Merger creates UK “podcasting supergroup”

• In the UK, three podcast production companies have announced a merger. Platform Media, Listen and Goldhawk - all owned by PodX - are to merge under the Platform Media name, dubbed a “podcast supergroup”. It will continue to use Listen, Goldhawk and Platform Media’s Folding Pocket brands as content labels. The company claims eight-figure revenues and 70% year-on-year growth.

• Acast has partnered with Supercast to offer paid subscription tools. They’ll be available to all Acast podcasters, allowing them to easily sell exclusive audio and video content, ad-free feeds, and the ability to engage with other fans.

• PodcastOne has seen video views “surge 218% year-over-year”. The company posts to Rumble and Substack as well as YouTube and Spotify.

• DeepCast has expanded Podsites, the company’s podcast website solution, to add additional features.

• Nickelodeon has announced a partnership with Starglow for podcast monetisation and distribution.

• Libsyn Ads shared What’s Working in Podcast Advertising Right Now, from their Evolutions talk last week.

• Descript released v112, including a new AI video maker, updates and bugfixes.

• The Podcast Host shares five case studies from podcasters who have added video.

• Google tells us that it’s fixed an issue that led to hundreds of thousands of automated downloads of our podcast. Our analytics shows that it hasn’t.

• Sitting at the bar at Evolutions last week, writing Podnews accompanied by a foaming pint, our Editor apparently kicked up quite the stir. “People keep taking photos of him working. Is he famous?” asked one of the bar staff, we’re told. No, he isn’t; but being “podcast famous” is a thing, according to a new article by Good Tape. (Thanks for the photo, Daniel. And for the beer, Alban).

Moves and hires

• Dafnne Wejebe has been appointed by Nueva Network as Vice President of Audio and Podcasts. She had been at Univision and MundoNow.

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• Have you seen the feedback about Meghan Markle’s new podcast? Oh, my. The good news, Meghan, is that there are ways of dealing with bad feedback - including a way of knowing which bits of negative feedback to actually look at. Tip: nothing that’s been tediously written over the past few days.

Podcast News - with New Podcasts

The benefit of podcasting is “Something for your ears, when your eyes are busy,” we’ve been saying for a while. But in The Feed with Elsie Escobar this week, Robb Dunewood suggests that if your eyes aren’t busy, you’d rather watch a podcast than listen to one. Interesting point.

Rebeca joined Walk and Roll Live, a podcast dedicated to giving a voice to the disabled community, in August, to share her story of how she became paralyzed. Since then she’s been through a lot of soul searching and has found the strength to tell the rest of her story - and has a secret to reveal. You’ll hear a story many women can relate to.

The economy is in the news right now - and The Eisman Playbook is a brand new show with insights, strategies, and perspectives from legendary investor Steve Eisman. Best known for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, Steve brings his sharp analysis and no-nonsense approach to dissecting the markets, global economy, and investment trends shaping the future.

A new episode of Do You Watch Anime? this week features host Adam Corky being joined by voice actor Jill Harris (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Black Clover, Hell’s Paradise, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury) to talk about how her local library introduced her to anime at a young age, her passion for voice acting, and her deep connection to voicing characters like Fern in Frieren.

How accurate are tarot card reading? In a special episode of Voices in the River, Anna Sale gets to review a tarot card reading prepared for her in 2024 - and to reflect on how her year transpired. “I’ve never made anything like it, and I’m really proud of it,” says the podcast’s producer, Theo Balcomb.

Podcasting has revolutionised brand marketing – but are you fully leveraging its potential? As the shift moved from traditional broadcast mediums to digital platforms, brands now have direct access to a highly engaged audience. Our Editor, James Cridland, joined the latest episode of The Business Of podcast, to share the strategies on how you can use podcasting to engage your audience on a personal level and grow your brand.

From Noiser, Titanic: Ship of Dreams launched this week, exploring life and death on the most infamous ship in history. Hosted by Paul McGann, you’ll mingle with the first-class passengers in their opulent surrounds and rub shoulders with the passengers down in steerage. And Paul explores his own family story, following his great uncle Jimmy McGann - a trimmer down in Titanic’s engine room.

The David Frum Show is “a new weekly video podcast from The Atlantic hosted by our longtime staff writer, David Frum”, and is The Atlantic’s first video podcast on YouTube. The first episode includes an interview with Rahm Emanuel about Trump’s tariff chaos.

Bone Valley, the critically acclaimed investigative podcast that exposed one of the most egregious wrongful convictions in recent history, returned for a new season this week. The new season takes the story in a chilling new direction—one that will leave listeners questioning everything they thought they knew about justice.