Sounds Profitable

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New Gated Video on Spotify, UK Smart TV Podcasting, & More May 27, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

A new Signal Hill Insights Pulse Report, conducted in partnership with FlightStory, finds that 45% of monthly podcast consumers in the U.K. used a smart TV to listen to podcasts in the past month, making it the second most-used device behind smartphones and ahead of computers. More than half of video podcast viewers watch during prime time hours, suggesting video podcasting is becoming a living-room, prime-time television behavior in the U.K.
NPR, its sponsorship subsidiary National Public Media, and podcast distributor PRX have announced a collaboration enabling NPM to sell sponsorships for station-produced podcasts hosted on PRX's Dovetail platform, with stations including Boise State Public Radio, LAist, and WWNO already participating.
Podcast subscription platform Supporting Cast has launched delivery of gated, subscriber-only video on Spotify using Spotify's Distribution API, making it the first subscription platform to offer this capability. Journalist-led podcasts Libero and Legacy are the first shows to use the feature.
Media writer Brian Morrissey examines how AI-driven changes to Google Search are accelerating the decline of page-view-based publisher models, and argues that the recent Vox Media sale reflects how owned podcast networks have become central to media companies' valuations.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Radio, Podcasting, And The Portuguese Man o’ War May 27, 2026

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Make your own Cannes Lions announcement graphic!

Sounds Profitable Partner Tom Webster breaks down data from the 2025 Advertising Landscape study showing that AM/FM radio Primes and podcast Primes overlap by just 1.4% of U.S. adults, arguing that the two media are not competitors but complementary channels reaching almost entirely different engaged audiences, and that combined inventory is worth more than either piece alone.

Written by Tom Webster
Edited and narrated by Gavin Gaddis

Find the full article here.

Podcast Show London Recap, Spotify Launches Narrated Articles, & More May 26, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

The Podcast Show 2026 wrapped up in London with a wave of industry activity, including the debut of a new UK advertising landscape study from Sounds Profitable and Sound Insights showing podcast ad recall is at near-parity with broadcast television, plus analyst presentations, an annual Podcast Standards Project meetup, and a live episode of Podnews Weekly Review recorded on stage.
RAJAR's MIDAS Spring 2026 survey found that 25% of UK adults listen to podcasts weekly, a figure that has remained relatively static since Winter 2024, with podcasts accounting for 6% of adult listening hours — ahead of owned music at 5% and audiobooks at 3%.
Goalhanger launched Goalhanger Ventures, a new investment and partnership arm that will back creator-led media businesses, with initial activity including an equity investment in Invisible Media and support for the podcast Backyard Cricket.
Spotify announced a wave of new features: a Memberships program for creators, an AI-driven Personal Podcasts feature, and Articles — a library of over 650 narrated long-form magazine pieces available to Premium subscribers through their monthly audiobook allowance or purchasable individually for $1.99.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

The State of U.K. Podcast Advertising, Brazil's Audio Opportunity, & More May 22, 2026

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This week in the business of podcasting:

A new Sounds Profitable and Sound Insights study of 5,033 U.K. adults finds 43% of British adults listen to ad-supported podcasts monthly, with 79% of those listeners recalling a podcast ad in the past week at nearly equal rates across genders, offering a direct transatlantic comparison to the 2025 U.S. Advertising Landscape.
Owl & Co's Global Podcast Economy Report finds the global podcast industry generated $9.2 billion in revenue in 2025, up 23% year over year, with publishers that treated video as a monetization layer seeing the fastest revenue growth.
The fifth annual Podnews Report Card, based on creator feedback, finds YouTube has climbed to second place among major podcast platforms, overtaking Spotify but still trailing Apple Podcasts.
Rodrigo Tigre, co-founder and president of Ozen.fm, argues that Brazil's podcast advertising market is dramatically underdeveloped relative to U.S. digital audio and identifies three structural barriers that have now matured enough to be overcome.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

U.K. Podcast Advertising Landscape, Global Podcast Economy Growth, & More May 21, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

Sounds Profitable and Sound Insights released The Advertising Landscape UK, the first large-scale study of how British audiences experience podcast advertising, finding that 43% of British adults listen to an ad-supported podcast monthly and 56% of those tune in daily or almost daily.
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, with publishers who treated video as a monetization layer growing revenue the fastest.
James Murdoch's Lupa Systems agreed to acquire most of Vox Media, including its podcast network, main website, and New York magazine, with CEO Jim Bankoff set to continue running the acquired assets.
Data from influencer platform Upfluence shows that top-tier TikTok micro-creators saw average brand deal rates rise 125% in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, as brands shift toward smaller creators and paid content boosting over big-name influencer deals.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

