860 Thoughts About The Rumored SiriusXM/iHeart Deal by Tom Webster
With several hot takes and narratives forming around the rumored SiriusXM deal to acquire iHeartMedia (as well as several alternate shapes such a merger could take), Webster drills down to the notion SiriusXM would strip iHeart’s radio stations of local content. He audited iHeart stations in three markets as of late April 2026.
“I selected three U.S. markets for this audit using two criteria. First, mid-size: large enough that you would expect significant local programming if any was going to exist, and small enough to avoid the markets that are themselves origination points for nationally syndicated iHeart content (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Phoenix). Second, geographic and cultural diversity: Midwest (Indianapolis), Northeast Rust Belt (Pittsburgh), and Mountain West (Salt Lake City).”
Despite FCC requirements that broadcast licenses serve the public interest with programming responsive to the local community, Webster found little locally produced content. In Pittsburgh — the strongest local content market — less than 4% of weekday airtime features someone in the city discussing the city. Indianapolis clocked in at “effectively zero.”
He points to the actual legitimate local content found on the average commercial radio station: local ads. Such a merger carries real risks, but the idea that it would kill local radio doesn’t hold. The majority of the “local radio” pitched in that argument no longer exists. In fact, with localism lying in local advertising, there’s a world where a SiriusXM merger would serve local markets better than they were under existing networks.
S&P Analysis: U.S. Podcast Consumption Grows as Industry Embraces Video by George Winslow
S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows U.S. podcast listening rose 10 points from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, with 60% of online adults reporting listens in the past year. A quote from Winslow’s coverage:
“S&P Global Market Intelligence attributed the surge in usage to the evolving landscape of podcast content and the rising popularity of video podcast platforms.”
This figure is close to Sounds Profitable’s The Podcast Landscape 2025 findings, which show that 68% of respondents have consumed a podcast (audio or video) in the past year. While S&P’s data specifies “listeners,” the percentage of Podcast Landscape respondents who say they are “video only” hovers around 8-9%. When compared to the S&P figure, this percentage brings the total in line with Podcast Landscape audience findings on podcast audience growth.
Nielsen Integrates Triton Data Into Media Planning Platform
The integration adds Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics Demos+ data to Nielsen’s Media Impact (NMI) platform. The integration is expected to give ad buyers more data-driven insights and provide a more holistic view of the audio market. A quote from Nielsen Audio Managing Director Rich Tunkel in the official release:
“Our collaboration with Triton Digital makes it easier for advertisers to evaluate and plan podcasts alongside, and with the same level of precision, comparability and confidence as other media channels, delivering a critical need.”
Nielsen also kicked off POSSIBLE in Miami this week, announcing Predictive Sales Lift, a new outcomes-based measurement capability. The feature helps media buyers predict sales lift for incremental video ad campaigns in the Nielsen One Ads platform.
The Nigerian Podcast Index 2025 Report looks at 329 shows across 20+ hosting platforms and six languages to provide a bird’s-eye view of the country’s podcast industry. In Africa’s most populous country, podcasting is largely defined by language and platform.
88% of Nigerian Podcast Index podcasts are recorded in English, making them accessible to outside markets while maintaining local roots. Nigeria’s podcasting scene remains dependent on international platforms, with no significant example of domestic hosting infrastructure. Afripods hosts just 4% of indexed Nigerian podcasts, while Spotify for Creators hosts 58%.
The elephant in the room for Nigerian podcasting is data. A quote from Onwuchekwa:
“Without reliable measurement infrastructure, Nigerian podcasting remains largely invisible to global advertisers and investors. This creates a vicious cycle: no data means no investment, which means no resources to build the measurement systems that would attract investment. For context, Nigeria’s population of 223 million people and rapidly growing internet penetration suggest the market could be massive. But “could be” doesn’t secure advertising deals or venture funding.”
With credible metrics, improved monetization, and viable domestic hosting infrastructure, he sees more runway for Nigerian podcasting to fulfill its potential.
As for the rest of the news…
- European audio platform Audion has raised $15 million in a funding round and is expanding in the U.S.
- All Libsyn hosting plans now have video functionality allowing users to manually submit Libsyn-hosted MP4 files to Spotify. Video distribution directly into Spotify, enabled by the Spotify Distribution API, starts at $25/month.
- Reggie Risseeuw, Managing Partner at Amplitude Media Partners, breaks down recent Megaphone updates in a new LinkedIn post
- Spreaker Create for browser has launched, acting as a free browser-based podcast editor that does not require an account.
