Vancouver’s Pacific Content to close

• One of the largest branded podcast companies in North America, Pacific Content, a division of Canada’s Rogers, is to close. The company, which was founded in 2014, was bought by Rogers in 2019. “With economic challenges in this market over the past few years, we’ve decided to focus on our core audio business – creating meaningful content for Canadian audiences and advertisers,” said a spokesperson. We’re told that the impacted team members are all those who worked on and supported Pacific Content directly (a mix of content and administrative roles); most team members are based in Vancouver.

  • Co-founder Steve Pratt said: “Pacific Content has a phenomenal team of podcasting talent and a great client roster and I hope they all find new homes soon. I will always be exceptionally grateful to all the people who took a chance to come and work with us - it was the best team and the best culture I’ve ever been part of.”

• Canadaland’s Alan Black and Story Studio Network’s Erin Trafford have been confirmed for a session at next weekend’s Podcast Power-up Summit in Toronto. The event is Sunday afternoon in downtown Toronto; other speakers include Laura Mayer, Eric Nuzum and our Editor, James Cridland.

• Congratulations to Guang Jin Yeo for being recognised with a place in the Forbes Asia 30 under 30 in Media, Marketing and Advertising. He is the founder of Singapore-based 1UpMedia, and wrote a series of articles for Podnews looking at podcasting in Asia.

• Fan of widgets? Pocket Casts on Android has three new widgets for your homescreen in v7.64; just updated.

• Further Reading: Norma-Jean Belenkey from Podbean writes her takeaways from The Podcast Show … Castopod’s Benjamin Bellamy wrote a piece about podcasting to create, distribute and interact (and there’s video of a talk on that page, too)

Tips and tricks - with Ausha Pro 🚀

• Ausha suggests: Boost your podcast’s discoverability with tips on choosing the best keywords.

• Ausha suggests: Learn how to secure the #1 spot on Apple Podcasts with Ausha’s in-depth study.

• Podcast Discovery went to The Podcast Show, sniffing out details on the best way to market a podcast.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: The Past and The Curious’s Mick Sullivan says: “I feel like the Airwave team really “gets” my show, respects my audience, and is committed to success. As an indie creator with a strong history and following, this is crucial."

Today sees the launch of Another Bloody Podcast - on World Menstrual Hygiene day. The podcast is aimed at raising awareness and driving conversations around period poverty, and is hosted by Rochelle Courtenay, the founder of Australian charity Share the Dignity, which is focused on ending period poverty and ensuring everyone has access to menstrual products.

Wrongful Conviction is back for a new season, with a new host, Lauren Bright Pacheco. The show features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row. It’s from Lava For Good.

Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver returns for a new season - a podcast where the actor asks the same seven questions to each of her guests. The first episode features Garrett McNamara, who holds the world record for largest wave ever surfed, and Nicole McNamara, his wife and spotter. It’s from iHeartMedia.