Before we get into the news, a quick announcement! Join us for an insightful webinar that’s a must-attend for brands, agencies, and media buyers looking to connect with one of podcasting’s most devoted audiences: true crime fans. The 2024 True Crime Podcast Listener Landscape Report from Libsyn and Sounds Profitable will feature NEW data on the true crime audience from Tom Webster. In addition, the hosts of the popular True Crime podcast Moms and Mysteries, Mandy and Melissa, will share firsthand insights on their true crime audience, offering reflections on listener impact and engagement.
YouTube Expands Its Lead As The #1 Platform For Podcasts by Elizabeth Mayer
Podnews coverage highlighting the observation that Spotify’s Head of Podcast Monetization and Innovation is not leaning into video with the same passion as the rest of Spotify, a key example being The Bill Simmons Podcast uploading video to YouTube but only audio to Spotify. In addition, several podcasts from The Ringer are not posting video to Spotify, including shows specifically built around video content.
WARC: Global Ad Spend To Top $1 Trillion For First Time In 2024
A new study from WARC finds global ad spend is on pace to grow 10.7% year over year, reaching $1.08 trillion USD. According to WARC, this represents the strongest growth rate in six years and largest absolute rise on record if one excludes the outlier 27.9% year-over-year bounceback from COVID recovery back in 2021. Ad spend growth is expected to continue into 2025 with 7.6% growth and 2026 (7% growth), reaching a global ad market value of $1.24 trillion.
Google, DOJ tussle one more time over ad tech by Ryan Barwick
The antitrust case brought against Google by the Department of Justice had closing arguments recently, which started back in September before taking a month break in October. The DoJ lawyers argue Google owns the entire ad-tech supply chain, including the largest ad server and exchange, combined with a massive supply of advertisers. The plaintiff argues these in combination allow Google to unfairly choke out competition. Google’s lawyers pitched the company’s dominance of advertising is due to their superior technology winning in a hypercompetitive market, allowing them a leg up in their constant battle with tech companies like Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok. The judge’s decision on this case is expected at the end of the year or early 2025.
Operating Systems Are Now Battlefields – At Least In The CTV World by Victoria McNally
Part of the evolution of connected television is the software used to make the televisions connected in the first place. A challenge for streaming device-based operating systems is consumers aren’t inherently loyal to any one app or service. This has led to a new operating system war, as TV manufacturers have historically low margins and can recoup losses on hardware via owning the OS used to deliver apps and ads to the consumer. The downside to this is not every app developer has the time or financial incentive to support every single niche OS, meaning unpopular entries will get left behind.
Digiday+ Research: How programmatic shook out for publishers in 2024 by Julia Tabisz
Twice a year Digiday Research surveys close to 50 publisher professionals, once in Q1 and once in Q3. This year’s Q3 findings suggest the majority of publishers are getting at least a small bit of revenue from programmatic ads as the year winds down. 86% of respondents agreed with this sentiment, a 4% increase from Q1. That said, the amount of publishers for whom that programmatic contribution was “small” has grown, with 25% saying they got “very small or small” profits from programmatic, compared to 17% in Q1. 47% of respondents say they plan to put a large focus on building programmatic ad business in the next six months, down 6% from Q1.
🚨 Chartable analytic links expire Dec. 12, breaking any podcast still using their links. Magellan AI is offering a free month + 1mm impressions for those switching (Sounds Profitable partners get 3mm) 🚨
As for the rest of the news…
- Speaking of switching off Chartable, Podgagement has launched charts and rankings to act as a Chartable replacement.
- Amplifi Media’s Steven Goldstein has recapped 2024’s biggest stories in the world of podcasting, from the election to radio’s performance.
- Veritonic has announced enhanced capabilities for analyzing and optimizing the audio performance of video podcasts.
- Acast has opened a new podcasting hub in London, including an Amazon Music-branded studio available for free to new and emerging creators in London looking to podcast with professional-grade equipment.
- Gen-Z Media has announced a new partnership with children’s interactive audio platform Yoto to distribute six Gen-Z podcasts, starting with The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspain
- AMA has launched a significant update to their API integration that streamlines first-party data for brands.
- Sony Music Entertainment has launched a new true crime podcast, Scary Terri, following the story of an 80s spiritual leader tied to a dozen suspicious deaths.
