Listeners prefer AI voices, claim two studies

• A new study seems to show that audiobook listeners prefer some AI narrators over human voices. The study, conducted by Edison Research at SSRS, blind-tested Spoken Multi-Cast narration, and discovered that, while 31% of listeners said they’d be likely to listen to AI, after listening, that number had risen to 65%. (61% thought that the AI was human). You can hear the clips here.

• A separate study by Differentology, conducted for Azerion, also claims that AI-generated voices can be good for brands - especially if the accents match the part of the country where you’re from. Recommendations rose 3x when people heard voices with a regional accent matched to where the listener was, like Scotland, Wales or Yorkshire.

• Audioboom released its H1/26 financial results. The company made a gross profit of $9.9mn, up +33% year-on-year. Revenue was up 30%; for Q2/26 they report 183 million downloads and video views, up 84% year-on-year.

• In the UK, the BBC also released its annual report and accounts. BBC podcasts outside the UK (those funded by advertising) drew over 515 million downloads in the financial year, and 116 million listeners. In total the BBC earned £2,155mn (US $2,884mn) in commercial revenue - unchanged year-on-year. The Corporation earned £3,879mn (US $5,191mn) revenue, +1%, from the mandatory licence fee. BBC commercial activities gave £377mn to the public service: a figure that is -3.5% lower year-on-year.

• Smaller independent podcast production companies have limited options when it comes to advertising representation: many join larger sales houses: but the commercial focus for those tends to be on the biggest shows and not on these smaller ones. SoundBridge Media launches today in London, aiming to fill this gap: the company is founded by an experienced team from commercial sales and media agencies.

• Oxford Road CEO Dan Granger teased the Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting paper, to be published next week. “Nobody will be thrilled about it. Not even me. And I helped write it.” He suggests its the product of compromise and cooperation - and “the only way we keep moving this industry forward”. The group was announced in May, aiming to “confront podcasting’s measurement dilemma”.

• Tickets for the Resonate Podcast Festival in Cape Town, South Africa, go on sale today at 9am Eastern, 3pm SAST. The festival for narrative audio will be held in mid February 2027.

• You can now talk to Spotify. “By typing or speaking directly in the app, you can have a back-and-forth conversation to choose what’s playing, learn about the music you love, revisit your listening history, and go deeper on podcasts and audiobooks, all without leaving Spotify.” The beta conversational experience is rolling out across Premium users aged 18+ in the US, Ireland and Sweden.

• We’ve never had a new silver supporter of Podnews sending us a press release about becoming a supporter before, but Hypecast became a silver supporter of Podnews yesterday. The corporate podcasting company outlines some of the reasons to why they’re supporting us. Thank you!

• Not everyone wants to buy a monthly subscription of a podcast, just to listen to one episode. So, the Spanish-language podcast platform iVoox has launched a new one-time podcast purchase option as a new monetisation option within its app.

• Podpage has today added an automatic SEO Boost tool, which optimises titles and adds descriptions, keywords and takeaways to your podcast’s episode pages. It’s part of a set of tools the company is releasing this week.

• 30-second ads seem to work better than 60, at least according to a new case study from Magellan AI and audio agency Direct Results. As a result, the agency switched everything to 30-second ads, which meant better ROI, according to the paper.

• Sound Carrot, a free podcast discovery website for children’s audio, has unveiled a newly rewritten website. We’re promised faster browsing, expanded collections, and all new ways to surface episodes based on whatever a child becomes curious about next. Creator Triston Welch tells us that search results in mainstream apps are rarely age‑filtered, and parents have no easy way to tell whether a science show aimed at teenagers is appropriate for a five‑year‑old. SoundCarrot sorts its catalog into three clear age tiers — Under 5s, 6–10, and 11+.

• A new podcast aiming to tell the stories of Ukranian leaders, survivors and advocates, Amplify Ukraine has launched a crowdfunding round. The podcast is aiming to raise US$7,000. The show will be produced by Ukranian-born Tonya Bulgakova, and Eric Adams, who’s wife Katya is a Ukranian refugee.

