How Canadians listen to audio

• 9 out of 10 Canadians listened to some form of audio yesterday - and half of it is ad-supported. However, podcasts get just 9% of all ad-supported audio time in Canada, says a new piece of research from Signal Hill Insights. Music on YouTube, or streaming services, are listened-to more than 2.5x more, the study says.

  • How does this compare? Podcasts are just 6% of all audio in the UK, according to RAJAR’s MIDAS study; 8.9% of ad-supported audio in Australia, says GfK; but 20% of ad-supported audio in the US, says Edison Research’s Share of Ear.
  • Meanwhile, in the US’s TV landscape, Nielsen reports that streaming services were responsible for 48.6% of total TV usage in May. YouTube is on 13.8%; Netflix is on 8%.

• YouTube is making custom thumbnails available for YouTube Shorts, and giving more control about how they look.

• In the US, ABC News Podcast network has launched a subscription channel through Apple Podcasts for its 20/20 true crime shows. Subscribers will receive exclusive content and early access to new series ahead of the public releases.

• Micro.blog, a blogging platform, has expanded its video and podcasting offering, including support for video podcasts using the alternateEnclosure. It will also post video to YouTube and PeerTube, and do some rudimentary fixes for podcast audio level. Manton Reece writes: “There are many exclusive audio shows that are not based on RSS feeds. If left unchecked, this will eventually erode the interoperability and radical beauty of podcasting.”

• The next version of Pocket Casts will have HLS support, as well as an audio-only playback setting. Looking at the pull request, the feature will be behind a remote flag for now, so only for selected users. (Pocket Casts already supports MP4 video).

• More staff members are leaving The Diary of a CEO - Director of Trailers, Anthony Smith: “excited and nervous about what’s to come as I figure out the next steps” and Head of Failure and Experimentation Grace Miller: “I don’t know what the future holds”. Co-founder Jack Sylvester left earlier this month: “I don’t know what’s next but I’m more fired up than ever”. Also in a post on LinkedIn, Steven Bartlett suggests that the company has 150 employees, and “forecasting 500+ hires across the UK and US in coming years”.

  • There’s an interview with Anthony Smith in the Building the Brand podcast, given after he left the company.

• The Podfluencer Community has launched an International category for its Podfluencer Awards - the first for independent podcasters outside the German-speaking world. It’s free to apply; you’ve until Aug 15 to enter.

• New signings: Acast has signed an exclusive advertising partnership with The Washington Post … YAP Media has added four new shows, and rebranded a fifth … and NOVA Podcasts has signed parenting podcast Two Doting Dads - the show was with iHeartPodcasts.

• The Media Leader posts What’s next for podcasting? Five industry leaders weigh in on AI and measurement

• The Podcast Show London has made more sessions on-demand, this time from The Studio Stage. There’ll be a link in your email for that.

The VISION

Paid content

You took audio somewhere it’s never been, onto video, into live rooms, in front of real crowds.

The sound still led. Everything else just followed.

Built by people who work in audio, for people who work in audio. SONARR Awards, where audio comes alive beyond the ear.

Only 2 days left to enter the SONARR Awards. Entries close 31 July.

Tips and tricks - with Podcast Movement NYC

• The Canadian University Affairs website writes about how to pitch yourself as a podcast guest.
• Simplecast posts The Secret to Building a More Valuable Sports Podcast Audience.
• On the main stage last year at Podcast Movement, Strategic Solutions and Point to Point revealed The Podcast Growth Study, with insights to use when promoting your next show.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Bro History delivers an unapologetic and humorous take on history, geopolitics, and international news, ranging from WW1, to the Russian Revolution, to modern geopolitics.

Mediawatch this week, from Radio New Zealand, looks at the podcast industry and asks are podcasts popular enough for people to pay enough for the makers to make a living in the country?

The TV and streaming discussion podcast Taking It Down, part of The Alabama Take podcast family, is getting close to episode 300. The show focuses on edifying TV discussion from the working class South, and has just looked at Apple TV’s Lucky and this season’s House of Dragons.

Recycling is important, as is cutting down the waste that we all produce. But - that’s only about 5% of a country’s total waste. Talking Trash Podcast launched today, talking about the rest: it comes from industry — factories, mines, farms, and supply chains — and most of it is hidden by design.

Law The Podcast is new from Bravecasting and iHeart in Australia. The show gives listeners unprecedented insider access to the minds behind some of the country’s most significant court cases, justice debates and legal headlines.

In American History Hit, Don Wildman explores the past to help us understand the United States of today. This week, we meet the biggest and baddest Outlaws in US history, starting with Billy the Kid.

Everybody Knows But Me is back a new season. After being named one of Apple Podcasts’ Best Podcasts of 2026, Holly Brown’s acclaimed dark comedy documentary series, with Next Chapter Podcasts and Companion Arts, returns with an interview-style format: new celebrity guests, unbelievable family stories, and even more sitcom-inspired storytelling.

Your new favourite books podcast STACK with Jake and Ella is back for season two! In every episode the pair curate a stack of six brilliant books on a theme and this week’s theme is Literally Beach Reads - books set on the coast, perfect for your holiday reading. Plus, cultural highlights from the break including Off Campus, Yesteryear, The Odyssey and Heartstopper.

Podcast awards in the wild

Seen parked outside the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Brisbane today was this ad for new Australian awards Sonarr. Nice targeting! (The awards close for entry on Friday).

See any marketing for podcasts in the real world? Snap’em and send’em to us.