No, podcasts aren’t “video-first”

• With all the excitement about video podcasting this week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that podcast consumption is now video-first. New US data released today by Triton Digital says that it isn’t: only 7% of people exclusively watch podcasts; 80% of podcast listeners both watch and listen. The data is part of Triton Digital’s 2025 Podcast Report, which is a free (with registration) download. Triton Digital’s Omny Studio was a launch partner of Apple Podcasts new video service) earlier this week.

• Crooked Media podcasts will be shown on US news channel MS NOW, in a new deal starting next weekend. Saturdays at 9pm ET, a specially produced show for the news network will include clips of a number of Crooked’s US shows. MS NOW is what was once MSNBC.

• The Ambies have announced that Kara Swisher will receive the Governors Award, recognizing meaningful contributions to the growth of podcasting. TPA will also posthumously honor Reggie Ossé with the Impact Award, celebrating his lasting influence on cultural storytelling and the evolution of the medium.

• T-Mobile spent $5.9mn on podcast ads in January, according to a new report from Magellan AI. The top “mover and shaker” for podcast advertising was TurboTax’s owner Intuit, which spent $2.8mn. We last covered Intuit in October 2024, when it wanted a section of a podcast removed after questions highlighting its behaviour.

• “The reason video podcasts matter is YouTube. YouTube has an algorithm that puts your content in front of people who’ve never heard of you … [and] engagement tools that let you actually interact with your audience. Apple Podcasts has… none of that.”, writes Ashley Hamer Pritchard.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: In every episode of Sleep Cove you’ll hear relaxing sleep hypnosis, guided sleep meditations and bedtime stories – all designed to help you relax and get a peaceful night’s sleep.

The Media Club with Matt Deegan covers, among other things, Apple Podcasts and video this week, with DMGT’s Jamie East suggesting that there may not be room for thousands of expensive video podcasts.

How detailed do you want to go into Apple Podcasts and video? The Podnews Weekly Review - in its longest episode yet - looks at all the ramifications for the industry, and speaks with Transistor’s Justin Jackson on the news as well.

In Germany, Kulturmarketing Insights has hit the top ten marketing podcasts on launch. The show explores topics related to strategic communication, digital marketing, social media trends, and current developments in the cultural and event sector.

For over five decades, Ron Delsener shaped the concert landscape of New York City, promoting iconic shows featuring Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and countless other legendary artists. The music history show Takin’ A Walk has released a special episode with filmmaker Jake Sumner, director of the documentary “Ron Delsener Presents,” and legendary concert promoter Jules Belkin.

In a culture saturated with Hollywood romance and highlight-reel relationships, a new podcast is creating space for something deeper, more honest, and more hopeful. How’d You Meet launches today, exploring real love stories from real people, centred on faith, commitment, and building healthy, God-centred marriages.

An Architect’s Perspective is a series (both video and audio) aimed at architecture lovers, modern history enthusiasts, and anyone who is curious about why and how a building came to be. Filmed on-site in locations such as Norway, Spain and India each building is explored through a cinematic walkthrough, followed by an interview with an expert connected to the project. Sit back, relax and step inside some of the 20th century’s most iconic modernist buildings.

Having a bad DAI

An occasional feature highlighting where we can do better

In the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, as picked up by the “Awful announcing” blog, here’s an astonishing piece of audio - live Bill Simmons, doing an ad read for Pepsi Zero Sugar, then a (different-sounding) DAI host-read ad with Bill Simmons promoting… Coca-Cola. Next to each other. Actually next to each other! Wow. Both ads appear 61 minutes in.

In the UK, it used to be illegal to have more than one ad for the same product category in the same radio advertising break. Podnews is edited by a man who once had to plan an entire day’s advertising log for a UK radio station with pieces of paper strewn on the floor, and writing in the ads for car dealers in pencil. Turns out that this archaic system was better than Megaphone’s scheduling tool…