US podcast consumers listening more while commuting

• Nielsen’s latest Audio Today report suggests that US podcast consumers are listening more while travelling, with numbers increasing the most at commuting times. Today, we also learn that commuters are significantly more likely to listen to business podcasts than the average listener; and at-work listeners are more likely to enjoy shows about leisure and fiction.

• In the US, Oprah Winfrey has been guest-hosting The Starbucks Daily in the Starbucks app for the last five weeks. The show features a genius podcast moment, and helps promote podcasts to the 30mn people who use the app every month. It’s made with podcast discovery app Hark, and you can hear her appearances (and other shows) on this Harklist.

  • 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.

• Riverside has teased a set of updates being launched on Monday. Expect an AI-powered tool called “Magic Clips”; and awkwardly-long-silence detection. The company has also released a test of its transcription service.

• Tickets are now available to the first hybrid programming series from the Third Coast International Audio Festival.

Moves and hires

• Magellan AI has just hired Shaunei Cook as a Business Development Manager, saying “we couldn’t be more excited to have her”. Shaunei joins from Havas Edge and Ad Results Media.

• Jamie East has been hired as Head of Podcasts at the publisher of the Daily Mail, DMG Media.

Enter the 2nd Annual Signal Awards!

Paid content

There is still time to participate in the 2nd Annual Signal Awards: due to demand from our podcasting community, we extended the entry deadline to August 11, 2023. We encourage you to enter your podcasts across the following categories: Shows, Limited Series & Specials, Individual Episodes and Branded Shows & Advertising, with comprehensive honors ranging from Most Innovative Audio Experience to Best Conversation Starter, News & Politics and Best Commute Podcast.

Our Signal Judging Academy is made up of a panel of esteemed industry leaders and podcasting pros. We are beyond proud to announce that our judging academy this year includes the President of Podcast Movement Dan Franks, Reductress Co-Founder and Editor Sarah Pappalardo, Head of Audio at the LA Times Jazmin Aguilera, Executive Producer at iHeartRadio Anna Hossnieh, Co-host of Add-to-Cart SuChin Pak, Global Sciences Lead Trevor McNeal of Podcasts at Amazon Music, and Vice President, The Podglomerate Joni Deutsch.

Submit your work before our Extended Entry Deadline next month, Friday, August 11th to showcase your talent to the world!

For more updates and deadlines subscribe to our Signal Newsletter here!

Tips and tricks

• Why You Should Use a Video Game Controller to Edit Your Podcast features David Devereux’s setup for controlling Reaper with… a Sony Playstation controller.

Podcast News - with the Radioinfo Asia Podcast Awards

The Podnews Weekly Review this week includes an interview with the founders of Telling Media, the new UK media agency.

New Podcast Trailers features… just that: new podcast trailers of shows as seen in the Podnews newsletter. Keep it in your podcast app for inspiration next time your listen queue runs dry.

Wonkybot has launched the company’s first show for adult audiences: Treacherous Tales is part of Stewart St John’s Sinister Universe, and is an anthology series featuring distinct characters immersed in supernatural, sci-fi and horror situations. In the first episode, a traveling salesman’s encounter with a small town sheriff leads to a deadly game in an abandoned psychiatric hospital rumored to be haunted.