SB Nation’s local sports podcasts go dark

• Vox Media’s SB Nation has closed its local sports podcasts - even locking some podcasters out of posting final episodes. A long post by Kyle Scott Laskowski gives some potential reasons.

• Apple Podcasts has added transcripts to its macOS app. Transcripts look like this: to get to them, hit the “…” menu button next to any episode, or the player, and choose “View Transcript”. Unlike the iOS app they don’t display in real time and nor can you use them to navigate the show; but they are searchable. Here’s how they work.

• The TWiT studios in Petaluma, California, will no longer be open to visitors to watch live recordings after the end of this month, says Lisa Laporte. It’s part of a Club TWiT revamp.

• Headliner celebrated its sixth birthday by sharing statistics. So far, more than 138 years of content has been created with Headliner.

  • The company is also looking to expand its list of paid podcast promotion companies. Are you in that business but not listed? Let them know!

• reVolver Podcasts and Cisneros Media Distribution are making five of Cisneros’s titles available in podcast form.

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• The CPM model of advertising does not - and will not ever - work to sustain podcasting. That’s the view of Mia Lobel, formerly Head of Content at Pushkin Industries.

• Podcast app Castro has released an update, including a set of bugfixes. The app is under new ownership.

• Podcast monitoring service Podscan has received funding: “a six-figure amount”, says founder Arvid Kahl.

• The winners of the India Audio Summit and Awards 2024 were announced.

• Here’s what Google Podcasts looks like now inside the US, where it has closed - even the web app. It still works everywhere else; and we have no date for its closure in other countries.

• Further reading: Google Podcasts is dead – as is my trust in the survival of any Google service (Stuff) … The Podcast Landscape Is a Mess, and That’s a Good Thing (Lifehacker)

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Moves and hires

• In Australia, the ABC has appointed Tim Roxburgh as EP of True Crime Podcasts; Rachael Brown as Development Executive, True Crime; and Joel Werner as Executive Producer in Audio Studios (returning from Gimlet).

• Audioboom is to expand its sales division with the appointment of Molly Harvey as VP, Brand Sales (joining from SiriusXM and CBS Radio) and Shaun Wilson as Vice President, UK Sales (returning from Spotify and Sony Music).

The Tech Stuff - with RSS.com

• A way to list publisher feeds is under consideration for the new podcast namespace. It would allow podcast apps to show “other podcasts from this publisher”, as well as provide some verification that it’s an official podcast. It’s open for comment.

• Andrew Grumet has built a free lookup tool to find podcast GUIDs from RSS feeds (and the other way round). A GUID stays with a podcast forever, even if it moves host. We support GUIDs in our podcast pages, and they’re vital for, among other things, the podroll.

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• Wondering how other podcasts like yours are doing in downloads? OP3 analytics are open to everyone, and our sister publication the Podcast Business Journal publishes a selection of podcasts measured by the service, to help you compare.

• Wondering how many podcasts there are, and how many you’re competing with? The Podcast Business Journal can help with that, too. Looks like the number of active podcasts (updated in the last thirty days) has reached a steady high.

Podcast News - with New Podcast Trailers - the podcast

Just ending its season, Trumped is the story of Trump’s controversial golf development in Aberdeenshire, Scotland - greenlit despite high-profile protests from locals, planners and environmentalists. It’s from BBC Scotland.

Canardian is a brand new podcast from Pod The North, talking to famous podcasters from across Canada about their hometowns. A podcast about podcasts but not about podcasts themselves, the twelve episode season starts with Jess Schmidt from Rooked: The Cheaters Gambit.

Chew On This was new yesterday - and invites you to critically examine everything you know about food and nutrition as the show delves into expert insights and practical advice. It’s hosted by Amal Wakim, the CEO of a nutrition app, Equalution.

Kyle and Jackie O, the biggest and richest radio personalities in Sydney, are to start broadcasting in Melbourne soon. Game Changers: Melbourne Radio Wars is watching how they do - and what the other radio stations will do to compete. Podnews Editor, James Cridland, is part of the first episode - looking at what effect it’ll have and whether they’ll be #1 by the end of the year.