Sounds Profitable
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The pace of change the podcast industry is undergoing is staggering. The implications for podcasters, hosting providers, podcast listening app developers, and advertisers and agencies are enormous. And so is the growth potential. Presented as a companion to the weekly newsletter of the same name, our podcast provides you with direct access to our narrated articles, interviews with industry experts, bleeding-edge research, and can't miss industry news recaps. That Sounds Profitable, right? Assumptions and conventional wisdom will be challenged. Easy answers with no proof of efficacy will be exposed. Because the thinking that got podcast advertising close to a billion...
Lessons from Podcast Movement NYC, Buyers Choose Engaged Views, & More
#984
Yesterday at 9:00 AM
This week in the business of podcasting:
Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster explains why Netflix passing Apple Podcasts to become the third most-named place Americans consume podcasts is a warning sign, since most shows can never get on the platform.Triton Digital's Sharon Taylor argues video is expanding podcasting rather than replacing audio, noting 80% of monthly podcast consumers both watch and listen.ADOPTER Media, Right Side Up and Oxford Road, representing about half a billion dollars in ad buying, commit to YouTube Engaged Views after YouTube inflated its public view counts.Lower Street's Annalise Nielsen details the roadblocks she...Netflix's Place in Podcasting, Upcoming YouTube Features, & More
#985
Last Thursday at 7:00 PM
Today in the business of podcasting:
Lower Street's Annalise Nielsen explains why it's so hard to buy podcast ads. Trying to spend a $72,000 budget, she ran into missing ad contacts, $150,000 minimums and a host-read quietly downgraded to a post-roll.Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster finds Netflix has passed Apple Podcasts to become the third most-named place Americans consume podcasts. He warns that it's a true walled garden where most shows can't get in.YouTube CEO Neal Mohan lays out the platform's 2026 playbook, from creator-first TV ambitions to new Made on YouTube features like prompt-built feeds and a weekly AI...Podcast Locations in Apple Maps, Mid-Sized Podcast Appeal, & More
#983
Last Wednesday at 7:00 PM
Today in the business of podcasting:
Apple Podcasts and Apple Maps launch Hidden Histories, a feature that uses the podcast:location tag to place episodes on real-world locations. Apple also confirms that video is coming to Apple Podcasts Subscriptions in more than 170 countries and regions.A new Audacy report argues that mid-sized podcasts are an untapped advertising opportunity, citing a 22% lower cost per acquisition than on celebrity shows. It also finds that listeners are 27% more likely to be swayed by topic experts than by celebrities.Karo Chakhlasyan says Podcast Movement left them less convinced that audio is the...Tu-Dum
#982
Last Wednesday at 9:00 AM
This week Tom Webster comes back from his Podcast Movement keynote in New York with a number that should stop the industry cold. Across four years of The Podcast Landscape, the study has asked people every place they have consumed a podcast in the past year, and the third most-named platform is no longer Apple Podcasts. It is Netflix. Tom lays out why that ranking troubles him, and why he thinks 2026 is another one of those turning-point moments for the medium.
Tom gets into:
Why Netflix landed at number three, and what a deliberately low-bar survey...Rethinking Audio vs. Video Podcasting, Creators Selling TV-Style, & More
#981
Last Tuesday at 7:00 PM
Today in the business of podcasting:
Triton Digital's Sharon Taylor pushes back on the video-first narrative, pointing to 2025 U.S. Podcast Report data showing 80% of monthly listeners both watch and listen while only 7% watch exclusively. Her advice is to treat video as an expansion of an audio show rather than a replacement for it.A growing number of creators and the companies representing them want to sell ads through TV-style upfront commitments, but unlimited, always-on creator inventory does not behave like a network's finite schedule. Experts told Digiday the model will likely work only for the top one...Ad Buyers Align on Engaged Views, Bumper x Oxford Road, & More
#980
Last Monday at 7:00 PM
Today in the business of podcasting:
Ad buyers draw a line on YouTube's "Engaged Views": At last week's Sounds Profitable Business Summit, ADOPTER Media, Right Side Up, Oxford Road, and YMH Studios committed to counting only YouTube's "Engaged Views" when buying ads on the platform. The move answers YouTube's August decision to count a view after a single frame plays, a change that roughly doubled raw view counts.IAB on video plays: At its 2026 Podcast Upfront, the IAB argued podcasting is underbought, noting digital audio takes 16% of media time but only 2% of ad spend even as podcast revenue...Podcast Week in NYC, iOS 27 Podcast Updates, & More
