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Podnews Daily - podcast industry and podcasting news episodes

July 24AMP Accords released, including podcast definition
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The AMP Accords published what it calls "the first cross-platform measurement standard in history". The document defines a podcast, and aims to set implementation standards for attribution and exposure metrics. It argues that these standards are required to grow the industry further - and could, potentially, unlock a billion dollars in extra revenue. The document, which has been produced by twelve different companies, will now be taken to standards bodies, including the IAB.
The document itself is gated content, and the website requires your email address to read it. As a service to our readers (and to protect our own business) you can download the document directly here.
"It's time that we take ourselves seriously and we create some legitimate standards that make it a little bit easier for all of us to do our jobs," Oxford Road's Dan Granger, who has been driving the agreement, tells us in the Podnews Weekly Review this week. He's interviewed with Giles Martin, who is positive about the "play" definition in the document. "Spotify and YouTube both being in that ballpark, that's very meaningful for the industry and perhaps encouraging for others in the sense that already parts of (the AMP Accords) are getting some some meaningful traction."
Opinion: The "exposure metrics" section of the AMP document asks for podcast apps to share a large amount of data every thirty seconds of content played - including, from consenting users, a hashed email address and a mobile ad ID. As our Editor James Cridland says, it's another example of podcast app developers being asked to implement features or data collection, at their own risk, without being given any share in podcasting's success. In an opinion piece today, he argues: for better measurement, give podcast apps a cut of the revenue.
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Time is running out to enter The SONARR Awards — Australia's new awards for podcast, radio, audiobook & voice-over. 34 categories, one SONARR of the Year, a $10,000AUD cash prize pool, indie entries $75AUD. Submissions close 31 July.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, Podbean, The $100 MBA, The Podglomerate, Cloud10, Cohost, Simplecast, PAVE Studios, Libsyn, Scicomm Media, Magid, Sounds Profitable, RedCircle, Podscribe, audioBoom, Audiohook, The Content Creator's Accountant, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, Acast, Podpage websites, We Edit Podcasts
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Nomono, Magellan AI, Ausha, Podcast Movement, Voxtopica, Podium , Truefans, Podium, PodAnalyst, Jonekiri, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, The Podcast Haven, Tink Media, Castbox, Blubrry, POW PR, Red Seat Ventures, SoundStack, Locked On Podcast Network, Companion Arts, Compliance Podcast Network, iono.fm, Hypecast, Frequency, Health Podcast Library, Diversion Podcasts, Lemonada Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Transistor, Jam Street Media, Rephonic, Double Elvis Productions, Headliner, Rhapsody Voices, CreatorX, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, School of Podcasting, Revolver Podcasts, Podigy, Adopter Media, Lower Street, Signal Hill Insights
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8 min
July 23Acast shows strong sales growth
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Acast released its Q2/26 financial report. The company reported +28% sales growth - significantly, +34% in North America and +25% in Europe (growth this time last year in Europe was just +9%). The company made a profit of US$3.3mn. Total consumption is up +2%; total average revenue per listen-or-view is up +26%.
The AMP Task Force paper is released later today, with a definition of a "podcast", as well as consumption metrics. Podnews will cover these on Friday, as well as reactions: if you're publishing something in response (or would like something published), [email protected]
SpotsNow launched curated bundles - a new way for advertisers to buy premium podcast inventory in ready-made sets built around specific audiences. It's free for advertisers, and free for networks to list their shows.
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Time is running out to enter The SONARR Awards — Australia's new awards for podcast, radio, audiobook & voice-over. 34 categories, one SONARR of the Year, a $10,000AUD cash prize pool, indie entries $75AUD. Submissions close 31 July.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, The $100 MBA, Podbean, Cloud10, The Podglomerate, Libsyn, Podscribe, The Content Creator's Accountant, Audiohook, RedCircle, Magid, Sounds Profitable, Cohost, Simplecast, Scicomm Media, PAVE Studios, audioBoom, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, Acast, Podpage websites, We Edit Podcasts
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Magellan AI, Nomono, Frequency, SoundStack, Hypecast, Companion Arts, Truefans, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Jonekiri, POW PR, PodAnalyst, Compliance Podcast Network, Red Seat Ventures, Locked On Podcast Network, Castbox, Blubrry, Podium, iono.fm, Voxtopica, The Podcast Haven, Ausha, Podcast Movement, Tink Media, Podium , Health Podcast Library, Double Elvis Productions, Lemonada Media, Headliner, Transistor, Diversion Podcasts, Jam Street Media, Rephonic, Sonic Influencer Marketing, CreatorX, Rhapsody Voices, Content10x, Podcast Partnership, Cleanfeed, Adopter Media, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Lower Street, Revolver Podcasts, Signal Hill Insights
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5 min
July 22Another app promises to cut out the ads
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In January, we reported on PodcastAdBlock, a podcast tool that removed ads from podcasts, selling ad-free copies of shows. It was written by developer, "adventurer and entrepreneur" Ben Bowler, who, by May, had pulled the tool down. Today, we discover, he's back - with Podtastic, a podcast app that skips the ads for $2.99 a month (none of which goes back to the creators, but up to 30% of that money will go to Apple or Google in app store fees).
