Advertisers love podcast ads more than ever

• Advertisers say they’ve never been more interested in podcast advertising - and never used it more. That’s the results of the eleventh year of the Advertiser Perceptions study by Westwood One and Cumulus Media. However, the study suggests, brands are just “sticking their toe in the water” in terms of budgets; and suggests that it’s time that brands invested 5% of their overall spend in podcasting.

• Could open video podcasting be a little closer? Podpage now supports HLS podcasts, and explains its benefits. Here’s the example show’s website on Podpage.

• PodWoman, a podcasting event dedicated to women in podcasting, is back for a third year in Madrid, Spain - this time, its first in-person edition. The Spanish-language event will feature talks, activities, and a networking area designed to connect professionals and creators in the podcasting world. It’s on Oct 18.

• Audiencelift has a new look, and a new network of premium publishers to help promote your podcast. The tool gets your shows into ESPN, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and others, ensuring trailers are seen and heard by high-value, podcast-curious audiences.

• Magellan AI released its May 2025 rankings for top podcast advertisers. Top spenders in the US were BetterHelp, Amazon and Unilever; McDonald’s saw the biggest budget increase last month.

• The 20th Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards is open for voting. You can still register your podcast; but from now, podcasters will be rallying their listeners to vote for them: and that’s a great opportunity for them to find your show too. There are thirty categories, and nominees will be revealed in early August.

• Want to take part in a potential new world record, for a laugh? A new Canadian show is looking for 150 laughs - in person or online on July 12. The show, called Finding Fun, claims the secret to health and wellness is to make fun a daily habit.

• Award-winning podcast content studio Studio Ochenta has launched a new set of bilingual podcasting workshops for kids aged 8 to 15. Workshops are held online, from Paris, France.

Tips and tricks - with Podcast Movement

• Sci-fi anthology podcast The Program has hit one million downloads. The show launched in November of 2019 and those million downloads are spread over four podcast hosts and 36 episodes. The show’s creator has consistently shared his numbers and promotional plans along the way - worth a read for anyone interested in how to market and monetise a show.

• Ariellen Nissenblatt is running a Launch A Newsletter For Your Podcast Challenge - where she’ll show you the tools to launch a successful podcast newsletter to keep in touch with your listeners. You buy the training materials, and if you succeed in launching a newsletter that day, you get half the money back. (Important note from our Editor: this is to help launch a newsletter for your podcast, not a newsletter with the latest news for podcasters, you’re reading that).

Podcast News

Locked On Bets has returned, after a brief haitus. The show has been relaunched by the Locked On Podcast Network, and is now hosted by Lee Sterling and Kevin Rogers.

Lone Wolf Unleashed is a brand new podcast for entrepreneurs who’ve had enough of the 'hustle cult’. Hosted by entrepreneur and strategist Mike Fox, the show delves into the personal costs of running a business – from strained marriages to time-starved schedules – and offers practical strategies to help entrepreneurs regain control without sacrificing their relationships or health.

We can all remember our school days, the highs, the lows, the achievements, and the challenges, but what we learnt and the experiences that shaped us are different for everyone. In What I REALLY Learnt at School we hear the voices of Old Alfredians, former students at the King Alfred School in North London, a school that has stood out from the crowd for the past 125 years for delivering a deeper learning experience.

Beth’s Spooky Story Time is a new twice weekly grownup bedtime story podcast. From paranormal sightings and creepy encounters to the realistic and thought-provoking. Immersive sound design and enchanting narration makes Spooky Story Time the perfect podcast to binge and fall asleep to. So turn off the lights, lock the doors, and wrap up tight… it’s time to begin.

Just Between Us is brand new today from Metro in the UK. Pop icon and West End star Diana Vickers teams up with Metro’s dedicated relationship expert, Alice Giddings, to launch a new video podcast - a judgment-free space to explore the often-messy, always-fascinating realities of sex, modern love, and relationships.

In Signs From The Other Side with Fern Ronay this season, you’ll hear all new stories of messages from loved ones who have passed. These heartfelt, and often unbelievable, signs from the other side come in the form of dollar bills, songs, social media DMs, and more! Spirit, as they say, is so creative, and there are no coincidences.

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