Sounds Profitable

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Podbean has pulled its dynamic ad insertion tool PodAds from the U.K., Europe, and EEA, citing evolving global privacy regulations and a shift in internal product focus.
• Bumper's Jonas Woost shares data from over 100,000 podcast episodes, showing audiences on Apple Podcasts and Spotify listen to 76% of a podcast episode on average.
• Elis James and John Robins is set to be the first BBC podcast to accept outside sponsorship now that it is no longer funded with license fees. Also, BBC Studios taps Bauer Media Audio as its exclusive podcast ad sales partner across seven European markets.
• Creator-first studio Companion announces its first slate of 14 audio and video podcasts, previewing the lineup at Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW on March 14 with live performances and a headlining set from Andy Grammer.
• Voxtopica has extended the discounted submission deadline for The Timbre Awards to March 20, with the final deadline on April 17 and winners announced June 15.
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Today in the business of podcasting:

• Digiday examines long-form creator content's push onto television screens, highlighting Spotter's New York upfront event and moves by Audiochuck and Universal's UCP to develop podcast IP for TV — with brands still needing convincing to shift ad budgets to match audience engagement.
• RSS.com co-founder Alberto Betella argues the real issue with AI in podcasting is opacity, not the tools themselves, launching an AI disclosure checkbox in RSS.com's episode uploader and the interactive resource shouldidisclose.ai to help podcasters navigate transparency.
• Cumulus Media filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas, with a restructuring deal that would eliminate approximately $600 million in debt by transferring ownership to lenders while CEO Mary Berner says operations and staffing will remain unaffected.
• Ashley Carman reports that Netflix's exclusive podcast deals include clip restrictions on third-party platforms like YouTube, with early data showing Spittin' Chiclets and 3 & Out with John Middlekauff both seeing significant year-over-year drops in subscriber growth since moving to Netflix.
• Variety looks at how true crime podcasts are monetizing parasocial listener relationships, with major brands like Hyundai now sponsoring legacy shows like My Favorite Murder as the genre's audience reach extends well beyond its true crime podcast roots.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW adds Penn Badgley and SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin to its lineup, with Oxford Road and founding sponsor Libsyn hosting the inaugural Indie PaC Awards on Sunday, and Spotify marking its 20th birthday with keynotes and a star-studded concert hosted at Stubb's BBQ.
• Tom Webster argues that coverage of a new Edison Research Share of Ear data point - in which spoke-word daily consumption percentage for podcasting passes AM/FM radio for the first time since Share of Ear started - misses the caveat that Share of Ear isn't taking spoken word video podcasts primarily watched by audiences into account.
• Audible launches a new $8.99 Standard membership tier with a streaming-focused model, folding former Wondery+ subscriber perks into Audible Originals (such as ad-free listening, early access, and exclusive podcasts).
• SAG-AFTRA is expanding its podcast contract coverage to include more interview and narrative formats as video podcasting grows. Sue-Anne Morrow also addresses the notion SAG-AFTRA actors are taking a pay cut if they choose video podcasting over daytime TV.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster pushes back on the idea podcasting has "finally" caught AM/FM radio in spoken-word listening share, arguing the milestone already passed. Share of Ear's audio-focused methodology leaves out the many hours of spoke-word consumed as podcasts people primarily watch.
• Frequency and Flightpath announce a partnership integrating Flightpath's predictive inventory planning into Frequency's Premium Publisher Network, aiming to replace reactive ad selling with a scalable, multi-network monetization model.
• Radiodays North America announces its 2026 speaker lineup ahead of its May 5–6 Toronto event, featuring CRTC Broadcasting VP Scott Shortliffe, Radiolab producer Simon Adler, and Tom Webster.
• Audible reveals its first major podcast slate since absorbing Wondery, bringing new seasons of Dr. Death and Over My Dead Body, a new investigative series called OnlyFantasy, and the migration of former Wondery titles like Dying for Sex and Hysterical to the platform.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Amazon builds on its audio strategy with a new $8.99 Audible Standard tier focused on streaming rather than ownership, folding Wondery+ into Audible Originals with ad-free content, exclusive shows, and early-access perks.
• Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW adds Penn Badgley and SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin to next week's lineup, alongside Apple Podcasts spotlighting its new HLS-powered video podcasting upgrade.
• Ampere Analysis finds 20% of global internet users watched video podcasts or clips in Q3 2025, with YouTube leading engagement and the format showing momentum to pull weekly screen time away from traditional TV and mid-tier streaming.
• Creator talent agencies are expanding beyond deal-making into full-service multi-platform operators, with M&A in the creator economy growing 17.4% year-over-year in 2025 — a signal that diversification across podcasting, film, gaming, and consumer products is now standard strategy.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