This app works a little differently. In our tests, the app downloads the MP3 files directly to the phone each time, and looks in our logs like a web browser (specifically, Safari v604.1), so it's going to be hard to block without blocking every web browser out there. It correctly skipped past our sponsor's ad-read in our daily podcast: but in the description, it's very careful not to suggest that it skips ads at all - just that it can "automatically skip past the interruptions other listeners skip", and it carefully doesn't mention any podcasts by name. We're curious whether this app is within Apple's App Store terms. It's produced by Freewheel Group Ltd.
What does it mean for your podcast? It won't change your download numbers (they'll appear under "web browser"): it just means that the advertising will be less effective, and that advertisers will be less likely to rebook.
First look: PAVE Studios has signed a further roster of creators who are joining the studio, including true crime creators, journalists and podcast hosts. "Creators join PAVE because we invest in them the way studios once invested in stars, with development resources, cross-format opportunities, and a team obsessed with growing their audience alongside them,” said PAVE Studios Founder and Chief Executive Max Cutler.
Only a couple of weeks ago, Mike Pesca announced he was to stop hosting his popular podcast The Gist (which had just hit 3,000 episodes). Today, Bari Weiss has announced that he has signed with CBS News as Editorial Director of Podcasts.
> > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.
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Time is running out to enter The SONARR Awards — Australia's new awards for podcast, radio, audiobook & voice-over. 34 categories, one SONARR of the Year, a $10,000AUD cash prize pool, indie entries $75AUD. Submissions close 31 July.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, Podbean, The $100 MBA, The Podglomerate, Cloud10, Podscribe, The Content Creator's Accountant, audioBoom, RedCircle, Sounds Profitable, Cohost, Libsyn, Scicomm Media, Magid, Simplecast, Audiohook, PAVE Studios, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, Acast, Podpage websites, We Edit Podcasts
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Magellan AI, Nomono, Voxtopica, SoundStack, Podium, Jonekiri, Truefans, PodAnalyst, Blubrry, Podium , Ausha, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, The Podcast Haven, Tink Media, Compliance Podcast Network, POW PR, Locked On Podcast Network, Hypecast, Frequency, Companion Arts, Podcast Movement, Red Seat Ventures, iono.fm, Castbox, Health Podcast Library, Transistor, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Rephonic, Double Elvis Productions, CreatorX, Headliner, Diversion Podcasts, Rhapsody Voices, Jam Street Media, Lemonada Media, Content10x, Podcast Partnership, Cleanfeed, Adopter Media, Podigy, Revolver Podcasts, Lower Street, School of Podcasting, Signal Hill Insights
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6 min
July 21IAB to release v2.3 of measurement guidelines
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This morning, the IAB Tech Lab will release v2.3 of the Podcast Measurement Guidelines for public comment - updated for the first time since Feb 2024. The updates add "guidance around URL prefix measurement and RSS enclosure URL changes" among other things, although we will have to wait until 2027 for a version of these guidelines that focus on HLS streaming video podcasts. You've until Aug 19 to submit comments.
Recognising podcast video, one change updates terminology from "listener" to "consumer" - inaccurately, in our opinion, since the existing guidelines measure neither "listeners" nor "consumers", just a combination of devices and IP addresses.
It's curious timing: it comes two days before the release of the AMP guidelines, which will include a definition of "podcast", as well as measurement suggestions for actual podcast consumption, rather than downloads.
The IAB's new documents will be visible from 8.30am ET today: we'll come back to this story tomorrow.
