Apple Podcast Charts for sale

The Apple Podcast Charts are so easily manipulated, you can now buy your way into the chart, podnews has discovered. The third-party company offering this service promises that podcasters can get “some of the biggest advertisers in the world” by buying a guaranteed place in the top 50; and that the company uses “select algorithms” to get you there. Read the full story.

The nominees for the British Podcast Awards are to be showcased this week on The Guardian’s Culture Podcast. The winners are announced at their event this Saturday.

Chicago IL, USA-based podcast company Luminary Media has achieved funding of US$40m, says the Wall Street Journal in a paywalled article.

Digital Audio advertising in the US was up 39% in 2017, says the IAB. Total adspend was US$1.6bn.

Alex, Inc has been cancelled by ABC television. The show “averaged a lackluster 3.4 million total viewers and a 0.85 rating in the 18-49 demo”, reports Variety.

Buzzfeed’s weekly news show, The News, includes a co-host who is a “gender neutral bot” called JoJo, reports NiemenLab.

On Mar 30, we reported a bootcamp run by Spotify: “a weeklong intensive program for (10) aspiring female podcasters of color”. Total number of applicants? Over 18,000. If you applied, you’ll get to learn the decision by 20th May.

Podcast app/host Anchor is producing a weekly show on SiriusXM, a satellite radio network in the US, called This Week on Anchor. It will feature podcasters from throughout the Anchor service.

The Guardian plans a masterclass, How to create a Successful Podcast, with Mark Leruste, founder and host of the The Unconventionalists podcast. The event will be on 5 September in London, UK.

British politician Ed Miliband has reinvented himself using his podcast, says a piece in the i paper.

Listicle: 15 must-listen tech podcasts (We Edit Podcasts)