Podcast Listeners Say AI Is Poised To Redefine The Medium, Acast Study Finds

~ jen

Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, unveiled the results of a new study that explores the sentiment of podcast listeners towards potential use cases of AI on the medium. The study, which specifically examined weekly podcast listeners for its ability to create a personalized storytelling experience, improved listening quality, relevant advertising, and more.

“At Acast, we know that podcast audiences tend to be more aware of and interested in technology compared to other mediums, so its no surprise that our research found listeners to be so interested in AI. However, what it unexpected about this study is just how open listeners are to AI infiltrating nearly every aspect of their current listening experience and for the technology to mold new ways for them to engage with the medium,” said Research and Insights Director at Acast, Tommy Walters.

According to the study, podcast listeners are most interested in AI being used to enhance the quality of the listening experience, with 82% saying they support the use of AI to improve the sound by removing background noise, normalizing audio levels, and identifying and removing filler words or long pauses. Listeners are also interested in how the technology can be used to break down language barriers as 80% said they support the use of AI for translating captions to various languages and allowing listeners across the world to enjoy them regardless of spoken language.

Podcast listeners are also supportive of how AI will potentially improve the overall accessibility and discoverability of the medium. In fact, 79% support the use of speech recognition to automatically transcribe podcast episodes to make them searchable and accessible. Another 78% of respondents said they support the use of AI to generate captions in real time in order to make episodes more accessible to deaf audiences. Additionally, 74% said they support the use of AI to suggest specific podcast episodes highly relevant to a topic being discussed in the podcast being listened to and 72% support AI helping them to better discover relevant podcasts.

Respondents were also interested in how AI could potentially be used to create a more holistic and informative listening experience. In fact, 72% said they support AI serving them educational and informative materials related to the podcast while they are listening and 61% support its use for automatically generating video content to watch along with the podcast. The study also found 64% of podcast listeners were supportive of AI being used to provide truth scores or suggestions of false statements being made to inform listeners. Additionally, 69% were interested in the use of AI to highlight relevant Tweets or social media traffic that happened because of a discussion within a podcast episode.

These findings align with a separate study Acast conducted in January of this year on the use of ChatGPT in podcasting, which found that 85% of podcast listeners believe that it’s ethical for podcasters to use AI tools to create podcast content. Interestingly, though, in this January study just 57% of podcast listeners said that they expect ChatGPT and similar tools will improve the quality of podcast content. The change in sentiment infers that podcast listeners may be quickly realizing the full potential of AI tools across various aspects of the medium.

In fact, according to the most recent research, podcast listeners are also supportive of the use of AI for podcast advertising. In fact, 65% of listeners said they support the use of AI for serving them relevant advertising content. When it comes to voice simulations, 56% of listeners said they support podcasters leveraging AI to simulate them reading an ad instead of doing the host-read themselves.

Bonneville International Names Ruth Todd Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer

~ jen

Bonneville International has named veteran journalist, Ruth Todd, as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer. With an impressive background in media and public relations, Todd has a proven track record and brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to her new role.

“I am thrilled to welcome Ruth back to Bonneville,” said Tanya Vea, newly appointed President, and COO of Bonneville International. “Ruth’s exceptional talent and experience make her the ideal leader to guide our content strategy into the future. Her expertise will be instrumental in leading our continued success and delivering high-quality content across our platforms.”

In her role, Todd will oversee the content vision and execution across Bonneville International’s portfolio of top-rated radio and television stations, chart topping podcasts, and digital platforms. Leveraging her deep understanding of people, she will lead the company’s efforts to create compelling and engaging content that builds up, informs, and connects Bonneville’s diverse audiences.

“Bonneville is a company known for being a trusted source through its commitment to excellence and delivering content that matters. I look forward to returning home and working alongside the talented team to create meaningful experiences and engage audiences across multiple platforms,” says Todd. “Together, we will continue to build on the strong foundation and innovate in the ever-evolving media landscape.”

Todd brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this new role, having dedicated 25 years as a television news anchor and reporter. She has worked in broadcast in Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Arizona, and Salt Lake City, including at KSL-TV where she was for 10 years a top-rated late news anchor. In addition to her career in broadcasting, she was a broadcast journalism teacher at BYU and a spokesperson and member of the media team for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most recently, Todd held the position of Chief Reputation Officer and senior vice president of global public affairs at a beauty and wellness company. 


