Publishers and advertisers have long awaited Apple to finally divulge ‘inside information’ about individual podcast analytics, and the consumption habits of those that listen to them. Finally, content creators can finally see data about when listeners stopped listening to a particular episode.

Additionally, podcast advertisers always wanted to know if people are listening to the ads they pay for. That’s why, admittedly, advertisers typically want their spots to be in the first half of every podcast…to increase assurances that their spot will be heard in the event that a listener stops listening to a podcast.

What the new Apple analytics provides?

• The Average Completion Rate of an Episode
• The Total Time Spent Listening
• Time Per Device
• Which countries the listens are coming from

Surprisingly, there was much more ‘buzz’ well before release of the data than after, and we didn’t find that many publicly available comments made by industry titans. Most of the comments and insight came well before anything was released. I guess, most are just waiting to absorb the data and see how this plays out. Nonetheless, here’s what we found as far as publicly available comments that are ‘on-the-record’: (and feel free to send us yours and we’ll add it to the article).

What the industry is saying after absorbing the initial release of Apple Podcast Analytics data?

• Steve Shanks, CRO at Ad Results
  

  He told Inside Radio that he is “optimistic about the idea that creators will have access to more data, as we feel it will create more efficiency in the marketplace. With increased data and insights, we’ll have the ability to better predict the potential winners and losers for our campaigns which should create even better results for our clients.

• Seth Resler: Jacobs Media Strategies:
  

  Many of us podcasters feared Apple’s analytics might show a ton of podcast listeners who check out a podcast for a few minutes and then drop off….the Average Consumption looks really solid – often over 80%. “Apple is tracking unique devices (not listens). Radio Futurologist James Cridland pointed out that this could be problematic, because one device (in a car) could reach more than one person.

• Jason Cox, CTO at Panopoly:

• He told Fast Company In the short term, the biggest changes will likely come from content creators due to the increased visibility in listener engagement. With the new analytics platform, they can make data-informed decisions on content strategy, such as episode length or topics.” Additionally, “We predict there will be more granular reporting that accounts for dynamic ad insertion”

  Mobile App Daily:

• The dropped time of listeners will help the podcasters better their content length and quality and analyze where they need to improve”

  Recode:

  The data Apple is providing only comes from people using its newest software: iOS 11 and iTunes 12.7. So it won’t be complete”

Conlcusion: There’s Still A Long Way To Go

It’s a great first step, no doubt, and demonstrates Apple’s slow pivot to embracing the podcast industry, which includes the vast amount of data that comes with over 10 billion annual downloads from 2016 (we can’t wait to hear the 2017 download numbers).

Podcast creators now have the ability to receive data based on devices, not individual user behavior. Transitioning from server based reporting, where they only knew the number of podcast downloads, certainly is a major first step. And Apple has made it known that they want your feedback too & seem open to improving their reporting tool.

Apple’s First Step Is Still In Its Infancy

Bottom line, Apples first insight provides enhanced data, but still remains in its infancy and the impact it will have on the industry is still unknown. Digital buyers still have to remove their mindset beyond comparing podcast advertising to digital campaigns. Most have yet to embrace the the power of organic live reads withing the podcast and the direct results for advertisers that comes with it.

As I like to say…and I’m preaching here…

Podcast advertising is the purest form of native advertising…and remains ‘the ultimate referral’.

Interested in Podcast Advertising, CONTACT US HERE…we have access to most major publishers and can align your marketing objectives with the right show. You can always call us at 844-670-7747 as well!