Advertisers underinvest in audio, says study

“Way too much vitriol is indiscriminately flung around about programmatic advertising in podcasting. Truth be told, many podcast adtech players aren’t helping either, by thumbing their nose at the realities that face savvy buyers. But by examining those realities and meeting in the middle, everyone wins.” - Bryan Barletta in the latest Sounds Profitable, with Magellan AI.

• 31% of consumer media consumption is now audio - but only 8.8% of the average media advertising budget is allocated to audio, says new research from WARC and iHeartMedia. 25% of advertisers do not invest in audio at all, according to the data, which was presented at AudioCon; the report also suggests that ad-spend for podcasting is growing.

• Widely reported elsewhere, eMarketer suggests that Spotify will overtake Apple Podcasts in the US this year in terms of total audience. The data is sourced “from eMarketer”: we’ve no understanding of where their data is from or how it’s gathered.

  • In terms of total global downloads, Buzzsprout’s figures for August suggest it’s already happened: Spotify is on 31.7% and Apple Podcasts on 26.9%. Libsyn, however, says August’s figures show Apple at 59.3% and Spotify 15.1%. Podnews analysis in May suggests that both companies’ figures are incorrect.
  • Mind, all podcasts are different. Last Friday, Podnews’s podcast had just over 2,400 downloads: we saw 330 via Apple Podcasts, and, according to the Spotify dashboard, just 30 stream starts on Spotify.

• Podcasting in Africa is growing all over the continent, and Africa Podfest is launching a Discovery Tour around African podcasting hubs. The virtual tour kicks off with Zambia on September 29th: it’s free, with another three countries to come later in the year.

• Last year, the Podcast Editor Survey discovered that the average amount charged by podcast editors was $133 per episode. But what will it be this year? If you’re an editor, you’re invited to complete the survey.

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• Spotify has highlighted their France podcast slate for Q3/21. There are thirteen upcoming podcasts, and what Spotify calls “the country’s first video podcast”.

• Amaze Media Labs has expanded its sports podcast network division. The company has launched two new podcast networks - The Pigskin Podcast Network (covering NFL, college football, football betting and fantasy football), and The Basketball Podcast Network.

• SiriusXM has launched a Marvel channel on Apple Podcasts Susbcriptions, with paid shows including a Spanish-language version of Wolverine, a documentary series, and new titles.

• The Ambies are open for entry - there are two new categories: Best Podcast for Kids, and a new category for Best Indie Podcast. You’ve until early December.

• The AES, the Audio Engineering Society, has released its recommendations for podcast loudness levels. For speech, the paper recommends -18 LUFS; however, this is quieter than Apple, Spotify or Google recommend.

• Steve Perrault has been hired as Senior Producer for MLB content by Audacy’s 2400Sports podcast studio. He joins from Barstool Sports.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Sep 7 2023

• Korri Kolesa is Veritonic’s new Chief Revenue Officer. She joins from ART19.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Sep 7 2023

• Spotify has published a technical paper on their search engine: highlighting that music searches are very different for podcast searches. Users “spend significantly more time inputting and rewriting queries to find podcasts as compared to music”, the research says.

Tips and tricks - with Muck Rack's State of Podcasting Survey

• On Reddit, Andrew Warner writes a piece about “podcast ad revenue - what I’ve learned over ten years”. He says: “Make sure your ad sponsors are just as valuable to your listeners as your show. A bad sponsor will make you lose listeners, and when you lose listeners, you lose good sponsors.”

  
  Sep 7 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Evo Terra posts Five resources to help you think like a serious podcaster. #1 is good. We like #1.

Podcast News

Margins of Error is new from CNN, discovering the statistical stories that are hidden under the radar. The first episode focuses on the paranormal: more than four times the number of Americans believe in ghosts than did in the 1970s. It’s hosted by Harry Enten.

The Dougherty Gang launched earlier this week; it’s part of a new true-crime slate from iHeartMedia and KT-Studio.

Badlands: Sportsland launches today, taking a deep dive into the most sensational true crime stories in the world of sports: Mike Tyson, Oscar Pistorious, Evel Knievel and OJ Simpson are just some of the athletes who’ll be covered. It’s hosted by Jake Brennan, and available to binge on Amazon Music.

Getting Back There From Here is a new audio fiction series from writer and director Neil Cargill, shedding light on the experience of auditory hallucinations. Recorded remotely in several countries from Scotland, it’s launched today.

This is Europe returns for a new season. Shahidha Bari will take you on a six-part journey across Europe - showing how Interreg is transforming communities and changing lives with co-operative schemes impacting on issues such as re-using waste products, reducing traffic and resettling refugees.

How We Survive has just been announced, looking at the technology that could provide some of solutions to the climate crisis. The first season looks at lithium: and why our survival might depend on it; it’s hosted by Molly Wood.