“We are delighted to have Ruth join the Bonneville leadership team. She has a passion for building up communities and has played an important role in Bonneville’s history,” says Keith B. McMullen, CEO, Deseret Management Corporation and Chairman of the Bonneville International Board. “Bonneville has broad reach and influence, which we look forward to expanding under the incoming leadership of Tanya Vea and Ruth Todd, along with the rest of the Bonneville leadership team, will continue their pursuit of excellence with an unwavering commitment to provide content that enhances the lives of those in our audiences while strengthening and shaping our company’s future.

Entries Open For The 2023 International Women’s Podcast Awards

~ jen

Entries opened on Monday 26th June for this year’s International Women’s Podcast Awards!

The team at Everybody Media are excited to announce that entries for this year’s International Women’s Podcast Awards opened on Monday 26th June.

Entries are open to women and people of diverse genders in podcasting from all over the world until Friday 22 September 2023. The International Women’s Podcast Awards aims to help level the playing field in this exciting and evolving industry by rewarding and elevating the unsung podcast hosts, editors, producers and writers out there whose work deserves recognition. In previous years the team has been delighted by the number and variety of countries from which entries have been received, and we look forward to seeing the breadth this year. The category shortlists will be announced in October.

The ceremony will be held at The Conduit in London on Monday 6th November 2023, attended by a live audience with a global livestream available for guests throughout the world to join on the night. The Conduit was founded in 2018 with the aim of convening a collaborative community that scales and accelerates solutions to the world’s greatest challenges, accompanied by a vision of a just, prosperous and sustainable world, and ethical hospitality.

Located in the heart of London, their 6-oor building has been designed to nurture creativity and collaboration. Its beautiful event space and stunning bar area promise to provide the International Women’s Podcast Awards with a memorable home again this year.

The vision of the IWPAs and Everybody Media is a podcasting world where it is talent that is recognized, and where the playing field is equal, regardless of who you are, where you are or how much money you have. To this end, equity and inclusion is built into everything we do, and we consider removing barriers to entry and attendance to be vitally important.

In 2022 we partnered with Wondery and Amazon Music to provide the first UK-based industry bursary to support awards attendance for social and professional purposes, and in both 2021 and 2022 the event recognized and promoted the work of the Podcasting, Seriously Awards Fund, which is committed to supporting independent BIPOC, Queer and Trans audio creators in submitting their work to awards. Podcasters based in the UK, USA, Australia or Canada can apply to the fund to be reimbursed their entry fee again this year.

To enter, simply go to the Awards page of the Everybody Media website. https://everybody-media.com/awards/

The Stitcher App Closes – The Internal Memo

~ jen

PodNews posted an internal memo announcing the closure of the Stitcher app. From the memo:

Subject: An Update from Joe Inzerillo, John Trimble, and Scott Greenstein

All, 

As we continue to evolve our business and our brands, we’ve made the decision to sunset the Stitcher app at the end of August. Podcasts are an important part of both our subscription and advertising strategies. The scale and reach of our widely-distributed podcasts has been and remains a crucial accelerant for our advertising sales business, while incorporating podcasts more holistically into our flagship SiriusXM subscription service will help to drive further growth. As a result, we have made our decision to sunset our standalone podcast listening app as we increase focus on these priorities.

One of the original destinations for podcasters and podcast fans, Stitcher’s business evolved with the industry as podcasting went from being a niche format to a billion-dollar juggernaut. With the Stitcher team now fully integrated into SiriusXM, we have united our strengths to create the SiriusXM Podcast Network, one of the largest podcast advertising networks in the country. We are also helping new and existing partners to do more within podcasts, taking what Midroll did exceptionally well and supercharging it with the combined power of SXM Media and AdsWizz. On the content side, through our reorganization earlier this year, which moved podcast programming alongside comedy and entertainment, we are able to give legendary podcasters a new platform on SiriusXM while also introducing the biggest stars on our roster to podcasting.

Today, an estimated 120 million people around the US listen to podcasts each month, and with more shows in the Edison top 50 than any other company – we believe our wide distribution model has helped make so many of the podcasts we produce and represent a success.

Our unique ecosystem gives us flexibility to experiment, and with the new SiriusXM streaming experience launching this fall, we are taking inspiration and learnings from the Stitcher app to drive improved podcast listening for our subscribers, with the goal of making SiriusXM a competitive and credible listening platform for talk and podcast content across the Company.

With legacy Stitcher team members embedded within every aspect of our business, from programming and marketing to sales and technology, we are thrilled to continue to bring podcasting into everything that we do.

