Locked out: YouTube changes qualification for ad revenue

• It’s going to be much harder to get money from YouTube. In “the first significant change since 2018”, YouTube has made it twice as hard to get into the YouTube Partner Program, which pays creators based on consumption on the platform. New creators applying for the program will need 8,000 qualified watch hours (in the last year), or 20 million qualified Shorts views (in the last 90 days) - both double the amount that was required previously.

• Greg Glenday, CEO of Acast, has given a statement to The Hollywood Reporter about Spotify’s “skip-ahead” ad-skipping button. “We do have some creators on the Acast platform who are not happy about this and we will support them completely as they evaluate any recourse. Acast is working privately with Spotify to understand if we could have collaborated more on the rollout or positioning,” he said. Acast didn’t give us a statement when we asked last week.

  • Many stories are now appearing about Spotify’s ad-skipping button: but some stories suggest that it doesn’t skip ads sold by Spotify. This isn’t true - our story specifically included a video with an ad on a Bill Simmons show being skipped by the tool, and Podnews understands that the feature is not targeted at competitors’ ads.

• Podcast ad revenue is up +23% year-on-year, says Magellan AI’s Q2/26 Podcast Advertising Quarterly Benchmark Report. The average ad load increased again, though - the average podcast is 8.75% ads (up from 8.25% last quarter). That’s an average of 5 and a half minutes an hour.

  • There’s a free webinar going through the data on Aug 20.

• Podcast analytics firm Bumper has increased pressure on Apple Podcasts to align with the rest of the industry, after advising clients who are looking at the numbers of Apple Podcasts “plays” to… simply ignore them. In a blog post analysing several thousand episode “plays” on Apple Podcasts, Bumper suggests that the number literally counts the number of clicks or taps of the play button.

  • AMP has a loose definition of “at least 30 seconds” to be considered a play; Spotify’s definition appears to be “at least 30 seconds, once per user per episode”; and YouTube’s plays definition appears to be “at least 30 seconds, up to five times-ish per user per episode” (but they’ve never published it). Apple’s definition is very wide of the mark, and Apple “play” numbers seems to make little sense. We’d agree - ignore them until they’re comparable.

• iHeartMedia released its Q2/26 financial results. Podcast revenue was $162mn, up +20.7% year-on-year. Podcast revenue was 16.5% of the company’s total revenue. iHeart announced a video podcast deal with Disney+ and Hulu, bringing new shows to the platform, starting with Hey Jonas!

• It’s impossible to advertise to users of ad-free video services… unless you use podcasting. Cumulus Media and Signal Hill released data showing that ad-free video streamers over-index on podcast listening: good news for advertisers who want to get in front of this hard-to-reach audience.

• Gamut is to enhance WTOP’s Top News podcast with video and up to 14 episodes a day. The Washington DC station is hiring two full-time podcast host-producers.

• A new AI voice platform, BionicVO, has launched. It uses clones of real, professional voice actors, rather than synthetic voices; the voice actors have chosen to license their voices on their own terms. “AI voices aren’t bad because the technology is bad. They’re bad because no one is directing the performance,” said founder Dan Price.

• In brief: Backyard Ventures has signed Big Mad True Crime for ad representation … Podtrac released its rankers for July. They measure participating publishers only … Speakeasy, the invite-only hosting platform from Red Seat Ventures, has announced it now supports HLS video on Apple Podcasts. The first show to carry video is Surrounded.

Tips and tricks - with Podcast Movement NYC

• Thinking of buying some paid promotion for your YouTube channel? Think again, suggests Lower Street - suggesting it actively harms your channel, rather than helps it.
• Want to reach Gen Z and Gen Alpha with podcasts? Gogo Zoger shared growth strategies at Podcast Movement in Dallas last year.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave:  Dark Histories - fortnightly narratives on the unsolved and the unexplained, mysteries, historical true crime, touches of the paranormal and cultural peculiarities.

Crimes of Reddit is brand new today from Crime House and PAVE Studios. Reddit is an endless archive of humanity’s most disturbing, bizarre, and deeply human stories, posted by real people who actually lived them. Co-hosts Sabrina Deana-Roga and Alexis Linkletter examine a set of these stories every week, pulling at every thread until the whole twisted picture comes into view.

In a quiet suburb of San Diego County, a family of four seemingly vanishes into thin air. When investigators search their home, they find the family’s two beloved dogs unattended outside, rotting food left around the house and clothes strewn across the floor. Did the McStays leave of their own accord, or did something far more sinister happen? What Happened to the McStays? is a six-part series from 20/20 and ABC Audio.

Oh God Now What with Niala Boodhoo is a new podcast from PRX that offers spiritual wisdom on the news. A podcast for those who might think “Oh God, now what?” when diving into the headlines, Boodhoo guides listeners through the stories of our time with assistance from today’s most insightful faith, spiritual, and moral leaders.

Branded podcasts can do more than market a business! In this episode of Happy to Help, the team at Buzzsprout talks about how podcasting can answer customer questions, deliver proactive support, build trust, and turn customers into loyal superfans.

Launching today, True Wealth is for people who’ve made money and are asking what comes next. Hosted by exited founders Anthony Ng Monica and Fintan Costello, who have both sold businesses for eight figures, the pair explore post-wealth problems like how to invest mindfully and how to raise kids without spoiling them. The debut episode, featuring The Jet Business founder Steve Varsano, was filmed aboard a private jet.

Every crime story starts somewhere. Before the national headlines, before the viral clips, before everyone has an opinion, local reporters are on the ground trying to uncover what really happened. Crime in America with Joe Budden is a weekly crime and news series that takes audiences inside the cases shaping communities across the country. Through in-depth conversations with the journalists closest to the stories, Joe examines what happened, what remains unknown, who has been affected, and where the story could go next.

In Magnify Your Magnificence, you’ll hear honest conversations and stories that may help you see yourself a little differently. Formerly Magnify with Sue, the show has a new name and a renewed focus: helping you recognize what makes you magnificent and bring more of it into the world.