Sounds Profitable

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Spotify's "Unskippable" Ads, Video in Podcasting's Top 50, & More Aug 17, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

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Spotify has begun selling unskippable podcast ads that Premium listeners cannot jump past, even with the standard 15-second skip. The move follows the company's test of a "Skip Ahead" button that automatically skips ad breaks, sponsorships, and intros.
Amplifi Media's Steven Goldstein pushes back on the widely shared claim that only 10 of the top 200 podcasts have video. His own tally finds 84% of Edison's US Top 50 now publish full video episodes, along with 77% of Apple's Top 100.
Australian podcast ad spend broadened well beyond tech and finance in Q2 2026, according to ARN's iHeart and Magellan AI. Alcohol led the growth at 58% quarter on quarter, and Airbnb topped the advertiser rankings.
Creators are moving away from platform exclusivity as Netflix lets shows from Rhett & Link and Nick DiGiovanni run on YouTube at the same time. Free ad-supported channels on Amazon Prime Video and Roku are becoming part of the same strategy.
Steve Raizes argues the industry's giant podcast guarantees function as subscriber-acquisition campaigns for streaming platforms rather than ad plays. Because those deals expire, he says talent should trade peak leverage for ownership of an operating business.

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.

First Podcast Movement NYC Speakers, Nielsen to Acquire DoubleVerify, & More Aug 14, 2026

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This week in the business of podcasting:

Tom Webster walks through Podcast Movement's five-day takeover of Terminal 5 in New York City, from the inaugural Sounds Profitable Business Summit to a creator conference spanning more than 80 sessions across five stages.
Sport Social's Ryan Barker makes the case that official club podcasts are the natural landing spot for betting sponsorship money as the Premier League phases out front-of-shirt gambling deals in 2026/27.
Quill and CoHost CEO Fatima Zaidi explains why branded podcasts get cut, and lays out the named audience, defined behavior change, and single accountable owner that lasting shows share.
Nielsen agreed to acquire media verification company DoubleVerify in a $2.15 billion all-cash deal, pairing audience data with verification tooling across a stack that explicitly includes audio.

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.

Podcast Movement unveils its NYC lineup, Alex Cooper's Unwell raises at $500M, & More Aug 13, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

Tom Webster details Sounds Profitable's five-day takeover of New York City's Terminal 5 in September, spanning the partner-only Business Summit, the IAB Podcast Upfront after party, and Podcast Movement NYC.
Quill and CoHost CEO Fatima Zaidi argues brand podcasts fail from unclear purpose rather than small budgets, and offers a three-part test for building shows that survive budget cuts.
Alex Cooper's Unwell takes its first outside investment from Patrick Whitesell's firm WTSL at a $500 million valuation, signaling continued investor appetite for podcast creator IP.

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.

Spotify's AI Disclosure, Acast Acquires Backyard Ventures, & More Aug 12, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

Acast acquires Backyard Ventures for $20 million, adding more than 200 premium creators across podcasts, YouTube, newsletters, and social to accelerate omnichannel monetization.
Spotify asks artists to disclose AI-generated music and will label AI artist identities as "AI Personas," excluding them from editorial and algorithmic recommendations beginning in mid-September.
The Media Leader asks seven industry specialists whether podcasting has hit saturation, and the consensus is that the medium is maturing, with ad spend still lagging consumption and discovery shifting to social platforms.
Signal Hill Insights analyzes how 4,819 Americans define the word "podcast," finding that only about 33 to 38% mention audio or listening while just 7% of listeners describe podcasts as video only.

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.

Five Days at Terminal 5 Aug 12, 2026

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In this week's Sounds Profitable newsletter, Tom Webster breaks down the company's most ambitious week yet: five days taking over Terminal 5 in New York this September, running three different events for three different audiences under one roof. He walks through the Business Summit bringing the buy side and sell side of podcasting into one room, the official IAB Podcast Upfront after party, and the reimagined Podcast Movement creator days at just $199 for two full days in Manhattan. Along the way he makes the case for why not a single minute of stage time is for sale, how the partners underwrite it all, and the small idea he's proudest of, a four o'clock block built for the person who doesn't already know everyone in the room.

Written by Tom Webster
Edited and narrated by Gavin Gaddis"

Find the full article here.