If anyone has any questions or wants to chat further, just reach out.

Thank you,

Joe, John, and Scott

Stitcher wrote the following on their Twitter account:

“The Stitcher app and website will discontinue on August 29, 2023. For information on how to export your show list and other questions, please visit: stitcher app.com/3JyBltJ“

“If you are a Creator and have questions about your show distribution, please visit our FAQ here: stitcher app.com/3CQXXHk

After August 29, 2023, this account will transition to “Stitcher Studios” and provide updates about the podcasts within our network.”

“Thank you for giving us the opportunity over the last decade to create the best possible listening experience.”

Podchaser Integrates With Sprinklr Insights To Introduce Podcast Listening Data To Platform

~ jen

Podchaser, the leading podcast database, launched an integration with Sprinklr – the leading unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM)- to enhance Sprinklr’s AI-powered social – powered social listening and monitoring product suite – Sprinklr Insights – with Podchaser API’s robust podcast metadata.

Podcast are crucial for brand through leadership as they offer powerful platform to engage audience with in-depth discussions, share expert insights, and establish a brand’s authority in a convenient and accessible format. This partnership allows Sprinklr customers to understand brand-relevant conversations happening on podcasts as well as measure the impact of editorial podcast content. Specifically, the Podchaser integration will arm Sprinklr customers with powerful data on podcast reach as well as audience demographic insights that enable them to make informed decisions for their campaigns.

“As the medium continues to grow, it’s becoming increasingly important for companies to understand how their brand and products are being discussed on podcasts,” said Bradley Davis, CEO of Podchaser. “Through Podchaser’s data integration, Sprinklr customers are gaining unparalleled insight into their podcast presence and its impact.”

“The digital world generates oceans of valuable information. Brands need onmichannel listening strategies to filter signal from noise on an enterprise scale, and transform it into actionable insights that drive better strategies and customer experiences,” said Sprinklr Chief Technology Officer, Pavitar Singh. “The integration with Podchaser provides Sprinklr customers the ability to listen to and measure conversations happening on podcasts alongside the 30+ digital platforms already supported by Sprinklr.”

The integration of Podchaser’s global metadata on over 4.5 million podcasts and 170 million episodes enables Sprinklr to offer an industry-leading social listening podcast platform to its customers. The integration will be generally available to all Sprinklr Insights customers at the end of June as part of Sprinklr’s 18.5 product release.

Storyglass’ Steve Carsey Becomes Chair Of Audiotrain Podcasting, Radio And Audiobook Skills Program

~ jen

Steve Carsey has taken over as Chair of Audiotrain, the training and skills initiative run by producers’ trade body AudioUK which increases skills and knowledge for audio production professionals making podcasts, radio and audiobooks.

Steve is the Managing Director of Bertelsmann’s Audio Alliance UK and their international podcast studio/label Storyglass. He will be Chair of Audiotrain in addition to this role. Previously he was a Senior Director at Audible for nearly seven years. Before that he held various roles, including in television for ITN Productions, Steadfast TV, Endemol Shine Group and Mentorn. 

He replaces David Priest, MD of Wistledown, who founded and was Chair of the programme since 2014.

Audiotrain has so far provided a large number of one-off training days, lasting from an hour and a half to a full day, across practical production skills through entrepreneurship and company management skills. It estimated that it has so far provided skills through to entrepreneurship and company management skills. It estimated that it has so far provided around 4,500 learner days to a wide range of people around the UK and globally. Course presenters have included George the Poet and Benbrick, Sangeeta Pillar, Shivani Dave, Steve Austins, Cliff Fluet, Bernard Achampong, Mel Harris, Katharine Kerr.

Originally set up with funding from Government and Creative Skillset, it is now funded by a mixture of sponsorship fees and subsidy from AudioUK. The scheme is currently part-sponsored by insurance brokers Tysers and the advisory and accounting firm Prager Metis – more sponsorships are available.

Audiotrain webinars and training are open to all, with free tickets and discounts for Audio UK members and those who could not afford to otherwise attend. Audiotrain works with a wide range of hosts and trainers from across the audio industry and beyond, to ensure that they represent a diverse range of lived experiences and ideas. Audiotrain also supports external organizations, including Multitrack.