#979
09/18/2026
This week in the business of podcasting:
Podcast Week in New York opened with the Sounds Profitable Business Summit, where This American Life's Ira Glass argued that podcasts build deeper audience connections than influencer content and that the depth makes their advertising more effective. A later panel tackled Spotify's skip button test, with Right Side Up and Acast pushing the industry toward better ad quality and more transparency.Writing in The Roast, ADOPTER Media's Adam McNeal makes the case for pinning YouTube ad deals to "engaged views" rather than the platform's newly inflated public view count, arguing buyers...Spotify Expands Partner Program, IAB Announces Podcast Video Measurement Guidelines, & More
#978
09/17/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
The IAB used its Podcast Upfront during Podcast Week to release new video podcast measurement guidance, declining to adopt a single medium-agnostic standard like the AMP Accords in favor of two existing IAB Tech Lab frameworks.Spotify is expanding its Partner Program to more than 35 new markets this fall, opening audio and video podcast monetization to creators across Latin America and Europe while partnering with hosts like Acast, Libsyn, and Audioboom.Acast's Podcast Pulse 2026 study of 4,300 listeners across 13 markets finds audiences no longer see audio and video as competing formats, with 88 percent...New Apple Podcasts Features, Amazon Music Expands Video Podcast Presence, & More
#977
09/16/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Apple's fall software releases bring a wave of new Apple Podcasts features across iOS 27, tvOS 27, and macOS 27, led by a video-first redesign. A revamped Apple TV app adds video podcast playback and channel browsing, while full transcripts, chapters, and a new Search in Show tool arrive across devices.Amazon Music is expanding its global video podcast partnerships, integrating shows hosted on ART19, Omny Studio, and Flightcast, with SiriusXM, Megaphone, and Libsyn to follow. Video is rolling out to new markets including the UK, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan, and publishers keep control...Ira Glass on Podcast Advertising, PRX Names New CEO, & More
#976
09/15/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Podcast Week in New York kicked off with the Sounds Profitable Business Summit, where This American Life's Ira Glass argued that podcasting's depth and audience connection make it more effective for advertisers than most influencer content. Panelists also pushed back on Spotify skip-button anxiety, making the case that better ads and more data transparency beat fear.Genius Sports CRO Josh Linforth lays out how athlete-tracking technology is reshaping athlete-led media, using the Chris Paul partnership to show how the same data players rely on can feed fans directly and reshape sponsorships around...Podcasting 🔜 NYC, Magellan AI's Q2 Podcast Measurement Benchmarks, & More
#975
09/14/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Podcasts Take Over New York — Podcast Week NYC kicks off with three back-to-back events: the Sounds Profitable Business Summit today and tomorrow, the 2026 IAB Podcast Upfront on Wednesday, and Podcast Movement closing out Thursday and Friday. Tom Webster has teased a keynote built on The Podcast Landscape 2026 data he expects to spark real industry debate.Magellan AI's Q2 2026 Podcast Measurement Benchmark Report — New benchmarks show roughly 41% of podcast ad site visits land within seven days and 76% within 30, so reading a campaign too early can undercount results by more than half. Host-read ads post...Audiences Chose TVs Over Smart Speakers, IAB 2026 Ad Outlook, & More
#974
09/11/2026
This week in the business of podcasting:
New Sounds Profitable data shows the smart TV has overtaken the smart speaker as a top device for podcast listening, with Tom Webster arguing audiences increasingly treat podcasts as foreground viewing rather than background audio.The IAB raised its 2026 U.S. ad market forecast to 12.3 percent, with podcast advertising expected to grow 8.7 percent and outpace other digital audio formats.Scalable examines the wave of executive departures at creator-founded companies like Dude Perfect, Audiochuck, and Good Good Golf, and what those exits reveal about scaling creator-led businesses.True Native Media's Sabrina Nelson...How Smart TVs Overtook Speakers, IAB Bullish on 2026 Ad Revenue, & More
#973
09/10/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
New Podcast Landscape 2026 data shows smart TVs now drive 12% of primary podcast listening, up from 8% in 2024, while smart speakers have flatlined at 1%. Tom Webster argues audiences increasingly treat podcasts as foreground content on the shared living-room screen rather than voice-summoned background audio.The IAB raised its 2026 U.S. ad growth forecast to 12.3%, up from the 9.5% it projected in January, after a stronger-than-expected first half. Podcast ad spending is climbing 8.7%, outpacing other digital audio and ranking ahead of paid search, digital display, and gaming.YouTube's public "view" count now registers the moment playback...Speakeasy Now Uses Barometer, True Native Media on Podcast Growth, & More
