Podcasting in the UAE: a new report

• UAE podcast network AMAEYA Media has published a state of the industry report for 2019, based on a survey of UAE listeners. Listeners in the region prefer entertainment; yet few local publishers are producing entertainment or comedy podcasts, the report says.

• Intrado have added podcast monitoring to their Notified service, which lets brand owners and PR companies hear mentions of their company on podcasts.

• The CBC has launched its first podcast in the Cree language, spoken in parts of Canada’s North. It isn’t, yet, in any podcast app.

• Looking for good examples of branded podcasts? ThePodcastHost have posted a set of successful ones, including from Trader Joes, McDonald’s, and John Deere.

• Podcasts have transformed (UK) radio, according to The Spectator’s Kate Chisholm. Meanwhile, in Australia, podcasts appear to be at the heart of the radio industry’s future revenue, according to the CEOs.

  
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• The future of podcasts? Apparently it’s interactive choose-your-own-adventure-style podcasts, according to Amelia Ward, Head of Digital at PHD Sydney.

• Podcast Review look at what they consider to be five outstanding podcasts from Africa.

Feedback: You can always just hit reply with your thoughts on the day’s news. Harris, host of the Sleep Whispers podcast, writes:

I 100% agree with Daniel J Lewis and others that ratings/reviews are a non-variable (or insignificant variable) in the Apple Podcast ranking algorithm (Dec 25). The key reason is that it is too easily gamed.
But I think many journalists who write podcast listicle articles base their selections on the ratings/reviews - which gives a boost to the podcasts mentioned in those articles. I can tell by how many podcast articles mention my podcast that they probably have never listened to it: it’s usually a summary of my description.
Ratings/reviews are not totally useless: they can provide indirect boosts to growing your audience.

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