Steve Carsey said: 

“I’m delighted to have been asked to support the work of Audiotrain at this time. In a fast growing and constantly evolving sector, Audiotrain needs to fully meet the needs of all audio professionals from entry level creators to experienced executives. Raising standards and activating ambition is vitally important for the health of our industry and the constitution it makes to the UK economy. Working with partners, we will ensure the training, resources and services provided by Audiotrain are world-class in their scope and effectiveness. We need to empower, enable and drive excellence.”

Chloe Straw, Managing Director of AudioUK, said: 

“We’re really pleased to have Steve on board to help guide us through the next phase of Audiotrain. With audio production seeing a real boom, it is crucial that there are enough people to take up the increase in demand. Steve’s strategic thinking, knowledge and contacts will be a key factor in ensuring Audiotrain is effective, including exploring whether renewed government funding is possible. We’d also like to thank David Prest for all his years of hard work getting the programme to where it is today.” 

Ausha Launches A New Sub-Brand Dedicated To Branded Podcasts – Ausha PRO

~ jen

Over the past two years, the number of branded podcasts hosted on Ausha has increased tenfold. This list includes both large organizations and smaller ones: Metlife, EDF, Bouygues Telecom, Dior, Decathlon, UNESCO, and more.

The podcast hosting and marketing platform, Ausha, has unveiled a new sub-brand specifically designed for professional creators of branded podcasts: Ausha PRO. The objective of this new offering is to meet the specific needs of professionals by providing dedicated features and services.

“Brands have very different needs compared to independent podcast creators. That’s why we created Ausha PRO, offering exclusive features and services that effectively address the challenges faced by branded podcasts. We are dealing with features that effectively address the challenges faced by branded podcasts. We are dealing with expert and demanding Marketing and Communication teams who are looking for cutting-edge marketing technologies and require a higher level of responsiveness. However, they often need guidance in the realm of podcasting, which they may be less familiar with. This is where our expertise in Podcast Marketing comes into play and proves particularly valuable.” – Jennifer Han, Chief Marketing Officer at Ausha.

Ausha PRO includes all of Aisha’s essential features (unlimited hosting, streamlined distribution, promotional materials, social media management, Al etc.), as well as new services specifically created to empower brands:

  • Enhanced support from experts who provide training, audits, advice, and guidance through video, phone, or email.
  • Reinforced branding through advanced customization of all promotional materials offered by the Ausha platform.
  • Collaborative management of the platform with multi-user access.
  • Platfom configuration and episode distribution completed in-house by Ausha staff.

In addition to these new services, Ausha PRO also offers new technical tools specifically designed for business: a channel page, SSO integration, simplified payment methods and more.

“Ausha is THE hosting platform. It is super user-friendly and comprehensive, offering tools for managing social networks and monitoring statistics. Additionally, the entire team is friendly, available, and highly professional.” – Emmanuel Rudowski, Communication & Public Engagement at UNESCO.

To learn more about the Ausha Pro plan, contact their team of experts or visit the website ausha.co/pro.

Triton Digital Announces Acquisition Of Manadge

~ jen

Triton Digital, the global technology and services provider to the digital audio, podcast, and broadcast radio industries, announced that it has acquired Manadge, an advertising intelligence platform that specialized in programmatic advertising, Manadge will enable Triton Digital publishers and demand partners to see advertising-related data and analyze performance in real-time via an intuitive analytics platform.

With this acquisition, Triton Digital is diversifying its portfolio as Manadge offers analysis and comparison dashboards and KPIs for programmatic market participants as well as direct orders. Integrated with over 60 Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) and ad servers, Manadge offers real-time philosophy, Manadge provides agnostic and unbiased reporting the simplifies the recording and tracking of advertising revenues, leveraging an elegant UI, with expansive graphics and change alert notifications.

“Through this acquisition, we further demonstrate our commitment to providing robust tools to enable growth in the global audio industry,” says John Rosso, President and CEO, Triton Digital. “The Manadge platform will enable Triton’s publisher, sales house, and demand partners to better analyze advertising data and use Manadge’s powerful UI to make data driven decisions for their business.”

“At Manadge we give companies the ability to increase resources and support, expand into new markets, and innovate faster than they could before,” says Nathan Venezia, Founder and CEO, Manadge. “We are excited to be joining a team that truly understands our vision and to be providing Triton Digital a better way to analyze and track advertising revenue for all audio types.”

As part of the acquisition, the Manadge team will join Triton Digital’s team, bringing a high level of talent and expertise to Triton’s product and engineering efforts.