Magellan AI Quarterly Podcast Ad Benchmarks, YouTube To Increase Partner Program Requirements, & More Aug 11, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

With the Premier League banning front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships from the 2026/27 season, Sport Social's Ryan Barker argues official team and fan podcasts are the natural landing spot for betting brands, pointing to a Sky Bet partnership across 20 football podcasts that reached more than one million listeners.
Bumper co-founder Dan Misener explains why Apple Podcasts play counts are inflated: Apple counts every tap of the play button, not every listener, making the metric impossible to compare with Spotify plays or YouTube views.
iHeartMedia reported Q2 2026 podcast revenue up 20.7% year over year to $162 million, now 16.5% of total company revenue, alongside a new video podcast deal bringing shows to Disney+ and Hulu.
Magellan AI's Q2 2026 Podcast Advertising Quarterly Benchmark Report finds podcast ad revenue up 23% year over year, with average ad load rising to 8.75% of runtime, or roughly five and a half minutes of ads per hour.
YouTube is doubling its Partner Program requirements effective February 1, 2027, raising qualified watch hours from 4,000 to 8,000 and Shorts views from 10 million to 20 million, raising the cost of entry for podcasters leaning on video.

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.

A Marketer's Take on Reading Research, Nielsen Acquires DoubleVerify for $2.15B & More Aug 10, 2026

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Today in the business of podcasting:

Sounds Profitable's Ask a Marketer webinar on August 18 brings Right Side Up's Krystina Rubino and Quo's Tori Murray together with Tom Webster to break down The Podcast Atlas, a survey of 5,061 U.S. consumers on how creator-based advertising performs across audio, video, social, and newsletters. The two buyers sort which research findings actually move a media plan.
The FCC voted 2-1 to repeal the 39% national TV ownership cap, clearing the way for broadcast station-group consolidation and shifting oversight to antitrust courts. Larger groups gain leverage in retransmission talks and more inventory for FAST channels and connected-TV advertising.
RSS.com launched a Max plan that publishes video podcasts to Apple Podcasts via HLS streaming with dynamically inserted programmatic ads from episode one. Creators keep 70% of ad revenue with no audience threshold, unlike YouTube's 1,000-subscriber and 4,000-watch-hour requirements.
Nielsen agreed to acquire media-verification company DoubleVerify for $2.15 billion in an all-cash deal at $13.60 per share. The combined company spans TV, streaming, digital, social, mobile, and audio measurement with more than $4 billion in annual revenue.
The ANA, the 4As, and the IAB are aligning for the first time in nearly a decade on AI governance, retail media standards, and workforce development, culminating in an Industry Leadership Summit this October. The group's AI-governance and measurement work could shape standards that reach audio advertising.

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.

Acast Launches Apple Video for All, Spotify Tests Ad Skip Button, & More Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

This week in the business of podcasting:

Spotify is testing "Skip Ahead," a one-tap ad-skipping tool for Premium subscribers, and the industry is pushing back over what it means for host-read sponsorships and advertiser attention reporting.
Acast has opened video publishing on Apple Podcasts to all creators on its platform, after beta shows saw an estimated 25% increase in weekly Apple Podcasts sessions.
A coalition of 18 U.K. media organizations is urging the government to reject advertising on BBC podcasts, citing an estimated £10 million in annual revenue against the harm to independent audio businesses.
The IAB released "Measuring Visibility in the AI Era," a framework sorting AI search visibility metrics into four categories as more than 20 vendors sell competing tools with materially different results.

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.

Industry Discusses Spotify "Skip Ahead," U.K. Podcasting on BBC Ads, & More Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Today in the business of podcasting:

Industry leaders including Crooked Media's Tommy Vietor, Right Side Up's Krystina Rubino, and ADOPTER Media's Glenn Rubenstein are responding to Spotify's "Skip Ahead" test, which lets Premium listeners clear an entire ad break, sponsor read, or intro in a single tap.
A coalition of 18 U.K. commercial audio companies is urging the government to drop proposals allowing advertising on BBC podcasts, arguing the BBC would earn only about £10 million a year while draining revenue from the independent audio sector.
Gap Inc., Staples, and Starbucks have launched employee-creator programs, betting that firsthand accounts from actual staff read as more credible than polished brand marketing.

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.

Acast Opens Apple Podcasts Video to All Creators, Media Measurement in the Boardroom, & More Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

Today in the business of podcasting:

Acast has opened video publishing on Apple Podcasts to all creators on its platform, ending the beta waitlist after shows using video saw an estimated 25% lift in weekly Apple Podcasts sessions.
Media measurement and ad effectiveness have moved from CMO-CFO conversations onto public earnings calls, even as a Gain Theory survey finds 49% of marketers doubt their data can hold up at the CFO level.
New Jersey's data broker law is already in effect, banning sensitive data sales with $50,000-per-record penalties and creating a "data collector" category that pulls podcast ad-tech and listener-data practices into scope.
Hollywood studios chasing creator-driven IP are running into ownership problems, as A24's attempt to trademark "the backrooms" shows the risks of adapting open-source collaborative worlds.
Kirby Grines argues the smartest streaming strategy is licensing mature catalog while keeping current releases exclusive, citing Parrot Analytics data showing licensed titles drove over 53% of Netflix series sign-ups in Q1 2026.

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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