Anchor gains IAB certification

• Anchor, the largest podcast host in the world, has achieved IAB Certification for their podcast analytics. Here’s their full certificate. We’ve updated our podcast hosts page. As a small warning: “some podcasters may notice a very slight decline in play counts as a result,” the company says; though some that have contacted Podnews have seen significant drops.

• Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin is to move to iHeart. The show has been with WNYC since 2011. “With the shift over to iHeartRadio, we’re breathing new life into a project I’ve been passionate about for nearly a decade,” Baldwin said, though did criticise WNYC for interfering with his editorial independence.

  • In the same Billboard article, iHeart’s Conal Byrne says “Spotify accounts for somewhere between five and 12% of listening” of podcasts from iHeart, and suggests that exclusives are bad for creators, brands, and listeners. iHeart remains the top US podcast publisher, according to Podtrac’s October numbers.
  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 29 2023

• iOS 14.2 is out. Podcasters may notice it’s increased the cover art size of podcasts on the lock screen.

• iHeartRadio Australia, which is run by ARN, is to have a “complete strategic overhaul”. “Part of my role here is to make sure that we don’t lose focus and get distracted by new, shiny toys,” says ARN’s Content Director, Duncan Campbell.

• The host of The History of Ancient Greece, Ryan Stitt, has been accused of sending multiple women abusive and sexually inappropriate messages and images. The podcaster, who has previously defended other men accused of sexual harrassment, has deleted his Twitter account.

  
  Aug 29 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• The New York Times has seen a 19% increase in podcast revenue in the first nine months of 2020, according to its latest quarterly report. The Daily is the #1 US podcast, according to new Podtrac figures for October.

  
  Aug 29 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Westwood One’s owner Cumulus Media says podcasting revenue was up 50% in the last quarter, and that the network achieved 102m downloads in September, up 47% year-on-year. “Digital dollars represented over 10% of revenue in the quarter,” added CFO Frank Lopez-Balboa.

• Remote recording software Riverside·fm has raised $2.5m in funding.

Tips and tricks

• How To Use TikTok To Promote Your Podcast (We Edit Podcasts)

• 7 signs it’s time to invest in a professional podcast studio (Sounder)

Podcast News - with Vurbl

On Vurbl Voices, Paul talks with the co-founders of KidNuz about the audio news format, storytelling, crafting your voice, distributing to the classroom and opportunities around audio for kids and families. Listen on Vurbl

The Q’d Up Podcast on Podcasting - 19'16" in, Jay “Podvader” Soderberg claims: “Chartable, who is IABv2 certified, tells me my podcast (Next Fan Up) gets three times the amount of downloads that my IABv2 certified host tells me I get.” Hmm.