#972
09/09/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Red Seat Ventures has integrated Barometer's AI-powered brand suitability and contextual targeting engine into its Speakeasy platform, bringing episode-level ad targeting to a portfolio of more than 40 creators and cutting the over-blocking that leaves safe inventory unsold.Scalable examines a wave of executive departures at creator-founded companies like Dude Perfect, Audiochuck, and Good Good Golf, tracing them to founder-centric business models and the friction of bringing in professional managers to scale.True Native Media's Sabrina Nelson argues podcasters do not need to publish on every platform to grow, making the case for...Smart TV Killed the Smart Speaker Star
#971
09/09/2026
This week Tom Webster goes to the bottom of the device table in the brand-new The Podcast Landscape 2026 data and finds a story that has been quietly eroding for years. The smart speaker, once pitched as podcasting's cleanest shot at owning a default, has flatlined at one percent. The device actually climbing is the biggest screen in the house. Smart TV as the most-used way to listen jumped from 8 percent in 2024 to 12 percent in 2026, and folded together with second-most-used it now reaches 25 percent of podcast consumers, while the phone slipped.
Ahead of his keynote at Podcast Movement...
Podcasting's Biggest Spender, NPR Launches Senior Podcast Challenge, & More
#970
09/08/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Bloomberg reports that BetterHelp is podcasting's biggest advertiser of all time, with an estimated $242 million spent since 2023 and ads running on more than 1,000 shows at once, per Magellan AI.MS NOW is expanding its Crooked Media partnership, adding Jon Lovett's Lovett or Leave It to its Saturday night lineup starting September 12 through the 2026 midterms.Digiday reports the creator economy still has no standard way to price talent, with roughly half of marketers mispricing fees and many admitting they overpay.NPR launches a Senior Podcast Challenge inviting Americans 65 and older to submit original...Podcast Movement 2026 Keynotes, Australia's Advertising Growth, & More
#969
09/04/2026
This week in the business of podcasting:
Tom Webster runs through the stars and keynotes of Podcast Movement 2026 in New York, including his Podcast Landscape 2026 study of more than 5,400 consumers and a surprising finding that Apple has slipped out of the top three podcast platforms.YouTube's redefinition of a view roughly doubled reported view counts overnight, and Oxford Road's Dan Granger and Bumper's Dan Misener argue the resulting confusion makes the case for trustworthy cross-platform measurement standards.Australia's internet advertising hit a record $19.8 billion in FY26 with podcasting up 10.1%, even as IAB Australia's Future of Measurement review warns...Podcast Movement 🔜 Times Square, Google AdTech Ruling, & More
#968
09/03/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Podcast Movement 2026 heads to New York City September 17 and 18 at Terminal 5, where anyone registered by September 4 gets their podcast or company artwork on a Times Square display, and Tom Webster previews the keynote lineup and his Podcast Landscape 2026 research.Hernan Lopez breaks down a new inflection point in streaming distribution, weighing direct-to-consumer, wholesale deals through Amazon Channels, Roku, and YouTube, and ad-tier monetization, projecting Amazon Channels could reach roughly $10 billion a year.A federal judge ruled Google will not be forced to break up its ad tech business despite earlier monopoly findings...IAB Australia on Data Standards, YouTube's TIFF Creator Festival, & More
#966
09/02/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
IAB Australia's Future of Measurement review finds the biggest constraint on advertising is fragmented data, not a shortage of measurement methods, and it calls for a shared campaign-data taxonomy modeled on IAB US's Campaign Data Standards 1.0.YouTube and Variety are launching the inaugural Variety x YouTube Creator Festival at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, premiering a Mark Vins documentary and two episodes of Ziwe's You'd Be an Iconic Guest before both become YouTube exclusives.Netflix is doubling down on podcasts, ordering new shows from Katt Williams, Harlan Coben, and Stephanie...The Stars of Podcast Movement
#967
09/02/2026
This week Tom Webster delivers his final Podcast Movement programming rundown, along with a deadline you don't want to sleep on. Register by end of day Friday, September 4 and the art for your show or your company logo goes up on a screen in the middle of Times Square. Fewer than 200 tickets remain at $199 for both days.
