Identifying a medium’s return on ad spend is tricky, but Acast set out to do just that. It has just completed a study with 250 advertisers and marketers and has determined that two-thirds of podcast ad buyers say that $1 of spend on podcasts returns between $4 and $6 for their brands. Based on their belief that podcasting is delivering strong results, marketers say they are increasing their investments in the space as a majority say podcasts deserve 7% to 14% of total marketing spend. Read moreAd Buyers Say Podcasts Are Delivering Big Results, And Medium Deserves Bigger Share Of Budget.

Project Brazen, the global journalism studio that already has a slate of podcasts, is moving beyond its walls to work with more creators and production companies. It is launching a direct-to-consumer podcast network and multimedia platform that it says will be home to “high-end” narrative storytelling and ongoing podcasts from entrepreneurial journalists, creators, and production companies across the globe. Read moreProject Brazen Launches Direct-To-Consumer Podcast Network.

For podcasters looking to grow their revenue via YouTube distribution, there is some good news. WARC is forecasting YouTube’s advertising revenue will grow at twice the rate this year than it did during 2022, when a worldwide slowdown in digital ad spending hit the video streaming site harder than most. As podcasters embrace YouTube as a way to reach new audiences, WARC says YouTube reaches half of all internet users globally – almost twice as much as TikTok and Instagram. Read morePodcasters Could Get More Ad Revenue From YouTube This Year Based On New Outlook.

Canadaland, the Toronto-based news site and podcast network, has signed an exclusive multi-year first-look deal with Entertainment One (eOne). Under the terms of the multi-year deal, eOne will adapt Canadaland’s original podcasts into scripted and non-scripted television, limited series and documentaries. Canadaland also announces that former Novel, PRX and Radiotopia producer Julie Brown has joined its team to help with new podcast development. Read morePodcast Studio Canadaland Inks First-Look TV Deal; Hires Julie Shapiro For Development Role.

After dipping its toe in the U.K. market in 2021 with release of its Infinite Dial report, Edison Research is making a bigger commitment to the market’s podcast industry. Edison announced today at the Podcast Show 2023 in London that it will launch its Podcast Metrics service in the U.K. later this year.  Read moreEdison Podcast Metrics To Debut In The U.K. Later This Year.

Five years ago, Tracey Nguyen Mang launched the Vietnamese Boat People podcast to tell the stories of the nearly two million that were part of one of the largest mass exoduses in modern history. Podbean – which hosts the podcast – is hosting an event on Tuesday, May 30 that will feature a discussion with Mang, who will share her reasons for starting the podcast, how she was able to gather community support, her experience creating a non-profit from the podcast, and using the power of storytelling to connect us across cultures and generations.  Read moreCreator of ‘Vietnamese Boat People’ Podcast To Share Her Story At Podbean Event.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy may still have nearly two years left on his contract, but he is already making noise about leaving the sports and bro-style podcast and content company... Wondery and Amazon Music have scored their second European podcast distribution and ad-sales rep deal. This time it is with Welsh comedian Rob Brydon, who hosts the U.K.-based comedy podcast Brydon &...IAB Australia reports first quarter podcast ad revenue grew 20.7% Down Under...Josh “Matty” Mattei left WCTY Norwich, CT, during the pandemic and now he has returned to the country format, launching Connecticut’s Country Podcast. Read morePodcast News Bites: Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy, Wondery, IAB, Josh Mattei.

Looking for something to take along for the ride on this long holiday weekend? There are plenty of new shows to pick from.  Here’s some of what’s new this week in podcasting.  Read moreHere’s What’s New In Podcasts This Week.

With Memorial Day weekend heralding the unofficial start of summer, Americans are venturing into the great outdoors for a wide range of activities. Fresh research into the listening habits of regular streaming audio and podcast listeners finds nearly eight in ten respondents (78%) say they are likely to listen to these digital audio channels when they are outside during the summer, with 50% listening during beach days and 65% listening during outdoor activities. Read moreSurvey Shows Audio Provides Soundtrack For Summertime Activities.

This spring, the ad software platform Double Verify announced it had for the first time detected the first case of digital audio-targeted ad fraud. What may have come as a wake-up call to audio companies is part of a larger problem online. Double Verify’s annual report on the state of digital ads finds that the total number of new fraud schemes actually doubled from 2020 to 2022. But overall, Double Verify says fraud and sophisticated invalid traffic decreased for the third consecutive year. Read moreEven As Digital Audio Faces Fraud Risk, Report Finds Online Ad Fraud Is Stabilizing.