The Advertising Landscape UK May 21, 2026

Show notes

Sounds Profitable and Sound Insights released the Advertising Landscape UK, the first large-scale study of how British audiences experience podcast advertising, benchmarked against 20+ other ad-supported platforms across 5,033 adults. Key findings include that 43% of British adults listen to ad-supported podcasts monthly, 79% recalled a podcast ad in the past week, 44% have made a purchase after hearing one, and ad-supported podcasting has outpaced broadcast TV among 18- to 24-year-olds. The UK's BBC heritage sets a higher bar for advertising acceptance than in the US, but the data suggests podcasting clears that bar more reliably than most other formats, positioning it as a strong vehicle for reaching discerning British audiences.

Written by Tom Webster
Edited and narrated by Gavin Gaddis

Spotify Podcast Verification, 2026 Podnews Report Card, & More May 20, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

Spotify is expanding its Verified by Spotify badge to podcast shows, adding a green checkmark to identify official creator, publisher, and brand presences on the platform based on listener activity, platform standing, and audience authenticity.
The 2026 Podnews Report Card collected 779 pieces of community feedback on major podcast platforms, with YouTube reaching second place in the overall rankings for the first time, just behind Apple Podcasts and ahead of Spotify.
A new WARC report, The Multiplier Playbook, surveying more than 200 senior marketers finds that 60% say their C-suite does not fully understand the role of advertising, and only 21% say advertising objectives align with broader corporate goals.
New Omeda research finds 70% of publishers consider audience data critical, yet only 9% of their organizations use it effectively, a gap writer Brian Morrissey links to decentralized and siloed data infrastructure.
YouTube is rolling out its AI-powered likeness detection technology to all eligible creators over 18, expanding access beyond select YouTube Partner Program members and allowing users to set up protection via ID verification.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Global To Direct-Sell YouTube Ads, Brazil's Audio Potential, & More May 19, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

Triton Digital's latest Podcast Report reveals that digital audio in the US has reached a market value equivalent to Brazil's entire digital ad industry, highlighting the growing scale of US podcast and streaming audiences.
Global has launched a new premium video advertising format on YouTube, giving brands access to connected TV-style placements alongside the broadcaster's content, including the news podcast Up to Speed.
Captivate has enabled HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) support for private podcast feeds, improving playback reliability and compatibility for subscription and members-only audio content.
A new Digiday report examines the rise of agentic advertising, with survey data showing a majority of advertisers already integrating or building agentic AI capabilities into their ad workflows.
Industry analysis explores how podcasting's trust advantage and audience engagement position it as an effective channel as advertisers evaluate where to place budgets in an AI-driven media landscape.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Flightcast Launches HLS Support, Content Creators @ Upfronts, & More May 18, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

Podcasters took center stage at the upfronts, as Amazon unveiled Oprah Winfrey's new Wondery podcast deal and YouTube's Brandcast event featured content announcements from major creators, with both platforms positioning video podcasting as a direct competitor for TV advertising budgets.
Amplifi Media founder Steven Goldstein reports results from a NYU focus group study of AI-generated podcasts, which averaged a 2.3 out of 5 rating; students valued narrow-utility formats but consistently described AI hosts as flat and inauthentic, with Goldstein calling for industry-wide disclosure standards to preserve listener trust.
Podcast hosting platform Flightcast has launched full support for video on Apple Podcasts and HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) video publishing, allowing users to activate video for their entire back catalog with a single click at no additional cost.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

U.K. Ad Avoidance, Video Podcasts on Amazon Music, & More May 15, 2026

Show notes

This week in the business of podcasting:

New data from the 2026 U.K. Advertising Landscape Study, conducted by Sound Insights for Sounds Profitable, finds that 79% of U.K. podcast listeners recall a podcast ad from the past week — a striking result in a country shaped by decades of ad-free BBC broadcasting, with recall essentially equal across men and women.
A Reuters Institute report finds video is reshaping news podcasting at every level, from how shows are produced and discovered to how they make money, with publishers increasingly building around personalities and layering in revenue from events, subscriptions, and merchandise.
Amazon Music has launched video podcasts for U.S. iOS and Android users using HLS video within an open RSS ecosystem, starting with ART19-hosted content and expanding to more hosting partners later this summer.
Spotify is expanding its video distribution network through five new hosting platform integrations and announcing forthcoming support for Apple Podcasts' HLS video technology, giving creators a path to distribute and monetize video across both platforms simultaneously.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

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