Sweet news in Acast’s financials

• Acast announced its Q2/23 financial results. Net sales grew by 22%, led by North American sales which were up 31% to SEK 110.7mn (US $84.5mn). Total listens increased by 4% to 1,294mn; the company’s loss almost halved to SEK59.3mn ($5.57mn), and the company says it’s on track to get to profit in 2024.

• The world’s largest advertising company, WPP has announced a global partnership with Spotify - becoming the first digital audio platform to be integrated directly into WPP’s products and solutions.

• Rely on Patreon for revenue? Patreon has switched from charging credit cards from California to charging them from Ireland: which has made many payments bounce, marked as fraudulent. Many Patreon creators, including podcasters, are reporting that they have lost many supporters as a result.

• The Ambies, the Podcast Academy’s yearly awards, are now open for entry.

• TEGNA announced its Q2/23 financial results. The company owns the Locked On Podcast Network: views and listens to those shows have grown 44% year-on-year; video podcast views have more than doubled, increasing by 134%.

• Podcast host Transistor has a new way of viewing your analytics: an episode comparison table. A video explaining the feature would also indicate that Transistor’s Justin Jackson has a new shirt. We like it.

• iHeartMedia has launched a new sports network with Michael Smith and Terrence Williams. The Inflection Network includes Comeback Stories, and more to come.

• The UK’s Sport Social Podcast Network has signed ad representation agreements with ARN in Australia and Blue Wire in the US.

• Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast has signed two new podcast networks: Multitude and Upfire Digital will now be represented exclusively by AdvertiseCast.

Tips and tricks - with Pod Predictor by Coleman Insights

• hashtags are a thing - Castos helps us understand the best hashtags to promote podcasts and shows. It’s also worthwhile mentioning that Mastodon, a fast-growing social network, uses hashtags extensively. (We’re there!)

Podcast News - with Airwave

Part of the Airwave podcast network: Podcast host Otis Gray has a deep, rhythmic voice and a lot of old books to read you, quietly, to help you feel… Sleepy. Great for a fresh start for tomorrow.

The Automated Daily is produced every day, automatically, by AI. “Our intelligent algorithms scour the news landscape to sift through the noise, ensuring that you receive only the most relevant and significant stories.” (Hmm, we use a human for that…)

The Podnews Weekly Review this week features Adam Curry on his new music podcast, and how it works behind the scenes. Plus, Jake Warren from Message Heard is disappointed at the new 'feel’ of the British Podcast Awards, and wastes no time in telling us why.

Podnews Extra contains a full hour’s interview with Adam Curry, including more details about IPFS, a way of distributing podcast audio.