Taking Podcast Research Global, Apple’s Top Podcasts of 2024, & More

Podcasting is Global – Research Should Be Too by Paul Riismandel

With podcasting’s worldwide growth as a medium, it’s time to acknowledge that while the United States is one of the largest podcast markets, the industry should not consider it the default when doing research on podcasting overall. Local cultural and socioeconomic factors influence how and why people consume podcasts and engage with advertisers, which means extrapolating findings from one part of the world to another market won’t work well. For example: YouTube is lauded as the top platform for consuming podcasts in the U.S., while Australian data from Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics Demo+ survey shows Spotify is firmly in the lead. As podcasting continues its growth, a global outlook when conducting research is vital.

Rogers Sports & Media lays off dozens of workers in audio business

Rogers Sports & Media has announced it laid off several dozen employees on the audio side of the company, citing uncertainty in the current ad market. Official coverage from CBC reports a spokesperson from Rogers said there will be no station closures and the company has no plans to cut programming or podcasts. Recent posts on LinkedIn by former Frequency Podcast Network members shows layoffs are affecting the podcast side of Rogers.

How brands are redefining creativity in podcast ads by Matt Casey

A broad look at modern podcast advertising that then drills down to examples of campaigns and strategies implemented by companies like Audacy and Tenderfoot TV. Tactics include next-generation host-read ads like Tenderfoot TV’s Up and Vanished’s Liquid I.V. ads that used audio fiction-level sound design and building a narrative around the host using Liquid I.V. while researching the season’s stories in Alaska to elevate a simple host-read into what feels like content from the show. For visual pop, the article highlights Audacy’s Enhanced Video Units that add animations, graphics, and urls/QR codes to standard video podcast host-read segments.

Apple Podcasts top shows for 2024 by James Cridland

Apple Podcasts has published their most popular podcasts of 2024, with a year-end chart localized for several countries/regions around the world. The charts can be found in the Browse tab of Apple Podcasts until the end of the year, including top overall podcasts, top new debuts, most-followed, most-shared, and top free/subscriber channels. Podnews has built out the top 10 overall podcast from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, as well as directly linked every chart. While the official PR claims localized charts exist for over 100 countries, Podnews was only able to find 33.

BBC Studios Taps Triton Digital to Scale Global Audio Growth Outside the UK

The new partnership will bring the BBC Studios audio catalog to the Triton Digital Audio Marketplace for markets outside the U.K. BBC Audio, Digital News, & Streaming SVP Louise la Grange says in the official press release the decision is motivated by global audiences turning to podcasts for news, insights, and entertainment. With the Triton partnership, BBC Studios can amplify growth efforts outside their home territory.

As for the rest of the news…