Month: June 2020

ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia Announces New Partnerships

~ jen

ARN, iHeartPodcast Network Australia, has announced two new commercial partnerships with leading podcast creators Audioboom and Kast Media to expand its extensive podcast offering. These partnerships further strengthen ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network’s unique commercial proposition for brands and advertisers by connecting them with Audioboom and Kast Media’s engaged Australian audiences.

As part of its growth strategy, the iHeartPodcast Network has added new titles from Kast Media including: On Purpose with Jay Shetty, The Fighter & The Kid, and Impaulsive with Logan Paul. New titles from Audioboom include: Casefile, No Such Thing as a Fish, The Totally Football Show, and F1: Beyond The Grid.

These highly popular podcasts increase the content diversity across the Entertainment, True Crime and Sport categories for the iHeartPodcast Network Australia and provide enhanced commercial opportunities for clients to align and integrate within.

On joining ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia, Colin Thomson, Founder & CEO from Kast Media said, “We are excited to join ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network, adding our thought-provoking and entertaining shows to Australia’s largest podcast network. The partnership aligns with our mission to create content that brands can integrate and be a part of.”

Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom said, “Our podcasts feature well-known personalities and top talent from across the world, attracting global audiences, including significant numbers in Australia. The experience of ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network in monetising audiences makes them the perfect fit to further expand our advertising potential across the Audioboom roster. From the entertaining No Such Thing As A Fish to the true crime grit of the Australian-made Casefile, we know clients across Australia are going to love speaking to these new listeners.”

On the two new partnerships, ARN’s Head of Commercial Audio & Podcasts Corey Layton said, “ARN continues to dominate the podcast space, and these new partnerships with Audioboom and Kast Media will further extend and diversify our offering, giving brands access to some of the world’s most compelling and popular content.”

The announcement comes as ARN releases new podcast listener data for May with leading podcast technology provider Megaphone. Again showing growth month on month, the data captured for May shows strong audience growth with an increase of 6% compared to April. Overall, listening on the iHeartPodcast Network from when the pandemic was declared (mid-March to May) is up 22% compared to listening pre-pandemic (January to mid-March 2020).

BBC Launched New Creative Development Unit Focused on Podcasts

~ jen

BBC announced that BBC Radio’s in-house production division – previously called BBC Radio & Music Production – has relaunched as BBC Audio with a new development unit that is focused on podcasts.

The Creative Development Unit (CDU), based in Bristol, will turbocharge the production division’s podcast ambitions. The CDU team will draw upon the creative and production expertise across BBC Audio’s four production bases to develop landmark podcasts as well as partnerships and co-produced audio projects for the BBC. They will also work with teams and individuals – new to podcasting – on pitching and development.

The Creative Development Unit is a team of four people. It is led by Clare McGinn, who previously ran BBC Audio’s production department in Bristol. It builds on the success of recent BBC Audio podcasts including James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds and The Missing Cryptoqueen for BBC Sounds, Forest 404 and Evil Genius for Radio 4, 13 Minutes to the Moon and Fall of the Shah for World Service, and the BBC Earth podcasts for BBC Studios.

BBC Audio produces speech, music, and events programming for BBC Radio, The World Service, and BBC Sounds. The BBC Audio site showcases new and existing podcasts, as well as the full breadth of output and services from music and speech radio to entertainment formats and live events.

TuneIn Adds CNN and Bloomberg Media to TuneIn Premium News Line-Up

~ jen

TuneIn is doubling down on news with expanded partnerships with top-rated broadcasted news networks CNN and Bloomberg Media as they join TuneIn Premium’s commercial-free news lineup that includes CNBC, FOX News Talk and MSNBC.

With a 47% increase in news listening year-over-year, TuneIn, commercial-free news provides listeners with a seamless ad-free experience as partners have the ability to use station specific short-form content and curated clips to replace ad breaks for the networks’ full lineup of on-air programs. TuneIn offers local, national, international, live and on-demand podcast news content with TuneIn’s free service and commercial-free with TuneIn Premium.

“TuneIn first launched a commercial-free news listening experience 18 months ago, and we now see two times the rate of engagement on our commercial-free news stations versus ad-supported stations,” said Kevin Straley, Chief Content Officer, TuneIn. “The data shows us consumers enjoy this seamless experience that is highly retentive, and we are thrilled to add CNN and Bloomberg Media to this coveted news offering. As listening online grows year-over-year and we continue our mission to reinvent radio for a connected world, we are pleased to deliver this unique experience to listeners however and wherever they consume their news.”

