A new report from Sounds Profitable and Sound Insights surveyed 5,033 U.K. adults using the same methodology as the 2025 U.S. Advertising Landscape, creating a rare apples-to-apples comparison of the two industries. 43% of British adults listen to ad-supported podcasts monthly. Of those consumers, 56% consume podcasts daily or almost daily. Sounds Profitable Partner Tom Webster notes the Advertising Landscape U.K. shows podcasting has undeniably reached mainstream status with U.K. audiences.
The Global Podcast Economy Is Worth $9.2B, Video Is Changing The Picture by Hernan Lopez
Owl & Co’s Global Podcast Economy Report finds the global podcast economy generated $9.2 billion in revenue in 2025, a 23% increase from 2024. Based on more than 300,000 data points across more than 1,600 publishers and interviews with 100+ podcast publishers and experts worldwide, the report says publishers that treated video as a monetization layer grew revenue the fastest. Direct advertising revenue remains the leading revenue source year-over-year. Consumer revenue grew 22%, with Patreon leading as the biggest platform.
James Murdoch buys New York magazine and Vox Media’s podcasts by Brian Stelter
Lupa Systems, the media and tech holding company owned by James Murdoch, announced this week that it has agreed to acquire most of Vox Media, including its main website, podcast network, and New York Magazine. CNN reports the assets are valued at more than $300 million. Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff is set to join Lupa Systems and continue running the acquired Vox assets.
TikTok’s middle class is gaining power by Lara O’Reilly and Lucia Moses
Influencer and affiliate marketing platform Upfluence has provided CMO Insider with data analysis based on over 5,000 TikTok deals tracked across its network. The average rates charged by larger “micro” TikTok creators (those with followings between 15,000 and 50,000) in Q1 2026 rose 125% from Q1 2025. In the same period, fees for “macro” TikTokers (150k – 500k followers) and “mega” (500k+ followers) fell 29% and 18%, respectively. One factor driving this is the rise of “boosting.” Because branded content is difficult to make perform organically, brands are paying to boost videos for more views. If creator-driven branded content is effectively ad creative, hiring smaller creators who can make more ads affordably is often cheaper than splurging on one megastar.
As for the rest of the news…
- Triton Digital has expanded the availability of Sounder.AI’s contextual targeting and brand suitability capabilities within The Trade Desk.
- A new special edition of Oxford Road’s Media Roundtable podcast publishes audio of Less Noise, More Life: The Science of Thriving in an Artificial World from the iHeart x Oxford Road luncheon during SXSW 2026.
- The Echo Podcast Summit is set to return to Halifax this June.
- Futuro Media is debuting the new podcast American Futbol ahead of the Men’s FIFA World Cup.
- Veritonic has launched a new self-service platform, Instant Insights, an AI-powered creative intelligence solution.
- Ad Tech Explained has a new piece examining how agentic advertising demand might, in practice, flow from buyers to publishers.
- The Daily Influence covers Spotify’s video podcast distribution upgrade, including quotes from Sounds Profitable Partner Bryan Barletta.
