Highest ever number of Canadian podcast listeners

• Podcasts in Canada now reach more Canadians than ever before, according to Triton Digital’s fourth annual Canadian Podcast Report, which recorded the largest single-year increase in listeners to 46% a month. (For English-speaking Canadians, that number is 49%.)

  • The data shows that YouTube is the most-used podcast platform in the country; with Apple Podcasts the #1 RSS-based podcast app - 49% of all new episode downloads went to Apple. The iHeartRadio app (operated by Bell Media in the country) accounts for 3%. The report includes demographics for each player - with Apple Podcasts users, predictably, being twice as likely to earn over $100,000 than YouTube users.
  • Canadians are also listening to more podcasts each (4.1 in 2025; 3.5 in 2023); Francophone consumption has rebounded back up to 33% a week.

• Triton Digital also released its Australian Podcast Ranker for May 2026. Hamish & Andy are yesterday’s men; they’ve lost the #1 slot to Mamamia Out Loud. The highest new entry was from NOVA Podcasts at #88, with a show we’ll call DYFM.

• AMP’s proposed cross-platform measurement framework might solve a measurement problem; but it won’t fix the money for independent podcasters, suggests Losh Moodaley, writing for Podnews today. She argues that podcasting’s costs are going up with the advent of video, and while the production standard has moved closer to broadcast, the monetisation model has not; and she makes suggestions of other ways to build revenue.

• Mission Media has launched Mission Media Content Hub, a planning tool for programmatic podcast advertising. The tool offers live inventory and pricing, a contextual layer to better target advertising, and a unified dashboard. (The company has three vacancies in our jobs board).

• Lachlan Murdoch’s FOX has bought Roku for $22bn. FOX owns Tubi, which has done a number of deals for video podcasts recently; and Red Set Ventures, which owns a number of podcasts as well as podcast membership company Supercast.

• IAS announced a new episode-level pre-bid optimisation solution for programmatic podcast audio and video as part of its strategic partnership with Spotify. It marks the first time that buyers on The Trade Desk can apply contextual classification at the individual episode level.

• A new show from Serial is to be launched tomorrow. The Last 12 Weeks takes you behind the scenes as a death penalty defense team races against the clock to try to stop an execution 30 years in the making.

People News

• After YAP Media signed his show, The Next Big Idea, last October, Caleb Bissinger has joined the company, as VP of Production and Operations. He will serve as executive producer across the network’s slate and drive its growth strategy. He joins from Next Big Idea Club and Wondery.

Tips and tricks

• How does video work on Apple Podcasts - and should you use Apple or YouTube for video? Tom Buck shows us how it all works, and why Apple and YouTube both serve different purposes.
• Podcast cover art is more important than you think, says Podcast Hall of Famer Arielle Nissenblatt.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: AccuWeather Daily brings you the top trending weather story of the day - every day. Yesterday - scientists are a bit perplexed about a patch of water in the North Atlantic, south of Greenland and Iceland. What is this mysterious ‘cold blob’ in the ocean? And should we be worried?

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce… blah blah… humorous prerecorded video… Taylor Swift appeared to feed Travis a forkful of food while making airplane noises… etc

SiriusXM’s Fantasy Footballers has announced a live show, The Megalashow, in August in front of a live audience in Phoenix AZ. It’ll be held in the 1,800 capacity Van Buren Theater, and has secured sponsorship from GMC and PetSmart.

Getty has launched its first video podcast - and it’s one you can take a deep breath to enjoy. OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation is a meditation podcast focused on creating mindful interactions with artwork from its collection. Episodes guide listeners in a breathing exercise and meditation, and provide insights about featured artworks.

What My Sis Said is a podcast where Nazanin and Yasmin Kavari dive deep into the many aspects of womanhood. They’ll share personal stories, discuss relatable topics, and create a sense of sisterhood for the listeners - from navigating career aspirations, societal pressures, relationships, friendships, and more. Tune in each week for laughs, insights, and the comforting feeling of knowing you’re never alone on this journey called life.

A new mystery podcast from the creators of Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature, THE DOUBLE[S] won the Audio Fiction Prize at Tribeca Festival 2026. What if you manifested your best self — and she became your worst nightmare? At a Goop-like wellness empire built on female empowerment, Alice meets her doppelganger — a shinier, breezier British import who promptly steals her promotion. Desperate for answers, Alice joins a secret support group of people whose doubles are systematically dismantling their lives. Then doubles start turning up dead.