CNN commercial-free is now available on TuneIn, with Bloomberg Media joining the commercial-free lineup in late summer. The audio destination for 75 million monthly active users globally, TuneIn continues to dominate the audio news space with the exclusive availability of top news networks. Globally, TuneIn can be accessed in 197 countries and can be found on more than 200 different major platforms and devices. TuneIn partnerships in the voice assistant space include Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung Bixby and Cortana, as well as key integrations with Sonos, Bose and Tesla. Go to https://tunein.com/get-tunein/ to learn more.

Jam Street Media Launches Podcast Network with Slate of Programming

~ jen

Jam Street Media, an LA-based podcast production and consulting firm focused on branded content and top talent, is announcing the launch of its podcast network with a portfolio of shows.

The company – founded by Matty Staudt, former vice president of podcast programming at iHeartRadio and director of content at Stitcher – aims to help take proven talent who have great ideas for shows and make them a reality, as well as find great independent shows currently being produced that can benefit from their years of experience producing and promoting podcasts.

“I have spent a career working with talent to create important and long-lasting shows. I want to make shows that break the mold, appeal to a diversity of audiences, and leave people feeling good about themselves. We are an industry that creates companionship and comfort, which is what our network will provide,” said Staudt. “I’m also looking forward to finding great independent producers who can use our knowledge of production and business to gain the audiences they deserve.”

Jam Street Media’s newly-launched podcast network features three shows:

Big Swing Podcast a podcast hosted by Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling and longtime sports fan Cooper Surles with pro athlete guests, talking about sports, pop culture, business, and everything in between. It’s where athletes go to talk about sports.

Deep Dive with Vanessa Mdee a talk show hosted by the International pop star and personality, featuring inspirational guests, personal stories, and poetry.

Deep Cover: The Real Donnie Brasco features the true stories as told by the real Donnie Brasco, Joe Pistone, about his time with the mob. Sometimes the real story is better than the movie.

The company plans to expand its network in the coming months, with the acquisition of a number of new podcasts and IP.

Added Staudt: “I am so lucky to have found our new Executive Producer, Amanda Rosenberg who will be working on several projects that celebrate women including “Wake Up,” the true story of a woman who lost her memories to amnesia and was shocked about what she learned when they started coming back. We are also working with several documentarians and reporters to bring their stories to podcasting.”

Jam Street Media has partnered with podcast giant Acast for the hosting, distribution, and monetization of its programming.

“Acast is thrilled to be working with Jam Street Media. Matty is a veteran in the world of podcasting — an OG audio guy — who has the unique ability to spot projects that have potential and make them shine,” said Rebecca Steinberg, content development manager at Acast. “The industry benefits from players like Jam Street Media, who invest the time and energy into creating quality content with a diverse pool of talent.”

FOX News Media Expands Broadcast Partnership with SiriusXM and Pandora

~ jen

FOX News Media and SiriusXM have expanded their existing broadcast partnership, announced John Sylvester, Vice President of FOX News Audio. As a part of the new agreement, all of FOX News Podcasts’ original programming is now available to Pandora’s more than 60 million monthly users across all tiers of the service. Additionally, the platform’s daily news digest, The FOX News Rundown, now airs weekday mornings on SiriusXM’s Patriot Channel 125.

In making this announcement, Sylvester said, “We are thrilled to expand our longstanding partnership, ensuring SiriusXM and Pandora’s combined over 100 million listeners continued access to our cutting edge news coverage as well as our best in class lifestyle and opinion programming.”

Through this new agreement, a one-hour version of The FOX News Rundown now airs on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125 each weekday at 5AM/ET. As FOX News Audio’s signature news and analysis podcast, the program features a team of FOX News Radio anchors and reporters, including Jaqui Heinrich, Dave Anthony, Lisa Brady, Jessica Rosenthal and Chris Foster, as they break down the day’s top headlines, present interviews with key newsmakers and provide insights from FOX News reporters stationed around the globe.

Featuring a catalogue of more than 20 original FOX News Podcasts, the expanded partnership also includes popular podcasts such as the FOX News Radio Newscast, the FOX Business Hourly Report, and I’ll Tell You What, hosted by The Daily Briefing and The Five’s Dana Perino and FOX News politics editor Chris Stierwalt.

The agreement also makes FOX News Radio’s three nationally syndicated talk shows, The Brian Kilmeade Show, FOX Across America with Jimmy Falla and The Guy Benson Show available to Pandora listeners. This builds upon the streaming platform’s existing portfolio of FOX News programming, including the audio of FOX News Channel’s (FNC) top-rated shows, such as The Five, Special Report with Bret Baier, The Story with Martha McCallum, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Hannity, The Ingraham Angle and FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream.

