Google adds podcast episodes to Google Search

• Google have officially announced that podcast episodes will now appear in Google Search for users searching in the US in English. “We’ll soon add the ability for publishers to specify a playback destination, such as a third-party website or app,” the announcement says - perhaps for companies like the BBC and Radio France who deliberately blocked Google Podcasts.

  • What Google giveth, Google taketh away - outside the US, searches for “This American Life” or even “Podnews” currently have no play buttons for podcasts within search. (Compare a US search and an Australian one). We hope they’re back soon.
  • Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland, is moderating What Google means for podcasters at Podcast Movement (Friday 10am, Gatlin E6). The session promises “a technical dive into Google’s recent moves in podcasting, including discoverability and SEO”; we’ll have speaker information soon.

• Will we get music licensing for podcasts? Maybe - a trailed announcement, apparently from SoundExchange and Podcast Music, failed to materialise today. A deleted story cached by our RSS reader named the two companies, claiming it is an “integrated global licensing solution” for podcasting, but we have no further details.

  
  Aug 15 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Apple have written to podcasters, letting them know that the new categories are now live, and giving some tips to maximise your show’s potential on the platform.

  • Meanwhile, Spotify continues to take Apple Podcast listeners away from the platform. Voxnest reports that in July, podcast listeners in Austria, Czechia and Romania are now preferring to use Spotify over Apple Podcasts.
  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 15 2023

• Podcast host Libsyn saw a 26% increase in new podcasts hosted by Libsyn in the first six months of 2019. The company says the growth is fueled by celebrity podcasters.

• Glow, a subscription podcast platform we first mentioned in April, has raised US$2.3m in funding. It’s already used by over a hundred podcasts.

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• US broadcaster Cumulus, the owner of Westwood One, saw 5.9% revenue growth in Q1 2019, driven by growth in podcasting, according to their investor call. They claim 52 million downloads for March 2019 (which would put them at #5 in Podtrac’s rankings); and that their podcasting business is profitable.

  
  Aug 15 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• US broadcaster Entercom claimed in its investor call that its purchases this week of Pineapple Street and Cadence13 will give it more than 150 million monthly downloads; beating NPR’s 141m figure and becoming the largest podcaster in the world.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 15 2023

• US broadcaster iHeartRadio is to broadcast podcasts on broadcast radio every Sunday night. Sunday Night Podcasts will be produced in different versions for different radio formats. The Verge reports that over 270 of iHeart’s stations are being told to broadcast the show: “it is a strong recommendation from us centrally,” says Conal Byrne, president of the iHeartPodcast Network.

• Dan Misener has built a podcast trailer podcast feed, for avid podcast listeners who want to keep abreast of new podcasts.

• Congratulations to the Horse Radio Network, which celebrated its 11th anniversary this week. Glenn Hebert sends us a blizzard of numbers: 8,000 + episodes, 11,000+ guests, 5,900 hours of programming, currently 32 hosts, 33 sponsors and 16 active shows.

  
  Aug 15 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Advice: How to run a podcast booth at an event (The Podcast Host)

• The Dublin Podcast Festival has announced its lineup - it’s in November. Tickets go on sale on Monday.

• InsideRadio/PodcastNewsDaily has published The Most Powerful People In Podcasting. Conal Byrne, president of the iHeartPodcast Network, is deservedly at #1. For the record, the publication is owned by iHeartRadio.

Thank you to Chris Riback for becoming a personal supporter of Podnews. Chris is co-founder of Good Guys Media Ventures, and host of (among others) Chris Riback’s Conversations. You can be like Chris.

People like Chris have helped us add a full RSS feed to our free jobs board, Podjobs.

Podcasts

Spreaker Prime: True Crime Bullsh**t is a serialized, investigative podcast exploring meticulous and enigmatic serial killer Israel Keyes. it’s hosted by Josh Hallmark, He’s using Spreaker Prime to earn money and cut his hosting costs.

Sobre Podcasting, is a new Spanish-language show “for all those obsessed with podcasting, keeping you updated with everything you need to know about the podcasting industry from a less U.S.-centric point of view”. Sponsored by Libsyn, it’s presented by Elsie Escobar. (Libsyn)

Retail is your business is a new business podcast from MouthMedia Network, launched after their Fashion is your business podcast made it to 300 episodes. (Omny Studio)

It’s back, baby. The Ron Burgundy Podcast returns for a new season, starting with Kamala Harris, a US presidential candidate. (iHeartRadio / Megaphone)