Video podcasts are on the rise

• The number of open video podcasts are on the rise. In November last year, Podcast Index listed 39,194 video podcasts. As of June this year, Podnews can reveal the number had grown by over a quarter to 50,863. We measured these by looking for enclosure files with the extension mov, mp4 or m4v, the three filetypes Apple Podcasts supports. Apple has recently put video podcasts in the spotlight again; Spotify launched its own proprietary video podcasts tool in April (which we can’t measure).

• Veritonic has announced a $7.5m series A funding round. It was led by Lavrock Ventures with additional investment from Progress Ventures, Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau and Newark Venture Partners.

• Triton Digital released its US Podcast Ranker for May. The Ben Shapiro Show climbed above Crime Junkie. Stitcher Media remains #1 network. The ranker measures participating publishers only.

• Fun fact: the website for the Linux Foundation’s podcast The Untold Stories of Open Source uses a Spotify embedded player, which, um, uses a DRM solution, and makes a certificate call to a Widevine server on load.

• A reminder that Sounds Profitable’s research on the people that make podcasts The Creators is presented in a live (free) webinar at 1pm ET today. As a sponsor, we’ve seen the results: some data is surprisingly good news, other data is surprisingly not.

• Marianne Sciucco, founder of AlzAuthors, a global community of authors writing about Alzheimer’s and dementia, is the curator for EarBuds Podcast Collective this week, recommending five podcasts about Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregiving.

• 3ShotsOfTequila has joined Acast: started in 2016, it was previously a Spotify Exclusive, and the show is now available “wherever you get your podcasts”.

Tips and tricks - with RedCircle

• Substack publishes a primer on podcast production, including setting up a recording room and tips for a smooth recording. (Substack doesn’t mention trailers, but we’d recommend recording one of those, too).
• Stephanie Fuccio recommends some Podcasts about Podcasting: including our own.

Podcast News - with Post Script Media

From Post Script Media: There are trillions of dollars flowing into climate solutions. The world’s largest energy firms, tech companies, and banks are putting big dollars behind “climate tech.” So where is the smart investment going? Hosted by veteran analyst and investor Shayle Kann, Catalyst with Shayle Kann digs deep into climate and climate tech solutions with the world’s top experts, and helps us understand the trends that are reshaping the economy – and transforming the way we power our lives.

Which Formula 1 driver received death threats and hired a bodyguard at the end of last season all because he crashed into a wall? Choosing Sides: F1 unveils the excitement and thrills of Formula 1 racing in a new podcast from iHeartMedia and Sports Illustrated Studios today.

Curl Up & D.I. from Folding Pocket is already making headway into the trending charts before its release on Thursday. It claims it’s the UK’s first major scripted fiction podcast to feature household name acting talent, including Katherine Kelly, Vic Reeves and Morgana Robinson. A surrealist comedy-drama is a murder-mystery that sees a pair of hapless police officers turning to their hairdressers for their help in solving an escalating murder problem.

Podcast ads in the wild

Michele Dale from Wonder Media Network shows us this digital billboard truck in New York NY, USA for the true-crime show I Was Never There, launched at the Tribeca Festival. The truck also played audio.

Advertising for podcasts help grow the whole medium - so if you’ve spotted any (or responsible for some), just hit reply and send us a nice picture.