Reaching over 36 million listeners across more than 1,500 affiliated stations throughout the country, FOX News Audio is a rapidly growing division of FOX News Media. Per Podtrac analysis, FOX News Podcasts rank among the top 20 podcasts networks in the United States, based on average monthly downloads. In addition, in April 2020, the platform experienced a 60 percent increase in total downloads from the previous year.

Australia’s Newest Premium Podcast Agency Hits the Market

~ jen

Publisher Solstice Media has joined forces with respected broadcaster and podcaster Nicole Haack to create a national podcasting and audio production agency. Solstice Podcasting brings together more than 25 years’ experience in broadcasting, audio production, storytelling and brand marketing.

Director Nicole Haack said the partnership will build on the success of her independent podcasting business The Message Pod, which was one of the first to establish in Australia.

“The rapid rise in clients seeking to use podcasting to boost their brand and engage their customers signaled it was time to scale up. This need has been accelerated through COVID, where people have been experimenting with remote ways to communicate with their audiences. We believe the combination of our experience in audio strategy and podcasting, together with the Solstice team’s track record in publishing and marketing will be a win for our clients.”

The new entity adds to Solstice Media’s existing suite of media mastheads including InDaily, InQueensland, CityMag, SALIFE, The Lead, Forager, Weekend Plus as well as Masthead Studio.

Managing Director of Solstice Media Paul Hamra said the market for podcasting is growing faster in Australia than anywhere else in the world.

“We’re storytellers and this is just a newer and emerging platform to tell and share stories. Consumers are seeking an ever-increasing range of choices in the media they consume, and podcasts will add another really strong option to our client offering. Podcasts really come into their own as a flexible, fast and affordable option for connecting with existing and new audiences in a deeper, more engaging way.”

Solstice Podcasting will service brands, government, member organizations, publishers and entrepreneurs, providing podcasts and content strategies for external audiences as well as internal communications.

The company’s own suite of podcasts include Living Proof – an award winning podcast for bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts across the world, The Forager, which explores the people, stories and rich culture of South Australian food and wine, and The Message Pod, which shares the stories of inspirational people.

Solstice Podcasting is also working with other publishers, corporates, not-for-profits and government to produce commissioned series and one-off productions, including ‘Covid Conversation’ for The New Daily and ‘On Art’ for SAMSTAG Museum of Art.

As well as having a state-of-the-art audio production studio, Solstice Podcasting also offers a host of onsite and remote recording options.

Google Podcast Creator Program is Taking Applications

~ jen

Google Podcast Creator Program is guided by a mission of providing a global audio community with open resources, empowering underrepresented voices, and showcasing new work. The program will begin taking applications on July 1, 2020. If you applied to last year’s program, you will need to fill out the application again.

BIPOC podcasters and creators from traditionally marginalized groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

Last year, we welcomed early-stage producers from Brazil, Chile, Columbia, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Spain and the United States. This year, the program will serve creators from around the globe who produced at least five episodes of their podcast since January 2019, and who want to advance their skills and take their productions to the next level.

The Google Podcast Creator Program is free to participants. The 12-week training will be entirely virtual and conducted by PRX alongside international industry experts and Google Podcast creator program alumni.

Participants will receive:

  •  Regular feedback on all aspects of their production, including editorial and technical input
  •  Training on topics such as storytelling, sound design, and reaching audiences through marketing and engagement strategies
  •  Equipment and software to help meet independent production needs amid the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic
  •  Up to $12,000 in funding for use as they see fit for their productions

There is a page filled with frequently asked questions (FAQs) for people who want more information about how to apply for the Google Podcast Creator Program.

Wondery Launched the Wondery Podcast App

~ jen

Wondery has launched its own app that features its lineup of original programming, Variety has reported. The app is available for download now on Apple’s App Store and on Google Play. (The Google Play version might be in beta). The Wondery App is free, and includes in-app purchases.

According to Variety, the goal of the app is to entice listeners to pay to listen to Wondery podcasts ad-free. In other words, they hope the app will make customers choose to buy a subscription to Wondery+

“Very early on, when I started the company, we knew at some point we wanted to have our own place where listeners could listen to the Wondery shows,” Hernan Lopez CEO of Wondery, said. “But we also knew we had to wait until we had enough shows, and the Wondery brand had enough breadth for people to go through the trouble of downloading an app and use it on a daily basis”.

