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December 5, 2023:
December 4, 2023:
    Podcast app Castro is “actively seeking a new home with new owners”. Last week, we reported that Mohit Mamoria, a former Castro employee who works for Tiny, Castro’s current owners, said it was to close; but “any communication or publication regarding the app's future is not official and does not represent Castro’s views” said the blog post. The blog post was the first for three years, and did not have a named author. (The app is now working again after an extended outage last week.)
December 1, 2023:
    Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast suggests that in 2024 advertisers will get more comfortable with brand safety in podcasting; and that more precise regional and local targeting will mean a boom in that sector of advertising. The predictions are made alongside the company’s average CPM for November, which rose 2.6% month-on-month to $22.96, though is down more than 6% year-on-year.
November 30, 2023:
    We've an interview tomorrow with Anna Sian, Head of Marketing at Spotify for Podcasters, in the Podnews Weekly Review: she advises checking your podcast page on Spotify to make sure your data is all up to date.
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.
November 28, 2023:
November 27, 2023:
November 24, 2023:
    One Podnews reader points out that the decrease in podcast downloads seen by most rankers and hosts over the past few months may have a knock-on effect: more makegoods, as advertisers don't hit the numbers they were expecting. Makegoods - free spots to make up for lower than expected numbers - tie up future inventory. "This drop is not-nothing", our reader points out.
November 23, 2023:
November 22, 2023:
    If you're a podcast host, and able to calculate total figures for Apple Podcasts for August and October? We'd love to compare them to help the industry. editor@podnews.net
November 21, 2023:
November 20, 2023:
November 17, 2023:
November 16, 2023:
November 15, 2023:
November 14, 2023:
    Johnny Jet, a travel blogger, is the latest victim of a scam aimed at podcasters. It was a Facebook hack, where someone promised to pay a guest fee of $3,000, and gained control of his Facebook page under the guise of setting up a live event. Here's someone else reporting the same thing; and Podnews knows of a very high-profile podcaster who fell for a similar scam in September (being promised $2,000 to remotely speak). He told us: "We should warn podcasters about this. They’re PHISHING, but targeting podcasters specifically. This pitch was tailored to me personally."
November 13, 2023:
November 10, 2023:
November 9, 2023:
    While daytimes are for audio podcasts, evenings are when people seek out video podcasts, according to new consumption information from Spotify. Spotify's podcast edition of its Fan Study 2023, published today, contains data-driven insights from the platform. The data also says that 54% of people find new podcasts by hearing about them on a show they already listen to.
November 8, 2023:
    Total listens dipped in the quarter (Jul/Aug/Sep) by 2.9%. Acast CEO Ross Adams blamed a decrease in listens on changes in download behaviour by Apple Podcasts in iOS 17. But, iOS 17 was only released on Sep 18, and only 16.7% of iPhones had installed it by the end of September, an adoption rate that Cult of Mac calls "a trickle". Too early to blame Cupertino?
November 7, 2023:
November 6, 2023:
    Podhome, a new podcast hosting platform, has launched. The service offers transcripts and AI suggestions; support for Value4Value and other new "Podcasting 2.0" features like the ability to host music shows; and also offers team members, embedded players and podcast websites. The founder and lead developer is Barry Luijbregts, who gives us the code Podnews (it's case sensitive) for two months free.
November 3, 2023:
    PRX has published its annual report. 80 different organisations use its Dovetail podcast tools; 99% Invisible's Roman Mars donated more than $100,000 to the organisation, while Google donated more than $1mn. The organisation made $12.8mn in underwriting.
November 2, 2023:
November 1, 2023:
October 31, 2023:
    Back in December 2021, the National Association for the Deaf and Disability Rights Advocates sued SiriusXM for "failing to provide podcast transcripts for deaf users"; a request SiriusXM's lawyers called "misplaced and completely unreasonable" in August 2022. The case is due to reach a deadline on Dec 8; last week, Disability Rights Advocates wrote to the judge suggesting that SiriusXM may be working on "accessibility aids on the podcast content available on their platforms".
October 30, 2023:
October 27, 2023:
October 26, 2023:
October 25, 2023:
    We hear that Spotify is testing public comments for podcasts. For select shows, all listener responses from the proprietary Q&A feature will be made available on the show’s episode page on Spotify, as long as they meet Spotify’s content guidelines. Spotify tells Podnews that "Participating creators will continue to have full control over questions and responses — they can publish or unpublish any response, or edit or remove Q&A prompts, through the interact tab of the Spotify for Podcasters dashboard." (By way of comparison, reviews left on Apple Podcasts are not editable by creators.)
October 24, 2023:
October 23, 2023:
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October 19, 2023:
October 18, 2023:
October 17, 2023:
    How can you make a whole podcast just using AI - no microphones required? Paul McNally produced a podcast with three hosts chatting about the news, entirely AI generated. He writes how he did it, and produced the Develop AI podcast which is impressive (try episode 1 for an episode based on his blog post). McNally founded Develop AI, an AI training and strategy company, and runs podcast producer Develop Audio.
October 16, 2023:
    Exclusive: Ausha is launching a Podcast Search Optimisation tool today. The tool monitors and optimises show appearance in podcast app search results, suggests keywords to rank for, and monitors Apple Podcasts and Spotify to measure the effect of any change. It's available in beta for selected customers today, before a full launch later in the year.
October 13, 2023:
October 12, 2023:
October 11, 2023:
October 10, 2023:
    Podcasts are launching on YouTube Music in the UK today, the second-largest podcast market in the world. We're told there will be a podcasts destination page within the YouTube Music app (normally pre-installed on all modern Android phones). The company also reaffirmed that "Later this year, we'll offer support for creators to directly submit their RSS feeds to YouTube to distribute their audio podcasts." YouTube UK Lead Alison Lomax said: "We’re thrilled to be launching podcasts in the UK on YouTube Music. Podcasts have soared in popularity in recent years among all age groups, particularly Gen Z users, and there is clearly an appetite for this longer–form audio visual content."
October 9, 2023:
October 6, 2023:
    Kagi, a paid-for, ad-free search engine, has a permanent Podcasts tab, we notice. It looks like this; links are to the Apple Podcasts listing for the podcast, not direct to the episode, disappointingly.
October 5, 2023:
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September 29, 2023:
September 28, 2023:
September 27, 2023:
September 26, 2023:
    This isn't a new technology. Hear our Editor translated into Spanish in the Podnews Daily podcast today - from almost two years ago.
September 25, 2023:
September 22, 2023:
September 21, 2023:
    Headliner has added a free transcription service into Make, the company's audiogram and video tool. Once you log in, look for the big pink transcribe button. The product, called Eddy, also allows you to edit a podcast as if it's a word document. (We were given a complimentary subscription to Headliner to publish the Podnews Weekly Review on YouTube.)
September 20, 2023:
September 19, 2023:
September 18, 2023:
    A simple, straightforward way to promote your podcast? Embedding your audio in an email - so it plays right in the email app. We tested using the HTML audio tag in email and learnt that it is an effective way to promote your show - it works for much of your audience, and degrades gracefully for those where it doesn't. See all the details in our full report.
September 15, 2023:
    Podnews first reported the Kast Media story in July. This week has seen further reporting from HotPod and Bloomberg.
September 14, 2023:
    Have you heard of an Aperol Spritz? 50% of all consumers haven't: but almost every marketer knows about the Italian wine-based cocktail. It's one example, according to new research from Pushkin Industries and iHeartMedia, of marketers increasingly not understanding the consumers they're trying to reach. The data claims that marketers often chase the ‘shiny and new’ at the expense of reflecting the values and priorities of real consumers.
September 13, 2023:
    Marketing data company Claritas has acquired adtech service ArtsAI. Claritas runs an "identity graph" which lets advertisers target consumers based on what else they do on their devices; ArtsAI uses AI to optimise advertising delivery. Terms of the deal weren't given. ArtsAI's CRO, Erik Lundberg, told Podnews: "When you start thinking about the possibilities of merging our advanced AI personalization with their identity and data graph, it's really phenomenal."
September 12, 2023:
    Alex Estrada has a question to ask in a new podcast from Sonoro and Tenderfoot TV - was his dad involved in a murder? Fifty years after a 34 year-old man was killed, The Estate blends true crime and family memoir to look at the complicated legacy we are left with when people die. It's out tomorrow.
September 11, 2023:
September 8, 2023:
September 7, 2023:
    "Podcasts don't need ads", said Luminary in a criticised, and since-deleted, tweet when it launched. Today, Luminary has partnered with Acast to make six of its exclusive shows available wherever you get your podcasts - monetised by ads. The company will also use Acast+ Access to give access to its paid subscription content in any app: the company also uses Apple Podcasts's paid subscriptions.
September 6, 2023:
September 5, 2023:
    Part of the Airwave Podcast Network: Stay up to date on the latest business news and stock market happenings—and how they affect your financial life with the SoFi Daily Podcast
September 4, 2023:
    Another former Kast Media creator has spoken out against the company. Hawk vs Wolf's Jason Ellis posted on Instagram that the company "had decided to not pay us the money that they owe us".
September 1, 2023:
August 31, 2023:
August 30, 2023:
    Five US late-night hosts are producing a limited series podcast to raise money for their out-of-work staff during the WGA strike. Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver are making Strike Force Five, a limited series ("at least twelve episodes"), with Spotify.
August 29, 2023:
August 28, 2023:
    Launched Sept 2020 in Podnews, NPR ends localised versions of the Consider This podcast this week, which they claimed at the time was the "first localised daily news podcast". Localisation "did not prove sustainable", said a spokesperson; Current reports that the production process wasn't scalable; audiences didn't value it much anyway; and NPR is moving to Megaphone which means the use of different tools. Consider This continues, with national content (featuring anchors like Mary Louise Kelly, above)
August 25, 2023:
August 24, 2023:
August 23, 2023:
    YouTube will fully support ingestion of RSS feeds for podcasts by the end of the year, it was announced at Podcast Movement by the Product Lead Podcasting at Google, Steve McLendon, speaking to Ausha's Jennifer Han. He also made the first public acknowledgement of the ongoing beta testing that we reported on in May. (It ingests RSS audio feeds and turns them into YouTube-hosted video, like CNN One Thing which we understand is using it.)
August 22, 2023:

The Podnews Puppies: at Podcast Movement, lunchtime is playtime! Find the Podnews Puppies in front of our booth between 12.30pm and 2.30pm today. We've partnered with MaxFund, an animal adoption centre in Denver.%%promo-end%%

August 21, 2023:

Waggy news: introducing the Podnews Puppies! Partnering with MaxFund, an animal adoption centre in Denver, Podnews brings you lunchtime playtime with the Podnews Puppies on the Podcast Movement expo floor! Find the Podnews Puppies (and their schedule) in front of our booth. Unlimited pats and strokes on us!%%promo-end%%

