Bumper Opens Dashboard to All Podcasters With Free Tier
Along with the new free tier and restructured pricing, audience verification tool The Bumper Score is now available for all Bumper plans. The free tier includes the most recent three months of data and is designed for independent podcasters. The Pro tier costs $50 per month per show and includes full access to Bumper Dashboard’s analytics suite, while Enterprise costs $500 per month and includes access to ten podcasts plus the Bumper MCP server, which lets teams connect AI tools directly to Bumper Dashboard data. For more on Bumper Score, catch Dan Misener’s recent episode of Media Roundtable.
Industry Proposals
Two notable posts have appeared recently in the podcasting side of GitHub. First: RSS.com co-founder Alberto Betella has posted a proposal for AI content disclosure in the open RSS feed. His proposal recommends a single, interoperable convention for episode-level AI content disclosure using the existing podcast:txt tag. In addition to the proposal, he has posted a standalone demo of proposed UI patterns showing how these could be implemented in podcast hosting applications. Second: Buzzsprout co-founder Tom Rossi posted a possible approach to improving podcast client identification. The post has generated quite a few replies, including James Cridland proposing that, if the industry had a reliable way to identify which app is consuming which podcast, there’s new economic opportunities to be had for podcast apps.
CMA requires Google to let publishers opt out of AI search results by Jack Benjamin
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the U.K. has released new conduct requirements for Google Search. In practice, these requirements will require Google to let publishers opt out of having their content used to power AI features. Google has nine months to implement the changes and must submit and publish two compliance reports six months apart during the first year. The CMA says it is committed to implementing further measures if need be to “ensure a fair exchange of value between Google and publishers.”
YouTube Overtakes Netflix for Daily Attention
According to streaming media measurement company Digital i, Australia ranks eighth among 20 international markets for YouTube viewership, with an average of 93 minutes of daily watch time. While YouTube has overtaken Netflix for daily audience attention in the overall Digital i report, Australia’s YouTube stats show the official Netflix YouTube channel is incredibly popular, scoring the highest reach of any channel on YouTube in 2025 with 78.2 million unique accounts.
The Battle for Attention: Short Form Isn’t Killing Long Form. It’s Rewriting Its Job by Kirby Grines
Short form content isn’t in direct opposition to long form. Grines argues they’re different aspects of the same wider attention economy, with short form creating frequency and discovery while long form builds depth and attachment for viewers. Audiences often aren’t thinking in specific runtimes for what they want to watch. They’re operating in need-states. Sometimes they want a two-minute clip, sometimes a ten-minute explainer video, sometimes a two-hour podcast episode, and sometimes a six-hour marathon of a new TV series. The question is not whether short-form content is cannibalizing views from longer formats. It is whether streaming services, studios, creators, and advertisers can build systems that capture attention in that two-minute clip need-state and turn it into deeper engagement and revenue.
As for the rest of the news…
- SoundStack and Paragon are teaming up for part two of their webinar series on “The New Sound of Sustaining Public Radio.” Inside WBGO’s Programmatic Revenue Launch is slated for Tuesday, June 23 at 2 p.m. ET with WBGO President Steven Williams, Sprite Media CTO Jeff Schich, SoundStack CPO John Morris, and Paragon CEO Mike Henry. A recording of the first part is also up for viewing on YouTube.
- Here’s a quick roundup of folks reporting back from recent events in London! Both Nova Podcasts Network Director Rachel Corbett and Podglomerate SVP of Marketing & Audience Development Joni Deutsch shared key takeaways from The Podcast Show London, while Global Director, Commercial Joe Copeman shared a Global report after SXSW London.
- Forbes contributor Frank Racioppi covers Sounds Profitable research data showing how Audio Primes are among the podcast industry’s most valuable resources.
- Oxford Road CEO Dan Granger appears in a recent video for The Current discussing how algorithms foster inherently negative speech to upset users, which then generates the engagement systems love.
- PAVE Studios has partnered with A+E Global Media to launch a slate of six new audio podcast adaptations of popular unscripted series.
- The Podcast Business Journal recently interviewed Brian Conlan (President of DAX U.S.) and Mark Asquith (Managing Director, Captivate) to discuss working on Apple Podcast HLS support and new monetization features. Catch the audio version of the interview in Podnews Weekly Review.
- BBC Studios has appointed Liz Baldwin as its new senior vice president, head of streaming & channels for Australia and New Zealand.
