The launch of Pod Save the UK

• The team that brought us Pod Save America launches Pod Save the UK today, hosted by comedian Nish Kumar and journalist Coco Khan. Produced by Crooked Media and Reduced Listening, it’s one of the biggest UK podcast launches to date.

• The time Americans spend listening to podcasting has hit another record high. The Share of Ear study from Edison Research suggests that podcasts now account for 9% of all time Americans spend with audio. They account for 31% of all time spent with spoken word audio.

• Podcast analytics company Backtracks is to close. An email to customers gives three weeks notice. In spite of significant email marketing, the Podcast Index showed that just 191 podcasts were using Backtracks as a podcast hosting platform in February, and 253 podcasts using the company’s prefix URL. The company had raised $3.7m of funding.

• Brand safety and analysis company Sounder has launched the Sounder Audio Insights Dashboard, allowing one single interface to make insights readily available for ad buyers and publishers. You can join the pilot list to try it for yourself.

• Apple Podcasts has removed episode numbers from the title of many shows. While they used to show on iOS 16.3, iOS 16.4 no longer shows episode numbers for any show marked as “episodic” (the default). You can still see episode numbers when clicking through from the episode list; here’s more information on serial vs episodic.

• Sports podcast network Bleav has joined the Cumulus Podcast Network. Cumulus will distribute, market and monetise more than 300 shows from the company.

• What does the Writers Guild of America strike mean for podcasts? Nick Quah reports it appears to impact independent fiction podcasts the most.

• US podcasters Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen have been threatened with legal action for posting an AI-generated video of former NFL player Tom Brady telling jokes.

• There’s a new podcast studio in Coventry, UK. Claimed to be the city’s first, it’s run by Twentytwo Productions.

• The subject of the Bone Valley podcast, Leo Schofield, has been denied parole. Wrongfully convicted of murder more than three decades ago, he will remain in prison for a further twelve months.

Moves and hires

• Jane Elliott has joined Sound Story as Communications Director. She had worked for NOVA Entertainment for fifteen years.

Tips and tricks - with Podnews Live - where podcasting connects

• Podnews® is a registered trademark: but do you need a trademark for your podcast or company? And does it help with other podcasts who have the same name?

Podcast News

Barmy Dale - The Sitcom is crowd-funding for a third series. The show has a number of well-known UK comic actors, and has been nominated for three comedy awards.

Meet Cute Rom-Coms features “Imperfect Match”, which was launched this week stars Arden Cho, an actress and singer. The series features a celebrity matchmaker, and a playboy billionaire with some interesting new technology for searching for “the one” - if only he can find the one for himself.