One caveat to charting spoken word podcasting against radio: spoken word isn’t confined to audio. 

Edison Research's Share of Ear data shows podcasting tied with AM/FM radio at 40% of spoken-word listening — but Tom Webster argues podcasting already passed radio when you account for the millions watching video podcasts on YouTube that audio-only measurement can't see. The real story isn't podcasting catching radio; it's podcasting expanding the spoken-word market entirely, drawing new audiences through video discovery rather than converting talk radio listeners.

• Written and narrated by Tom Webster
• Text and audio edited by Gavin Gaddis

Register for Evolutions by Podcast Movement @ SXSW

Find the full article here on Sounds Profitable.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Magellan AI integrates Nielsen DMA data into its podcast attribution platform, giving advertisers local market measurement across 210 standardized U.S. media markets.
• Podcast Show London 2026 has published its full speaker lineup ahead of the May 20–21 event at Islington's Business Design Centre, with Sounds Profitable returning as a stage sponsor and hosting a pre-show happy hour May 19th.
• IAB Australia's 2026 Audio Advertising State of the Nation report finds 69% of surveyed ad buyers plan to increase podcast ad investment, with performance advertising expected to outpace brand advertising spend this year.
• Lower Street's Jackie Lamport makes the case that audio podcast introduction methods don't work on YouTube, where your retention lives or dies in the first 30 seconds. She offers podcasters a free intro scorecard to optimize their shows for the platform's algorithm.
• Kirby Grines argues that the rise of microdramas and mobile-native viewing is redistributing audience attention in ways that reward the same cadence and consistency that drive podcast promotional growth on video platforms — particularly short-form vertical clips.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Ashley Carman's recap of the Bloomberg Podcast Business Summit finds video now essential to podcast strategy, with executives like Kara Swisher and Goalhanger's Jack Davenport treating YouTube presence as a baseline requirement for new and existing shows.
• IAB Australia's 2025 internet advertising report shows the country's digital ad market hit $18.4 billion AUD, with podcasting outpacing streaming audio in a segment that grew 8.2% year-over-year.
• Oxford Road and founding sponsor Libsyn launch the Indie Podcasters and Creator Awards, exclusively for independent podcasters, with the inaugural ceremony set for March 15th at Evolutions by Podcast Movement.
• Audion co-founder Arthur Larrey argues audio advertising must adopt performance marketing metrics (addressable scale, third-party measurement, in-flight optimization, and dynamic creative) to compete for budgets currently flowing to CTV and social.
• The Hollywood Reporter covers how SAG-AFTRA is expanding its podcast contracts to cover more interview and narrative formats as video podcast growth raises questions about whether the format constitutes daytime talk television.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

This week in the business of podcasting: Podcast Movement officially announces New York venue and dates, Dan Misener looks at podcast ad retention, Tom Webster discusses the power of podcasting's co-consumption audience, and winners of The Ambies 2026.

Click here to find every article and link discussed in today's episode post on SoundsProfitable.com

Today in the business of podcasting: the 2026 edition of the Podscape is now live, Podcast Movement is coming to New York City in mid-September, what does "two people on a couch" discoverability look like for audio podcasting, and the deadline to submit for The Podcast Show London is TOMORROW.

Click here for the full newsletter on SoundsProfitable.com, including every link discussed.