August 18, 2023:
August 17, 2023:
August 16, 2023:
    The Podnews Weekly Review this week will have an interview with Squadcast CEOs Zachariah Moreno and Rockwell Felder.
August 15, 2023:
August 14, 2023:
    Last week, Audacy's financial results included note of "an early exit to an onerous podcast ad representation contract". They didn't say who at the time; The Verge reports it is this agreement with APM. The final para of the press release: "UTA brokered the deal on behalf of American Public Media."
August 11, 2023:
August 10, 2023:
    You can support Podnews via Patreon, as the fine people below all do: your support funds our reporting and tools for the whole industry.
August 9, 2023:
August 8, 2023:
August 7, 2023:
August 4, 2023:
August 3, 2023:
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August 1, 2023:
July 31, 2023:
July 28, 2023:
    "What I was naïve to - and perhaps we all were - is that corporate dollars will inherently change how we do things, how we make things, what gets made, why things get made. I saw a lot of that money that people were investing in podcasts was going towards people who hadn't made podcasts - and then they hired the people who had made them to work for those people. And now, however, many years later, the rent is due and it didn't pan out." Rebecca Sananès is on the Podnews Weekly Review this week, following her article in Vanity Fair; you'll hear how she was hired to work with Harry and Meghan, why there aren't enough women in podcasting, and what she wants to do next.
July 27, 2023:
July 26, 2023:
July 25, 2023:
July 24, 2023:
    Cornette alleges that all of Kast Media's sales team have left the company. Podnews has noticed that a number of Kast Media staff are indeed posting on LinkedIn that they are "open for work", while others left the company a few months ago. Notably, Mike Jensen, the company's former Chief Business Officer, launched Rhapsody Voices, his own podcast network, in June. Jim Cornette's shows are now represented by Rhapsody Voices.
July 21, 2023:
    Oprah's Super Soul, which she plays excerpts from in the Starbucks app, focuses on Abraham Verghese's work and is a six part series.
July 20, 2023:
July 19, 2023:
July 18, 2023:
July 17, 2023:
July 14, 2023:
    'Podcasts' here refers to shows uploaded directly to YouTube; it doesn't yet support its trialed RSS ingestion.
July 13, 2023:
July 12, 2023:
July 11, 2023:
July 10, 2023:
July 7, 2023:
    42% of Americans now listen to a podcast monthly
July 6, 2023:
July 5, 2023:
    Audm, the article narration company bought by The New York Times in March 2020, has been closed. As of July 1, the website redirects to a promotion for the New York Times Audio app, and the Audm app is no longer available for download. The company last tweeted in July 2021; and last updated its Facebook page in September 2019.
July 4, 2023:
July 3, 2023:
June 30, 2023:
    Android is still highly fragmented for podcast apps, according to data from the Open Podcast Prefix Project, analysed by Podnews. Data from 4.75mn downloads in May suggests that, while Spotify is the clear leader, the app ecosystem on Android remains significantly more fragmented than that of Apple - even when combining downloads from iOS, iPadOS and macOS.
June 29, 2023:
June 28, 2023:
    One of the oldest podcast apps, Stitcher is to close on Aug 29. An internal memo, seen by Podnews, says that the "scale and reach of our widely-distributed podcasts has been and remains a crucial accelerant for our advertising sales business". In January, Stitcher was the sixth-biggest podcast app in the US, according to Podtrac - though it had lost a quarter of its users in two years, and had only 1.3% of the market.
June 27, 2023:
June 26, 2023:
June 23, 2023:
    A new podcast app for kids has been launched. KidsPod includes more than 300 shows, and an in-app coloring book. It's claimed to be the first of its kind to present over 300 kids’ podcasts in a visual, intuitive and safe way.
June 22, 2023:
June 21, 2023:
June 20, 2023:
    On our story on Meghan Markle's Archetypes, which was produced by Archewell and Gimlet: Andy Scott, a former Gimlet staffer, tweets: "We did occasionally have producers do interviews, though never the main ones, and we never edited her asking questions into interviews that producers conducted."
June 19, 2023:
    Meghan Markle's podcast produced just twelve episodes in a $20mn contract. The Wall Street Journal suggests that she may not earn the full amount after not meeting productivity clauses. Podnews has heard from multiple sources that some interviews on the show were done by other staffers, with her questions edited-in afterwards.
June 16, 2023:
June 15, 2023:
June 14, 2023:
June 13, 2023:
June 12, 2023:
    First look: Podcast hosting company RSS.com has launched PodViz, an in-house visualisation tool to produce videos from audio podcasts for services like YouTube. The service supports chapter art and YouTube metadata; an example is here. It's not limited to the company's hosting customers: any podcaster can try it here.
June 9, 2023:
June 8, 2023:
June 7, 2023:
June 6, 2023:
    "Apple Podcasts will support episode artwork for all shows." (See our episode artwork on the Podnews Daily). Episode artwork is already supported by Spotify and Pocket Casts.
June 5, 2023:
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June 1, 2023:
May 31, 2023:
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May 29, 2023:
May 26, 2023:
May 25, 2023:
    At The Podcast Show 2023 in London, it was announced that Edison Podcast Metrics are coming to the UK. Edison Podcast Metrics UK will be the first podcast ranker in the country, and will use a quarterly survey of at least 2,000 weekly podcast listeners. The company's release includes indicative data of the top five shows (none of which are from the BBC); the first full set of data will be unveiled for subscribers in Q3.
May 24, 2023:
    Exclusive: Podnews has obtained a document with full details of a YouTube "RSS Ingestion" pilot that it is running with some partners. The service pulls new audio from an RSS feed to upload it to YouTube, complete with a static image of the show art. Shows already using it are CNN's One Thing and CityCast Pittsburgh.
May 23, 2023:
May 22, 2023:
    "I'm never going to click a podcast app to try and get into podcasting [for the first time]." Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek spoke to the Acquired podcast in a Spotify studio in Stockholm, and focuses on podcasts. Ek describes why podcasts are in the main Spotify app, rather than in a separate one; and when asked if Spotify should pay podcast creators, he replies that the company's goal is to be "the best partner for creators". (It's also in video).
May 19, 2023:
May 18, 2023:
May 17, 2023:
    A profitable podcast is for sale for $15.5m - the website doesn't give its name, but gives a lot of detail: with five staff, it makes more than $100,000 in profit every month. We think (no spoilers!) it's this - and if we're right, we thank the host for being a personal supporter of Podnews since Nov 2019. (You can too!).
May 16, 2023:
    Let's get ready to Rumble; the online video platform is getting into podcasting with the acquisition of Callin, a social podcasting and live streaming platform. No terms were disclosed. Rumble hosts Donald Trump's Truth Social network, and the video platform is popular among American right and far-right users. Its competitor YouTube added podcasts last month.
May 15, 2023:
    iHeartMedia announced Ruby, a branded podcast unit that's already working with Quickbooks and IBM. Lst week SMI said that US spending on branded podcasts was up 51% year-on-year in Q1.
May 12, 2023:
May 11, 2023:
    A correction to our coverage of Acast's Q1 financials yesterday: the announcement of a 15% staff reduction last year was, we're told, based on staffing levels in Q2, excluding Podchaser. By Q1/23, Acast staffing had reduced by 83 people, a 19% reduction. We're grateful for the correction.
May 10, 2023:
May 9, 2023:
    Our Editor, James Cridland, will be the opening speaker at The Podcast Show 2023 in London. He will speak at 9.10am on Wednesday, in the 400-capacity Amplify Theatre, in association with Amazon Music / Wondery and IAB UK: focusing on the last year in the podcast industry and the years to come. His speech will be followed by Crime Junkie host Ashley Flowers. (You can still buy tickets for the event - the code PODNEWS will get you a discount)
May 8, 2023:
May 5, 2023:
    Want some more numbers? The Podnews Daily podcast did 70,427 downloads in April on podcast platforms; and got 653 views on YouTube (an additional 0.9%). More than Spotify, though - it might be the biggest podcast platform by reach, but we had just 492 "starts" according to the Spotify for Podcasters dashboard.
May 4, 2023:
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May 1, 2023:
April 28, 2023:
April 27, 2023:
    Exclusive: Indonesia is going through a period of real and exciting change - some would even argue that it's reaching an inflection point. In our study of podcasting in Indonesia, we discover the Joe Rogan of the country, why many Indonesians confuse a YouTube video with a podcast, and the history of the medium.
April 26, 2023:
April 25, 2023:
April 24, 2023:
April 21, 2023:
April 20, 2023:
    Spotify's All Ears summit is taking place in Berlin, Germany. The largest German podcast summit, the event features six simultaneous tracks including keynotes and panels, and has 1,800 people attending today, including all major publishers - "an open event just like we're an open platform", Spotify's GM for Europe, Michael Krause, told Podnews. Javier Piñol, Global Head of Markets for Talk Content at Spotify, is interviewing our Editor, James Cridland, on stage later.
April 19, 2023:
April 18, 2023:
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April 14, 2023:
April 13, 2023:
April 12, 2023:
April 11, 2023:
    Could podcasting get someone else out of prison? The subject of the Bone Valley podcast from Lava for Good, Leo Schofield has had his parole hearing set for May 3 in Tallahassee FL, USA. The show unearthed what it calls overwhelming evidence of his innocence of committing murder, as well as highlighting the alleged real killer.
April 10, 2023:
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April 6, 2023:
April 5, 2023:
April 4, 2023:
April 3, 2023:
    Happy Adopt-a-Listener Month! "If we want the podcast industry to grow, we need to turn those non-podcast listeners into podcast listeners," says Tink Media, and they have audio and scripts for your podcast too. Hear one today in our daily podcast.
March 31, 2023:
    Capsho has launched v2.0 of the company's platform, which allows podcasters to turn their podcast episode’s audio or video recordings into marketing content designed to help amplify and promote their message. The service also writes your show notes for you, and even researches your guests.
March 30, 2023:
    In the latest of our series of deep-dives into East and South East Asia, Guang Jin YEO looks at podcasting in South Korea. Think that podcast consumption in Korea is massive? That might not be the case any more… discover the history of podcasting in Korea and a warning to the rest of us about closed platforms and competition from others.
March 29, 2023:
March 28, 2023:
March 27, 2023:
March 24, 2023:
March 23, 2023:
March 22, 2023:
    YouTube also claims "podcast specific analytics", saying "this is distinct from current analytics offered". In case you wonder what they look like, Podnews Daily's data has an overview, a content screen, and audience; a revenue screen is also available to podcasts large enough to get access.
March 21, 2023:
March 20, 2023:
March 17, 2023:
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March 14, 2023:
March 13, 2023:
    Data: Exclusive: Who's biggest? Spotify is biggest for total listeners to podcasts, but Apple is biggest for downloads, according to new US data from Podtrac. The company also reveals that Spotify has the lowest number of episode requests per listener, at just three: Apple Podcasts users download more than nine times as many.
March 10, 2023:
    Our Editor James Cridland shared the results of the Podnews Report Card at Podcast Movement. We'll have this data in full in Monday's Podnews; but overall, Apple has increased its lead over Spotify as the most favoured podcast platform used by podcast creators. YouTube is eagerly awaited by many publishers; and Google Podcasts saw a disappointing fall in ratings from those in the industry.
March 9, 2023:
March 8, 2023:
March 7, 2023:
    SiriusXM is to make 475 people redundant, representing 8% of their workforce. A note from CEO Jennifer Witz was shared with staff. Blaming economic uncertainty, the note says that "nearly every department across SiriusXM will be impacted".
March 6, 2023:
    Podcast host RSS.​com is the first podcast host to have released fully free automatic transcripts for all its customers. The transcripts appear on episode pages on the RSS website, and should also appear within supporting podcast apps (like Podverse, Podbean or PodcastAddict). Users can choose different qualities, depending how fast they want the transcripts adding, and can also edit them before publication. The tool was built in-house and has been under development for a year; initially transcripts are available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese and Turkish.
March 3, 2023:
    Podcast hosting company Spreaker is now free, claiming that it is "the first ever professional-level podcast platform" to be available at no cost. Features like unlimited storage and programmatic monetisation, previously only available in an enterprise package from the iHeart-owned platform, are now free for all podcast creators. The release describes existing free alternatives as "mediocre" and "very basic". Here's a deep-dive into their platform from Sounds Profitable.
March 2, 2023:
March 1, 2023:
February 28, 2023:
    Today is your last day to fill in the Podnews Report Card. This year, we're giving direct feedback to all the major podcast platforms about what you think; as well as reporting at Podcast Movement about who's improved and who hasn't in the past year. Please take part: it'll take less than five minutes (unless you're really slow at typing).
February 27, 2023:
    Podnews is to launch a series of local day-long conferences, starting with Podnews Live - North, an event on June 13 at the Lowry Centre (above) in Salford, Gtr Manchester, UK. Among the speakers will be Sophie Hind from Voiceworks, Ian Forrester from BBC R&D, Kate Cocker from Everyday Positivity, and our Editor, James Cridland. Built to help those in the business of podcasting effectively network, tickets are now on sale (at an early-bird price); and a further event is planned in London the day before the British Podcast Awards.
February 24, 2023:
February 23, 2023:
    Few people listen to podcasts in Japan. Why is that - and what kind of shows could work well in the country? In the first of our deep-dives into different podcast markets across East and South East Asia, Guang Jin YEO looks at the Japanese market: where Twitter is popular, copyright laws differ, and Amazon Music is #3.
February 22, 2023:
February 21, 2023:

images of the YouTube podcast test that we reported on yesterday.

February 20, 2023:
February 17, 2023:
    This is also the release that finally removes the AppleCoreMedia user agent from Apple Podcasts, which will significantly improve the accuracy of podcast stats. The new code in iOS to achieve this was announced in June last year: most other podcast apps have put it in place.
February 16, 2023:
February 15, 2023:
    In Toronto ON, Canada, the police have made 24 Shades of Blue, a podcast giving the Toronto community a behind-the-scenes view of police activities. A CBC investigation has discovered that the interview show, produced by Obie & Ax Inc ("North America's leading podcast production firm"), has cost more than $330,000 so far in a sole-source contract. That money hasn't gone on hosting though: Podnews can tell you that the show's on Spotify's free podcast host Anchor.
February 14, 2023:
    One of the original podcasts, Trade Secrets with Dave Winer and Adam Curry, has returned to podcast apps. The podcast ran from Sept 2004 to Jan 2005, and includes discussions about the name "podcasting", iPodder, the open nature of the medium, and old-fashioned cellphones. With the permission of both Dave and Adam, to preserve our history we've given it a modern RSS feed, so you can listen in your own podcast app. (It's also available in any new podcast app that uses the Podcast Index).
February 13, 2023:
February 10, 2023:
    Speaking in the Podnews Weekly Review this week, Novel's founder Sean Glynn says that podcasting is in good shape, even after the advertising downturn. "I think it's going to bounce back a lot quicker than what people are saying. I think recent economic output and data from the US is much more promising than what people would have thought. The obvious thing about there being fewer feeds, but listenership still going up regardless - I don't think it's as dire as what some predict it could be."
February 9, 2023:
February 8, 2023:
February 7, 2023:
    After our exclusive last month about Google removing podcasts from Google search, Google has confirmed the move in an announcement in Google Podcasts Manager. Additionally, the tool will no longer give any data under "how people find your show" from Feb 13, meaning an end to the research tool. Podcasts continue to appear in Google search results, but not linked to Google's own player; we've reached out to Google for comment.
February 6, 2023:
    And, talking about trailers, we're told that the latest episode of the BBC Screenshot podcast is a good listen: it's about movie trailers, but contains lots of information for those who make trailers for podcasts too.
February 3, 2023:
    Companies like Spotify and Amazon are "ultimately bad for podcasting," according to "Chief TWiT" and longtime podcaster Leo Laporte. Speaking in today's Podnews Weekly Review, he says: "Their complete model is to get you to listen in their app so that they know everything about you. They know exactly what you listen to, when you listen to it, how many times you listen to it, and which ads are listened to, and they want to sell that information ... Advertisers foolishly, I think, want that information." You can hear his interview in full.
February 2, 2023:

Want to give your feedback to the big podcast platforms? The Podnews Report Card is back for 2023, with your chance to be heard. Fill in the Podnews Report Card today.%%promo-end%%

February 1, 2023:

Want to give your feedback to the big podcast platforms? The Podnews Report Card is back for 2023, with your chance to be heard. Fill in the Podnews Report Card today.%%promo-end%%

January 31, 2023:
January 30, 2023:
January 27, 2023:
January 26, 2023:
January 25, 2023:
    The number of new podcasts has dramatically dropped by 80% in two years, according to data reported this week. Except… as we explore today in a deep-dive article, that data point doesn't tell the whole story. In fact, podcasting is in a much better place once you understand what that number is really measuring.
January 24, 2023:
January 23, 2023:
    Seven audio workers have been laid off by Vox Media, reports Vox Media's Hot Pod, including the team producing Cover Story. Vox Media declined to give exact figures. Around 130 people were laid off in total, or 7% of the workforce. Spotify is also to cut staff this week, according to Bloomberg.
January 20, 2023:
January 19, 2023:
January 18, 2023:
    In April 2018, Google started showing individual podcast episodes and play buttons in Google Search, which opened a Google Podcasts branded player. Now, a Google search for a podcast no longer shows any play buttons linking to the service, or any links to Google Podcasts itself. A search for "history podcasts" lists a number of shows, but links to reviews, Apple Podcasts pages and other platforms.
January 17, 2023:
    Total downloads are one thing, but what podcast categories are listened-to longest? Apple Podcasts data supplied to Podnews tells us the top five categories with the longest overall global listen time, are: (1) Society and Culture, (2) Comedy, (3) News, (4) True Crime, and (5) Health and Fitness. That data is for December, but is much the same for the last half of the year, with Health and Fitness occasionally making it to #4.
January 16, 2023:
January 13, 2023:
January 12, 2023:
January 11, 2023:
January 10, 2023:
January 9, 2023:
January 6, 2023:
January 5, 2023:
January 4, 2023:
January 3, 2023:
    Exclusive: Spotify appears to have enhanced chapter support within the Spotify podcasts app. Nic Ivanov, founder of Vizzy, notes that there's a new Chapters section in an episode page, and chapter marks and titles within a new player which is rolling out to both iOS (above) and Android. However, Spotify isn't supporting either ID3 embedded chapters, nor chapters via the new podcast namespace: instead, Spotify uses timestamps in the episode description, much like YouTube. See these chapters in action on Spotify in the Decorating by the Book podcast, which Vizzy has helped build.
January 2, 2023:
December 30, 2022:
    We covered it back in 2019, but Fourble is a nice service that makes possibly-naughty MP3 files on the internet into podcasts. /ht Evo Terra
December 29, 2022:
December 28, 2022:
December 27, 2022:
December 26, 2022:
    In Dec 2021, Adobe revealed Project Shasta, which we noticed in Oct 2022 had rebranded to Adobe Express Podcast. It's now branded Adobe Podcast beta, and offers a mix of Descript-like "Edit words, not waveforms", SquadCast-like "Remote recording", and Auphonic-like "AI-powered audio" - and there's a waitlist on the website. But how does it compare to the market leaders? From Castos, Matt Medeiros gives it a full review.
December 22, 2022:
    Christmas comes early part 1: In October, RØDE launched a games division, including streaming software Unify. Costing $69 a year, it was given away for $1 at the end of November, but in an email sent to customers and seen by Podnews, the software is now free. It will only work with RØDE microphones from now on; but the company is to send a free XCM-50 microphone to every former subscriber. /ht Neal Veglio
December 21, 2022:
December 20, 2022:
    Among other potential changes: polls and interactivity could be added by podcasters on any host: that's currently only available on Anchor. One screenshot sent to us suggests that video on Spotify could be available to anyone, wherever they host; another screenshot suggests video podcasts may stay with Spotify-hosted podcasts only, a tier dubbed Creator Studio Plus.
December 19, 2022:
December 16, 2022:
December 15, 2022:

Get in front of 25,500 podcast professionals every day in January - as the title sponsor for Podnews. Your message could be in everyone’s inboxes every weekday for a month, and to thousands more as the sponsor of our popular daily podcast. We can even change the message every day to suit you. Want to know more? Contact Kristy Scott at sales@podnews.net%%promo-end%%

