Top iHeart shows sign with Netflix

• Netflix and iHeartMedia have announced an exclusive video partnership for top iHeartPodcasts. iHeart continues to retain audio-only rights and distribution; but the 14 announced shows will be removed from YouTube.

  • Some of the shows that are not part of the deal include On Purpose with Jay Shetty with 16mn views over the past 30 days, but which isn’t headed to Netflix. Nor is Club Shay Shay (20mn), Drink Champs (2.2mn), or Las Culturistas (3mn). One of iHeart’s biggest shows is also obviously missing: Stuff You Should Know doesn’t currently make video versions of its podcast. (There are more shows to be announced though.)
  • How big is Netflix? In 2023, Podnews built a tool using Netflix’s own data to help compare the size of Netflix shows to podcasts; our own Podnews Weekly Review is bigger than 1-in-5 of all the shows on Netflix, despite only getting 26,500 downloads a month.

• Good news from the UK: after a lobbying campaign by AudioUK, the UK Government has granted a seat on the Creative Industries Council to podcasting and audio, representing a significant recognition of the creative, cultural and economic value of podcasting and audio. It will allow the industry to engage directly with policymakers.

• The BBC’s future funding model from 2028 is the subject of a green paper and public consultation from the UK government. (In the UK, “green papers” propose policy ideas for discussion and consultation). Radiocentre, the UK commercial radio trade body, has suggested that ad funding should be ruled-out; earlier this year, after considerable industry pressure, the BBC abandoned plans to place ads in its podcasts in the UK.

  • The BBC currently earns most of its funding from a $233 “licence fee” directly from UK households - which raises $5bn per year. This week, US President Donald Trump announced plans to sue the BBC for $10bn for a misleading edit of a speech in a TV program which did not air in the US.

• The National Headliner Awards has just opened for entries, including those for podcasts (see the Digital Multimedia category). The awards have been going since 1935.

• Spotify highlighted all the money they spent to promote Wrapped 2025 across the world. No mention of podcasts.

• Podcast Review published its 10 best podcasts of 2025. The #1 show was Not a Very Good Murderer.

• The Australian Podcast Ranker was released. Hamish & Andy are still #1; Demos+ data shows that the favourite international holiday traveller podcasts are Business, while domestic holiday travellers prefer Arts.

• Sci-fi anthology podcast The Program released its year in review for 2025. The show has increased its number of paid members on Patreon; and has exhaustive detail on downloads and revenue. As ever, it’s a useful and interesting read for podcasters of all types.

• iVoox published iVoox Rewind 2025, the most popular podcasts of the year across the Spanish-language podcast platform. The lists include shows by category as well as overall curated lists.

• Events:

  • On Air Fest 2026 has announced a new set of speakers, including Alec Baldwin, Malcolm Gladwell, NPR’s Code Switch and Hirishikesh Hirway. The event is in mid February, in Brooklyn NY.
  • Norma Jean Belenky has been announced as a new speaker at Radiodays Europe in Riga, Latvia, in mid-March. Our Editor, James Cridland, is also a speaker.

• AI slop:

  • John Spurlock writes: “AI-generated podcasts have entered the open system in a big way. RSS tags will not help here. Podcast hosting companies may not always cook up the slop, but they are paid by the bowl to distribute it. Best thing that ever happened to them. Podcast apps are where the slop is actually on the menu, and where they have a compelling interest in seeing the customer return to the restaurant.”
  • Apple Podcasts requires that “Creators using AI to generate a material portion of the podcast’s audio must prominently disclose this in the audio and metadata for each episode and/or show.”

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Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: The Explorers Podcast is about the greatest explorers and explorations in history. The show has just started looking into Robert Falcon Scott, the Antarctic explorer who discovered that the continent was once covered in forest.

'Tis the season for heartwarming stories, and in this special holiday episode of AUSA’s Army Matters Podcast, historian and author Kevin Hymel shares the little-heard WWII Christmas Eve tale of a mother, a son, a remote forest cabin, German and American soldiers, a fat rooster, and a lifelong quest. It’s an inspiring story, written and produced by Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Del Col.

The Bible Explained has joined the Lifeaudio podcast network. This show helps make scripture clear, approachable, and engaging as host Jenn walks through the bible at a steady, thoughtful pace—using history, cross-references, and original language to bring God’s Word to life.

More Human More Kind: Guidance for Parenting LGBTQ+ Teens & Growing Into a Courageous Ally is producing a 12-day series which started this week called “More Human Moments for the Most Wonderful (and Complicated!) Time of the Year”, offering quick episodes and tiny rebellions to counter holiday chaos.

How can you use writing as a tool to write the life of your dreams? Whether you’re ready to intentionally write your path forward, tell your story or build the business you’ve always dreamt of, Write Your Path is for you. It launched this week.