Lemonada Media’s acquisition price

• How much did PodX Group pay for their acquisition of Lemonada Media)? Around $30mn, says Ashley Carman, in her newsletter Soundbite. She reports that QCODE has achieved fresh funding, and that Goalhanger looks set to get funding from The Chernin Group. (Podnews readers get 25% off Soundbite for the first year using this link)

• Podtrac released its US podcast rankers for April. The Daily Wire slipped below Paramount; there are few other changes, and numbers are mostly flat.

  • Spanish-language news podcast Noticentro raised some eyebrows last month by appearing at #6 in the Podtrac chart. Noticentro publishes 18 episodes most days (one every hour); but the podcast chart is based on unique audience, not total downloads. It’s nowhere to be seen this month.

• Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster released more data from The Advertising Landscape on podcasting’s “fans” - and “anti-fans” - those who listen a lot, and those who are not regular consumers. There’s a clear gender gap; and middle-aged people (35-54) are most likely to be fans of podcasts. It’s data that might help us grow the medium further.

• The largest podcast platform in the Middle East and North Africa, Podeo has signed an partnership deal with SMC Group. SMC Group will serve as Podeo’s exclusive advertising sales partner in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

• Castos has added integration with Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. The deep integration allows individual episodes to be marked as paid or free; you can also use Castos Commerce for direct listener donations, alongside dynamic ad insertion.

• FRONTLINE has published Breakdown: Turning Anguish Into Action, a limited podcast series about the worst mass shooting in Maine history, in an additional format - American Sign Language. The shooting is believed to be the worst mass shooting of deaf people in US history.

• The owner of RØDE, Mackie and Aphex, The Freedman Group has purchased Lectrosonics, a US manufacturer of professional wireless audio systems. The owner, Peter Freedman, promises all Lectrosonics employees an instant pay rise plus “Australian working conditions” (spiders in your shoes? Vegemite sandwiches for lunch?)

Moves and hires

• Australian podcast production house Deadset Studios has appointed Sarah Dabro as Head of Development and Executive Producer. Dabro has held senior creative roles at Foxtel, ABC, BSkyB, Mamamia, Endemol Shine Australia, and ITV Studios.

Tips and tricks - with The Podcast Show London

• Adam Torres has interviewed over 6,000 people - and he has tips and tricks for how to grow your podcast.

Podcast News - with Airwave

New on Airwave: History Dispatches is a daily history show hosted by father and son duo Matt and McKinley Breen. The show covers people, places, events and even objects from throughout history - including offbeat and wacky stories that most people don’t know about.

The Podglomerate’s Podcast Perspectives speaks this week with Audioboom CEO Stuart Last, to discuss monetization strategies for podcasters and how independent creators can set up their shows for success.

Top 10 true-crime podcast Rotten Mango has announced that it’s to cover the Sean Combs (“Diddy”) trial with daily coverage from May 12. Stephanie Soo will offer comprehensive daily recaps and analysis of trial proceedings, providing audiences with an in-depth look at this high-profile case.

In the Podnews Weekly Review this week, Sam and James talk about Spotify’s new “plays” metric; and talk with Jason Carter from The Podcast Show London, and Ruth Fitzsimons from Bauer Media in Ireland.

On Cars That Matter host Robert Ross talks with the brightest luminaries in the automotive universe. From the designers, race car drivers, market experts, historians, restorers, and of course, the most passionate collectors on the planet.

Having a bad DAI

An occasional section where we highlight odd things going on with podcast ads so we all get better at them

Tip for Slate’s Decoder Ring, hosted with Megaphone… when you have two different trailers for the same show, like you do with Amicus, please don’t schedule them back-to-back like this. Give the spots the same advertiser code, just as you would a paying advertiser, to ensure they’ll be separated in an ad stopset. Your listeners thank you in advance.

Found someone having a bad DAI? Let us know.