Tom also previews the four keynotes headed to the New York stages:
Thursday at 11:30, Tom releases The Podcast Landscape 2026 live from the stage, the fourth year of the Signal Hill Insights study and the largest publicly available study of...Bumper on New YouTube View, Reframing Podcast Advertising, & More
#965
09/01/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Oxford Road's Dan Granger argues that YouTube's decision to redefine how it counts views, a change Bumper's Dan Misener found inflates play counts by nearly double, is the jolt that proves podcasting needs cross-platform measurement standards it can actually trust.Former Adelicious leaders Andy Goldsmith and Craig Eastwood team with industry veteran Mike Wooller to launch Everywhere, a new media company built to unify creator commercial partnerships as audiences increasingly follow creators across platforms rather than staying on one.Earmax Media's Andy Maxwell makes the case that podcast advertisers chasing cheap reach...Building Podcasting's Next Legacy Brands, Audio Advertising Posts Fresh Gains & More
#964
08/31/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Trailer Park: The Podcast Trailer Podcast launches a three-part miniseries built on Coleman Insights research, developed with NOVA Entertainment and Pantheon Podcasts, testing 500 U.S. listeners to pin down what actually makes a podcast trailer convert. Authenticity won stronger listener preference in three of the four trailers tested.IAB Australia reports internet advertising grew 14% to $19.8 billion in FY26, its strongest financial-year growth since FY22. Podcasting led audio's gains, rising 10.1% to claim 40% of all audio spend and setting a fresh quarterly record of $40 million.Digiday examines why brands cannot simply flip the "employees...U.S. Radio Sees Political Surge, Apple Music's AI Label, & More
#963
08/28/2026
This week in the business of podcasting:
Apple Music now mandates "Made With AI" labels on AI-generated tracks, a music-distribution move that signals how fast audio platforms are formalizing AI disclosure.Political ad spending on radio jumped 22% in a month to $124 million, with AdImpact projecting a record $11.6 billion cycle and the biggest wave still expected after Labor Day.Bloomberg reports YouTube is offering creators millions to stay exclusive and off Netflix, a video-first fight worth watching as podcasting leans deeper into YouTube.Steven Goldstein argues Spotify's new Skip Ahead test simply shows that podcasting is not necessarily huge...Podscribe Launches YouTube-Only Attribution, Creators Going Programmatic, & More
#962
08/27/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Podscribe launched YouTube-only modeled attribution, closing a measurement gap for influencer campaigns that run only on YouTube by anchoring probabilistic modeling to audio performance data. It is free through September 30.Digiday weighs the case for and against the programmatic-ification of the creator economy, as automated buying pushes into brand-creator deals once struck by hand and raises questions about commoditizing creators.YouTube's EMEA chief pushes back on a UK proposal requiring guaranteed prominence for public-service broadcasters, defending its algorithm while acting as a TV distributor without the obligations broadcasters carry.To find...
Why Research Drives Podcast Returns, Video Podcasting Goes Mainstream, & More
#961
08/26/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Signal Hill Insights' Paul Riismandel breaks down four ways audience research drives return in podcasting, from uncovering whitespace to proving value to advertisers with measurement tools like Triton Digital's Demos+.Podscribe reports that podcast video has gone mainstream, with 82% of episodic campaigns now including a YouTube simulcast, even as Spotify's baked-in video ads still face attribution gaps.In a Google-sponsored piece, Digiday lays out how publishers can strengthen connections with advertisers in the AI era through first-party data and diversified, cross-platform selling.To find links to these, and every article covered...
