What happens when Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Acast, Adobe, Pocket Casts, Triton, Bumper, Transistor, creators, and analysts all compare notes on where podcasting just landed—and where it’s headed next? You get a clear picture of a medium that’s fully mainstream, proudly hybrid, and fiercely contested. We gathered 25+ voices to unpack 2025’s biggest shifts and lay down their boldest calls for 2026.

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C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

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We track the biggest forces shaping podcasting next year: Goalhanger’s network effect, a pivot to listener-based analytics, and the tension between open RSS and closed “podcast” branding from big platforms. We dig into video hosting defaults, live streaming, and why honest metrics will decide winners.

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• Apple’s Show of the Year milestone and Goalhanger’s model
• Cross-promo and cadence as scalable growth levers
• Flight Studio’s talent strategy versus brand synergy
• Hall of Fame inductees and industry recognition
• Creator retention, audio versus video habits, and practical focus
• Fountain’s video hosting and sensible playback defaults
• TrueFans roadmap for audio, video, and live with HLS
• TikTok’s “podcasts” and why definitions drive ad budgets
• Substack live streaming and platform convergence
• Pod Analyst’s unified telemetry, retention curves, and sales clarity
• Downloads versus unique listeners and consumption baselines
• Bot and AI slop concerns and search downgrading
• Libsyn price rises and market signals
• Awards season, new events, and what’s ahead

(This description is from Buzzsprout's CoHost AI, which is very good and are our sponsor).

Send James & Sam a message

C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net

We track the biggest forces shaping podcasting next year: Goalhanger’s network effect, a pivot to listener-based analytics, and the tension between open RSS and closed “podcast” branding from big platforms. We dig into video hosting defaults, live streaming, and why honest metrics will decide winners.

• Apple’s Show of the Year milestone and Goalhanger’s model
• Cross-promo and cadence as scalable growth levers
• Flight Studio’s talent strategy versus brand synergy
• Hall of Fame inductees and industry recognition
• Creator retention, audio versus video habits, and practical focus
• Fountain’s video hosting and sensible playback defaults
• TrueFans roadmap for audio, video, and live with HLS
• TikTok’s “podcasts” and why definitions drive ad budgets
• Substack live streaming and platform convergence
• Pod Analyst’s unified telemetry, retention curves, and sales clarity
• Downloads versus unique listeners and consumption baselines
• Bot and AI slop concerns and search downgrading
• Libsyn price rises and market signals
• Awards season, new events, and what’s ahead

(This description is from Buzzsprout's CoHost AI, which is very good and are our sponsor).

Send James & Sam a message

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net

(This is made with AI from our sponsor, Buzzsprout)

We break down the Recap Apocalypse across Spotify, YouTube, Apple, and Amazon, then dig into craft with Brad Mielke on how Start Here reached 2,000 episodes by prioritising clarity, titles that pull, and audio-first production. Data meets discipline and the result is steady growth without burnout.

• Spotify’s Creator Wrapped as a real growth tool
• YouTube’s US-only charts and watch-time logic
• Apple Replay and Amazon Delivered compared
• Why hosts should build their own year-in-review
• Start Here’s daily format and guest booking tactics
• Titles that drive plays and timely packaging
• News avoidance, constructive journalism, balance
• Audio-only discipline vs video tradeoffs
• UK podcast charts and creator ad spend signals
• iOS auto-chapters and timed links for navigation
• V4V, boosts, and payment standard progress
• New tools, APIs, and analytics experiments

Start podcasting, keep podcasting with BuzzSprout.com

Send James & Sam a message

C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net

(This description is produced by our sponsor Buzzsprout's CoHost AI tool).

We cut through the download delusion and show how people, playback, and time spent reveal true growth. Dan Misener explains loyalty metrics, we test platform tactics, and we share simple ways to turn spikes into steady listeners.

• people numbers, playback intent, and time spent as core metrics
• loyalty as repeat listening, short‑term vs lifetime signals
• diagnosing new listener vs returning listener problems
• tactics to lift retention: teases, tighter intros, linked back catalog
• autoplay spikes vs durable audience growth
• Patreon’s free RSS hosting and premium access options
• Overcast hiding promos and reruns, impact on revenue
• Pocket Casts playlists and improved search for discovery
• PSO benchmarks and the value of reviews
• community boosts, feedback, and hosting updates

Start podcasting, keep podcasting with BuzzSprout.com
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Send James & Sam a message

C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net

Send James & Sam a message

C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net

We break down TikTok’s podcast network with iHeart, Netflix’s audio push, and whether video is worth the cost, then dig into research on clips, companion podcasts, and the ad shift between radio and on‑demand. Sari Azut joins to show how a screenshot becomes a shareable clip and useful attention data.

