Ad Skipping’s Real Impact, UK Podcasting Growth, & More

The Hidden Cost of Ad-Skipping by Tom Webster

Ad Nauseam, the latest research study from Sounds Profitable, is focused on consumer perceptions of advertising in podcasts. Part of that involved looking at reasons why podcast audiences skip ads. The issue with ad-skipping is podcast advertising truly works, as has been demonstrated repeatedly over the past decade-plus. Respondents find podcasting is doing a good job at finding a balance of advertisement to content, and the industry is doing a good job at finding the right ads for the right shows. There is no one monolithic reason (such as “I just hate ads”) that motivates listeners to hit that thirty second skip button.

RAJAR Q2 2024 Analysis by Adam Bowie

The latest Radio Joint Audience Research report on the state of audio in the UK has arrived. Some networks, such as Radio 4, report audience reach losses for the quarter. Bowie proposes the RAJAR data can’t fully measure if audiences are switching from broadcast to non-linear listening, but there might be a clue in the podcasting statistics. Q1’s number of weekly podcast listeners grew from 11.7 million to 12.3 million in Q2, accounting for 21.3% of the UK population.

Retail Media Networks Have a Measurement Issue – Why Standardization is a Marketing Challenge by Bill Duggan

A new ANA report shows a substantial segment of marketers have concerns about measurement attribution and a lack of standardization across platforms when it comes to the walled gardens of retail media networks. A section of the ANA and the Media Rating Council are currently working on advancing measurement standards for RMNs. A familiar parallel for podcast advertising veterans. Every new and upcoming channel experiences similar, if not identical, issues. When it comes to measurement and ad tech, it’s rare to find an issue that is endemic to that one form of media. From standardization issues, to clients forever running ‘trials’ on ads proven to work, these are all things advertisers want and very few publishers can provide.

Spotify could soon get its own Gemini extension, and here’s how it could work by Hadlee Simons

Google’s Gemini chatbot now offers support for extensions, allowing use of Google and third-party apps through the Google Voice Assistant. Android Authority has cracked open the latest version of the Google app and has found an unreleased Spotify extension for Gemini. The feature currently allows users to ask Gemini to play a song or podcast via Spotify, and the assistant starts the content automatically. There is no current information as to how Gemini’s podcast requests will be reflected back to hosting platforms of podcasts outside of Spotify.

…as for the rest of the news: