Rogers Sports & Media to shutter Pacific Content by Connie Thompson
Parent company Rogers Sports & Media, who acquired Pacific Content in 2019, say that with the U.S. podcasting space – particularly branded podcasting – becoming more competitive they are re-focusing on Canadian audio business. A quote from Sounds Profitable partner Tom Webster: “We have enjoyed a strong partnership with the team at Pacific Content – our hearts go out to the many talented people there. An incredible team.” [Source]
General election 2024: Media industry calls for urgent bill passage and party manifestos by Jack Benjamin
A general election has been waiting in the wings for the U.K. this year, waiting for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to propose a formal date. While analysts predicted a November election, Sunak has announced intentions for a July 4th. For more information on how the media landscape in the U.K. will be different in June due to a pre-election period, see Adelicious CEO Andrew Goldsmith’s article Preparing for Pre-Election. [Source]
Demolishing Demos
This year’s TV upfronts find broadcasters leaning into the fact that, despite pop culture legacies of hip-ness, a lot of them are directly appealing to older demographics. For instance, MTV has an average viewership age of people in their 50s. Podcasting’s most populated demographics trend a full generation younger, setting the industry up to be a valuable tool for re-capturing younger audiences. [Source]
With podcasts and influencers, the Liberals fight to win back lost ground with younger voters by Ashley Burke
Returning to international politics: incumbent Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has incorporated podcasts and YouTube channels into his campaigning schedule. Similar campaigns within the Liberal party have done everything from hire Gen Z staff to buy drones for content creation in hopes of appealing to younger voters. As with the previous story, podcasting’s tendency to trend young could be a valuable asset during this election cycle for parties that have a hard time capturing younger Millennials/Gen Z voters [Source]
Timberwolves podcasts see increase in listeners as team succeeds by Jeff Wagner
The Minnesota Timberwolves are on their way to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2004, and content creators focusing on the Timberwolves are reporting a spike in viewership. One podcast that averaged 15,000 unique listeners per episode hit 50,000 during a live recap of the Timberwolves’ game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets. While a team performing well is sure to bring more fairweather fans to related podcasts, it’s worth noting the power of sports podcasts has already built a healthy followership. And we’re reaching the point where podcasts getting more listens than normal is noteworthy enough to be covered in CBS News. [Source]
…as for the rest of the news:
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Pierre Bouvard shares eight new findings about the podcast audience from Cumulus Media’s 2024 Audioscape.
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Adam Bowie has published his experience and takeaways from The Podcast Show London.
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The Podcast Show has made this year’s panels, talks, discussions, and keynotes available as a premium podcast for a one-time fee of £79 (or £59 with code TPS2024 until June 2nd).
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This Sunday Radiodays North America will feature a panel named Going Grassroots: How Podcasts Might Help Save Local Journalism.
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Comedians Stephanie Beatriz and Melissa Fumero are set to host a new comedy podcast on iHeartMedia’s My Cultural Network, starting this Thursday.