Six million vehicles are now reporting live radio listening data, direct from the car radio. Radio is still listened-to by many more people than podcasting (for much longer, too), and this data may help the industry fight back against the more granular data that podcasting already offers.
Getty Images has expanded a relationship with Goalhanger for visual content for its shows. The companies had already been working together for The Rest is Football's World Cup coverage.
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Time is running out to enter The SONARR Awards — Australia's new awards for podcast, radio, audiobook & voice-over. 34 categories, one SONARR of the Year, a $10,000AUD cash prize pool, indie entries $75AUD. Submissions close 31 July.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, Podbean, The $100 MBA, The Podglomerate, Cloud10, PAVE Studios, Podscribe, audioBoom, RedCircle, Simplecast, Sounds Profitable, The Content Creator's Accountant, Cohost, Magid, Audiohook, Libsyn, Scicomm Media, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, Acast, We Edit Podcasts, Podpage websites
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Nomono, Magellan AI, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Tink Media, Podium, Jonekiri, PodAnalyst, The Podcast Haven, Compliance Podcast Network, Blubrry, Castbox, Hypecast, iono.fm, Truefans, Ausha, Voxtopica, Locked On Podcast Network, Frequency, SoundStack, Podium , POW PR, Companion Arts, Podcast Movement, Red Seat Ventures, Health Podcast Library, Diversion Podcasts, Double Elvis Productions, Transistor, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Lemonada Media, CreatorX, Rhapsody Voices, Headliner, Jam Street Media, Rephonic, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, Adopter Media, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Lower Street, Revolver Podcasts, Signal Hill Insights
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6 min
July 20The top 50 podcasts in the US
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Edison Research at SSRS released the top 50 podcasts in the US for Q2 2026. The Bill Simmons Podcast, which is now visible on Netflix, has jumped 17 positions to make it into the top 25 for the first time. British podcast The Rest Is History has entered the top 50 for the first time. (Simplecast hosts 17, Megaphone hosts 16, Omny Studio 4, ART19 and Audioboom 3, FlightCast, Acast, Blubrry, Libsyn, WNYC and WideOrbit 1)
Even if Netflix won't say how well its podcasts have done, one's clearly done well: The Rest is Football has been renewed by Netflix for the next Premier League season.
"No categories for video. Or ads. Or AI." That's the headline for the NYC Podcast Awards, which is now open for entries. The second season for the awards, entries start at just $75.
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Time is running out to enter The SONARR Awards — Australia's new awards for podcast, radio, audiobook & voice-over. 34 categories, one SONARR of the Year, a $10,000AUD cash prize pool, indie entries $75AUD. Submissions close 31 July.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, Podbean, The $100 MBA, Cloud10, The Podglomerate, RedCircle, Audiohook, Libsyn, Simplecast, Magid, Cohost, Scicomm Media, PAVE Studios, Podscribe, The Content Creator's Accountant, audioBoom, Sounds Profitable, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, We Edit Podcasts, Podpage websites, Acast
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Magellan AI, Nomono, Jonekiri, Compliance Podcast Network, Podium, SoundStack, Red Seat Ventures, Companion Arts, Podcast Movement, iono.fm, Castbox, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Ausha, Podium , Frequency, The Podcast Haven, PodAnalyst, Blubrry, Tink Media, Locked On Podcast Network, POW PR, Truefans, Voxtopica, Hypecast, Health Podcast Library, Lemonada Media, Transistor, Rhapsody Voices, CreatorX, Diversion Podcasts, Jam Street Media, Rephonic, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Double Elvis Productions, Headliner, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, Adopter Media, Lower Street, Revolver Podcasts, Podigy, School of Podcasting, Signal Hill Insights
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8 min
July 17Audio: the “foundation” of podcasting
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Audio remains the bedrock of podcasting, says a new report from Nielsen. 90% of monthly podcast consumers choose to listen, the data suggests, and most of podcast consumption is still audio, by a large margin. It quotes Edison Research's Share of Ear for Q1, which sys that 20% of time spent with ad-supported audio is podcasting: radio is more than three-times larger.
Podcasting is continuing to grow in the UK; though Brits are disapproving of AI hosts - The UK Podcast Consumer 2026 was released yesterday by Edison Research at SSRS. UK shows are also reaching a considerable amount of Americans, the study shows. The podcast landscape in the country is very top-heavy, with the top 10 titles reaching a third of all weekly podcast consumers.
