Making podcast ads easier to buy

• First look: Triton Digital has launched AdBuilder AI, a tool to help its partners sell more efficiently to small and medium-sized businesses. The tool allows smaller advertisers to make broadcast-quality audio ads using AI, then book them with a credit card, all automatically - freeing salespeople up to focus on larger or growing clients. It’s already in use in México by Grupo ACIR (who are the iHeart partners in the country).

• Acast released an interim financial report for Q3/25, entitled “strong profitable growth”. North America net sales grew by +58% year-on-year, but European growth was also substantial, at +27%. The “Average Revenue Per Listen” grew by +33% to 6 cents. Acast made a profit in the quarter of around $750,000, and has issued new financial targets.

• In China, if you’re wanting to podcast about health, finance or law, you’ll now need to prove you have a relevant qualification first. The new regulations went into force on Oct 25, and puts the work on the podcast platform to verify peoples’ credentials. The new law also requires disclosures for use of generative AI.

• On Air Fest has issued a call for pitches for On Air Fest Brooklyn, Feb 25-26. Included are live podcasts, presentations, and “deep listenings”.

• Podcast host Podspace has just achieved IAB Podcast Measurement Guidelines certification for the first time. We covered the Swedish company in September.

• Podcasting has a “shocking $1bn growth problem”, according to podcast ad agency Oxford Road in a new report. It’s, again, a concern about measurement - 50% of ad buyers citing limitations in performance data as the main constraint on spend. However, reaching consensus on the definition of a "podcast” is also crucial, the report argues - it’ll help solve budget, management and attribution confusion across audio, video, influencer, and YouTube teams.

• Half of the first set of Spotify podcasts coming to Netflix have fewer than 50,000 plays for each of their last ten episodes - even including both Spotify and YouTube, notes Deadline.

• The New York Times reports that Quake Media, which appeared to “go dark” in 2023, is reaching agreement with Laura Ingraham, who sued the company for almost a million dollars.

Thank you to Norma Jean Belenky for becoming our latest personal supporter. It’s personal supporters like NJ that help pay for Podnews for everyone - no paywalls, no hidden chatrooms, no free candy, no special meeting rooms. Norma Jean’s new podcast, PodBiz, looks at where the money is in podcasting: if you’ve found some, be like her and become a supporter yourself.

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Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Tumble Science Podcast for Kids is a science podcast created to be enjoyed by the entire family. Hosted & produced by Lindsay Patterson (science journalist) & Marshall Escamilla (teacher).

Satirical news podcast The Bugle, celebrating its eighteenth birthday, has announced two live shows. The show is hosted by Andy Zaltzman in London, so it’s only natural that the show will, um, travel 10,200 miles to Brisbane on Dec 2 and even further to Melbourne on Dec 22. The Brisbane show is a ten-minute bus trip from Podnews’s HQ, so you can be sure that we’ve just bought tickets and will not be putting them “IN THE BIN!”

On Tyrant In Training this Halloween week, Norwegian actress Nikoline Bangen returns to talk about how she would continue ruling over her community of survivors in a zombie apocalypse.

Lily and Esther are back with a new season of Ghastly Women. In each episode, they aim to discuss a notorious woman, but often get delightfully sidetracked. Along the way, they explore their fictional cult fantasies, belt out an array of tunes, and employ a hilariously problematic grading system that defies all logic. New episodes every Wednesday.

Popity brings you pop culture like you’ve never heard it before. Hosted by Kristi Cook (Spill Sesh) and Sloan Hooks, with a combined following of over 2 million, the show takes listeners deep inside celebrity drama, viral trends, and Hollywood’s most talked-about moments. Whether you’re here for the latest celebrity feud, nostalgic deep dives into the stars you grew up with, or playful debates that get everyone talking, Popity with Sloan Hooks & Kristi Cook is your ultimate destination for all things pop culture.