December 14, 2022:
December 13, 2022:
    After we contacted the company, Rusty Quill CEO Alex J Newall gave Podnews a statement. In part, he says the article is "full of provable factual inaccuracies", noting that "its writers include individuals that hold senior positions at competitor companies that stand to monetarily gain from a reputational attack". A disclosure of Schottelkotte's freelance role at audio drama producer Fable & Folly was only added after initial publication; the named editors of the piece have not disclosed their affiliations.
December 12, 2022:
    Ausha tells Podnews the podcast hosting company now has more than 10,700 podcasts on the platform, and achieved 167m downloads in 2022.
December 9, 2022:
December 8, 2022:
December 7, 2022:
    RadioPublic Pro is to discontinue. For $12/month, the product offered enhanced podcast websites, an enhanced embedded player, and a tipping service. The free service RadioPublic Basic will continue; the company has been owned by Acast since Feb 2021.
December 6, 2022:
    At one point, Samsung Free's automated podcast plays were responsible for more than 1-in-10 podcast downloads, Podtrac tells Podnews today. The problem first appeared around November 14, and peaked at 10.7% of all daily downloads on Nov 27. According to Podtrac data, the issue appears to have been corrected. Podtrac will temporarily remove all Dalvik counts from its monthly podcast and publisher rankers for November.
December 5, 2022:
December 2, 2022:
December 1, 2022:
    First look: Podcast listenership among women in the US is up, says a fact sheet from The Women's Podcast Report 2022, released today by SXM Media and Edison Research. 47 million women have listened in the past month: 35% of all women aged 18+, a figure that's grown by 67% over the past five years.
November 30, 2022:
November 29, 2022:
    The Samsung Free podcast app will "soon be updated", according to a communication from Acast to its podcasters, to remove the cause of a significant increase in downloads from automatic plays. (See yesterday's Tech Stuff for more). In the meantime, Acast has demonetised listens coming from the Dalvik useragent "to protect our advertisers"; and notes that "under IAB guidelines, these listens are considered valid". (Also considered valid downloads: those podcast plays bought in games apps)
November 28, 2022:
    In January 2001, Adam Curry wrote a blog post discussing how an always-on connection could download entertainment to "have the show ready for me when I am". It was the blog post that turned into a meeting with Dave Winer, which turned into podcasting; but it's been lost for years: until now. Read ”The Last Yard” - the blog post that started it all.
November 25, 2022:
November 24, 2022:
    Audiobooks are now available on Spotify in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. They'd launched in the US in September.
November 23, 2022:
November 22, 2022:
November 21, 2022:
November 18, 2022:
    Spotify has signed another exclusive: Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain, described as one of the world’s most listened-to podcasts, will be exclusive on Spotify early next year. The deal includes video podcasts. The show was with UTA and Cadence13's Ramble Podcast Network, and is another loss for owner Audacy which is threatened with stock market de-listing.
November 17, 2022:
November 16, 2022:
    Spotify has released video podcasts everywhere - "in 180 global markets". Spotify and Anchor's blog posts, made in July, have been updated. Until now they've only been in twelve markets; the proprietary service launched in April.
November 15, 2022:
November 14, 2022:
    Correction: Following our piece about the IAB now requiring annual re-certification for podcast measurement, the IAB's PR company has clarified pricing has changed, "to make certification more accessible to the wide Podcast measurement community". Rather than being $45,000 for certification for an IAB member, new certification costs $12,500, with renewals costing $6,250. We've updated the original piece.
November 11, 2022:

The last word in podcasting news: announcing the Podnews Weekly Review, with James Cridland and Sam Sethi. This week: a look at the financial reports from big podcast companies, and an interview with Vizzy co-founder Nic Ivanov. %%promo-end%%

November 10, 2022:
November 9, 2022:
November 8, 2022:
November 7, 2022:
November 4, 2022:
November 3, 2022:
    US President Joe Biden appears in an episode of SmartLess released today. The show, recorded on Oct 13 in Los Angeles, is available now.
November 2, 2022:
    In Australia, reflecting the growth of its podcast unit, SBS Radio is to become SBS Audio in 2023. The multilingual public broadcaster also released their podcast download figures, and will offer pre-roll/mid-roll advertising.
November 1, 2022:
October 31, 2022:
October 28, 2022:
    Spotted: Adobe's Project Shasta, which we first spotted in Dec 21, appears to now be called Adobe Express Podcast. It's a podcast editor that lets you "edit words, not waveforms", and is in early preview.
October 27, 2022:
October 26, 2022:
October 25, 2022:
October 24, 2022:
October 21, 2022:
October 20, 2022:
October 19, 2022:
    Podtrac has launched a new Podcast Sales Network Ranking. The initial ranking, for September, places Wondery at #1, with a US monthly audience of 25 million. Others in the ranking include Podcast One, and new to Podtrac's measurement, Acast and Libsyn's AdvertiseCast - we understand more sales networks are lined-up to be included.
October 18, 2022:
October 17, 2022:
    Social media app TikTok is preparing to launch a podcast app. Podcast hosting company Audiomeans has told Podnews that it spotted a "new bot that is scraping our feeds, starting October 11", and they've tracked it back to TikTok: more on the bots in our "Tech Stuff", below.
October 14, 2022:
October 13, 2022:
October 12, 2022:
    Adnan Syed is innocent. After spending 23 years behind bars, all charges against him have been dropped. His innocence will be formally certified. His case was followed by Serial and Undisclosed.
October 11, 2022:
October 10, 2022:
    "Spotify invested zero in building the show's audience, then forced us to go exclusive to Spotify, and then cancelled it because it didn't build a big enough audience…" - a tweet from Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, former co-host of the now-cancelled How To Save A Planet
October 7, 2022:
    Exclusive: Launched in September 2020 by Spotify, Sex, Lies and DM Slides appears to have relaunched with new hosts - without the knowledge of the podcasters who say they created the show. Gizzi Erskine has posted on Instagram that the show, made by Spotify UK, "is being made again without us". "If Spotify don’t want to make it with us - then that’s fine, but DO NOT STEAL our format and name. WE created it (the format and name) in MY kitchen over a series of months. Spotify just paid for it to be made. I am absolutely up to my […] eyeballs at being exploited by the big corporations and money people. We are SO angry and upset", she continues in the post, noting that the original shows have been removed.
October 6, 2022:
October 5, 2022:
October 4, 2022:

Podnews returns to full length tomorrow

October 3, 2022:
September 30, 2022:
September 29, 2022:
    After announcing a move to Times Radio earlier this week, podcast and radio presenters Jane Garvey and Fi Glover have been confirmed as speakers for next Tuesday's Podcast Day 24 in London. Podcast Day 24 in Sydney will also include Spotify's new signings Toni and Ryan, and Waleed Aly. Tickets to each event include catchup from the other side of the planet: PODN1215 will get you around half price.
September 28, 2022:
September 27, 2022:
September 26, 2022:

MONTHLY TITLE SPONSORSHIP IN 2023 for Podnews is now available - and it now comes with sound, too, to help you reach more people. It sells out quickly: mail sales@podnews.net for availability.%%promo-end%%

September 23, 2022:
September 22, 2022:
September 21, 2022:
September 20, 2022:
September 19, 2022:
September 16, 2022:
    Why? An investor tells Podnews that financial markets are increasingly preferring profitability over growth; and while Acast has spare cash, it is currently making a loss with profit margins of -31%; that's leading to a very low valuation in comparison to other audio businesses. These layoffs should speed up their path to profitability, which will also reduce any risk of running out of cash in a recession.
September 15, 2022:
September 14, 2022:
September 13, 2022:
September 12, 2022:
September 9, 2022:
    Following April's launch of PodX, a Swedish podcast investment company, Bloomberg's Ashley Carman has talked to the organisation to learn more.
September 8, 2022:
    The UK government is reportedly blocking The Rest is Politics, a popular political podcast, from being downloaded using a government department's wifi. The podcast, hosted by two former political figures, is regularly critical of the government's record.
September 7, 2022:
September 6, 2022:
September 5, 2022:
September 2, 2022:
    With Lemonada Media: TikTok superstar V Spehar sometimes needs more than a minute to bring you the news! The Under the Desk News creator offers funny, insightful commentary every Tuesday and Friday on V Interesting.
September 1, 2022:
August 31, 2022:

Thank you to Buzz Knight for becoming our latest personal supporter. We're grateful for your support of our independent journalism. You can be like Buzz and support us in a number of different ways.

August 30, 2022:
August 29, 2022:
    One of the biggest podcasts in the US and Canada, Dateline NBC, is to launch a new premium subscription on Apple Podcasts with exclusive content for true-crime fans. Premium listeners will get shows before anyone else, as well as ad-free content. Dateline's 31st season premieres on NBC Friday Sep 16.
August 26, 2022:
    YouTube says that its new podcasts section will be enhanced later this year. "We will continue iterating on the current destination page and plan to launch new features meant to enhance the podcast listening experience for our users within the coming months," the company tells Podnews. It's currently available for US users only.
August 25, 2022:
August 24, 2022:
August 23, 2022:
August 22, 2022:
August 19, 2022:
    Exclusive: Back in Dec 2021, SiriusXM were sued by the National Association of the Deaf and Disability Rights Activists, for not providing podcast transcripts. Almost eight months later, lawyers acting on behalf of SiriusXM have responded with an aggressively-worded 32-page document, which Podnews has obtained, calling the filing "unnecessary", a "public assault", and "a cudgel to tarnish responsible companies". The request for transcripts for all shows on the platform is "misplaced and completely unreasonable"; and the whole filing is just "a public relations campaign".
August 18, 2022:
August 17, 2022:
August 16, 2022:
August 15, 2022:
August 12, 2022:
August 11, 2022:
August 10, 2022:
August 9, 2022:
August 8, 2022:
August 5, 2022:
August 4, 2022:
    One subject of her report, podcast guest booking platform Guestio, has posted copy denigrating industry newsletters on their front page. In a coincidence, Ashley Carman is also to launch Soundbite, an industry newsletter with more in-depth reporting about the podcast and music industry.
August 3, 2022:
    Online studio Cleanfeed has won an Emmy Award for Engineering, Science & Technology. The award is for the tool's role in the creation of the audio tracks for television series such as Star Trek: Discovery, The Crown and The Flight Attendant; Cleanfeed is also used by many podcasters for live studio links (including the podfather himself, Adam Curry). Mark Hills tells Podnews: "Thank you to the community of podcasters who have been a major influence on Cleanfeed. Ideas originating from podcasting and audio drama have been an important part of the innovations in Cleanfeed that contribute to this Emmy Award."
August 2, 2022:
August 1, 2022:
July 29, 2022:
    In just the first 48 hours, the Irish Podcast Awards have seen more than 10,000 votes for its Listener's Choice Award. Voting remains open until mid September.
July 28, 2022:
July 27, 2022:
July 26, 2022:
July 25, 2022:
July 22, 2022:
July 21, 2022:
    NYT best-selling author Heather McGhee is to host The Sum of Us, a new podcast on Spotify from Higher Ground. The show is a road trip from rural Maine to the California coast, looking at the real impact of inequality and racism on everyday Americans. It's one of the remaining shows on Spotify from the Obama's production company; they signed a deal with Amazon's Audible in June.
July 20, 2022:
    Which company is sending the most unsolicited commercial email to podcasters, by scraping your RSS feed to gather your email? We have been running a spamtrap on our podcast feed for the last three months, and today, we reveal the podcast industry's biggest spammer. (No, it doesn't start with an "A").
July 19, 2022:
July 18, 2022:
    Acast is to acquire Podchaser, the "world’s most comprehensive and authoritative podcast database" in a deal worth $34m. Podchaser, which is expected to make a profit next year, will continue to operate as a separate brand: it contains data of more than 4.5m million podcasts, including advertising information. The integration will bring additional data to Acast's advertisers.
July 15, 2022:
    The robots are coming to take our jobs - kind of: The A.I.M.E.E. Allen Show has launched, hosted by a sentient robot interviewer (who we suspect has more humanity than the company is revealing). The show is from Wonkybot.
July 14, 2022:
July 13, 2022:
July 12, 2022:
July 11, 2022:
July 8, 2022:
July 7, 2022:
July 6, 2022:
July 5, 2022:
July 4, 2022:
July 1, 2022:
June 30, 2022:
June 29, 2022:
June 28, 2022:
    The number of open video podcasts are on the rise. In November last year, Podcast Index listed 39,194 video podcasts. As of June this year, Podnews can reveal the number had grown by over a quarter to 50,863. We measured these by looking for enclosure files with the extension mov, mp4 or m4v, the three filetypes Apple Podcasts supports. Apple has recently put video podcasts in the spotlight again; Spotify launched its own proprietary video podcasts tool in April (which we can't measure).
June 27, 2022:

Arielle Nissenblatt writes for Podnews: "When I read the news about the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, my heart sank. But then I thought that, as an industry, there's something we can do: use our platform to share resources, come together, and help those who are (or will be) at risk. We quickly organized, creating suggested language for host-reads that can be placed as pre-roll ads on your podcast as a way of voicing our opposition to this decision. To take part read this document, record a pre-roll for your next episode, share that episode with me so we can credit you, and let me know if you have questions."

