Spotify Leaves IAB, GroupM Reclassifies YouTube, & More.

Spotify is no longer a member of the IAB

According to Podnews reporting, Spotify has quietly ended their IAB membership and has not recertified, meaning Megaphone, Chartable, and Spotify for Podcasters have been removed from the published list of compliant companies for podcast measurement. All at a time when agencies, advertisers, and holding companies commonly demand IAB certification. In addition to the Spotify announcement, hosting service Podbean has also been removed from the Tech Lab list. [Source]

What Is YouTube, Really?

Starting in June, GroupM will begin classifying a larger proportion of YouTube ad revenue as CTV (connected television) rather than digital. GroupM says this change is to reflect how clients increasingly view YouTube as a wider part of their TV and CTV strategies. A strategy that makes sense, considering data like Emarketer’s US Digital Video Viewers, by Format/Platform 2024 graph that places YouTube above digital pay TV, ad-supported video on demand, free ad-supported streaming TV, and subscription video services, second only to over-the-top video services. [Source]

Global to launch ID solution across all devices and environments by Ella Sagar

The new cookie-free measurement solution, touted to work in all environments on all devices, is named Dax ID. The new tech allows for measurement of every device at a de-duplicated campaign level and in every environment. A slide shown at The Future of Audio and Entertainment breaks down the process as combining a listener’s IP address and user agent to create a DAX proxy for the listener. Dax ID is slated to officially launch on April 30th. [Source]

How video can widen podcasting’s footprint by Tom Webster

While some audio-first podcasters express concern over converting their production to appeal to a YouTube audience if they want to make video, research like Sounds Profitable’s Sound You Can See shows the jump to visual podcasting is more about making the same content available in video form. 86% of video podcast consumers are also regular audio podcast consumers, and a majority say they consume the same podcasts in both audio and video form. [Source]

Is Podcast Advertising Effective? By Kurt Kaufer

The new Ad Results Media blog posts breaks down top-level concepts for tech and strategy one needs to know to understand podcast advertising’s power. According to The Infinite Dial 2023, weekly audio listening hit 200 million Americans tuning in on a weekly basis. And when it comes to channels consumers enjoy, The Medium Moves the Message found 68% of consumers are more willing to consider a product or service after hearing about it on a podcast, compared to 62% for YouTube, 61% for social media, and 54% for live or recorded TV. [Source]

…as for the rest of the news:

Voting for Quill’s Podcast Awards 2024 is now open, taking votes for top creators and podcast companies until April 26th.
The Information covers the evolving trend of YouTubers signing deals with free ad-supported TV providers to have their own FAST channels.
Flightpath CEO Sean Howard sat down for an interview with James Cridland for Podcast Business Journal.
The NBA aims to make it possible for every player to become social media stars by speeding up production of shortform video and images intended for players to post on socials. Podcasting has also become a common path for athletes to branch out from their sport into content creation.