Podcast Consumer 2019 released; Luminary sneek peek

• Edison Research revealed their Podcast Consumer 2019 study yesterday in a webinar. They have posted the full slide deck and video on their website. On the Twitter hashtag, Midroll highlight that 70% of podcast consumers are doing “nothing else” when listening to podcasts; Mark Asquith highlights that 75% of non-listeners believe that podcasts are “just not for them”, and sees this as a marketing opportunity; and Evo Terra highlights that podcast listeners overwhelmingly use their phones for just that.

• Apple appears to have rolled-back their Apple Podcasts on the web product, which we reported on yesterday - the old pages are now appearing again. We did notice some errors using the service yesterday; perhaps it needed a little more polish, or maybe they’re waiting until WWDC in six weeks. Meanwhile, 9to5Mac has discovered an icon for a rumoured-but-likely Apple Podcasts desktop app in an upcoming macOS release.

• The BBC is testing dynamically personalised programme trails within BBC Radio 6 Music, using AMillionAds. It’s a beta trial currently, run on the BBC’s “Taster” platform; but the possibilities on a signed-in service like BBC Sounds are obvious. (The BBC does not carry commercials in the UK). Notable quote: “the team did want to run it within [BBC] Sounds but that platform’s development path is so intense and they didn’t want to wait.”

• NPR’s Jarl Mohn spoke at the NAB Show about podcasting: “We believe in podcasting and we invest a lot of money in podcasting.”

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 12 2023

• The subscription podcast app Luminary launches on April 23rd. Here’s a peek at the iOS app, which is in beta (larger). As is clear from the trending searches above, the app also includes non-premium podcasts from other publishers.

• Amazon’s Alexa speakers have unveiled a new “news” experience: it will now play continuous streams of news (including things like a live CNN stream, or additional news stories from NPR. Details are scant, and it isn’t clear whether this is only in the US for now.

• A Boston TV station has featured RadioPublic in a segment called How to gain podcast listeners in any niche.

  
  Aug 12 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• The BBC’s Brexitcast podcast was downloaded 1.35m times in March, says its producer.

• Castbox, the podcasting app, has added community features. Community is “a dedicated social feed within the Castbox app that lets podcasters post about their favorite shows and episodes, join trending conversations, and discover popular new content.”

• Gopod·me is a new free service offering automatic links to podcast apps, allowing podcasters to promote their podcasts on all apps. Here’s us on the service.

  • Podnews also offer similar subscribe pages; ours come with technical information to help podcasters, too.

• RadioPublic has launched a free podcast marketing course. A 21-day podcast marketing guide, it’s available to anyone who claims their podcast on RadioPublic.

• Dr Phil is to launch a true crime podcast with Stitcher. “Listeners will travel inside the minds of the nation’s most notorious murderers through exclusive interviews guided by the expert forensic analysis of Dr. Phil.”

• ABC Nightline’s investigative series The Dropout is turning into a TV show, reports The Verge.

• We linked to Futuri Media and the University of Florida’s NAB Podcast Users National Survey Report 2019 yesterday, but the link we used may not have worked for everyone. This one does.

• 83% of US teenagers have an iPhone, and 86% plan to buy one as their next phone.

• New jobs today include a Head of Audio position at the Financial Times in London, and a Podcast Junior Partner Manager at Spotify’s London headquarters. See below for the list in full.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 12 2023

Podcasts

Reply All discovers the strange case of a man who’s car stereo breaks every time he tries to play 99% Invisible. 2016 Mazda sedans are, it seems, incompatible with Radio Row In Beautiful Downtown Oakland California.

Motherhood Sessions is a new podcast from Gimlet Media (and yes, it’s available everywhere); it’s hosted by reproductive psychiatrist Dr. Alexandra Sacks who talks with women about their struggles with motherhood.

Case Closed, a true crime podcast series that doesn’t leave you wondering whodunnit - is back for a new season, following the murder of Rusty Sneiderman. The first season achieved more than 1.8m downloads; every episode is already on Stitcher Premium.

Jonny Gould’s Jewish State is a Jewish and Israeli podcast from a UK broadcaster, ranging from Israeli HealthTech to Labour antisemitism, from the greatest pop music to Jewish comedy and from peace with Palestine to Holocaust testimony.

Updates

• Classified advertisers: our stats service is now working again after a short hiatus.
• We’ve added support for Blubrry’s “subscribe via email” service in our podcast pages.