New podcast focuses on the choices ahead

• Podtrac has released a new set of data about podcast consumption during the coronavirus. Last week, downloads were down just 1% week-on-week, leading the company to say that the effects are levelling off. The highest-growing category last week was TV & Film; though fiction podcasts have grown strongly over the past three weeks.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 22 2023
  • New in Podtrac’s weekly data this week is a weekly chart of “US hourly downloads”, showing a shift during weekdays to downloads slightly later in the day, probably reflecting the lack of commuting time.

• Podcast host Blubrry have also published their own statistics regarding coronavirus. “Total downloads were only down one-half of 1%”, they say, though they add “The last week of March saw the sharpest decline compared to the previous weeks in the month.”

• Management consultants LEK Consulting write Hours up, dollars down - an overview of the wider media industry across the world.

• Podcast company Acast have launched Staycast - a new campaign encouraging people everywhere to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic, offering podcast-based inspiration and entertainment from a wide range of popular podcasters.

• Want to take a sneak peek behind the scenes at podcast host Libsyn? They’ve posted about their team, now all working from home. Meet Dax the cat, see Laurie’s measuring tape, and discover which member of support misses his dual-monitor setup.

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• Writing on Podcast Movement’s website, Doug Fraser shares the plus/minus system for storytelling.

• Marketwatch has added a new subscription-only podcast, CSO Perspectives, aimed at cybersecurity executives.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 22 2023

• There are fifteen new entries in Triton Digital’s LATAM Podcast Ranker, which published today. Average weekly downloads of the top 10 were up by 27%. The highest new entry is also the highest English-language podcast on the list: The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes.

• The Google Podcasts app has added a carousel of coronavirus podcasts, as part of an initiative by Google News, Google Search and Google Assistant.

• Soundbite is a new podcast app designed to “help you find hidden gems through bite-sized listens”. You can sign up to the waiting list to try it out.

• The Philadelphia Inquirer says podcasters say listeners need a distraction from coronavirus, interviewing a number of shows.

Podcast News

Cover story: Making the Call is a new podcast from Endeavor Content, focusing on the choices forced upon us by everyone’s favourite pandemic-causing virus. Hosted by Dr. Zeke Emanuel and Dr. Jonathan Moreno, the first episode launches tomorrow, focusing on “Who gets the ventilator?”

Ninetwentynine is the nine minutes twenty nine seconds long podcast from Fiverr - aimed at anyone who wants to grow their business or improve their side-hustle. It features a different guest each day, and is produced by Listen, the UK audio production company.

Podlovers Asia promises podcasting news from Asia. The latest episode talks about the podcasting scene in the Philippines, and podcast editing as a business.

Radiolab for Kids has stories from Radiolab suitable for the whole family, from WNYC.

Slate’s Working podcast has returned, with a new creative focus. Expect interviews from people in creative fields—writers, visual artists, musicians, designers, directors, foodTubers, etc.—about what they do all day. Author Veronica Roth is the first guest.