A monthly subscription is $4.00/month. An annual subscription is $34.00/year. It appears that those who download the Wondery App can buy Wondery+ through it. Wondery+ comes with exclusive episodes and the full Wondery+ catalog, completely ad-free. The exclusive ad-free content includes Blood Ties, The Sneak, and Hollywood and Crime: Billionaire Boys Club.

Unlike other podcast apps, Wondery’s app will only include Wondery shows. To me, it sounds like a really good deal for people who are already fans of the company’s podcasts. This is especially true for people who listen to episodes of Wondery podcasts every day.

Spotify Introduced Podcast In-App Offers

~ jen

Spotify announced that Streaming Ad Insertion (SAI), which they launched in January of 2020, is powering their latest podcast innovation: In-App Offers. Spotify posted information about this on their Spotify for Brands blog.

Spotify points out that many people listen to podcasts while doing something else, like getting ready for work, exercising, or doing dishes. If a listener hears about a compelling offer on a podcast, during one of these “screenless” moments, it makes it difficult for the listener to check out that offer. In-App Offers is designed to make it easier for the listener to find an offer (and, ideally, make a purchase).

With the launch of In-App Offers, our goal is to reduce this friction and make it easy for our listeners to connect directly with advertisers and their offers featured in podcasts. Listeners can now redeem offers when the time is right for them with visual reminders like an offer card featured on the podcast’s episode page. We’re alpha testing In-App Offers in the United States and Germany with partners including Harry’s, Quibi, and HelloFresh and plan to continue testing through the end of the year.

Those who listen to a podcast episode on Spotify, on their smartphone, will see an In-App offer presented on the episode page. When the listener is done cooking dinner, they can return to that episode on Spotify, see the In-App Offer again, and click on it.

If I’m understanding this correctly, clicking on the offer will take listeners directly to the website of the advertiser mentioned in that particular podcast episode. Whatever special deal or discount that was attached to the offer should carry over as the listener goes from the Spotify app to the page where the product is sold.

While the In-App Offers appear to be intended to attract brands to place ads in (and on) Spotify, I think it has a benefit for podcasters, too. In general, a podcast that has an ad deal with a certain company or service needs to sell a certain amount of stuff before the podcaster can get paid for their effort.

I think Spotify is right about In-App Offers making it way more convenient for listeners to make a purchase of a product they heard of in a podcast episode. It also could encourage impulse buying, which is something people often do when shopping in physical brick-and-mortar stores.

The Podcast Academy is Accepting Members

~ jen

The Podcast Academy is now accepting members. Those that are interested must pay a membership fee. There are qualifications that you must meet in order to be considered for membership. Sign up on or before September 30, 2020, and get 50% off your initial annual membership. If you purchase a membership between June 22 and September 30, your fee is $50.00. If you buy a membership after October 1, your membership fee will be $100 ($75.00 for students).

Do you currently participate in the podcast industry? Then you are available for membership! All participants in the Podcast industry, whether professional or student, are welcomed as members.

Regular membership in The Podcast Academy is grouped into two categories. When applying for membership, individuals must select either “In Front of the Mic” or “Behind the Mic” peer group.

There are two Peer Groups to choose from. Members must pick one, but will have access to people in the other group through an online membership directory that The Podcast Academy will host.

In Front of the Mic: To join this peer group you must have credit as a Performer, Guest, Host or Co-Host on at least one (1) podcast program with a cumulative run time of three (3) hours or speaking on the microphone in at least three (3) episodes in the proceeding (2) years.

Behind the Mic: To join this peer group, you must be a Producer, Engineer, Writer, Researcher, Industry Consultant, Creative/Marketing/PR Executive, Professional Representative, or other Industry Professional.

No matter which one you choose, you must be prepared to show The Podcast Academy documentation that proves that you have met certain criteria. If you are unable to provide that documentation, it might be possible to be considered anyway, if you can get one (or more) letters of recommendation form Academy Members.

Student Membership is for actively enrolled students. A student must provide active enrollment in a college program by submitting a college ID card, college fee slip or semester mark sheet. Students may apply for Student Membership in The Podcast Academy, and their membership is offered at a discount. Student Members may not vote in the awards or for the Board of Governors.

Personally, I think the system set up to select members is exclusionary. The world is currently experiencing a pandemic. How will a student be able to provide a physical school ID while the school is closed, and telelearning is happening?

This month, WBUR and WBEZ had significant layoffs. There are likely other podcasters who had to stop creating and producing their shows because their lives have been affected by COVID-19. That’s a lot of people who are unlikely to be able to commit to giving The Podcast Academy $100 every year.