Political Radio Spend Jumps Before Midterms, How TikTok Boxing Impacts Categories & More
#960
08/25/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Political ad spending on radio has jumped 22% in the past month to $124 million, and with AdImpact projecting $6.1 billion in total 2026 political advertising, the post-Labor Day rush is a reminder of how much election money still flows to audio heading into the fall.A new IAB white paper argues radio's attribution gap with digital is closing fast, crediting pixel-based attribution, dynamic ad insertion, and identity resolution with giving audio the kind of digital-like precision advertisers expect.Steven Goldstein breaks down where podcasting actually fits at Spotify, noting podcast ads make up roughly 4% of...IAB Announces Podcast Upfront Agenda, Apple Music On AI Labeling, & More
#959
08/24/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
The IAB has revealed the full agenda for its 2026 Podcast Upfront, the invitation-only event landing September 16 between the Sounds Profitable Business Summit and Podcast Movement, with an official after party at Terminal 5.Apple Music will now require "Made With AI" labels on tracks made with artificial intelligence, a signal of how fast audio platforms are moving toward AI content transparency.Triton Digital's Q2 2026 U.S. Podcast Ranker shows comedy still on top with 44.5% reach while news climbs 8.4% ahead of the midterms, as creator-led and opinion-driven shows convert social audiences into chart placement...YouTube Defines the "Engaged View", Podcasting's Place @ SXSW 2027, & More
#957
08/21/2026
This week in the business of podcasting:
SXSW will make podcasting a core pillar in 2027 with its first-ever four-day Podcast Festival, and Podcast Movement Evolutions returns to Austin that same week for two free days at the SKYBOX on 6th.Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster argues podcasting's real gap is the lack of a default, as dedicated hardware fades and 57% of Americans aged 12 to 34 now live in homes with no radio.Point-to-Point Marketing and Strategic Solutions Research announced the Podcast Study 2026, a listener research project on discovery, loyalty, and monetization that debuts at the Sounds Profitable Business Summit on...Podcasting's Place @ SXSW 2027, Magellan AI's H1 Ireland Benchmarks, & More
#958
08/20/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
SXSW will make podcasting a core pillar in 2027 with its first-ever four-day Podcast Festival, and Podcast Movement Evolutions returns to Austin that same week for two free days at the SKYBOX on 6th.Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster argues podcasting's real gap is the lack of a default, as dedicated hardware fades and 57% of Americans aged 12 to 34 now live in homes with no radio.YouTube is redefining the "view" as an "engaged view," a shift that runs about 7% lower across 300,000 podcast episodes and could reshape CPMs and sponsorship math for video podcasts.Magellan...The 2027 Ambies Open for Submissions, IAB Labels AI-Made Ads, & More
#956
08/19/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
The Podcast Academy opened submissions for the 2027 Ambies, spanning 23 show categories. This cycle adds Best Music Podcast, Episode of The Year, and a new Advertising category covering Best Ad Read, Best Branded Podcast, and Podcast Advertiser of The Year.Triton Digital released its Australian Podcast Ranker for July 2026. Mamamia Out Loud held the top spot, Hamish and Andy placed second, and ABC News Top Stories cracked the top three for the first time.The IAB updated its AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework with a standardized sparkle icon or text label for advertising...That Stupid Radio
#955
08/19/2026
A nine-button Italian radio with a dead app can teach us some lessons about podcast discovery.
Written by Tom WebsterEdited and narrated by Gavin Gaddis"Find the full article here.
The YouTube Definition of a View, Podcast Study 2026 Announced, & More
#954
08/18/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Spotify says a bug, not a policy, made a podcast ad appear unskippable, telling Podnews the 15-second skip was hidden in the viral example and has since been fixed — and that skipping works for both Free and Premium listenersYouTube changes how it counts a "view" starting August 24, registering a play from the very first frame while making the more meaningful "engaged views" metric private, cutting off third-party rankers and data companiesPoint-To-Point Marketing and Strategic Solutions Research announce the Podcast Study 2026, a national effort on discovery, loyalty, and monetization co-sponsored by Crooked Media, NP...Spotify's "Unskippable" Ads, Video in Podcasting's Top 50, & More
#953
08/17/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Register for Ask a Marketer: How Advertisers Read the ResearchSpotify has begun selling unskippable podcast ads that Premium listeners cannot jump past, even with the standard 15-second skip. The move follows the company's test of a "Skip Ahead" button that automatically skips ad breaks, sponsorships, and intros.Amplifi Media's Steven Goldstein pushes back on the widely shared claim that only 10 of the top 200 podcasts have video. His own tally finds 84% of Edison's US Top 50 now publish full video episodes, along with 77% of Apple's Top 100.Australian podcast ad spend broadened well beyond tech...First Podcast Movement NYC Speakers, Nielsen to Acquire DoubleVerify, & More
#952
08/14/2026
This week in the business of podcasting:
Tom Webster walks through Podcast Movement's five-day takeover of Terminal 5 in New York City, from the inaugural Sounds Profitable Business Summit to a creator conference spanning more than 80 sessions across five stages.Sport Social's Ryan Barker makes the case that official club podcasts are the natural landing spot for betting sponsorship money as the Premier League phases out front-of-shirt gambling deals in 2026/27.Quill and CoHost CEO Fatima Zaidi explains why branded podcasts get cut, and lays out the named audience, defined behavior change, and single accountable owner that lasting shows share...Podcast Movement unveils its NYC lineup, Alex Cooper's Unwell raises at $500M, & More
#951
08/13/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Tom Webster details Sounds Profitable's five-day takeover of New York City's Terminal 5 in September, spanning the partner-only Business Summit, the IAB Podcast Upfront after party, and Podcast Movement NYC.Quill and CoHost CEO Fatima Zaidi argues brand podcasts fail from unclear purpose rather than small budgets, and offers a three-part test for building shows that survive budget cuts.Alex Cooper's Unwell takes its first outside investment from Patrick Whitesell's firm WTSL at a $500 million valuation, signaling continued investor appetite for podcast creator IP.To find links to these, and every article...
