dobrev learns to DJ, Tig Notaro becomes an auctioneer, and Chelsea Peretti takes Myers-Briggs. (Our Editor reckons he's INFP. You?) (Simplecast)
March 25, 2019:
    Between 2 Mics is the podcast from SquadCast's co-founders Zack and Rock. Every week, the podcast "explores challenges, opportunities, & new ideas that push the limits of what’s possible in podcasting". (Simplecast)
March 14, 2019:
    Preserve this Podcast, a podcast preservation project, now has its own podcast to preserve. Host Molly Schwartz interviews different podcasters about their efforts to maintain archives of their work. (Simplecast)
March 13, 2019:
January 15, 2019:
January 7, 2019:
January 3, 2019:
    IAB Certification update: Whooshkaa lets us know that they, too, are in the process of attaining IAB Certification. They join Simplecast, Voxnest/Spreaker, Megaphone, Libsyn, Omny Studio, and ART19. Blubrry and NPR are already there.
December 31, 2018:
    Simplecast is in the process of attaining IAB Certification. They join Voxnest/Spreaker, Megaphone, Libsyn, Omny Studio, and ART19. With Blubrry and NPR having already achieved it, that's over a quarter of a million dollars that the IAB has earnt so far from certification. Cough
December 26, 2018:
November 22, 2018:
    Christmas is coming. Welcome to Tinsel Town is a Christmas adventure for all ages, in the style of Disney/Pixar. All seven episodes are out today - it sounds like a perfect podcast for the holidays. (Triangle Content / Simplecast)
November 9, 2018:
    Their Own Devices looks at our kids' use of new tech. Smartphones give our kids unprecedented educational, creative, and social value. But they also trigger waves of social and psychological maladies faster than we can combat them: anxiety, depression, addiction, loneliness, fear of missing out, privacy invasion, and risky behaviour. Are tech companies happy to exploit our kids’ natural weaknesses? (Podglomerate / Simplecast)
October 19, 2018:
October 1, 2018:

Welcome to our new subscribers last week, including excellent folk from Acast, Simplecast, MDR, Pocketcasts, Westwood One, the BBC, Audioboom, Bauer Media, Prisa Media and Communicorp UK.

August 30, 2018:
August 2, 2018:
July 13, 2018:

Thank you to the 124 new subscribers we've had this week, including fine folk from Simplecast, Amazon, StreamGuys, NPR, Repod, Klara, AdResults Media, Rhodes University, the Canadian Podcast Network, Scripps, SBS and Luminary.

June 22, 2018:

Thank you to the 99 new subscribers over the past week, including lovely people from Recode, ESPN, Corus, the BBC, Ad Results Media, Luminary, NDR, United Talent, Simplecast, Radioworks, FBI Radio, Red Bull, the CBC, Whooshkaa, How Stuff Works and AJC. Special thank you to Stargate Pioneer, the host of GonnaGeek, for your kind personal Patreon support.

May 28, 2018:
May 1, 2018:
    Dan Misener from podcast producer Pacific Content shares their own internal dashboard: 'episode trajectories' (using SimpleCast's API).
March 12, 2018:
    Simplecast have launched Recast, a listener-driven podcast sharing and discovery tool that allows listeners to clip and share portions of podcasts.
February 14, 2018:
    Some interesting technical detail from Simplecast about how they host podcasts and RSS. Of interest: they're stopping producing dynamic RSS feeds, and are writing them manually.
February 12, 2018:
    Steve Wilson, who looks after marketing at Apple Podcasts, notes "friends don't let friends host their podcasts on SoundCloud" in a tweet, and recommends SimpleCast instead. He wants podcasters to use a podcast host that's designed to be a podcast host.
February 7, 2018:
January 9, 2018:

Thank you to Geller Media International, Simplecast and TopPodcast.com who join our great list of supporters.

January 1, 2018:
December 22, 2017:

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