More financials, and Podcast Upfronts is today in New York

• Audacy published its Q1/23 financials. Excluding the loss of Crooked Media (which switched to SiriusXM in May), podcast revenues would have been up 14%; but they fell in real terms (the company didn’t say by how much). However, locally-produced podcasts are the most profitable part of the business, the company said.

• Meanwhile, The New York Times Company published its Q1/23 financials. Digital advertising revenue fell by 8.6%, mainly due to lower revenue from podcasts.

• 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.

• Doing something great in podcast measurement? Does the idea of a 14-hour plane ride fill you with joy? Have you ever seen a kangaroo or a koala? IAB Australia is looking for submissions to speak at their MeasureUp conference in Sydney NSW on Sep 13.

• Meanwhile, IAB UK has unveiled a campaign against #clickheads - marketers who just measure click-through rates. The tool recommends cross-media measurement and effectiveness - though doesn’t mention podcasting, or audio, once.

  • The IAB in the US is running Podcast Upfronts today: a round-up of some of the announcements comes in tomorrow’s Podnews.
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• In France, Paradiso Media has acquired Binge Audio, one of France’s biggest podcast publishers. The combined company will have 50 employees in Paris, Los Angeles and New York, and more than 170 shows.

• Boomcaster has released v2 of the podcasting and live-streaming platform. The new version includes transcripts and closed-captions, an improved screenshare function, and automatic file generation.

• The owner of The Podcast Bus, who we mentioned last month, has had $25,000 of podcasting gear stolen.

• Triton Digital has entered into an agreement with Audacia, an ad network focusing on the Asia Pacific region.

• Google unveiled a new household tablet with dock. During the launch the company, which owns YouTube, promoted Spotify as a way to listen to podcasts on the device. 🤦

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• So, you have a comedy show: but what kind of downloads are other comedy shows doing? OP3's open podcast analytics service is measuring hundreds of shows; the Podcast Business Journal's data section is now listing more than 150 of them, so you can compare your show with others.

Podcast News

The NewsWorthy has renewed its agreement with Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast. The daily news show offers a “fast, fair, and fun” look at the top stories hosted by award-winning journalist Erica Mandy.

Blak Matters is a new podcast that explores First Nations issues and why they matter. It is hosted by Teela Reid and Michael Christian, and it aims to inform and educate Australians about the Voice to Parliament referendum.

AdLarge, an independent ad sales company, has added the Vulnerable podcast to their portfolio. The podcast is hosted by Christy Carlson Romano and features interviews with other child stars about their experiences growing up in the spotlight.

Guto Harri, former Director of Communications for Boris Johnson, is releasing a podcast series called Unprecedented, which will share his experiences working in Downing Street during a turbulent period in British politics. It launches today on Global Player, and tomorrow on other platforms.

Part fiction, part non-fiction, Expectant launches today, following a woman deciding if she wants to become a mother or not during the climate crisis, and features interviews with researchers, mental health experts, parents and childfree families. The show is sound-rich, with original music and binaural sound design to take the listener inside this difficult decision.

Where the Internet Lives

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Guided by host Stephanie Wong, Where the Internet Lives is a Webby Award–winning podcast from Google about the fascinating world of data centers. Venture into places that very few people ever see firsthand – and learn about the technology, people, and places that make the internet run.

This season, explore how data centers change the world around us in surprising and beneficial ways. Hear stories about prairie restoration, the solar-energy boom, recycled canal water, and cities undergoing economic transformation – all enabled by data centers.

Find and follow Where the Internet Lives on Google Podcasts, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to your shows. The show is made by Post Script Media.