As TV Embraces Digital, Podcasts Have Become TV Shows by Michael McCarthy
With the growth of sports podcasting comes the evolution of the podcasts themselves. For instance, former ESPN commentator/analyst Stephen A. Smith rebranded his podcast Know Mercy to The Stephen A. Smith Show, upgrading to a multi-million dollar podcasting studio in New Jersey. Cam Newton has his own home-grown podcasting outfit in Atlanta. SRK Strategies founder Ben Sosenko likens the bigger fish in sports podcasting to being more akin to digital TV shows produced independently than an old-school single-host audio podcast. Digital TV cousin or not, sports podcasting has a good chunk of audience attention, such as Smith’s 1.3 million YouTube subscribers, or Pat McAfee’s 2.87 mil.
Podcasting Up, Broadcast Down in iHeartMedia’s Q2 by Paul McLane
iHeartMedia’s Q2 earnings call announced podcasting was a positive part of the quarter, reaching $134 million in revenue (28% growth year-over-year) and non-podcast digital revenue up to $190 million (5% up y-o-y). Broadcast revenue is down 7% y-o-y topping at $396 million, which iHeart attributes to “uncertain market conditions” depressing interest in broadcast advertising. The company says it’s on track for its plan to save $150 million this year through a combination of automation tech, adopting AI tools, and staff reductions.
Taylor Swift to Announce New Album on New Heights
Things just paid off for all the non-football-fan Swifties who subscribe to New Heights. A clip has been posted teasing tomorrow’s episode of New Heights, in which pop star Taylor Swift appears on her boyfriend’s show as a guest. The clip features (censored) footage of Swift revealing her 12th album’s cover art from a briefcase. The uncensored announcement in the full episode is set to go up tomorrow, with online conversation about New Heights taking off like wildfire (this might be the first podcast news my friends and family knew before I told them). And that hype shows the power of podcast marketing. Swift could’ve dropped the album’s title and cover on Good Morning America, or her Instagram, or even at one of her concerts, but the venue she chose to get the word out (with the bonus of the best way to mobilize her fanbase) is a podcast.
New Downy® Gentle Soft + Fresh Debuts with Audio Romance Series, “Almost Scandalously Soft Stories”
Move over Mario Lopez, it’s podcasting’s turn with the fun branded fiction. In the same vein as KFC’s branded Lifetime mini-movie A Recipe for Seduction, or the visual novel dating sim I Love You, Colonel Sanders!, Procter & Gamble has a new Downy Gentle Soft + Fresh-branded podcast for romance fans. The new podcast, Almost Scandalously Soft Stories is a Spotify-exclusive miniseries with four 20-minute episodes voiced by actor Henry Golding. A fun little marketing push that shows off the simplicity of a branded podcast. A small team and one voice actor can turn out 80 minutes of comedic branded content in a fraction of the time and budget it takes to commission a 15 minute Lifetime production or have a video game studio produce a 3 hour long dating simulator.
As for the rest of the news…
- Listener.com founder Casey Adams has a short video on LinkedIn in which Julia Hartz, CEO of Eventbrite, shares her thoughts on live podcast events and the Eventbrite data supporting them.
- Speaking of Listener.com, European podcast network The Sport Social Podcast Network has announced a partnership with Listener.com to bring all of their 600+ shows onto Listener’s platform.
- Pierre Bouvard has a new breakdown of Edison Research Share of Ear data specifically focusing on in-car audio performance.
- Tubefilter has a new piece on the growing CTV audience for video podcasts and how YouTube can capitalize on it, covering several recent studies across the industry.
- IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson recently recorded a live episode during the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival included surprise guest Natasha Rothwell (prompting, of course, a conversation about Obama’s favorite White Lotus moments).
- Empowered Podcasting Conference, an annual event focusing on independent podcasters, content creators, and entrepreneurs, is set to return to Charlotte, NC on September 26th-28th.