Spotify's AI Disclosure, Acast Acquires Backyard Ventures, & More
#950
08/12/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Acast acquires Backyard Ventures for $20 million, adding more than 200 premium creators across podcasts, YouTube, newsletters, and social to accelerate omnichannel monetization.Spotify asks artists to disclose AI-generated music and will label AI artist identities as "AI Personas," excluding them from editorial and algorithmic recommendations beginning in mid-September.The Media Leader asks seven industry specialists whether podcasting has hit saturation, and the consensus is that the medium is maturing, with ad spend still lagging consumption and discovery shifting to social platforms.Signal Hill Insights analyzes how 4,819 Americans define the word "podcast," finding that...Five Days at Terminal 5
#949
08/12/2026
Register for Podcast Movement 2026
In this week's Sounds Profitable newsletter, Tom Webster breaks down the company's most ambitious week yet: five days taking over Terminal 5 in New York this September, running three different events for three different audiences under one roof. He walks through the Business Summit bringing the buy side and sell side of podcasting into one room, the official IAB Podcast Upfront after party, and the reimagined Podcast Movement creator days at just $199 for two full days in Manhattan. Along the way he makes the case for why not a single minute of stage time...
Magellan AI Quarterly Podcast Ad Benchmarks, YouTube To Increase Partner Program Requirements, & More
#947
08/11/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
With the Premier League banning front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships from the 2026/27 season, Sport Social's Ryan Barker argues official team and fan podcasts are the natural landing spot for betting brands, pointing to a Sky Bet partnership across 20 football podcasts that reached more than one million listeners.Bumper co-founder Dan Misener explains why Apple Podcasts play counts are inflated: Apple counts every tap of the play button, not every listener, making the metric impossible to compare with Spotify plays or YouTube views.iHeartMedia reported Q2 2026 podcast revenue up 20.7% year over year to $162 million, now 16.5...A Marketer's Take on Reading Research, Nielsen Acquires DoubleVerify for $2.15B & More
#946
08/10/2026
Today in the business of podcasting:
Sounds Profitable's Ask a Marketer webinar on August 18 brings Right Side Up's Krystina Rubino and Quo's Tori Murray together with Tom Webster to break down The Podcast Atlas, a survey of 5,061 U.S. consumers on how creator-based advertising performs across audio, video, social, and newsletters. The two buyers sort which research findings actually move a media plan.The FCC voted 2-1 to repeal the 39% national TV ownership cap, clearing the way for broadcast station-group consolidation and shifting oversight to antitrust courts. Larger groups gain leverage in retransmission talks and more inventory for...Acast Launches Apple Video for All, Spotify Tests Ad Skip Button, & More
#945
08/07/2026
This week in the business of podcasting:
Spotify is testing "Skip Ahead," a one-tap ad-skipping tool for Premium subscribers, and the industry is pushing back over what it means for host-read sponsorships and advertiser attention reporting.Acast has opened video publishing on Apple Podcasts to all creators on its platform, after beta shows saw an estimated 25% increase in weekly Apple Podcasts sessions.A coalition of 18 U.K. media organizations is urging the government to reject advertising on BBC podcasts, citing an estimated £10 million in annual revenue against the harm to independent audio businesses.The IAB released "Measuring Visibility i...