June 24, 2022:
June 23, 2022:
    Spotify has announced that there will be a season two of Batman Unburied. Speaking in a panel "live from Spotify Beach at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity", Spotify's Chief Content and Ads Business Officer Dawn Ostroff (above, right) announced that a second series had received a greenlight from the company. The first season was made available on May 3 in nine languages, and quickly hit the #1 spot in eleven markets for more than two weeks. Ostroff described podcast storytelling as "an incredible experience - calling upon each person to be more engaged".
June 22, 2022:
June 21, 2022:
June 20, 2022:
June 17, 2022:
June 16, 2022:
    Podcast Movement 2022 has made some speaker announcements, including Dallas Taylor from Twenty Thousand Hertz, Robert Riggs from True Crime Reporter, and Fireside Chat's Mark Cuban and Falon Fatemi, returning to speak about "The Power of Web3 and Metaverse: The Future of Podcasting, Media, and Entertainment". We'll be at the event too.
June 15, 2022:
June 14, 2022:
June 13, 2022:
June 10, 2022:
    "30% of our monthly active users engage with podcast content". That figure hasn't been disclosed for some time, and grew from 16% (Feb 20) to 22% (Oct 20).
June 9, 2022:
June 8, 2022:
June 7, 2022:
June 6, 2022:
June 3, 2022:
June 2, 2022:
June 1, 2022:
May 31, 2022:
    One of podcasting's largest hosting companies, Megaphone, was down for more than nine hours. All the Spotify-owned company's audio and RSS feeds disappeared at 8pm Eastern on Monday, after a certificate expired. In our tests, the feeds were restored at 5.39am Eastern this morning; the status page notes it fixed at 5.54am. Spotify hasn't returned our requests for comment.
May 30, 2022:
May 27, 2022:
    At 3.30pm on Thursday, The Podcast Show in London had 5,296 delegates over the two days. There's an interview with Jason Carter in the latest Podland podcast.
May 26, 2022:
May 25, 2022:
May 24, 2022:
    Campari Group has suspended all advertising with Spotify, following an error we reported yesterday promoting Campari's Wild Turkey whiskey brand on a number of podcast pages. In the company's statement, it says "We are disappointed that the implementation of the campaign by Spotify was inconsistent with our advertising code and have paused all media with Spotify pending results of the investigation".
May 23, 2022:
May 20, 2022:
May 19, 2022:
    In London, The Podcast Show 2022 has unveiled their final programme, less than a week before the event. Podnews Editor James Cridland will be speaking on the future of podcasting, and moderating a panel on podcast subscriptions. You can use code PODNEWS to save 20% on day tickets; the day events are at the Business Design Centre in Islington.
May 18, 2022:
May 17, 2022:
    A number of initial podcast hosting companies have been announced including RSS·com, Libsyn and Buzzsprout; but if you run a podcast hosting company and wish to participate in Delegated Delivery, you're encouraged to fill out this form. (Memo to Apple: here's a list).
May 16, 2022:
May 13, 2022:
May 12, 2022:
    Podcasting is attracting more new listeners than ever, according to new research. Over 50% of daily podcast listeners began listening in the last two years, says Nielsen's Podcasting Today Report; which also says that the number of US listeners has grown by 40% in the past three years. The data suggests that podcast advertising drives an aided brand recall of 71%.
May 11, 2022:
May 10, 2022:
May 9, 2022:
May 6, 2022:
May 5, 2022:
    Podtrac has published the top 20 podcasts for the US for April. There's no change in the top 5, but My Favorite Murder is brand new at #6. Amazon bought the rights in January; it's already a top ten podcast with Triton Digital’s Podcast Ranker and Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer Tracking Report. Podtrac's data is participating publishers, now including Exactly Right Media.
May 4, 2022:
May 3, 2022:
    Announced in Apr 2021, and initially a Spotify-powered player, Facebook's podcast player appeared in Jun 2021, though it was only ever available in the US. It could be that Spotify's public content moderation issues had given the company second thoughts. It's a blow for podcasting, though.
May 2, 2022:
April 29, 2022:
    It's less than a month to go until The Podcast Show 2022 in London, on May 25-26. The website currently lists 196 speakers (more on the way). Speaking to the Podland podcast yesterday, Tom Billington said that YouTube will be a partner at the event, sponsoring the "Talking Podcasts" stages. YouTube say it will "facilitate conversations with Podcasters who have found success on YouTube, while also leaning on other platform experts to help delegates understand best practices and the various podcast trends emerging on and off-YouTube."
April 28, 2022:
April 27, 2022:
April 26, 2022:
April 25, 2022:
April 22, 2022:
    Many podcasts are available in a separate video format, like the New Media Show (video) in a different feed from the audio version of the New Media Show. Unlike Spotify's solution, they work everywhere else: Apple Podcasts, PocketCasts, and many others.
April 21, 2022:
April 20, 2022:
April 19, 2022:
April 18, 2022:
April 15, 2022:
    A year after it announced podcasts in its app and other audio tools, Facebook's interest in podcasting is waning, according to Bloomberg's Ashley Carman. The company still hasn't launched podcasts outside of the US, and was entirely absent at Podcast Movement Evolutions; it also hasn't renewed some deals with Live Audio Rooms partners, as it pivots to focus on the 'metaverse'.
April 14, 2022:
April 13, 2022:
April 12, 2022:
April 11, 2022:
April 8, 2022:
April 7, 2022:
April 6, 2022:
    The Podcast Show London has announced its first wave of content sessions for their two-day conference on May 25 and 26. It has also announced some of the live podcasts at The Podcast Show 2022 LIVE, as part of a week-long series of 20+ live events. (We'll be there as a media partner: you can save 20% off a limited number of day passes with promo code PODNEWS).
April 5, 2022:
    Podmachine has been launched - a tool to grow and edit your podcast for you (and even manage guests). It takes 48 hours to edit a show, and and starts from $49/month for four weekly shows. Uniquely, the tool also includes advertising in other podcasts. You can try the service for free; we understand it can be white-labelled.
April 4, 2022:
April 1, 2022:
March 31, 2022:
March 30, 2022:
    Podimo has bought Dag en Nacht, the largest podcast publisher in the Netherlands. Dag en Nacht have over 60 shows; some will be placed behind Podimo's monthly €5 (US$5.50) paywall.
March 29, 2022:
    Apple Podcast Connect has a new terms of service document. Comparing the old and the new, we notice new clauses about the "right to label or remove" your shows (¶1); a new clause about confidentiality (¶4); and a new license clause (¶8). It may allow Apple in future to label shows (as Spotify are doing for COVID-19), and promote guests on your show.
March 28, 2022:
    Spotify is working on a brand new podcast interface. Spotted by Chris Messina, who posted a screen recording archived by Podnews here, the new interface adds a dedicated Podcasts tab, vertical scrolling, and live captions for all shows. Messina is running a pre-release version of Spotify; it's unclear when this will be released, if at all. #exciting
March 25, 2022:
March 24, 2022:
March 23, 2022:
March 22, 2022:
    In Canada, Rogers Media is running Canada's Next Great Podcaster across its radio stations: a competition to win CAD $10,000 and get your show idea produced. Caution, though: Matt Cundill pointed out to Podnews that the rules let Rogers use any of your ideas they like (even if you don't win) without giving you a penny (¶7d); it might not really be $10,000 (¶9a); and the draw is entirely random anyway and nothing to do with your entry (¶10).
March 21, 2022:
    Who are they? Webster didn't spell those out in his post, but here's the data, released last month. The four biggest, now reaching 50% of all weekly podcast listeners, are SXM Media, Spotify, iHeartRadio and NPR.
March 18, 2022:
    BREAKING: The Podcast Academy has just announced that Serial will be awarded the Governors Award, recognising the impact a podcast or individual has had on the industry. Co-creators Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder will accept the award at The Ambies next Tuesday.
March 17, 2022:
March 16, 2022:
March 15, 2022:
March 14, 2022:
    Spanish-language podcast platform iVoox has published its 2021 financial report. Now twelve years old, the profitable company claims over 70 million episodes and more than 700m listeners. Income from subscriptions and advertising doubled during 2021. The company also spends half a million euros a year (US $545,000) on R&D.
March 11, 2022:
March 10, 2022:
    How many podcasts are there? We were asked in an email: so we turned it into an article. The answer isn't as straightforward as you'd think.
March 9, 2022:
March 8, 2022:
March 7, 2022:
March 4, 2022:
March 3, 2022:
    Podcast Movement has announced Latif Nasser, Radiolab co-host, as a keynote speaker at Podcast Movement Evolutions. Registration is here; Podnews will be there.
March 2, 2022:
March 1, 2022:
February 28, 2022:
    HBO has announced HBO Docs Club, a deep dive into a wide variety of titles from HBO Documentary Films, past and present. Produced by Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios and HBO Max, it'll be hosted by Brittany Luse and Ronald Young Jr, and launches in March.
February 25, 2022:
February 24, 2022:
February 23, 2022:
February 22, 2022:
February 21, 2022:
February 18, 2022:
February 17, 2022:
February 16, 2022:
February 15, 2022:
    Delegate day passes have just gone on sale for The Podcast Show 2022, coming to London in May. May 25-26 promises an international festival with a number of inspirational speakers including Jen Sargent, CEO of Wondery, Miranda Sawyer, audio critic from The Observer, Ross Adams, CEO of Acast, and Steph Simon, Head of Community & Creators at Clubhouse. Additionally, right through the week of May 23-29, you'll be able to watch your favourite shows live on stage in a number of different venues. You can get your day passes today - use promo code PODNEWS for 20% off a limited number of day passes. Podnews is a media partner (and we'll be there).
February 14, 2022:
February 11, 2022:
February 10, 2022:
February 9, 2022:
February 8, 2022:
February 7, 2022:
February 4, 2022:
February 3, 2022:
    UK radio audience figures released earlier today say that UK radio has its biggest-ever audience at 49.5m. However, the average Brit listens for 18 hours a week, down from 19.8 hours ten years ago (though research methodologies have changed).
February 2, 2022:
February 1, 2022:
January 31, 2022:
January 28, 2022:
January 27, 2022:
January 26, 2022:
January 25, 2022:
January 24, 2022:
January 21, 2022:
January 20, 2022:
January 19, 2022:
    In the US, the flagship podcast from ABC News, Start Here, marks 1,000 episodes today. Since its launch in March 2018, the podcast's host, Brad Mielke, has interviewed the country's biggest newsmakers and earnt an Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation. Speaking to Podnews, he said he's learnt "how much importance simple facts carry … Facts needs to be the most important thing you're imparting. … It's a big deal."
January 18, 2022:
January 17, 2022:
January 14, 2022:
    True crime rules; but exclusive podcasts don't much, and nor do any of the big acquisitions - at Pacific Content, Matt Hird took all the "top podcasts of 2021" lists he could find, and analysed all 432 podcasts they mentioned to see what can be learnt. 9/12 is incidentally, the top of the tops.
January 13, 2022:
January 12, 2022:
January 11, 2022:
January 10, 2022:
    Rate This Podcast, which offers a simple link to help your listeners rate your show (like ours), now supports Spotify. The company also says that more than 3,500 podcasters have signed up to use the tool.
January 7, 2022:
January 6, 2022:
January 5, 2022:
January 4, 2022:
    The BPI, the British record company association, has published music consumption data for 2021. Streams increased by 5.7% year-on-year. They highlight: "For an artist, 10 million streams generates at least the same royalties as 10,000 CD sales, and nearly 2,000 artists will achieve at least 10 million streams this year in the UK alone – nearly double the number who sold the equivalent number of CDs and downloads in 2007."
January 3, 2022:
    The Podnews Ranker shows an unchanged top three of companies we've reported on over the past 90 days; and a new #1 for the person we've reported on the most: the Podfather has beaten a former wrestling commentator. Our gender balance for people mentions remained unchanged at 36%.
December 31, 2021:
    Podcast Index added 466,000 shows in the past six months. It added 3.1m this year, but that's not that surprising, given the index launched in September 2020. Unlike the above two, shows are mainly added automatically: either discovered from open RSS feeds or submitted by podcasters or others.
December 30, 2021:
    First look: Nielsen say that podcasts are resonating with diverse audiences, in a new set of data from the Nielsen Podcast Buying Power service. Podcast listening among younger Hispanics has doubled over the last three years, while Asian Americans prefer technology and business podcasts, the report says.
December 29, 2021:
December 28, 2021:
December 27, 2021:
    Voxalyze has published their Podcast Discovery & Consumption report. The company surveyed listeners across four countries (the US, UK, France and Germany) to see if there are any local differences. Podcast listeners use 1.9 platforms on average, and Amazon Music is surprisingly high in their results. Google Podcasts reaches up to 15% of all users, but only 4% in the UK (possibly because the BBC blocks their podcasts from it).
December 24, 2021:
December 23, 2021:
    A San Diego district judge has ordered the makers of the Fat Leonard podcast, which uncovers bribery in the US Navy, to turn over their unaired recordings. Lawyers acting for a navy officer charged with bribery think the tapes may help get their client off. Journalists aren't normally asked to hand over reporting notes, and it's seen as against the First Amendment; "we believe it sets a dangerous precedent for courts to demand journalists to hand over reporting notes", said one of the podcast's producers, Tom Wright. Instead of just handing over the tapes, they've making them - all twenty hours of material - available to the public.
December 22, 2021:
    Ten Percent Happier is expanding to launch its own podcast studio, developing a wide range of shows that will explore the intersection of everyday life and mindfulness. The new podcast studio has launched under the leadership of Jen Poyant (ex WNYC Studios and Stable Genius Productions) and Kimmie Regler (Gimlet Media), and is to launch three new shows in the next six months.
December 21, 2021:
    We reported yesterday that podcast hosting company bCast had pulled all "lifetime" accounts with just two weeks notice. The company has now changed its mind, calling the decision "misguided, irresponsible and a mistake"; it's also refunding customers if they bought a new plan.
December 20, 2021:
    Breaking: Media and entertainment group Global has purchased podcast hosting company Captivate. "This acquisition will enable us to support all talent in the podcast community from the very largest to emerging new talent", said Global's Group CEO Stephen Miron. Terms weren't given; company founders Mark Asquith and Kieran McKeefery will remain with the business. Podnews's Editor was an advisor to Captivate.
December 17, 2021:
    If listeners try to rate a show they haven't listened-to (for at least thirty seconds), they'll be told to listen first. You can rate a show on Apple Podcasts without listening at all.
December 16, 2021:
    Podfollow, a configurable service which generates free links for your podcast to help you promote it, has had its 20 millionth clickthrough. It had achieved 1m in Dec 2019.
December 15, 2021:
    Do Anchor podcasters find it too hard to get into Apple Podcasts? The Podcast Index's Dave Jones reports that "726,234 Anchor feeds in the index do not have Apple iTunes IDs". The company stopped auto-submitting podcasts to Apple in June, resulting in a significant slow-down for Apple numbers. (Earlier this year, Buzzsprout told us that only 60% of their shows have bothered submitting to Apple).
December 14, 2021:
December 13, 2021:
    Podnews is rolling out direct links to listen to shows on Amazon Music in our podcast pages. An example is on Podland. Our pages will also highlight if you're missing from that directory; and you can search Amazon Music's podcasts from our search pages.
December 10, 2021:
    Spotify has responded to our story on Wednesday wondering where their announced shows are, by giving a statement to, er, HotPod Insider. "Many of our agreements are announced at the deal stage and it’s important to recognize that like any production house or studio, building an audio arm takes time and requires significant planning, from hiring the right audio experts with audio specific technical skills, to pre-production, writing, development, casting and recording", says the company.
December 9, 2021:
    Fireside Chat is sending out personal "time limited" invitations - telling us we have a "unique voice that would benefit from being on the Fireside platform". With "lots of interest from the podcast community", "we have limited creator spots left", says co-founder Falon Fatemi, urging us to get in touch at our "earliest convenience". A look into a friendly podcast producer's email inbox leads us to pontificate that the invitations might not be as unique nor "time limited" as we'd hoped; she's been sending these emails since October.
December 8, 2021:
December 7, 2021:
    Jeff Price will be interviewed for Podland later this week.
December 6, 2021:
    Ask anyone, including us, about playing commercial music on your podcast, and we'll say no, no you can't. At least, without a license. But how easy is music licensing?
December 3, 2021:
    Data: Around 425,000 new episodes were published on Anchor in November, but the company lost 0.7% market share. In the top ten, the top 8 remains unchanged; Captivate is new at #9, beating Megaphone which remains at #10. (Podnews's Editor is an advisor for Captivate).
December 2, 2021:
    Exclusive: Slate Plus podcasts are now available on Spotify. Through their integration with Supporting Cast, Slate becomes one of the first and largest publishers in the world to distribute paywalled audio through Spotify’s Open Access Platform. Slate's CEO Dan Check told Podnews: “The challenge with premium podcasts has always been offering listeners an easy way to use their preferred podcast app. A large and growing share of our listener base uses Spotify, and Supporting Cast’s integration with the Open Access Platform lets us deliver exclusive content seamlessly to a greater share of our audience.”
December 1, 2021:
November 30, 2021:
    Spotify has removed its Android "car view" feature, which allowed you to drive and listen to podcasts with a simpler user interface. You can still use Android Auto, or voice control via Google Assistant. ("Hey, Google, play the latest news from Podnews podcasting news" works a treat).
November 29, 2021:
    Podcast apps may be buying ads for your podcast in Google Search without you knowing. Acast, The Podcast App and Amazon Music are all advertising against our own podcast title, and that of many other podcast titles, too. On an iPhone in the UK, an ad for Amazon Music appeared as the #1 search result for Podnews, seeming to suggest that access to our podcast costs £7.99/month, which is misleading (it's free on any platform). The Acast ad leads to a web player, but no method of subscribing; The Podcast App's ad led us to a web player with promotion for their own podcast app.
November 26, 2021:
    First look: The host of indie fiction podcast The Program has given Podnews readers the first look at his growth, marketing and revenue in 2021. A case study like no other, you'll see his download figures, revenue, the effect Apple Podcasts promotion has on his show, the release of a soundtrack album, and his plans for the future. There's something to learn here for every podcaster.
November 25, 2021:
November 24, 2021:
    Copenhagen-based podcast production company Podimo has secured $78m of funding. The subscription company hosts more than 950 original shows, and plans to move into new markets.
November 23, 2021:
    New technology from a company called Sonnant could give old podcasts new life - a new product, Archival Retrieval, automatically checks trending topics to find relevant podcasts from your archives to promote, and even clips the audio for you.
November 22, 2021:
November 19, 2021:
November 18, 2021:
November 17, 2021:
November 16, 2021:
November 15, 2021:
    The Kurier, an Austrian newspaper, unveiled the winner of their ka․t podcast awards. The 'best newcomer' award was MOMENT, a story podcast from Moment magazine: the first season, 'Abgeschminkt', tells the story of a small employee against a large corporation. (Thanks, Steffen!)
November 12, 2021:
November 11, 2021:
November 10, 2021:
    Journalist and filmmaker Jon Ronson is back with a new show, Things Fell Apart. It features strange, unexpected human stories from the culture wars, and has a strange, unexpected distribution strategy: if you're in the UK, you'll hear it free on BBC Sounds (or on BBC Radio 4, Tuesdays at 9am) . If you're in the US or Canada and using an Apple device, it's available on BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts, and if you're on Android or elsewhere, you're out of luck.
November 9, 2021:
November 8, 2021:
November 5, 2021:
    Libsyn is on the acquisition trail again, with its AdvertiseCast platform acquiring "certain assets" of PODGO, a podcast monetisation platform for smaller podcasts, specialising in host-reads. PODGO’s founder David Ehrlich joins the company and will help transition customers and advertisers. No terms were given.
November 4, 2021:
    The current #3 podcast in the UK on Spotify is The RSK Podcast. Podnews can reveal that, hosted on Podbean, it consists of 50 pirated episodes of Ricky Gervais podcasts from 2005-2013, from a user who "just made this as I wanted a way to listen to these myself on Spotify". Some episodes have been downloaded more than 150,000 times. A search for "Ricky Gervais" on Spotify reveals that podcast, as well as another pirated copy of his XFM shows.
November 3, 2021:
November 2, 2021:
November 1, 2021:
    Run to the hills! Run for your lives! Psycho Schizo Espresso is a brand new podcast from Oxford University psychologist and author Dr Kevin Dutton and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson. The first epsiode, unraveling 666, the number of the beast, is now available; it's produced by Pod Prod.
October 29, 2021:
    Facebook is quietly rolling out Facebook Podcasts to countries outside the US. We've seen Podnews available in the iOS app in Australia, and we hear some can see their podcasts appearing in the UK. Our Facebook page should show a 'podcasts' tab on iOS mobile only. Do you see it?
October 28, 2021:
October 27, 2021:
October 26, 2021:
October 25, 2021:
October 22, 2021:

Sorry for the duplicate Due to a technical error, you may have received yesterday's Podnews twice. We apologise for that; not our intention.