The podcaster behind The Pragmatic Engineer has pulled his video from Spotify, writing a long piece on LinkedIn detailing the issues he's had, and suggesting that the company doesn't care about reliability or execution.
Meanwhile, co-founder of podcast production company Podmasters, Martin Bojtos, tells the Podnews Weekly Review this week that, for a while, the #1 source of revenue for the company was video income from Spotify's partner program. The company is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
The company's changes at Megaphone - to use a new ad server - take place today.
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Cited Media is Hiring — The award-winning podcast production house is seeking an experienced producer and production manager. Fully remote, with a Canadian-based team. Deadline August 3rd.
Only two weeks left to enter The SONARR Awards — Australia's new awards for podcast, radio, audiobook & voice-over. 34 categories, one SONARR of the Year, a $10,000AUD cash prize pool, indie entries $75AUD. Submissions close 31 July.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, Podbean, The $100 MBA, Cloud10, The Podglomerate, Audiohook, Libsyn, RedCircle, The Content Creator's Accountant, Sounds Profitable, Simplecast, PAVE Studios, Scicomm Media, Cohost, Magid, audioBoom, Podscribe, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, Podpage websites, Acast, We Edit Podcasts
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Nomono, Magellan AI, Ausha, Locked On Podcast Network, Castbox, Voxtopica, SoundStack, Podcast Movement, The Podcast Haven, Red Seat Ventures, Compliance Podcast Network, Tink Media, Podium, Blubrry, iono.fm, Podium , Frequency, POW PR, Hypecast, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Companion Arts, PodAnalyst, Jonekiri, Truefans, Health Podcast Library, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Transistor, Diversion Podcasts, Lemonada Media, Rhapsody Voices, Headliner, CreatorX, Double Elvis Productions, Rephonic, Jam Street Media, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, Lower Street, Adopter Media, School of Podcasting, Revolver Podcasts, Podigy, Signal Hill Insights
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6 min
July 16Platform insights for YouTube
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WARC Media released a report on YouTube - which, it says, is worth $40bn to advertisers, but revenue growth is slowing down. TikTok is set to grow bigger than YouTube by the end of the decade; but Netflix is expected to pull ahead in the next eighteen months. Users spend 58 minutes a day on the platform.
Podcast and video production agency The Podcast Guys is officially a Great Place to Work, after gaining certification from the workplace culture company. Certification is based entirely on anonymous survey feedback from employees. The company has offices in London and New York, with teams across the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.
In the UK, the Future of Media Awards shared its shortlist. There are two podcast awards.
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Only two weeks left to enter The SONARR Awards — Australia's new awards for podcast, radio, audiobook & voice-over. 34 categories, one SONARR of the Year, a $10,000AUD cash prize pool, indie entries $75AUD. Submissions close 31 July.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, The $100 MBA, Podbean, Cloud10, The Podglomerate, Simplecast, The Content Creator's Accountant, Sounds Profitable, Magid, RedCircle, Podscribe, Scicomm Media, PAVE Studios, Audiohook, Libsyn, Cohost, audioBoom, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, We Edit Podcasts, Acast, Podpage websites
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Nomono, Magellan AI, Ausha, Truefans, SoundStack, Red Seat Ventures, POW PR, Companion Arts, Castbox, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, iono.fm, Tink Media, Hypecast, Podium , The Podcast Haven, Frequency, PodAnalyst, Compliance Podcast Network, Locked On Podcast Network, Blubrry, Podium, Voxtopica, Podcast Movement, Jonekiri, Health Podcast Library, Transistor, Lemonada Media, Headliner, CreatorX, Double Elvis Productions, Rhapsody Voices, Jam Street Media, Rephonic, Diversion Podcasts, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Content10x, Podcast Partnership, Cleanfeed, Lower Street, School of Podcasting, Revolver Podcasts, Adopter Media, Podigy, Signal Hill Insights
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5 min
July 15Listeners prefer AI voices, claim two studies
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A new study seems to show that audiobook listeners prefer some AI narrators over human voices. The study, conducted by Edison Research at SSRS, blind-tested Spoken Multi-Cast narration, and discovered that, while 31% of listeners said they'd be likely to listen to AI, after listening, that number had risen to 65%. (61% thought that the AI was human). You can hear the clips here.
