Video streaming platform Rumble gets into podcasts

• Let’s get ready to Rumble; the online video platform is getting into podcasting with the acquisition of Callin, a social podcasting and live streaming platform. No terms were disclosed. Rumble hosts Donald Trump’s Truth Social network, and the video platform is popular among American right and far-right users. Its competitor YouTube added podcasts last month.

• In the Netherlands, Podimo is celebrating its one-year anniversary in the country. It claims 13,636,659 hours of podcasts were listened-to in the first year on the platform.

• A few weeks ago, we covered a podcast tour in Zambia. Here’s a review of the sell-out event in Lusaka by Muzhinga Kankinda.

• Barometer and ArtsAI announced a partnership product: AB Daily “delivers daily, in-campaign show & episode-level suitability monitoring on where ads are running on podcasts. AB Daily also provides analysis and reporting on whether the podcasts’ episodes align with the specific brand’s safety and suitability standards”.

• More news podcasts are on the way: Situation Room Studios has been announced by Global Situation Room, to significantly expand the company’s output. Recent hires include Christine Baratta (Bloomberg) and RJ Bee (Osiris Media). Meanwhile, Vice Media filed for bankruptcy.

• Podcast host Ausha has launched a new “location” feature. Depending on their plan level, podcasters get access to country, state or city-level data.

• A new mental health podcast network for Gen Z has launched. Astro Studios is from the hosts of Teenager Therapy, the Ambies-winning podcast; Gael Aitor told Podnews that the aim is to produce content that helps young people deal with overwhelming emotions.

• The Australian Podcast Ranker was released for April. Mamamia’s But Are You Happy? is the highest new entry. The ABC, the country’s largest podcaster, is still absent.

• The RØDE Streamer X, a combined video and audio capture card, is now available for pre-orders.

• In spite of communicating that a 4x price increase was for new subscribers only, Pocket Casts subscribers are being given renewal notices from Google Play suggesting it’s for everyone. The last pricing change for the app in 2019 was changed after users who bought lifetime packages complained that they weren’t honoured.

• The New York Times has profiled Tenderfoot TV.

• The Podcast Broker has brokered the sale of Toddler Purgatory, created by Adalyst Media. The Podcast Broker offers a free podcast evaluation and lists podcasts for sale.

• Blue Wire has signed the Action Network for ad sales representation. The Action Network, which was purchased by Better Collective in May 2021, was using in-house sales, iHeart and The Volume.

Tips and tricks - with Podnews Live - where podcasting connects

• Headliner has posted 10 tips for YouTube Podcast Success

Moves and hires

• Shreya Sharma has unveiled Audio Currents, a newsletter for global audio news, creator interviews and releases. She had been writing for Inside Podcasting.

Podcast News

There Are No Girls on the Internet is coming back for a new season very soon: but Nina Jankowicz, formerly of Joe Biden’s now-defunct Disinformation Governance Board, is a special guest this week. Nina Jankowicz has just announced that she is suing FOX News for defamation.

Aidan, Noah, Ben, and Joey launch Slapstick Sports: A Whimsical and Cutting Take on the World of Athletics this week. “We are all excited to share our thoughts on the latest game, referee controversy, or questionable trade with your favorite teams,” they say. They’re second-semester seniors at The Leffell School in Hartsdale NY, which clearly has quite the pedigree: Arielle Nissenblatt is a former student.

Launched this month, Is My Child A Monster? is a parenting therapy podcast by Leslie Cohen-Rubury. Her clients have consented to have their therapy sessions recorded, and the result is deep, passionate conversations about parenting, anxiety, and support.

The Made by Google podcast returned yesterday (switching hosts from Podigee to Acast). The announcement tells us to “subscribe on Google Podcasts (of course), Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts”. The newest podcast platform made by Google is, of course, YouTube, but this podcast from Google hasn’t been uploaded there.

Podcast ads in the wild

The Detail, Radio New Zealand’s daily news podcast, recently celebrated four years and at least 15 million downloads with a billboard outside their headquarters in Auckland.