October 21, 2021:
    Now we know what Audacy spent $40m on - the company has bought WideOrbit's digital audio streaming technology, and will rebrand it AmperWave. Audacy's announcement just mentions digital audio streaming (for live radio); but WideOrbit's announcement mentions podcasting, too: the company does some hosting for clients. Audacy currently uses Omny Studio, a company now owned by competitor iHeartRadio.
October 20, 2021:
    Facebook recently added podcasts into their app (mobile only, US only), but haven't talked too much about their plans for podcasting. 1.8 billion users visit Facebook daily, so anything they do to increase podcasting would be welcome. Today, Facebook's podcasting team is joining The New Media Show, with Libsyn's Rob Greenlee and Blubrry's Todd Cochrane, at 3pm Eastern. You can watch the live feed here.
October 19, 2021:
October 18, 2021:
October 15, 2021:
October 14, 2021:
October 13, 2021:
    Using the same synthetic voice technology, you can hear our Editor, James Cridland, speaking Spanish (he doesn't speak it either) in our podcast today. It's quite a thing.
October 12, 2021:
    Exclusive: Spotify is closing in on Apple Podcasts and indie podcast apps are becoming less popular, according to new data released to Podnews by Podtrac today. Calculated from over a billion US podcast downloads in September, for monthly audience, Spotify is now less than three percentage points away from Apple. But, for monthly streams/downloads, Apple is more than seven times larger - and that number's growing.
October 11, 2021:
October 8, 2021:
    A new podcast, Fat Leonard, highlights what it claims is corruption within the US Navy. Leonard himself talks for the first time, and the podcast also includes the brave women who exposed the fraud. From PRX and Project Brazen, the content studio created by former Wall Street Journal reporters Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, it launched yesterday.
October 7, 2021:
October 6, 2021:
    Here's what else you need to know today - there's no change in the top 5 Top US Podcasts, with The Daily still #1. SmartLess - a new entry last month at #9 - is still #9.
October 5, 2021:
    Who invented the word 'podcast'? Who made the term popular? Who used the word 'podcast' first in... a podcast? Our history of the word 'podcast' contains audio, quotes, and a full timeline.
October 4, 2021:
October 1, 2021:
    Spotify also launched a quiz to help you find your perfect podcast, for users in US, UK, Germany and Australia. We were given Healthy-ish (which shows there's some geo-targeting in the algorithm).
September 30, 2021:
September 29, 2021:
September 28, 2021:
    Meet Cute, a popular rom-com podcast, releases its first international production today. Written by Nigerian-based Kasimma and acted and produced by Nigerian creators, it's a story of love, friendship and adventure. In the last 1.5 years, Meet Cute has created over 350 stories.
September 27, 2021:
September 24, 2021:
September 23, 2021:
September 22, 2021:
September 21, 2021:
September 20, 2021:
September 17, 2021:
September 16, 2021:
September 15, 2021:
September 14, 2021:
September 13, 2021:
September 10, 2021:
September 9, 2021:
September 8, 2021:
September 7, 2021:
September 6, 2021:
September 3, 2021:
September 2, 2021:
September 1, 2021:
    The founder of Google Podcasts, Zack Reneau-Wedeen, has left Google. He's now working on cryptocurrency for investment platform Robinhood - though we understand he hadn't been working on podcasts within the company for some time. Gabe Bender, Google Podcasts' product lead, left in April. So who's driving Google Podcasts today? Steve McLendon, a former co-founder of 60dB (which Google bought in 2017), describes himself on Twitter as "working on podcast stuff at Google". The team is also working on a tech refresh of Feedburner.
August 31, 2021:
August 30, 2021:
    Podnews's Editor has kick-started a "best practices" website for podcast app developers, hosting companies and other parts of podcasting's infrastructure. It currently gives expected behaviour for user agents, descriptions, episode order and audio files. Intended to be an independent, pragmatic and minimalist website, more voices would be great.
August 27, 2021:
August 26, 2021:
    Podsights has terminated its contract with Libsyn's AdvertiseCast, according to a notice on Podsights' website. Podsights attribution will not be available to advertisers attempting to run campaigns on Libsyn's AdvertiseCast from Oct 11. Podnews understands a notice of termination was sent after a Libsyn employee accosted a female Podsights staff member at a virtual event in April, but the banner only appeared after Podsights was called "malicious" and "ignorant" by the same person, Libsyn's Rob Walch, during a session at Podcast Movement. Walch accused Podsights of "f#cking this community" in an aggressive speech that we're told is part of a pattern of targeted behaviour against Podsights.
August 25, 2021:
August 24, 2021:
    September 2020 was also Joe Rogan's first month on Spotify (bought for $100m). The data shows that 14.9m hours of Rogan's show were consumed on Spotify during that month. If the average length of the show is 3 hours, that would translate to about 5m plays during September on Spotify alone. The show was still available on other platforms that month.
August 23, 2021:
August 20, 2021:
    The effects of the Apple Podcasts download bug could be clearer today after the release of new data from Triton Digital. The data allows us to compare overall download numbers from May, which was largely unaffected, with those across July in a number of different territories. Apple's buggy app began to be rolled out from May 24, and was fixed on Jul 31.
August 19, 2021:
August 18, 2021:

Thank you - as of today, we now have more than 20,000 subscribers. Thanks if you've helped us grow, told your friends, supported us, or just read us every day.

August 17, 2021:
    Good news - cross-platform podcast app Pocket Casts is "scaling back up", the company posts in an update. In a comment perhaps aimed at the buggy Apple Podcasts, they've revealed that the first thing they're working on is "how quickly you get new episodes after a podcast author publishes them". They're also working on app translations; Emmeline Berry is rejoining the team as Content Curator and Podcaster Liaison.
August 16, 2021:
August 13, 2021:
    Did Apple Podcasts cancel their private briefings at Podcast Movement, like we claimed yesterday? Yes: but as part of a travel ban at the company. We're told that the team are still chatting regularly to podcast hosting companies; and have corrected that part of our story yesterday.
August 12, 2021:
August 11, 2021:
    Are there still problems at Apple Podcasts? While nobody wants to put their name to it, Podnews has had a number of large publishers saying that Apple Podcasts occasionally doesn't notice new episodes appearing in podcast feeds - and they sometimes can take up to 72 hours to appear. While iOS 14.7 fixes an auto-download bug, this bug is different. What do you know? Hit reply and let us know.
August 10, 2021:
    Edison Research has released the Top 50 US Podcasts by audience size, for Q2 2021. Joe Rogan is still #1, The Daily is #2, and Crime Junkie #3 - the data is compiled by asking participants what podcasts they listened-to in the past week, rather than raw download figures, and should measure everyone.
August 9, 2021:
August 6, 2021:
August 5, 2021:
August 4, 2021:
    Are you there? We can't be - but we'd love photographs. Send some to editor@podnews.net and we'll publish some of the best.
August 3, 2021:
August 2, 2021:
July 30, 2021:

Vote for us in The Podcast Awards - voting closes tomorrow for The Podcast Awards, and we'd love it if you'd vote for Podnews in the Politics and News category. It'll take only a minute, and you don't need to vote for every category. Vote here, today. Thank you!

July 29, 2021:
    The creator of Lore, Aaron Mahnke returns with Bridgewater, with a promo set to launch later today. It's the supernatural story of folklore professor Jeremy Bradshaw, who is pulled into the mysterious 1980 disappearance of his police officer father. The screenplay is written by Lauren Shippen; Bridgewater is on all major platforms.
July 28, 2021:
July 27, 2021:
    Audacy has launched Podsauce, a podcast discovery show. The show (in both audio and video) will "give viewers and listeners the inside scoop on new podcasts from the genre’s top talent and discover hidden gems they might otherwise have missed out on." There will also be a minute-long version on the radio.
July 26, 2021:
    Thinking of using Fireside Chat? In his blog, Adam Curry spotted an unusual clause in Fireside's terms on Saturday. We've taken a closer look at them: Fireside can copy your best ideas, sell your stuff with your name on, and ignore you if you don't like that. See you in court! (Except, no, you can't do that either.)
July 23, 2021:
    iHeartRadio is #1 for podcasts, according to the Media Monitors Podcast Listener Survey for the second half of June. Joe Rogan and The Daily are #1 and #2 shows; comedy is the #1 genre. The research is based on recall; Media Monitors is owned by iHeartMedia.
July 22, 2021:
    In Canada, Corus radio stations have launched The Curiouscast Podcast Hour, airing a weekly show with a different podcast episode every week from the company. It'll be hosted by Chris "Dunner" Duncombe, the Director of Podcasting and Streaming for Corus Entertainment, and aired on GLobal News stations. The company owns 39 stations in eight of Canada's top ten markets.
July 21, 2021:
July 20, 2021:
    Shure has announced a new MV7 Podcast Kit which includes the microphone and a matching mini tripod, allowing a complete out-of-the-box solution for new podcasters for an extra $20 or £10. The company has also produced a guide to How To Record Your First Podcast.
July 19, 2021:
    Analysis: Launched in January 2011, and especially keen on Android, Pocket Casts was bought in 2018 by a consortium of US public broadcasters; but was put up for sale in January 2021, after NPR's accounts said its 34.6% share had lost $812,000 (a figure PocketCasts denied). The app appears to have stalled in recent years, with a shrinking market share and no investment in new features. Podnews's Editor uses it every day - he hopes they invest in Podcasting 2.0 enhancements to differentiate it from the competition.
July 16, 2021:
July 15, 2021:
July 14, 2021:
July 13, 2021:
    Australians love their smart speakers, according to new research from Edison Research and Commercial Radio Australia. 26% of people own one; compared to 33% in the US. The research doesn't specifically mention podcast consumption (though 41% claim to use it to "get the news").
July 12, 2021:
July 9, 2021:
July 8, 2021:
July 7, 2021:
    Acast has hired Daniella Murphy as Creative Director UK+, and promoted Jack Preston to Director of Acast Creative UK+ & US.
July 6, 2021:
    For the first time, all major podcast apps display episode notes in the same way. As Podnews testing now reveals, in the <description> field, all major podcast apps now support <a href links, <p> paragraphs, <ul><li> bullet points, and make URLs clickable automatically. You should keep episode notes below 4,000 characters, though, to ensure they display everywhere (Apple has a limit of 4,000, Google Podcasts has a limit of 5,000).
July 5, 2021:
July 2, 2021:
    Analysis: One podcast host tells Podnews that the slump started in late May (the new iOS app was rolled out on May 24); two hosts we've spoken-to report a 27% drop in Apple downloads month-on-month. Podcast publishers have contacted us reporting similar. Since Apple accounts for around 40% of all downloads, the industry might see an overall 11% drop in June: perhaps translating to a $7.7m loss in ad revenue. It will be fixed, of course; but because the Podcasts app is part of the operating system, it needs to wait for the next iOS update.
July 1, 2021:
    Apple Podcasts has reinstated HTML links in podcast descriptions. The server-side change appears to be live for Podnews, PodClock and for The Feed by Libsyn: it seems to be a recent change with the RSS parser used by the company. HTML links are important for podcasters to allow additional reading, affiliate links, sponsors or support: they broke with the rollout of the new Apple Podcasts infrastructure in late April.
June 30, 2021:
    Amazon has bought the distribution and adsales rights for the SmartLess podcast for between $60-80 million. The show will not be exclusive, but will be published one week early on Amazon Music and Wondery+. The deal was through CAA.
June 29, 2021:
June 28, 2021:
June 25, 2021:
    Amazon has bought enterprise podcast hosting and adsales company ART19, announcing the news on their podcasters portal. No details of the deal were given. ART19 already hosts Wondery podcasts: this gives Amazon access to podcast hosting technology and a monetisation platform for dynamically-inserted advertising across all apps. Kintan Brahmbhatt, GM of Amazon Podcasts says that the company is hiring. Podnews has been predicting the purchase since Amazon bought Wondery in December.
June 24, 2021:
June 23, 2021:
    The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021 was released this morning. The most valuable international data available, it gives podcast consumption figures for 20 countries in a comparable manner, and says 31% of people (302 million) accessed a podcast in the last month: a similar number to 2020. It also says that the platform mix is changing, with Spotify overtaking Apple in some markets. (Here's our take on that).
June 22, 2021:
June 21, 2021:
June 18, 2021:
    Stitcher Media is the new #1 podcast publisher in the US, according to the latest Triton Digital US Podcast Report for the four weeks ending May 30. The company, owned by SiriusXM, beat NPR for both average weekly downloads and listeners. NPR News Now is still the #1 podcast, though. It's the first to be compiled to v2.1 of the IAB Podcast Technical Guidelines: the result is a reduction in average weekly users by around 5% for the top 5 publishers. The ranker measures participating publishers only; iHeartRadio owns Triton Digital, but it is not included in the ranker.
June 17, 2021:
June 16, 2021:
June 15, 2021:
June 14, 2021:
    Guardians of the River is to be premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Festival. The podcast, from House of Pods, is a series about whether it's possible to protect some of the most remote and wild places on the planet - like the view above of the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Africa. The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001; see Podcast News, below, for another podcast from the festival.
June 11, 2021:
June 10, 2021:
June 9, 2021:
    Podcast host Captivate has unveiled what it calls Captivate 2.0: a refresh of the user interface, a new trackable short-links tool, an "omni-search" service for quick navigation, and a simpler global one-click distribution service for podcast directories. Mark Asquith, pictured above, told Podnews: "We always wanted to make the real potential of podcasting more accessible to everyday podcasters, and we think the new features and the flexibility that these upgrades offer for the future are a game-changer." Podnews's Editor is an advisor to the company.
June 8, 2021:
June 7, 2021:
June 4, 2021:
    Facebook appears to be turning on podcast support for some pages, in preparation for a June 22 launch. The email sent to some podcast owners links through to a page like facebook.com/(yourpage)/settings/podcasts/ to opt in and supply your RSS feed; our page is not yet enabled.
June 3, 2021:
June 2, 2021:
June 1, 2021:
May 31, 2021:
    In an email to podcasters sent late on Friday before a holiday weekend, Apple Podcasts has announced that Apple Podcasts Paid Subscriptions and channels will now launch in June. The company's original announcement had promised a May launch; we understand it is now planned to go live in the coming weeks.
May 28, 2021:
    The British Podcast Awards, powered by Amazon Music, are about to reveal their nominees: 1pm UK time, 8am New York time, on their website. Hosting the stream are Hannah and Suruthi, the presenters of the popular true crime podcast Redhanded. They'll also be revealing the in-person location for this year's awards.
May 27, 2021:
    You can see who hosts a show, and privacy information, by searching for them on Podnews. Here's Pod Save America for example.
May 26, 2021:

How's Apple Podcasts now? A month after the new Apple Podcasts Connect launched, we hope everything's all fine: but we're curious as to your experiences. For a story on Friday, we'd like to be able to report to our 19,000 podcast industry subscribers that the system responsible for around 40% of all podcast downloads is now working well. If that's not the case with you, please hit 'reply' and tell us what you're seeing when publishing to Apple Podcasts. And don't worry - we'll keep your details private, so you won't jeopardise that New & Noteworthy spot. Thanks.