As any parent knows, growth usually comes in spurts and as some are asking whether podcast’s growth as a medium is beginning to slow because of maturation, iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman thinks just the opposite is true in 2023. “To the contrary, podcasting has been the best performer of all media, and I don't see that slowing,” he said Tuesday at J.P. Morgan’s annual media conference. Read moreiHeart CEO Bob Pittman’s Message To Investors: Podcasting Isn’t Slowing.

The BBC says the global podcast market is opening up creative opportunities in factual, entertainment and drama and it will respond to that by throwing more resources behind BBC Studios’ existing, successful audio production unit. The U.K. broadcaster says it not only wants to reach more podcast consumers at home, but also internationally – including in the U.S. where the BBC has been building its footprint. Read moreAfter Review Of Its Radio Business, BBC To Put More Focus On Podcasts And Reaching Global Listeners.

Ballen Studios, the global content company behind MrBallen, one of the internet’s biggest storytellers, is teaming up with Wondery for a new podcast series called MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries. Announced today at The Podcast Show in London, they say the show will feature intriguing tales of medical mysteries from around the world that have confounded doctors and experts. It is set to launch later this year. Read moreMrBallen Explores Medical Mysteries In Its First Joint Production With Wondery.

Even as the network is in the process of shedding 10% of its workforce, which is said to affect 100 employees and has resulted in the discontinuation of four podcasts, NPR is continuing to create and fill critical roles with the appointment of Julie Parr to the new role of VP of Development.  Read moreWith $30 Million Gap In Annual Budget, NPR Amps Up Fundraising Efforts With New VP/Development.

Forever Dog’s Just Between Us, hosted by longtime comedy and creative partners Gabe Dunn and Allison Raskin, is doubling up and will release episodes twice a week... Goalhanger, the independent podcast production company behind some of the most popular podcasts in the U.K., is partnering with Megaphone...Public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada once again had the top homegrown podcasts in Canada during April... CrimeCon, the live event for true crime content creators, has opened nominations for its annual CLUE Awards. Two podcast awards are included. Read morePodcast News Bites: Forever Dog, Megaphone, Spotify, CBC, CrimeCon.

The deal is not yet finalized, but LiveOne has signed a letter of intent to acquire certain assets of the Los Angeles-based podcast network, development and production company Kast Media. The move would roll Kast Media’s more than 25 weekly podcasts and 33 million monthly downloads into LiveOne’s PodcastOne, giving the podcast division more heft as it is set to be spun-off into a free-standing company. Read moreLiveOne Has Tentative Deal To Buy Kast Media.

Two independent podcast production companies are joining forces as Boston-based Rococo Punch has been acquired by Indianapolis-based Audily. The result will be an employee-owned podcast and audio production company. Its leaders say the strategic combination will give them the ability to do things they could not have done on their own. Rococo Punch founders Jessica Alpert and John Perotti will join the Audily team and will continue leading and building the Rococo Punch brand. Read moreAudily Buys Boston Production Studio Rococo Punch.

Twitter is quickly establishing itself as a go-to destination for conversative media. The Daily Wire says it will put all of the video simulcasts of its podcasts on the social media network beginning next week. “We see a lot of opportunity with Twitter,” Co-CEO Jeremy Boreing wrote on Twitter, adding that The Daily Wire will be making “another major announcement” next week. Read moreThe Daily Wire Will Put All Of Its Podcast Videos Onto Twitter.

Music has been a driving force behind the shows produced by the podcast studio Audio Up Media. Now it is teaming with music mogul Tommy Mottola and music executive Lex Borrero – the cofounder of the Neon 16 label – to develop and acquire original offerings across all media verticals with a focus on Latin podcast programming. The alliance will stretch beyond podcasts and into music, and development of television and film content. Read moreAudio Up Teams With Music Moguls Tommy Mottola And Lex Borrero In Deal That Goes Beyond Podcasts.

The video streaming company Cinedigm, which has made podcasts a growing piece of its business, is changing its name. It will rebrand to Cineverse. The company says its corporate name change is an “important step forward” in its evolution into a streaming content and technology company. Cineverse says its downloads rose 12% during the first quarter and it plans to quadruple its podcast offerings in the next two to four years. Read moreTV Streamer Cinedigm Rebrands As Cineverse With Podcast Growth Still Part Of The Plan.

Podcasting continues to attract big-named acting talent into its ranks. The latest to join the parade are actors Rosamund Pike, Hugh Laurie, and Isabella Sermon, among others, who will star in the new audio fiction podcast People Who Knew Me. Launching today, the series is being created for BBC Podcasts by Sharon Horgan, the Irish actress and director who is best known for creating the “Bad Sisters” series for Apple TV.  Read moreRosamund Pike And Hugh Laurie Star In New BBC Drama Podcast ‘People Who Knew Me.’