Significant Productions and Audio Always have announced an exciting new chapter for the award-winning Elis James and John Robins, with the podcast becoming available for commercial sponsorship and advertising from 7th April 2026.
The move follows the publication last year of an updated BBC Audio Release Policy, which allows independent producers to commercialise titles that are no longer licence fee-funded BBC content.
Podcast episodes will remain available across all apps and platforms, and only the producer-run commercial feed will carry advertising. The BBC will license Elis James and John Robins for broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds, and episodes made available on BBC platforms will not carry advertising or sponsorship.
Significant Productions – the newly formed company created by Elis James, John Robins and Dave Masterman – will lead on production, which will include enhanced visuals, extra content and the launch of the show’s own social channels.
Commercialisation will be managed by Audio Always in partnership with Acast, who will support advertising sales and distribution, alongside providing studio hire and production services.
Dave Masterman, Director and Co-Founder of Significant Productions, says:
“We’re incredibly proud of what the show has achieved since joining 5 Live in 2019, and we’re delighted to now have the opportunity to realise its commercial potential while still being available on BBC platforms for audiences to enjoy. This deal with Audio Always also opens doors for the podcast on a creative front, and we can’t wait to share these plans very soon.”
Paul Fernley, Business Development Director at Audio Always, adds:
“Elis, John and Dave have been a much-loved part of the Audio Always family for many years, and we are excited to work alongside Significant as the podcast evolves. Brands will love connecting with the show’s loyal audience and there is a huge opportunity for commercial creativity throughout all elements of the podcast.”
Elis James and John Robins joined the BBC in 2019, initially presenting a weekly programme on 5 Live before evolving into one of the UK’s most successful podcasts. The show has built a dedicated fanbase, becoming known for its unique blend of comedy, authentic storytelling and listener interaction.
In October 2025 the show was awarded gold at The British Podcast Awards for Best Comedy Podcast, while previous wins have come at the ARIAs, the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, the Chortle Awards and the Audio Productions Awards.
Advertising and sponsorship across the podcast’s RSS feed will be available from 7 April 2026.
About Significant Productions
Significant Productions is a newly formed independent production company founded in 2025 by Elis James, John Robins and Dave Masterman, set up to develop and produce original comedy and entertainment content. As well as making ‘The Elis James and John Robins Show’, ‘The Socially Distant Sports Bar’ has also joined the network, with award-winning wellbeing podcast ‘How Do You Cope?’ set to return soon.
About Audio Always
Audio Always is an independent production company developing and producing podcasts, radio programmes and audiobooks. We deliver more than 500 hours of audio content each month across a range of genres for listeners worldwide. Our work includes the weekly podcasts ‘Help I Sexted My Boss’, ‘The Girls Bathroom’, ‘Get A Grip’ and ‘UK True Crime’. We also deliver factual series, with our recent releases ‘Answers For Claudia’, ‘The Pitcairn Trials’ and ‘Carrie Jade Does Not Exist’ all reaching number one in the Apple Podcasts chart. We also produce daily, weekly and ad hoc radio programmes including Craig Charles for BBC Radio 6 Music, Paddy McGuiness and OJ Borg for BBC Radio 2, Life Hacks for BBC Radio 1 and Selector Radio for The British Council. Launched in 2012, Audio Always is proudly headquartered at Media City, Manchester with studios in Farringdon, London.
About the BBC Audio Release Policy
Published in October last year, the Audio Release Policy aims to help support the growth of the UK audio sector, while ensuring the BBC remains a competitive and attractive partner for the best ideas. It offers audio producers a fair and transparent opportunity to further exploit their IP commercially, while continuing to deliver value for audiences by making the content available on BBC platforms. It will operate for a trial period of two years as agreed with Audio UK.