Entries are open for the SONARR Awards

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Australia has audio awards. What it has never had is an institution built for the makers the market’s measures cannot see - the independent creator, the narrator, the audiobook performer, the sound designer nobody credits, the crafts that deserve to be discovered.

The SONARR Awards exist for exactly this. Creators want to be found. Listeners want a trust signal. A SONARR is the bridge between the two: a craft-judged mark that says this work stood up to a standard.

Built by people who work in audio, for people who work in audio, backed by AFTRS as Founding Educational Partner. You have made the work. Do not doubt yourself. This is not for the shiny - it is for the good.

Enter the SONARR Awards today. Entries close 31 July.

Info session and mixer in Sydney on 21st of July: RSVP to be there.

Tips and tricks - with Podcast Movement NYC's Public Vote

• What are the Secrets to YouTube Success? Speaking at Podcast Movement 2025 in Dallas, a panel of people who would probably know - Chris Colbert, CEO/Founder of DCP / Black Podcast Coalition / Podstream Studios Jay Nachlis, Vice President/Consultant of Coleman Insights Neha Taleja, Product Lead, YouTube Podcasts of Google Stephen Robles, Video and Podcast Creator of Riverside.fm John Wordock, Founder of John Wordock Media.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave and TWiT.tv: This Week in Space from the TWiT network explores everything related to the cosmos. This week, we learn about NASA’s new moonbase plans - and they’re ambitious.

The Oprah Podcast is expanding to twice-weekly from next week. The show will also be available on Prime Video and Fire TV, as well as continuing on Amazon Music, Audible, YouTube, and podcast apps.

The Payments Shed, a UK fintech podcast, has been awarded a silver YouTube creators award after reaching 100,000 subscribers in just nine months. The show focuses on payments, fintech, commerce, AI, commercial growth, sales and leadership.

A brand new video podcast from Spotify launches today - Play x Play is a new editorial show, with the first episode debating what it actually takes for a song to own the summer in 2026. It’s hosted by Carl Cherry, Head of Urban Music, alongside Cecilia Winter, Editorial Lead - Global Hits, Talia Kraines, Editorial Lead (Pop), and Daniel Calderon, Senior Editor - US Latin.

Wildmen with Dylan Sprouse and Brendan Columbus is new from Daylight Media, and launched this week. The show features the first full-length interview with model Barbara Palvin, who is Sprouse’s wife.

Featuring original stories from inside women’s and men’s prisons in California, Uncuffed returns for a new season - with host Greg Eskridge, who was formerly incarcerated. Stories will shine a light on unexpected events inside prison – from a father-daughter dance, to a full-length marathon.

Live the Bible with Wayne Stiles has joined the Life Audio Network. This podcast delivers practical, real-world biblical insights designed to deepen your faith and help you live out Scripture through audio.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce aren’t the only ones with something to celebrate after saying “they do” earlier this month. Caloroga Shark Media celebrated a 17x increase in listenership for its Taylor Swift Today podcast during coverage of the celebrity couple’s wedding weekend. The show chose to expand to multiple episodes per day, publishing more than ten shows in ten days, each covering major developments as they happened. The strategy paid off, as listeners spent more than 70% more time tuned in.

Dinner Party on a GLP-1: Summer School is a seven-episode series from Suzy Chase on what actually happens after the weight comes off. The first session drops today with a new session every day through July 21. You’ll hear real info on maintenance, appetite, muscle versus fat, and what changes once the losing phase ends. Each session closes with a GLP-1 AI Method Manifestation Prompt created to help you celebrate your progress and soak up a lighter, brighter summer.

Season two of Right For The Role with John Frank Levey is in full swing and this week John sits down with Lisa Edelstein to talk about her career before and after House, how he cast her for the role of Laurie on The West Wing, her thriving art career today, and much more. Last week, John welcomed John Stamos of Full House, ER, and Beach Boys fame onto the podcast.