May 25, 2021:
May 24, 2021:
May 21, 2021:
    Podclips is one of a new set of podcast apps that offers clips of podcast shows as a form of curation. However, it appears today that it takes podcast audio without permission and re-hosts it on its servers, which denys podcasters stats and revenue; and, by clipping shows up, removes valuable context. "This is wholesale theft," said Jason Calcanis, the host of This Week In Startups, adding "they refused to take our audio content down until I sent letters to their hosting company. You can link to our audio files, and if a fan makes a clip or two I’m generally ok with it, but to take entire shows without permission is insane."
May 20, 2021:
May 19, 2021:
    Libsyn has released its most popular platforms for April, in The Feed: Apple has 60.01% and Spotify 13.65% of all podcast downloads. Earlier this month, Buzzsprout released its April figures: it reports Spotify and Apple Podcasts both tie at 29.3%.
May 18, 2021:
    Cover story: Raw launches tomorrow from Eurosport, promising stories of bravery, determination and talent. Former French rugby union player Serge Betsen is pictured above being interviewed; he'll be in episode 4 in early June.
May 17, 2021:
    In an award ceremony live from Los Angeles, California, The Ambies were announced last night, the first podcast awards from The Podcast Academy. The podcast of the year went to Wondery's Dying For Sex. The awards seemed to be a streaming success, too, with 25,000 people watching at peak. From the full list of winners, Amazon's Wondery was the winning studio of the night, with five awards announced; Crooked Media getting four, and QCODE with three. The podcast with the biggest award haul was Wind of Change, with three separate wins.
May 14, 2021:
May 13, 2021:
May 12, 2021:
May 11, 2021:
May 10, 2021:
May 7, 2021:
May 6, 2021:
May 5, 2021:
May 4, 2021:
May 3, 2021:
    Apple's Podcasts Connect still isn't allowing new podcasts from some users, with error messages about missing artwork and copyright statements. Podnews lost access to our account again last week (it's since returned, minus any stats). Still, we're doing better than Dirk Primbs, who has been waiting for more than ten days to access his.
April 30, 2021:
April 29, 2021:
April 28, 2021:
April 27, 2021:
April 26, 2021:
April 23, 2021:
April 22, 2021:
April 21, 2021:
April 20, 2021:
April 19, 2021:
    "The ability to submit new shows for review is temporarily unavailable" says Apple Podcasts Connect for us today. This may be related to a big Apple announcement tomorrow, or perhaps it's just broken: the tool is famously unreliable.
April 16, 2021:
April 15, 2021:
    Top Podcasts and Top Episodes are worked out differently; we've added their definitions to our comprehensive understanding podcasting stats page, along with details of how the Apple Podcasts charts are worked out.
April 14, 2021:
April 13, 2021:
April 12, 2021:
April 9, 2021:
    Congratulations to Buzzsprout, which now has 100,000 active podcasts, according to Buzzcast, the company's podcast.
April 8, 2021:
    Whether you're a commute driver or a racetrack drifter, the relaunch of Toyota Untold brings the world of cars, and their stories, down to street level.
April 7, 2021:
April 6, 2021:
    Are there really 2 million podcasts? Working with Amplifi Media, Podnews checked the numbers: 44% of available podcasts have three or fewer episodes. Does a couple of episodes make a podcast? Does that really mean that we only have 880,000 podcasts out there (the number of shows with 4 or more episodes?)
April 5, 2021:
April 2, 2021:
April 1, 2021:
    Bryan Barletta, formerly the Editor of Podnews's Sounds Profitable ad-tech newsletter, has announced a new career as a children's author. "Explaining podcasting ad-tech to people has made me realize that I love explaining things," he said. His first book is the ABC's of Podcasting, and will explain podcasting to kids everywhere, accompanied by robots drawn by Jake Crowe. You can order now.
March 31, 2021:
    Entercom, which owns Cadence13, Pineapple Street Studios, Podcorn and CBS Radio, has changed its name. "Part audio, part audacious, part odyssey", the new name is Audacy. As part of that, RADIO․COM is no more: they've rebranded it Audacy as well. You can get your podcast into that app; our big list of podcast directories includes them. The stock market likes it: shares rose by 5.2%.
March 30, 2021:
March 29, 2021:
March 26, 2021:
    In the Apple Podcasts app in iOS 14.5 beta 5, released earlier this week, some people who have looked carefully at the open iOS beta have noted the Podcasts app now includes "a link to your iCloud information". This, we're told, is typically added to Apple apps that accept payment. There is more discussion in Buzzsprout's Buzzcast this week.
March 25, 2021:
March 24, 2021:
March 23, 2021:
March 22, 2021:
March 19, 2021:
March 18, 2021:
March 17, 2021:
    Use Chartable or Podsights to measure your traffic? Overcast will no longer appear in your data: Marco Arment, the developer, has decided to skip those redirects entirely, after they have, he claims, become increasingly affected by ad-blocking DNS servers. "Most download links that would otherwise redirect through these widely-blocked domains will now try to skip that hop and go to whatever’s after them", he says on Overcast's Slack channel. "I keep getting emails and tweets from people whose downloads are being blocked at the network level by these DNS blocklists, and they’ve gotten frequent enough that I need to do something." Podtrac is currently unaffected by this action, though.
March 16, 2021:
March 15, 2021:
March 12, 2021:
March 11, 2021:

Correction: Yesterday, we reported an apparent change in Apple Podcasts’ automatic downloads in the next release. In fact, we’d found a known bug in the current beta around auto-downloads, which has already been fixed in a future release. We’ve been told there is no change in automatic download behaviour planned. Resetting an iPod Touch to a clean, anonymous install of iOS 14.5 confirms this - automatic downloads are enabled in the settings app and per podcast by default.

March 10, 2021:
    Entercom has acquired Podcorn, valuing the company at $22.5m. Entercom, a US radio broadcaster, owns Cadence13 and Pineapple Street Studios. Podcorn gives advertisers access to podcasters. In 2016 Google purchased the founders' previous company, FameBit, for $36m.
March 9, 2021:
    This seemingly small change could dramatically affect the industry. Tom Webster from Edison Research says 47% of people who don't currently listen to podcasts think that 'subscribing' to a podcast will cost money, describing it as a stone in the shoe of podcasting's growth run. He tells Podnews: “Today, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube are the three most widely used services to play podcasts, and now the word Subscribe means ‘automatically download for free’ in exactly none of them. Podcasters will have no choice but to adapt their language accordingly or risk confusing listeners.”
March 8, 2021:
March 5, 2021:

Can we help you? We've asked all week for your help in sharing Podnews with others. Thanks to you, 165 more people are now getting Podnews, from companies like ABC Australia, Pushkin Industries, Magnificent Noise, Westwood One, Canadaland, the CBC, Acast, A Million Ads, Sony Music and Spotify. Today, we'd like to help you - grab our stuff for your site, intranet, podcast, Slack or Basecamp feed. Get in touch if we can help with something bespoke.

March 4, 2021:

Would you recommend us? There are plenty of places to give Podnews an upvote or a good rating - Podchaser, Apple Podcasts, or just your own social media feed. If you'd recommend us, please do so today: we'd really appreciate it.

March 3, 2021:
March 2, 2021:

Please help spread the word about Podnews - if you like what we do, please consider a mention on LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook (we're back there!), or wherever you socially hang out. We'd be really grateful to get more people reading us every day.

March 1, 2021:

Could Podnews be useful to someone you know? This week, we're on a subscription drive: and we'd love to get more readers. Do you know people in podcasting who could benefit from us? Please forward this email so they know how to subscribe, free. Thanks!

February 26, 2021:
    James Cridland, Podnews's Editor, is speaking today at PodFest Global about international podcast opportunities. Use the promo code "podnews" to get a complimentary ticket worth $49.
February 25, 2021:
    DAX is reported to have been appointed exclusive sponsorship partner for NPR in Canada. DAX already represents Wondery in the country.
February 24, 2021:
February 23, 2021:
    Anchor announced the launch of paid subscriptions later this year. Podcasters will be able to give their supporters additional paid-for features within Spotify. You can sign up for the waitlist. This will be "a limited beta in the US", starting this Spring, we're told. The demo in the announcement shows a podcaster being able to choose from $2.99, $4.99 and $7.99/month subscriptions as price points. Podnews was told that Spotify will take a small cut of the fee.
February 22, 2021:
February 19, 2021:
February 18, 2021:
    EW Scripps bought Triton Digital for $150m in October 2018; Triton Digital paid $8.5m for Omny Studio in June 2019.
February 17, 2021:
    Sounds Profitable this week, sponsored by Chartable, focuses on how dynamic ad insertion actually works: with a live demo. Subscribe today, and look out for their new referral program for some awesome stickers (and a Podnews one).
February 16, 2021:
    Seems someone agrees: The Joe Rogan Experience has started posting clips of shows on its old, open RSS feed. Currently, a clip from a recent Elon Musk interview ends with a 40 second promotion for Spotify at the end, voiced by Rogan. The show went exclusive on Spotify on Dec 1.
February 15, 2021:
February 12, 2021:

Our cover story: Kacie Willis, from You Heard Me Write, Spotify's new podcast from their SoundUp program. See Podcast News, below.

February 11, 2021:
February 10, 2021:
February 9, 2021:
February 8, 2021:
February 5, 2021:
February 4, 2021:
    In Denmark, 27% of adults (15+) listen to podcasts every week. That is 3 percentage points up from last year, according to new data from DR. Spotify is the market leader in the country. There's a full interview with the researchers in the Podland News podcast later today.
February 3, 2021:
February 2, 2021:
    In particular, you might hear an ad for Podnews in it. If you do, it'll tell you that you'll get Podnews "every morning", "every lunchtime" (or even "every evening") depending which country you're in.
February 1, 2021:
    to the almost 200 people who subscribed to Podnews last week, including NOVA Entertainment, Cadence13, Discovery Networks, iHeart Media, Lantigua Williams, Warner Media, Spotify and Radio France. If you get value from Podnews, please tell your colleagues to subscribe too.
January 29, 2021:
January 28, 2021:
January 27, 2021:
    Spotify's consumer podcast host, Anchor, has had a redesign. A new 'wave' logo, a new typeface (Maax), and a new direction in photography: "less about podcasting, more about podcasters". And yes, there's a podcast, Branding Out Loud, to hear more.
January 26, 2021:
January 25, 2021:
January 22, 2021:
January 21, 2021:
January 20, 2021:
January 19, 2021:
    From Podcast Network Asia: The Eve's Drop is a Spotify Exclusive podcast that features real women discussing relevant issues through drama, truths, and tears.
January 18, 2021:
January 15, 2021:
January 14, 2021:
    Todd Cochrane's Geek News Central will today release its 1,500th episode in a live recording from 7.30pm ET via Facebook. Todd is also CEO of Blubrry, and tells Podnews of the benefit of using your own product: "While I love doing my show for my family of listeners, I strongly believe the only way to stay abreast of what is happening, and the struggles podcasters face in building a show and keeping advertisers happy, is by being in the trenches creating content." Congratulations to him.
January 13, 2021:
January 12, 2021:
January 11, 2021:
January 8, 2021:
January 7, 2021:
    Exclusive: Speaking on an episode of the Podland podcast to be released later today, Rob Greenlee has announced he is to step down as Chair of the Podcast Academy this month, as part of significant changes in the board of governors. "The board has decided to re-elect all new officers," he explains.
January 6, 2021:
January 5, 2021:
    Breaker also operated a podcast hosting platform, according to its blog: we can only find 30 podcasts using it, though, including their own podcast, last updated in March. They'll also no longer be supported from January 15.
January 4, 2021:
    Parler, the 'free speech' social network, appears to be auto-downloading all podcasts in full on their website, according to Podnews analysis. These downloads aren't IAB compliant, and should be disregarded to comply with certification. (Podcast hosts can only spot these using a check on the referrer, which few actually do).
January 1, 2021:
    We reported yesterday that Hernan Lopez will leave Wondery after the Amazon deal goes through. Podnews has seen an all-staff email from Lopez to the Wondery team, part of which clarifies his next steps: "Once the transaction is complete, I will be transitioning out of the company to focus my attention on my recently announced Hernan Lopez Family Foundation, which is committed to addressing diversity in leadership both from the demand side as well as the supply side. The transaction will free up time and provide resources to make those goals possible, and I will be working with other organizations to make more meaningful progress. I will also be looking forward to what’s ahead on the professional side, but not before I take a break and have a blank slate ahead of me, which frankly, is quite exciting, especially after 30 years without one!"
December 31, 2020:
    Visionaries is a fantasy podcast about racism and human evolution. Nearing extinction in 2185, the remaining human race opens rebellion against their slave masters, the superior visionary race. Ad sales by Fable & Folly.
December 30, 2020:
December 29, 2020:
December 28, 2020:
December 25, 2020:
December 24, 2020:
December 23, 2020:
December 22, 2020:
December 21, 2020:
December 18, 2020:
December 17, 2020:
    We prefer "Play the latest news from Podnews podcasting news", which works on any speaker: Echo, Google Assistant, or a HomePod.
December 16, 2020:
December 15, 2020:
    Podnews's podcast pages have the most comprehensive privacy information anywhere. Search for a podcast to see what information may be exposed when you listen. (It's open data, too).
December 14, 2020:
December 11, 2020:
December 10, 2020:
    Australia has a new #1 podcast, according to the November Australian Podcast Ranker at least: Audioboom's Casefile, represented by the #1 network, ARN's iHeartPodcastNetwork Australia. Overall monthly downloads dropped by 6.5%. An incomplete ranker, it measures participating publishers only, and still doesn't include the country's largest podcaster, the ABC.
December 9, 2020:
    56% of heavy podcast listeners think the number of ads in podcasts is increasing; and 38% believe there are already too many, according to the Super Listeners Study from Edison Research, PodcastOne and Ad Results Media. However, listeners felt more positive towards ads than previous years.
December 8, 2020:
December 7, 2020:
December 4, 2020:
    This means it now works with all private RSS feeds, including those from Memberful - who are sponsoring our podcast this month, and offer a simple way to create a members-only podcast feed and earn more revenue.
December 3, 2020:
December 2, 2020:
December 1, 2020:
November 30, 2020:
November 27, 2020:
November 26, 2020:
November 25, 2020:
November 24, 2020:
November 23, 2020:
November 20, 2020:
November 19, 2020:
November 18, 2020:
November 17, 2020:
    Apple Podcasts has launched an embeddable podcast player, allowing anyone to embed the audio from any podcast on their own website. We've added it to our list of embeddable podcast players; you can add your podcast's player by visiting your podcast's page on Apple Podcasts on the web, or the Apple Podcasts Marketing Tools website.
November 16, 2020:
    Spotify is taking a bite out of Apple. Buzzsprout has shared the top podcast 'agents' on their platform. Apple Podcasts accounts for just 47% of all plays and downloads, Spotify for 24.4%, and Google Podcasts is third with 2.4%. These are the lowest numbers yet for Apple Podcasts from a podcast host. (Libsyn's data only shows mobile app downloads, and has a higher percentage of US downloads).
November 13, 2020:
November 12, 2020:
    Australia's largest podcaster, the ABC, is to put 23 of its most popular podcasts onto Spotify in a six-month trial, after placing Coronacast on the platform earlier this year. The ABC's Cath Dwyer told Podnews: "It's a big opportunity for the ABC, and we're really excited to reach audiences that might not find us on other platforms." On Spotify, some shows will carry advertising, like YouTube and other platforms; revenues will help fund content making, and shows continue to be ad-free in the ABC's own apps. In total, the broadcaster, which is government funded, has more than 175 shows.
November 11, 2020:
November 10, 2020:
    First look: Acast and Patreon have just announced a collaboration, enabling creators to publish subscriber-only content across different podcast platforms, allow creators to simply and securely distribute their free and paywalled content, and make it easier for fans to financially support Patreon creators. It works on almost all podcast players (excepting Spotify).
November 9, 2020:
    We reported that Wondery was up for sale on September 28. Bloomberg report that both Apple and Sony have held talks; Spotify isn't apparently interested. The asking price is between $300m-$400m; significantly more than Spotify paid for Gimlet.
November 6, 2020:
November 5, 2020:
November 4, 2020:
November 3, 2020:
November 2, 2020:
    Podnews has added privacy information to our podcast pages - so you know which podcasts may contain tracking, dynamic content insertion, or are being served insecurely. This adds to the podcast hosting data we've listed since January. The data is open and community-maintained - see our 'tech stuff' section for more.
October 30, 2020:
October 29, 2020:
October 28, 2020:
October 27, 2020:
    Adam Curry and John C Dvorak celebrated thirteen years doing No Agenda this week.
October 26, 2020:
October 23, 2020:
    The Allusionist has left PRX's Radiotopia, with host Helen Zaltzman citing a lack of racial diversity at the organisation. "I have raised this fact repeatedly, recommended existing shows or potential showmakers to approach, questioned the excuses given for why the line-up stayed very white - small capacity and limited resources and insufficient money were frequently cited. So I offered money. And now, in case it makes more space and resources available, I’m removing myself." The Bugle, hosted by her brother Andy Zaltzman, left Radiotopia early last year.
October 22, 2020:
October 21, 2020:
    Google Podcasts is now the third-biggest podcast app. Libsyn's Rob Walch unveiled the company's download statistics in The Feed. It is, though, still five times smaller than Spotify, the #2. According to Libsyn, which gets 62% of its downloads from the US, total downloads to Pocket Casts dropped below 1%.
October 20, 2020:
October 19, 2020:
October 16, 2020:
October 15, 2020:
    One example of how the Spotify/Anchor news might make things better for listeners: My 90s Playlist is a new show from Sony Music Entertainment, with the first episode featuring a deep dive into TLC's No Scrubs. The 3'34" song itself, on a Sony Music record label, is played for less than two minutes on the podcast, and continually talked-over by the hosts, music and pop culture enthusiasts Tracy Clayton and Akoto Ofori-Atta, apart from one 25-second clip. To hear the song in full - on Spotify at least - would, surely, be a good thing.
October 14, 2020:
    "And The Ambie for best daily podcasting newsletter goes to..." The Podcast Academy has announced The Ambies, the organisation's podcast awards. Nominations will be accepted from next Monday: the name is from "ambient sound".
October 13, 2020:
October 12, 2020:
October 9, 2020:
October 8, 2020:
October 7, 2020:
    Podfront, a preview of new shows from seven of the US's largest podcast publishers, took place yesterday. A number of new shows were announced, and the event had high-profile guests including Hollywood actor Elle Fanning, comedian Sarah Silverman and NBA star JJ Redick, as well as podcast royalty like ABC News's Brad Mielke, NPR's Guy Raz, Wondery CEO Hernan Lopez, and Edison Research SVP Tom Webster.
October 6, 2020:
October 5, 2020:
    "No matter the topic, if you pursue podcasting it should be about a subject you love. You need to get up in the morning excited about what you are going to share." We asked award-winning investigative reporter Robert Riggs how he makes his new podcast, True Crime Reporter. His answers include the best way of taking notes, his experiences in the Gulf War, and his favourite podcasts. True Crime Reporter is sponsoring our Tips & Tricks section this week.
October 2, 2020:
    Positive news from audio streaming app Deezer. The company tells Podnews that total podcast streams on their platform more than doubled (up by 116%) from July 2019 to July 2020. Comedy is the most popular genre on the service.
October 1, 2020:
September 30, 2020:
September 29, 2020:
September 28, 2020:
September 25, 2020:
    Amazon has released a new set of its Echo smart speakers. The release doesn't mention that you can use them to listen to podcasts on Amazon Music. Meanwhile, Amazon Music has now sent emails to podcasters who submitted their shows, saying their podcasts are now available on the service. Some podcasters outside of the UK, US, Germany and Japan have contacted Podnews, saying that they are unable to see their listings.
September 24, 2020:
September 23, 2020:
September 22, 2020:
September 21, 2020:

You're incorrectly identifying up to 50% of your user agents - increasing visibility into what player the user is actively engaging with in both web and streaming, where we were previously blind, is a massive win — in today’s Sounds Profitable, our new adtech newsletter, with Podsights

September 18, 2020:
September 17, 2020:
September 16, 2020:

Our Cover Story - Optimal Living Daily hits 100 million downloads. See more in Podcast News, below.

September 15, 2020:
    Anchor says it's cracking down on stolen podcasts, after Podnews broke a story last month that many top podcasts were being pirated on the service. "The copycats, Mike Mignano says, found a workaround in Anchor’s detection system," according to the story. We've reported a separate loophole to the company.
September 14, 2020:

Open Podcast Analytics Workgroup (OPAWG) shows that our space can come together to better document and improve an area that takes considerable effort to manage: user agents. — in today's Sounds Profitable, our new adtech newsletter, with Podsights

September 11, 2020:
    Kara Swisher is to host a new interview podcast. The new title from New York Times Opinion Audio, is about power - and holding those who have it accountable. Sway is to be released on Monday September 21. (She calls it a "program" not a "podcast" in the trailer, incidentally.)
September 10, 2020:
    Working with member stations, NPR has made daily afternoon news podcast Consider This "the first localised daily news podcast", blending national stories and local reporting. The podcast uses Digital Content Insertion, the same tech as is used in localised advertising, to deliver a local version in ten different markets within the US. The rest of us will continue to hear the national version.
September 9, 2020:
    Exclusive: Podtrac has shared total downloads and audience, split by platform. Based on 1.5 billion US downloads from participating publishers measured by Podtrac during August, Apple has 61.1% of all podcast downloads; but when measured by total audience, Spotify is closing in on Apple in the country. Founder and CEO of Podtrac, Mark McCrery, told Podnews "Apple continues to provide the largest US podcast audience, podcast downloads and streams, and downloads per audience member. Spotify has become a popular podcast player in the US but with fewer monthly downloads and streams per audience member currently."
September 8, 2020:

The digital ad space is watching as the bottom falls out of their data collection methods. But how exactly does Apple’s Age of Privacy impact podcasting? - in today's Sounds Profitable, our new adtech newsletter, with Podsights

September 7, 2020:
    Podbay, "the best podcast player on the web", has had a number of updates including an updated player, position sync (so you'll never forget where you got up to), and YouTube integration (if the podcast is also on YouTube, you can watch it too - like this). Of course, we're there.
September 4, 2020:
September 3, 2020:
    Popular music podcast Song Exploder is to remove many of its shows because of music licensing costs. Creator Hrishikesh Hirway posted on Twitter that "I’ve always hoped they’d all be available forever, but the reality of music licensing makes that impossible". In a plot twist, since we reached out for comment, those posts have been removed: could that mean that a music and podcast service with a full licensing deal might have reached out? Here's hoping.
September 2, 2020:
September 1, 2020:
August 31, 2020:
    Podnews has launched a new, weekly, adtech newsletter. Sounds Profitable, which launches in beta today, is written by Bryan Barletta who has worked in digital advertising since 2009, and in podcast advertising since 2013. It's free to sign up; new articles come out every Monday.
August 28, 2020:
August 27, 2020:
August 26, 2020:
    Exclusive: Michelle Obama may be the #1 global podcast: but what was the #1 podcast, by total listeners, in the US? Or the UK? Or another 56 countries? We've got all the data - everywhere from Belgium to Bolivia. (This is based on listeners - not downloads - during this ten week time period).
August 25, 2020:
August 24, 2020:
August 21, 2020:

Today only: to celebrate, grab some Podnews stickers for your laptop... - details are in our email newsletter today.

August 20, 2020:
August 19, 2020:
    Horses In The Morning, with Jamie Jennings and Glenn The Geek, is celebrating their 2,500th show this morning: that's 3,125 hours of programming, during which time they've had more than 6,250 guests. Jamie and Glenn present the 90-minute show live, 2,000 miles apart, and presented their first show on Nov 1, 2010. They attribute their success to being consistent, honest, passionate and never boring.
August 18, 2020:
August 17, 2020:
    Anchor is hosting a large number of pirated podcasts from other publishers, we can reveal today. 30% of all the Podtrac top 20 podcasts are currently being copied on Anchor, according to our searches. The new podcast from NYT/Serial, Nice White Parents, has a further five pirated copies hosted on Anchor, using the original artwork.
August 14, 2020:
August 13, 2020:
August 12, 2020:
August 11, 2020:
    Exclusive: the robots are coming. Free podcast host Anchor could automatically delete your account without any warning. It happened to experienced podcaster Jonathan Mendonsa - and all for uploading a piece of audio that he owned. And as we went to press, we discovered one reason why. If you're with Anchor, you should probably read it.
August 10, 2020:
August 7, 2020:
August 6, 2020:
    The female founded and led podcast network Wonder Media Network has signed with talent agency WME, to help the network expand into books and television. Founded by journalist Jenny Kaplan and brand strategist Shira Atkins, WMN is an audio-first media company with a mission to amplify underrepresented voices. WME already represent PRX, Rusty Quill, Crooked Media and Malcolm Gladwell, and is owned by Endeavor, which also owns podcast network Endeavor Audio.
August 5, 2020:
August 4, 2020:
August 3, 2020:
    Libsyn report that Apple continues to be the #1 podcast app, accounting for 68.2% of mobile downloads. According to the podcast host, which is the largest paid podcast host in the world, Spotify is at 8.3% and Google Podcasts at just 1.3%. Sharing these figures on The Feed, Rob Walch adds: "The death of Apple Podcasts has been greatly over-stated".
July 31, 2020:
    A new Latin American Podcast Report is out from Triton Digital, covering the four weeks ending July 5. The top 10 podcasts have seen a slump in downloads, down by over 10%. The highest new entry is at 11: Educação Financeira a financial podcast from Radios Grupo Globo.
July 30, 2020:
July 29, 2020:
    Does it sound any good? To train it with your voice, you read a short legal disclaimer, then as much of The Wizard of Oz as you can. We read ten minutes of that, and after four hours we were ready to use the synthesised voice to record the start today's Podnews podcast, if you want a listen. (It works great for small edits.)
July 28, 2020:
July 27, 2020:
July 24, 2020:
July 23, 2020:
July 22, 2020:
July 21, 2020:
    How diverse is UK podcasting? Fewer than 5% of the top 100 podcasts in the UK are hosted by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women or non-binary people, according to new research from Spotify. Spotify has announced UK/IE applications are open for their annual Sound Up podcast accelerator programme for BAME women and non-binary people in the UK and Ireland. You've got until 4th August to enter for access to a four week virtual training course with equipment. (It's also open in Sweden, where entries close Jul 26, by the way).
July 20, 2020:
July 17, 2020:
July 16, 2020:
July 15, 2020:
July 14, 2020:
July 13, 2020:
July 10, 2020:
    Audioboom has closed its Indian office. "While the podcast market in India has grown over the past 5 years, it has not become big enough for us to sustain an operation there. Our hosting platform will still be available to podcasters in India of course," CEO Stuart Last tells Podnews. "We're still focused on global expansion, but need to be smart in how we do that. The US and UK remain our core regions, but we are the biggest international podcast publisher in Australia, and we are currently developing a new partnership in Canada that will grow podcasting there."
July 9, 2020:
July 8, 2020:
    We're an eco-friendly lot: Podcast listeners are 39% more likely to be hybrid drivers - and are a $302bn opportunity for the US auto market, says Nielsen, highlighting that 10.5m podcast listeners were shopping for a new car at the height of the pandemic restrictions in the US. (Podnews's Editor drives a Prius, incidentally, so...)
July 7, 2020:
July 6, 2020:

Our photo story: kids have bright minds and big ideas, says a new podcast: see below

