Will 2025 be video’s year?

• The Podnews Weekly Review this week focuses on predictions from the podcast’s supporters for 2025. Video is one of the more divisive subjects, with some suggesting that it’ll become more and more important, and others suggesting that we’ll see a refocus towards audio. You can read - and listen - to the predictions on our website.

• Triton Digital’s Sounder has launched a new audio insights overview page, giving a new view for publishers of their content.

• Fresh from closing Google Podcasts earlier this year, Google has broken another thing: this time, “Hey, Google, What’s The Latest News” from an Android phone. That used to be a way to get Podnews to play, but now, thanks to Gemini, a bad voice reads news headlines badly. Podnews reader James Hart blogs on how to fix it. A Nest speaker continues to work, until Google breaks that, too.

  • Mind, Apple has also broken “Siri, play the news from Podnews”; our iPhone tells us that we don’t have Apple Podcasts installed (we do); and our Mac plays something on Apple Music that is not us.

• The Verge devotes an article to “visual trends in podcasting”: highlighting wooden slats on walls; multiple long microphone stands; and televisions with podcast logos on them.

• Podcasting in China is the subject of a report from mobile app analysis firm MoonFox; podcast app Ximalaya has 300mn registered users, it says (and has numbers for the other large platforms); only 171 branded podcasts appear to exist in the country (a Louis Vuitton show has 44,000 listeners).

• Sport Social Podcast Network publishes predictions for 2025. The company’s boss, Jim Salveson, predicts that Spotify won’t woo video creators. Our favourite: “there will be further development in the podcast advertising space" which seems a prediction that can’t go wrong.

• Further reading: The UK edition of The Week publishes “the ultimate podcast list of 2024” … The Times of London posts their 40 best podcasts … the Financial Times writes Podcasts, politics and the craving for imperfection about politicians’ new-found love for our medium …

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• Podcasting Made Simple - Live is a virtual event taking place on Jan 9 (11.30am-4pm ET), “focused on helping podcast guests and hosts improve their craft”. Tickets are $97; but here’s a secret link for free access from Podnews.

People News

• Blubrry has added three new members of staff. Darvin and Stacey live in the Philippines; while Jennilynd lives in the Virgin Islands.

• Jared Easley is no longer working day-to-day at Podcast Movement as a staff member. Easley was a co-founder of the event, and retains his ownership interest; he tells Podnews that financial reasons led to the closure of his role. (Disclosures).

Podcast News - with Becoming You

The Dec 18 edition of BFFs with Dave Portnoy, Josh Richards, and Brianna Chickenfry “saved a fan’s life”, says the Daily Mail. It was Portnoy’s last show; he felt he was getting too old.

Do not touch the art. This is for your own safety. The Godfrey Audio Guide posts its a two-part finale today. The award-winning audio drama blends horror, sci-fi, and art history (both real and imagined) in the guise of a museum audio tour. Part of the Fable and Folly network, it’s created, written and produced by Nicole Knudsen.

Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning Canadian writer Anthony Del Col, the audio drama Don’t Listen To This is new today in the BBC’s Limelight series. The five-episode series is set in the world of esports - the death of a top esports athlete and his former team psychologist’s journey to uncover the truth behind it.