Reflections from Podcast Show London [Multiple Sources]
It’s the week after a big industry event, let’s check out some industry reflections on conversations had at PSL! First up, Amplifi Media’s Steven Goldstein gives an overview of the conference with five key takeaways. Including YouTube’s evolution from “a polite observer” in 2024 to a major player at podcasting events like Podcast Movement, On Air Fest, and now Podcast Show London. While video podcasting has been around since before the word ‘podcast’ was solidified, Ashley Carman notes contemporary conversations about video production are shifting towards more general content terminology (e.g. “show” instead of “podcast”). Finally, Blubrry Podcasting by RawVoice founder Todd Cochrane shared a piece detailing how podcasting can prevent “video-or-bust” narratives from freezing out new voices from the industry. While video is doing well, he points to the not-as-celebrated data that audio podcasting is at an all-time high. The U.S. Infinite Dial found 70% of Americans 12+ have listened to a podcast, and monthly reach is at 55%. Apple Podcast revealed in London they had their best year ever for listeners, hours streamed, and paid subscribers. Video may be growing at a healthy pace, but it’s worth remembering aural podcasting is also growing still.
Ofcom Podcast Survey and Audio Report 2025 by Adam Bowie
Analyst Adam Bowie looks at the new Ofcom UK Podcast Survey published last week, built from a survey conducted by Yonder for ten days in March of this year with a nationally representative sample of 2,368 respondents. Bowie has built out the data into handy interactive Google Charts, showing off findings like 50% of respondents have ever listened to a podcast, and 25% are regular (defined as weekly in this instance) listeners. Demographics are diverse, with 41% of ethnic minority groups consuming weekly in the UK. The most likely age demo to listen to podcasts in the UK is 25-34 at 45%. The report also provides top-ten podcast charts based on three age demographics. Bowie notes that the biggest podcasts are also most appealing to younger audiences, as The Joe Rogan Experience and The Diary of a CEO are top-two for Adults 15+ and Adults 15-34, but plummet to 57th and 32nd place respectively in the 55+ demo.
According to 9to5Mac and Downdetector, this morning around 8am EST reports of Spotify being down spiked, with users unable to stream content, look at playlists, listen to live content, or view artist profiles. At 9:40am EST official Spotify social media accounts announced the issue had been resolved.
Shopify tops Q1/25 podcast ad spend in Australia
ARN’s iHeart and Magellan AI have published their latest quarterly look at the top 15 brands advertising in Australian podcasts. Overall, podcast advertising grew in Q1 with March hitting the highest spend so far in the year. From Magellan AI’s data tracking episodes from over 600 of Australia’s top podcasts, the top five companies investing in podcasting in Q1 were Wise, Westpac, Entertain Group, Teladoc Health, and Shopify.
As for the rest of the news…
- Left of Dial Media is running the inaugural Essential Listening Poll, which asks the podcasting industry the five podcasts that have impacted them the most. Results will be tallied to create a living document representing the top 100 most influential podcasts. The deadline is this Friday, May 30th.
- Nomono is hosting an Immersive Audio Podcast Masterclass on Thursday, June 19th, at noon EST, tickets available here.
- Speaking of immersive audio: perfume brand Lolita Lempicka has chosen Place to Be Media and Audion as partners for an “immersive digital audio campaign.” (source is in French)
- John Wordock shares reflections and lessons learned from eight years of fastidiously checking the Apple Podcast top charts.
- BBC Studios Audio has five new hires filling out directorial positions across different parts of the company, including former Realm and Audible member Lydia Shamah as Creative Director of Drama and former stand-up comedian/BBC Radio producer Richard Morris as Creative Director of Comedy and Entertainment.
- Podcast Business Journal has a new interview, this time with PAVE Studios founder Max Cutler
