New Canadian Legislation to Tax Foreign Streamers
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has passed the Online Streaming Act, amending the Broadcasting Act. The new bill requires foreign streaming services operating in Canada to pay 5% of their Canadian revenue to support the domestic broadcasting system. The levy is expected to raise $200 million CAD per year. There are some concerns with the bill. University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist highlights that the bill originally was intended to also update the definition of Cancon (Canadian Content) but did not, so an older definition of what counts will apply to the new money raised by C-11.
Discord and TuneIn partner to bring live radio to the social platform by Lauren Forristal
Instant messaging and voice chat app Discord has partnered with TuneIn to offer an official feature that gives access to TuneIn’s full streaming library of AM/FM radio stations, sports content, and podcasts. Co-listening is a massive trend on Discord, stemming from the early days of the platform where users would have special bots join voice calls and play YouTube audio through the ‘microphone’ of the bot. A trend so popular YouTube had Discord disable the functionality to stop the noticeable ad-free traffic spikes from Discord bots. An official feature enabling Discord users to consume podcasts casually in voice calls not only better empowers existing podcast audiences, it likely will create new podcast-listening audiences as new listeners are exposed to friends’ favorite shows via TuneIn. [Source]
Colgate launches first ever UK podcast advertising campaign with The Diary of a CEO
The campaign launched this week in the UK via a deal coordinated with Colgate media agency Wavemaker UK and Adelicious. The campaign will run for six months, promoting Colgate Total toothpaste and the brand’s new Colgate Total Plaque Pro-Release. The more legacy brands podcasting brings into the fold, the more it demonstrates its value to the remaining crowd who haven’t given the industry a shot or have misconceptions about podcast advertising. [Source]
IAB’s online ad spend numbers indicates brands focused on short term sales targets
According to the IAB Australia Online Advertising Expenditure Report, online ad spend increased 9.3% in Australia to $3.7 billion AUD in Q1. IAB Australia CEO Gai Le Roy says the report suggests many marketers are focusing on short-term sales targets due to continued economic downturn and lack of consumer confidence. That said, it’s encouraging to see continued investment in digital advertising. [Source]
To illuminate audience perceptions and expectations, Sounds Profitable’s latest study surveyed 1,000 weekly podcast listeners. The new study, Ad Nauseum, debuts Wednesday, June 12th at 3:00 p.m. EST.
How much is too much when it comes to podcast advertising? The truth is elusive: ask someone how many ads are too many, and they will likely tell you “one”, but as study after study has shown, podcast advertising works and works well, all the same. Join Tom Webster on June 12th for a free 30 minute dive into Ad Nauseam’s findings.
…as for the rest of the news:
- Skydance Media, which has co-produced and co-financed films with Paramount Pictures since 2009, has agreed to the terms of a merger deal with Paramount.
- The Flightpath FYI discusses the difference between pacing on actuals and using predicted performance to adjust campaigns on the fly for better performance.
- Meta has confirmed they’re testing including unskippable ads on Instagram, preventing users from scrolling past the ad in the feed until a timer finishes.
- Alex Lewis, co-founder of activism agency Revolt, breaks down the opportunity brands have to support era-defining causes.
- TV Upfronts are expected to drop CPM (cost per thousand impressions) for streaming content a second year running, in part due to a flood of new inventory as huge streamers all implemented ad-supported tiers within a short span of time.