A separate study by Differentology, conducted for Azerion, also claims that AI-generated voices can be good for brands - especially if the accents match the part of the country where you're from. Recommendations rose 3x when people heard voices with a regional accent matched to where the listener was, like Scotland, Wales or Yorkshire.
Audioboom released its H1/26 financial results. The company made a gross profit of $9.9mn, up +33% year-on-year. Revenue was up 30%; for Q2/26 they report 183 million downloads and video views, up 84% year-on-year.
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Only two weeks left to enter The SONARR Awards — Australia's new awards for podcast, radio, audiobook & voice-over. 34 categories, one SONARR of the Year, a $10,000AUD cash prize pool, indie entries $75AUD. Submissions close 31 July.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Beehiiv, The $100 MBA, Podbean, The Podglomerate, Cloud10, Libsyn, PAVE Studios, audioBoom, Scicomm Media, RedCircle, Magid, Sounds Profitable, The Content Creator's Accountant, Cohost, Podscribe, Simplecast, Audiohook, Jar Podcast Solutions, Awesound, Podpage websites, Acast, We Edit Podcasts
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Sounds Debatable, True Native Media, Magellan AI, Nomono, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Podium, Truefans, Castbox, POW PR, Hypecast, Jonekiri, Compliance Podcast Network, Locked On Podcast Network, Voxtopica, SoundStack, Companion Arts, PodAnalyst, Red Seat Ventures, The Podcast Haven, Tink Media, Blubrry, Frequency, iono.fm, Podcast Movement, Podium , Ausha, Health Podcast Library, Jam Street Media, Rhapsody Voices, CreatorX, Headliner, Diversion Podcasts, Rephonic, Lemonada Media, Double Elvis Productions, Transistor, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, Cleanfeed, School of Podcasting, Adopter Media, Lower Street, Podigy, Revolver Podcasts, Signal Hill Insights
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7 min
July 14Interest in podcast advertising hits twelve year high
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Podcasting has never been more interesting to advertising agencies and marketers, according to new research released by Westwood One. The study reveals that 76% of agencies and advertisers currently advertise in podcasts - a x5 increase in the last twelve years.
SpotsNow has launched a new AI Search for podcast ad buyers. The tool helps buyers discover more shows that fit their target, and helps them focus on audience fit and performance. Each search also returns available last-minute inventory matched to the advertiser's audience and criteria, to help sellers fill sports that would otherwise go unsold.
Podtrac has launched Podcast Promo Trades, a new free service to allow podcasters to grow shows by trading promos in other podcasts. Podtrac's Promo Platform has been used by a number of large podcasters to expand their audience and accelerate growth, the company says.
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5 min
July 13Bill Maher signs with Daylight Media
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Exclusive: Daylight Media has signed Bill Maher's Club Random - it becomes the latest show to join the network in a period of fast growth. Daylight will work with Club Random on sales and distribution; nine other shows have recently joined the platform.
"Consumers simply don't have the attention span they once had." Writing for Podnews today, DAX US's Brian Conlan suggests this is a myth waiting to trip up the unwary marketer: and, in fact, the data points to consumers just making choices on where to direct their attention.
A podcast app that removes advertising, ZeroAds, has measured the ads in 60,000 episodes submitted by their users. The median, the company says, is 4.3 minutes of ads per episode - 10.2% ads. But some shows are significantly more. All measured using at least 25 different episodes, iHeart's Handel On The Law is 44% ads; iHeart's Covino & Rich is 36.7% ads; iHeart's Dear Chelsea is 36.6% ads; and iHeart's The Ben Maller Show is 35.1% ads. (There's something linking all four of those and we can't think what it is.)
Data in Podscribe - and our own tests - suggests that ZeroAds is significantly over-estimating the number of ads in podcasts. That's unsurprising, given it's trying to promote its product: but even Podscribe suggests that these four shows consist of more than 20% ads.
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Image: Club Random
8 min

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Daily news for people in podcasting - from Apple Podcasts to Spotify and YouTube; Amy Poehler to Crime Junkie and Joe Rogan, indie podcasting to the biggest hits. Whether it's the newest show from Goalhanger, the latest signing from The Ringer, advertising information from Magellan AI or Podtrac, research including the most popular podcasts to listen to, or updates from The Daily from The New York Times, we cover it all, every weekday.