Acast Introduces Acast+ Access

~ jen

Acast,  the world’s most valuable podcast marketplace, is announcing is announcing the launch of Acast+ Access. This technology gives any company with an existing paid subscription offering the ability to add exclusive podcast benefits. 

New research shows that there is a significant, lucrative opportunity for publishers and other companies to integrate podcasts into their current subscriptions. According to a recent Acast survey, more than a quarter of consumers (27%) would be more likely to sign up for a subscription if they also received podcast benefits as part of that subscription. More than a fifth of consumers (21%) would be willing to pay even more to get the added podcast benefits.

With the launch of Acast+ Access, companies with existing membership offerings – including news publishers, media organizations, streaming services, and more – can now integrate podcast benefits into the paywall they already use for their subscribers. 

Ross Adams, CEO at Acast, said: “Acast+ Access is a game-changer for companies that want to increase their overall subscription revenue and make their offering even more attractive to consumers. As more and more audiences seek premium podcast content, our technology allows providers to easily meet that need and deepen their relationship with their customers. And for companies not already incorporating podcasts into their subscription strategy, this is one of the easiest ways to rally new subscribers immediately.”

Yasmin Bassi, Senior Product Manager at Acast, said: “With Acast+ Access is a game-changer for companies the most powerful, centralized solution for all their podcast needs – allowing them to manage podcast advertising, distribution, and and subscriptions seamlessly in one single, easy-to-use platform. It isn’t only a great thing for publishers, but for the audiences, who can sign up to a company’s subscription effortlessly and immediately access subscriber-only podcasts on their app of choice.”

Acast+ Access allows companies to upgrade their current content (e.g. paywalled episodes, extended episodes, full series), personalized intros and outs, archived content, early access to content, and more. Subscriber can then access those benefits on their podcast app in listening platform of choice, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, the web, and any other platform that supports private RSS feeds.

Steve Lanham – Head of Podcasts at History Hit said: “History Hit has always aimed to make history more accessible in the digital age, and podcasts are a huge part of the mission. Through Acast+ Access, we can offer listeners more of the audio they love, giving them additional access to fascinating stories and interviews from the world’s leading historians and experts.”

Acast+ Access is based on an earlier iteration of the company’s technology of a similar name (“Acast Access”). It has been rebuilt to now allow clients to offer even more podcast benefits developed through the Acast+ technology, such as ad-free listening and early access to content, and access to bolstered analytics. Acast earns a fee for each private podcast feed activated by the client’s paying subscribers.

Acast+ Access is available now. Companies looking to learn more or use the technology can sign up by visiting https://go.acast.com/access.

 

Branded Podcast Agency 18Sixty Appoints David Maher Roberts As Board Advisor

~ jen

Bristol-based branded podcast production company 18Sixty is pleased to announce that senior marketing business leader, agency founder an podcaster David Maher Roberts has been appointed as Board Advisor. This announcement comes off the back of three years of solid growth for 18Sixty where they’ve established themselves as a renowned player in the branded podcast space, working with big name brands, talent, and picking up major award wins and nominations for their premium quality podcasts. 

Founder and CEO Gareth Evans, who launched the business in early 2020 and after a decades-long career in commercial radio (Virgin Radio, Absolute Radio) has his sights set on further growth over the next two years. Evans says, “I’ve been aware of David’s reputation in the marketing agency and digital content spaces for some time, having over 20 years experience in board-level roles within PE and VC-backed companies and, impressively taken digital marketing agency Dialect Inc. from a $4m to $30m business in five years.”

He goes on to say, “having worked closely with David professionally over the last few months, I’m really excited by the prospect of having him on board to help take 18Sixty into the next stage of our growth. Our mission continues to be helping world-renowned brands reach new audiences with podcasts they love listening to whilst having a positive impact on people and planet, pushing the creative boundaries where brand meets audio and to further establish our place as one of the world’s most creative branded podcast producers.”

In addition to his marketing agency expertise, Maher Roberts also has a deep passion for the podcast space, having produced and co-hosted Podworld (a podcast that celebrates the craft of great podcast-making) with journalist and BBC podcaster Louise Blain. Maher Roberts says “I really believe in the unique power of podcasts to engage audiences and provoke thoughtful conversation. 18Sixty has already made a significant impact in the industry and I can’t wait to help further the exciting work Gareth and the team are doing.”

The appetite for quality branded podcasts continues to grow (hosting platform Ausha reported a 17% audience increase for the category in 2022), with the data showing that podcasts can result in much higher engagement levels for brands than other forms of media, such as video.