July 3, 2020:
July 2, 2020:
    Is Spotify really bigger than Apple? Chances are that your podcast stats don't say that: so why is Voxnest saying different? Our Editor has looked at the numbers in more detail: and spoken to others to try to find the truth.
July 1, 2020:
    Exclusive: Podcasting: will it prove to be recession-proof? Writing for Podnews, the CEO of Quill, Fatima Zaidi, looks at how podcasts have fared during the pandemic, and why she believes that podcasting is resilient and offers great opportunities to come.
June 30, 2020:
June 29, 2020:
June 26, 2020:
June 25, 2020:
    What's next after iOS and Android? KaiOS is the third most popular mobile operating system in the world, aiming to help the 3.5bn people who aren't yet connected. In India, 70 million KaiOS phones have been sold (costing US $7.85 each). PodLP is the first podcast app for the platform; Thomas Barrasso writes about the development experience - and tells Podnews that Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania are among the top countries using the app so far. It makes money from ads and podcast sponsorship.
June 24, 2020:
June 23, 2020:
    Our photo story: Do you talk to the person sitting next to you on public transport? New podcast Mesto47 looks at human stories from one of the longest train rides in the world: the Trans Siberian Railroad. Above - handing out flyers in Siberia wearing a big KFC fries costume, an eighteen year-old who dreams of becoming a rapper, but is studying to be a mining electrician. A fun idea, and a fun picture - so we crowbarred it into today's newsletter.
June 22, 2020:
    Does podcasting have a spam problem? Podcast RSS feeds are increasingly being scraped for email addresses. Today, Podnews looks at whether this is legal, and whether it's a legitimate way for marketers to promote their services.
June 19, 2020:
June 18, 2020:
    Analysis: The podcast market appears to be horizontally consolidating. SiriusXM already owns Pandora and ad-tech company AdsWizz: their acquisition of Simplecast adds a capable podcast host and analytics company, and means they have capabilities in all sectors of the business. They join EW Scripps, who own Omny Studio, Triton Digital, Midroll and Stitcher; Spotify, who own Anchor, Gimlet et al; and Acast, who acquired Pippa and set up their own content studio last year. It's not enough, it seems, to be a great hosting company or a content-creator: the podcast companies of the future appears to need a foot in all parts of the business.
June 17, 2020:
    News provider Reuters has unveiled two new audio services: Reuters Audio, a rights-cleared real-time and archive audio clips service with almost half a million audio clips now available for use in podcasts; and Reuters Ready Audio, a curated package of news stories voiced by Reuters journalists. Both are available by subscription at Reuters Connect - and individual clips may be available for purchase later, the company tells Podnews. You can hear some examples of the audio clips in our podcast today.
June 16, 2020:
June 15, 2020:
June 12, 2020:
    Some podcast download numbers might be incorrect: and could be 5% too large, according to The New Media Show. If you use Apple Podcasts and own an Apple Watch, your watch automatically downloads duplicate copies of shows you're subscribed to when it's charging - which could be as much as 5% of a podcast's total downloads. According to the podcast, Libsyn already marks these additional downloads as duplicates, but many podcast hosts may not be doing so. In October 2018, Voxnest published that 9.4% of all downloads were to an Apple Watch.
June 11, 2020:
    Transcripts of episodes are a good thing. They increase audience participation, help people find your show, and help people retain information: and, as one company tells us, transcripts significantly increase traffic from Google. However, some podcast directories are posting automated transcripts online: which isn't always welcomed by some podcasters. In a long-form piece of reporting today, Podnews looks at transcripts, why some podcasters want a bit more control of them, and asks who'll help fix all this. You'll find it linked in our episode notes and our newsletter - which is where our transcript is.
June 10, 2020:
June 9, 2020:
    If 50% of podcast listeners paid for ad-free shows, creators would make nearly 6x more than they are with ads: that's according to Pete Curley and Garret Heaton (above), the founders of Podhero which officially launches today. Instead of advertising, which the company claims is unpredictable and only good for larger podcasts, if listeners put $5.99 into Podhero every month, it gets divided and shared with the shows they support (including us).
June 8, 2020:
    Opinion: It’s tempting to assume that a survey of 2,000 people is unlikely to be an accurate way of measuring how many listeners a podcast has. However, Edison’s ranker is remarkably similar to Triton Digital’s report if you amend the participating podcast download numbers to take into account the number of episodes published. Assuming that each additional episode adds 50% additional audience (since some only listen to one, while others listen to every show), Podnews works out that Triton’s ranker shows, in order: My Favorite Murder, Office Ladies, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Planet Money, and then Pod Save America: the same order as Edison Research reports them. At least with podcasts this big, the sample size seems to give accurate data (though we can't see further than the top ten).
June 5, 2020:
    37% of Canadians listen to podcasts every month, according to new data from Edison Research's Infinite Dial Canada 2020. That puts monthly Canadian podcast consumption on par with the US. Weekly listening is even higher than its southern neighbour, at 24%: the highest figure recorded by the international surveys so far.
June 4, 2020:
    The number 1, O Assunto, a news podcast in Portuguese, saw 60% more downloads; the top 10 grew 9.9% as a whole, to 3.08m weekly downloads.
June 3, 2020:
June 2, 2020:
    A record number of podcasts were started in May. 96,537 new shows were added to Apple Podcasts, according to Daniel J Lewis's My Podcast Reviews. The previous record, 90,977, was hit in April: it's likely that the coronavirus pandemic had a positive effect in podcast launches. There are now 1,136,520 podcasts in Apple Podcasts, according to the data. (Apple Podcasts powers at least 75% of all podcast app directories)
June 1, 2020:
May 29, 2020:
    London-based Podcast Radio is to expand, and will also broadcast across Manchester in England from Monday. The service is also to partner with Evergreen Podcasts, and will start airing several of their top-rated podcasts over the summer. You can also hear a tailored version of Podnews on the station.
May 28, 2020:
May 27, 2020:
May 26, 2020:
May 25, 2020:
May 22, 2020:
    Exclusive: Podcast host Captivate will announce later today that they have achieved IAB Certification for their podcast analytics. The certification was achieved at an "unprecedented pace" according to CEO Mark Asquith, and podcasters will see no significant changes to their reported download numbers. The first UK company to undergo this work, Captivate joins another 10 retail hosts that are certified compliant. (Podnews's Editor is on Captivate's advisory board).
May 21, 2020:
    First look: Podcast hosting and analytics company Blubrry has announced a private internal podcasting service, allowing companies and organisations to produce secure audio and video on-demand for their employees and members. The company says it's responding to increased need, driven by the high number of people working from home.
May 20, 2020:
May 19, 2020:
    Podcast Addict has returned to the Google Play app store today. The app had been suspended for linking to third-party podcasts about the coronavirus. Hiroshi Lockheimer, an SVP for Google, has posted on Twitter that "We are still sorting out kinks in our process as we combat Covid misinformation, but this app should not have been removed." The notification from Google Play asks the developer to "continue to monitor your app's content", and there appears to be no guarantee that the app won't be suspended for a fourth time for linking to third-party content.
May 18, 2020:
    The Google Play app store has suspended Podcast Addict, the most-reviewed Android podcast app, for having podcasts in it that mention the coronavirus. The note from Google says that content in the app about COVID-19 had not been approved by government entities or public health organisations. As Reclaim The Net reports, suspension of the app also immediately stops all ad revenue and all in-app payments; an appeal process takes at least seven days. Xavier Guillemane, the app's independent developer, tells Podnews: "I cannot believe that they would really want to ban the app for this reason", and points out that this policy should also apply to all web browsers, news apps and social networks. Existing users can continue to use the app.
May 15, 2020:
    Podcast host Captivate have added unique listeners to their analytics. Calculated to the IAB v2 standard, they highlight it as "part one of an analytics upgrade". (Disclosures)
May 14, 2020:
    Triton Digital have published their latest Australian Podcast Ranker for the period ending 3 May. The highest new entry is Wondery's The Dollop, at #15; new publishers in the ranker are Wondery, NBC News and Wavelength Creative, an indie Australian podcast publisher. The ABC, the largest podcast publisher in the country, are still absent. The service only measures participating publishers.
May 13, 2020:
May 12, 2020:
    Half of podcast consumers in China listen every day, according to the first survey of podcasting in the country from PodFest China. The most popular app is Apple Podcasts, according to the data, with Ximalaya FM and NetEase also being in the top 3; while a chat app, WeChat, is at #4. Most people listen to podcasts on public transport.
May 11, 2020:
    US podcast network PodcastOne has been purchased by LiveXLive Media for $18.1m. Norm Pattiz will join LiveXLive "as a significant shareholder" and remain with PodcastOne. The release claims that PodcastOne brought in $27.5m revenue in 2019, with shows like Adam Carolla and The Jordan Harbinger Show.
May 8, 2020:
    Gracenote has launched a podcast database. Called Gracenote Audio On Demand, the company offers standardized podcast titles, descriptions and imagery across more than 900,000 podcast series, and additional data including celebrity links. The company already powers music, sports and TV data across the world.
May 7, 2020:
    A new podcast network, The Fable and Folly Network is aiming to sell out - of inventory. The new network launches with fifteen shows, including three shows nominated for awards; and it is actively pursuing sponsorship and growth opportunities for its members. In a press release, co-founder Sean Howard points to specific opportunities with serialised fiction podcasts.
May 6, 2020:
May 5, 2020:

A favour: we're on 13,200 subscribers today - thanks to new subscriptions from places like Audiodroom, Podshape, Slate, Dow Jones, The Athletic, Condé Nast, Carver PR and Pandora. But we hate the number 13. We'd be really grateful if you'd help us grow by telling colleagues and contacts about Podnews. (Use the link at the bottom of your newsletter for the chance of some nice things from us in return).

May 4, 2020:
May 1, 2020:
    For interest: based on global listeners/devices, over the last 60 days Podnews's podcast is 54% Apple, 46% Spotify.
April 30, 2020:
    We've updated our list of podcast hosts, to identify those who offer IAB certified compliant stats; and done the same to the Github repo. We'd quite like to source little SVG logos for each of them, but that's a job for another day.
April 29, 2020:
April 28, 2020:
    First look: In the last few minutes, Spotify have announced that This American Life is now available to stream on Spotify. The top-rated podcast hadn't, apparently, been there until now.
April 27, 2020:
    Apple Podcasts is currently being slow at updating new episodes: some podcasters reporting a delay of a number of days for new episodes to appear. "Our engineers are working to resolve this issue," an email from Apple says, adding "we do not have an estimate as to when the issue will be resolved". However - the delay only affects users who aren't subscribed, including Apple Podcasts Preview on the web. Your subscribers are unaffected - they grab new episodes directly from your podcast host. So everyone's cool.
April 24, 2020:
    In Australia, Anzac Day 2020 is tomorrow; but social distancing rules mean that Australians are unable to join ceremonies across the country to pay their respects. Queensland podcast The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove have produced a secular service to listen to, including a Catafalque Party, the Ode, the Last Post and importantly… a minutes silence.
April 23, 2020:
April 22, 2020:
    More people are listening to podcasts on computers, according to new data from Libsyn's The Feed podcast. Total plays via computer, rather than mobile, increased by almost a percentage point to 12% of downloads. "Those changes had to do with people starting to stay at home", said Rob Walch, the company's VP of Podcaster Relations, adding that he would "expect [the figure] to drop more next month for mobile". Apple Podcasts is still the market leader for consumption, though more people are listening via Android devices according to the company.
April 21, 2020:
April 20, 2020:
    The number of new shows has been exponentially increasing over the past year. This graphic shows that the number of shows in Apple Podcasts increased by over 60,000 for the first time last month.
April 17, 2020:
    This Week In Tech, the first show from Leo Laporte's netcast podcast network, celebrates its 15th anniversary on Sunday with a special episode featuring the original team of Leo Laporte, Kevin Rose, Patrick Norton and Robert Heron. The network now has twenty tech podcasts, over 16,200 episodes, and a monthly audience of four million; it has twenty staff, including four full-time hosts. Congratulations, Leo.
April 16, 2020:
    A Swedish court has ruled that Mordpodden, a true-crime podcast, infringed the copyright of a 2015 book, Kakelugnsmordet in an episode about the same case. The author of the book, Lars Ohlson, claimed that his book had been plagiarised 80 different times in the podcast episode. The court also found that the writer and researcher of the podcast, Amanda Karlsson of Gothenburg, had acted with gross negligence. She was fined "70 day-fines", the income-dependent penalty used in the country, probably costing her around US$3,500; her co-host was acquitted.
April 15, 2020:
    Spotify is apparently testing profile pages for hosts, limited to Gimlet's talent. We don't see these tests as yet; we did though see a couple of full-page promos for podcasts (like this for Song Exploder) on hitting the home button. (We have an ad-free, premium subscription).
April 14, 2020:
April 13, 2020:
April 10, 2020:
April 9, 2020:
    Yesterday, we got all excited after Libsyn's Rob Walch spotted that podcasts had been removed from Google Play Music's iOS app. Google tells us: "We actually have never had podcasts in Google Play Music on iOS." (We didn't know either.)
April 8, 2020:
    RØDE have unveiled an expansion to their Wireless Go range of microphones. The company have added white versions of their wireless microphones, a lightweight handheld holder, and a white set of lavalier microphones. They're especially built for video use.
April 7, 2020:
    Podcast company Acast have launched Staycast - a new campaign encouraging people everywhere to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic, offering podcast-based inspiration and entertainment from a wide range of popular podcasters.
April 6, 2020:
    Following our story on Friday, Spotify has told Podnews that they are not automatically removing episodes just for mentioning the words 'coronavirus' or 'covid-19'. Some shows, mainly with titles around prevention or treatment, were manually removed following violations of Spotify's terms of service. Spotify also has a coronavirus section, by the way.
April 3, 2020:
    BBC Sounds has added UK children's radio network Fun Kids' daily podcast Stuck at Home to its platform, over here. It's believed to be the first time an active show from a commercial radio network has appeared on the BBC's service.
April 2, 2020:
April 1, 2020:
    We reported on Feb 24 that former US presidential candidate Andrew Yang was to launch a podcast. He's signed with Cadence13: the podcast, Yang Speaks, will be released in May.
March 31, 2020:
    An educational audio platform, Lyceum, has launched in beta. "Lyceum aims to become a trusted source of high-quality educational podcasts and audio courses for its users. Lyceum will also empower content creators by providing a robust suite of monetization and learner engagement tools," says the press release; it's an initiative of Himalaya Media.
March 30, 2020:
March 27, 2020:
March 26, 2020:
March 25, 2020:
March 24, 2020:
    Exclusive: Podtrac, the largest podcast analytics company in the US, has released weekly podcast data showing podcast download and audience growth including the effect of the coronavirus. The data will be published later on the Podtrac website, and updated weekly.
March 23, 2020:
    How is the coronavirus affecting podcast downloads? If you're seeing a slight drop in your downloads, you're not alone, it seems - we've lots of detail from podcasters today, as well as an understanding of whether the internet can cope with all this home working. (The comments are open here, too)
March 20, 2020:
March 19, 2020:
    Schools will be closed in the UK from Monday: Stuck at Home is a new podcast from UK broadcaster Fun Kids, and "will be hosted by the station’s presenters Dan, Bex, Conor, Sean and George all from their own houses - as they, too, are stuck at home. The podcast will include three things that kids can do at home each day, interviews from Fun Kids Radio, features around subjects like space, health and the climate as well as news updates from The Week Junior magazine." (Omny Studio)
March 18, 2020:
March 17, 2020:
    Podcross is a service to cross-promote your show on other podcasts, and a way to promote your show on the world's largest podcasts - they contacted us after our story yesterday about promoting a podcast using cross-promotion, and since we technically need a minimum of three stories for this section, we're delighted they reminded us of their service. If, er, you have stories for us, we're at editor@podnews.net
March 16, 2020:
    "This is the single largest download day in the history of our podcast." In the latest part of his exclusive series for Podnews about advertising a podcast, Sean Howard of Fable and Folly Productions writes about promo ad-swaps, episode drops and crossovers, and discovers something that works really well.
March 13, 2020:
March 12, 2020:
March 11, 2020:
March 10, 2020:
    Acast tells Podnews that there are now more than 650 podcast episodes hosted on its platform alone about Coronavirus. Those episodes have been downloaded more than 16 million times. We link to some new titles in our podcast news section below.
March 9, 2020:
March 6, 2020:
March 5, 2020:
    More Americans know what a podcast is than ever. In a keynote at the RAIN Podcast Business Summit yesterday, Edison Research SVP Tom Webster announced that, in the upcoming Infinite Dial 2020, 75% of US population 12+ say they are familiar with podcasting - a figure up from 70% last year. That's the equivalent of 212 million people. The new data is released on Mar 19 in a free webinar.
March 4, 2020:
March 3, 2020:
    What's needed to help podcasting hit $2bn in podcast revenue? The results of a survey (including from Podnews readers) from Westwood One points to a need for better attribution and data; a more robust idea of a 'test buy', and a monthly reach of 44%. (That current figure is 32%; but new data is out later this month.)
March 2, 2020:
    The Podcast Academy's Hernan Lopez was the guest of The New Media Show over the weekend, and was grilled by Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee.
February 28, 2020:
February 27, 2020:
    Exclusive: Podio, the "Middle East's Leading Podcasting Platform", has released a report into the podcast industry in Lebanon and Levant. The report says that fewer than 100 podcasts are being produced in the region; and 48% of listeners want to listen to local content, but don't do so. Fewer than 6% of independent podcasters in the area have generated revenue from their podcast: but there is sudden hype for podcasting there, and marketing spend is expected to rise significantly. You can download the report here.
February 26, 2020:
February 25, 2020:
    What podcast buttons should you have on your website? The Apple Podcasts button, obviously - but what other ones? We have some data from our own website - and it seems to uncover the need for at least one button we bet you don't have.
February 24, 2020:
    Edison Research have released a top 10 podcast ranker, from its Podcast Consumer Tracker subscription product. The ranker is the top ten podcasts in the US by reach among weekly podcast consumers. It's based on 4,053 online interviews, making it the most robust reach-based study we've seen. Joe Rogan is #1, with This American Life at #2 and The Daily at #3.
February 21, 2020:
    The news bulletins are taking over the rankers: Podtrac has published their top 20 podcasts for January. NPR News Now, a five-minute news bulletin mainly driven by smart speakers, is now at #2; Fox News Radio Newscast is a new entry at #20. Podnews reported on Feb 6 that Sky News's News Bulletin, which is not available as a podcast at all, is #2 in the Australian Podcast Ranker. (Podnews is also available in your daily news briefing settings).
February 20, 2020:
February 19, 2020:
    Irish broadcaster RTÉ has launched The Nobody Zone, a true-crime story set on the streets of London. But In a first for the company, it will be available in five languages: English, Danish, Spanish, German and the Irish language. The Nobody Zone is a co-production with Third Ear Productions in Denmark, and is published on Acast.
February 18, 2020:
    Also in Egypt, PodFest Cairo has been announced. The event, on Mar 7, is the first podcast festival in the country. Entry is 150 LE (US $10); sessions are in Arabic and English.
February 17, 2020:
February 14, 2020:
    HubHopper, who were republishing and editing podcast RSS feeds without publisher consent (Feb 12), have removed these feeds. In a response to Podnews, and a post made to their private WhatsApp group, the company have claimed "a bug" but also admitting these feeds "was purely an SEO strengthening exercise". Read their statement in full, and our thoughts on it
February 13, 2020: