AntennaPod hits 150,000 monthly active users

• AntennaPod, an open-source podcast app for Android, has hit 150,000 monthly active users on Google Play. As can be seen above, the app saw significant growth on Sep 26, the day that it was announced Google Podcasts is to close. Much of this growth has been in the US, according to data seen by Podnews. “While we undoubtedly have a small market share, we’re proud of this increase,” says @keunes, one of the volunteer project maintainers.

  • Unlike iOS, Android users have the choice of other app stores; as an open app, it’s also listed on F-Droid, which doesn’t give user data.

• What is Podcasting 2.0 all about? After recent criticism that the project was too complicated and technical, a new website has been launched to explain what it is. It’s the work of Daniel J Lewis and Podnews Editor, James Cridland.

• Podtrac published a new ranker for January - which no longer lists “global streams and downloads”, but US-only ones instead. The company promises “a new global ranking” later this month.

  • Last month, the company reported that total global downloads for the top 20 publishers were down 19% month-on-month and 24% year-on-year: attributed to the changes in iOS 17 for Apple Podcasts.

• In France, the regulator Arcom has published the first part of its report on the podcast industry in the country. The report concludes that measurement of podcasts remain fragmented; that advertisers do not recognise the benefits of podcast advertising; that there is less of an appetite for on-demand listening in the country than the US; and that the French language is both a barrier for expansion, but one that also protects the French market.

• Happy “podcast” day. Twenty years ago today, Ben Hammersley used the term “podcasting” for the first time in print. We’ve a full history of the word, which was popularised by Dannie J Gregoire. And if you’re wanting to hear some of the history of podcasting, we’ve a special podcast just here - with clips from Hammersley, as well as the first ever podcast to use the word “podcast”. Meta.

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• A new podcast app called Metacast has just launched in open beta. The app promises to skip ads, and it has transcripts. They have a newsletter to follow their progress, a subreddit, and a podcast, called Metacast: Behind the scenes.

Moves and hires

• Tim Ditlow has joined Realm’s Board of Advisors. He is a distinguished figure in children’s audiobook publishing; Realm expanded into the kids and family sector last year.

The Tech Stuff - with RSS.com

• Want an OPML feed of the latest podcasts we’ve mentioned in Podnews? Our New Podcast Trailers page now links to one, which updates daily.

• TrueFans has launched a podcast RSS feed Podcasting 2.0 validator.

• Did we mention a new website explaining what Podcasting 2.0 is all about? As you might have suspected, the website is open-source and we’d appreciate your help in expanding it.

Tips and tricks - with Podpage

• How do transcriptions on Apple Podcasts work? As we move closer to a public launch, we’ve all the details you need, with some new updates.

• How do YouTube stats work for podcasters? Particularly: “are they included in my podcast host’s total numbers?” (No.) We’ve all the detail.

Podcast News

The Morning Edition is new today from the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Melbourne; an iteration of the award-winning Please Explain, the podcast is now available daily and features journalists from the two newspapers.

A new podcast series has been launched by a leading UK charity to help people get a better night’s sleep. Sleep On It has been created by The Sleep Charity, and produced by audio storytelling creative studio, Granny Eats Wolf.

Audio fiction podcast Noara: The Last Moon launches today from Atypique Studio. A version in French achieved over 100,000 listens, and the team is hoping that the English version will do even better. The show boasts a professional cast and carefully crafted sound design.

What does it take to make your mark on the world? Frontiers is a podcast about cultural pioneers and business innovators who have done just that. Season three, which launches today, looks at how to build a better metaverse - a space that holds so much potential for inclusivity, but is in danger of carrying across the same biases we see elsewhere online.