• TikTok’s entry into podcasting and censorship concerns
• iHeart’s finances, radio softness, and podcast growth
• E‑commerce links, music discovery, and TikTok Shop
• Netflix’s short deals, UI changes, and exclusivity trade‑offs
• Data on clips failing to convert long‑form listens
• Companion podcasts that drive streaming subscriptions
• Radio and podcasts sold together via local and programmatic
• Video’s 77% cost lift per attention hour
• Indie monetisation realities and small‑show strategies
• Micropayments, wallets, and adoption barriers
• Overcast embracing key podcasting tags
• Podcast Magic’s screenshot‑to‑clip workflow and insights
• App updates, RSS presentation, and standards proposals

Start podcasting, keep podcasting with BuzzSprout.com
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Send James & Sam a message

C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net

(This is an AI description from Buzzsprout's Cohost)

We test Netflix’s “video podcast” land grab, then show why Apple’s AI chapters and Timed Links are the practical upgrade creators needed. DAX’s Brian Conlan joins to explain why audio’s problem is ROAS, not downloads, and how better measurement unlocks bigger budgets.

• Netflix licensing moves and YouTube exclusivity trade-offs
• Why this is cheap TV, not podcasting, and why that matters
• Audio vs video consumption and where value really sits
• Apple AI chapters, Timed Links, and transcript expansion
• Chapters JSON, ID3, and episode notes pros and cons
• Does Apple make ad skipping easier or ads better
• DAX on attribution, ROAS, and harmonised standards
• Spotify’s earnings, video spin, and creator payouts
• Libsyn ends The Feed; Podcast 411 returns
• Fireside Chat closes; Fox acquires Meet Cute
• LN address vs keysend and easier listener payments
• HLS, listen-time data, and ad effectiveness
• New tools: Podcast Magic and Snipd for smarter notes

Start podcasting, keep podcasting with BuzzSprout.com

Send James & Sam a message

C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net

We unpack a bold true crime breakthrough: RNZ uses AI to recreate a deceased inmate’s voice with family consent and full disclosure, elevating the investigation without faking facts. We also dive into video on the TV screen, premium RSS, and why co‑host chemistry beats guest fatigue.

• Spotify adds video podcasts to Apple TV
• YouTube AI upscales low‑res video and adds QR shopping
• RNZ’s NARC uses 11Labs with ethics review and consent
• Why AI voice can be more transparent than actors
• Fountain hosting launches with open RSS and alt enclosures
• Premium RSS and Lightning versus card fees
• Streaming metrics for plays, listen time, and completion
• Interview saturation and the rise of host‑led formats
• China’s credential rule for sensitive creator topics
• Acast profitability and ARPL growth
• MrBallen’s SiriusXM deal and YouTube ad sales
• Bending Spoons buys AOL and raises prices playbook
• Layoffs across media and YouTube AI reorg
• OP3 bot spikes and practical filtering
• Stablecoins, MasterCard, and future micropayments
• Adobe’s licensed AI audio for safer commercial use
• Ad measurement with Audio Pixel and real attribution

Start podcasting, keep podcasting with Buzzsprout.com

Send James & Sam a message

C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net

We track Edison Research’s sale to SSRS, Spotify’s TV distribution push, and whether video truly grows podcast audiences. We debate Oxford Road’s new ad-performance ranker, membership models that creators can own, and the messy state of podcast standards.

• SSRS acquires Edison Research and keeps the team
• Edison’s people-based ranker shows stable top shows and fast risers
• Spotify expands via Samsung TV Plus and Netflix distribution
• Netflix’s background audio and auto limitations challenge podcast UX
• BBC data on modest incremental reach from video
• Oxford Road’s ORBIT ranks shows by ad effectiveness
• Ads vs attribution debate and what “works” really means
• Supporting Cast enables owned subscriptions and ad-free feeds
• Standards frustration: PSP process, adoption gaps, taxonomy needs
• OpenStreetMap-powered location tag enables richer discovery
• AWS outage highlights platform dependence and resilience

Start podcasting, keep podcasting with Buzzsprout.com

Send James & Sam a message

C-Suite Perspectives
Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Connect With Us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Fediverse: @[email protected] and @[email protected]
• Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support
• Get Podnews: podnews.net